48 MADDY
MADDY
Are you worth the risk?
“Oh my God, this is so much fun!” Bailey’s voice rings across the water, bright and breathless as she balances on her board.
I laugh, pushing a strand of wet hair out of my face while we float side by side beyond the small breaking waves. The ocean is calm today, sunlight glittering across the surface like someone scattered tiny mirrors everywhere.
“You’re doing really good,” I tell her. “Just keep your shoulders loose. And don’t look down, look where you want to go.”
“Great.” Bailey smiles and glances toward the beach, then suddenly lowers her voice. “Okay but… that dude over there? Totally checking me out.”
I follow her gaze and spot a boy pretending very badly not to stare. I snort. “Yeah. He totally is.”
She straightens instantly. “So… is this the moment where I run dramatically out of the ocean like in Baywatch?”
I laugh. “Only if you remember the hair flip.”
Bailey flips her braid over her shoulder with exaggerated elegance. “Like this?”
“Perfect,” I say with a smile.
She beams, pleased with herself.
“Come on,” I say after a moment. “Let’s take a quick break.”
Bailey nods, and together we turn our boards toward shore, paddling through the gentle swell until the sand rises beneath us and the water drops to our knees. We step out of the water, boards tucked under our arms, cold waves dripping down our legs as we cross the warm sand.
Bailey drops her board beside our bags, grabs a water bottle and twists the cap off. And I do the same, tilting my head back for a long drink, the sun warm on my face, the ocean still roaring softly behind us.
Bailey lowers her bottle and squints toward the beach. “So,” she says casually, “should I go ask that guy for his number?”
I follow her gaze again. And the same boy is there, waxing his board, still pretending not to stare.
A laugh slips out of me. “Yeah. Do it. You’ve got the confidence.”
She grins, but then her expression shifts just a little.
“You know,” she says, eyes drifting toward the horizon, voice light, “I think what really helped my confidence lately was watching you and Ryan.”
I freeze at the sound of his name.
She shrugs one shoulder. “You two made it look so natural. Like Oscar-worthy. I mean, the way you guys acted? Totally convincing.”
A nervous laugh escapes me. “That’s because—”
I stop. My eyes widen. Bailey turns slowly, already smiling like she’s watching fireworks she personally set off.
I slap a hand over my mouth. “Crap.”
Her grin explodes. “I KNEW IT!”
“Ugh—no, no, I didn’t mean—Bailey—”
“I knew it!” she shouts, throwing both hands in the air. “You just admitted it was fake! I’ve been waiting weeks for you to slip.”
I groan, dragging my hands down my face. “That was a trap. You totally baited me.”
“Obviously,” she says smugly. “And it worked beautifully.”
I peek at her through my fingers. “You’re impossible.”
She beams. “Spill. I want everything.”
I hesitate, chewing the inside of my cheek. But she already knows, so what's the point? I let out a big exhale before opening my mouth.
“Well… I wanted to make my ex jealous,” I admit quietly. “And Ryan wanted people to stop setting him up for dates.”
Bailey’s head snaps toward me. “Wait—WAIT—your ex Jacob Walker?” she blurts. “As in the guy Ryan literally punched yesterday?”
I blink at her. “How do you even—”
She lifts her chin proudly. “Please. I am basically the Baylin source of gossip.”
A reluctant laugh escapes me. “That’s true.”
“And there are videos…” she adds carefully.
I close my eyes for a second. “Right.”
She waves a hand. “Okay, continue.”
I shake my head, smiling despite myself. “So… we made a deal.”
Bailey scuffs a laugh. “A deal?”
“We were just helping each other,” I say.
“Okay,” she says slowly. “But how did you get so good at the fake sexual tension thing?”
I nearly choke. “Bailey!”
“Oh, come on.” She bumps my shoulder. “You cannot fake that. Did you guys…?”
Her eyebrows lift dramatically and I look away. My cheeks heat instantly.
Her gasp is loud enough to scare a seagull. “Oh my God. You totally made out. I KNEW IT.”
“I am not discussing this with you,” I mutter, staring very hard at the sand.
“You don’t have to,” she says smugly. “I have all the confirmation I need.”
I glance back at her, heart thudding. “Wait, how do you even know about it?”
She takes a couple seconds before she speaks. “I heard you guys once on the phone, talking about it. I wasn’t trying to snoop…okay I was, and so I heard enough.”
I cover my face again. “Oh my God.”
“And I go through his phone all the time,” she adds casually.
I snap my eyes to her. “Bailey.”
“Don’t worry.” She just shrugs. “I never found any nudes.”
I shake my head, and groan. “I’m so sorry. We never meant to lie to you.”
Bailey’s eyes widen. “You think I care about that? I’m more offended you two thought you were being subtle.”
I shake my head and Bailey arms fold.
“Well,” she says, pointing at me, “you two definitely didn’t stick to the plan.”
