Page 47 of Crave

“Why did I get a reward?”

His voice held a smile but I was too tired to look at his face. “You did something no one has ever done for me.”

I frowned. “What’s that?”

Adam hesitated only a moment. “You chose me.” I held my breath, sensing he was about to say more. “I love you, Landon. I fucking fell in love with you the moment I saw you in that bar. It didn’t matter if you went to Max. We both know you always belonged to me. You were just making your way there.”

I tipped my chin up to study his beloved face. Joy unfurled like a blossom opening to the sun. A trembling smile broke over my lips. “About time you said it.”

He chuckled, holding me close, and we held each other as the sun came up. It was as if we were both in a protective bubble, safe from the world and our friends and the reality waiting to attack with the day.

But it was worse than I could have ever imagined.

Because when I finally opened my phone, I found the video from last night had gone viral and Adam and I were everywhere.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Landon

Listen to Champagne Problems

by Taylor Swift

After one of the most emotional nights of my life, I climbed out of Adam's bed with a sense of purpose. He loved me. He'd said the words that broke through our last barrier, and I knew now I could face anything—even the physical distance between us in our future. Yes, I was still hurting from my friends and their choice, but it didn't matter as much after the time I spent with Adam. The bond between us felt unbreakable, and if I needed to face difficulty, having him by my side made it all possible.

But when I checked my phone to see if Elle had texted or anyone had reached out, I saw a scrolling stream of notifications that made my belly clench. I half closed my eyes and wondered if I should crawl back into bed and delay the inevitable. But Adam was already putting on coffee and I was tired being scared of the unknown.

So, I clicked on it.

The Tik Tok video blasted me like a punch to the face. Gabby had posted it to her page, and it was blowing up with likes and endless comments. The graphic screamed in red font:Love Triangle Alert! 2 Gorg Men fighting over you...check out this fight!

The video zoomed in on us. I stood close to Adam, who had me tucked behind him as if trying to protect me. The camera panned out quickly to see the group's reaction, then straight to Max's furious face. Even in anger, his thick blonde hair and perfect profile made him look like the hero in the movie rather than the villain.

In rising horror, I watched the scene play out for the world to judge. I watched me desperately trying to explain. I watched Adam boldly claim me as his. I watched Max hit Adam, and Adam's cold response. I watched the group go apeshit and get thrown out.

The camera jerked and followed as we stumbled outside, then went black.

Oh, my God. It got much worse.

Gabby's face spoke to the camera in a close up. I was struck by her presence, with her bright red hair and perfect skin; her full lips and the dramatic way she catered to the screen, as if she was sharing a big secret with a chosen, lucky few. "What do you think of Landon's choice? Yay or Nay?" she whispered.

Then she tagged all three of us.

I closed my eyes and fought nausea. What had Gabby done to all of us? Had this been her plan all along? To become part of our inner group to destroy us? Was she laughing right now at our naivete? Was this her way to gain a million more followers at my expense?

My voice shook. "Adam. You have to come see this."

He walked over with a concerned expression. "If anyone’s texting you crap, maybe you should let them cool down before responding. They're probably all still smashed and aren't thinking clearly."

"It's not that. It's much worse."

I handed him the phone. He watched the video with a tight jaw, but his eyes blazed with emotion as the video rolled on. "What the fuck," he muttered, handing it back and grabbing his own. He punched a few things out and stared in shock. "Holy crap. This isn't possible."

"What?"

"My followers. I have thousands now. They keep going up."

I brought up my own pages on IG and TikTok and my jaw almost dropped. The same thing had happened. I'd begun with 25K followers and now I was over 50K and climbing. The video had already been shared and was going viral. I'd seen this stuff before and it was like watching a train approach a wreck. I'd always wanted to be in a video that blew up and put me in the world's focus. But this was different. This was...all wrong.

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