Empire High Betrayal(36)

It took every ounce of restraint not to grab his face and pull his lips to mine. “As much as I want to do more of…that…I need to talk to you first.”

“Or we could talk after.” His fingers skimmed across the waistline of my leggings. “I’ve been thinking of you all day. Thinking about what I did to you last night.”

God.

His fingers dipped beneath my waistband. “Thinking of you alone in my bed.”

“I hung out with James!” I wasn’t sure why I screamed it. It was like the secret was burning a hole in my chest.

Matt’s fingers froze on my skin.

“I didn’t mean to,” I said. “Rob came over and was talking about all the rumors swirling around. And he said that he wanted me to help him clear them up. I didn’t want there to be rumors about me sleeping with James, which apparently there are. And I thought I was just going to hang out with Rob. But when I climbed into his treehouse James was there and then…”

“Are you kidding me?” Matt pushed himself away from the door. “You promised me…” he glanced at the clock on his nightstand “…less than 24 hours ago that you wouldn’t hang out with James anymore. What the hell?” He didn’t sound mad. Just disappointed. Somehow that was even worse.

“But that’s what I’m trying to explain. I didn’t mean to hang out with James. I was going with Rob and…”

“Jesus, Brooklyn. I’m fighting with Rob too. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side.”

“Well it doesn’t really look like it.”

His words stung. But I knew I deserved them. “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.” I’d be able to follow through on the prank without seeing the Hunters. That’s what phones were for. I could still fix everything.

“And you’re not supposed to leave the house,” Matt said. “We don’t know where Isabella is. Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to go to the Hunters’ house?”

“I was just trying to fix your friendship…”

“I asked you not to see James. How is you hanging out with him fixing anything? You looked me in the eyes and promised.” Now he sounded mad.

I knew I was in the wrong. But I hadn’t meant to do anything bad. “I didn’t know James was going to be there.” And now our conversation was going in circles and not getting any better. I was just trying to be honest with him.

Matt sat down on the edge of his bed.

I hated when he was mad at me. I hated fighting with him. Unless it was the kind of fighting we did last night, in which case…I wish we were doing that instead. But he didn’t seem to be offering that. “I’m sorry that it happened. But I wanted to make sure I told you the truth.”

“The truth?” He looked up at me. “The truth is that giving you that ring meant something to me. I even went to your dad’s place today to tell him about my intentions with you. I’m all in with you. I’ve told you that. But you’re making it really hard to trust that you’re all in too.”

“I am all in with you. James is just a friend and I won’t see him anymore, I swear.”

“Did he try to kiss you?"

“No. And even if he did I would have turned him away. We just talked. Matt, I don’t want him. I want you.”

“What did you talk about?”

I knew he was trying to be reasonable. He was giving me a chance to explain. But if I told him about the prank, he’d make me call it off. I didn’t want to give up on my one chance of fixing his friendships.

“Did he hit on you at all?” Matt asked when I didn’t respond.

Fuck me. “Yeah, but he was just joking around. And I didn’t flirt back. They were both just being weird.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Rob too? What did they say?”

Withholding the prank was one thing. But what if James joked about his fake proposal at school tomorrow? I wasn’t going to blindside Matt. That was the whole reason I told him about the treehouse in the first place. James promised he wouldn’t say anything. But I didn’t know enough about James to trust him.

I took a deep breath. “James kind of…proposed. But he was kidding.” I think.

“What?”

“Rob said something about how his parents want James to marry a Pruitt. They were just joking around.”

He ran his hand down his face. “I know that I messed up. I gave you every reason to run into someone else’s arms. But not today. Not now. I was trying to be understanding, but this…it’s like you’re purposely torturing me.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“Brooklyn, you freaking got proposed to today by someone that wasn’t me.” He abruptly stood up. “And just before homecoming you were sleeping in another man’s bed.”

“You said you forgave me…”

“It doesn’t mean I forgot about it!” He turned away from me. “Fuck.”

I hated when he couldn’t even look at me. I knew I’d made a mess of things, but I wasn’t running anymore. I walked up to him and grabbed both sides of his face so that he’d look at me. “I only love you. And who cares if James’ parents want him to marry a Pruitt? I’m not a Pruitt. I’m a soon-to-be Caldwell.”