Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Landon

Listen to Let’s Go to Hell

by Tai Verdes

“ I have to tell you something.”

I worried my lip as I stared at my best friend. It felt weird to be alone with her without Daisy and Gabby. We’d become a tight group and I’d felt supported after Max’s betrayal. It was definitely easier for us to be together again after Max vowed to chill, but I still think everyone was a bit off. With Adam running off to LA, Max and I on shaky ground, and Elle beginning to get into music more than acting, we were all going in our different paths.

I knew, eventually, things had to change. Nothing lasts forever—even best friends. But I wanted to cling harder to all of us for a little while longer. I needed to believe we’d be able to make it through the hard times, especially when I came clean about my relationship with Adam.

God, Max had been the bad guy for so long, I wasn’t sure how to handle taking his place.

“You’re scaring me. Is it something with Dumped ?” Elle asked, chewing on her straw as she sucked up a Diet Coke. We were both scheduled to work Red tonight, and I wanted her to know before we began our shift. I picked at my salad and figured the best way to do this was dive right in.

“I’m sleeping with Adam.”

The soda must’ve gone down the wrong pipe, because Elle began choking. Her eyes turned red and watery, and she gripped the edge of the table, as if in desperate need of air. I hurried over to her side and pounded on her back until she stopped hacking. Wheezing, she turned to me with her jaw unhinged. “Sorry. I thought you said something else. What about Adam?”

“You heard right. I’m sleeping with Adam. Please don’t hate me.”

Her eyes bugged out of her head and she stared at me for a few moments. The waitress came by and asked if we needed anything, but one look at Elle had her scurrying away. She tried to speak several times but nothing came out. My heart pounded hard in my chest and my stomach clenched. I had to get her to understand what happened. I refused to lose Elle from my life.

“Wait. Just—wait. You’re sleeping with Adam. Our Adam? Or another Adam?”

I winced. “Our Adam.” My Adam , my heart and soul screamed. But Elle wasn’t ready for that intensity yet.

“How long?”

“Since the night Max blew up at Red. I ended up at Adam’s door and we slept together.”

Now, she seemed to have too much breath and began panting hard. “This isn’t happening,” she muttered, shaking her head hard. “I’m hallucinating. You hate Adam. Unless––”

I swallowed. “Yeah.”

“That was all about sexual tension?” she screeched. “You were hot for each other this whole time and I had no idea!”

I grabbed for her hand but she snatched it away, glaring. “Please, listen, Elle. I know you’re pissed. I know you feel betrayed. I’ve been wanting to tell you forever but it was like everything happened at once. I always had feelings for Adam but I couldn’t understand exactly what they were. And I did love Max. That was never a lie. I feel differently about both of them.”

Elle moaned and rubbed her temples. “I’m trying here, Landon. But I’m freaking out big time. Big time .”

“Can I explain? Tell you the whole story?”

She nodded.

I launched into my re-telling of our relationship, leading up to Max’s cheating, and the night we spent together. I glossed over the intense, obsessive parts of our sex life and the idea I may be in love. That could wait till the next time. Finally, I left off from yesterday, when we spent the night together again and decided we’d launch our relationship in public.

“I need rum in this Coke,” Elle announced. “A lot.”

“No one else knows except you. Not Gabby or Daisy or any of the guys.”

“Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me earlier? I could have helped you sort things out. I feel kind of…hurt.”

This time, I grabbed her hand and refused to let go. “Elle, I love you. You are the sister I never had. I swear to God, I was so confused, I couldn’t confess the secret because I didn’t even realize how deep my feelings for Adam went. It wasn’t until Max cheated that I realized the truth. Neither of us were prepared for this. Sure, maybe we figured we’d blow off some steam with a one-nighter. But it’s more than that. It’s more than anything I’ve felt before.”

“Holy crap. Are you in love with him?”

I tried to deny it but fell silent. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “He’s leaving for LA and I have to film Dumped . We’ll be apart for a while. I figured we’d wait to see what happened and then tell the group. We don’t want to hide longer than that. It may give everyone a chance to reset after Max and I broke up.”

Elle stared at me hard, searching for my face. “Does anyone suspect?”

“Not yet.”

“Max is going to lose his mind, Landon. So are the rest of the guys. This may not go well.”

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. “I know. But maybe Max will get a new girlfriend and it won’t be as bad,” I said hopefully.

Elle rolled her eyes. “Doubtful. He thinks if he’s cool for a while, he can charm you back into his bed.”

