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someone else might “snatch him up.” Second, she was worried that even if she did throw herself at him, she would be rejected and feel horribly embarrassed. Even though no one at law school had said anything to her about the fact that they went to better universities and had better job experiences, Whitney still felt insecure about her mediocre background. Surely, Ben wanted someone at his side who had also gone to an Ivy League school, and who had job experience that could actually count as career experience.
    “I just don’t know if he’s interested in me in that way. I want to get to know him a little better as a friend, first,” Whitney said.
    “Stall at your own peril,” Elise insisted.
    “What about you two? Are either of you interested in anyone?” Whitney asked, mostly to avoid having to explain any more about why she did not want to pursue Ben right now.
    “Alex is pretty hot,” Elise said.
    Jamie made a face. “Stay away from him. He’s nice, but I’ve heard he’s quite a player. Rumor has it he slept with every female server at the restaurant where he used to work.”
    “Who told you that?” Whitney asked in an accusing tone, surprising herself with how defensive she felt of Alex. After all, he had tried to make a move on her when they had only known each other for a few hours. It would not be that surprising to discover that he was the type to sleep around a lot.
    “Crystal told me,” Jamie said. “Apparently Ben was drunk at the bar after orientation, and divulged all kinds of interesting information about Alex. They’re roommates, you know.”
    “I know,” Whitney said. She was annoyed at Ben for gossiping about Alex, but maybe Ben thought it was cool that Alex had slept with every girl at the restaurant. Whitney did not want to think about whether Ben liked the idea of sleeping around.
    Elise shrugged. “Well, I mean, I just think Alex is good-looking. I barely know him so I don’t know if I’m interested or not.”
    “I could say the same thing about Ben,” Whitney said.
    Their food arrived, and the conversation shifted from boys to their worries over the difficulties of law school. Whitney took another dose of Advil, and her pounding headache started to subside as she washed the medicine down with copious amounts of water and coffee. The greasy hash browns helped, too. Whitney was enjoying herself more than she thought she would when she dragged herself out of the apartment this morning. As the bill arrived and they calculated how to split it up, Elise proclaimed the brunch a success and insisted they must make brunching a regular occurrence. Jamie rolled her eyes but agreed it had been fun.
    “Why stop at just brunch? Do you guys want to go shopping?” Jamie asked. “I’ve been wanting to check out the stores on Michigan Avenue, and it’s so nice out today. Might as well take advantage of it before the infamous Chicago winter arrives.”
    “Oh! I wish I could but I have a hair appointment,” Elise said. “I’m trying to find a good stylist in town and this girl comes highly recommended. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Whitney said. She loved shopping, and walking around a bit was probably not a bad idea after the mountain of carbs she had just consumed. Jamie was right about the weather, too. It would be a shame to waste this warm September day.
     
    * * *
     
    Ninety minutes later, Whitney felt her head spinning, and it was not a leftover effect from last night’s ill-advised wine binge. She had heard that the shopping on Michigan Avenue was intense, but following Jamie through Burberry, Gucci, and Neiman Marcus had been a shopping trip unlike any she had experienced before. The array of merchandise was dizzying, as was the shock of peeking at the price tags. Jamie seemed to not notice the small fortune she was spending as she nonchalantly handed over her credit card at each store.
    Jamie chatted almost nonstop, which was a bit surprising