“You did this to prove a point?” Kayce disapproval and dismay only annoyed Rebel further. “You’re so fucking wrong for that.”
She flipped him off and added, “fuck you,” to underscore her displeasure.
“I’ve had to outthink dickheads to stay two steps ahead of their fuckery for most of my fucking life. How the fuck did it makeyoufeel that I didn’t give a fuck how you felt? Kayce? Kaia?” She glared at Mattie. “Cousin? Going once, going twice.Soldto the biggest fucking liars.”
“No one’s lying to you,” Mattie said warily.
“Really, Matilda? Really? You’re blabbing our confidential conversations for nothing?” She looked at Kaia, her eyes blazing. “Andyouthrowing in my face what I shared with you because I trusted you. Deflection much, dickhead?”
The tears lurking in her eyes horrified Kaia and made him feel lower than he ever had.
“Babe, listen to me,” he said, grabbing her hands, especially the one in the cast so she wouldn’t conk him upside his head. He tightened his hold when she tried to yank them away. “Babe, babe. Listen…I’m sorry. The conversation about this wasunexpected. I handled it wrong. I’m sorry. I thought I’d make you cry–”
He cringed at her growl. The tears she’d held back began to fall, but her eyes blazed and he knew he’d fucked up a little more.
“That was low of me, but I didn’t know what else to do so we could enjoy our time together.”
“Why don’t you let Kaia take my place?” Kayce offered hesitantly.
“Or…or…you don’t have to kiss on the lips,” Mattie inserted. “You can kiss Kayce if you want to and we do another spin.”
“I’m sorry,” Kaia said again. “I swear I won’t ever try to manipulate you again.”
Rebel stiffened.
“Bro, shut up!” Mattie snarled. “That is the worst thing you can say to Rebel other than the other worst thing you just said: I wanted to make you cry.”
“Wait. How can there be two worse things?” Kaia asked.
“Kaia, quit while you’re ahead,” Kayce told him.
“Kaia wasn’t right the way he handled everything. Neither was I, but are you really ruining this chance to kiss Kaia because of what Diesel did?” Mattie asked.
“How is this about Diesel?” Kaia asked, confused again. “And the bottle landed on Kayce.”
Mattie squinted and drained her glass. “What’s wrong with you? Like seriously? She did it to make a point. Obviously, she was going to point the bottle at you.”
Kaia lifted his brow, almost afraid to hope. “You were?”
Rebel gave a curt nod, then snatched her hands and got to her feet. Her face was the color of ripe radish. Kaia just might be in love. “It’s whatever. I’m going to my room.”
Mattie threw Kaia a death glare, then jumped to her feet and hurried in front of Rebel.
“Kaia’s a good guy and really into you, Reb. Whatever supposedly happened between him and Fia was the nightbeforeyou two agreed to go steady.”
“The three of us took this way too seriously,” Kayce put in, twirling his finger between himself, Kaia, and Mattie. “Maybe, if we hadn’t been so uptight, shit wouldn’t be so intense right now.”
“Maybeif you fuckheads wouldn’t try to play me, I wouldn’t have suggested the stupid game,” Rebel responded.
“Does that mean you don’t want to kiss me?” Kaia asked, oddly hurt.
Mattie glowered at him.
Shaking his head at Kaia, Kayce placed a finger over his lips, then smiled at Rebel. “We don’t have to deep throat if it lands on someone we don’t want to really kiss.”
Rebel pursed her lips, then looked at Mattie and blinked, her eyes glistening. “I shouldn’t have suggested the game. I’m sorry to all three of you. That was shitty of me, but I wanted to prove a point.”
“Let’s call it a draw,” Mattie said, “and start the game over. Kayce’s right, anyway. We were looking at it totally wrong.”
