Carlos tapped his grubby finger against his chin. Silence fell across the room, as if they were all thinking about how to help Carlos force me into this bet.
Milos’s booming voice cut into the silence. “She can’t know who you are.”
There was a gasp of “ooh.”
“Seriously?” Jake asked. “How is that even possible?”
Milos waved his hand like it was no big deal. “Everything is online, you know, like a mail-order bride, except she’s not the bride and only he knows about the bet.”
Carlos’s eyes lit up like he was staring at a winning slot machine. He bolted over to Milos and kissed the top of his head. “That’s it! Online. We give him a fake name, a pic of anything other than him and,bam,there’s the catch.”
“Pretty sure that’s catfishing.” Kev shook his head. Thank fuck, a useful argument.
Carlos waved his hand. “Not if it’s not done maliciously. I’m not looking for him to lead her on. This is the real deal and once they have a connection, then he can reveal the truth.”
Jake lets out a low whistle, leaning back in his leather chair. His amusement was evident.
“Despite that shitty playboy attitude, I know you want more. I heard you whining to Jake about how you never got to meet women like Millie,” Kev added.
Damn tequila. “I only said that after a few too many drinks and seeing Millie console Jake after a tough loss, but don't most guys?”
“Not me.” Milos raised his glass and took a swig, winking at us. “I’m happy to take home anyone for the night and de-stress, if you know what I mean.”
“See? I agree.” I raised my glass, clinking it with his. We both took a swig, letting the amber liquid slowly burn down my throat.
“Hey, we all like that. But sometimes a guy needs more. Take Jake for example. He was in the slump of all slumps, thenbam,Millie came along and now he’s number one in the league again.” Kev smirked.
Pushing back from the table I asked, “You saying my game is shit?”
Carlos and Jake both teetered their hands back and forth. I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh.
“We are getting off topic here. Thetopicis this absurd wager Carlos made, which shouldn’t even be allowed. I don’t do relationships. And no one should be forced into one,” I added angrily.
“Not every girl is—” Kev started.
Cutting him off, I raised my finger at him. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.”
Kev was the only guy in this room who knew about Mya, and although I could see everyone’s faces eager to learn what was about to come out of Kev’s mouth, that was a can of worms I had zero interest in opening. Ever.
Kev shot me an apologetic look.
“Don’t think of it as forcing, think of it as encouragement,” Jake added, a little too chipper for my liking.
There was a collective snickering among them before Carlos clapped me on the back. “Are you in? Or can’t you hack a little wager?”
Little wager my ass.Groaning, I grabbed my glass and tipped out the last sip of my whiskey. The thought of being the only person who had ever backed down from Carlos made my skin crawl nearly as bad as the thought of being in love. There was a lot of pride on the line here. Dating wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t like he couldmakeme fall in love. I just had to make it seem as if I was trying.
As the last drop of whiskey hit my tongue, I slammed the glass down. Shook out my shoulders and stared right into Carlos’s deep, dark eyes, feeling like I was about to sell my soul. “I’m in.”
“This should be interesting,” Kev and Jake both said in unison.
No fucking kidding. Carlos had no idea how determined I was to not fucking lose to him.
CHAPTER 2
APRIL
My hips swayed and my hands thrashed in the air while bumping around to the band. It was open mic night at Ashes Night Club. Derek Riggs, from my favorite band, showed up. I nearly passed out when he grabbed the Fender Telecaster and jumped on stage. My ass hit the dance floor with my best friend, Nora. We belted out all the words, as if I was singing into a hairbrush in my teenage bedroom.
