Page 62 of Don't Let Me Fall (Don't Let Me 1)

Logan was cheating on me.

And I was too stupid to see it for myself.

Colt looks down at me, the same dark, flinty gaze of his making my stomach flip-flop, but he stays quiet.

“Did you know?” I repeat, refusing to back down.

“Know what, Sunshine?”

“Did you know he was cheating on me?” The words taste bitter as they roll off my tongue.

I lick my lips and hold onto my anger, even though I can feel it transitioning into despair and hurt. But I don’t want to hurt right now. Not with Colt standing in front of me, witnessing how pathetic I really am. I shove the feeling aside as I picture Logan screwing someone who isn’t me. I lift my chin, ready to go head-to-head with anyone who will listen.

“Did you know he was sleeping around, Colt? Is it why you kept messing with my head? Using me like a freaking yo-yo? Playing with my emotions? Because you knew Logan didn’t love me anymore? Is it why you’ve been so hot and cold? And if it is, why the hell didn’t you tell me? I had a right to know.” My nose wrinkles in disgust as I shake my head. “You know what? I think that’s even worse.” I laugh, though there isn’t any humor in it. “You had nothing to gain by keeping it from me––”

“He’s my friend, Ash.”

I scoff and stand on my tiptoes, closing a bit more of our height difference, though it doesn’t make me feel any less small. “And what am I? Huh, Colt? Your plaything? Your tutor? What am I to you? I wanna know––”

His mouth slams against mine, taking my breath with it as he slips his tongue between my lips and tangles his fingers in my damp hair. I moan at the contact, opening my mouth wider for him. Letting him take what he wants, how he wants it.

He tastes amazing. My toes curl as his other hand slides along my lower back and presses me against him. Hot. Needy. Kisses. I feel like I can’t breathe. Like I’m out of control. Out of my freaking mind. Because he tastes good. Better than I imagined. Better than anything I’ve ever experienced.

I moan and dig my fingers into his biceps. Lost. Yet more at home than I’ve ever been before I realize I’m kissing Colt. Colt Thorne. The same Colt who’s dating my best friend.

“Stop.” I push at his chest and jerk out of his grasp, my chest heaving as I press my fingers against my bruised lips. But it doesn’t erase his taste or the memory of his hands on me from seconds ago, or the fact his lips don’t belong to me. They belong to Mia.

“What did I do?” I breathe out.

Reaching for me again, he murmurs, “Ash––”

“No.” I step back. “You’re dating Mia!”

“We aren’t dating––”

“Bullshit,” I spit. “I can’t believe I kissed you.” My legs are like Jell-O as I continue my unsteady retreat until my back hits the wall behind me and steals the air from my lungs. “I came here to confront Logan for cheating on me. I couldn’t believe he’d do it. That he’d betray me like that. And I…” I slide onto my ass and pull my knees to my chest. “I kissed you. I kissed my best friend’s boyfriend. I’m just as bad as Logan. Hell, I’m worse. I can’t––”

“Ash.” He squats next to me on the hardwood floor, grabs my face, and forces me to look at him. “I’m not dating Mia.”

I shake my head, but he keeps his grasp firm. “Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

“She called you her boyfriend.”

“Ash––”

“She called you her boyfriend,” I repeat, my voice rising along with my panic and disgust.

Desperate, he says, “It’s not what you think.”

“What is it?” I demand, well aware of how insane I must sound right now, but I can’t help it. I stabbed my friend in the back. I can’t believe––

“It’s fake,” he blurts out.

I shake my head, convinced I’m hallucinating. “W-what?”

“My relationship with Mia,” he clarifies. “It’s fake.”

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