The Prize: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Diamond Lake Romance Book 3)

by K. L. Middleton

  “Was? You still are,” he ribbed.

  I gave him the finger.

  He laughed.

  When we arrived home, Tony was watching television on the sofa with Robert. Rory and I looked at each other with matching expressions. We’d known the drama between them wouldn’t last.

  “What’s up, Robert?” I asked, kicking off my shoes.

  “Not much. Just chillin’,” he replied.

  “Cool.”

  “So, what are we watching?” Rory asked, plopping into one of the recliners and kicking up his feet.

  “We’re just re-watching old episodes of Game of Thrones. Seeing if we missed anything,” Tony said. He got up off of the sofa. “Anyone want popcorn?”

  Rory patted his belly. “I’m stuffed. We ate at Herschel’s.”

  “And you didn’t invite me?” Tony pouted.

  “We had dates. Well, kind of. One of them hates your cousin,” Rory said, smirking in my direction.

  Tony looked at me. “Oh, let me guess. One of the girls from last night? Chloe?”

  I sighed. “Yeah.”

  “Actually, both of the girls from last night,” Rory replied.

  “How did you get them to go out with you?” Tony asked.

  We told him about the trip.

  “Ah. Well, good luck there. You want any popcorn, Adam?” Tony asked again.

  “Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Could you grab me a beer?” Rory asked.

  “If we have any left,” he replied.

  “Thanks.”

  Tony disappeared into the kitchen.

  “So, you two made up?” Rory murmured.

  “More like, I gave in,” Robert answered with a grim smile. “As usual.”

  “Don’t. You know, he’s going to keep pushing you around unless you put your foot down,” I replied.

  He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve tried. Tony is just… Tony. He’s never going to change.”

  “People can, though. Shit, I know I have,” I said.

  “Believe it or not, Knight used to be a real dick,” Rory added.

  I smiled. “Sadly, he’s not kidding.”

  “Tony is more of a snob,” Robert replied. “He’s very… entitled.”

  “Yeah. But, dude, you let him manipulate you way too much. You gotta stop giving in all the time,” Rory said.

  “Exactly. He’s like a toddler who keeps getting his way after a tantrum. He won’t quit throwing them unless they stop being affective,” I added in a low voice.

  Robert nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause you know there will be one,” I added.

  Robert and Rory both nodded.

  Tony walked into the living room carrying two beers. He handed one to Rory and asked if I wanted the other.

  “No, I’m good. Still tired from drinking half the night.”

  “I’ll take it,” Robert said.

  Tony gave him a funny look. “I thought we agreed you weren’t going to drink unless I was?”

  “Wait, what?” I laughed, wondering if Tony was joking.

  “We made an agreement to only drink alcohol Friday and Saturday nights,” Tony said, looking stone-cold serious. “And… it had to be together.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Why?” It wasn’t as if Robert was an alcoholic.

  “It’s between us.” Tony turned around and went back into the kitchen.

  “Are you really okay with this?” I asked Robert.

  He shrugged in answer.

  I went into the kitchen. If Robert wasn’t going to stick up for himself, it looked like it was going to have to be me.

  Tony, who was emptying a bag of popcorn into a bowl, glanced at me. “Don’t even start.”

  I grunted and leaned back against the counter. “Do you have any idea of how fucking controlling you are?”

  He gave me a dirty look. “Just mind your own business.”

  “Look,” I lowered my voice, “if you’re not careful, you’re going to lose the guy. Is that what you want?”

  “We’re fine.”

  “No. Obviously you’re not. You have to loosen up on him. I mean, seriously? Telling him when he can and can’t drink? You’re fucking with his dignity.”

  Tony threw away the empty popcorn bag and then turned to me. “If it were up to me… he wouldn’t drink at all,” he said angrily. “And it has nothing to do with controlling him. It’s about helping us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  His eyes filled with tears. “Because…” he moved closer to me. “He fucking cheated on me when he was drunk. More than once.”

  Now I felt bad. And angry for Tony. He might be high maintenance and bossy, but the guy didn’t deserve to be cheated on. “Fuck. I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

  He swatted away his tears. “That’s why I’ve really been on the edge lately.”

  “So, he cheated on you multiple times and you forgave him?”

  He laughed harshly. “Forgave but haven’t forgotten.”

  I sighed.

  “Anyway, he makes very poor decisions when he’s drinking, but refuses to give it up completely. So… we made rules. Obviously, he’s not taking them seriously.”

  “Are you sure you want to be in a relationship with this guy? I mean, I like Robert but… there’s other fish in the sea.”

  “Not many in Diamond Lake,” he said miserably. “At least the kind my lure attracts.”

  It was true. There didn’t appear to be a lot of gay people around. Or, if there were… they weren’t obvious about it. Considering how narrow-minded many people in town were, I could understand why they might keep things on the down low. From what I’d heard, my boisterous cousin had been bullied a lot in high school. It surprised me that he was willing to stay here. I figured it had to do with pride and maybe even stubbornness. He wasn’t willing to let the haters force him out. “Do you love him? Or are you settling?”

