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by May, McKinley

  "Lex—"

  She cuts me off, her voice getting louder. "Sure, I took a little more convincing than most, but that probably made it more fun for you, right? More challenging?" Frustration and hurt drip from each word. "You wanted to sleep with me, Weston? Congratulations. You succeeded."

  A few eavesdroppers shoot subtle glances our way.

  "Follow me." I weave my fingers with hers and lead us away from the cramped kitchen. Our intimate shit isn't entertainment for nosy drunks.

  We reach an isolated hallway in the "off-limits" part of the house, and I pick up where she left off.

  "Yeah, I wanted to fuck you. Of course I wanted to. But you honestly think that's all this was about?"

  She swallows. "I mean, after what you said—"

  "What did I say?" An agitated breath escapes me. "Seriously, tell me. I'm not following."

  "That Tuesday was the final date! Basically, that this...thing between us was over."

  The foggy memory of me mumbling something about the third date plays through my mind, but I can't even recall exactly what was said.

  She sure as hell remembers, though.

  "Shit, babe. That wasn't what I was—I never meant to imply I wanted this to stop. The sun hadn't even come up yet; you gotta take what's said at that hour with a grain of salt, Lex."

  "Maybe I overreacted a bit," she admits before a frown bows her lips. "But I'm glad you brought it up. Whatever's going on here needed to come to an end, anyway. You proved your point, alright? Let's just go back to keeping our interactions strictly school-related and move on."

  "Fuck no," I protest. "I don't want that."

  "We let this go on far too long. Like, weeks and weeks longer than it should've." Her eyes dart away from mine. "I'm already way more invested than I ever wanted to be."

  "And you don't think I'm invested?" Fire pulses through my veins. "The daily phone calls? The relationship we developed? I don't do that shit with girls I'm not invested in, Lexie."

  "What I want is more than what you can give me," she argues. "I'm not interested in anything casual, Weston. That's not gonna work for me."

  "I don't want casual," I insist gruffly. "Nothing about us is casual."

  I step forward, backing her into a corner of the dim space. A door opens down the hall, a sliver of yellow light revealing her flustered expression.

  Bracing an arm above her head, I cage her against the wall as I continue.

  "This fucking 'experiment'? That was supposed to shed light on your dating problems? It backfired. I was the one who learned a lesson. I'm the one who's been avoiding anything real, sidestepping any type of relationship that has more substance behind it than the physical shit."

  "You're just saying that," she claims.

  "I'm not. Three dates wasn't enough for me. Three dates isn't gonna cut it." I reach a hand out, tilting her chin up and placing a simmering kiss on her lips. Electricity flows between us, crackling in the air just like every freaking time we touch. I suck on her plump bottom lip, forcing myself to pull back before I get completely sidetracked. "I'm not done with you, Lexie. This isn't over."

  I'm trying to assure her with my words, persuade her with my touch, but this girl is not easily convinced.

  "I don't know." She fingers the delicate gold necklace around her throat. "I don't know if I can believe you. I don't know if I should."

  "God damn, you're stubborn," I mutter. "What do I need to do to prove I'm all in? You want me to delete all the girls' numbers in my phone?" I fish out my cell from my back pocket. "No problem."

  "Stop." She rolls her eyes, swatting my phone away with a huff. "Look, it's easy for you to make all these romantic declarations in a dark, deserted hallway. I don't date players, but I'm well-versed with their schemes. Empty promises to girls in private, humiliating denials in public. What makes this any different?"

  "Oh, is that what you need?" I ask with sudden realization. "Witnesses? Me pissing on you in front of everyone?"

  Disgust flashes across her face and I laugh.

  "Figuratively speaking. Jesus. You need a grand gesture of commitment?" I scratch my chin in thought. "I can do that. Come with me."

  Before she can jaw with me any longer, I drag her back into the bustling party.

  "Weston!" She squirms as I place my hands on her shoulders and situate her in the middle of the dance floor. "What the heck?"

  "Stay," I command. "Don't move, okay?"

  "Fine." A relenting sigh escapes her as I head towards the DJ booth. "Won't move a muscle."

  After a quick explanation and a few less $5's in my wallet, the music cuts off. I grab the microphone and channel my inner frat dude.

