“Everyone has to start somewhere,” he said. “And Savannah isn’t exactly a ‘normal teen’ anymore—she’s an heiress to one of the top hotel moguls in the world. With her family connections, and now the support of One Connection, she has an advantage over other singers trying to make it. Besides, I thought you wanted her to upload YouTube videos and go for her dreams?”
“I did,” Courtney said. “I still do. But there’s a difference between having a popular YouTube channel and becoming a superstar like the guys in One Connection. She needs to have reasonable expectations.”
“I guess.” He watched her closely, his eyes piercing her soul. “But it’s also important to take chances. It’s better to try and fail than to never know at all and miss out on something great.”
Courtney’s cheeks heated, and she lowered her eyes, focusing on bedazzling the phone case as intensely as a doctor performing brain surgery. Then she set the bedazzling tweezers down, and said, “Are you still talking about Savannah, or are you talking about us?”
“I was talking in general,” he said. “It applies to many situations. Ours included.”
“Right.” Courtney’s heart pounded, and she couldn’t believe what she was about to say. But it was now or never. “Well, I’ve thought a lot about what we talked about last night. And I want to see what could happen between us.”
“Really?” He sat back, as if he couldn’t believe it. “You mean it?”
“Yes.”
He took her hands in his and leaned forward as if to kiss her, sending her heart soaring. But she pulled away and looked around to make sure no one had seen. Luckily everyone was too involved in the party to notice her and Brett at the bedazzling table.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “I just don’t think we should be so public about this. At least not at first.”
“So you want to be together in secret?”
“Not forever,” she said. “But while it’s all new, yes. I really believe it’ll work between us, and my sisters support us being together, too. But my dad and your mom aren’t going to be happy. They’ll think we’re being irresponsible, and disrespectful to their wishes. So instead of rushing into telling them, let’s wait and see how it goes—really solidify our relationship. Then we’ll have proof we’re making the right decision, and they won’t think we’re being impulsive.”
“What about everything you said?” He held her hand under the table, which sent a thrill up her spine. “About how it’ll be too hard on the family and on us if it doesn’t end up working out?”
“That’s all still true,” she said. “But to hell with it. I don’t want to look back and wonder what would have happened if we’d given us a chance. And I know now more than ever—you’re worth the risk.”
“I’ve always known you’re worth the risk.”
For the first time in a long time, Courtney knew she was making the right decision. And wherever Britney was now, she had a feeling her sister would be proud.
Chapter 35: Peyton
In the bathroom at the party, Peyton took a swig of vodka from her flask and emptied what remained into her soda. The staff member standing by the sink to help people wash and dry their hands raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Peyton dropped a fifty into her tip jar.
Since the party was televised, the rules against underage drinking were stricter than usual, but pretty much everyone under twenty-one came prepared by pre-gaming, sneaking in a flask or both. The vodka was just what Peyton needed to smile through chitchatting with Adrian and Rebecca’s friends, acting for the cameras, pretending she enjoyed the Top 40 boy band that Savannah loved and to stop her from constantly thinking about Jackson—whom she still hadn’t heard from since that final text.
She checked herself out in the full-length mirror and glared at the dress Rebecca had tricked her into buying. Not because she hated it, but because she loved it and knew it looked amazing on her. She’d planned on wearing a dress she already owned, but Rebecca had said that was unacceptable and brought a few dresses up to the condo that she thought Peyton might like—hiding the price tags. Peyton had loved the tight leather dress when she’d tried it on, and only after committing to wearing it to the party did Rebecca tell her the dress was by some fancy designer and cost $3,500. Peyton had assumed the dresses Rebecca had chosen for her to try on would be expensive, but thousands of dollars for one dress? It blew her mind.
Her head buzzed, and feeling sufficiently tipsy enough to rejoin the party, Peyton exited the bathroom. She did a walk around the club to see what everyone was up to, staying close to the walls so that Adrian and Rebecca’s friends wouldn’t approach her. Luckily most of the parental-aged people were on the dance floor, since the DJ was doing a set of old music for them. Savannah and some of her friends from volleyball were hanging by the pool, squealing over the boys from One Connection. The guys from Goodman—who were less interested in taking selfies with the teen heartthrobs—were gathered around the gambling tables, playing poker and blackjack for charity. Peyton had assumed Oliver would have made a home for himself among them, but strangely enough, he wasn’t there.
She headed to the dessert bar—the ice cream waffles looked delicious—and spotted Oliver and Madison at a table by themselves, their heads close together as they enjoyed a piece of cake. Oliver’s arm was draped around Madison, and she leaned into him, as if they were a couple. They were gazing at each other like they were seconds away from jumping each other’s bones.
What the hell? Peyton had told Oliver the bet was off—he didn’t have to seduce Madison anymore. Given the way he’d been so appalled when Peyton had given him his task that day at the pool, he should have been glad to go back to being friends with her. But Oliver wasn’t the type of person to back down. He was probably trying to prove a point—that he could follow through with his task, even though the bet had been called off.
