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“You wanna bet?” Her brother smirked. “I can totally prove he’s jealous as fuck.Godthis is so hot.”
Xochitl’s anxious heart nearly pounded through her chest. “Please, Izel,no.”
“Chichi,baby,” her idiot brother murmured just as Lex walked back in the room. “I’m in the mood for something romantic. Check Netflix. Find something you, me, and Bentley can cuddle up to before I leave.”
“Is there a gym on the dorm grounds?” Lex asked abruptly. “I’ll put my shit away later, but I didn’t get to work out today and I gotta be up early tomorrow.”
Izel’s brows jumped instantly, and he gave Xochitl a knowing look, but glanced away smirking. “There is a gym on the grounds,” Xochitl said, refusing to get her hopes up about what her brother was suggesting. In fact, she was putting an end to the nonsense now. She’d never been one for games. “By the way, Lex, this is my brother Izel. He brought my baby Bentley to visit me yesterday, but they’ll both be gone in a few. Izel, this is my new roommate Lex.”
To her heart’s unrest, Lex’s expression eased for the first time since he’d arrived. But as always, those piercing eyes dug deep into hers, before turning to Izel. “How goes it, man?” He reached out his free hand to her brother and Izel immediately obliged shaking it. “This week’s been a mess. Sorry if I tore through here just now, but . . .” He shook his head. “I just—”
“No, no,” Izel said, squeezing Lex’s hand with both of his. “Nice to meet you, Lex. Chichi told me all about this last-minute roomie change. I’m sure it’s been a lot to take. Listen, I was just telling her before you got here that I’m starving. Would you be okay hanging out with Bentley?” He turned back to her big sweetheart who was snoring loudly now. “You don’t have to do anything. Except check on the old guy every now and then to make sure he’s still breathing, while we go pick up some grub.” For the first time, since he arrived, Lex smiled, and those amazing dimples stole Xochitl’s heart like they always had, making her feel sogallinglyweak, as he turned to Bentley. “Yeah, I can keep an eye on him.” “Have you had dinner?” Izel pointed at him. “You like Chinese?”
“Haven’t, but I’m good with anything.” Xochitl was still refusing to get her hopes up, despite the obvious change in Lex’s demeanor now that it was clear Izel was her brother. Her own sweet-talking brother got Lex’s preferences for his Chinese dishes as he put on his shoes and a few minutes later she was in Izel’s car.
“Okay, what the hell is the deal here?” He turned to her as he pulled out of the parking space. “Lex and, holy shit of course thatgod’sname would rhyme with sex.” He chuckled, as Xochitl tried to smile, in spite of her still hammering heart. “His attitudetotallychanged the moment he realized I wasn’t your boyfriend or even your booty call tonight.Whatis up? And don’t you lie to me, girl.”
“Nothing,” she insisted but she knew her brother wouldn’t buy it, or let it go, so she’d admit at least this much. “Okay, so twoyearsago we danced and had some fun, maybe did a little flirting at Vannah’s wedding, but we haven’t seen each other or even kept in touch. This is the first time I’ve seen or spoken to him since.”
She left out that they hadn’t been in touch because she’d refused to give into answering his calls or reading his texts, for now. But something told her Izel would have her spitting it all out sooner than later. Izel turned to peer at her as they stopped at a red light, arching a brow in question. “Did a little flirting? What kind of flirting?”
She shrugged glancing out the window, as her heart remembered how stupid she’d been to so easily have fallen for Lex’s smooth talking. But she welcomed the anger because she was beginning to feel something else now that she’d been forced to remember. Something she refused to ever feel again. The light turned green, and they were moving again. “We danced and laughed and had a good time. But then I left and haven’t talked to him since.”
To her surprise, the car pulled over suddenly and she turned to Izel, her hand clutched to her chest. “Bullshit.What really happened?”
The completely unwelcome and unwarranted hurt and mortification she’d felt the night of the wedding overwhelmed her suddenly. She glanced away as the surprisingstupidknot in her throat nearly suffocated her, especially after having to see him again today. God, was she really this weak? She’d never even kissed the guy, for crying out loud. Izel squeezed her arm. “What did this fucker do to you?”
