“You’re wrong,” he argues weakly, but can hardly meet my eyes.

“Ugh. This must have been so fun for an asshole like you.” I shake my head. “What, did you look at me and say poor, pathetic, boyfriendless Demi, bet she’s naïve enough to fall for my bullshit?” His features grow stiffer. “You said you had something to gain from this, now I know what it truly was – convince me to pretend date you to weasel your way in, and then make it feel so natural, so easy, that I forget the lines between us and believe the lie. All this so you could finally say you screwed him like he has you, and fuck the collateral damage along the way, right?” My brows lift. “Literally, in our case.”

Nico’s spine shoots straight, his jaw clenching. “You don’t even know what you’re saying. How fucking backward you have it.”

“Whatever.” I sniff, looking away, suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. “You didn’t have to take it this far.” I shake my head. “You could have walked away before we got here. Unless this was your plan, fake it ‘til you break it.”

“Nothing is fucking broken!”

“I am!” I scream, my voice cracking and making a bigger joke out of me.

Suddenly, Nico is in my face, gripping mine and holding it up to his, and a strong sense of desperation flows from him to me.

“You should have told me,” I whisper, my hands coming up to clasp around his wrists. “You didn’t have to break me to win.”

“Don’t you get it?” he hisses, but the bitterness in his tone does nothing to hide the anxiety in his eyes.

It only confuses me more.

“Why I stayed away from you all this time when you know now how long I’ve wanted you? Why I went about it the fucked-up way I did?” He stresses his question. “I had to trick you into seeing me, Demi, when all I saw was you.”

“All you had to do was show me who you were, Nico. No games, no pretext. I’d have fallen either way.” I’m certain of this.

“You’re not getting it...” He trails off. “It never would have worked.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. I can’t have what I want, Demi. He takes everything.”

“Am I nothing then?” My question is instant, but my voice faint.

His face contorts, his eyes flying between mine. Nico’s words leave him on a strangled breath. “What are you talkin’ about, baby?”

I swallow, slowly pulling away from his hold and his hands fall to his side as I walk backward into the street.

“You said Alex takes everything from you, but he didn’t take me, Nico,” I whisper, a defeated shrug leaving me. “You just stood there, quiet, ready to give me right to him, like nothing.”

I turn and walk away.

There’s no doubt in my mind he’s standing there, following my every step taken, but I don’t dare look.

Once I’m around the corner and out of sight, I allow my shoulders to fall and text Krista to see if she’s home since she’s the closest house to this one, and she texts back instantly, letting me know the girls are over, so I head straight there.

Never in a million years did I think my day would end like this.

When my mom told me Ms. Hammons called and asked us over for dinner, I was shocked and confused.

I had no clue what to expect or why the sudden invitation was extended since I had no knowledge of Alex’s mom and mine ever conversing outside of social events. I tried to refuse out of respect for Nico, I knew he wouldn’t like it, but she was persistent and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I planned to tell him at school since he wasn’t answering calls, but then he no-showed again, and there was no way I was going to text him something like that.

The last thing I expected was to walk into Alex Hammons’ house and find my boyfriend’s dad standing there with a fake smile and condescending demeanor.

I would have turned and walked right out if I wasn’t so shocked. I don’t remember speaking a word until Nico’s voice rang through my ears, simultaneously soothing and irritating everything inside me.

It takes me a solid hour to get to Krista’s on foot, and I don’t even get a chance to knock before Carley is whipping the door open and tugging me inside.

Her eyes travel over me with sheer concern.

Krista and Macy come around the corner right then, both rushing over.

“What happened?” Macy tilts her head.

Krista grips my hand and pulls me toward the couch to sit, and the other two drop onto the coffee table in front of me.

My makeup must be all over my face at this point.

I went from being angry to downright sad and back again at least twenty times on the walk here.

I fall against the cushions. Closing my eyes.

“It was all fake,” I admit to them for the first time.

“What was fake?” Carley asks.

“Demi wait—” Krista starts, but I interrupt.

“Me and Nico.” Tears form behind my eyelids, so I don’t open my eyes right away, hoping they’ll disappear.

But when a familiar throat clears, they fly open, but I don’t bother sitting up.

The tears spill over, running down my cheeks as I look to him.

“Awesome,” I whisper.

“I was trying to tell you,” Krista says quietly.

Trent looks down and I manage an eye roll, but when I blink, it only makes more tears fall and I look to my lap.

There is no doubt in my mind Trent knew about Alex and never said a word.

Not that I’d expect him to give up his best friend, but I knew it was fake. He knew I knew it was fake. I just needed the heads up not to get too close.

I should have known this on my own.

He’s Nico Sykes, the star receiver, insatiable playboy, and mine?

Yeah, okay, Demi.

“She needs us right now.” Krista gets up and directs him toward the front door. “I’ll call you later,” she tells him before shutting it behind him and moving back beside me.

“You two are okay?” I ask her.

She gives a small smile, nodding. “Yeah, we are, but this is about you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I kick off my wedges, pulling my feet onto the cushion.

“Tell us what’s going on.” Carley leans forward.

I lick my lips and get right to it. “Nico and I, we weren’t really dating... it was all for show.”

“Whoa, hold on.” Macy lifts her hands. “What do you mean? Like you pretended to be together?”

“Exactly.”

“Why would you do that?” She shakes her head.

“Macy,” Krista hisses.

“What?” she snaps back. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“Well—”

“Krista, it’s fine,” I say, looking to Carley and then Macy. “Nico realized I had a thing for Alex, told me Alex was only interested in girls who were taken, and then suggested he and I pretend we were dating.”

Their eyes shoot wide.

“He said he had something to gain from it, too, but I didn’t really care what it was, so I went along with it.” I clear my throat. “Little did I know then, it was about so much more.” I look across to the girls.