Page 72 of Spite

Christian smirked. “I see you ran out of the house without shoes again.”

My toes wiggled in the leaves. “I don’t understand.”

Xander moved around Christian, sitting cross-legged on one of the blankets. He patted the spot beside him, and after I glanced to both Alec and Christian, I slowly went to him. Alec and Christian sat across from me. This was…weird, and I felt intensely out of place wearing my fuzzy duck pajamas.

“You ran out of the dance,” Alec said, “without telling any of us.”

“Mr. Smith rounded us all up and suspended us,” Christian said, frowning. “Coach isn’t happy. I’m out for five games, too.” A breeze blew by, and when I breathed in, I smelled his musky scent, mixed with body spray.

I had to look away from him, unable to take the intensity of his blue eyes. “I’m sorry.”

It was Xander who said softly, “We were worried about you, and we…” His thin chest rose and fell with a sigh. Together, we were four kids, on the cusp of true adulthood, a hodgepodge of personalities and looks.

“We have something to say,” Alec took over when Xander quieted. His jade stare moved to Christian, and I noted a bit of hesitancy there, as if this was all new to him, foreign, and I supposed it was. Being open, being honest, hadn’t been their strong suit. It hadn’t been mine, either.

“Look, I’m not the best at this, so I’ll just come out and say it.” A sigh left Christian’s lips, lingering in the air for only a moment before he said, “I’m sorry, for all of it. I was a stupid kid. I didn’t think it would affect you so much, but I know that’s no excuse.”

“I’m sorry too,” Alec said. Under his t-shirt, his chest tensed, as if he had to prepare himself for what he was about to say. “For never speaking up, for laughing. I never tried to stop it from happening.”

I nodded—all of that was true. I wasn’t going to argue with them.

Xander took my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. He was a pale color compared to me. “And I’m sorry, Elle, for being a part of it. If I could take it all back, I would. I would gladly take it all back.” His touch was warm on me, and inside my chest, my heart constricted.

These guys…these guys were apologizing to me, and they all seemed so genuine. Sincere in every way. How was I supposed to take this? I didn’t wake up this morning—or, more seriously, thirty minutes ago—knowing this was what I would face.

What was I supposed to say? No amount of words, no matter how they were arranged, felt sufficient.

“I don’t…I don’t know what to say,” I said, glancing between each of them.

Xander, still holding onto my hand, turned it to reveal my scarred wrist. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” I watched him lift my wrist and place a gentle kiss on the scar, his lip ring tickling my sensitive skin.

“You’re not mad?” My question was mainly focused on Christian, whose eyes never left me.

“Maybe I was a little, at first, but I can’t blame you for wanting to get back at me.” Christian glanced to Alec, who was watching him, too. “When I saw you that you were back, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if you were the same girl you were in sixth grade. I thought maybe you wanted payback, and I was ready to give it right back—”

“Because your smug ass thought you didn’t deserve it,” Alec cut in with a grin.

“I do deserve it. What I did…what I made you do, I…I’ve thought about it a lot, Elle.” The way Christian spoke my name, the velvety smooth sound fell on my ears and made me shiver. “And I am more than willing to do whatever I have to to make it up to you.” His words had another meaning, and his eyes fell to my lips.

It was now my turn to say what was perhaps the most awkward thing I’d ever said: “I don’t think I can choose.” When the three guys only stared at me, I felt compelled to add, “I love you. All three of you.” Sheesh. Talk about awkward. Talk about mortifying. I really should just stand up and go home at this rate.

Alec broke out into a grin, leaning closer to me as he grabbed my other free hand, mimicking the gesture Xander had made by kissing my other scar. “I don’t remember asking you to choose,” he whispered, his voice low. To the others, he asked, “Do you?”

A fire swelled in my lower gut. This could not be happening. “But I thought—”

“We’ve talked,” Christian said, sounding bored, as if the memory of talking was one of the most boring things in recent memory. “A lot.”

Xander leaned into my ear, his breath hot on my cheek as he said, “We all love you. We all need you, and I don’t think any of us are willing to give you up now that we have you.”

I looked between them. Xander was so close to me, our noses touched. He still held onto my wrist, and the feeling of his lips pressing on my scar remained, a ghostlike sensation. The dark eyes I stared into were the furthest from the black eyes that had laughed at me, mocked me, jeered at me.

On my other side, Alec was steady but silent. A tiny smile graced his tan face, two dimples in his cheeks. He stroked my arm, running his fingers along my forearm, tempting me. I knew I owed it to him; all of this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t somehow squirreled his way into my heart and made me realize that I wouldn’t be able to break these boys like I’d planned.

And Christian. Who could forget Christian? When it all boiled down to it, he was the ringleader. Without him, it was quite possible that I never would’ve had a target on my back. As he sat there, watching me and only me, ignoring the fact that both Alec and Xander sat so near me, he started to grin. In the past, I would have been nervous, but today? Today I saw how the smile reached his eyes, noted the quiet intensity behind his blue gaze. Today I realized I had him right where I wanted him.

By my side.

“Now that you have me,” I spoke softly, “what will you do with me?” Suddenly two pairs of lips were on my neck, Xander and Alec on each side, showering my tender skin with slow, agonizing kisses. A heat rose within me when I locked eyes with Christian.

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