Beyond Me (20 page)

He muttered something vile under his breath and took a step forward. I jumped back. If he touched me, I’d be sick. I needed to get myself through this scene, calm and civilized, so he’d never know how badly he hurt me. He didn’t get to know that
ever
.

“You don’t get it. Forget the bet. What’s going on with the bartender?”

Puzzled, I stared at him. My God, was that what it was about? He made a bet to get me into bed and thought he’d whipped me good to parade me in front of his friends. Was he taking flak from his buddies about me flirting with the bartender? The pieces of the puzzle came together. I felt even sicker. Hands trembling, I put down my drink and drew on every last reserve of strength to get the hell out of this place in one piece.

“Austin?”

He sneered. “So quick to get on a first-name basis. Guess I got taken in by the good girl image. Figured you’d sneak in an extra fling before you go home? Another conquest for you to laugh about with your girls on the plane ride home?”

He didn’t even realize I saw him so clearly. He’d fallen for me, but he was too chickenshit to admit it. Much easier to think I’d screw around with other guys than deal with a real relationship. He had no idea what real was. And dear God, he’d made a
bet
...

My voice remained calm. “You’d love that wouldn’t you? It would make you feel superior, and ease your guilt about making a bet to get me into bed. What were the terms, by the way?”

“Never mind,” he growled.

I directed my attention to Rich and Adam. “Tell me the truth. For God’s sakes, the jig is up. Might as well spill.”

Rich was drunk enough to listen to me. “Get you into bed by the end of the week. If he lost, we got his motorcycle.”

Humiliation slithered like snakes in my gut. “And if he won?”

Rich cleared his throat. “We hook him up with Whit Bennigan as his mentor. He’s a famous artist.”

I’d heard the name and knew he was making a huge reputation in the art world. I forced a smile. “Well, good, at least you got something respectable out of it. I do wish you luck with your art career. I better go and leave you all to celebrate.”

James grabbed my arm. His touch sizzled, but I bared my teeth, not able to handle the contact. “Don’t. I was never gonna go through with it.”

I tried to control my shaking. “Oh, I get it. You never actually said the words to your buddies, ‘yes, it’s a bet.’ Did you?” Silence. “Did you say it, James? Tell me.”

“I-I-I. Fuck. I said it, but I didn’t mean it.”

My blood ran cold. “Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Now let go of me.” He dropped his hand and looked frantic, pushing his hands through his hair.

“Please, Quinn, it’s not what you think. The bet. I never went through with it. Who’s Austin?”

Oh no. It wasn’t going to be that easy for him. I smiled. “A friend. He’s cutting off your tequila, by the way, so you may need to find another party place.”

Adam waved his hand in the air and began laughing. “Let her go, James. She’s probably like her famous friend, Mackenzie Forbes. Puts on a good act, but screws everyone behind the scenes.”

The second jolt of horror punched me back. “What are you talking about? How do you know about her?” The betrayal was too much. The bet was bad enough, but breaking my trust was beyond forgiveness.

Adam laughed harder. “Did you really think you could hide America’s Sweetheart? She’s a country music star. At least I got some money out of it.”

I shook with fury. “What are you talking about?” I whispered. “Oh my God. Was it you? You sicced the reporters on her?”

“Just one. Got a good payoff though.”

James grabbed him by his shirt collar and shook him hard. “What the fuck did you do, Adam?”

“Get off me, dude. You’re nuts!” He stumbled back. “I’ll put you in the cut of money if you want. Damn, you’re so fucking touchy lately.”

James met my gaze. His eyes pleaded for me to understand. “I never told them, Quinn,” he stated. “I swear to God.”

It was too much. Too many lies to take. I needed to escape before I burst into tears. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m outta here.”

“Quinn—”

“Don’t follow me, James. I mean it.”

I turned and pushed my way past the crowds. I stumbled out on Duval Street, but I’d only taken a few steps before someone grabbed by arm. I yanked away, trying to beat James off me, but the sound of Cassie’s voice broke through.

“Sweetie, it’s me. What happened? Oh God, are you okay?”

A sob caught in my throat, and suddenly, I was in my friend’s arms for a comforting hug. “He made a bet, Cass. A bet to get me into bed, and I had no idea. I thought I’d fallen for him.”

A blistering array of curse words rose up to my ears. Cassie squeezed me tight. “I’ll kill him. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”

A broken laugh escaped and I hung on to her. “No, he’s not worth it. Oh God, I’m a mess. And there’s more. His stupid friend blabbed about Mac to the press. The paparazzi are swarming her right now—Austin tipped me off. Mac probably thinks he did it, but it was James. Did you know about this?”

Cassie pulled back and gasped. “This is a mess. No, I haven’t heard anything yet. What should we do?”

I sniffed and tried to get my head on straight. My heart was already in tiny pieces, but I needed to concentrate on my friend. “Listen, I’m going up to her room. Austin said she was holed up.”

Cassie looked worried and glanced back at the bar like there was something important going on. Or someone. “Want me to come with you?”

“No, stay. I don’t think Mac needs both of swooping in if she’s trying to lay low. And I need some time to process.”

