ARIA’S POV
I’m barely off the football field when I hear footsteps running behind me.
“Ari, wait!”
I don’t turn around. I keep walking, hoping he’ll get the message and leave me alone.
“Ari, please!”
The footsteps get closer, and then I feel his hand grab my wrist.
“Let me go,” I say, trying to pull away.
“Not until you listen to me.”
“I don’t want to listen to you.”
“I need to explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain. You made a bet about sleeping with me. You won. End of story.”
“It’s not the end of the story.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not. You’re not listening to the whole truth.”
“I heard enough truth.”
“You heard Caleb’s version of the truth. Let me tell you mine.”
“Let her go!”
We both turn to see Miles walking toward us, his face dark with anger.
“This has nothing to do with you,” Xander tells him.
“It has everything to do with me. You’re bothering her.”
“I’m trying to talk to her.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Let her speak for herself.”
“She already did. She told you to let her go.”
“Miles, please,” I say. “Just stay out of this.”
“I’m not staying out of anything. This guy has been using you, and everyone knows it.”
“Everyone knows what?” I ask.
“That he’s just playing with you. That this whole thing is some kind of joke to him.”
“Miles, stop.”
“Ever since that picture got taken down from the school website, everyone’s been talking about how you’re with Xander Reed and how he’s just messing with your head.”
“I said stop.”
“Your parents know too. They know you’re with him, and that’s why you refuse to—”
“What?!” I turn to face Miles, my heart pounding. “My parents?”
He nods. “They know you’re with Xander, and that’s why you refuse to get back together with me. They’re worried about you.”
“How do they know?”
“Because I told them.”
The blood drains from my face. “You told them?”
“I had to. They needed to know what kind of guy you’re involved with.”
“You had no right.”
“I had every right. I care about you.”
“You went to my parents behind my back?”
“I protected you.”
“From what?”
“From him. From being used by someone who doesn’t actually care about you.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
“Your parents agree with me. They think you’re being manipulated.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. First the bet, now this.
“The only mistake I’m regretting right now is ever dating you in the first place.”
His face flushes with anger. “You’re going to regret this, Ari. When he breaks your heart, when he moves on to the next girl, you’re going to wish you had listened to me.”
I turn away from him and start walking again.
“If you ever cross paths with me again,” I call over my shoulder, “I’ll go to the police and report you for stalking. Now leave me the hell alone.”
I hear him calling my name, but I don’t turn around. I just keep walking until his voice fades away.
But then I hear other footsteps. Xander is still following me.
“Ari, please.”
I stop walking and turn around. “What?”
“Can we please talk now? Without him interrupting?”
“I don’t know what there is to talk about.”
“There’s a lot to talk about.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that what Caleb said isn’t the whole story.”
“What part of it wasn’t true?”
“The part where he made it sound like I never cared about you.”
“Didn’t you?”
“Of course I cared about you. I care about you now.”
“But it started as a bet.”
“Yes.”
“And you took a picture of me naked as proof.”
“I took a picture because I thought you were beautiful.”
“You took it for the bet.”
“NO—”
I want to believe him. I want to believe that somewhere in all of this mess, his feelings for me became real. But I can’t get past the fact that it all started as a joke.
“I have one question,” I say finally.
“Okay.”
“And I want a yes or no answer. No explanations, no excuses, no justifications.”
“Okay.”
“Did you or did you not place a bet about sleeping with me?”
I watch his face carefully, looking for any sign of deception. I see the guilt in his eyes before he even opens his mouth.
He knows he’s caught. He knows there’s no way to spin this that makes it okay.
“Yes or no, Xander.”
He takes a deep breath, and I can see him making the decision to tell the truth.
“I did,” he says quietly. “I placed the bet.”
The words hit me like a physical blow, even though I already knew the answer.
Hearing him say it, hearing him admit it, makes it real in a way that Caleb’s cruel taunts didn’t.
30
