My mother closed her eyes briefly. “Oh, Raven. Just be careful.”

“I think he’s going to ask me out again. I don’t want to say no. And I also don’t want to lie to you.”

“I don’t want you to lie to me, either. Even if it’s something I don’t agree with, please don’t lie to me. Always tell me where you’re going. You’re twenty, an adult. I know you’re ultimately going to do what you want. So all I can do is warn you.”

The guilt continued killing me, because as much as I didn’t want to jeopardize my mother’s job, I knew in my heart that after our kiss, I wouldn’t be able to resist Gavin very easily.

I had a lot to think about.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, I thought I had it all figured out. I would tell Gavin we couldn’t see each other anymore.

Then he sent me a text that undid my resolve.Gavin: That kiss was everything.CHAPTER FIVE* * *GAVINMy brother waltzed into my bedroom and helped himself to my energy drink. “How was your date with Raven the other night?”

“How the hell did you know about that?”

“I didn’t, but I do now. Thanks for the confirmation.”

Great.

He chuckled. “You underestimate how well I know you. You leave the house at, like, 7:30 on a Saturday and don’t say shit to me before you go. You almost always say goodbye and tell me where you’re going. But you didn’t this time. I know how you are. When you want something, you go after it. And it’s painfully obvious what you’re wanting these days: Raven’s ass.”

“Lower your fucking voice. This is no joke. Our mother is not playing. She’ll fire Raven and make Renata’s life miserable.”

Weldon scratched his chin. “Speaking of such, I have a proposition for you.”

“This better not be blackmail.”

“Nah.” He took a seat and put his dirty feet up on my desk. “This is something I think will benefit us both.”

I sighed. “What?”

“You know I’ve been trying to get Crystal Bernstein to go out with me for ages.”

“Yeah. What’s the point?”

“I went with Mother to the club for lunch today. I saw Crystal there with her parents. We talked and really hit it off.”

“Okay...”

“Well, basically we were hitting it off because you weren’t around. Then, of course, she asked me if you were dating anyone. Apparently, she’s had a crush on you for some time. Big shocker there—people using me to get to you.”

“I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”

“I want you to ask her out.”

“I have no desire to go out with her.”

“I know that. I want you to start dating her so you can jilt her.”

“I’m not following.”

“You’ll go out with her a couple of times. Then you’ll stand her up. She’ll no longer be into you, because you will have pissed her off. That’s when I’ll somehow swoop in and pick up the pieces.”

“What’s in this for me?”

“You get to make Mother believe you’ve moved on from Raven for a little while. She’ll start to watch you less, thinking you’re out of your phase. We can get Crystal to meet you here at the house for your first date.”

Squinting, I said, “There’s more to this. I can tell.”

“Well, yeah—an incentive. If you do it, I’ll stay out of your way when it comes to Raven. I won’t call Mother’s attention to it, and I’ll even cover for you.”

“Let me guess, if I don’t agree to this, you’ll act out even worse than before.”

“You know me so well.” Weldon snickered.

“You know, technically, as my brother, you’re supposed to support me and not be a dick without expecting anything in return. But considering you are a dick, it makes sense that you would blackmail me and try to spin it like you’re doing me the favor.”

“Come on, Gav. This is a win-win. Crystal will be at the club tomorrow. Just go there, ask her out, go on a couple of dates. But don’t kiss her. Then ditch her on, like, the third date and tell me where to be. And I’ll do my part making sure Mother knows all about the dates with Crystal, so she thinks you’ve moved past Raven.”

I was too old for this high-school shit. But while I didn’t like the idea of giving in to Weldon, this plan didn’t sound that bad. I really did need to get my mother off my back. A little trickery might not hurt.

“Do you really think this is fair to Crystal?”

“She’ll end up with someone better in the end.” He winked.

I let out a long breath. “I can’t believe I’m about to agree to this. And for the record, I’m only doing this because of the purpose it serves me.”

“Excellent, brother. You won’t regret it.” He stood up and smacked my arm.

I smacked him harder, and he stumbled back, losing his balance.