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The Bet (The Bet 1)

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Returning to the living room, she placed a cup of coffee on the table and sat next to him on the couch. He looked so peaceful.

He looked perfect.

Kacey sighed.

Was it too good to be true? Why did the fact that there seemed to be no roadblocks in the way scare her more than when he seemed unreachable?

At least when they’d hated each other she hadn’t needed to worry about her heart. But now it seemed that he had won her over without even trying. It was the way he cheered her up and spent time with her. Even going as far as rescuing her from the reunion. In fact, she bit her lip, Travis had always been there. In the background.

She sighed and looked at the blank TV, her eyes narrowed as she took in the DVDs on the side.

Family Memories 2002.

Quietly, she tiptoed over to the DVD player and threw in the disc. She didn’t have anything else to do, so she might as well travel down memory lane. It figured that Bets would have all of the memories on DVD now. Those poor boys didn’t stand a chance.

She carefully sat back down and pressed Play.

N-Sync began playing in the background, and then Jake and Travis appeared on screen. And they were dancing.

Not just any dance. No, because that wouldn’t be even close to as funny as what she was currently watching.

Travis had on a curly blonde wig. And he was playing lead singer.

Jake was in the background shaking his butt.

But the best part? They were both old enough to know better and still deathly serious about their little music video.

As the song came to a close, Grandma Nadine made an appearance in a leopard leotard and began playing air guitar.

Kacey snorted and covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

The only thing she could think of was how she was going to get a copy of this and sneak it to the press. Jake would kill her.

And it would be totally worth it.

The movie skipped to Christmas 2007.

She remembered that Christmas. It was two years before her parents’ deaths. She shifted on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her and watched the perfect little Christmas take place.

She and Jake were sitting under the tree. Her braces were glowing in the candlelight of the room, and Jake, such a lady-killer even at the ripe old age of sixteen with his curly brown hair and megawatt smile. She giggled at the memory, transfixed by what she saw.

Travis was in the background, sulking, or what looked like sulking. His eyes were downcast, and he was playing with a brightly wrapped package in his hands. The video zoomed in. He was shaking and mumbling something to himself.

“Just give it to her,” Grandma Nadine urged from the side.

Kacey watched in horror as she read the red tag. To Kacey.

Swallowing a knot of emotion, she watched as Travis wiped his hands on his pants and slowly got up and walked toward her.

She wanted to go back in time and scream at herself, “Look at him! Look!”

Instead, sixteen-year-old Kacey flashed him a look of annoyance and then got up and made some excuse about needing more spiced cider.

Travis froze.

Jake sneered. “What? Did you actually think she’d accept a gift from you? After everything you’ve done?”

Travis shook his head and licked his lips, the package slowly dropped out of his hands onto the floor. He shoved his hands into his jeans and walked off.



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