The Stand-In Boyfriend

by Christina Benjamin

  Jared

  Jared couldn’t watch it any longer. He called Beth’s name because his other alternative was to rip Parker off of her and beat him to death. But when she looked up he wished he’d gone with beating Parker. The look on her face broke his heart all over again.

  He’d beaten himself up non-stop since Beth had caught him and Caroline together. Jared didn’t think anything could hurt worse than the betrayal he’d seen on Beth’s face that night. But he was wrong. This hurt worse. Much worse.

  Jared supposed he deserved it, but that’s why he’d gotten on a plane. He had to find Beth and tell her how sorry he was and that he didn’t want to lose her. Jared hadn’t expected to fall in love with Beth, but he had and he’d screwed it up. But this was all so new to him. He didn’t know how to be in a solid relationship. He’d never had a good role model, but somehow Beth had changed him. She made him want to be better and he couldn’t let her go. Not without a fight. Not without telling her how he felt.

  Jared had been rehearsing what he wanted to say the whole way to Georgia. He wavered between truth and denial. He’d decided on truth, but he hadn’t been expecting to find Beth in someone else’s arms so soon. Especially not Parker’s arms. The guy had no spine. And apparently no pride if he was already going after Jared’s leftovers less than twenty-four hours after they’d broken up. At least Parker had the decency to look scared. They both did.

  Parker helped Beth climb to her feet and Jared took a step toward her. She tensed and in a flash, Parker was between them.

  “You need to leave, Jared,” Parker ordered.

  “That’s not up to you,” Jared snapped. “I’m here for Beth.”

  “She doesn’t want to see you.”

  “Why don’t you let her decide for herself?” Jared snarled.

  Beth pushed her way around Parker. “Easy,” she warned him. “I can speak for myself.”

  Jared grinned smugly, but then Beth turned to face him. “And he’s right. I have nothing left to say to you, Jared. You should leave.”

  “But I need to explain . . .”

  “Explain? What is there to explain? You were my boyfriend and I caught you sleeping with my best friend!” Beth shouted.

  Parker put his hand on Beth’s shoulder and she lowered her voice when she spoke next. “This is my sister’s wedding. My whole family is here. It’s not the place to discuss this. And there’s nothing you can say to make what you did excusable.”

  Jared ran his hand through his hair, frantically. He wanted to punch something. Parker would make a nice punching bag—but that would only get Jared in more trouble. “Beth, I’m sorry, okay? I know I screwed up, but I truly care about you.”

  She huffed a laugh and he took a pleading step toward her again only to be immediately blocked by Parker.

  Jared glared at him. The guy was begging for a beating. Jared tried to leash his anger. He needed to get Beth alone. He was sure if he could just kiss her again, he could make her see how he felt. But Parker kept getting in the way.

  Beth spoke up. “Jared, I’m serious, you need to leave.”

  “Not until I say what I came here for.”

  Beth crossed her arms. “Fine, then get it over with.”

  Jared eyed Parker, then Beth. “Can we go somewhere and talk, just us?”

  “Absolutely not,” Beth replied.

  “What I have to say is kinda personal.”

  She shrugged. “Then don’t say it, but I’m not going anywhere with you. I told you, we’re done. If you need to get something off your chest then do it right here. Otherwise you can leave.”

  Jared stood his ground. He hated being put on the spot and he didn’t want to admit how deep his feelings for Beth were or how Caroline had manipulated him in front of Parker. Why couldn’t the kid take a hint and get lost?

  Out of patience, Beth turned to walk away. She slipped her hand into Parker’s and Jared snapped. “God damn it, Beth, will you just listen to me? I’m in love with you!”

  Beth spun around, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. “In love with me? You just slept with my best friend and you have the audacity to come here and tell me you’re in love with me?” She laughed cruelly. “You don’t know what love is, Jared.”

  “I do. And I know you’re not going to believe me, but I did what I did with Caroline because I had to.”

