Page 45 of Frosting and Flames

“Yes, you are. And I’m here for it. Spite is fun. Remember that time our neighbor played loud music all night when you were trying to study for an exam, so you aimed your stereo speakers at their wall at six a.m. to get back at them? Or when you reported Brittany for having a dog in her room because she kept hogging the washers and dryers all day?”

My lips compress. Damn it. “That was college. I’ve matured since then.”

“No, you haven’t. And I loved when you did those things. Sometimes you have to fight bad behavior with bad behavior. They won’t understand they did anything wrong if you take the high road.” She motions toward herself. “Come on. Take the low road with me. Think of all the shit Kyle put you through. Don’t you want to get back at him in some tiny way? This is the first time he’s seemed affected by your breakup. You have to take advantage of it.”

Her impassioned speech stirs something within me. “I… I’ll bring it up to Nick and see what he says.”

She folds her fingers together in a scarily accurate imitation of Mr. Burns fromThe Simpsons. “Excellent.”

“You’re diabolical,” I tell her. “Evil overlord in the making.”

She shrugs, looking pleased, even though it wasn’t a compliment. “It’s a gift.”

She makes me pinky-swear I’ll tell her the moment Kyle texts me, then leaves.

If he even tells me, I think. I doubt he’ll admit to spying.

I mess around on the video doorbell app for a while and do some googling, but can’t find anything that’ll tell me if the software logs when a user watches footage. Guess it’s not a feature, though it’d be helpful in my case.

Setting my phone down, I rest my head against the couch cushions, going over everything that happened. What has Jae gotten me into? I swear I should’ve learned my lesson by now with her.

Even so, I think back to that moment of euphoria as Jae and I had busted up laughing at what I had said comparing Nick’s dick to Kyle’s. How I’d felt on top of the world, victorious against a fight I hadn’t realized I wanted to be a part of.

In a way, it’s like Kyle “won” our breakup. He was the one who initiated it and moved on with someone else right away. Now he’s seemingly living his best life with a happy family on the way, unaffected by what he put me through.

It’s me who’s been in a holding pattern, having to passively accept everything. Me doubting myself when it comes to trusting anyone new.

What he’s done… it deserves some spite. Maybe Jae is rubbing off on me more than I thought.

Nick said he was one hundred percent on board with our other prank, but will he be with this?

And if he is, will I actually go through with it?

CHAPTER TWELVE

NICK

Iscrub at the counter, attempting to remove the unidentifiable hardened gunk stuck on there. What even is this stuff?

The front door opens and a moment later, Tanner pops his head in the kitchen. “Are you cleaning?”

I’d take offense to his confusion, but he has a point. Cleaning has never been a priority for either of us. But that’s left us with a junky, gunky house that I need to make look better in only—I check the time—three hours. Which sounds like a lot of time, but we’ve really let this place go. Especially since neither of us has brought a girl back here in… a while.

“Rachel’s coming over later.” I give up on the spot I was cleaning and move on to another.

Even without looking at Tanner, the surprise on his face is evident. “Like a date?”

My belly dips low for a moment, imagining it is. More like wishing.

“No. We’re making chili.”

When she’d texted suggesting today, I’d jumped on the chance. Her only request had been that we do it at my house.

“Okay…” His confusion is back. “I’m not going to ask.”

“It’s for a fundraiser we’re planning.”

Damn it. This spot won’t come up either. I need some kind of scraper.

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