Chapter 1
I was in a long-distance relationship. The problem? My boyfriend Brody's best friend went to the same college as me.
He constantly "accidentally" slipped into my Instagram DMs with pictures of his abs.
Once, the camera angle was just a bit too low...
My face turned pale with anger. I was ready to block him immediately and complain to my boyfriend.
But before I could, a voice memo popped up on my screen.
"Brody, is your girlfriend frigid or something?"
"No matter how hard I try to hook her, she won't bite. I'm risking it all this time."
"But we had a deal—if I actually bag her, you can't regret!"
Staring at the screen, my mind went totally blank.
Within one minute, Reed unsent all the messages.
Then, he sent his usual apology meme.
"My bad, wrong person. You didn't listen to that, right?"
I thought for a few seconds. Then I replied, "No."
I could almost hear Reed sigh in relief. But my chest felt incredibly tight.
I took the photo of Reed's abs I had just saved and sent it straight to Brody.
A FaceTime call from him lit up my screen a second later.
"Wren, are you sleeping with someone else?" Brody demanded.
I snapped back, "Your best friend sent this to me! Why don't you go ask him why he keeps sending me these kinds of pictures!"
Brody’s anger vanished instantly. "Oh, you mean Reed? Then it's fine."
"Why is it fine just because it's Reed?"
His tone hardened. "Reed is my best friend. What, do you actually want something to happen with him?"
I looked at him in total disappointment. "Brody, that's way out of line."
"I just mean you're misunderstanding him. I'll make him apologize to you tomorrow, okay?"
Furious, I hung up the call. Brody didn't call back.
When Reed and I first enrolled at Westbrook State University, Brody wasn't happy about it.
He joked, "Bro code says you don't make a move on your friend's girl. Don't you two try anything."
Reed hadn't said a word back then. He just flashed a wicked smirk.
He was rich, insanely hot, and the undisputed top guy on campus. To him, girls were just toys to play with. Yet, plenty of girls still threw themselves at him like moths to a flame.
Later, Reed's "slip-ups" started happening a lot.
The abs pictures always arrived late at night.
Before two minutes were up, he would unsend them. Then came the innocent apology meme.
I didn't care at first. But then he started changing his tactics.
He showered me with gifts, studied with me, and even randomly sent me money through Venmo.
He would always joke, "Since Brody isn't here, I'm basically your half-boyfriend."
I had brought this up to Brody more than once. But he always laughed it off. "Reed just loves to joke around. Don't take it seriously."
I threw my phone onto the bed in frustration. Suddenly, everything that had happened before started to make sick sense.
The signs were always there.
The next morning, Reed was waiting for me at the dormitory entrance.
With his tall, model-like build, he stood out in the crowd instantly.
Seeing me walk out, he stepped up and pressed a cup against my cheek.
"Light sugar warm oat latte. I remember your period is coming up, so no iced drinks for you."
Reed blocked my path completely, leaving me no choice but to look up at him.
"I'm not drinking your stuff. Move."
"Tsk, don't be like that," Reed said. "Brody told me first thing this morning to make sure I butter you up."
I stared him dead in the eye.
"Did Brody also tell you to send me your explicit photos?"
