Page 83 of Bad Crush
“Maverick, why do you like this game so much exactly? You’ve had to drink every single time,” Rhett asks. His experiences are a lot more limited than the rest of us since he’s dated Carrie for so long.
“Precisely. Plus, I’m an open book, but the shit you can find out about your friends with a little I’ve never is gold. Like who would have thought you and Carrie have tried anal?”
Rhett’s face turns red.
“I have one,” Ginny says and lowers her gaze to the floor as she continues, “I’ve never been engaged.”
Maverick, Rhett, and Dakota look around the circle to see who is going to drink.
“Who is it? And how do I not know about this?” Dakota asks. She looks at Mav.
He raises his hands. “No way, sweetheart. Not me.”
“Not me,” Ginny and Heath say at the same time.
Mav and Dakota look to Rhett. “No. Definitely not.”
Slowly, Reagan lifts her drink to her lips, and I do the same.
“What?!” Dakota screeches. Her voice bounces off the walls. “You two are engaged?”
“Fake engaged,” we say at the same time. Then we have to tell the entire story. Honestly, I figured they all knew. Especially Dakota.
“Wait, only Ginny knew?” Dakota asks.
“And Heath,” Ginny says.
Mav looks hurt. “Bro?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was such hot gossip, and I figured the rest of you already knew if I did. I’m never the one in the know first.” He shrugs.
Dakota excuses herself and heads toward the kitchen.
“I should go talk to her.” Reagan places a chaste kiss on my lips and stands.
I grab her hand and tug her back down. Her cheeks and legs are red from the sun, and her hair falls in waves over her shoulder. She’s all sun-kissed and glowing, and it’s been a long day with our friends where I haven’t been able to kiss or talk to her like I want. I have this uncontrollable urge to tell her how I feel. That this thing between us is so much more than I could have imagined.
That I’m falling for her.
She smiles. “I’ll be right back, stud.”
“I’m going to bed. Meet you there. Hurry.”
24
Reagan
You can’t always push forward. Give yourself space and time. Wait for the right moment.
Ginny followsme into the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d told her by now.”
“It’s okay,” I say. Dakota’s cleaning up, tossing empty beer cans in the trash, and basically just avoiding my gaze. “I’m so sorry you found out this way.”
“How could you not tell me about this?” When she finally looks up, I see just how hurt she is by her expression, and I feel twice as awful.
“I was going to tell you, but I was so humiliated over the entire thing. I didn’t even plan to tell Ginny, but she coerced it out of me.”
“It’s my sweet and innocent face,” she says. “People always want to tell me their secrets.”