  "Whattttup Windhaven?!"

  I know a good chunk of the students here, so I get a loud and enthusiastic "Whatttup Weston!" in response.

  Before I get to my point, I work the crowd with numerous chants—Go Warriors, Rush Sigma...Stupid shit like that.

  Gotta get them on your side so they'll STFU and listen.

  "Okay, okay. Pipe down." I interrupt their Spring Break cheer. "I've got an announcement to make."

  The drunks instantly go quiet. I spot the nosy people from earlier poking their heads into the room and I wave them forward. "Come on. Yeah, you. I'm talking to you. I saw you guys spying earlier. You want a conclusion to your personal reality show? Get your asses in here."

  They shuffle inside and I point at Lexie. "Everyone see this girl right here?"

  Party-goers move aside, heads collectively turning to see who I'm motioning to. Some asshole flips on his phone's flashlight and shines it straight in Lexie's eyes.

  "Fuck, dude," I say with a frown. "Let's not blind her, please. Damn."

  He adjusts his cell slightly, the white light now hitting just below her cheekbones.

  "I wanna say something to her, and I want everybody to hear it."

  More than a few people lift their phones and start filming, but whatever.

  Capture this permanently on video—that's fine with me.

  "I'm laying it all out on the table here, Lex."

  My eyes laser onto hers, I drown out every other stimulus in the room, and then I pour my freaking heart out.

  "You're the only person I could spend an entire Saturday doing schoolwork with and not check my watch once. You're the only girl who cracks me up, pisses me off, and turns me on all at the same time. I like everything about you, Lexie. I like watching you dance like a lunatic when you read textbooks. I like when you get all snappy with me when I fuck up a homework question. I like how you're so damn beautiful, but you don't even realize it."

  I switch the microphone to my other hand and continue. "Did you know I was gonna drop Bio Lab that first day? Had the form signed and ready to go. But the moment I saw you, I changed my mind. Now it's my favorite class, and that has shit-all to do with the subject matter. I wake up every Monday morning excited to get to campus, ecstatic to sit next to you. Seeing your face...it's more than enough to make my freakin' week, baby."

  I release a breath. "Shit, I could on go for hours, but I'm just gonna sum it up right here, right now. I really, honestly, truly care about you, Lexie. So fucking much. And I don't wanna be with anybody but you."

  And there it goes.

  That last inkling of doubt in her gaze, gone with my sappy as hell confessions and replaced with a dazzling smile.

  Frat Bro Joe lets out a rowdy yell. "Booo! Who stole your balls, Paine?"

  I grin and flip him off before turning back to Lex with a raised brow. "See how much I like you? People are questioning the whereabouts of my balls and I don't even give a shit." I rub the back of my neck. "And with all that being said, let me ask you something."

  She holds up a hand to her ear in encouragement.

  "Do you wanna be my...beer pong partner after this?"

  Laughter echoes in the room as she rolls her eyes and smiles. "Sure. Anything else you want to ask me?"

  "Yup. Will you go out...to get coffee with
me tomorrow?"

  "Make it breakfast and I'll think about it," she says sarcastically.

  "Breakfast it is. Oh yeah—almost forgot. One more thing." A massive smile breaks across my face. "Be my girlfriend, Lexie Montgomery."

  26

  "Weston? You're dating Weston? Weston Paine?!"

  Rayne is in total freak-out mode over here.

  Shrill whispers, eyes fixed on mine in disbelief...

  Deja vu much?

  Except this time there is no alternative explanation from me because I am dating Weston.

  No "experiment" facade, no rules, nada.

  We are a couple—plain and simple.

  But Rayne already knows this.

  She wasn't at Sigma Pi's bash, but she had the low-down five minutes after we became officially official.

  A video of Weston's heartfelt confession spread around this gossip-obsessed campus like wildfire. R watched the extravaganza from a hotel room in Kansas City where she spent Spring Break doing internship crap. We exchanged a few exclamation-mark-heavy texts about the matter, but this is a convo best had in person.

  I picked her up from the airport an hour ago, and we're currently on our way to spend Sunday night at The Treehouse. The weather's great and we have a lot to chat about, so we opted to walk instead of drive.

