Diamonds in the Rough

by Michelle Madow

  “Wow,” Savannah said. “I remember that dinner, when Oliver’s mom encouraged him to ask Courtney to that event, but I had no idea about what was going on with you and Oliver. Courtney didn’t, either. She wouldn’t have gone with him if she did.”

  “I know,” Peyton said. “I never blamed Courtney.”

  “Oliver’s such a jerk.” Savannah huffed and crossed her arms. “It was probably part of his stupid plan to try sleeping with all of us.”

  “His mom did seem intent on him taking Courtney to the event, but I thought I liked him at the time, and I was pissed about it,” she said. “I was going to tell Courtney that night, but she didn’t come to Luxe with us because she wasn’t feeling well. But Oliver was there, so I asked him why he didn’t ask me to the event, and we got into a big fight. He was a total ass—he said he wasn’t interested in me, but that he might be interested in Courtney, and he gloated about how he could easily get her to fall for him. I said there wasn’t a chance in hell that Courtney would be interested in him, especially once I told her how he’d already hooked up with me.”

  “What did Courtney do when you told her?” Savannah asked. “And why didn’t either of you tell me about this?”

  “I never told Courtney. I haven’t told anyone until now.”

  “What?” Savannah’s eyes bugged out. “Why not?”

  “Because Oliver…made a bet with me.” Peyton chewed the inside of her cheek—this was the part Savannah might take the wrong way. “He said if I didn’t tell Courtney about our conversation and I was right about her not falling for him, he would do any one task I asked of him. If Courtney did fall for him, I would have to do one task he asked of me. But I knew Courtney wouldn’t go for him, so I took him up on it.”

  “Then Courtney kissed Brett at the grand opening,” Savannah said. “So Oliver lost the bet. But why didn’t you tell Courtney afterward?”

  “If she’d known that Oliver and I had a thing first, she would have felt bad about going out with him,” Peyton said. “But it was over—Courtney wasn’t interested in Oliver, and I wasn’t interested in him anymore, either. So I let it drop.”

  “If I were in Courtney’s place, I would want you to tell me.” Savannah bit her lower lip. “What if he says something to her first?”

  “Oliver wouldn’t brag about losing a bet,” she said. “Besides, you’re not asking the important question.”

  “What question?”

  “I won the bet. Aren’t you curious about what I asked Oliver to do?”

  “Sure,” she said. “What was it?”

  Peyton paused for dramatic effect, then said, “I haven’t asked him to do anything yet, because I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment. And that time is now. I can use my winning the bet to get back at Madison.”

  “How?” Savannah scrunched her forehead. “Are you gonna ask Oliver to do something to Madison? Because they’re really good friends…. can’t imagine him turning on her.”

  “Just wait and see—I have a plan.”

  Peyton picked up her phone and took a deep breath—could she really do this? Then she glanced at the Campusbuzz post again, and fresh anger surged through her veins. Madison couldn’t say that crap about her and her sisters without any consequences.

  She opened her messages and texted Oliver.

  I know what I want you to do for the bet.

  His reply came seconds later.

  finally. care to share???

  Meet me at the rooftop pool at the Diamond residences and I’ll tell you…

  be there in 15. looking forward to hearing what u got planned ;)

  She placed her phone beside her and smiled. He wouldn’t be happy when he realized what she had in store for him. But if he had the balls to follow through—which she suspected he did—Madison would get the payback she deserved. She would learn she couldn’t publicly bully the Diamond sisters and get away with it.

  “Are you going to tell me this plan, or leave me wondering?” Savannah asked.

  “Oliver will get here soon,” she said. “Once he does, you’ll see for yourself.”

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, Oliver strolled through the pool entrance in his Ray-Ban Wayfarer shades, a towel thrown over his shoulder like he owned the place. He smirked when he saw them, tossed the towel onto the chair next to Peyton’s and peeled off his T-shirt to reveal his toned, tanned chest. It was impossible not to watch his every move. The waitress came over to take his drink order, and he flashed his fake ID and asked for a mojito.

