Chapter 7
Amy
The soft bristles of Serena’s makeup brush tickle my cheek. I texted her this morning to see what she was planning to wear to the group date today—an escape room. She said no-makeup makeup, and when I asked what that meant, she immediately invited herself over to do mine for me.
I didn’t put up a fight. It’s fun to have girl time with her. This is the type of thing Harper and I used to do.
“I got a text from Nick last night,” Serena says, her voice low and reflective.
“Really? What did he say?”
Serena’s fingers still momentarily. “It came in late last night. I think it was a booty call.” She smirks, but her eyes hold something deeper.
Vulnerability.
“Tell me exactly what the text said,” I say, “and I’ll tell you if I think it was a booty call.”
She resumes her brush strokes. “It just said, ‘How are you,’ with no question mark.”
I scoff. “What is it with men and no punctuation marks in texts? It’s really not that hard to do one extra thumb tap at the end of your sentence.”
Serena giggles, and warmth flows through me.
I miss this. I almost forgot what it was like to have womanly companionship. Although, I suppose I only ever had teen companionship with Harper.
This is better.
“What did you tell him?” I ask.
She shrugs, her gaze fixed on my eyelids. “I said I was busy with the game.”
“And what did he say to that?”
She smirks. “He said that he hopes I know Tristan is not going to pick me. Not with our history.”
My mouth drops open. “He’s jealous.”
She shrugs. “Maybe. He also said that Tristan’s been acting weird.”
The back of my neck prickles. “Did he explain himself?”
“He says he’s been moody.”
The air in the room grows heavier, and I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Do you think…” I swallow. “Serena, I want you to be straight with me. Do you think he’s planning my downfall?”
She smiles warmly as she takes my face in her hands and guides it side to side, examining my makeup. “I don’t think he’s deep enough for that. If I’m being totally honest, Amy, I think he might have a crush on you.”
Warmth unfurls within me, but I try to fight it. I can’t give in to delusions if I want to keep my head in this competition. There’s no way Tristan has a crush on me, even if he might have seemed like it yesterday when he kissed me.
“If you really like someone,” I say, “you wouldn’t humiliate them publicly. That’s what you do to someone you hate.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Do you mind telling me what he did?”
I exhale a heavy breath. I can do this. Serena has been nothing but kind to me, and if I want to have a real friendship with her, I need to be vulnerable. The way she was vulnerable with me when she told me the story about Nick.
“So I’m sorry I never told you this,” I say in a rush, “but I have a deeper history with Tristan than just knowing him in high school. Harper and I… She used to be my best friend.”
Serena’s quiet for a moment. “Nick mentioned that Harper used to have a best friend. That was you?”
I expel a heavy breath. “Yes.”
Her eyes narrow on my face. “And this is connected to Tristan humiliating you publicly?”
I nod. “They both did, but I think Tristan instigated it. I write a fanfic. It’s more than a hobby. It’s basically the only thing I do for fun. It’s my passion.”
She smiles, and I see in her eyes that she wants to ask me about it, but she stays silent. Serena is so good at this. She’s a quiet, nonjudgmental presence. It makes me trust her, even when I’m terrified of trusting people after everything that went down with Tristan and Harper.
“I barely talked to Tristan. Only a bit back when he first started dating Harper years ago. After Harper cut me out of her life, I avoided him like the plague. Then, one day I was hanging out in the library, and Tristan started up a conversation with me. It was really…intense. Like he’d been wanting to talk to me for a while.
As delusional as it sounds, I thought maybe he was trying to reach out to me on Harper’s behalf. Like maybe she wanted to reconcile.”
“That’s not delusional at all. What else were you supposed to think?”
I roll my eyes. “I think I got a little cocky, because I ended up telling him all about my fanfic. I even told him my pseudonym. It was almost like I was hoping he would tell Harper about it. She would have loved it when we were younger. It was stupid of me because…” I shut my eyes, fighting the panic rising through my veins.
Every time I think about that day in the quad, my pulse starts to pound.
“The next day,” I continue, “I was sitting in the quad eating lunch with my friend Cody. I saw Tristan and Harper and a bunch of their asshole friends and—”
I take a deep breath, and understanding dawns in Serena’s eyes.
“He read it, didn’t he?” Serena asks.
