I go to the city where my online boyfriend, Logan Wright, lives to surprise him without telling him first. Instead, I overhear him talking with his friends.

"So what if her voice is nice? She's probably ugly as hell if she's reluctant to even send a picture. If the hottest girl on campus hadn't turned me down, I wouldn't even bother messing around with someone like her.

"Not only is she ugly, but she's also horny as hell. She keeps saying she has to see what I'm packing down there before we even meet."

One of his friends snickers. "So did you show her?"

Logan let out a low grunt in agreement. "But it wasn't mine. It was Troy's."

His friend blurts, "What the hell? Troy Levine? Your roommate? You said he was at least eight inches. Were you serious?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you? Troy is a real bro. Seeing that I didn't want to send that kind of picture, he offered to do it for me."

They freeze for a second, then all burst out laughing.

I laugh too. I've heard of body doubles in Showbiz. This is the first time I've seen a body double in online romance.

I want every detail on Troy, and I want them in the next three minutes!

I was a goody two-shoes. I was sweet and soft-spoken, polite and careful with money, the kind of person who read a lot and knew how to behave. I always looked bright and cheerful, and I worked hard at my studies.

Yeah, right. That was just the role I played in front of my older relatives.

The real me was a completely different story.

I was rebellious and sharp-tongued, with a wild streak, a calculating side, and a long memory for grudges. And I wasn't someone people could push around.

I also had a strong desire in every sense of the word.

After I took the SATs, I spent every day glued to my phone, scrolling through good-looking guys. Whether it was lean jocks, sunshiney golden-retriever guys, or cold, off-limits upperclassmen, I hit like and saved every single one.

The more I scrolled, the more excited I felt and the more restless I became.

So, I started dating a hot guy online named Logan Wright. He was one year older than me and was currently in college.

He was about six feet tall, with squared-off shoulders and a really broad chest. He also had washboard abs. The most important thing was that he was eight inches down there.

At first, I didn't believe him at all, not until he sent me a photo of the real thing. To be honest, I started wondering if he'd eaten too many GMOs for it to end up that ridiculous.

Either way, I had somehow managed to land a guy like that. I was stupidly lucky in bed.

To my surprise, Logan turned out to be an upperclassman at the same college as me. It made me feel like the two of us were meant to be.

But he didn't know any of it yet. I hadn't told him because I wanted to surprise him when school started. To keep things mysterious, I hadn't sent him a single picture of my face.

Logan got upset about it and said I wasn't being truthful with him. On the phone, his voice sounded quiet and down.

His hometown was in the next city over, less than half an hour away by train. After debating it for a while, I decided to go meet him in person.

To make me feel safe, Logan kept me in the loop about everything. He even texted me where he and his friends were eating, so I didn't have to fish for answers.

I followed the directions on my phone and easily found the barbecue place they were at. It was a barbecue place with a ton of tables set up by the street, and I spotted Logan right away.

He looked even better in person than he did in his pictures.

It was the middle of summer, and even the breeze felt hot. When it hit my face, my cheeks only burned more. I took a breath and was about to step forward.

Then, Logan slammed his glass on the table and sneered. "So what if her voice is nice? If she won't even send a picture, she's probably ugly as hell."

I stopped cold, and the heat drained out of my face.

Logan continued, "It was never serious between us. If the hottest girl on campus hadn't turned me down and I hadn't been bored out of my mind, I wouldn't have bothered with her.

"She's already ugly, and on top of that, she's horny as hell. She keeps saying she has to see what I'm packing."

I pressed my lips together, and my fists curled tight.

He was the one who said it was huge and asked if I wanted to see it. If someone dangled a free look in front of me, why would I even turn it down? Now, he was acting like he had been forced into it.

Over the noise of everyone egging him on, someone asked, "So did you show her?"

Logan let out a little grunt of agreement, then said smugly, "But it wasn't mine. It was Troy's."

A wave of "What the hell?" rippled through the table.

"Troy Levine? That roommate of yours? Last time, you said he was at least eight inches. Were you serious?"

