Page 121 of Counter Bet

I roll my head, watching his handsome profile. “I’ve been a fool, haven’t I?”

His eyes meet mine before focusing back on the road. “No, you couldn’t have known this would happen. You fell in love...” He grinds his jaw, clenching the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white. “You did nothing wrong, Em. It’s my fault. I should’ve known!” He hits the steering wheel, making me jump in my seat. “I should’ve stopped them from getting close to you.”

I shake my head. “None of this is your fault, Rick.”

He glances at me and winces. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

I sigh and lean my head back on the window, wiping away tears.

The adrenaline is wearing off, and exhaustion is taking its place. How have I been so blind? Ben and Dallas don’t know the meaning of love. How many nights did they spend planning on how to get close to me and make me fall for them so I would agree to the threesome? Was any of it real, or was it all staged to lure me in?

Ben said I wouldn’t be able to resist choking on his dick, so does that mean the afternoon we spent at the lookout was part of their plan? I went down on him…did they laugh about it afterward?

The thought makes me sick. I dry heave, clamping a hand over my mouth. My throat burns with stomach acid. Rick looks at me, eyes widening before he curses and pulls over by the roadside.

I throw open the door, fall out of the car, and proceed to spill my stomach’s content all over the dried grass. Why did I let Ben and Dallas touch me? It sickens me that I was nothing more than an object in a game they played to cure their boredom.

Rick holds my hair back as my stomach continues to contract. I would still be with him if not for Ben and Dallas. Rick and I should be busy planning our future together. He’s never hurt me and never will.

I hate myself for falling victim to Ben and Dallas and their sick games. There’s a small voice inside of me reminding me that I wasn’t happy before I met them, but I ignore it. It’s easier to shift blame than to admit that Rick and I were never in love in the first place. He offered me stability. My heart was safe with him. Right now, I value that more than this fucking heartbreak.

“Ssshh, babe. Let’s get you home.” Rick’s concerned voice brings me back to the here and now, and unfortunately, the disgusting taste of vomit in my mouth.

I let him lead me back to the car as more tears blur my vision.

I’ve screwed everything up.

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