I blink. “What?”
“The one where you just pretend to have feelings,” she says, laughing softly. “You guys fell for each other so hard.”
My heart lurches. “No, we didn’t. It was fake.”
Bailey stares at me like I’ve just told her the earth is flat. “Right. Totally fake. So what about the kiss?”
Heat rushes straight to my face. “We just… got caught up in those moments.”
Her mouth drops open. “Oh my GOD it happened more than once?”
I groan, waving my hands. “No—Bailey. It was just… a mistake. It wasn’t supposed to go further. It was supposed to end because it was fake, and it did. It worked and now it’s over.”
The words just spill out of me before I can think about them.
She lets out a loud, disbelieving snort. “You’re serious?” she says. “You really think you’re a good liar?”
“I’m not lying.”
“Oh, please.” She throws her hands up. “Maybe at the beginning it was fake. Fine. I’ll give you that. But by the end? Yeah, no. Absolutely not.”
“There were no feelings,” I insist, jaw tight. “Not for me. Not for Ryan.”
“Liar.”
My head snaps toward her. “What?”
“I know my brother,” she says, stepping closer. “And I saw the way he acted around you or looked at you. He has never looked at anyone like that. Ever.”
I feel my blood racing through my body. “You’re reading too much into it,” I mutter.
“No, you’re just refusing to read anything,” she shoots back. “He’s been walking around all week like someone stole his soul. You think that’s because of a fake breakup?”
I swallow hard.
“And you—” she taps a finger lightly against my chest “—are not exactly convincing either.”
“I don’t have feelings for him.”
“Maddy. Come on.” Her voice softens. “You don’t have to freak out about it,” she says. “But don’t pretend it was nothing. I saw you two. That wasn’t nothing.”
Something tight twists in my chest. All the feelings I’ve been shoving down start pushing back up.
“I can’t like him,” I whisper. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Bailey doesn’t hesitate. “But it did.”
Silence stretches between us and her eyes widen suddenly, realization hitting all at once. “Oh my God,” she breathes. “You’re in love with him.”
“I—”
Her phone starts ringing. She leans down to her bag and reaches for her phone. She glances at the screen and a slow, knowing smirk spreads across her face.
Oh no. I already know who that is.
She lifts the phone to her ear, eyes still locked on me like she’s watching a live drama unfold.
“Hi, brother,” she says sweetly.
Through the tiny speaker, I can faintly hear his voice. He sounds like he is in a rush. “Bailey… is Maddy still with you?”
My stomach flips.
Bailey’s grin widens. “Yes, Maddy is still here,” she says in a teasing sing-song tone. Then, more casually, “Are you driving?”
“Yeah,” he says. A small pause. “Can you give the phone to her? She’s not picking up her phone.”
That makes sense. My phone is still in my bag. But that’s not the problem. The problem is why he’s calling. A nervous heat crawls up my neck as Bailey taps the screen and switches to speaker. Then she just hands the phone to me.
I stare at it for half a second too long before finally speaking. “Hi,” I say, the word coming out small and awkward.
“Hey.” His voice is softer now.
Silence stretches between us—long and awkward, very awkward—the only sound the low rumble of his engine humming through the phone.
I slowly turn my head toward Bailey, eyes wide.
“Help me,” I mutter.
She mouths dramatically, talk!
I shake my head, and mouth back. No. Absolutely not. You started this!
She rolls her eyes and whisper-hisses, “Say something!”
“I did,” I whisper back. “I said hi.”
“That doesn’t count!” she whisper-yells.
“What am I supposed to say?” I hiss.
“I don’t know—ask him something normal!”
“Nothing about this is normal!”
“JUST TALK,” she breathes.
Out of pure, blind panic, the first thing that falls out of my mouth is—
“Uh, what are you doing?”
Bailey’s face drops in instant disappointment, and she immediately buries her face in her hands.
I lift both of mine in defence.
There’s a quiet sound on the other end of the line like he’s exhaling. “I’m… actually driving to you.”
My heart stumbles. “What? Why? Did something happen?”
He takes another deep breath and then—
“Okay… Mads, look,” Ryan says, like words are fighting to get out. “I need to tell you something. And I can’t wait anymore.”
My stomach drops.
He exhales, shaky. “I know Jacob put you through hell. And I know you’re scared that I might hurt you like he did. I get that now. I really do.”
Oh shit.
His voice softens. “But he doesn’t get to ruin this. He doesn’t get to ruin what we have. And I’m not gonna let him because this—whatever this is—it’s too good.”
My chest feels tight. “Ryan—”
“Please,” he cuts in softly. “Just let me finish. Okay?”
I close my eyes, and after a second he continues.
“I know we started all of this fake-dating shit thinking it wouldn’t change anything,” he says firmly. “But it did.”
My heart stutters, like it actually forgets how to beat for a second.