  He looked amused. “Sweetie, you’re starting to remind me of Dr. Phil. I would have never thought of coming to you for advice on relationships.”

  I shrugged. “I guess I’ve been thinking a lot about the way I’ve treated people in the past. I just don’t want you making the same mistakes. Or being on the receiving end.”

  “I hear you.” He patted me on the shoulder and turned back to the popcorn. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure things out. Not to mention… if he cheats on me again.” Tony opened up the drawer and pulled out a nut cracker. “There’s always this.”

  I laughed.

  13

  Chloe

  The following day we learned that we were able to stay at the hotel during spring break. Even better, we would be staying in connecting bungalows.

  “This is going to be so freaken exciting,” Blair said Wednesday night as she painted her toenails a bright red. We were at my house, ordering new bathing suits online. I hadn’t planned on getting a new one, but she’d talked me into it.

  I scrolled through the bathing suits. “Yeah.”

  She screwed the top back onto the nail polish bottle. “You don’t sound thrilled about it.”

  “No, I am.”

  Blair stood up and walked over to me slowly, trying not to smudge her toenails. She looked at my laptop screen. “Hold on. That one. You should get the coral bikini. You look great in that color.”

  “Only when I have a tan.”

  “We could go to the tanning salon,” she suggested.

  “Like I want skin cancer.”

  “Just because you go to the tanning booth doesn’t mean you’re going to get skin cancer.”

  “My mom did.”

  “She used to go five days a week. She said so herself.”

  “Still. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  “Speaking of your mom, how are your parents?”

  They were living in Florida and I guess you could say… not your average couple.

  They were swingers.

&
nbsp; Grandma Rae didn’t know anything about it and would probably have a heart attack if she did. Their lifestyle even made me a little uncomfortable. Another reason why I hadn’t moved to Florida with them. Blair didn’t know about it either. Hell, I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t heard them talking about it late one night. Now I knew what went on during some of their parties. It was freaky, knowing your parents were partner-swapping.

  “They’re doing well.”

  They were actually going on a cruise during spring break. My father worked for a travel agency and was always getting discounts, so they traveled frequently.

  “Did you tell them about the trip?”

  “Yeah. A little.”

  “Do they know it’s with Adam?”

  “Yeah, but they didn’t know about our past.” I changed the subject. “So, did Rory ask you out yet?”

  She grinned. “We’re seeing a movie tomorrow night. I thought I told you about it.”

  I recalled a text she’d sent to me Monday night about it. “That’s right.”

  “Oh, and they’re having a party the weekend after. On Saturday. You know that, right?”

  Adam had also texted me about it. I was still trying to decide if I wanted to go.

  “Yeah. I heard.”

  “We should buy something to wear to that. I bet if we ordered now, we’d get our stuff delivered before the party.”

  “I honestly don’t know if I’m going.”

  She looked at me like I was nuts.

  I stood up and stretched. “Just because we’re going on this trip doesn’t mean I have to hang out with Adam now. I wish you’d quit trying to throw us together.”

  “Are you serious right now? I mean, the guy obviously likes you. He’s changed. He’s hot as hell.”

  As hot as a steamy pile of shit, I thought as another memory came back to me. It had happened a few months before Adam had kissed me by the beach. I’d stayed after school to make up a test. Unfortunately, Adam, and two of his friends, Eric and Vaughn, had also stayed after for football practice.

  “Hey, it’s Stephen Fisher’s bodyguard,” Adam said, smirking.

  “Her arms are definitely bigger than his,” Vaughn joked.

  “So are her balls,” Adam replied.

  The other two chuckled.

  I ignored them.

  They stopped at my locker and Adam leaned against the one next to mine.

  “Where is lover boy?” he asked, opening up a granola bar.

  “I don’t know. I’m not his keeper,” I muttered.

  He took a bite of his bar and chewed it, studying me.

  “What do you want?”

  Adam smirked. “I was just curious, when you two fuck, does he do you from behind or do you do him?”

  Eric squealed with laughter. “Oh, shit.”

  I gave Adam a dirty look. “Why are you asking? Does getting fucked from behind excite you?”

  Vaughn and Eric both laughed this time.

  His eyes hardened. “Let’s go. It smells like ass over on this side of the school. I guess we know why now.”

  I clenched my jaw and looked away, refusing to let the assholes see my tears.

  “Dude, why are you so fucking salty to her?” I heard Vaughn murmur as they walked away. “She’s fucking hot.”

  “So is shit when it comes out steaming,” he replied, looking over his shoulder at me with a satisfied grin.

  “Are you okay?”

  I snapped out of it. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, I get why you hate the guy. But, they’re throwing this party and really want us there. We should go.”

  I suddenly realized that my best friend thought more of her social life then my mental well-being. I wanted to rag on her about being insensitive. But, then part of me wondered if I was overreacting. Adam claimed that he’d changed. He’d apologized. He’d even stood up for us against Terry and Earl.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  She relaxed. “Cool. And remember…just because you hate Adam doesn’t mean you have to get all chummy with him. We can just go to the party and you can keep your distance. Just like on the trip.” She smiled. “Think of it as practice.”