  “You’re right. I don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true! Car was blackmailing me.”

  “Right,” Beth replied. “Because Caroline Voss doesn’t have a line of guys waiting to bed her.”

  “Maybe she does. All I know is the bitch is crazy. The scholarship I won was from her dad’s company and she threatened to take it away if I didn’t do exactly what she said.”

  Beth’s eyes widened.

  “Beth, I’m so sorry. I know I screwed up. It was only supposed to be a one time thing, but then I fell for you and I didn’t know you two knew each other the first time we hooked up, but when I found out, everything just got messed up and—”

  “Wait,” Beth said interrupting Jared’s rant. “What do you mean the first time we hooked up?”

  In his panic, Jared realized he’d just made things even worse.

  Beth had tears in her eyes again. “Was this not the first time you were with her?”

  There was no going back now. Jared knew the honest route was his only chance. He nodded. “We had sex in the janitor’s closet the first day of school.”

  Beth shook her head slowly. “No. Caroline wouldn’t do that to me.” Tears were sliding down Beth’s cheeks now. “She’s my friend.”

  “No she’s not.” Jared took no pleasure in hurting Beth with the truth, but there was no other way to get across to her that he was a victim in Caroline’s game too. “She threatened to take my scholarship away if I told you the truth. Then she made me go to Aspen because she didn’t trust me not to tell you over spring break. She wanted me to break up with you, Beth, but I wouldn’t do it.”

  “So I’m supposed to believe you were doing me a favor by sleeping with my best friend behind my back?”

  “No! I don’t know.” Jared needed to gather his thoughts. Everything was coming out wrong. “Beth, I know this is a mess but I never meant for any of this to happen. I screwed up. When I met Caroline, I was trying to be the old me, the guy who didn’t get attached. She was just a stupid mistake. But then I let myself fall for you and I didn’t expect it. I knew I’d fucked up but I didn’t know how to fix things without losing everything I care about.”

  “You mean lacrosse?”

  “No, I mean you. Please give me another chance, Beth. Caroline never meant anything to me. You’re the only thing that matters.” He took a step closer. “Let me fix this,” he begged.

  Beth flinched away, backing into Parker, who folded her into his arms as she broke down into a fit of sobs.

  “You need to leave,” Parker said quietly while Beth buried her face in his chest.

  This was not how it was supposed to go. Beth was supposed to forgive him. Jared couldn’t lose everything. His scholarship. The girl he loved. His last ounce of self-respect.

  Jared’s temper was reaching its boiling point. “Beth?” He called her name pleadingly but she didn’t turn around. He broke. “So that’s it? We’ve been together six months and you’ve just moved on overnight? With him?”

  Beth remained silently sobbing in Parker’s arms.

  “I know I screwed up, Beth, but it’s only because I fucking love you and that terrifies me.”

  She finally looked at him. “All this time and you say it now?” Beth asked. “It’s just because you’re afraid of losing me.”

  “No, it’s not, Beth. It’s how I feel. I love you.”

  “Jared, it’s too late. That’s what I was calling to tell you last night. It’s over between us. Seeing you with Caroline just made it crystal clear.”

  “Beth, don’t do this,” Jared pleaded.

  “I’m with Parker now and you
’re just jealous.”

  “I’m crazy jealous,” he corrected. “I’d be jealous of anyone who stole you away from me.”

  “That’s just it, Jared. Parker didn’t steal me from you. I was never yours to begin with. I’m my own person and I want a real relationship. I was just an accessory for you to play with when it was convenient. You never made any effort to do the things that I wanted. And I didn’t think it was a big deal at first, but you know what, it is. So thank you for making me realize I deserve better.”

  “What, Parker? You think he’s better than me?”

  “I know he is,” Beth retorted.

  “I got news for you, Beth. Parker’s not the perfect guy you think he is.”

  Beth roared to life. “Really? How’s that? Did he sleep with Caroline too?”

  “He knew about it!” Jared fired back.

