Chapter Nineteen
I cried the second Gia’s face appeared on the video call.
I almost reached the point of screaming, given the emotional rollercoaster I’d been on the last twenty-four hours. Not to mention the five days before it. And Gia’s shriek earned a huff of feigned annoyance from Max.
He grumbled about his eardrums as he left the room to give us privacy. He’d come in to get a change of clothes. A suspicious need after his first quick pop in to get his shoes.
But Max might’ve been trying to avoid Landon, who’d taken up residence in his chair. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Landon staying, since I didn’t know why he’d actually done it.
Pissing Max off was high on the list of probable reasons.
But if Landon wasn’t going to say anything, I wasn’t, either. And if Max didn’t want to admit he was checking on me, I wouldn’t drag it out of him. I simply demanded they shut the door if they decided to fight it out, so my call wouldn’t be disturbed by any blood spray.
As they tried not to rip each other to pieces, their muffled voices came through the closed doors, but Gia’s happy cry distracted me from their growls and biting remarks.
“God, girl. I’ve missed you so fucking much!”
“I know! I nearly wept when Kingston handed me my phone. Seeing your face, I can’t stop it.”
Wiping my eyes with the comforter, I released a sigh of relief at having my best friend in front of me. Physically or not, the connection had been necessary.
“Ooh! How is the broody Dark Knight?” She waggled her eyebrows. “I thought once the challenge ended there’d be nothing left of you in that cabin but the imprint of your body in the bed or a cutout through the wall.”
I snorted at the image that put in my head and the accuracy of her next statement.
“Between you and me, my money was on you Kool-Aid manning it. Since you’re stubborn as fuck.”
“Gia, just wait until I fill you in. Six days without girl talk was way too long under these conditions.”
I started with the drugging, getting the bad news out of the way before I told her the rest. Gia’s initial reaction was to burst out of her seat to hunt for her car keys.
“Gia! I swear, you don’t need to come get me. I’m fine!”
She came back into view, her hazel eyes flashing with fury and strands of her freshly-dyed purple hair falling over her face. Shoving her hair back, she shot me a stern look.
“Quinn, you just said you were drugged. And you’re saying you’re fine?”
“Nothing happened. They found me right away. A doctor came to make sure I was alright. It was...”
“Fine?” The word held a bit of bite, but when my brows drew in and I frowned, Gia’s expression softened. “Quinn...”
“I can’t think about it, Gia. Not yet. Too many things are hitting me at once, and...if I think about it, I’ll?—”
I twisted the bedsheet in my hands.
“I know you want answers, but, Quinn, they drugged one of their own to get to you. No one knows who did it, or if they’ll try again. We should unpack how you feel about this.”
“We will.” I gave her my best attempt at a reassuring smile, forcing it and deflecting, as usual. “I already know my therapist will have a field day with this, blathering on about unhealthy coping mechanisms, etcetera, etcetera.”
“Don’t forget ignoring red flags,” Gia muttered.
“A crowd favorite. But still, I promise we’ll talk about it, but I’ve made up my mind and I’m not going anywhere, so I can’t think about all that right now. Okay?”
She took a deep breath and sighed, accepting my choice despite her reservations. “Okay. Tell me the rest.”
Gia didn’t come around immediately, but she couldn’t hide her surprise or excitement over the sleeping arrangement I’d woken up in. Minus the prior night’s drugging, of course.
“Isn’t that the first time you’ve been around the three of them at the same time?”
“Yep. It was so weird.” I lowered my voice, even though I was pretty sure they couldn’t hear me. “Unfortunately, too much of a nightmare situation to be the fantasy I’d imagined. But…they didn’t kill each other. That’s promising, right?”
“That might be grasping at straws, but I’ll give it to you.”
“Max did call Kingston for help. Twice.”
“Now, that, I can get behind. They’re able to bridge the gap, at least.” She wrinkled her brow. “Let’s not make it a habit for your life-and-death situations to be that bridge, though. Alright?”
“Absolutely not. I mean, I love the drama in dark romance novels, but it’s exhausting in real life. No, thank you.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “And you said Kingston’s looking into the wine?”
“Yeah, and he’s convinced that until the ceremony, at least, I’m in the clear. I mean, he asked me not to step foot off this bed without Max or Landon around. For health reasons, supposedly. But I’m going to listen to be safe.”
“Good girl.”
