CHAPTER 16
Jul 10, 2025
KAT’S POV
The first thing I became aware of was the pounding in my head, like someone was using my skull as a drum set. The second thing was that I definitely wasn’t in my own bed.
The sheets smelled wrong – masculine and clean with hints of some expensive cologne I couldn’t identify. The third thing, the thing that made my blood turn to ice water, was the warm body pressed against my back and the strong arm draped over my waist.
Oh God. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.
Fragments of the previous night came flooding back in horrifying detail. The party. The drinks. Nate kissing me. Liam’s furious interruption. The fight between the brothers. The revelation about Nate’s ulterior motives. The car ride back to campus. The kiss in the parking lot that had turned my world upside down.
And then… oh God, and then what happened after.
I carefully turned my head, afraid of what I would see, and my worst fears were confirmed. Liam Carter was asleep beside me, his dark hair tousled against the pillow, his face peaceful in a way I’d never seen when he was awake.
The sheet was pooled around his waist, leaving his chest bare, and even in my panic, I couldn’t help but notice the defined muscles of his shoulders and arms.
We were both naked. In his bed. In his dorm room.
I had slept with Liam Carter.
The memories hit me like a freight train, his hands on my skin, his mouth on mine, the way he’d whispered my name like a prayer as we moved together in the darkness. The desperation and hunger and something that had felt dangerously close to tenderness.
“This can’t be happening,” I whispered to myself, carefully trying to extract myself from his embrace without waking him.
My head was spinning, whether from the hangover or the shock of my situation, I couldn’t tell. How had I let this happen? How had I gone from fake-dating his brother to sleeping with him in the span of a single evening?
I spotted my dress crumpled on the floor near the foot of the bed, along with my underwear and his clothes from the night before. The sight of our clothing tangled together made my cheeks burn with embarrassment and something else I didn’t want to examine too closely.
Moving as quietly as possible, I slipped out of bed and began gathering my things. The movement made my head pound worse, and I had to pause for a moment to let the wave of nausea pass. Note to self: never drink vodka again. Ever.
I was trying to figure out how to put my dress back on without making noise when Liam’s voice stopped me cold.
“Kat.”
The way he said my name, soft and rough with sleep and something that might have been affection, made my heart do something complicated in my chest. I froze with my dress clutched against my naked body, my back still turned to him.
“You’re leaving,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.
I slowly turned around, keeping my dress pressed firmly against myself, and nearly lost my balance at the sight that greeted me. Liam was sitting up in bed, the sheet having slipped down to reveal his entire torso, and he was looking at me with an expression I couldn’t read.
His green eyes were intense, searching, and there was something vulnerable in them that I’d never seen before.
“I have to go,” I said, my voice coming out as barely more than a whisper.
“Do you?” he asked, running a hand through his messy hair. “Because I was hoping we could talk about what happened.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said quickly, looking anywhere but at his face. “This was a mistake. A huge, massive mistake that should never have happened.”
“Was it?” Liam swung his legs over the side of the bed, seemingly unconcerned about his nudity, and stood up. “Because it didn’t feel like a mistake last night.”
I let out a strangled scream and spun around, my face burning with embarrassment. “Oh my God, Liam! Put some clothes on!”
His laughter was rich and warm, completely at odds with the cold, hostile tone I was used to hearing from him. “You’re kidding, right? After last night, you’re going to act shy?”
“That’s different,” I protested, still facing the wall. “That was… that was…”
“What?” he prompted, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. “That was what, Kat?”
“That was a moment of temporary insanity brought on by alcohol and emotional trauma,” I said firmly. “It doesn’t count.”
“Doesn’t count?” Now he sounded less amused and more confused. “What do you mean it doesn’t count?”
I heard the rustle of fabric and risked a glance over my shoulder. He had pulled on a pair of boxer shorts, which was marginally better but still far too little clothing for my comfort level.
“I mean exactly what I said,” I told him, turning back around and starting to struggle into my dress. “This thing that happened between us? It never happened.”
“What thing?” he asked, moving closer, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
The zipper of my dress was stuck, and I was fumbling with it frantically, desperate to get out of this room before I did something else I’d regret. Like notice how good he looked in the morning light, or remember how gentle his hands had been on my skin, or think about the way he’d held me afterward like I was something precious.
“Let’s pretend nothing happened between us,” I said, finally getting the zipper up, “because that’s what I plan to do.”
“Kat, wait,” Liam said, reaching for my arm, but I was already moving toward the door.
“I’m serious, Liam,” I said, pointing a warning finger at him without turning around. “This never happened. We never happened. Last night was a mistake, and I refuse to let it complicate my life any further.”
“You can’t just pretend—” he started, but I was already opening the door.
“Watch me,” I said, and then I was running down the hallway, ignoring the curious stares from other students and the sound of Liam calling my name behind me.
“Kat! Kat, come back! We need to talk about this!”
But I was already gone, racing down the stairs and out of the building like my life depended on it. Because in a way, it did.
My carefully constructed world had already been turned upside down by Nate’s betrayal. I couldn’t handle adding whatever this thing was with Liam to the mix.