  “I definitely don’t need practice ignoring him.”

  Sighing, she looked back at the screen. There was a black two-piece thong bathing suit. “Oh, that’s cute.” She added it to the cart and looked at me. “I’m getting you the coral suit, too. I’ll even pay for it.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “No. I’m going to. No arguing.”

  I knew it would be pointless.

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “Of course. Now. Back to outfits. If we don’t find anything cute here, I say we go to the mall on Sunday.”

  “I guess.”

  As she searched the site for more clothes, my phone vibrated. I checked my messages and saw I’d received one from Adam.

  “Speaking of the devil,” I mused, walking over to the bed.

  “What was that?” Blair asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Adam: Still interested in ghost hunting?

  Me: Why?

  Adam: We just got an email from someone in Lancaster who thinks their new house is haunted. You wanna check it out?

  Intrigued and a little excited, I told him I was definitely interested.

  Adam: Cool. You available Friday? We can meet him at his place.

  Me: Sure. What time?

  Adam: Pick you up at six?

  Me: Sounds good.

  “Who are you texting?” Blair asked.

  “Adam.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What did he want?”

  “I’m going with them on Friday to visit a house that might be haunted. Want to join us?” I already knew her answer before she replied.

  She snorted. “Oh, hell no. I’m surprised this stuff doesn’t freak you out.”

  “Oh, it does. But, I’m curious too.”

  “So am I. But not that curious. You have fun with that. Let me know how it goes.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything.”

  An hour later, after Blair left, Grandma Rae pulled into the driveway. She had groceries in her car, so I helped unload them.

  “When are you going to get rid of this old jalopy,” I teased. She had an old Volkswagen Beetle that she drove everywhere. It was rusty and looked like it was about to conk out at any minute.

  “I love this car. Hell, it’ll probably outlive me.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  Grandma laughed.

  “Seriously, though, why don’t you get a new vehicle?”

  “I will. Eventually. There are more important things to spend money on right now though.”

  I knew she was very well off. My father joked about her tucking money away in the mattresses, under the floorboards, and in the rafters. She was very frugal with what she spent it on though.

  “Like what?”

  “Well, Mackenzie will be graduating soon and we’ll need to throw her a party. Your birthday is coming up next month. I’d also like to get the house painted and maybe order new carpeting.”

  “Yikes. That will be expensive. Don’t worry about my birthday though. Seriously.”

  “I’ll worry about what I want to worry about.”

  We walked into the house and I followed her into the kitchen, each of us carrying a grocery bag.

  “How’s John doing? Is he feeling better?”

  She smiled. “Yeah. I’m having him over for dinner Friday. Will you be joining us?”

  “Actually, no.” I told her about the haunted house in Lancaster. I knew she’d appreciate it. She loved anything supernatural and had even brought Mackenzie to see a psychic once.

  “That sounds like fun. You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

  “Oh, for sure.”

  We put the groceries away and I headed up to my room to do homework. As I sat on my bed, I thought of Adam and started having second thoughts about Friday. I sti
ll couldn’t believe how quickly I’d jumped at the chance of joining them, especially after my conversation with Blair.

  “Hey, I heard you’re going to see a haunted house on Friday,” Mackenzie said, sticking her head in my doorway.

  “Yeah. It’s in Lancaster.”

  “Cool. Who are you going with?”

  I told her.

  “I wonder if they’re going to record it. They have over a million followers, did you know that?”

  “No.”

  “You should check out their web show.”

  “Maybe I will. After my homework.”

  “You are so lucky. If I didn’t have to work, I’d tag along.”

  “Maybe next time.”

  She nodded.

  “How’s Chase?”

  “Good.” She yawned. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. Night.”

  “Goodnight.”

  After she left, I opened up my laptop and was about to start on my homework, when curiosity got the best of me. I searched for Rory and Adam’s channel and found it quickly. They had dozens and dozens of videos uploaded with a startling amount of views. I began watching their first recording and found it scary and thrilling at the same time. The two were also a couple of hams, adding some comedy to the mix. At the end of the first video, they’d caught some weird noises with their sound equipment, but it was hard to determine exactly what it was.

  “Well, that’s a wrap I guess,” Rory said to the camera. “Unfortunately, we didn’t run into any ghosts, but the noises definitely suggested a supernatural entity is occupying this place.”

  The camera view changed over to Adam. “Not to mention the temperature dropped a few degrees. You could almost see our breathe.”

  The view switched back to Rory. “Tune in next week when we visit the Montgomery Asylum, a psychiatric ward that was shut down forty-five years ago. Legend has it some of the patients still haunt the hallways to this day. Anyway, thanks for joining us and…

  “Peace out,” they both said in unison before the credits rolled.

  “Interesting,” I murmured.

  I had an urge to watch another one but forced myself to return to my homework. Two more days and I’d be searching with them, live. I decided not to cancel out on them.