She looked torn, and shifted from foot to foot. “I don’t know. I hate leaving both of you alone when all this stuff is going on.”

I squeezed her hands. “Cassie, go back to the bar. For God’s sakes, one of us has to have a good wrap-up to this week. I’ll check in with Mac and we’ll be fine. Text us later.”

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

We hugged briefly. I made her promise not to kill James or his friends, and I headed back to the hotel to find out what the hell was going on. When I saw the news trucks and the crowds clogging the hotel, my heart sank. Too late. Poor Mac was probably trapped inside and couldn’t get back out. I had to show my key to the lobby, and then make my way past her bodyguard, who let me right through.

Mac’s eyes widened when she saw me. I probably looked like a mess. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I think. What the hell is going on, sweetie? Why didn’t you tell me about getting busted by the pap?”

She dragged me into the room. “I couldn’t deal. I wanted you to have a nice vacation and not worry about me.”

I dragged in a breath and just blurted out the truth. “Austin didn’t leak the news.”

“I know. I mean, I thought he did at first, but then I realized I was wrong. But it was too late.” Mac blinked back tears. “How did you know about it?”

I lifted my chin. “It was me.”

She laughed. “Really funny.”

“I’m not kidding. I didn’t actually do it, but I might as well have.” I collapsed on the couch and covered my face with my hands. “I told James about you. Told him I was here with you. I trusted him, and his friend…he did it.”

Mac sat down beside me and rubbed my back. “James told them?”

“No. James’ buddy. Dickhead Adam.” I uncovered my face. “He must have been eavesdropping…or maybe James told him. I don’t even know.”

“It’s okay. That’s not your fault.”

I shook her head. “But it is. I told James. If I hadn’t told him, then you’d—”

“I’d still be me, and chances are? Someone else would have figured it out,” she stated. “It was only a matter of time, really.”

“Mac…” I hugged her close and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for not being pissed. You’re too good to me.”

“Please. I’m not good enough.” She released me. “You didn’t do anything to be ashamed of. All you did was trust a boy…”

“And look where that got me.”

“All three of us made a mess of things down here, didn’t we? What happened to carefree sex and fun? Wasn’t that what I ordered us all to find?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged and tried not to think of James. Of how bad I still wanted him. Of how stupid I felt to trust him. “Maybe the two don’t go hand in hand.”

She got up and cracked open a bottle of wine. “I think we need this, and you’re going to tell me everything as we get drunk together and talk about how much boys suck. Deal?”

I let out a half laugh. “I think I can agree to that. Let me text Cassie and let her know we’re okay. I ran out on her, told her about the press, and left her alone. Someone has to save this vacation.”

“Good thinking.”

We spent the next hour drinking wine and confessing our escapades from the past few days. I cried on her shoulder, she returned the favor, and when I finally crawled back to my own room, I felt a bit better. I was still torn between wanting to die and wanting to kill him, so I decided to do the only thing left where I didn’t have to think.

I curled underneath the blankets, still dressed, and fell asleep.

S
HE FUCKING
left me.

I stared at the closed door. The room swayed like I was a polluted drunk, but I didn’t move. Rich slapped me on the back and told me it was better this way. Adam apologized for springing the Mac thing on me, then offered me some of the money. Rich said he’d set up the appointment with Whit Bennigan.

I was in a fog for a while. Just sat there, going over the incident in my head, knowing I fucked up, but not knowing how to fix it. Every way I looked at it, I felt completely beneath her, not worthy to be the one she loved. But to let her go, believing she was nothing to me? I couldn’t let her go like this.

My attention drifted toward Cassie, who stared at me with such hate I figured she’d like to rip my dick off for fun. She’d run out after Quinn, but now she was back. Why? Because Quinn laughed off the whole thing and didn’t need her?

I was so fucked up. The moment she found out about the bet, I should’ve dropped to my knees and begged her to let me explain. Especially about the thong.

But no. All I could think of was the asshat bartender who probably deserved her more than I did. I got so jealous I went apeshit, and now I may have lost her for good. Quinn wouldn’t fuck with a guy’s head for fun. Then Adam had to go and make her believe I betrayed her.

Jesus, this was like a psycho TV show that was way worse than
The Walking
Fucking
Dead
.

I needed to get my shit together and find her. Make her understand that I was sorry, that I wouldn’t hurt her, that I’d do anything to make it up to her. Force her to understand I’d never betray her trust and I wasn’t the one to tell Adam about Mackenzie.

I walked away while the guys called out my name and begged me to return. When the door shut behind me, I knew it was symbolic. I was done. No matter what happened between Quinn and me, there’d be no more parties, or villas in Key West, or fake friends who didn’t even know who I was. I needed to start over and find a life for myself that was real.

I knew she’d be at the hotel. It didn’t take me long to walk there, but even though I had her name and room number, they wouldn’t let me into the building without a keycard. The news reporters were jacked up for a sniff of Mac, and it was a shitstorm. After a good forty minutes of staking out the hotel, I did what I do best: took one of the back doors, pressed a crapload of money into the hotel guard’s hands, and got through. The stairwell took me to her floor, and I thanked God I didn’t have to try to get to the penthouse, which would be
Mission
Fucking
Impossible
.