Page 69 of Even Exchange

“Wow, no hi?” I tease, heart stuck in my throat. “Or how are you?”

“What did you do?” he asks with a sigh, obviously not buying my decoy tactic.

“Give me a sec.” I groan. “Want to wait till I’m at my cabin.”

“Are you almost here?”

“Yes, I’m around th…” The words evaporate off my tongue as I spot a dark-haired, handsome man leaning up against my door with a phone to his ear.

“Surprise,” Noah says, grinning, and I rush forward, leaping in his arms. He catches me easily as I sigh into his neck, absolutely relieved to see my best friend. Especially after the day I’ve had. He smells like basil, cedarwood, and home.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I mumble into his neck, holding tightly. “I thought I wasn’t gonna see you for at least a month.”

He chuckles, setting my feet back on the ground. “I couldn’t wait that long.”

Me either.

After unlocking the cabin door, I lead us inside and away from prying eyes. “Did you already hear the fuck-up I made and speed here?” I groan, dragging a hand across my face. “Is it really that bad?”

“Char.” His tone is unamused. “Please explain before I have a coronary.”

My legs take on a mind of their own, pacing the small room. “Basically what happened was I ran into Jonathan, and he was all, ‘Let’s talk’ and I was like, ‘No thanks,’ and then he was like, ‘Why not?’ and I was like?—”

He grabs my arm and softly tugs me toward him. “The CliffsNotes version.”

I look into Noah’s steady eyes and take a deep breath. “I told Jonathan to go fuck himself.”

A smug smile graces his lips. “Good.”

“Yes.” My jaw clenches. “But then he got all condescending and shit. And that girl he slept with showed up.”

“Why’s she here?” he asks, as surprised as I was.

“Apparently, she’s a cheerleader.”

“Oh.” His lips press together. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that this summer.”

His reminder that it’s going to be for theentirecamp is not comforting. “Me too.”

“So I’m not really seeing the fuck-up part?” he presses, rubbing a hand along my back distractingly.

“Well…” I shift on my heels.Here we go.“I also told Jonathan you and I are dating.”

Noah fights a smile and fails spectacularly. “Oh yeah?”

“Mm-hmm,” I hum as he lets go of my hands and they drop to my sides.

“Why’d you do that?” His amused eyes narrow on me, making me squirm.

“That girl.” I toy with the hem of my shorts. “They’re dating. And it made me feel so inferior.” For a moment a flicker of sadness stings my chest, and I douse it with my rage. “And then she said something about something. And I just, I said I wasn’t single, and Jonathan asked who. I wanted to piss him off, and I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry. Shit. I didn’t mean to bring you into this. I just thought?—”

“Take a breath,” Noah says, lips parting as he sucks air in slowly. I copy his movements, inhaling deeply, chest rising opposite his. He counts down from three as I exhale, the movement calming me. “Charlotte.” He shakes his head with a soft laugh. “I willhappilyfake date you to throw a middle finger to your ex.”

My eyes snap to his, oxygen stuck in my lungs once more. “Really?”

“Of course.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “People are gonna have questions, Noah. It has to be believable or it’s pointless.”

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