Logan took a drag on his cigarette and said, "Of course. Why would I lie to you? Troy is a real bro. When he saw I didn't want to send that kind of picture, he offered to take my place."

The people at the table went quiet for a second, then burst out laughing. "I swear, you are something else. So you're saying this relationship was supposed to be just two people, but it was actually two people and one extra…"

Another round of laughter followed.

Logan frowned. "What relationship? It was never more than just messing around. She's only good enough for me to treat like a pet. As soon as summer is over, I'm kicking that ugly bitch to the curb."

Hearing him say all of that, I was surprised by how little I felt about it.

Because at that moment, I could only think about that photo that had stunned me.

What was his name again?

Oh, right. Troy Levine.

On the train ride home, I opened Logan's Instagram. He was so obsessed with himself that his feed never included anyone else.

I let out a sigh. It seemed that if I wanted to know what Troy looked like, I would have to wait until school started.

I felt a little disappointed for a second, then pulled out my phone and started scrolling through photos of hot guys.

As the train approached my stop, a campus interview video popped up. The question was "Who's the hottest guy on campus in your opinion?"

I wasn't really interested and was just about to swipe past when I suddenly heard someone say "Troy Levine".

At that moment, the arrival chime sounded.

As I stepped off the train, I turned up the volume on my headphones. I replayed the clip several times to make sure I hadn't misheard, and the college name matched.

That photo crossed my mind again.

Apparently, Troy, the hottest guy on campus, was pretty wild behind the scenes.

…

As the new semester got closer, Logan grew more distant. Whenever I messaged him, he usually took days to reply.

I clenched my teeth in frustration. If he hadn't been useful to me, I would've unfriended him a long time ago.

That night, I stared at our one-sided chat and, still not ready to give up, sent Logan another sticker.

This time, he replied surprisingly fast. "Um, I just don't think we're a good match. We can stay friends, but we shouldn't try to be a couple."

I was lying on my bed with my legs crossed, wearing a face mask. My eyes lit up the moment I saw his message. I felt like I'd waited forever for this moment.

Smirking, I typed, "Why? Did I not do well enough or something?"

Then, I sent an "awkward" emoji.

Logan replied, "No, don't overthink it. This is my problem."

I rolled my eyes. It was the same tired breakup line every jerk used, with nothing original about it.

Once I was done ranting in my head, I slipped into my sweetest, most innocent act and sent a dramatic crying sticker.

"You don't have to comfort me. I know I'm not good enough for you. You deserve someone better. I wish you a happy life."

Logan went still, his chest tightening before he even knew why.

After a while, he finally replied, "You're great. You should be more confident. Sweetie, this is on me. If you want anything, just tell me, and I'll make it happen."

A rush of excitement ran through me. I tore off my face mask, sat up straight, and called Logan.

When he picked up, I sniffed and made my voice catch a little. "Would you really say yes to anything I asked?"

"Yeah," Logan said, sounding suddenly serious. "Actually, I know you're not very confident about your looks. Don't worry. I don't care about that. If you want to see me, I can come right now and—"

I didn't feel like listening to him go on, so I cut him off, "Then, set me up with a new boyfriend."

Logan froze, and it took him three seconds to react. "What?"

I let out a sigh. "Logan, the moment I saw your photo, I knew we were never going to work. You're so handsome. How could someone like you ever like someone as ordinary as me? I'm already grateful we can be friends."

Logan had been furious a second ago, but my words took the anger right out of him. His ego got the boost it wanted, and guilt followed right after.

So he said, "Zoey, don't put yourself down. You're great. I-I will introduce you to my roommate right now. He's handsome, too. He's got a ton of admirers at our college, but he's turned them all down.

"That means he doesn't choose girlfriends based on looks. You two should talk. You might end up getting along."

I went quiet for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. "Okay, I'll give it a try."

Then, I asked, trying to sound casual, "By the way, what's his name?"

"Troy Levine. His name is Troy Levine."

Perfect!