  “Put it on my tab,” Peyton said, and the waitress hurried off to get his drink. She smiled at Oliver, reminding herself that she was the one in charge. “Glad you could make it.”

  “It’s been a while,” he said. “I guess you told Little Diamond about our deal?”

  Savannah frowned, her petite features pinched. “You’re only one year older than me.”

  “Feisty.” Oliver laughed. “I like it.” The waitress came back with his mojito, and he took a long sip.

  “I did tell Savannah.” Peyton settled into her chair, enjoying how carefree Oliver was right now. She couldn’t wait to see his shift in attitude once she told him her plan. “And I have the perfect task for you.”

  “What’ll it be?” He rubbed his hands together, looking ready to take on anything. “It’s taken you long enough, so this better be good.”

  “I want you to have sex with Madison.”

  “Whoa.” Oliver put his hands out. “Madison and I have been friends since lower school. She doesn’t think of me that way, and I don’t think of her that way.”

  “That makes you one of the few guys at school who doesn’t.” Peyton knew that Madison and Oliver were only friends—it was part of what made this task perfect. “But you like to brag about how you can get any girl to fall for you. If that’s true, then Madison will be your biggest challenge yet.”

  “Look, Peyton, seriously now.” Oliver’s voice shook, and he ran his hand through his hair. “This is about more than that. Madison would kill me if she knew I was telling you, but she’s a virgin. She wants her first time to be special or whatever. I can’t take that from her because of a bet.”

  Peyton nodded, since she’d only been in Vegas for a few months, and even she knew that Madison was a virgin. Everyone at school knew. ….eople talked about it on Campusbuzz. It was the fact that Madison’s first time would be because of a bet—and the heartbreak that would follow when Peyton spilled the truth to her afterward—that would make this revenge perfect.

  But her breath hitched at the reminder of what she was taking away from Madison. For the rest of Madison’s life, she would have to live with having lost her virginity in this awful way. Was it too extreme? Maybe. But it never would have come to this if Madison hadn’t hated Peyton and her sisters for no reason and posted all that crap online about them. Who was to say she would ever stop the cruelty towards them…and to others? Unless someone did something, she probably wouldn’t, and she shouldn’t be able to keep getting away with it.

  “Maybe you’re the best person to take Madison’s virginity,” Peyton said, surprising herself by how calm she sounded. “If you’re such great friends, then you trust each other. It’s better that you’re her first than some guy who will use her and forget about her.”

  “Clearly you don’t know Madison if you think she would let anyone use her like that,” Oliver said.

  “Maybe not,” Peyton said. “But we had a deal, and this is the task I’ve chosen for you. I didn’t expect you to be so resistant. I mean, I’m asking you to sleep with one of the hottest girls in school. Don’t tell me that in all your years of friendship, you haven’t fantasized about her at least once.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I’ve thought,” he said, although he couldn’t look at Peyton. “I would ne
ver hurt Madison like that, or risk ruining my friendship with her. What are your other ideas?”

  Peyton was surprised; she hadn’t thought it would take this much convincing. Oliver didn’t have the reputation of being the most moral guy around. She’d originally thought of this only to get back at Madison, but now she realized it would also be payback to Oliver for the bet he’d made about her and her sisters. And despite the sinking feeling in her stomach about how awful it sounded when said aloud, she was determined for him go through with it. “No other ideas,” she said. “This is your task.”

  “What if I say no?” Oliver leaned back and sipped his mojito. “This has been entertaining, but you can’t make me do anything.”

  Peyton frowned. He was right—she couldn’t force him. She’d just assumed he would follow through because he loved to gamble, and he didn’t seem like the type to turn down a challenge.

  His smirk sent fire through her veins.

