Carlos squeezed into the chair next to me. He had made it known he had a bone to pick with me. After the shit that went down and how things had played out, I wasn’t that surprised.
“All right, fuck nut. Why don’t you start with why the fuck you broke up with April right after you won.”
I cringed. That was the question of the year. Why had I let her go? Why had I not seen everything before? Because I was an idiot who thought he didn’t deserve her. I took a long pull from my can and set it down. This was going to be tough. They needed to know the full truth. “April and I were never together.”
“Uhm.” Kev raised his brow.
Carlos narrowed his eyes at me. “Go on. I’m dying to hear this.”
“It was a rouse. Like you said before. She needed someone and so did I.”
Carlos slapped his large palm on the table. “I fucking told you so!” My head hung. And all I could do was agree. “You’re a fucking cheat,” he continued.
“Why lie? April was into you. Did she know about the bet?” Milos questioned.
“She knew.”
“What a scam!” Carlos stood and paced. “You know, I knew it was weird that you all of a sudden got close with her. She wasn’t even your type.”
“My type?”
“Oh, come off it. Look at your exes. Fucking models. Then her.”
“Watch it,” I growled. I’d take a lot from him, considering what I’d done, but the way he was making April sound was insulting and that wasn’t fucking okay.
“I second that.” Jake gestured for Carlos to ease up.
“Are you proud of yourself? You used her for a fucking bet.”
I stood up ready to punch him.
“I didn’t fucking use her. I fell in love with her!” I shouted. They all stared at me with blank expressions. “Like real love. I can’t fucking handle it. My game is shit, I can’t sleep, and I fucked it all up.” I paced around, pouring out everything I had, because I was lost without her.
Kev tilted his chair back as he let out a low whistle.
Jake just smiled. “Yeah. Been there. When Millie and I broke up before we got married, it felt like my soul was crushed.”
I swallowed thickly. “I need her back. And Carlos, it may have started as a bet, a fake relationship, but it didn’t end as one.”
Carlos stood up and pulled me in for a deep hug. It was weird, and before I knew it, they all sandwiched me.
“Our boy is in love,” Kev mocked.
“Fuck off.” I swatted them away playfully.
“Alright, guys, it’s time to do that thing and get his girl back,” Milos added his voice with tense emotion. I was caught off guard.
CHAPTER 39
JOSH
My nerves were strung out. I paced around the locker room, waiting for April to show up. I had left yesterday after my confession with part of a bigger plan. Starting with, I had to earn her trust. Prove everything that I said wasn’t just a bunch of shit.
One thing Millie had said to me at the gala was that, no matter what happened, I needed to understand what it was I wanted. What was my endgame? Because if I was lucky enough to get her back, then what? I hadn’t given it much thought until now, but not having her wasn’t an option. She loved me and she wasn’t afraid to say it, but I was. I was terrified she would leave after the bet was over, so I ended it before she could. It was so fucking stupid.
But, not now. Now I understood what I wanted and I wanted her to want it also. Want me. Even the screwed-up version who thought I was everything, but then found I was nothing without her. Even before everything, she was there. When I struggled, she was whispering in my ear I could do it. Every session, she would heal me. She was what drove me on and I was a coward who never told her.
“Davidson!” The coach’s voice bellowed from the corner of the locker room. “My office, now!”