  As we trek through the dirty streets of off-campus, I fill her in on every last detail. By the time we reach the front of the jungle-like property, Rayne is giddy with excitement at my new relationship.

  "What, so you're on board now?" I ask with an exaggerated eye roll. "I can't keep up with the whiplash, R! Pick a lane and stick to it."

  Both of her thumbs point up. "I'm Team Leston. Ugh. I don't like that. Wexie?" She makes a gagging noise. "Oh God. You guys have horrendous couple names."

  "Yeah, because Vayne and Raughn are real winners in the portmanteaus department." I give her a playful hip bump.

  "Port-man-say-what? There's a word for those names? Today I learned..." She laughs before bending over to tie her loose shoelace. "I was on board the second I saw that video, to tell the truth. Weston would never say stuff like that unless he sincerely meant it. And in front of everyone? He's smitten!"

  "It definitely surprised me." Heat creeps into my cheeks as I glance towards Sigma Pi, the affectionate words Weston spoke last weekend playing through my mind. I bite down on my lip as I fight the resounding smile. "It was really sweet, wasn't it?"

  "Totally swoon-worthy." Rayne stands back up and pops her gum. "I could hear the shattering of college girl hearts all the way in Missouri. A collective crack! as he took himself off the market."

  "Did it sound like this?" I step on a tree branch, snapping it with the heel of my boot.

  "Yep! Mixed in with a little bit of this." Rayne grabs a handful of leaves and crunches them in her palm.

  We laugh, but I hope I'm not jinxing my own heart's fate with our harmless joke.

  I unhook the front gate and we make our way across the front lawn. We race one another up the never-ending staircase, my legs and glutes screaming in pain as we reach the top.

  No wonder these guys all have asses you could bounce a nickel off of.

  Rayne raps her knuckles on the wood, the door opening wide a few moments later. Cameron rests one hand against the doorjamb, a contagious grin on his face.

  "Come on in, Treehouse Girls."

  My roommate turns to me and wiggles her brows. "You're officially part of the club now!"

  "Ooh nice." I smile wide. "When do I learn the secret handshake?"

  "All in good time, my friend." Rayne walks under Cameron's outstretched arm and pulls me along with her. She tilts her head back to make eye contact with the giant goalie. "When are you gonna get yourself a Treehouse Girl, Cam?"

  "Not sure." He shrugs as he shuts the door. "I need to get on it, though, don't I? Before all the good ones are taken."

  "Bro, nooo. We're gonna be outnumbered before you know it," Diego says as he ambles past. He's balancing a stack of board games in his arms, Settlers of Catan teetering dangerously on the top.

  Ellie follows behind, taking a few boxes off his hands. "How the heck would you guys be outnumbered? Is one of y'all gonna have multiple girlfriends?"

  "Me, if I have my say," Diego jokes. "No, no, but really. Right now we're tied: three girls and three boys. One more girlfriend's gonna destroy the balance around here."

  Rayne squints in his direction. "Diego...there are three girls and six guys. Explain, please."

  "No, there are three couples and three single bros. Couples are equivalent to one chick in my tally. The dude is so pussy-whipped by that point, he no longer counts as a man."

  Ellie's head lulls back on a laugh as she looks my way. "Hey, Lexie. Welcome. I hope you're not easily offended because you're about to hear logic like that for the rest of the night."

  "It's true." Rayne sighs. "You wouldn't believe the shit these boys say. I feel like I'm in a locker room half the time."

  "Don't worry about me. I can handle Weston's filthy mouth. I think I'll be just fine," I say with a snort.

  The five of us walk into the living room to join the others. Weston and Parker are dragging chairs up beside the couch while Vaughn and Liam are setting up a game on the coffee table, arguing about what pieces go where.

  "Get it straight, Liam. The red piece goes—oomph." Vaughn groans as Rayne leaps onto his back and squeezes him tight. He twists his head around and plants a steamy kiss on her lips. "Missed you, Raynie. How was your flight? Did you schmooze your way to a window seat like I taught you?"

  "I tried, babe." She laughs and playfully ruffles his hair. "You're the only one pretty enough for it to work every single time."