I faked a shudder, drawing a reluctant laugh from Gia.
“It’s not really the same anymore, is it? Now that you’ve experienced it for real?”
Landon’s voice, gliding over me like warm honey as he whispered good girl in my ear, echoed in my head. I bit my lip and fought the full-body shudder that the mere memory of those words from him drew out. “Yeah, I’m sorry to say, your voice just doesn’t do it for me anymore.”
“That’s fair.”
I frowned. “I shouldn’t be having those thoughts, though. Considering what happened at the party, thoughts like that are part of the problem.”
“Do tell! What happened? But don’t skip ahead. Tell me from the beginning.”
“Alright. Alright.”
An hour later, I finished recapping the rest of the six days. I filled her in on the appeal, enjoying every squeal and yes, girl she threw out as I gave her the play-by-play.
Her eyebrows rose higher and higher the more I shared about Max’s secret life in the woods, and when I told her about the lead-up to the party, she pretended to melt out of her chair over Max, my dress, and his sexy mask. But she collected herself when I mentioned the note from Kingston and my impromptu interlude with Landon.
“Holy shit,” she breathed.
“Yeah, don’t waste your time chastising me, I’ve been beating myself up since it happened.”
She tilted her head, the corner of her mouth dipping. “Why would I chastise you? And why are you beating yourself up?”
“Um, I ignored all the red flags and fell for Landon, let him bring me back to Camelot Court only so he could pull the rug out from under me at the Knights’ Quorum. After he surprised me with the world’s most perfect ‘first’ date. The one we are never, ever, ever mentioning again.”
“Okay, don’t hate me for saying this, but you need to calm down on the evers you keep adding to that statement. Especially if you’re hellbent on staying and still planning to ride his hand to the finish line every now and then. An idea I’m fully behind, if your head is in the right place.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Hear me out.”
I shook my head. “No. No way. The last time you said that to me, you launched into an explanation about how Billy Butcherson could get it .”
“And I stand by that!”
“Exactly. And while I will never yuck your yum, if this Hear Me Out take goes like that one did, I won’t be convinced. He’s all yours.”
“Who? Billy or Landon?”
A possessive growl rumbled in the back of my throat, even though she was baiting me. “ Billy . Billy is all yours.”
“Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes. “But all I’m saying with Landon is that you got cut off right after getting your first hit of how good it could be between you. It’s understandable you backslid a little. And as long as you’re not writing off bad behavior for orgasms, then don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll know when you’re done for good.”
I frowned, thinking that over. “Aren’t you supposed to tell me I’m too good for him and he doesn’t deserve me? You know, convince me not to do it.”
“Well, first, those facts are implied. No one deserves you and you’re too good for everyone, even those three hot dickheads on their best day.”
Rolling my eyes, I smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I don’t know, I just don’t think anyone can tell you when you’re supposed to walk away. Emotions are complicated and feelings are messy. It’s my job as your best friend to support you, whatever choices you make, not try to dictate how you live your life. Even if that means you make mistakes or ignore red flags. I just assume you’re colorblind at this point and they all look beige. I’ll always give you the hard truths, but whenever that thing happens, whatever it is in your gut that says it’s over between you and him, you’ll know it. It’s okay if you want to hold on a little longer, you know?”
I nodded. “He keeps looking at me like this is killing him. And I don’t understand how that’s possible if it’s what he wanted, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it. The guy who showed up here, literally sweeping you off your feet and telling you he chose you? That guy felt genuine.”
“I keep thinking it has to be something Kingston said to him. But then, Kingston gave me that note, and Max has shared all this stuff about their parents and the pressure they’re under. So, now I’m just totally confused.”
“Do you think you’ll talk to any of them tonight?”
“Maybe. If not tonight, I’ll be with all of them at the Honor Ceremony. They pushed it to tomorrow because of what happened.” I sighed, grateful for the extra day but still dreading it. “But I’m sure, in true Camelot Court fashion, Landon will brood silently, Max will be surly and unapproachable, and Kingston will offer little-to-no details while asking me to hold on a little longer.”
“Do you think you’ll want to?”
Given everything, my answer should’ve been no.
But I couldn’t lie to her.
“I don’t know,” I groaned, burying my head in my hands. “How the fuck did this happen, Gia? I need answers even more somehow, now, even if it’d be smarter to walk away. If someone tried to get rid of me, I can’t help but think it’s because I’m getting close to them. And close to winning.”