She turned to him unbelievably andinfuriatingly, wiping angry tears away. “Nothing.”
“Fuck this!” Her brother started the car up again, but she reached out for him.
“Izel, stop.” She clutched his arm. “He didnothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Chichi.” Her brother searched her eyes, and she knew he’d be tearing into her with all the questions he had to have now, but she lifted her chin refusing to succumb to what she nearly had already. Beingthatkind of girl. Something she’d never even been close to feeling like until Lex—a weepy little sissy-la-la. “You just said it yourself. It’s been two years since whatever happened, and you last saw or even spoke to him and now you’recrying?” He clutched his chest with an exaggerated expression of shock. “My Chichi is crying over a fucking dude? What’s the world coming to?” She rolled her eyes doing her best to play it off, but her brother was on to her, and she knew it. “And why the hell would you agree to room with him, if just seeing him does all this to you?” His tone got a little more serious now and he even touched her arm. “Talk to me, sis. This isn’t you. What’s going on?”
Feeling like an idiot, she swallowed back theunacceptableemotion she was still feeling. “Well, first off calm your tits. He didn’tdoanything to me, okay?” She reached for a napkin he had in the cup holder and wiped her stupid sniveling nose roughly before taking a deep breath. “We had whatIthought had been a mesmerizing—” She paused after the word slipped out and Izel’s brow arched so bad it nearly hit his hairline.
“Did mysnivelingsister really just use the word mesmerizing?”
“Whatever.” She turned away and out the window. “I never understood how Vannah could fall so hard for Byron after just one date, and a few conversations. But after that night I totally got it.” She frowned because she hadn’t let herself dwell over this in so long and now after seeing him just once she was this ridiculous mess. “He said I was beautiful,” she whispered glancing out the window feeling like a complete idiot all over again. “Said he’d called girls lots of things but never that. Called me princess too. Princess Jasmine to be exact.” She huffed feeling stupider with every detail she offered. “Because he said my eyes reminded him of that Disney princess and that I did something to him he couldn’t even understand.”
“I’m trying to remember what she looks like,” Izel said. “Aladdin, right? All I can picture is dark hair and her wearing blue, I think. But if her eyes are as big as all the other Disney princess’s then I totally get why he’d say that.”
She turned back to face her brother who stared at her still looking a bit lost because she’d yet to drop the clincher. “Well, you know me, I’m not used to compliments especially from guys that look like that.”
“I know and I’ve never understood it because despite your . . .” He stopped and smirked. “Challengingattitude, I’m sure most guys find you not just beautiful, but hot as fuck. But go on.”
Warmed by her brother’s usual genuine sweetness, even with the growing annoyed tone, she smiled explaining further. “Thing is, he was only eighteen back then and his own sisters had warned me or rather playfully talked about their sweet-talkingplayerbrothers often. I should’ve known better.”
“Shit, there’s another one?” Before she could respond he reached out and touched her arm. “Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that dude is only twenty?”
Xochitl rolled her eyes. “Well, back then he was quick to point out he was almost nineteen so two years later I guess he’s almost twenty-one now. Still, younger than me.”
“Oh, cut it out. Mom’s six years older than dad. It’s never made a difference.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore anyway.” She told him about Lex rushing away at the end of the night when he was told about the brawl downstairs. Filled him in on Angela and agreeing to be his fake girlfriend for the sake of showing her up, then admitted what she hadn’t admitted toanyonesince. “My dumb ass walked out of there in a dreamlike daze. You know that too is sounlikeme. Here I was thinking we’d made some kind ofmagicalconnection. I was already rehearsing how I’d tell Vannah about it and everything. Only to be slapped in the face with reality when I saw him making out with Angela in a dark corner of the parking lot.”
“Shut the front door! Thatasshole.” Her brother scowled, then jerked his head back. “And sweet-talking, my candy ass. That hard ass back there looked anything but sweet.”
