“Ooh, he’s got it bad.” Milos shook his head.
“Yup,” Jake added with a grin.
“Horse shit.” Carlos scoffed.
Everyone whipped their heads toward Carlos in disbelief. He raised his hands in the air. “He’s been lying to us for weeks. How am I supposed to believe him?”
“I hate to agree, but it’s true,” Milos added.
I stood up abruptly, scraping my chair against the tile floor. “Why the fuck would I lie about this?”
“To win,” Carlos remarked.
“You’re an asshole!” I shouted, damn near ready to rage out and flip the table at him. Something about the way he was doubting my feelings had me seeing red. “Fuck the bet. I forfeit.”
I was done. I didn’t feel like it was worth it. I shouldn’thave to defend myself, not with April, she deserved better than that.
“Okay. Cool down,” Jake said as the voice of reason. “I know he’s telling the truth about April.”
“Excuse me?” Carlos questioned.
“I’ve known for a bit.”
“How?”
“They were at my place over the break. I could tell there was something going on then.”
I glared wide-eyed at Jake. He simply shrugged as if to say,what?
“I’ve been around them also.” Kev sighed.
“You have been in cahoots with him?!” He thumbed at me.
“Not cahoots, you ass,” Jake defended. “If I recall, you wanted to know he was taking this seriously and I can vouch for that.”
“So, why the lie?” Milos asked.
“Because it’s April. I needed to see if there was something real.”
“No Summer?” Milos raised his brow. This made Jake chuckle and Carlos’s whistle.
Kev dropped his head. Before he shook it, then laughed. “Summer. I didn’t even catch it.”
Milos stared at everyone. He clearly hadn’t put it together yet.
“Her last name.” I smirked.
A realization crossed over Carlos face. He let out a hushed whisper. “April Summers.”
I nodded.
“Smart duckie.” Milos grinned. “It’s settled. I think it’s the deal real.”
None of us bothered to correct him.
A knock at my door distracted us. I swiped my wallet from the counter and headed over. “Probably the pizza.”
The guys whispered as I went to the door and even though it wasn’t how I planned, I felt relieved they knew.
