“What is his deal?” I demanded. I’d dropped any pretense of being coy and sweet and Simone’s head jerked back in surprise at the sudden change.
Hellooo. Actress here. Deal with it.
I crossed my arms and watched her squirm.
“I, uh…I don’t know…”
“Of course you do.” I glared at her. “Don’t play dumb with me. We might not be friends, but we’ve worked on enough shows together that I know you’re not an idiot. You’re a talented artist and you’re in all the AP classes—”
“Um, thank you?”
“So do not pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.” I nodded toward the door where Jax just left. “He’s up to something.”
She opened her mouth as if to protest but I didn’t give her the chance.
“He’s being super obvious so don’t bother denying it.”
Her mouth clamped shut. After a moment of silence, she sighed wearily. “He is being super obvious, isn’t he?”
It was a rhetorical question so I stayed silent and let her stew. I watched her chew on her lower lip as she seemed to think something over. Finally, she sighed. “Okay, fine. He’s going to kill me, but I told him from the start that I didn’t approve so he’ll just have to deal with it.”
My whole body tensed as I waited for a blow. “You didn’t approve of what, Simone?”
She took a deep breath and met my gaze evenly. “Ryan bet Jax that he couldn’t get you to date him for more than two weeks.”
My insides felt hollow, but I managed to keep my expression even as I stared back at her. The blow felt like a sucker punch and it left me winded.
It left me sick.
I had to swallow to keep from gagging on bitter bile.
Making bets about me? Trying to trick me into liking him? That was just so…so…mean.
I never deluded myself into thinking Jax liked me all that much after I’d ended things, but I never thought…I never imagined…
I swallowed again, my gaze dropping to the floor.
I never thought he hated me.
Simone reached a hand out and dropped it before she could touch me. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. Of course I was all right. I now knew the truth, and it wasn’t like I’d had any great friendship with Jax that could be ruined. My feelings were a little hurt, that was all, but what a great reminder of what high school boys were all about, right?
This right here?
An excellent reminder of why I never dated for real. I could only imagine how I would have felt if I’d actually liked Jax. If I’d honestly had feelings for him.
I would have been gutted.
I would have been heartbroken.
Something Lola had said at the scholarship meeting in August came back to me. Boys were a distraction. They were nothing but a distraction. Relationships—real relationships—were just something that would stand in the way of my career.
“Rose, I’m so sorry,” Simone said quickly, her voice low and quiet and filled with urgency. “I should never have told you and I—”
“No,” I cut her off. “You absolutely should have told me. I’m glad you did.”
And I was glad to hear that my voice sounded even. Totally unconcerned, even. None of that gutted, hurt sensation had crept into my voice and I even managed a smile. “I’m really glad you did. Thank you, Simone.”
She took a deep breath, but she still looked wary. “I’ll tell Jax that you know so he should just—”
“Don’t you dare.” I tried to soften the harsh words with a grin. “I just mean…please don’t.”
Her eyes widened. “But—”
“Please, Simone.” I reached out and clasped her hands in mine, making her wide eyes widen even more at my sudden urgency.
But honestly, now that I knew the truth, I knew exactly what I had to do. It was a no brainer. “Let me teach him a lesson.”
We stood there staring at each other for a long moment as Simone thought it over. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “He’s not a bad guy, he’s just…” She shrugged with a little grimace. “He’s just a guy.”
Despite everything, I laughed. “Yeah, well—guy or not, he doesn’t get to hurt me.”
She nodded but as she walked away, I realized she hadn’t promised not to tell him I knew.
But then again—she hadn’t said she would either.
A slow smile tugged at my lips as I thought about how to get my revenge. The player of Lakeview High wanted to play games?
Well then…game on.
7
Two Years Ago: The First Kiss
Jax
You’re the one that I want…
The movie sucked. Her mom was just plain terrible. And the music assaulting my ears right now was enough to make my ears bleed.
And yet…this might have been the best night of my life.
Rose was cuddled up against me, my arm around her shoulders in the dark living room. Her mom had finally left us alone—according to Rose, she’d left for the night and wouldn’t be back until late or maybe even the next morning.
We were alone. And Rose was in my arms. And I was…happy.
Happier than I’d ever been. We’d been laughing and talking all night. I’d hooked up with girls before, but I’d never hung out with one before. Not like this. It was like hanging with a friend, but also not because there was this tension…this excitement.
She made me laugh one second and then stole my breath the next with a flirty look or a subtle touch.
One minute we were talking about music and art and how I’d started learning guitar and how she was hard at work rehearsing for this play, and then the next we were sitting there in this thick silence that was filled with anticipation.
It was a trip. This whole week had been like this. Ever since the party we’d been spending every free moment together and texting or talking on the phone when we were apart. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her and Rose…
Well, she seemed to feel the exact same way.
“So?” she said as she