And while Peyton hated to admit it, the conversation with Madison last night at the Lobby Bar had convinced her that Madison wasn’t behind that Campusbuzz post. Unsurprisingly, Courtney had been right. Which frustrated her, but it would have been worse if she’d realized this after Oliver had followed through with the plan. But here he was, still making moves on Madison. He was such a jerk.
Shouldn’t Madison know what Oliver was up to? If a guy had planned on using Peyton because of a bet, she would want someone to tell her. Even if that someone wasn’t a person she liked very much. If Madison lost her virginity to Oliver because of this dare, it would be Peyton’s fault. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for that. And from the way Madison was looking at Oliver as if he meant the world to her, Peyton wouldn’t be surprised if she slept with him after the party tonight.
She had to stop this before it was too late.
She grabbed an ice cream waffle from the dessert buffet, strutted over to Oliver and Madison’s table and plopped herself down next to them. “This seat’s not taken, right?”
Both Oliver and Madison looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “Go ahead,” he said. “We were just about to go outside, anyway.”
“Don’t leave on my account.” Peyton licked some chocolate syrup off her fork. She might be doing this to be helpful, but she would definitely have fun with it and make them both squirm. “Especially since I came over here specifically to talk to you. To both of you,” she added, so that Madison would feel included, too.
“Okay…” Madison glanced at the pool and shifted in her seat. “About what?”
“About you and Oliver, of course,” she said. “I couldn’t help noticing how cozy the two of you looked, and I had to know for myself. Are you guys together now?”
Madison stiffened and shoved her fork into her cake, leaving it there. “I don’t see why it’s any of your business, but, yes, we came here together.”
“Like on a date?”
Madison said, “I suppose you could call it that,” at the same time that Oliver said, “Yes.” Then they looked at each other and smiled. Peyton somehow refrained from rolling her eyes.
Oliver was so good at getting girls into his bed that he almost had Peyton convinced that his feelings for Madison were real. But Peyton knew better. He was doing this because of her dare, and it would only be a matter of time—hours, from the way their hands were still all over each other—until he conned Madison into losing her virginity to him. What about “the bet’s off” didn’t he understand?
“Then it’s good I came over here,” Peyton said. “Because there’s something important I need to tell you.”
Oliver gave her a warning look. “If I were you, I would think twice before confessing anything drastic,” he said. “I can smell the alcohol on you from here, and you wouldn’t want to say something you’ll regret when you’re sober, right? Especially something you know nothing about.”
“Come on.” Madison glanced pointedly at Oliver’s soda. “You’re not exactly the picture of sobriety right now, either. Besides,” she said, crossing her legs and focusing on Peyton. “I’m vaguely curious about whatever important thing you need to say to me.”
“I think Peyton and I need to talk somewhere in private.” Oliver pushed back his chair and stood up, but Peyton grabbed his arm, not letting him leave.
“We don’t need to talk anywhere in private,” she said. “Sit back down. This involves both you and Madison.”
Oliver cursed, clearly sensing he was backed into a corner. “You know not to believe a word she says, right?” he asked Madison.
“I won’t know until she says it.” Madison pulled him back into his seat. “But I want you to be here with me when she does.”
Peyton took a deep breath. It was now or never.
“You’re not going to be happy to hear this,” she said to Madison. “But you should know now, before you make a huge mistake.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing.” Oliver glared at her, trapped and desperate. But Peyton refused to feel sorry for him. He hooked up with girls only to crush them later, like he’d done to her and tried to do to her sisters that summer. He was getting what was coming to him.
Madison looked at him and tilted her head. “Do you know what this is about?”
He threw back the rest of his drink in one gulp. “I won’t know until she tells us what she came here to say,” he said. “So get on with it, Peyton. But if it’s something you shouldn’t be sharing—something that you made sure to take back a few weeks ago—trust me, you will regret it.”
Peyton bit her lip to keep from laughing at Oliver’s lame attempt to intimidate her. “Over the summer, Oliver and I made this bet,” she started, and despite his protests, she spilled the entire story, up until realizing Madison might not have made that post and calling the bet off.
Madison narrowed her eyes and scooted away from Oliver, refusing to look at him, as if doing so would set her off into a rage.
“But apparently Oliver decided not to listen to me when I asked him to call the bet off,” Peyton finished. “Because he’s here with you now, after making it clear that day at the pool that the two of you would never be anything more than friends.”
“Is that true?” Madison clutched her napkin and looked at Oliver, begging him to tell her that, no, it was a lie Peyton had made up.
“It started that way, yes.” He took a breath to say more, but Madison cut him off before he had a chance.
“So it is true.” She leaned her head back and covered her face with her hands. “Wow. I am such an idiot.” Oliver reached for her, but she shrugged him off. “Don’t touch me.” She lowered her arms, her lips twisted in disgust. “I can’t believe that all this time, when you knew everything I’ve been going through, you were going to use the fact that I was feeling vulnerable to win a stupid bet.”
