[BOOK2]
Friendship built their world. Love will break it open. ❤️
*****
I want her.
I want her more than I've ever wanted anything.
But I can't have her. Because the moment I admit that out loud, the moment I risk everything we've built, I could lo...
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The noise in Hastings barely registers. Laughter, clinking glasses, music thudding from the old speakers—it all blends into background static. My focus is razor sharp on one thing: getting what we need. Evidence. A crack big enough to wedge the truth out of Peyton and Jake.
I hate that it's come to this. Hate that every step of the plan feels like walking barefoot across glass. Isla's already been through enough, and here I am about to let another girl's lips touch mine, even if it's for survival. My gut twists, but I set my jaw. If I have to stomach this to clear my name, I will.
Peyton tilts her head, eyes glittering under the dim lights like she's about to hand me a gift she knows I don't deserve. Her voice lowers into a whisper meant to feel dangerous.
"You know, Theo... Jake always said you were too easy. That you'd never notice."
My stomach knots, but I force my expression into a lazy grin. "Never notice what?"
She laughs softly, brushing off the question with a flick of her hand. "Just... how easy it is to get under your skin. How one little mistake can cost you everything."
The words crawl under my skin, burrow deep. I lean closer, swallowing my disgust, making her believe she's pulling me in. "Guess I learned that the hard way."
Her smirk widens, smug and syrupy. "And lucky for you, I was there to help you through it."
It's not a confession. Not directly. But close. Close enough to make bile rise in my throat.
"Why don't you come by my dorm tomorrow?" she murmurs, nails dragging lightly over my chest. "We can... talk. Without an audience."
Before I can deflect, she stretches on her toes and presses her mouth to mine. Wet. Desperate. Suffocating. My whole body recoils, but I keep still. If I shove her off too soon, we lose her trust. So I let it last a few seconds, just long enough for her to think she's won, then pull back with a crooked grin I don't feel.
"Can't wait."
"Good." Satisfaction drips from her voice as two girls call her name. She blows me a kiss and struts off, hips swaying like she just claimed victory.
The second she's gone, I sag back against the wall. My lips are coated in her gloss, my throat thick with her perfume, and all I want is to scrub the taste away.
Though my feelings of disgust are quickly pushed aside when I see Isla walking this way, eyes locked on me like she could set me ablaze with one look. Lewis and Becca trail behind her, both tense, like they're keeping pace with a storm they know they can't control.
"Theo." Isla's voice slices through the pub noise, sharp enough to make people turn their heads. "Seriously?"
"Luna." My voice comes out low, steady, even when I'm anything but. "Come on—it meant nothing. You know that."
