“I’m sorry, but if my parents don’t like you, we can’t date. That’s just the way it is.”

Well, fuck me.

“But if they do, you’ll definitely date me?” I clarify.

I’m not going through this song and dance unless I have a guarantee.

Edging closer, she skims her finger along my chest.

It’s a move that draws all my focus elsewhere.

Closing the distance between us, I cup her cheek. “Is that a yes?”

She’s so silent you could hear a pin drop.

My heart hammers in my chest when she leans in. “I wouldn’t date you if you were the last guy on earth, asshole.”

Before I can fully process her statement, white hot pain shoots through my groin and she shoves me.

I’m so caught off guard I fall right back into the hot tub.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I sputter to her retreating back. “I confess my undying love for you, ask you to be my girlfriend, agree to meet your goddamn parents…and you punch me in the balls?”

Nostrils flaring, she turns. “Cut the crap. I know about the bet you made with Cortland, you motherfucking arrogant, selfish, good-for-nothing piece of douchebag shit.”

Son-of-a-bitch. Which fuckface on my team told her?

“Wow,” I note, climbing out of the tub. “How very Christian of you.”

That only fires her up more.

“Don’t you dare.” She points an accusatory finger at me. “I always knew you were a jerk, but agreeing to that bet was low. Even for you.”

She marches toward the house, but I grab her elbow.

“How did you find out? Did Courtland tell you?”

She balls her fists. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” This time when she looks at me, her eyes are glassy. “How I found out doesn’t matter. What matters is how much you hurt me. How much you keep hurting me.”

Remorse—the genuine kind—infiltrates my chest. “Tell me what I can do to fix it.”

“You can start by leaving me alone and never talking to me again.”

She heads for the patio door again, but I stop her. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

She looks at me like I’ve just asked her to drink the water in Mexico. “What part of never talk to me again don’t you understand?”

I get she’s upset, but she’s not looking at the big picture.

“You said you wanted honesty, right? Well, the only way I can give you that is if you stop walking away and hear me out.” I hold her gaze. “What I did was wrong.”

She studies me for several agonizing seconds before she waves a hand. “And?”

Isn’t me admitting I was wrong enough?

“That’s it. That’s all I got.”

She pushes me out of the way. “You’re ridiculous.” Rage flashes in her orbs. “Did you really think I would fall for your stupid flirty bullshit?” She laughs to herself. “Oh, God. Of course you did. You probably thought the fat girl would be so desperate for your attention she’d fall at your feet, huh?”

Whoa. This is an unhinged side of her I’ve never seen before. “You’re not fa—”

“Fuck you.” The finger in my face is back. “I was there when you declared it to the whole entire school, remember?”

She doesn’t understand. If I hadn’t done that, everyone would know something happened between us. “I didn’t—”

“No. Don’t stand there and try to defend or excuse what you did in order to get me to go along with your dumb bet.”

Swallowing my pride, I whisper, “I’m sorry.”

“Take your apology and shove it, Covington. I want nothing to do with you. Not now. Not ever.”

My stomach knots. I’m losing.

I can’t lose.

“Then make me pay,” I say in a last-ditch effort before she leaves. “If you agree to be my girlfriend, it would not only make me eat my words publicly, it would give a giant middle finger to everyone who ever made fun of you. All the people who think you’re not pretty or skinny enough to land a guy like me.”

Chapter 15

Sawyer

Just when I think it can’t get any worse…it does.

“Good Lord, you’re conceited.”

My nemesis nods. “True, but you can’t deny how good it would feel to see the expression on Casey and her little minions’ faces when they find out we’re together.”

I hate the tiny part of me that agrees with his statement. But it’s still not a good enough reason to help him.

Not after what he’s done.

“Sorry, champ. There’s nothing you can say to make me change my mind about dating you.”

“What if I give you money?”

Jesus. That’s downright insulting. “Do I look like some kind of hooker?”

The expression on his face would be endearing if he wasn’t such a dick. “I didn’t…that’s not what I meant.”

Popping my hands on my hips, I glare at him. “Then what exactly did you mean?”

He blinks. “You’re poor, right?” Before I can scream my head off, he holds up his hands. “I’m not trying to insult you. I’m just stating facts.”

“Oh, well, I have a few facts for you, sunshine.” I start ticking things off with my fingers. “One, you’re a—”

“Motherfucking arrogant, selfish, good-for-nothing piece of douchebag shit,” he finishes, repeating my words back to me. “Duly noted.”

Evidently, the boy can listen.

“Great.” I gesture to the door. “I’m going inside. Don’t follow me.”

I’ve barely taken a step when he calls out, “Sawyer, wait.” Grabbing me by the shoulders, he spins me around. “I know I don’t deserve your help, but I need it. I need you.” He comes closer. Too close. “Tell me what I have to do to get you.”

The ice around my heart starts to thaw a little.

“Tell me something real,” I utter, my heart in my throat. “Something that hurts.”

For the last three years, I’ve wanted nothing more than to crack Cole Covington wide open and see what’s inside.

The real him.

Not the fake version he shows everyone else.

He opens his mouth to speak, then clamps it shut.

“Never mind.” I detest the disappointment brewing in my chest. Just this once, I was hoping he’d prove me wrong. “I should have known better.”

“I can’t—”

“Can’t…or won’t?”

“Can’t,” he whispers.

“Then that makes two of us.”

The look he gives me pierces my soul. “My—” A group of people walk out onto the patio at that moment.

“Lucky Seven!”

Without missing a beat, Cole juts his chin at the group. “What’s good?”

Whatever. I’m so over this.

I start toward the door yet again, but his hand swallows mine and he tugs me toward the tiny outdoor changing room.

“What the hell are you doing?”