  Beth didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, and he tried to warn me, but I’m an idiot and didn’t want to believe my boyfriend and best friend would do that to me.”

  Jared laughed. “Oh Parker more than knew about it. Why don’t you ask him about Caroline’s proposition? She made him an offer too.”

  Beth’s eyes flicked to Parker and Jared grinned triumphantly when Parker’s self-righteous smile faltered. He had him. “That’s right, Parker.” Jared continued. “Why don’t you tell Beth how Caroline asked you to help her break us up? I mean, since you’re such a perfect guy I’m assuming you told her all about it, right?”

  Beth

  Beth looked between Jared and Parker, and the expression on Parker’s face made her heart stop. Guilt. It was unmistakable. She saw it flicker in his blue eyes and her heart crumbled to ash.

  “That’s right,” Jared spat. “Perfect Parker knew what was going on. And if he really cared about you, he would’ve told you.”

  Beth turned to Parker, the remains of heart disintegrating. “Tell me it’s not true.” But the look on Parker’s face said it all. Jared was telling the truth. Parker had known more than he’d told her. She felt frost crackling its way through her veins as she backed away from him. “This isn’t happening,” she whispered.

  “Beth,” Parker started. “Caroline did say that, but I would never—”

  “How could you not tell me?” she interrupted, her voice strangled.

  “Because I didn’t want to hurt you,” Parker pleaded.

  “But you knew she was sleeping with Jared and you didn’t tell me.”

  “I didn’t know she was sleeping with him or blackmailing him, if that’s even true. I tried to tell you what I suspected, but—”

  “You didn’t try very hard, did you? But why would you when you were just waiting for Jared to break my heart so I’d come running to you?” Beth barely got the words out as her chest constricted with pain.

  Parker took a step toward her, his face desperate and pleading. “Beth, you know I would never do that. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy. If Jared made you happy I was willing to swallow my feelings.”

  Beth looked between Parker and Jared. She didn’t know what to believe. She only knew she was a fool. She’d been minutes from going up to her room with Parker to cement their newfound feelings before Jared showed up.

  She looked at Parker. “Was any of this even real?” she asked, searching his burning blue eyes for the truth.

  Parker took her hand in his. “Every second. Beth, I promise you, I never lied to you about how I feel.”

  “Neither did I,” Jared interjected. “Beth, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. And I know it’s probably too late, but I just want you to know that I’m in love with you. I don’t want to lose you. I’ll do anything.”

  A thousand things were happening at once. Beth’s mind reeled as her heart tore in half. She was crying and laughing at the absurdity of it all. She wanted to fall to pieces and run away at the same time. But the only clear thought she could grab hold of was that she couldn’t deal with this right now.

  Beth pulled her hand from Parker’s and started running. She was only a few yards from the front of Bellemora. A car idled at the valet stand with the engine running. Her heart pounded as she pumped her legs faster. She just needed to escape.

  38

  Parker

  It’s funny how quickly life can change. Sometimes it only takes a minute. One minute Parker was kissing the girl of his dreams, the next his world was imploding. Parker had seen his future with Beth so clearly, but Jared had ruined everything with his bombshell of blackmail and betrayal. Parker still couldn’t quite believe it; Jared had made Beth doubt him. It made Parker feel hollow inside. How could Beth doubt him for even a second?

  And if that wasn’t bad enough, now Beth was running away from him. He’d been frozen in place, stunned by everything he knew he was losing when Beth wrenched her hand from his. But when Jared called after Beth, it sent Parker into action. He wasn’t going to give up, and beyond that, he needed to make sure Beth was okay. If anything happened to her because of this, Parker would never forgive himself.

  He began sprinting after Beth, but he only made it a few feet before Jared tackled him from behind. They scuffled on the lawn, grappling for power. Jared got in two good punches before Parker was able to knock him off. He scrambled to his feet, attempting to run again, but Jared was like dog with a bone. He grabbed Parker’s legs and knocked him to the ground again, pinning him face first in the grass.

