Page 57 of Wanna Bet?

She reached over and nudged his shoulder. "I love the effort."

His chest tightened. "You do?"

"Of course." She looked around the lake, at the blankets, the snacks, the sunset. At the cooler he'd clearly packed himself. "The fact that you planned all this matters more than the hot dogs." Something vulnerable crossed her expression. Something genuine. "We can survive one missed meal."

Jace smiled. And somehow the ruined dinner stopped feeling like a disaster and more like a memory.

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The drive home felt like a comfortable different. The kind of silence that didn't need filling. Music drifted softly through the speakers while the windows stayed down. Summer air rushed through the car. At one point Myah leaned halfway out the passenger window, pink hair streaming behind her. Laughing at absolutely nothing.

Jace glanced over and felt something dangerous settle inside his chest. Because for the first time in his life, he could picture the future. Not the vague, abstract idea of a future. A clear, specific future of him and Myah coming back to this lake every summer. The inside jokes, memories, traditions, years.

The image arrived so naturally it startled him. Yet it felt right, like something he'd been searching for without realizing it.

The sun had fully set by the time they reached her apartment. The parking lot glowed beneath yellow lights but neither of them moved. The silence felt heavier now, more meaningful.

Myah turned toward him, smiling and his heart pounded. Jace hadn't planned on saying it, but suddenly it felt impossible not to.

"Myah."

"Yeah?"

He swallowed. Then jumped, because he was tired of being afraid. Tired of pretending and holding pieces of himself back. "I'm falling for you."

The words hung between them. For one beautiful second, everything felt perfect. Then Myah's smile vanished.

Jace frowned. "Myah?"

Her eyes filled with tears and his stomach dropped instantly.

"What’s wrong?"

She shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Myah, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have–."

"I'm sorry." The words came out of her broken and panicked.

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

She covered her mouth and a hiccup escaped her. Jace had never seen her this upset. It was unsettling.

Then everything exploded. Words poured out of her, fast. Too fast, like she'd been holding them back for weeks. "There was a bet."

Jace froze. "A what?"

"A bet." She kept talking. Talking and talking and talking. As if she couldn't stop. As if silence might kill her. "It started before I knew you." Tears streamed down her face. "I didn't know who you were."

Jace stared, not understanding. Not wanting to understand.

"I was stupid."

"Myah—"

"It started as a joke and then it wasn't a joke anymore."

His pulse thundered in his ears and the world narrowed. Shrinking. Warping.