“It wasn’t like that.” He slammed his hand onto the table and glared at Peyton, his nostrils flared. “Or at least it hasn’t been for a while. I said okay when you called off the bet. Tell her!”
“This doesn’t involve me anymore.” Peyton pushed her food away, the ice cream melted by now. “The two of you can work it out from here. I just saw you looking comfortable together, and thought this was something Madison should know before she does something she might regret.”
“It is something I should know.” Madison nodded, her eyes glassy, as if she might burst into tears. “Thank you for your honesty.”
“You’re very welcome.” Peyton slid her chair back and stood up. “I’m going to find my sisters. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
The strangest thing was, even though she still didn’t like Madison or want to be friends with her, she absolutely meant it.
Chapter 36: Madison
Madison watched Peyton walk away, every nerve in her body sparking with anger. The night had gotten off to such a great start. Oliver had met her at the Lobby Bar under the statue of Daphne, and they’d had a drink. Then they’d met up with their friends at Savannah’s party, and it had felt like old times, except she was finally realizing that her friendship with Oliver was blooming into something more. She’d even considered getting a room with him after the party.
Then Peyton Diamond had ruined everything.
“A bet?” Her voice cracked, and she forced herself to look at him. Her chest collapsed at the guilt plastered all over his face. “This whole time when you were there for me and I thought there might be something real between us, it was because of a bet?”
He was unnaturally still, his hands shoved into his pockets. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” Her heart ached, desperately hoping for a believable excuse. But Peyton had been clear about what had happened, and Oliver hadn’t denied it. He’d been playing her for months. And she’d fallen for it.
She felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
“When Peyton told me what she wanted me to do, I said there was no way in hell—I told her I refused to mess with our friendship,” he said, his eyes begging her to trust him. “I asked her to pick something else, or the bet was off. But then she showed me a picture Savannah had taken at a party of me doing a line with friends, and she said if I didn’t go along with her plan, she would make the photo public. If my parents saw that picture, it would’ve been the last straw before sending me to boarding school.”
“So Peyton blackmailed you into trying to sleep with me.” Madison shook her head, the pit in her stomach growing. “This is getting worse and worse. I only have one chance at my first time, and you were going to ruin that moment for me—someone you claim to care about—because you were afraid of getting in trouble with your parents.”
“I never would have made you do anything against your will.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. He flinched but continued, “I told Peyton that if it happened, it would only be because you wanted it.”
“That still doesn’t make it okay.” She leaned her head back and sucked in a deep breath. “I would never want to lose my virginity because of a bet. Because someone was using me.” She shivered, horrified at how close she’d come to letting that happen. “If I hadn’t been going through such a rough time, I would have known your feelings for me weren’t real. But I needed someone to be there for me, and you swooped in to take advantage of it. If Peyton hadn’t come clean with the truth, it would have been a great play.”
“It started because of a bet,” he said. “But it became more than that. My feelings for you aren’t fake, Madison. If they were, why did I ask you out tonight, after Peyton called off the bet?”
She shrugged. “Because you still saw it as a challenge?”
“No.” His eyes burned with intensity. “The bet pushed m
e to dig deeper into our relationship, and it was the push I needed, because what I feel for you is real. I’m here with you tonight because I care about you, and because I think you care about me, too.”
“You care about getting what you want,” she said. “That’s all you’ve ever cared about.”
His face fell, as if her words had physically hurt him. “You know that’s not true.”
The sad thing was, she wanted him to be telling the truth. But how desperate would she be if she blindly believed him and moved forward as if nothing had changed? “I have no way of knowing that,” she said. “I never should have trusted you.” She pressed her fingers against her temples, unable to believe how stupid she’d been. “You can’t tell anyone what I told you about the Diamonds—about Adrian being my father, and Peyton, Courtney and Savannah being my sisters. Promise me that.”
“I promise I won’t tell anyone your secret,” he said, holding his gaze with hers. “I’ll do anything to prove you can still trust me.”
“After all this, I don’t know if there’s anything you can do.” She blinked away tears, dreading that they would pour out at any moment. Then Oliver would comfort her, and she would melt into his arms. She couldn’t let that happen. “Do you have any idea how much you’ve hurt me?”
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he said. “But my feelings for you…they’re real, I swear it. You have to believe me, Mads.”
She wished she could. But he’d used her. All those times in the past few months when she’d believed he cared…it was a lie. A game for him to take her virginity because he was afraid of getting sent to boarding school. The thought of how she’d almost fallen for it made the dessert she’d been eating churn in her stomach, and she pushed the plate away, the smell of the cake making her feel like she was going to be sick. Or maybe it was being so close to Oliver and being reminded of how he’d played her that was making her feel sick.
“I need to think about everything, and I can’t do that with you around,” she said. “So I want you to get away from me, and stay away for the rest of the night.”
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