Stupid or not, the idea that someone wanted to eliminate me from the competition, simply for being an outsider, made my blood boil. I couldn’t sit by and let that bullshit stand. It made me want to win their games even more.
But it was more than that, too.
And I couldn’t lie to myself anymore, either.
“Why can’t I keep these guys out of my head?”
Either knowing I’d do it if she didn’t, or more scared of me staying after what I’d just said, Gia opted to deflect. “I mean, you’ve seen one of their dicks, right? Maybe my girl’s just thirsty.”
She smirked, flipping her hair off her shoulder.
I snorted. “Your girl was definitely thirsty last night, and I can’t blame it on the drugs.”
Her phone screen blurred suddenly, an incoming call on the other line. “Hold, please.” She checked to see who was calling, ended the incoming call, and came back to me.
“Do you need to take that?”
“Nope.”
I arched a brow. “Nope?”
“Hm?” she asked innocently. “Didn’t you say you need to take a nap or something?”
“No way!” I protested. “We spent the last hour talking exclusively about my guy drama, and I want to hear about you. Especially now. Spill.”
“Why? My life is boring as hell compared to yours. Other than the guy I met at the grocery store the other day, I’ve basically become a hermit since you left and rarely leave the house.”
“Tell me about the grocery store guy, then!”
“I’ll fill you in when there’s something to tell. He bumped into me, we exchanged names, but he didn’t even get my number. That’s how boring my life is right now.” She groaned dramatically. “Other than classes kicking my butt. Say what you will about your cruel summer, but I might not survive this hard ass’s class.”
She visibly shuddered, but I couldn’t tell if she was repulsed or turned on by the new professor.
“Wait. Was that hard-ass professor or hard ass?”
Gia grimaced. “Potato, potato?”
I laughed. “Oh, no, you don’t. Fess up, Gia. After what I shared with you about Landon and the party, you are not getting off that easily!”
“Oh, trust me. I doubt I would be, regardless. He seems like the type who’d edge a girl to the point of insanity.”
My eyebrows rose. “And pray tell, how did you come to that realization?”
“He just has this energy.”
“Ah. Gotcha.” I nodded, the energy being something I was all too familiar with. “I take it that explains the purple hair, too?”
She smirked. “Maybe.”
“So, wait. Who was calling, then?”
“No one!”
I shot her a look.
“It’s spam callers. They just keep getting weirder.”
My brow furrowed. “Why the secrecy, then?”
“One of them was really weird. The other night, they called late and I was in a mood. You know how I get when I have chocolate before bed. So, I answered. I basically chewed them out for twenty minutes. Gave them a whole speech on how it’s rude to call past ten p.m. and heavy breathing on the end of the line is only hot in the context of phone sex.”
I shook my head. “That poor salesman.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought initially, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I finished my epic tirade, the guy started laughing.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah, but not like creepy, maniacal laughter. Like…he genuinely thought I was hilarious. Which I am, obviously. But I wasn’t expecting the spam caller I bitched out to see my stream of curse words as foreplay, you know?” She shrugged it off, but I got the distinct impression she left out details.
When she wouldn’t meet my eyes, I was certain of it. I pointed at her as my mouth dropped open. “Gia Ariana Vassili! Did you have phone sex with the heavy-breathing spam caller?”
Her face reddened.
“Oh my god!” I shrieked, torn between being mostly proud and slightly horrified, which was Gia’s desired reaction for anyone hearing about her sexual escapades.
“What!” She snickered, only partially hiding a huge smile behind her hand. “His voice was hot. Like Max Dread’s full name hot. Fuck me in the woods and unhinge my jaw, Daddy. That kind of hot.”
“You’re not actually going to meet him in the woods, though. Right?”
Gia shrugged.
“Gia!”
She laughed. “I’m kidding! Besides, you know my rule. No face fucking if he doesn’t aggressively eat this pussy and buy me dinner first. Twice for primal play.”
“You’re unhinged.”
“And you love it.”
“I really, really do.”
I gave her a genuine smile before adding in a stern look.
“Which is why I don’t want your homicide on the next Unsolved Mysteries . Promise me I can meet him before you let him take you into the woods. That way I can identify him in the lineup if you end up kidnapped. Please, and thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gia nodded. “I promise you get to meet all my potential kidnappers first.”
“Thank you.”