Prologue

The wind in the evening was chilly, and the fragrance of spring flowers was lovely as Cassie walked with Jeffery along the cobblestone walkway by the spring in the city square. The street lamps gave a warm glow reflected in the rippling water below. The whole evening was a dream—something she did not wish to wake up from.

Jeffery opened and wrapped his around hers, his fingers entwining with hers with a comfort that bypassed her heart. "I've wanted to do this," he admitted, his voice rough, almost shy.

Cassie pressed her lips together, gazing up at him. "Do what?"

"Take you out on a date. Just the two of us."

Heat encircled her waist. "Seriously?" She chuckled. "Why didn't you ask me all this while?"

He smiled. "I guess I wanted it to be special and memorable."

They strolled in silence for a moment before they decided where to sit on a wooden bench next to it that was near the spring water. They were shrouded in darkness like a cocoon as they exposed their fears and desires—Cassie's fear of being insufficient, Jeffery's fear of being sufficient.

"I don't want to be that guy everyone's expecting me to be," he confessed, turning his back to her. "With you, I feel like I can be me; I feel like I can be real without the world crushing me down."

Cassie's heart hurt. "You know you can always tell me the truth." I understand how that feels. I have always felt like an outsider, too. People bully me because of my weight and size, which made me not express my true self openly.

"I think you're beautiful and have a great body, too. You shouldn't worry about your size."

She chuckled, "Easier for you to say". Then, before she could even think before she could even allow doubt to creep in, Jeffery leaned in. His lips touched hers—soft, full lips, tentative but full of unspoken promise. Sparks flew, and warmth ran through her veins as she dissolved into the kiss under the starry sky.

They did not notice the shadow that was behind them.

Eric, Jeffery's high school basketball friend, folded his arms, his eyes wide with amazement. "Wow, so Jeffery finally got her," he muttered and grinned, knowing that this evening would be over so quickly that neither of them would ever anticipate it.

***

The next day, at school lunch, Cassie's life fell apart.

She wasn't supposed to have heard it, but she did. Laughing out loud, Eric called out to Jeffery, "So, did you do it already? I mean, the bet's still on, right?" Cassie's gut twisted. Her heart throbbed in her ears as the truth hit her. Hard. 

"Come on, man," Eric said, shoving Jeffery. "You have to sleep with her. That's the whole point." 

Some other students gasped, and Eric looked at their growing group, unwatched. 

"Hey, guys!" Eric announced to the group. "Jeff here had the most romantic night of his life. Too bad that it was a bet." Guffaws. Side looks. Mutters.

Cassie felt the walls closing in on her, her vision clouding. Without thinking, she rounded on Jeffery. "Tell me it isn't true." Jeffery looked at her. "See, I can explain, Cass, forget them; it's not what you think."

She couldn't hear anything anymore, her heart broke—no, it shattered.

Tears blinded her eyes, but she would not let them do so again. So she raised her chin and walked away, leaving humiliation, deception, and betrayal along with the first boy she ever trusted. One promise she made to herself was to never let Jeffery Richards ever fool her again.