“Never going to happen.”

“Can I ask you a serious question?”

“Anything,” I said.

“Is this all really worth it? What if you just sleep together until you both leave? Maybe it will be out of your system. Maybe you’ll fall for someone on Dumped and he’ll fall for some groupie in LA? Maybe you don’t have to blow everything up?”

The idea of Adam hooking up with anyone made me want to scream, but after last night’s physical proof of how we belonged to each other, I believed in him and our vows. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, my God. This is serious. I’ve never seen you react this way about a guy before. I can’t believe I didn’t see any of it.”

“Maybe you were too busy banging Coop all over town in public?” I teased, desperate to get back on good footing again.

She narrowed her gaze. “I’m still mad.”

“Sorry. Elle, I need you. Because I have another question that’s been bothering me. Adam asked me to go to LA with him instead of filming the show.”

“What!”

“I know. He’s not that sold on reality tv for furthering my career. Said he’s afraid they’ll make me look dumb and I’ll regret having that stigma forever.”

Elle tilted her head, considering. “He’s not entirely wrong,” she said bluntly. “Every time I take a role, I know there’s a certain way they want me to be. If you’re going to be the gorgeous, dumb blonde on a hook-up, that’s the way they want to slant the story for more viewers.”

Worry nibbled at my nerves. I’d been fully on board with however they wanted to cast me, but in the past few days, Adam’s warnings had dug deep. Is this what I really needed to get to the next level? If the show blew up, I could have endless opportunities. If the show tanked, I could be blasted in the industry and pretty much done before I started. I was no Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie, and this wasn’t the debut of reality television. Unless it was a well-known hit, the odds were stacked against me. Plus, delving into a fake tv romance for ratings didn’t fly.

“Do you think I should have another talk with the producers and casting before I finalize the contracts?”

“You didn’t sign yet?”

“No. My new agent was away so there was a delay. I have to go to her office tomorrow.”

“I think you need to ask yourself some hard questions. If Adam wasn’t here and chattering in your ear, would you be really excited? Would you have even second guessed not taking the role?”

I sighed. “No.”

“Make sure this is about you and not him. Adam’s got his gig in LA. He made his own sacrifices to get what he wants. If you want tv and fame and don’t care about the steps to get there, you should do the show. But if you want something else—maybe stuff that you haven’t even admitted—you may need to say no.”

“I think you’re right. I can’t run off with Adam to LA on a whim.” I forced a laugh. “Right?”

Elle shook her head. “Before today, I would’ve laughed my ass off at the thought. Now? Who the hell knows?” Her lips tightened. “But I don’t think you should, Landon. Let Adam do his thing and you do yours. You have a job at Red and a life. What are you going to do out there anyway? Be his groupie?”

I winced. “He mentioned poking around for casting calls and taking some time to re-think my career.”

“Doing what? More modeling? More sponsors for your influencing? A master’s degree?”

It popped out of my mouth before I could think. “Writing.”

She blinked. “You want to be a writer?”

I hesitated but it was time to share everything with Elle. “Remember I mentioned a while back I liked to make up stories? Well, I have a few series I write on Wattpad under a different name. They do pretty well but I never thought of making writing a part of my career. Adam mentioned it.”

A strange hardness settled into her gaze. “Babe, this is a little weird. You sleep with Adam and suddenly you want to quit this tv role you fought so hard for, and you want to write? Don’t get me wrong! I think you should definitely pursue writing, but you don’t have to drop it all and go to LA for that. Right?”

Heat burned my cheeks. It did sound ridiculous now that I said it aloud. Maybe in the intimate moments I had with Adam, in his bed, the offer had sounded more romantic. More like he saw more in me than I saw in myself. But Elle could be right.

Was I being impulsive because I was deep in lust? Is this what I really wanted?

I forced a smile. “You’re right. That’s what I needed to hear.”

Her whole body relaxed. “Okay, good. You’re not that far gone! Umm, I guess I can’t tell Coop about any of this?”

“Not a word. Please, Elle. Swear you won’t tell a soul.”

“I swear. But I won’t be able to hold out for too long. I just stopped giving him shit for keeping Max’s cheating from me. It’s not gonna look good if I do the same to him.”

“I’ll figure it out. Thanks. I love you.”

“Love you, too, you psycho slut.”

I laughed and tried to finish my salad. But I knew time was running out to make my decision.

About the show. About Adam. About our relationship.

About everything.