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“You can do this,” I croak.

Can you? It’s barely been a whole week, and you’re already crumbling. Go home with your tail tucked between your legs before it’s too late.

The reality that the semester has just begun smacks me in the face, and I can only hope my need to live for Farrah supersedes my need to escape it all.

15

liam

“Do you think she bought that?”I ask my brother.

When he returned from practice yesterday, he divulged his plan, and while I’m not one hundred percent sold on the idea, I’m willing to go along with it for now.

Mason peers in the direction Eva took off before returning his attention to me. Something passes in his eyes before I can catch it. “Yup. You play jealous very well.”

I nod, not wanting to tell him I’m not playing because I know he’ll raise hell. It burned me to see the smile that appeared on her beautiful face and how easily Eva interacted with him. That’s what I had before I lost my head—before I knew she was from the family that single-handedly nearly destroyed mine.

“Don’t,” Mason commands

Schooling my features, I retort, “Don’t what?”

“You know what.”

“I know not what you speak of, Mase,”

Mason’s lips flatten into a straight line as he lifts his fingers to massage the worry lines on his face. “Lee.”

I know what’s coming. He rarely calls me by my nickname.

“Once this all goes down, she won’t want anything to do with either of us. You know that, right?”

My nostrils flare.Fuck!

“Of course I do,” I sigh, angry at the world.

I find myself asking the same question I’ve been mulling over for days.Why did she have to be her?I wanted her. Now, because Eva’s the enemy, I can’t have her in the way I want. But that won’t stop me from taking her however I can get her for now.She deserves this.

Mason glares as his face reddens. “Are you honestly hung up on some girl you just met?”

“No… yes… no,” I snap. “You wouldn’t understand. You weren’t there.”

That night at the party still visits my dreams, but that’s all lust. I know it, but it doesn’t stop the yearning in my gut.

“I didn’t have to be there to know that your little puppy dog crush is nothing more than you thinking with your dick instead of your head,” he growls.

My head snaps up as I peer into his eyes. “Don’t fucking—” I initially shout, but seeing eyes on us, I stop, swallowing my words. Then I run my tongue across my teeth and count to ten, working to control my temper. I hate when he does this shit. Once I’m sure I won’t say some off-the-wall slick shit, I speak. “You… were… not… there.”

“Lee—”

“Don’t Lee me,” I hiss, moving closer to keep my voice low. “There’s something about Eva that I can’t put into words. It makes me want more, but I also want to destroy her for what her family’s done to ours.”

Mason rolls his eyes, a smug grin spreading on his face as he holds his hand up. “Just like there was something about Everly and Trevor and Sofie,” he exclaims, raising a finger to tick off each name he calls. “Should I continue?”

“When have I ever said any of them were special?” I rebut. “Are there things that are amazing about the people you mentioned?Yes. Does that mean it’s the same as the feelings I believe I have for Eva?No!”

The smile slips from his face. “There was no future there,” Mason explains. “Enjoy what you can now because Eva doesn’t strike me as the lie-down-and-take-it type, so once she discovers what we did, she won’t forgive either of us.”

I want to argue my case, but he’s right. Whatever spark was budding will be extinguished by the end of this. And Eva isn’t more important than exacting our revenge for the hurt her family caused ours, and I want our revenge. I may appear to be softening, but it’s only me warring with myself. I’m greedy. I want her. But I want to destroy her more, and maybe put her back together into my perfect plaything.