Southern Belle

Ch. 24 Some Things Are Best Kept Secret

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"And, there! The project is done. We won!" I cheered triumphantly while the last crisp, white page printed from my HP printer. Grinning, I piled the papers up and stapled them.

A furtive smirk slithered up Nick's mouth, and he inched towards me. Planting his hands on my hips, he leaned down and whispered, "Speaking of winning, we both know who won the bet--me."

Nodding, I averted my gaze to my toes. He was right, somewhat. Even though he had a tough time in the South, I had completely embarrassed myself at a fancy event, and I sucked at partying. Nick gained points because Mel named her kid after him, and plus, he just was overall better than me in life.

Ugh, my life sucked.

"Yeah," I choked out while I tried keeping my composure. It wasn't working, and my heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's. "When do you want your...prize?" My eye spazzed as those words left my lips.

His fingers tapped away at his chin; he was in full concentration. After a few seconds, he seductively said, "Now."

My eyes widened. What?! A bet was a bet, and maybe I could get myself intoxicated enough to forget about all of this.

"Okay, let me just chug down a few beers and--"

His left hand clamped against my mouth, shutting me up. Although he still had an amused look on his face, his eyes were soft. "I'm kidding; I wouldn't do that to you."

My brows furrowed in confusion as I took in the features of his face. Was he serious? We had just gone through two weeks of hell for him to give up his prize?

After letting go of my waist, he stepped a few inches back from me. Running a hand through his hair, he calmly coaxed, "Listen, we both realize how hard both of our lives are. That's good, right? So, we tied. You don't have to lose your virginity, and I'll still pay for your college tuition. I'll send the check to your parents, okay?"

My mouth dropped open, and I nearly vomited all over his shoes. This was too much to handle! Were my dreams becoming a reality? Was Nick a nice guy after all?

"Wow," I sighed as I looked up at him with admiration, "thank you."

A genuine smile formed on his face. "My pleasure."

We stood in silence for a few seconds, and I thanked God silently for giving me this free moment. Life seemed somewhat better now, and the weight of the tuition melted off of my shoulders. I wouldn't have to work my ass off to pay back my parents, and my parents could send my other siblings to school.

"Of course," he declared cockily, his eyebrows wiggling up and down, "if you want to get down and dirty, I still can give you a good time."

There went the heartfelt and beautiful moment.

Breaking the awkwardness, I asked the question that was swarming around my mind, "Wait, do you not want to have me? Is that why you're giving up your end of the agreement?"

Part of me was happy over the fact that I wouldn't have to do something I didn't want to do, but the other part of me was thinking that he thought I wasn't good enough to bang. I decided to use my conflicted feelings to my advantage.

Oh, Belle, you vindictive girl.

His head cocked to the side, and he placed his hands in front of him defensively. "What? No, that's not it!"