“Guys like him, yeah.”
“And how is that?”
“Because I’m one of them.” He shrugs.
I want to get up and stomp off. Tell him he needs to mind his own fucking business. But something keeps me rooted to my seat.
“What’s the one way?” I ask after a few beats of silence stretch between us.
“You make yourself unobtainable. Guys go crazy for that shit. They always want what they think they can’t have.”
“And how exactly do I do that?”
“You make yourself unobtainable. Make him think he doesn’t stand a shot in hell with you.”
“And I do that how?”
“I’ve got an idea.” His expression turns mischievous and my stomach twists in on itself. “You need to take yourself off the market. And not just with anyone. But with someone that Ethan is sure to notice. Someone like... me.”
“You.” I gape openly at him. “Yeah, because that’ll happen.” I shake my head, turning my focus back to where Ethan is now full on making out with Heidi without a single care that they’ve got quite the audience watching it go down.
“Hear me out.”
I look back at Callum, not because I want to, but because if I stare at Ethan with his tongue down Heidi’s throat for another second, I might puke.
“I’m not saying we should date. I’m saying we should make everyone else think we are.”
“You want to fake date me?”
To say I’m confused is the understatement of the year. Where the hell is this coming from?
“Why not?” He shrugs. “It could be mutually beneficial.”
“And there it is.” I smack my leg. “I should have known you’d get something out of it.”
“I’m just saying. You want Ethan. I want to give Annika one last fuck you. Together we can accomplish both.”
“So you want to lie and tell everyone we’re dating to help me land another guy and make your ex jealous?” I give him a doubtful look.
“Pretty much.” He grins, pulling his legs in before resting his elbows on top of them.
“Sleeping with Sarah wasn’t enough?”
“Sarah was the ice cream. You’d be the cherry on top.”
“You’re insane. You know that, right?”
“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Seriously though, what do you really have to lose?”
“My dignity for one.”
“You’re overthinking it, P.”
“Poppy,” I correct.
“It’s all about perception.” He ignores my interruption. “People will perceive that we’re together, but we won’t actually be together. What’s the harm in that?”
“I don’t know, maybe that we’d be lying to everyone. Besides, why would you ever want to publicly date someone like me? Don’t you have standards?”
He seems a little taken aback by my question and honestly, a little mad, which only serves to confuse me more.
“You seriously don’t have a fucking clue do you, Poppy?”
“A clue about what?”
“Never mind.” He shakes his head, his piercing green eyes coming back to mine. “Besides, you should know by now, I don’t discriminate. I love all women.”
“Yeah, the string of girls that I’ve seen leaving your house over the past four years is proof of that.” I roll my eyes. “But don’t kid yourself. No matter how slutty, they all had one very important thing in common.”
“And what’s that?”
“They’re all beautiful.”
“And you don’t think you are?” I feel like he’s mocking me, but his expression seems genuine, curious even.
“Not like the girls you associate with, no.”
“You really are blind. Do you really have no clue how beautiful you are?”
“You’ve officially lost it,” I announce, pushing to my feet, not willing to entertain this ridiculousness for a second longer.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you,” I tell him, slipping my flip flops on.
“Will you at least think about it?” he asks as I turn to leave.
“Not a chance in hell,” I call back, throwing a little wave over my shoulder. “Goodnight, Callum. Hope to see you never.” With that, I take off toward my cabin with an ache in my chest and uncertainty in my mind.
CHAPTER FIVE
POPPY
THE SUN FEELS INCREDIBLE on my face. I breathe in a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing further into my beach towel that’s stretched out across the sand. April and Camila are lounging next to me, talking animatedly about the events of the previous day. Mainly April and Brock’s goodnight kiss they shared outside the cabin.
I’m happy for my friend, don’t get me wrong, but after what I witnessed last night between Heidi and Ethan, I’m not much in the gushing about boys mood. And then there’s Callum. I swear he must have been on something last night to suggest what he did. I mean seriously, the guy goes from acting like he’s too cool to be seen with me to wanting to pretend like we’re dating. What the hell?
A shadow suddenly blocks the sun and my eyes slide open, spotting Callum standing in front of me through the dark lenses of my sunglasses.
Seriously? It’s like the man knew I was thinking about him and poof, here he is.
“Ugh.” I groan audibly. “Not you again.” I push up on my elbows, ignoring the gazes of my two best friends whose eyes I can feel on me.
“Ouch, that hurts, P.” He clutches his chest, a radiant smile stretching across his face.
Even though he infuriates me, my stomach does a little flip flop at the sight of him. I can’t help it. I am only human after all, and he looks way too good standing in front of me shirtless and soaking wet.
“Ladies, would you mind giving me a second alone with Poppy?” He turns his attention to Camila and April.
“Um, sure.” Camila gives me a sideways glance.
“It’s fine,” I grumble on an obvious eye roll.
The two girls clamor to their feet, grabbing their floats before heading out toward the water. Callum flops down on the towel next to me, rolling to his side as he props an elbow underneath him.
“You know, if you groan every time you see me, people aren’t going to believe this is a thing.”
“Good, because it isn’t a thing!” I plop back down onto my back with a dramatic sigh.
“But it could be. I mean, as far as everyone else is concerned anyway.”
“Callum, I’ve already told you. I’m not interested.”
“Why? Because you think you’re too good for me?” He says it jokingly, but I don’t miss the hint of vulnerability in his voice.
He can’t seriously think that I think I’m too good for him.
“Quite the opposite, actually. But that’s not the point. I’m not going to lie to everyone in some weird ploy to try to get a guy to notice me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t like playing games.”
“Oh come on, P. Where’s your sense of adventure? Just think about it. We do this right and by the time prom rolls around, you could be going as Ethan Ripley’s date. Isn’t that what you want?”