I shake my head. “Harper did. But he was smiling and…Serena, this look he gave me… I can’t explain it, but it was like… It was like he was enjoying my suffering. I really think he might be a sadist.”
Her expression grows somber. “I’ve seen that side of him too.”
I nod. “Anyway, I’m telling you, it might seem paranoid that I think he’s out to get me, but the thing is, I have proof. He’s done it before. I honestly think he set out to get me that day in the library. To get information from me so that he could embarrass me.”
“But Harper did it too. It wasn’t just Tristan.”
“Yeah, but it’s complicated between me and her.
She’s… I know she’s bitchy, but it always comes from a place of hurt.
She resents me. I never liked her dad. I always told her I thought he neglected her and her whole family.
I didn’t know he was an addict, or I would have never said anything so insensitive.
Anyway, she didn’t like the things I said when he was alive, and after… ”
She nods slowly. “She resented you after he passed away.”
I expel a breath through tight lips. “Yes.”
“But what does Tristan have against you? What did you do to make him want to hurt you?”
“It’s so weird, because I have no idea.”
She narrows her eyes, looking lost in thought. “Something’s not adding up. Tristan is selfish. I’ve never known him to do something for no reason. What could he have to gain?”
“Like I said, I think he’s a sadist.”
Serena smiles faintly as she starts tidying up the makeup products spread out all over my desk. “I’m not so sure about that. I’m going to watch him today for clues.”
I frown. “Clues about what?”
“About what he’s up to.” She zips up her makeup bag, meeting my eyes. “You can work on solving the escape room with the others. I’ll be trying to solve Tristan.”
I snort. “Good luck with that.”
“Ready for this?”
Tristan’s voice comes from behind me, making me jump. I turn to face him, and the visceral memory of our kiss flashes in my mind.
His warm lips against my skin. His deep, husky voice.
“I’ve wanted this for so long.”
I avert my gaze from those piercing blue eyes. The escape room is the only game event that actually sounds like fun. A puzzle is exactly what I need to distract myself from Tristan.
“Hell yeah,” I say, trying to keep my voice bland. “I love escape rooms.”
“That sounds like you.” Tristan’s soft tone of voice startles me. When I search his face, I see that kind, almost affectionate smile he’s been giving me lately. I quickly look away.
Thankfully, the director gestures for us to come inside the gym, so I’m not forced to stand awkwardly making conversation without eye contact.
“Let’s do this,” Tristan says, holding out his hand.
My cheeks heat. Why does he always try to hold hands with me on our dates? Before today, I thought it was just his thing, something he did with every date, but now he has other options besides me.
Oh well, I don’t want to look like it unsettles me. It’s obviously just part of his plan to make Harper jealous. I reach forward and grab his hand. The warmth of his palm sends electricity up my arm.
The other two girls walk with us through the doorway and into the dimly lit gym. Tristan got to pick three women for this date. Me, Serena, and some girl named Natalie. When I glance at Serena, she smiles, looking pointedly at where my hand is joined with Tristan’s, and my stomach flutters.
What will she say about this later?
After we’re led to the door of the room, I glance around the area, and excitement fizzles through my veins. Even the outside of the room looks fancy. There’s a real antique table and lamp instead of cheap party-store props.
“You look like a kid at Disneyland,” Tristan murmurs, his face so close his warm breath brushes against my ear. “It’s adorable.”
Goddamn him. He’s so damn charming he could probably seduce a cactus.
“Alright, listen up!” The director claps his hands twice. “This is going to be a team-building exercise designed to test your cooperation and problem-solving skills.”
Anticipation flutters in my gut as I glance around at the other contestants. Serena isn’t the only one looking at Tristan and I. Natalie is as well.
I can’t imagine what she must be thinking, gorgeous as she is. She’s probably wondering why he’s holding my hand when I’m the odd one out?
“Here are the rules,” the director says.
“You have a half hour to solve the puzzles and escape the room. Each puzzle you solve will give you a clue to help you find the exit. You must work together, or you won’t make it out.
Tristan is going to see how well you’re able to work as a team.
Remember, relationships are a team effort… ”
The director keeps talking, some nonsense about how we can use this opportunity to impress Tristan, and I tune it out to avoid cringing. The way this school dramatizes the game is silly and contrived.
Still, I can’t believe I’m standing here—the contestant whose hand Tristan chose to hold.