Blackmail

Bets

I can't suppress the laugh clawing its way up my throat.

"Fall for you? Such a cliché thing to say, don't you think?"

He shrugs.

"If that's what you want to think."

"I'm not going to fall for you."

"I've heard other things."

"From who?"

"My twin sister."

Nathaniel has a twin sister?!?!?!

"How come I haven't met her?"

"Audrey lives with my dad and goes to private school."

And his parents are divorced?

"Why don't you talk about her?"

"When have we ever spoken before you approached me in the hall?"

"Fair enough. So where is she getting this 'I'm going to fall for you' crap from?"

"She's an avid reader. That stuff happens all the time in the books she reads. When I told her about the situation, she said you would end up falling for me."

"I'm not some girl in a teen fiction novel. I'm not going to fall for you."

"Want to make a bet on that?"

"Lay it on me."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully for a minute before responding to me.

"If you fall for me by the time the baby is born, you have to tell me the truth about who the kid's dad is."

"And if I don't fall for you?"

"You can tell Dr. Kamryn that I was smoking in the hallway."

"You're willing to risk your perfect attendance for a stupid bet?"

"That's how sure I am that I'm going to win it."

"I highly doubt you will."

"Deal or no deal."

He extends his hand and I latch on with my own.

"Deal."