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“Oops, I guess I forgot.” Given the cheeky glint in his eyes, I knew he hadn’t.

The race started and our gazes darted to the end of the lake. The boats were barely larger than specks in the distance, but an announcer’s voice was blaring over the speakers as they commentated on the race. Bexley had started strong and was already pulling ahead of the rest of the competitors.

My hands bunched into fists at my side, and my heart raced as I listened to the announcer. Wes’s team was pulling up the rear.

I glanced at Sawyer who didn’t share any of the tension I felt. He looked the picture of ease as he watched the race, and when he caught my worried expression, he smiled.

“Stop stressing,” he said. “Like he does many things in life, when my brother races, he starts out slow but finishes hard and fast.”

“Sawyer!” Anna gasped from beside me. “That sounded way too sexual.”

He shrugged. “What? I’m just saying it how it is.”

I shook my head and focused back on the race, but Anna leaned in close to me. “Sounds like you and Wes should be doing more than just kissing,” she murmured, nudging me in the side.

“Anna, get your head out of the gutter. I’m trying to watch the race.”

“Okay, okay.” She fell silent, but I could still see her smirking at me from the corner of my eye.

My heart leaped as I heard the announcer call out that Weybridge were gaining on Bexley. They were moving up the lake swiftly, and I could see the boats more clearly. Weybridge was easy to pick out in their red uniforms, and they were only just behind their rivals.

The crowd started shouting and cheering as the boats came closer and closer. We were standing right by the finish line, and the two boats were neck and neck as they fought for the lead.

With only meters to go, the Weybridge crew attacked the water with a sudden burst of energy, pulling out in front just as they flew across the finish line. The crowd went wild as our boys came in first, and I found myself jumping up and down as I squealed with Anna and Cress.

When we finally calmed down, I noticed Sawyer didn’t look nearly disappointed enough about losing his bet. In fact, he was grinning brightly like he couldn’t be happier.

“And here I thought you’d be disappointed that Wes won the bet.”

He winked. “Wes was always going to win.”

“So, why make the bet then?”

“Because what is life without a little bit of risk?”

“That’s very deep of you Sawyer.”

“Like I told you, I’m a secret introvert. I’m really quite profound.”

“Sure, you are.” I laughed at him. “We should go find Wes to congratulate him.”

“And give him the satisfaction of admitting I lost our bet? I don’t think so,” Sawyer said.

“Anna? Cress?”.

“We’ll catch up with you,” Anna said with a knowing grin.

“Yeah,” Cress agreed with a bigger smirk. “We’ll be there in a minute. We just want to watch the next race, but you go ahead.”

“Fine. I’ll see you guys soon.”

Their faces were all too smug as I turned to go. I had a feeling they were yet again trying to push their Wesobel agenda on me, but I was too excited to see Wes to let it bother me.

When I caught sight of Wes, he was celebrating with the rest of his team. His whole body radiated excitement, and I loved seeing him so happy. When he saw me, his happy smile morphed into a beaming grin, and he rushed over to me, catching me up in his arms. I squealed as he swung me around before he lowered me to my feet once more.

“Did you see us?” he cried. “We won. We actually won.”

I laughed at his exuberance. He was so cute when he was this happy, and my heart was lifted by his brimming enthusiasm.