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“And yet you made the bet.”
“I couldn’t very well turn him down. You know how he is.”
“What do you get if you win?”
“One million dollars.”
Her eye bug out. “Are you kidding?”
“No, not at all. He put a million up on this. But if he wins, he gets something he wants from each of us.”
“Something he wants?”
“Right, so he wants this antique globe I’ve had in my office forever. Looks like he’ll be getting it.”
She goes silent for a second and I can tell she’s figuring something out. I let her have a second to process all this. I know I wasn’t supposed to tell her about the bet, but at this point it’s all but over. Nobody but Henry’s playing anyway, although he doesn’t know it yet. It’s childish and lame and maybe even gross, but I won’t pretend like I didn’t get involved. I’m a lot of things, and an immature jerk happens to be one of them as well.
“None of you tried to beat him,” she says finally.
“Of course not,” I say, cocking my head at her. “Why would we?”
She stares at me for a second. “For a million dollars? I sure as hell would have.”
I laugh softly. “The money’s serious, you’re right.”
“But why? Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, but that’s not entirely true.
“Carter…”
“Do you want me to say it?” I turn toward her, stepping closer. My heart beats fast in my chest.
“Yes,” she says, “but I’m afraid to hear it.”
“We’re losing because of you,” I say. “Not a single one of the five of us was willing to risk fucking up whatever this is with you, not even for a million dollars.”
“That’s a lot of money,” she says softly. “You…”
“I’m what?” I ask.
“You’re a freaking idiot.” She hits my chest and grins at me. “I’m far, far from worth it.”
“I disagree,” I say softly, grinning back at her.
Fortunately, Henry stayed upstairs for the rest of the night, and so the five of us got to pass Emily around, teasing her, joking with her, and eventually breaking off into a smaller group for something much more.
That’s how we pass the night, and the next morning, I find Henry standing in the kitchen, drinking orange juice straight from the jug.
He gives me a grin. “Morning,” he says.
“Morning. Make coffee yet?”
“Not yet.” He eyes the machine and I sigh.
“I got it.”
As I make coffee, he sits down on a stool and watches me. “Can I ask you something?” he says suddenly.