  “Courtney told us about your conversation with her yesterday during Habitat—about how your parents are going to send you to boarding school if you get in any more trouble for partying,” Savannah chimed in.

  “What’s it to you?” Oliver asked.

  “Remember Jackie’s party Friday night?” Savannah asked, which was clearly rhetorical, since that was only two days ago. “My friend Evie and I took a bunch of pictures for her to share with our friends back home. Does this look familiar?”

  Savannah brought out her iPhone, tapped on the screen a few times and handed it to Peyton for her to show to Oliver. Peyton checked it out and smiled triumphantly. It was a perfectly timed action shot of Oliver sitting with a group of friends around a table, doing a line of coke. She sent the photo to herself for backup and handed it to him.

  His nostrils flared, his hands shaking. “This proves nothing,” he finally said. “It could be Photoshopped.”

  “But it’s not, and that won’t be anyone’s first thought if it shows up on Facebook. And if we tag your parents in the picture…” Peyton tsked and shook her head. “Off to boarding school you go.”

  Oliver tapped the screen and handed the phone back to Peyton. “Well, that’s not going to happen, because I deleted it. Nice try, though.”

  “As if I didn’t send myself a copy first.” Peyton rolled her eyes and gave the phone back to Savannah.

  “And while you two were talking, I emailed it to myself for backup,” Savannah added.

  Oliver glared at both of them. “You would really destroy my life over this?”

  “We made a deal,” Peyton reminded him, although this was going further than she’d imagined. But now she was irritated that Oliver was being so resistant—especially because the bet he’d made over the summer involved him taking Courtney and Savannah’s virginity without caring. Why should Madison’s be different to him? “I won our bet, so you have to do any task I want. I’m sorry you don’t like my choice, but I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Why do you hate Madison so much?” he asked. “I know she hasn’t been welcoming to you and your sisters, but isn’t this an extreme way to get back at someone for not wanting to be friends with you?”

  “I have my reasons, and they’re more than Madison ‘not wanting to be friends with me.’” Peyton held his gaze, remembering the awful things Madison had said about her and her sisters on that forum. And it wasn’t only that one post that she knew Madison wrote—there had been other cruel posts about them since they’d moved here. Peyton had browsed them last night. Who knew how many Madison was behind?

  “You’re going to make Madison fall for you, and then you’re going to take her virginity.” Peyton swallowed back the bitter taste in her throat, trying to ignore how harsh this sounded. “You can do it. And if I don’t think you’re trying…then that picture goes online, and off you go to boarding school.”

  “Fine.” Oliver set his jaw. “But I have one condition.”

  Peyton blinked—was he actually agreeing? But despite her doubt that this might be too extreme, she couldn’t back down now. “Name it.”

  “I’ll try to get Madison to want to sleep with me, but if she refuses, that’s it. I won’t make her do anything against her will. You might think I’m an ass, but I have never and will never go that far. Got it?”

  “I never asked you to physically take advantage of her,” Peyton said, surprised he thought she wanted him to do that. Knowing he’d believed that made her shudder. “The task is to get Madison to fall for you and to sleep with you because she wants to. But you can’t tell her about the bet and get her to play along. If you do, I will find out, and the picture will be online before you know it. This task shouldn’t be a problem for you, though. You’re infamous for getting who you want—I have faith you can pull it off.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “But I tried with Madison in middle school, and it didn’t work out for me then.”

  “I’ve seen Facebook pictures of you in middle school, so I know how much you’ve changed,” Peyton said. “You got hot, and you know it. The entire school knows it. Isn’t it time you made Madison notice, too?”

  It was hard to tell what he was thinking behind his sunglasses, but he tensed up, his hands gripping his drink and his lips pressed together. Peyton had a feeling she’d gotten to him.

  “And what great timing,” Savannah said, finishing up the last of her water. “Because here she is now.”

