A shy high school senior jock and a closed-off girl battling an immune disorder fake a relationship to win a social media contest.
Being shy isn't easy, especially when you're the new kid at school. Scotts Valley's football program is subpar compare...
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Dare? Paige was supposed to pick Truth. She went from surprised to confused and anxious in two seconds, trembling and squeezing her hands in her lap.
I made a huge mistake. One I couldn't take back.
Everyone stared at her. Forcing her to confess about her condition made me no better than the people who picked on her, but I was so tired of her being bullied over a fucking misunderstanding. Tired of her staying silent and accepting shit treatment she didn't deserve...because she was better than all of them.
Vi agreed, but I was wrong. Paige's health was her business to share on her terms. I fucked up by taking the choice from her.
It was no excuse, but Layla kissing me snapped my last thread of restraint. Cassidy was lucky I hadn't smashed her phone onto Pierce's driveway. Instead, I settled for deleting half of her video files, including a couple of Paige with nasty commentary added. Taping her was mean and destructive and...I'd had enough.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into Paige's ear.
"Little late for that," she mumbled with her gaze on Layla.
"Dare?"
By Layla's raised eyebrows, she hadn't expected Paige to choose dare either. The circle of spectators looked shocked, and Violet tipped her head down to hide a smirk.
"Dare," Paige said with more certainty, although her lower lip wobbled. "Unless you can't—"
Layla smirked at Paige. "Prove your and Brody's relationship is real."
I didn't need to ask how the hell we were supposed to prove it because Layla aimed her smirk at me. "Kiss him, Paige."
Before either of us answered, Violet was on her feet. "You know the rules," she said to Layla and grabbed Paige's hand.
Rules? What rules?
With one tug, Paige was up. Vi tipped her head for me to comply. I was stuck on these unspoken rules. My feet and legs listened, putting me at Paige's side.
"Forced kissing on display is demeaning and an invasion of privacy," she announced loudly, pulling me and Paige into the hallway.
Forced kissing was a privacy invasion, but taping Paige without her consent was—
"Use the closet. I'm on guard."
What the hell was happening? Before I asked, Violet opened the nearest doorway, flicked on a light to reveal a deep, narrow closet, and shoved me and Paige inside. Paige stumbled over my left foot, and my right elbow knocked the wall. Pain radiated down my forearm.
"Good luck," Vi whispered between the door crack and shut the door.
I blinked at the door as if it would reopen. "Guess we're, uhh, stuck."
Paige and I shifted through the compressed space, her shoulder bumping my chest with every movement. The overhead light buzzed through our shuffled silence. Paige palmed the wall and stepped around a vacuum cleaner. I moved away from a coat rack poking into my shoulder. It wobbled, shaking coats onto the floor.
