Page 49 of One Little Mistake
“I’m messed up, East. You don’t want to waste your time here.”
“We’re all fucked up, Lexi, but I don’t want to make things harder for you. I’m sorry for crossing the line in the pool with you today.”
I want to tell him I liked it, that I wanted him, but I know that’s not fair.
“What the fuck are you doing on the floor?” Colton’s voice startles me.
“Talking to Lexi. She’s getting ready. What’s up?” Easton asks.
Colt mumbles something I don’t catch, followed by an Easton growl I know well. My body reacts as if he touched me.
“So,” Colton draws out, “remember Jessa, from the pool? She has a single friend. Do you have plans tonight?”
“Ugh,” I scoff and shove back from the door as if it shocked me, but I can’t hear Easton’s reply, so I hurry back and press my ear to it.
Why does it matter, Lexi? You have no right to him. I don’t have a right to be mad, but I can’t control the way my heart clenches at the thought of him going out with floozy number two.
“She’s fucking hot, East. I need you to be my wingman tonight. Jessa won’t go out unless I bring a date for her friend. When’s the last time you got laid, anyway?”
“Fuck off, Colt.”
“So … is that a yes?”
No, it’s not a yes. Is it?
“Come on, East. Remember that time in Fiji? I was there when you—”
“I’ll think about it, okay?” East interrupts irritably.
Ick. Seriously?He just had his head buried in my crotch, and he’ll think about going out with someone else? I’m fully aware that my crazy is showing, and I don’t give a shit. Well, fine. That just proves why we were a mistake.
“Locket?”
“Don’t call me that,” I hiss. I have no right to be pissed off, but I am, and my inner bitch is flying high. “Go to your brother’s, East. I’ll see you up there. We’re done here.”
“Open the door, Lex.”
“Not today, Easton.”
I stomp off to my en suite and make sure to slam the bathroom door so he knows I’m done.
Twenty minutes later, I exit my room, mostly composed, and head straight for the front door. Preston is staying three floors up, and that’s where I’m meeting everyone for this stupid shopping trip.
Please, please, please don’t let me run into Easton and his floozy. Knowing it’s a possibility, I put on my armor. Acting like a bitch is so much easier than admitting I might be pushing away the best man I’ve ever known.
Chapter 20
Easton
What a fucking nightmare. The girls returned from their shopping trip, and all hell broke loose. I knew the second the she-pack entered Preston’s suite, one of us was in for it. Thankfully, it was Preston that managed to piss everyone off and not me.
As a war broke out between Preston and his girlfriend, Emory, I sat back and watched Lexi. She was so confident in her role as best friend and protector. There’s no doubt in my mind she would have kicked Preston’s ass if Emory needed her to. Shockingly, Emory took him to task herself.
Seeing Preston take the beating he probably deserved broke something inside of me, though. As it unfolded around us, I realized my big brother was in love. Real, messy, complicated love, and for the first time in years, I felt like I was missing out. I’ve spent so long living with hate and regrets. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want what Preston has—what my dad modeled so perfectly for us. I want a life, and I think I need it with Lexi and all her stubborn, bitchy ways.
Colton is downstairs trying to persuade the girl from the pool to go out with him. I don’t know the last time he worked this hard, but there was no way in hell I was going on a double date with him. Not when the woman I want is ten feet away.
Knowing she’ll make me sit outside of her door, I walk to her room anyway and knock. Then knock again. When she doesn’t answer, I open her door to find the room empty.Where the hell is she? I sigh because there’s only one way to find out, so I grab my phone.