  Sure enough, Madison Lockhart had just strolled out the door, her flowing black cover-up blowing in the breeze. She spotted them and scowled. Peyton thought she would turn around and go to another pool, but instead she walked to the corner farthest away from them, situated herself in a lounge chair under an umbrella and pulled her iPad out of her bag. She plugged in her earbuds and focused on the screen—­probably checking the comments under her Campusbuzz post.

  “I’m not surprised Madison doesn’t want to hang out with me and Savannah, but I thought she was your best friend,” Peyton said to Oliver.

  “She is.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But something’s been off with her lately. She’s been distant. Not only to me, but to everyone.”

  Madison did look miserable, her forehead creased and her lips turned down as she focused on her iPad. But Peyton shrugged it off. Madison’s personal issues weren’t her problem.

  “Well, now’s the perfect time for you to start your task,” Peyton said, wanting to end this conversation. She was feeling worse and worse about it. And she didn’t want to feel badly, because Madison had asked for it. “It sounds like Madison needs someone to talk to—someone she can trust. Like you. And who knows where that will lead?”

  “I’m going over there, not because you want me to, but because I want to.” Oliver stood and grabbed his towel. “I would rather spend time with her than you, anyway.”

  “Good luck, Romeo.” Peyton smiled and blew him a kiss, making sure he couldn’t tell she was having second thoughts. He flung his towel over his shoulder and swaggered over to join Madison.

  Once Oliver was out of earshot, Peyton said to Savannah, “That went better than I’d expected.”

  Hopefully her sister would validate what she’d done, because Madison looked so sad and vulnerable that Peyton was feeling guiltier by the second.

  “I guess.” Savannah pulled her hair over her shoulder and tugged on the ends. “I feel bad, though. Are we taking this too far?”

  “No.” Peyton tried to sound confident. “Should I show you that website again as a reminder of what Madison said about us? About how she called us trash, sluts, and posted that video to humiliate you?”

  “No.” Savannah played with the ties of her bathing suit. “I don’t want to see it again.”

  “Good,” Peyton said. “Because neither do I.”

  “But was it too much with the picture?” she asked. “Yeah, Oliver’s a jerk, but I
would feel awful if he got sent to boarding school because of me.”

  “It wasn’t too much,” Peyton assured her. “After the way he treated me—the way he would have treated you and Courtney, too, if he’d completed that bet—he deserves whatever’s coming to him. That photo convinced him to go through with the deal. But if it makes you feel better, even if he doesn’t go through with it, we won’t put up the picture. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Savannah agreed, although she didn’t sound sure.

  Peyton jittered her legs, not sure herself. But she forced herself to be still. This was Madison they were talking about—the girl who’d been determined to bring Peyton and her sisters down since they’d moved to Vegas. Madison might be a virgin—­for now—but she was far from innocent. She couldn’t keep getting away with the crap she was pulling. Besides, Madison and Oliver might call each other friends, but there was definite chemistry between them.

  Once they hooked up, Peyton would tell Madison the truth. Then Madison’s heart would be broken, and her friendship with Oliver would be ruined.

  They would both get what they deserved.

  Chapter 12: Madison

  When Madison saw Savannah, Peyton and Oliver relaxing on lounge chairs by the pool, she wanted to leave. She’d come to the rooftop pool because it was never as crowded as the main pool, but then three of the people she wanted to avoid most were here. It was like she was cursed.

  Her second thought was: Why’s Oliver with Peyton and Savannah? He’d told her about his one-night stand with Peyton, but as far as Madison knew, they hadn’t spoken since Peyton had found out about his bet to sleep with her and her sisters. Now he was hanging out with them?

  But it would be cowardly to duck out, so Madison situated herself at the opposite corner of the pool, purposefully not facing them. She wouldn’t have minded spending time with Oliver—she missed seeing him out of school—but she didn’t want to go near the Diamond girls. Her half sisters. They were a reminder of the lies her parents had told her for her entire life. And she wasn’t allowed to tell them the truth, so every second around them would be spent pretending ignorance.