Page 25 of Forever is the Sweetest Con
“If I were you,” he says, leaning close enough that I can feel his hot breath on my face, “I’d get in his ear, make a convincing argument for why he should stick with you.”
I know it’s Tyler’s job to create drama, and I know Ishouldrise above it. Nobody likes a drama queen. But why is Isa looking at Sue-Ellen like that? Every second he spends with her is a step further away from winning. I need to get in there.
I walk over, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. “Hey,” I say to them. They don’t look up. “Hey!” I say, louder this time.
“Hi Cleo,” Sue-Ellen says in a singsong voice. She’s so goddamn smug.
“Isa, can I pull you for a chat?”
Isa glances at Sue-Ellen, and she rolls her eyes. He nods and hoists himself up.
I take his hand. “Come on, let’s go to the beach.”
The night air is cool and sobering. We walk silently down the beach path and take a seat at one of the logs by the fire pit. He puts his arm around my shoulders, and I lean my head against his.
“So, how’s your night going?” I ask.
“It’s a good night,” he says, nodding. “Maybe I drank a bit too much punch, but I’m feeling good.”
“That’s good.” I pause, waiting for him to ask how my night is going, but he doesn’t. “I’m not having the best night, to be honest.”
“No? Why?”
I square my shoulders toward the camera directly across from us. “I’m just feeling a bit uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable?” he says, slurring the syllables. “Why?”
“No, never mind.” It can’t seem like I’m purposely causing drama, so I have to play this right. “It’s just…”
“What is it? You can tell me.”
I sigh. “It’s Sue-Ellen. I don’t think she likes me,” I say in my Sad Girl voice.
“Why wouldn’t she like you? She doesn’t even know you.”
“I know, but I’m just getting a vibe from her. Like maybe she’s jealous, or something?”
He shrugs. “Girls are crazy sometimes, no?”
I imagine women across the country yelling at the TV, but I don’t react to this asinine comment. “You don’t think she’s jealous that you chose me and not her?”
Another shrug. “She was already chosen.”
“So you would have chosen her if Garrett hadn’t?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It is impossible to know because it didn’t happen.”
I have no choice but to pull out the big guns. “It’s just—” I turn my body toward his and run my hand up his thigh. “I just feel thiscrazyconnection with you,” I say, teasing one finger under the hem of his shorts. “Do you feel the same way?”
He watches my hand as I trace a line up and down his thigh, goinga tiny bit higher each time. “Uh-huh, yes, I feel it.” His voice is low and breathy.
“Maybe I’d feel better if you kissed me.”
I don’t need to ask twice. Isa immediately turns and pulls my face into his. Our teeth collide, but it doesn’t slow him down. He darts his tongue in and out of my mouth as his hands run down my back straight to my ass. Oh god, this is awful. If there were no cameras around I’d shove him off of me, but instead I moan, which emboldens him to start pulling up my dress.
That’s enough. I break away from him, resisting the urge to swat his hands away. Instead, I pull my dress down, waving a finger at him. “Naughty, naughty,” I say, wiping my mouth. I’m disgusted, but it was worth it to secure myself as his number one.
“I can’t help it, you’re so—” He leans in to kiss me again, but we’re interrupted.
