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“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asks incredulously.

“I don’t know!”

Oh, my god. Am I an idiot? Did I mess everything up?

I thought I was doing the right thing by not going inside last night. I wanted us to clear our heads. I wanted to find the right words to tell her what she meant to be before I sat her down and explained that us sleeping together wasn’t part of the bet. That I would never bet on something like that.

Camden and Milo are still speechless, frozen in shock, and my doubts only grow stronger the longer they stay like that.

“I don’t know. I wanted to go with her so badly last night, but I need her to know that this is real. I didn’t want her to think that sex was part of any bet,” I try to explain.

Camden and Milo to blink.

“And you couldn’t have told her that before you followed her inside?” Meyer asks.

“I don’t know. Tensions were high.”

“You mean hormones,” Meyer interjects.

I glare at him. “Yeah, that too. I just… I guess it seemed like too important a conversation to have before jumping into bed together.”

“Oh,” Camden says, nodding.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Pausing a make-out session to talk about a bet isn’t exactly a turn-on,” Milo adds.

“So, when are you going to have that conversation?” Meyer asks.

“I just… I still don’t have the right words to explain it all.”

“How hard can it be?” Meyer snorts. “I love you, Blake. Be with me forever.”

“I wanted to do something a little more romantic than that,” I say wryly.

“Well, you need to figure it out soon,” Milo says.

I sigh. “I know.”

“I mean really soon because it looks like you rejected her last night and then ghosted her.”

“Shit,” I groan.

“Good luck, bro,” Milo says, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Just talk to her. She’s into you. It will all be okay,” Camden reassures me.

Milo nods in agreement as he grabs a donut. “I’ve got to get to work. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will,” I promise. “Talk to you later.”

He waves and heads out the door.

Camden grabs a donut and plops down on the couch, kicking up his feet on the coffee table. “Want to talk strategy?”

“No. I need to figure out where to get some bao in this town.”

“Good luck with that.” Meyer snorts.

“Why bao?” Camden asks.