“What were you doing?” Jack asked his earlier anger resurfacing. He had drank a few too many beers himself, but not enough to get him past the tipsy stage.

“What are you talking about?” she asked taking another step closer.

“You were kissing Bekah’s brother!” he exclaimed unable to control his fury.

“If you already knew what I was doing, then why did you have to ask?” she questioned him, her voice laced with sugar-coated inflections.

“How could you do that?”

She stopped her progression. Why was he being like this? God, she was so fed up with him being so goddamn demanding all the time. He didn’t own her by any means. He couldn’t decide who she could see, and who she could kiss. He had no rights, no claim on her…not anymore. “You want to know?” she asked returning his fury.

“Yes, I want to know how you could go and kiss him knowing that I’m here. Knowing what you…mean to me.”

“What I mean to you?” she asked in disbelief. He nodded. “I don’t care if she hears,” she spoke the words softly.

“What?”

“I heard you at Bekah’s house. You told her that you didn’t care if I heard you with her.”

“Lex, I didn’t mean it,” he said once he realized his mistake.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I told her that I didn’t mean it. Did you hear that?”

“Yes, I heard it.”

“And you still don’t believe me.”

“No, I don’t believe you Jack.”

“But why? I’d never want to hurt you again Lex.”

She shook her head furiously. “Don’t say those things to me. It’s just wrong. You can’t ever say those things to me again, Jack Howard!”

“Lex, please, listen to me. I swear to you that I didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have said it, but I did not mean it.”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t care about me Jack. I’m not sure if you ever did.” Once the words were out she couldn’t get them back. She wasn’t really sure if she wanted them back though. She wondered sometimes if he really did ever care about her. Her intoxicated mind told her she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t stop herself. “If you had cared, you wouldn’t have left New York,” she cried spitefully.

“Lex…”

“So don’t tell me what I can do like you always have. Don’t tell me that I can’t kiss whoever I want. Don’t tell me that I can’t do what I want.”

He stared at her with his mouth agape. When had she turned so cynical? How could she ever believe that he didn’t care for her? Sure things hadn’t always been peachy, and he had said and done things he wasn’t proud of, but he had always cared. Always.

But he didn’t say any of those things.

“How much have you had to drink?” he asked, his eyes hardening again at her accusations.

“Don’t you dare try and blame this on the alcohol.”

“How can I not? Look at yourself,” he commanded her, openly surveying her flustered appearance. “You look like a two cent hooker flushed after securing a sugar daddy for the night,” he stated cruelly. She had struck a nerve too close to home, and he couldn’t control his retaliation. If she thought he didn’t care, well then he would show her what that was really like.

It was Lexi’s turn to have her mouth drop open. He couldn’t mean that. After all, it was his stupid girlfriend that made her wear this outfit. And sure she was flushed, but it certainly wasn’t from Ramsey! August in Atlanta wasn’t exactly breezy, to say the least. The environment was blazing hot and downright sticky from the off the charts humidity ratings.

But Jack wasn’t finished. “Are you so easy, Lexi, that you’d rather stay here with someone you don’t even know? Someone who is already taking advantage of your drunken state?”

Her mind couldn’t even begin to process the nasty remarks Jack was sending her way. Had he really just called her easy? Just accused her of using Ramsey for his money? Was he on crack?

“Why are you being such an ass?” she muttered between clenched teeth.

“I’m just being honest. Anyone else who would have stepped through that doorway would have seen the same thing. I just want you to know that.”

Despite the falsity behind Jack’s statements, her emotions were beginning to get the best of her again. Jack kissing Bekah. Jack dancing intimately with Bekah. Jack fondling Bekah. And now he was accusing her of doing things…while he claimed that he cared for her. It’s not like he had exactly made that clear. Why was he playing these games? Tears began to well in her eyes, and she rushed to brush them away. Why was she even crying over him? He was only saying these things to get a reaction out of her. She knew that. But she just couldn’t stop it.

“Why don’t you…just…leave?” she asked between hiccups.

“Why don’t you come with me?” he countered making it sound like another demand. He took the last step towards her and placed her elbow in his hand.

She shook her head trying to get out of his grip. “Why would I want...to be...with you?”

“Can’t you see that I’m looking out for you? You know nothing about Ramsey,” he said trying to reason with her even though he was grasping for excuses to get her away. “He’s not exactly a nice guy.”

“Neither are you!”

“You know me Lexi. You don’t know him. You don’t know what he can be like. I know how he is with women, and I know the type of women he associates with. You’re better than all of them combined, but if you keep throwing yourself around like them, he’s going to treat you the same way. So stop being so stubborn, and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“No! God, you’re blaming me for drinking too much? I can’t believe what just came out of your mouth.”

“I wasn’t kissing some random guy.”

“Now that would be a sight.”

“You know what I mean. You were the one making out with a guy you just met when you know absolutely nothing about him. What’s gotten into you, Lexi?”

“What’s gotten into me? You’re the one practically getting a blow job in the living room. So don’t come here on your high horse and try and bring me down for kissing someone. Last I checked, I could kiss whoever the fuck I want, because unlike some people I’m not attached. Not that it seems to stop you,” she snarled crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh we’re back here again,” he huffed. “Haven’t we covered the topic about things being different?” As the words came out of his mouth, he couldn’t help but let his eyes crawl her body. She was so angry right now, and coupled with her dangerously revealing outfit she looked amazing. He hadn’t meant to say such harsh things to her, but it’s like she hadn’t ever listened to a word he said to her. It’s not like he was about to go and kiss her now…even if he wanted to. He remembered the last time her lips had been on his and it sent shocks through his body. He knew he could kiss her. He had always known that fact…taken advantage of her desire for him just like he had claimed Ramsey had. But still he wanted to think things were different.

“Right…things are sooo different now. Just…leave me alone, Jack.”

“Okay,” he began stepping into her personal space and forcing her to look up at him. “So maybe things aren’t completely different, but they have changed. So let’s just get out of here. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

He had moved his hand up so that it was cupping her cheek. Her watery brown eyes were looking up at him. How many times had she been in this similar position before? She couldn’t even think about that right now. She was fighting off the alcohol induced hormones running rampant throughout her body. He shouldn’t have talked about kissing her and then touched her the way he was doing. That just wasn’t fair.

“It’s too late for that,” she whispered stepping away from his comforting touch. “You’ve done more damage than anyone else.”

“Lex, come on. Stop talking like that. Let’s just go.”

The door swung back open revealing Bekah and Ramsey. Lexi quickly turned around to face away from the door and forcefully brushed away the tears that had seeped out of her eyes. She didn’t need them seeing her this way. It was bad enough that Ramsey had almost seen her cry. She could do without Bekah having that advantage over her as well. Not to mention she had no idea what she looked like. Jack completely threw her emotions around. One minute she was on fire. The next she was near tears. Back and forth. She knew one thing though. She couldn’t be around him right now. It would surely end in disaster.