Forever Logan by Elena Matthews (animal farm read .txt) 📕

throws it to me. I catch it as he says, “Two women for the price of one.”

I try to hand the key fob back to him. “Dude, I wasn’t being serious when we made that bet. God, I never expected I’d land a woman like her in a million years. I was just messing with you. I don’t want your car.”

He doesn’t take it back from me. “No, Jace is right. A bet is a bet. You won it fair and square.”

Just as I’m about to tell him he’s being ridiculous, the sound of Ally’s voice from behind us stills me, and my blood turns cold.

“You bet you’d win your brother’s car if you made me fall in love with you?” The sound of disdain and disgust in her voice makes my heart drop to my stomach.

I turn around to face her and walk toward her. “I swear, it isn’t what it sounds like.”

“No?” she questions, staring at me with a new hatred I’ve never seen with her, even when she despised me. “Well, to me, it sounds like you’re a piece of shit,” she says while pulling off the bracelet I got her and launching it at my face before spinning on her feet and rushing away from me.

Chucking the key fob back at Blake, I race after Ally but not before grabbing her bracelet from the floor.

“Ally!” I shout after her as I get to the bottom of the stairs, following her toward the kitchen. “Ally,” I repeat as I see her grabbing her purse from where Remi and Nate are standing at the kitchen island.

“Ally, please let me explain.” I go to touch her arm, but she shoves me off her.

Ignoring me, she turns to Remi. “I need to go.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Nate asks.

She twists her face as she glares at my twin. “What’s going on is that your brother is an asshole!”

Immediately, all eyes go to me, and Nate pins his focus on me. “What’ve you done now?” He asks the question like we’re just having another one of our spats, but this is more than just bickering.

I’ve truly gone and upset her because I’m an idiot.

“Did you know he made a bet with Blake? That if he made me fall in love with him, he’d get Blake’s precious Porsche?”

“What? No! I had no idea.” Nate glares over at me. “What the fuck, Logan? Is this true?”

Ignoring Nate, I turn my attention to Ally. “Can we please talk about this alone? I swear, it wasn’t a real bet. It was just two brothers messing around. Please let me explain.”

“Why should I?” she asks defiantly, her bottom lip trembling with anger.

“Because I love you and not because of some bet,” I say, not caring that I’ve essentially just let the cat out of the bag. I don’t give a shit though. I don’t care who knows about us. I don’t care if I piss my brother and Remi off and somehow steal the limelight off their special day. All that matters is Ally.

She lets her arms drop and looks at me with a sad expression.

“Ally, what’s going on?” Remi asks, turning to her.

“I’ll explain everything to you later,” she tells her best friend before she refocuses her attention on me. “Fine, let’s head out back.”

I follow her through the patio doors to the backyard, and we head to a bench that my parents have at the far end of the garden, twinkly lights surrounding us.

“Talk then,” she demands as soon as we sit down, the chill from outside giving me goose bumps.

“It was only a stupid bet, I swear. I actually forgot about it until Jace brought it up, but it wasn’t ever serious. They both know I’ve been crazy about you since the moment I met you, and they never believed anything could ever happen between us. So, Blake said he’d bet his car if I actually got you to fall in love with me, and yes, I wanted to prove to him I had a shot with a girl like you but not because I wanted to win his stupid car. Do you really think I’m that shallow?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think. I just don’t get why you’d make a bet anyway even if you were just messing around. I mean, how old are you?”

“It was just brothers being brothers, and you know, guys do stupid shit. I don’t know why; we just do. We’re idiots.”

“It wasn’t just the bet. It was also the fact that you were talking to your entire family about me, like you were bragging. I mean, I thought we agreed not to tell anybody.”

I pivot my body even closer to hers and look her dead in the eye. “I don’t know how much you heard, but I wasn’t bragging, I promise. I didn’t tell them. Blake saw us coming out of my bedroom. Then, Kaelyn came upstairs, followed by Jace, and Blake couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.”

“But you had the key fob in your hand. To me, it seemed like you were cashing in your prize.”

“I wasn’t. He just threw it at me. I promise you, being with you wasn’t because of some car.”

“But how can I be with someone who treats me like an object in some pathetic bet with his brother?”

“I know, and I’m sorry. It was childish, but I was never serious about it. God, if it’s between you and a car, baby, you will always win.”

“But that’s the thing; it should never have to be me and some fucking car even if it’s just a joke. I’m a human being, for Christ’s sake, a human being who had reservations about being with you in the first place. You’ve spent these past few months trying to show me you’re a different guy, but the old you keeps seeping through. You have no idea how much I have risked, letting you into my heart, by falling in love with you.