Page 22 of The Bet

“Yes.”

“For video evidence of sex?”

“Yes.”

“Good lord, that bitch is crazy.” Kameron shakes his head. “I’ve got to apologize to Chloe. I don’t want her to think I’m a jerk.”

“I’ll tell her. She needs to know Tabitha was behind it.” Sweat breaks out on my forehead. Chloe deserved the truth, even if it makes the situation between us worse.

“Fine. I’ve got to find Tabitha and get my God damn phone back.” He shakes his head in disgust. “I can’t believe she is still harboring some high school grudge. That’s so childish.”

After he leaves, I pace the floor from the table to the sink. How’s she going to take the bet never existing? Or at least never happening with Kameron. Will she be relieved or even more hurt?

Chapter Sixteen

Chloe

As I put up baking supplies, I hear a knock on the door.Rich.My heart skips a beat. It’s pathetic how much I’ve missed him over the last day. What does he want? To finish the bet. Do I want to have sex with him again? That’s a stupid question. Of course, I do.

I rush to the door, turn the knob, and yanked it open for him. “Hi.” My voice sounds more breathless than I expected. I clear my throat and try to act nonchalant.

“Hey.” He blinks and shuts the door behind him with his foot. “Did Jenna talk to you last night?”

“Yes. She said she was coming home this weekend.”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t wait to see her. It’s been months.” I clench my hands together at my waist to keep from advertising how nervous I am. I haven’t been this anxious since my first public speech.

“About last night…”

“Yes?”Please, don’t say it was a mistake.

“It was all a lie.”A lie?

“What was a lie?” My entire body feels heavy. Whatever he means, I can tell it isn’t good. It’s not going to be holding hands and kissing as we watch the sunset together.

“The bet.”

“You didn’t take it?” Did he go back and tell Kameron that the bet was off? Why hadn’t he said something to me? I walk to the other side of the island to put some space between us.

“No. There was no bet.”

“I don’t understand. I saw the messages.”Did Rich and Jim get together to set me up?My stomach heaves. I swallow the bile rising in my throat and dig my fingernails into my palms. The floor rises and falls in front of me as dizziness threatens to jump up and smack me in the face.

“Kameron didn’t send it.”

What the fuck? That can’t be true. What game is he playing?“Then, who did?”

“Tabitha Young.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Are you and Tabitha are a thing?”

“No. That’s fucking crazy.” Rich places his hands on the island and leans across it.

“I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“You saw Kameron and Tabitha together. They’ve been dating for a while. I guess her phone broke and he gave her his old one to use. She was the one that made a wager with both Jim, and then, with me.”

---