I hurried back upstairs midconversation, but I did hear one of them say Haze insisted the prize be Winter. Whatever it is, it can’t possibly end well. She’s been hanging out with the guys at school since. Probably to keep Haze at bay.
“Someone invited you to Bianca’s party?”
“Yeah. Blake.” She nods.
Did she just say Blake?
As in my ex who dumped me over text two weeks ago Blake?
My face must give me away because Winter asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I didn’t know you were that close with Kendrick’s friends, that’s all.”
She steps forward. “Kass. Seriously, what is it? Did I do something?”
“No, of course not.” I refuse her eye contact. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Kass?” She raises an eyebrow.
She’s not going to let this go, is she?
“I didn’t think he’d move on so fast,” I admit.
“Wait, what?” She frowns. “Who are you talking about?”
I can’t bring myself to resume, unsure if carrying down this path is a good idea. This has been a secret for so long.
Oh, to hell with it.
She would’ve found out eventually.
Collecting every drop of courage in my body, I exhale. “Blake. I’m talking about Blake.”
Confusion twists her features.
Right. She thinks I was dating Alex.
They all do.
Cornered, I tell her all about our stunt to date in secret, starting with how we got Alex to cover for us with Kendrick. She doesn’t speak for a short while, swallowing this massive pill the best she can.
Finally, she says, “What happened? Why did it end?”
“Alex said he was done lying. That we could either break up or tell Kendrick. And, well, Blake chose option number one. He refused to give me a solid reason. He said we should go our separate ways, and he sure didn’t seem to feel guilty about lying to his best friend for six months.”
“How long has it been since he ended things?”
The reminder cuts me open. Why am I this bothered? I was thinking of ending things myself, but I still can’t get over the way he treated me. No consideration, not a sliver of respect. To think I gave him my first… well, everything.
“Two weeks,” I croak.
She traps my hand into hers, sympathy clear on her face.
“Well, you know what? You’re coming with me tonight.”
I almost laugh. She has got to be kidding.
“What?”
“‘You heard me. We’re going to that party together, having fun, and showing this guy what he lost.”
Standing in front of the mirror, I debate on whether going to this party is a regular mistake… or a colossal mistake—did I mention I think this is a mistake? I’d gladly skip this cheap-beer party, but I can’t deny Winter worked wonders on me. A quick reminder that, although my cousin doesn’t bother with makeup most of the time, the girl knows her shit.
I give myself a slow, head-to-toe scan. My long blonde hair trickles down my back, the winged eyeliner Winter insisted I wear making my gray-blue eyes pop. This push-up bra is also doing my girls a big favor and my outfit molds my body in all the right places—not that my leggings have much to work with; I’m a rather petite girl.
Freshman year, some dick from the football team told me I’d be prettier with tits and an ass. I called him an idiot and went on with my day, but… it stayed with me. Crazy how one comment can turn something we’d never noticed before into a long-lasting insecurity. From that day forward, I promised myself I’d never comment on somebody else’s appearance again.
“You ready?” Winter smiles.
Hesitant, I nod, matching my cousin’s footsteps out of the house. Blake’s car is waiting out front. Not exactly my first-choice ride, I’ll admit, but it’ll have to do. Will and Kendrick are also hitching a ride. As long as I’m not alone with Blake, I’ll live.
Winter and I scramble into the back seat with my brother. Blake seems a bit startled by my presence but doesn’t comment, firing up the car. As for Will, he’s sitting in the passenger seat, feet up on the dash without a fuck given. He’s laughing at something the guys said when he sees us… Sees me. He stops dead, his eyebrows shooting up to his forehead.
My stomach sinks.
Shit, did I go overboard?
I knew the eyeliner was too much.
He’s quick to tear his gaze away, but not without sneaking a second peek through the rearview mirror. We make eye contact. You’d think he’d be embarrassed, seeing as he just got caught staring at me, but his confidence doesn’t waver one bit.
Instead, he smirks.
I can practically hear him thinking, “Hey, control freak.”
Flushed—why am I flushed?—I divert my focus to the window, fidgeting with my clothes. I can’t help wincing at the memories clinging to the car’s leather seats. This car is where Blake first asked me to be his girlfriend.
Where we first kissed.
As if being in my ex-boyfriend’s car isn’t bad enough, Blake keeps mentally undressing my cousin. He’s being so obvious Winter picks up on it right away, her shoulders shrinking in discomfort at every red light. When Blake’s eyes find the mirror for the fifth time in a row, a twinge of pain shoots across me.
At least I got my answer.
This was a colossal mistake.
Reclining against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest, I watch Zoey down her rum and Coke like it’s a chugging contest. A few hours into the party, I asked her if she thought I was a control freak—guess Will got under my skin with his stupid nickname—which resulted in her asking me why I wanted to know, which led to me telling her all about Will’s newfound passion: annoying me.
“Well, he can call me a control freak any day,” she blurts out, fanning herself with her right hand. I wince, tracking her gaze to Will and Alex destroying a jock at beer pong across the room.
“Jesus, Zoey. Could you be any louder?”
