Page 78 of Foolish Games

He walks away, and Sebastian raises a brow. “You’re going over to Nerd Boy’s house?”

“Yes,” I say, raising my chin. “Do you have something to say about that?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Well, keep it to yourself. We’re not together. You don’t get to tell me who to hang out with.”

“That kid’s a piece of shit. He cheated on you. Why do you want him back?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“Actually, it is,” he says, gripping my knee under the table. “If you want me to be your fake boyfriend, fine. I’ll fake it better than you have to when Chad fucks you. But you’re not going to make me look like a fool.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You think if you were really my girlfriend, I’d let you go over to your ex-boyfriend’s house? Fuck no. It’s bad enough that you’ve got me lying to all my friends. Now you want to cuckhold me in front of the whole school?”

“That’s not—”

“Of course it’s not what you meant,” he says. “You never mean anything because you never think about anyone but yourself.”

My temper flares, and I grind my teeth and glare back at him. “You’re one to talk. You clearly don’t care what I want at all. You just take what you want and assume I’m fine with it.”

He snorts. “If I was only thinking about myself, you wouldn’t have cum until you couldn’t walk straight all weekend.”

My face heats, and I glance around, noticing a few curious glances aimed our way.

“Can we not talk about this here?” I whisper.

“Why not?” he asks. “If you’re back with Nerd Boy, maybe a public breakup is just what we need. What should I say? I mean, you’ve probably already got the script written. Even a dumbass like me can memorize lines, right?”

“I don’t give you lines,” I protest.

He glares. “If I have to explain figurative language to you, maybe you’re not the person who should be tutoring me.”

“Maybe I’m not.”

We stare at each other for a minute, our gazes locked, both of us refusing to back down.

“Public breakup or private?” he asks at last.

“Private,” I say, hating the thought of what he might say in front of everyone, considering the things he said when we were supposedly dating.

“AV room,” he says, standing and storming into the familiar room.

I follow, my footsteps heavy with dread, trying to remember how we got here.

The minute I step into the room, he slams the door and backs me against it. “You really want that asshole back?” he demands, grabbing my chin and forcing my eyes to his.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I didn’t think so, but… Maybe?”

“What the fuck, Viv?” he asks. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

“This was all for him,” I remind Sebastian. “That’s why we’re doing it in the first place.”

“Bullshit,” he says, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back. He thrusts his other hand between my legs. “This has nothing to do with him and you know it.”

“It does,” I insist, because I can’t let myself trust him, can’t let myself believe it’s something more than that. It’s too complicated with him, too scary. Chaz is safe and familiar. This is… Not.

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