  Parker thrashed and yelled, but there was nothing he could do as he watched Beth get into an idling black Porsche and screech down the tree-lined drive away from them.

  Beth

  ‘I tried to tell you . . .’ Beth couldn’t get Parker’s words out of her mind. They went around and around, and no matter how hard she pressed the gas pedal of the car she’d stolen, she couldn’t outrun them.

  Beth scarcely remembered the last words Parker or Jared had spoken. At some point she’d stopped listening and panic took over. She’d never felt such a sudden urge to flee. She’d started running before she even remembered making the decision. She was still running as she gunned the car faster—running away from her broken heart. Beth had no idea where she was going, only that she needed to get away, to get somewhere she could breathe. Parker had lied, and that rocked everything she knew to be true.

  Tears pricked her eyes, blurring her vision. She tried to blink them away. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel too tightly to risk wiping her face. She was afraid if she let go for even a second she’d lose control. She laughed to herself. What irony. She’d already lost control—control of her heart. It had been broken by two boys in one day.

  Beth still couldn’t believe everything had fallen apart so quickly. Or that Parker had been a part of any of it. Things had been perfect between them. Only moments before Jared showed up, Beth was convinced she was living in a fairytale. Parker was her prince and they were going to get a happily ever after. But maybe that’s all she and Parker were—a childish delusion.

  How could Beth believe anything that happened between them was real? Caroline’s deception had planted a seed of doubt, and Beth would always wonder if there had been another factor driving Parker’s motives. Jared was right, Parker should have told Beth what Caroline proposed. She would have told Parker if their roles were reversed, wouldn’t she?

  But then again, Beth had been blind when it came to Jared. She could see that now. How had she been so wrong about so much? She couldn’t trust her heart. Not when it had been wrong about her first boyfriend and her first love.

  A fresh batch of tears welled in her eyes. Beth thought she was over Jared. That he couldn’t hurt her more than he already had. But he’d flown all the way to Georgia and tracked her down, telling her he loved her and begging for forgiveness. She knew that wasn’t easy for him. He wasn’t someone who voiced his emotions. And she wanted to believe him about Caroline’s role in blackmailing him. Caroline had a reputation for being ruthless in the games she liked to play. Beth had just never imagined Caroline would do some
thing like that to her.

  The image of Caroline’s hand snaking around Jared popped into Beth’s head again. That was when Beth realized she was still wearing the matching bracelet that encircled Caroline’s cheating wrist. It made Beth feel sick to her stomach and she wanted it off. She let go of the wheel for just a second . . . but that’s all it took.

  The car careened off the road, the wheel spinning wildly away from her. Beth threw her hands protectively in front of her face, shrieking as the airbags burst on impact. For a moment she felt searing pain and then her life flashed before her; happy images of her sisters, her family, her childhood. Then everything began to fade into darkness. Beth’s heart thumped in her chest as she saw one last face right before everything went dark . . .

  39

  Parker

  By the time Parker broke free of Jared, Beth had a good head start, but he didn’t let that deter him. Nothing was going to stop him from getting to her. Panic spurred him on as he sprinted to the valet stand. A new valet driver had just parked an Escalade under the carriage porch. He was greeted by the chaos Beth’s Porsche-napping had caused.

  Parker took advantage of the distracted staff, running right past them, skidding to a stop only long enough to jump into the driver’s seat of the waiting Escalade and shove it into drive.

  The SUV was rolling before Parker even had time to shut the door. Valet drivers yelled after him, but he didn’t stop. All Parker could think about was the reckless way Beth had driven away. Terror lanced through him. If something happened to her . . .

  Dread spread like ice in his stomach as he came to the end of Bellemora’s tree-lined lane. There were tire tracks skidding to the left. Beth was driving way too fast if she’d left these. The marks barely managed to stay on the road. Parker veered left, following at his own breakneck speed. He flew down the road, eating up miles in seconds.