Page 13 of Get Even

I laughed and she grinned as I peeked up at her from beneath the hood of the blanket I’d found on the sofa. I was pretty sure it was Liv’s but she didn’t seem to mind. Just tucked the hood in closer around my head as we lamented the perfection of the Salvatore brothers.

CHAPTERSEVEN

R U MINE? - ARCTIC MONKEYS

I’d spentmost of the week dodging sorority girls out for my blood, trying not to antagonize Davis further and meeting up with Ry just enough to maintain our ruse. I’d met him after his psych class yesterday and we’d walked toCocoa & Rumtogether for coffee, which would have been fine had Taylor not been in there waiting for her order. Her presence had quickly dampened any sort of heat that might have been kindling between Ryan and me, though maybe I should have been thanking her for killing the buzz before I could get in too deep.

I’d been lounging on the couch for the past hour, pretty much just staring into space while I avoided working on the essay that was due very imminently. It was hard to have motivation to do any work when Davis was likely to fail me just on principle. My phone buzzed from across the room and I happily ignored it. I'd had to pare back a lot of my socials recently thanks to Aaron the jackass, people apparently couldn’t get enough of my naked picture. Who knew? But there were only so manyHey beautifulDMs I could take. My mom hadn’t messaged again since Monday and I’d felt a horrible relief at the fact and then a surge of guilt for good measure. My phone vibrated twice more against the dining room table propped in the corner near the kitchen and I sighed, heaving myself up to grab it. The first two alerts were promo emails forThe Boxbut the third…

Ryan:So what are you wearing?

I huffed a laugh and threw my phone down onto the sofa just as Liv walked in, arms full of textbooks.

“Hot date?” I called as she set them down onto the wooden dining table that stood in the corner of the room just outside of the kitchen.

She threw me a look as they thumped down, “Oh yes, my ideal Friday night involves staying in with these hotties.”

I hummedLivin’ La Vida Locaas I picked up my phone again and peered down at Ry’s message. Three small dots appeared and a grin pricked at my mouth as I waited.

Ryan:The black set from last week?

I snorted and ignored the heat rising from my cheeks as I impatiently brushed my fringe out of my eyes.

Jamie:I fed those to the fire.

Ryan:So… you’re naked then?

Jamie:Wouldn’t you like to know.

Liv flicked through her textbook and sighed, whatever she was reading clearly not interesting in the least. I shook my weed box at her and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” I said cheerfully as I took out my red grinder and promptly dropped it – empty, thankfully – when my phone buzzed again.

“Who’s messaging you?” Liv raised her eyebrows as she took in my blush. “It’s not Aaron, is it?”

I recoiled, “What? No. Why would I get back with him after he leaked a nude photo of me all over the internet?”

She shrugged, “People do dumb stuff for love.”

I wrinkled my nose, unsure that what Aaron and I’d had could really be consideredlove.My phone buzzed with another reminder and I bit my lip, “Um, it’s Ryan.”

Ryan:You’re right. I would.

Jamie:Nudes are reserved for non-fake boyfriends.

Ryan:Who’s faking?

I cleared my throat as I read his message again, unsure how to respond and so instead locked my phone.

Liv’s eyes widened at whatever she saw on my face before she laughed, “This is going to be messy.”

“That’s sort of the point,” I said, annoyed. “It’ll piss Aaron off, plus I told you what Professor Dick said – my reputation needs a little TLC.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing,” she said quietly and I glanced down at my phone again as it buzzed against my thigh.

“Come on, put down those textbooks.”

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