My eyes crinkled into a smile as I held back my excitement and steadied my breathing. "Okay, I'll add him on WhatsApp and follow him on Instagram. Send me his contact. Thanks, Logan."

Logan laughed. "It's nothing. Don't forget. We're friends."

Ten minutes later, Troy and I had added each other as friends. I opened his Instagram right away.

I wondered if Troy had hidden his posts because his Instagram was empty. Even his profile picture felt weirdly generic, like something from a brand-new burner account.

Logan wasn't messing with me, was he?

I was still second-guessing him when my phone lit up with a bunch of new messages.

"Hello, Zoey Collins. I'm Troy Levine. Logan said he wanted to introduce us so you could be my girlfriend.

"I've been thinking about dating someone lately, and I think we could give it a try.

"But I'm worried that I might not be your type. I'll send you some photos first, and you can decide if you want to be with me after you see them."

I bit my lip and slowly slid my finger up the screen, squinting as I opened the photo. A second later, my eyes flew wide.

A cute guy could make me blush and set my heart racing, but Troy's photo had me so dizzy I felt like I might get a nosebleed.

I kicked my legs against the mattress, too excited to keep still.

Right then, Logan texted me, "Troy isn't the easiest person to get along with. He barely replies to anyone and comes off pretty cold. Don't get discouraged. Try putting yourself out there a little."

Huh?

I scrolled through the new photos Troy had sent, all showing off his abs.

Cold? If he were a peacock, his tail would already be fanned out as far as it could go.

I held my phone, saving Troy's photos to my gallery one by one, completely forgetting to text him back.

Troy got impatient. "Am I not your type? Maybe I just picked bad angles. People always say I look better in person. How about we meet up? I can come meet you."

I raised my eyebrow.

Was he really this eager?

From everything I'd seen on the Internet, once people who dated online met in real life, things moved fast. Some even went that far on the first day. But I wasn't ready for that yet.

I spaced out for a second and accidentally tapped my hidden album. There was only one photo in it.

I let out a couple of awkward little coughs. Heat rushed to my face, and my mouth went dry.

I poured myself a glass of ice water to cool down and typed, "It's not like that. You're really handsome, but we don't have to rush to meet. We go to the same college anyway.

"I just got into your school, and in a few days, when the semester starts, we'll finally see each other."

After I sent the message, the chat stayed quiet for a moment. Then, my phone started to vibrate.

I cleared my throat before hitting the answer button.

I made my voice a little higher and said, "Hi."

A low, unhurried voice came through on the other end of the line, "Hey, this is Troy."

My heart jumped. I touched the warm edge of my ear and said softly, "I know."

"So, does this mean we are a thing now?"

"But you don't even know what I look like. What if I'm ugly? Would that bother you?"

"No," Troy said without hesitation.

My cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

Logan had said the same thing, and he still ended up badmouthing me behind my back.

When I stayed quiet, Troy finally spoke in an unhurried voice, "Zoey, I don't want to lie to you. I've actually seen you before."

He'd seen me before? Where?

There was no way someone as striking as Troy wouldn't have stayed in my memory.

My mind scrambled for answers as he continued, "The reason I was in such a hurry to make things official is because I know you went to Vayport recently. I figured you probably went to see Logan."

I felt even more thrown. "He doesn't even know I went to see him. How did you find out?"

Troy fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Because he's been looking for you everywhere online."

He sent me a link.

I frowned and opened it, finding a slightly blurry photo.

I was in the back of a cab with my forehead pressed to the cold window, neon colors spilling across my face. It looked quietly beautiful and a little lonely.

The caption on the post said, "Okay, I need everyone's help with this. Vayport, night of the 7th, Sizzlebone BBQ. I met this woman who knocked the wind out of me, and now I'm stupidly into her.

"I even ran after her cab and still couldn't catch up. Please, I'm begging you. If anyone can help me find her, I will do anything for you!"

When I reached the last line, I ended up laughing.

I glanced at the calendar. There was still a week left before school started, and I was honestly looking forward to it.