Fall For Me (4 page)

He kept biting his lip and looking away.

“I want you to use that Free Pass,” he said. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

The fact that that was his answer made my stomach knot. But I tried to push the queasy uneasiness I felt out of my mind. “Finn, me kissing another guy won’t help.”

“It’ll help me,” he said, sounding tortured. “I don’t like feeling guilty, Zoey.”

Well, I didn’t like feeling betrayed—but I didn’t tell him that. I didn’t say anything. I just went back to working on the song and coveting his guitar and trying not to think about him and Bimbo Bianca kissing.

***

Finn had promised me: no more gambling. Sure, he worked lots of hours now at the pool, but still, these days he was losing money way faster than he was raking it in. That sucked on so many levels. One being, he had promised me I could buy his guitar as soon as he bought the new Gibson he was eyeing. But he’d been promising that for months now and was still nowhere near scrounging up the cash—and all I could afford was his old one. I mean, all I could afford and still have an awesome guitar. See, the thing was, now that my dad was dead, my family was basically broke. Mom was almost finished with school and then she would be a CPA and make decent money.
 
But for now, we were just scraping by.

 
Still, I had saved enough for the guitar. I was itching to get my hands on Finn’s—have it alone. Forever.

 
I dropped my little brother, Justin, off at a sleepover—very late because he changed his mind about going three million times—then I went to hunt up my boyfriend—per his parent’s request. I was pretty sure I knew where to look, as when Finn doesn’t answer his cell it means he’s losing money—big time—usually to Riley. My first stop was the restaurant, since it closes early on weeknights, becoming the perfect spot for poker-night. When I walked in the dining room, big shock, there was Finn in the middle of a game.

As soon as “the guys” saw me, they fell mysteriously silent. No teasing Finn for being, “busted.” No nothing. Just sheepish looks and awkward silence and this tight, tense air hovering in the room.

It was unsettling. Had my stomach twisting. ‘Cause normally, the guys were super friendly to me when I’d show up at a game. They’d be all flirting and teasing and telling me to pull up a chair and join them. But not tonight. Tonight they cut furtive glances to each other with raised eyebrows but wouldn’t look at me—anywhere but at me. What was going on? It had me clutching my stomach, sweating.

“How much is he down?” I asked, assuming that’s what all the tenseness was about—he’d lost huge.

“I’m going to win this hand,” Finn said gruffly, not really answering my question, then added, “And don’t worry, I haven’t lost a cent.”

His words were reassuring, but the way he said them wasn’t. “What
have
you lost?” I asked, positive by the way everyone was acting I didn’t really want to know.

Finn’s friends, Parker, Max, and Darrin, immediately shot to their feet.

“We’re taking off,” Parker said. Then he raised an eyebrow, grinning as he shot a look across the table to Finn. “Good luck, buddy.”

Finn just gritted his teeth, waiting until they were gone. Then he said it again, “I’m going to win.”

The only other person left sitting at the table was Riley. And Finn already owed Riley money—a lot, I was pretty sure. Though not quite clear on the exact amount—as losing put Finn in a bad mood and he didn’t like to talk about his loses. Lately,
wouldn’t
talk about them. So, I was basically in the dark, but I suspected it was a lot.

 
“Finn, just call it a night,” I said, then glanced over at Riley. “What does he owe you?”

Riley studied his can of soda a moment, then looked up into my eyes. His lips twitched into a sympathetic smile. “You.”

My stomach tightened.

Whh?

Finn was out of his chair and at my side before I could actually grasp what I just heard. He put his arms around me, like for support, pulling me into the backroom, obviously hoping to calm me down.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding me tight. “It was his idea. But it didn’t seem that bad. I mean, you like Riley, right? And he’s always had a thing for you. And he’s sad—like all heartbroken—over Ava. And it’s just a kiss—one kiss.” Finn went on and on, super fast, not taking a breath, as though he wanted to get the whole explanation out before I exploded.

“And I know you,” he said, caressing my ear with his lips. “You want my guitar. You want it bad, right?”

When I didn’t say anything, just stood stock-still, frozen and angry and hurt, Finn wet his lips and went on. “I was going to get it for you. See, Riley put his guitar in the pot—his
guitar
. Man, you know I love that guitar—
he
knows I love it. It rocks. So, I thought, hey if I get Riley’s guitar, Zoey can have mine. Seriously, Zoey, that’s what was going through my head—and I had a sweet hand. I swear. I did. But … I was out of cash.”

I gritted my teeth. “So you just thought you’d pass me over to your friend?”

“Babe,” he said, like
come on
. “You know that’s not the way it went. My hand was a win, a sure thing. Still, it wasn’t my idea. It was Riley’s. All Riley’s. He said I didn’t need to pay up. He said if I won I’d get his guitar, but if he won … he wanted a date with you.”

Hearing that gave my heart a jolt—turned it on fire.

Still, I gritted my teeth again. “And you
took
the bet.”

Finn raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything, ‘cause what could he say?—the answer was pretty clear.

I let out a breath, ready to cry or yell, but Finn held me tighter. “Zoey, I swear. My hand was a sure thing.”

I clenched my teeth. “You always think you have a sure thing.”

As I struggled to get away from him, Finn’s hold on me tightened. “Zoey, I’m so sorry. You know I wouldn’t have taken the bet if I thought I would lose—you know that.” He tilted his forehead against mine. “I wasn’t disrespecting you, I was doing it
for
you, Zoey—I swear.”