  As they chat, Weston catches my eye from across the room. His mouth curves into a sexy smile—one that has my knees instantly going weak. He sits back on the couch cushions, patting his muscular thighs in invitation. I'm there in a flash, interlacing my fingers behind his neck and hugging him hello.

  "Saved you the best seat in the house," he teases as both of his arms wrap around my waist.

  "Lucky me."

  "Nah," he says as his eyes drag down my body and up again. "I'm the lucky one."

  He's just pressed his mouth against mine when the couch dips beside us. I open my eyes—lips still locked with my boyfriend's—to a beaming brunette offering me a frozen margarita.

  "I'm glad you're here, girl." Ellie hands me the drink and clinks her own glass against it. "I'm dyin' to get to know you better."

  She asks me where I'm from and I answer after taking a sip of the strawberry concoction.

  "Fair warning," Weston mutters against my ear. "That's just the first of many. Ellie's gonna batter you with questions all fucking night."

  And he's right.

  The southern belle bombards me with so many queries throughout the evening, it's like I'm in the hot seat. But she's sweet as honey and obviously protective of Weston, so I happily tell her whatever she wants to know.

  Innocent interrogation aside, I feel at ease as we play board games and drink tequila-heavy margs for hours upon end. This type of gathering is not at all what you'd expect from a group of wild animals like these dudes. It's a chill, low-key night that exudes 'big happy family' vibes.

  And it's actually really nice.

  It's nice even when the boys are absolutely ridiculous. Like right now, as Cameron draws a picture for his team in Pictionary. He's sketched out two large circles when the guesses start rolling in.

  "Boobs!" Diego shouts.

  "No."

  "Titties."

  "Dude, no."

  "Balls?"

  Parker's guess has Cameron lowering his marker in frustration.

  "It's fucking Pictionary. You see what it says on the box? Ages 8 and up." He grabs the playing card and jerks it in the air. "Y'all seriously think it says 'titties' or 'balls' on here?"

  Parker cracks up as Diego shrugs. "It'd make it more interesting."

&
nbsp; "That would be badass," Vaughn says with a laugh.

  "We can make our own spin-off game," Weston adds. "R-rated version. We'll call it Dictionary."

  The boys lose it as Ellie, Rayne, and I share a collective look, one that says Why are we dating these horn-dogs again?

  "Time's up!" Liam points to the miniature hour glass and Cam tosses down the writing utensil in surrender.

  "What was it?"

  "Cantaloupe."

  "What?" Parker motions to the dry-erase board with confusion. "Why the hell are you drawing two, then?"

  "I dunno. I panicked," Cameron says. "I thought they grew in pairs. Like cherries or something."

  Diego collapses back on his chair and throws his hands in the air. "Ay Dios mio, Collins. You're shit at games."

  Cam shoots him the bird as Ellie lets out a yawn.

  "Y'all, not to be a party pooper or anything, but I'm all gamed-out."

  "Let's call it here," Liam agrees. "That means Rayne and Vaughn won, Lexie and Weston came in a close 2nd place, and Ellie and I weren't far behind in 3rd. And...drumroll please..." He pauses as we bang our hands on the table in unison. "The three stooges came in last. Literally didn't even move past Start. Quite pathetic, lads."

  Rayne downs the remainder of her beverage and frowns. "You guys lost every single partners game. How is that even possible? You have three people: triple the brain power to work with!"

  Diego and Parker instantly point fingers at the culprit between them.

  "No. I'm not taking all the blame," Cameron argues adamantly. "There's no I in team, boys. We win together, we lose together."

  "Your words of encouragement are enthralling, Collins, but you guys fucking lost." Vaughn stands and slaps his hands together in triumph. "And you know what that means?"

  "Losers clean up," Weston chides as he rests his chin on my shoulder. His cheek rubs against mine, the scruff tickling my skin and sending a shiver down my spine. "While you assholes do the dirty work, I'm gonna show Lexie the Redhouse."

  Parker raises a brow. "Euphemisms aren't necessary, Paine. Just say what you're trying to say."

  "Replace 'the Redhouse' with 'my dick' and you've got your answer," Vaughn remarks with a smirk.