He murmured, “I fucked up, huh?”

“Completely.” I closed my eyes.

His lips touched over mine again, a soft caress.

“Totally,” I added.

“I won’t do it again.”

“You’d better not.”

He pressed harder. His kiss grew more commanding.

I took hold of his face. He started to pull away, another teasing comment on his lips, but I stopped him. I tugged him to me, and I took over the kiss.

Enough talk.

It was time to show him how much I loved him, and so I did.

The mission was to get invited to Park Sebastian’s party.

I’d accepted the mission, and when I returned to my dorm room the next morning, I had no idea how to do the impossible. I walked in, saw the bare desk, the empty closet, the empty dresser drawers, the one box on the floor, and the bag on the stripped bed. Summer sat beside it. She pushed it aside and folded her hands in her lap. She looked down at her lap for a split second before lifting her gaze again, biting down on her lip and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Summer? What’s going on?”

“This was all a lie.” Her voice was trembling, and she wouldn’t look at me. She kept her head down. “But I can’t participate in this anymore.”

“What do you mean? You already came clean.” My insides were twisting. I felt like I was approaching a wounded animal, and I proceeded inside with caution, closing the door with a soft click. “I know you’re Sebastian’s sister.”

“No, Sam.” She wiped a hand over her cheek. Wetness glistened from the top of her palm as it went back to her lap. “All of it was a lie. I wasn’t even going to come to college. I came because Park convinced me. He made you, Mason, and Logan sound like a scene from The Exorcist.”

“You weren’t going to come to college…at all?”

“No. The modeling thing was true. My contract ended with an agency, and I was going to sign a new one, but he got in my head. He said I was perfect, that I would be ingratiated with you immediately.” Her shoulders dropped another inch, closing together. Her size seemed to shrink from a six-foot-one model to a tiny little girl. Her hair fell over her shoulder, and she grabbed a chunk of it, wrapping it into her sleeve, as she began picking at the end of her shirt. “He picked me because of Heather.”

“What?” I was so far behind. “Heather?”

“I’m just like her. That’s why he picked me. Said my personality was like your best friend. There was no way you couldn’t not trust me. He said you’d trust me without realizing it even. I’m so sorry, Sam. I really am.” She waited a second. Her shoulders lifted as she took in some air. She started again, “He wanted me to come clean because he wanted me to further gain your trust. It was all a part of some mind game he’s playing with you guys.”

“Okay.” I frowned. A headache was forming behind my temples. “How was that supposed to gain my trust?”

“He said that it was going to come out anyway. He wanted me to tell you before it did, and he said that we could spin it. The whole changing-the-key thing—that was part of the charade. He was supposed to show up. I was supposed to get mad at him. Someone would use me against him, but he didn’t think it’d be you. He thought Mason would try to get information from me. Not you. None of his plans have gone the way he said they would.” Her chest heaved up and held. She fisted her hands in her shirt. Her shoulders dropped, and a sob wrenched out.

My chair was a few feet from me, and I slowly edged closer before sitting. I never turned away from her. It wasn’t that I thought Summer would move against me. I didn’t want to spook her. She’d run away, and I wanted more answers. She was right. The charade was done.

“Summer.” I held on to the back of my chair. My nails dug into it. “Tell me what was the truth.”

“What I’ve already said. I do like you.” She looked up now. Her tears left trails through her makeup, running down her face. Her mascara was in clumps under her eyelids. “And I do like football. I always have, but all my weirdness around Mason wasn’t because of his stats. It was because of my brother. He made Mason out to be a villain. Park said he hated Mason because Mason wanted to destroy everything for him. Sebastian even said that Mason would try to hit on me. Park wanted me to sleep with Mason.”

My eyes got big with that one, but I held back. I couldn’t scare her away.

“But Mason didn’t. It’s so obvious how much he loves you and Logan.” She sighed. “Park said that Logan would hit on me, too, and he did, but it wasn’t like how Park said it would be. Logan…there’s more to him. He’s not the asshole my brother portrayed him to be.” A defiant glint showed across her features. “And I don’t regret sleeping with him. My brother isn’t entitled to know everything. It’s none of his business.”

She was going to spill more about Logan. I needed to know more about Sebastian, how it pertained to me.

I urged gently, “Summer, what else was a lie?”

Her head went back down. More sniffles wheezed from her, mixed with tears. “I don’t know why I’m a mess. I mean, it’s you. You’re not even mad. I’d be livid, knowing my roommate was lying to me. I love you. You have no idea. I can’t be your friend, but I want to be. My brother said it’s him or you, but fuck him.” That defiant look was back.