Page 45 of Tell Me You Like It

I lean back against the backrest and sigh. “The rest of you should go with them. I need to talk to my guys alone.”

All the girls silently get up and reluctantly move away from the table, toward the dance floor. Nathan and a couple of other guys remain sitting, awkwardly glancing at each other, like they’re not sure if they qualify as one of my guys.

They don’t.

“Everyoneshould go,” I say, clarifying.

Jackson, Lucas, and Christian know this doesn’t mean them, and they stay behind as the other guys leave. Nathan, in particular, looks reluctant to leave, but whatever. As soon as we’re alone, I glare at Jackson. “What the fuck, man?”

Jackson leans back, his chair balancing on two wooden legs. “What?We all know she’s not as fucking innocent as she pretends to be.”

Christian wacks Jackson on the arm. “Yeah, but if she figures outweknow that, then you’re going to fuckthis shit up.”

“How?” Jackson asks, incredulous.

“Bro, you basically called her out in front of everyone,” Lucas says, lighting up a blunt. “You don’t even know the girl. You don’t think calling her viciousto her faceisn’t going to look sus?”

Lucas passes me the blunt, and I take a hit before passing it to Christian. “You’ve got to keep your shit together,” I say. “At least until this is all over. Lux is smarter than most of the chicks we mess with, and we can’t risk her figuring shit out.”

Jackson just throws his head back. “Whatever, dude. Let’s just hope you get her under control soon, because I don’t know how long I can keep this shit bottled up.”

Jackson has always been the impatient one, even when we were kids. It’s fucking annoying, but I remind myself, it’s because this shit with my brother is eating away at him. It’s fucking with all of us, and we all have our different ways of dealing with it.

My way of dealing with shit is by taking action, and that’s what I intend to do.

“I have it handled,” I say. “Don’t worry about it. But you know what would fucking help? Finding Lux’s friend. This shit is taking up way too much energy.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard something about that from one of the Debs,” Lucas says. “What’s the friend’s name again?”

“Bree,” I answer. “Have any of you heard anything? I’m telling you, the quicker we find this chick, the easier this whole plan will fall into place.”

“Is that the chick Lux was with the other night, at the ceremony?” Jackson asks.

“Yeah,” I reply. “I guess Lux hasn’t talked to her since yesterday.”

Jackson rolls his head back on his shoulders and releasesa groan. “Dear God. Only since yesterday?” He lifts his arm, gesturing wildly. “She’s probably off somewhere partying and getting fucked, like every other college student.”

I nod and reach over to take the blunt from Christian, whose hogging it. I take a hit, and inhale deeply, before blowing the smoke out slowly. “You know that, and I know that, but Lux is convinced there’s something wrong.” I hand the blunt back to Christian and throw my hands up. “Listen, I don’t fucking carewherethis chick is, but Lux cares, and the faster we can put this Bree shit to rest, the better for everyone.”

Lucas leans back and expells a long breath. “I’ll ask around.”

“I will, too,” Christian says. “This town isn’t very big. I’m sure someone knows something.”

“Cool, thanks,” I say. “In the meantime, I guess I’ll just forge ahead with the plan.”

Before actually meeting Lux, I had real doubts about whether or not I could bring myself to pull this shit off. She was a dark phantom in my head. A name on a piece of paper. The instrument of my family’s pain. So the idea of speaking to her, let alone touching her, felt like a big fucking ask.

But if there’s one thing about me, I do what needs to be done, regardless of how uncomfortable it is.

Turns out, cozying up to a succubus is a lot easier than I thought it would be. She was described to me as a fucking bitch, and a master manipulator. Someone resentful, and angry.

The Lux I’ve come to know in the past couple of days is a lot more chill than I imagined. A lot more innocent, and vulnerable. But I don’t know…that’s exactly what a manipulator would project, right? Innocence. Vulnerability.

It’s what draws me to her, and it’s also her best weapon.

“How’s J-man doing? Have you talked to him?” Lucas asks.

“Yeah, he calls me.” I shrug. “He’s doing the best he can, under the circumstances.”

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