Page 125 of A Little Complicated

She simply stares at me.Glaresat me. “Don’t get me wrong, Lia. I know we’ve always been pretty different, but this?” She flicks her hand in my direction. “You really think Maverick’s gonna settle down and give you what you want? You broke Archer’s heart so you could be his brother’s fuck toy for a little while, and you fell for it. Pretty sure I’ve never felt more ashamed to call you my sister in my entire life.”

“Tate—”

“Archer deserves so much more than you’ve ever given him it’s not even funny, and this is how you thank him for it?”

“Tatum,” I beg.

She shakes her head, her eyes narrowing into slits. “If you don’t tell him about this, I will.” She turns on her heel and disappears from view.

And just like that, the euphoria from minutes ago explodes into an eruption of shame and remorse andfearuntil I’m left gasping for air.

What if she tells him?

And why does the idea of him finding out make me feel like I mightliterallypuke?

I cover my mouth and slump into Maverick, my muscles heavy and useless and stiff and fuckingmushas the realization of what transpired hits me square in the face. I just dry-humped my ex, who happens to be myotherex-boyfriend’s brother, on the rooftop while he’s one floor away, and instead of having the decency to tell him beforehand, I’ve been hiding it. From Archer. From everyone.

I rest my forehead against Maverick’s and squeeze my eyes shut.

What did I just do?

It doesn’t matter that Archer and I aren’t technically together anymore. I’ve been keeping this from him. And this isn’t a little secret. This is me and Maverick. He’ll think I planned this. That I broke up with him for his twin brother. It doesn’t matter how he’d be wrong. The way it looks? It’s bad. Really bad. What if he hates me forever? What if he hates Maverick forever? What if he never forgives his own brother because of me? Because of what we’ve been doing behind his back? And for what? For a few solid orgasms without any actual future?

“Sh…,” Mav murmurs. “It’s gonna be all right. I’ll talk to—”

“Don’t.”

My thighs quiver as I climb off Maverick’s lap and shove my hair away from my face, bringing my fingers to my lips. I think I’m going to be sick. I think I’m going to hyperventilate and pass out. I think I’m going—

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Opie. Breathe.” Maverick rubs his hand up and down my back.

My chest heaves, and I shake my head. “What have we been doing?”

“We—”

“We really thought we could hide this?” My voice cracks. “Thought we could pretend everything’s okay, and it wouldn’t hurt Archer to see us—”

“Stop,” he orders.

“She’s right. Tatum’s right. What did I just do, Mav?” I ask. My eyes plead with his, begging him to tell me it didn’t happen. To tell me I didn’t break his brother’s heart or ruin his trust or make him feel like he’s anything less than perfect.

Maverick’s touch is gentle as he grabs the side of my face and forces me to look at him. “Breathe, Goose.”

My bottom lip trembles, and I blink the moisture making my sight hazy away as I pull out of his grasp. “I need to go.”

“Let me help you—”

I slap his hand away as he tries to steady me. “Stop. I can’t. I can’t do this right now. How could we do this to him? How could we… How could we not actually consider the consequences of who this would hurt, especially for a casual fling that doesn’t feel so casual anymore? Not to me,” I whisper. My shoulders sag a little more. “Tatum’s right. I might’ve ended things before all of this, but it doesn’t matter. He’s your fucking brother, Maverick. Who does that?”

His lips are nothing but a slash of white on his face as he stares at me helplessly.

We did.

“Opie—”

“I—I need to go.”

“Lia,” he pleads.

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