He whispered in my ear, “Just tonight. Just this one time—go out with him. Let him spend money on you—the guy’s loaded.”

Whoa. Hearing him say that was like a punch in the stomach. Things had changed so much between us. He used to treat me like I was so incredibly special, like I meant everything to him—no way would he let another guy take me out on a date, he wouldn’t even let his friends dance with me. Well, he’d let them sometimes, but grudgingly and act like it was a huge deal. But now… now he was
telling
me to go out with another guy—trying to sell me on the idea. It hurt so bad. I could feel tears welling in my eyes.

I swallowed, then shook my head. “No, Finn. I’m sorry, I can’t.”

He grinned slightly, still holding me tight. “Yes you can. Riley’s hot, right? Just do it, go out with him—kiss him. Remember what we talked about the other night? Your Free Pass?—the swap?—the kiss? This is it. Take it.”

Ugh.

Finn was so cocky, so confident in our relationship—knowing I would never ditch him—but he had no idea what Riley did to my heart these days. He didn’t have a clue.

So of course Finn would choose Riley for my Free Pass. Of course. Riley who went through girls like Kleenex. The only girl Riley ever cared about was Ava, and she just dumped him. Finn probably figured he didn’t even have to slightly worry about Riley. No way was Riley going to fall for a girl and get tangled in a relationship—unless the relationship was with Ava. And like I said, she bailed on him.

Grrr.

Finn held me a long time, stroking my hair, then he cupped my chin, making me look up at him. “I’m going to go talk to him, okay?”

It seemed I should say no. I mean, it wasn’t my bet—I had no obligation. But Finn was my boyfriend, and I did actually know that his heart had been in the right place when he took the bet—sort of. I mean, the guy never thinks he’s going to lose. He thought he was going to win the guitar, and I know, in his mind, it seemed perfect since he wasn’t ever going to be able to buy the Gibson, and he knew how much I wanted his guitar. So bad. So, in a way—a very
twisted
way—it was sweet. Sort of. Maybe. I guess.

“Zoey, I owe him money—a lot. But he said if I could actually get you to go out with him—agree to the bet—we’d be square.”

I flinched, but inside I was a fluttering mess. Riley had gone to great lengths to go on a date with me and kiss me. Either he really did have a “thing” for me—a major one—or this was another of his tricks to torment me—just like when we were kids. I mean, having my boyfriend toss me up in a bet, how humiliating.

The thing was though, it was probably more just that Riley was bored. Ava bailed—and she was the only challenge he’d ever had. Ever. Every other girl in school fell at Riley’s feet, except Ava … and me. And now that Ava was gone …

“So, we’re good?” Finn asked.

I bit my lip, but finally let out a breath and nodded.

“I’ll be back. I’m just going to go talk to him.”

Finn scooted out the door and I stood in the backroom, leaning against the pool table, not sure how I felt. Hurt? Betrayed? Sort of. But not really anymore. Not totally. Like I said, I knew Finn thought he was going to win. He always thought he was going to win. He was an irresponsible gambler. Definitely. But see, the thing was, Riley knew that. He took advantage of Finn tonight with the bet. Riley totally knew what he had in his hands—he wasn’t like Finn. No way would he have bet his guitar if he thought there was the slightest chance he’d lose.

Finn on the other hand, come to think of it, probably felt he had
nothing
to lose taking the bet. I didn’t think of it this way earlier, but he probably reasoned it out in his head before actually accepting Riley’s offer. Finn had given me a free pass for a kiss—and he seriously wanted me to take it so he didn’t have to feel guilty anymore. As if things worked like that. But still, he probably saw it as a win either way—sort of. After all, he knew I loved him. He wasn’t worried about me falling for another guy—he was just itching for a way to get rid of his guilt.

Grr.

Finally, I heard Finn come back into the room. Not able to face him, I kept my back to the door, mad and hurt and confused. “So—what?” I grumbled. “Am I kissing Riley?”

“I hope so.”

My eyes popped open. That wasn’t Finn.

I froze, clutching my stomach, realizing Finn wasn’t who I’d heard come into the room after all. It was Riley. Ugh, ugh,
ugh
!

I squeezed my eyes shut, embarrassed.

Finally, I let out a gasp and whipped around to face him.

Riley smiled. “Hi.”

“Where’s Finn?” I asked, taking a step away. We were too close—way too close. I could feel the heat coming off him—or imagined I could—and it was getting me all sweaty and agitated.

“Finn left.”

Riley’s voice was husky as he came closer, filling the distance I had just created between us. Again, I could feel his heat, smell his “Riley” scent. Mmmm.

Swallowing, I backed away further, into the set of cues hanging on the wall behind me. Riley quirked his eyebrows at my smooth move.

Ugh! I loved it when he quirked his eyebrows … and looked at me the way he was.

Unnerved, I felt back, clutching a cue.

Slowly, Riley pinned me against the wall. He played with a lock of my hair, leaning in close, so close that my brain turned to Jell-o and I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t. I tried to remind myself how—in, out … in … out.
 
But it was hard because his seductive brown eyes were staring deep, deep, deep into mine, looking hot. And hungry. It had my heart pounding wild and my knees feeling all weak and unsteady. Like, if I wasn’t holding the stick behind me for support, I might keel over.