Page 63 of Fight for Me
“Well, look who’s out after dark.”
Lexie’s throat closed like a vise, and she willed her heart to slow down. She wanted to say she had no reason to be afraidof Colt, that he held no power over her anymore, but in this lonely parking lot, in front of a nearly deserted supply store, her instincts disagreed.
“Let go,” she managed, somehow sounding stronger than she felt.
Colt’s eyebrows shot up, and a smirk grew on his lips as he released her. He held both hands up between them in a gesture of surrender and took a step away.
“Hey now, kitten. I just wanted to check on you. You look like you’ve really let yourself go. Don’t tell me your guard dog has gotten tired already.”
Lexie knew she should keep walking; there was nothing good that could come from this conversation. But if there was one thing she’d learned in the past two years, it was that turning her back on Colt Derricks was never a good idea.
His eyes lingered on her oversized sweatshirt, and a sneer broke his mask of civility.
“How cute. Obviously, he’s figured out you like to feelspecial.”
Colt’s infuriating smile stoked a fire in Lexie’s belly, but her feet still wouldn’t move. She didn’t have to listen. She didn’t have to sit quietly and swallow whatever poison he had ready for her.
But old habits die hard.
“He probably started with pretty dates and presents, right? Little sentimental things? But eventually, when those don’t work, he’ll bring out the big guns,” Colt said, his smile turning feral. “Has he told you he loves you yet?”
Lexie’s anger, simmering low in her gut, went cold.
“I. Love. You,” he said, emphasizing each word. “Three simple words, but put them in the right order, and they’ll get him anything he wants. It always worked for me.”
Lexie felt the blood drain from her face, and Colt chuckled, obviously enjoying the show as his words hit home.
“You didn’t believe I actually meant them, did you?” he asked, mocking her. “That’s the oldest trick in the book! And if your guard dog hasn’t tried it yet, trust me, he will. It’s only a matter of time,” he said, leaning in close. “Let me tell you a little secret, sweetheart.Nobodymeans it, not even your precious pet. Why would he? Girls like you are a dime a dozen. There’s nothing that makes you special, and the sooner you understand that, the better.”
Don’t listen!Lexie’s mind screamed, but it was too late. His words bounced around inside her head as he turned away with a triumphant smirk, already knowing he had won. Lexie began to replay every minute of the last month in her mind, letting doubt darken the sunny memories as she watched. The picnic, the concert, the kisses, the keepsakes. The things Jake said, the way he held her.
It wasn’t just a game, was it? Just a means to an end? Jake wasn’t like Colt. He was better, stronger, more honorable. If he said he loved her, then he meant it. It wasreal.
Wasn’t it?
13
“And here’s toour cover story—the one we never saw coming,” Julie said, raising her plastic cup in Lexie’s direction. A chorus of “Hear! Hear!” sounded around the break room as each member of the marketing staff joined the toast.
Lexie blushed, hiding her face behind her plastic punch cup.
Magazine Drop Day was an office-wide event. Everyone took a two-hour lunch, during which the office doors were locked, incoming phone calls were transferred to voicemail, and food was served potluck-style. Everyone ate until they could barely stand, celebrating six months of hard work—the day when the magazine finally landed in mailboxes across the country. Work on the next issue would begin tomorrow; today, they would feast.
Lexie listened as the conversation gradually turned from the magazine to the Redtail’s football season and, finally, to the upcoming holiday. She felt little need to join in, especially sinceher Thanksgiving would include a painfully formal dinner where her father’s parents would pick apart every facet of her life and let the entire room know exactly where and how she was falling short of their expectations. Just thinking about it made her queasy.
She risked a glance across the room at Jake where he stood chatting with Andy. They hadn’t had much chance to talk since last weekend, what with final exams coming up, and she felt the distance more sharply than she’d like. No matter how her heart tried to erase Colt’s words, her brain was stuck on a merry-go-round of what-ifs.
What if she wasn’t seeing all the signs? She’d certainly missed them before.
What if her mother had been right, and life was just about accepting what you could get?
What if she’d always be the girl men loved and left and not the one worth keeping?
Jake looked up and caught her eye, offering a hesitant smile. She tried to return it, tried to feel the same excitement she’d had only a few days before, but what came out felt more like a grimace. He started her way at the same moment the phone in her pocket buzzed with an insistent staccato, demanding to be heard. She pulled it out and looked down, and her stomach lurched when her father’s name flashed across the screen.
“Everything okay?” Jake asked. He was near enough now that she could hear his voice above the sounds of the party.
Lexie swallowed hard, still staring at the device in her hand.
