As stupid as this whole situation is, at least it's gotten my mind off my dad.
I furrow my brows, giving him a hard look. "What the hell do you mean?"
Adrian sighs. "I don't think you wanna know, Cassidy."
"Tell me." I step closer, jamming my index finger in his chest.
He gives me a guilty look, sighs and starts talking. "Well, we saw you at the beginning of the summer, on the beach, remember? Dom told me you were his stepsister, and I saw he was attracted to you."
I try not to blush, giving him an encouraging look. I'm both afraid and excited at what he's about to tell me, since I have no idea what it is. "Go on."
"Well..." he gives me a guilty look. "I don't mean to be a prick, Cassidy... And I'm well aware you probably won't want to see me after I tell you this, but I have to come clean."
He sighs, and I can see the inner turmoil he's going through in his troubled eyes. "We made a bet, Cassidy," he admits, regret coloring his words.
"A bet?" I look at him, feeling confused, and Adrian ruffles his hair, looking more than a little embarrassed.
"It was a goddamned stupid idea," he tries to convince me, but I'm already shaking my head, desperate to hear the whole story.
"Just tell me." I can't wait any longer. I need to know, even though I already suspect what Adrian will say next. "I have the right to know."
"You do." Adrian gives me a heavy look. "Dom said I wasn't allowed to make a pass at you unless I won the bet. Which was, he had to sleep with you by the end of the summer, or you'd be fair game for me."
I'm quiet for a long, long moment.
I had thought I'd reached rock bottom, but I've hit a new low. I feel like I've cracked my head on a rock, it's pounding so goddamn hard, yet I do not stop, do not let myself catch a break. Instead, I torture myself further.
"What was the prize?" I ask.
"My Lexus," Adrian laughs.
So that's how much I'm worth. A shiny new car. A bet. Nothing more.
"Cassidy."
I hear his voice. I know he's caught up to me. I knew he'd come after me, but let me cool off first. Dom is standing right behind me, and there's every chance he just heard my entire conversation with Adrian.
And because I'm sick, I try to avenge my dignity. Because there's nothing else to do here, is there?
So, I step closer to Adrian, pulling on his shirt to bring him closer to me, until his lips touch mine. He's surprised at first, but it doesn't take long for him to respond to my kiss.
It's empty, full of nothingness. My heart festers and rots.
My heart is turning black.
And then Dom strides between us, throwing Adrian off me until he hits the sand with a thud. I'm left alone, shivering in the cold summer day as lightning cracks above us.
"Get lost," Dom says to Adrian, who gives me a quick look and walks away.
I refuse to look at Dom, not that he's making any effort to look at me, anyway. He just stands a few feet away, kicking at the sand. And right now, I'm so fucking angry. I'm fuming.
Because this guy had me believe he had feelings for me. That he cared. But in the end, he betrayed me worse than the rest of them.
"Congratulations," I can't help but saying sarcastically. "Looks like you got yourself a new ride."
Chapter sixteen
DOM
I heard them talking. I heard Adrian tell her about the bet. And of course it happened today of all days – the time Cassidy needs me the most, even if she doesn't see it herself.
She congratulates me, and my heart stops for a second. I'm hurting, but I know her pain is worse. Sympathy – a feeling I've never experienced before. Simultaneously, the guilt is eating away at me.
"Cassidy, it didn't mean shit," I say somberly. "It was a goddamn bet made to keep him away from you... I didn't want his filthy hands all over your body."
"Oh, you'd rather be the one to touch me?" she asks, laughing the most painful laugh I've ever heard.
I'm not good with words. I'm good with my lips, my tongue, my cock. But I don't know how to tell her how I feel, the words lodged in my throat and desperate to get out. But I can't fucking do it.
"I would never hurt you intentionally," I say lamely, and she rolls her eyes. It's the truth, but I know it doesn't seem like that.
"I want the best for you... I want you to be happy," I say, more desperate now.
She marches closer to me, looking me straight in the eye, and for a long moment I'm sure she'll kiss me. She'll tell me we can put this all behind us, spend the summer with her dad – shit, her dad's illness – and then go on from there.