Page 91 of The Playbook

“What are you doing, Nikki?”

Without further warning, she went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. Stunned, it took me a moment before I managed to get my head together and shove her away from me.

“No,” I said, my gaze darting to the door. “I have a girlfriend.”

“So? You had one when you started the playbook.”

“We were just casual, not official,” I said, holding her by the waist to keep distance between.

“No. Grace is casual. She’s just a bet, Logan.”

“She was,” I said.

She bit her bottom lip. “You cheated on me with her.”

“Untrue,” I breathed out, desperate to get out of there. “You said we were over. You said you needed space over the summer. We weren’t together.”

“Tell you what. If you want us to be over, kiss me one last time so I have a good memory of our last goodbye. I won’t tell your little nerd about the playbook. I won’t tell her how she was just a bet you were trying to win. I won’t say a word and ruin your life.”

I stared down at her, the panic real.

“Don’t you love Grace?”

I blinked, my heart hurting. “Yes.”

“Then do this, so you can run off and have your little happily ever after with her. Kiss me one last time.”

I swallowed and pushed her away. She stumbled back as I made my way to the door.

“Logan.”

I paused at her door, my hand on the knob and my heart in my throat.

“The door is locked. No one will know. One last time and your secret is safe.”

My hands shook as I stared at the door in front of me. Panic flowed freely through me. I was desperate for Grace to not find out she started out as atask. I was a fucking idiot for severely underestimating Nikki. Maybe if I just found Grace and took her back to that spot in the woods we’d found on the way here I could tell her everything. I could make everything right, convince her that I love her and a bet didn’t matter to me.

“She’ll never forgive you if she finds out she was picked because she was the biggest waste of space at Oakwood. You know that, Logan. You know she won’t forgive you. Finding out will gut her. Do you really want her to hurt like that? Do you really want to lose her. . . forever? You’ve fucked her. I know you did. Made her fall in love. The final task is public humiliation. Are you ready to finish what you started?”

My breath hitched in my chest at Nikki’s words, my drunk mind racing. I would lose her. Grace wouldn’t want me anymore. But if I did this, she wouldn’t want me either.

“She’ll never find out,” Nikki said, coming to stand behind me and taking my hand in hers. “I swear to you. Just do this, and your secret will be safe forever.”

I swallowed and let my other hand drift from the doorknob. I turned to her, sickness washing up my throat.

“OK,” I managed to choke out. “But you have to fucking swear it, Nik. She can’t ever know any of this shit.”

Nikki nodded solemnly and tugged me back to her bed where she pushed me down onto the mattress. I went, feeling disgusting and worthless. She straddled my lap, her fingers in my hair as her mouth descended on mine in a deep kiss that made bile burn my throat.

But it wasn’t the burning that hurt the most. It was the fact I was doing this because I’d fucked up and I knew if Nikki didn’t keep her word, it could end everything.

I couldn’t lose Grace. I just couldn’t.

CHAPTER43

Grace

Ichecked my phone. It had been almost an hour since Logan had left me here. I got up from my chair on the patio and glanced around. Ryan immediately came over with a stumbling Lana and lowered her in my seat.

---