Page 112 of One Little Mistake
Turning slowly, I realize it’s not Lexi.
“Lanes? Have you seen Lexi?”
“No. Ah, Dex? Where did she say she was going?”
“Oh my God, he looks fucking miserable. Doesn’t he know how to smile anymore?” Loki asks, coming up beside me.
“What?”
Loki points to the stage. “He looks like he’s going to throw up.”
Following his line of sight, I see Halton on stage, and if I didn’t feel so bad for him, I might laugh. He really does look miserable.
“Jesus. I told you to make sure he didn’t come out on stage like that,” Colton grumbles beside me.
“What do we do?” Preston asks, appearing out of nowhere.
“Ah …”
“Just look at this sexy hunka man here. Halton, do a little spin for us, will you?” Baker’s voice rings out over the speakers.
Halton’s eyes widen to the point of pain, and we all stand there staring at him.
“Ten bucks he spews his lunch all over the stage,” someone chimes in.
I’m so focused on the shitshow happening before me, I can’t even tell you who’s speaking.
“This is his worst nightmare. He has stage fright. I assumed he’d grown out of it.”
Turning toward the voice, I see Rylan watching him.
“How do you know he has stage fright?”
“Colty, you have to do something. This isn’t okay.”
Turning back toward Halton is like a traffic accident. You can’t move, and you can’t look away.
“Colton,” she snaps, “do you have a credit card on you?”
We all watch as he absentmindedly hands her his wallet.
Raising a paddle, she yells out, “Twenty thousand dollars.”
“Ba-uh. Twenty thousand going once,” Baker splutters. “Going twice.”
“It was him,” Colton says beside me.
Oh, shit. I recognize that tone in his voice.
“Sold, to the lady in pink for twenty thousand dollars.”
The crowd stands in silence. The previous bid had only been fifteen hundred.
“It was you,” Colton screams toward the stage. “You’re the reason she left. You’re the reason she wouldn’t come back. You fucking bastard.”
Before any of us can move, Colton is charging the stage.
“Shit, grab them,” Preston bellows, and just like when we were kids, we all charge in.
