Lexi rested her arm on Jace’s. When he peered down at her, she simply shook her head. “It’s not worth it, Jace. He’s not worth it.” Her eyes met Aaron’s, and he’d gone rigid at Jace’s warning. “How long?”

“It only happened one time, baby. I swear! It didn’t mean anything,” he pleaded, as if that would matter.

Lexi’s eyes flicked to Mallory, who smiled in triumph. One time my ass.

“That’s one time too many,” she said.

Aaron’s eyes darkened when he realized he wasn’t going to salvage his relationship. So, like the asshole he was, he tried to get in one last word.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a prude—”

And that was the day Aaron learned that Jace McAllister always followed through.

The words had barely left his lips when Jace’s fist crashed into his jaw. When Aaron dropped in a heap, Mallory squealed, rushing to his side. Once he’d come to, he held a hand to his cheek.

Jace bent down. “Stay the fuck away from her.” Then he turned to Mallory. “And stay the fuck away from me.” When he stood, his eyes softened when they fell on Lexi. “You good?”

She nodded, her eyes still wide as she stared down at Aaron. “Good.”

Before he could respond, Coach McGrew came over and took Jace by the arm, hauling him out of the gym. Lexi stood there, stock-still, almost as if she were in shock. Mallory glared up at her, about to let loose on my sister now that Jace was gone.

I looked up at Jeremy, and he squeezed my shoulder.

“I’ll get the car,” he said. “You go get your sister.”

Lexi wasn’t crying. In fact, she wasn’t saying anything. She just let me guide her to the car and stayed silent. Jeremy parked at our private neighborhood beach. Then he laid a blanket out and built a small fire in the pit, giving us some light.

That’s how we spent the rest of our prom night. The three of us sitting on the beach, passing around a bottle of rum Jeremy had somehow scored. She’d feel like shit the next day, but at least it got her mind off the shit of the night.

“You know what the worst part about all of this is?” Lexi finally piped in after a couple of drinks.

“What’s that, Lex?” Jeremy asked, his voice soothing. At least, it was to me.

“It doesn’t even hurt.”

“That’s the rum talking,” he said softly. “It’s okay to hurt.”

She smiled at Jeremy. “No, I actually mean it. I’m not really sure how much I even liked Aaron. Don’t get me wrong. He’s one of the hottest guys in school, and he was always so sweet to me—or so I thought. But he never gave me the butterflies, you know? When he kissed me, it was nice…but isn’t that the problem? A girl should never describe a kiss as nice.”

She took another swig from the bottle, and Jeremy and I exchanged a glance. I’d only dated Danny Moyer to get my mind off him, and it seemed as if my little sister was following in my footsteps. And I wanted her story to turn out as happily as mine had.

But, before I could respond, Lexi continued.

“I don’t want to sound cheesy. Or even envious. But…I want what you guys have. I also want the heat and the passion. I don’t mean I want to meet someone and start banging them right away, but I want someone who kisses me breathless. I want to feel the urge to sprint across the room and jump into someone’s arms because I can’t stand another minute not being in them. Is that really too much to ask?”

Jeremy nodded towards me, letting me know that this one was all mine. So I grabbed the rum from her. For a split second, she tried to keep it in her clutches, but I was able to get it from her and took my own swig.

“No, of course not. That’s not too much to ask. That’s the type of man you should be with. You should feel those things, and if you don’t, then you’re just wasting your time.”

“It’s your fault, you know. Both of you,” she said, eyeing us. “You may have taken a little bit of time to get together, but since then, you’ve made it look so easy.”

I couldn’t argue with that. It was the truth. We’d had a smooth-sailing relationship for a long time.

“Lexi,” Jeremy spoke up. “It has been easy, but you’re right. For a while there, we were idiots. We wasted a lot of time we could’ve had together because we were too scared or too stubborn to admit our feelings.”

“You guys were pretty dumb,” she giggled.

Hello, Pot. Meet Kettle. But I kept my mouth shut.

Jeremy grinned. “We were. And, when we got over it, look what that led to. All I’m saying is, if you ever do find yourself feeling that way about someone, don’t hold it in until you burst. Don’t keep it hidden. You tell him, because at the end of day, you may just find he feels the same.”

I knew what he was getting at, and I hoped Lexi did, too. But all she did was give him a wistful smile.

“Do you think Jace will be kicked off the team?” she asked, her eyes suddenly rounding with horror at the thought.

Jeremy held his cell up. “He already texted. Coach didn’t actually witness who punched Aaron, and Aaron refused to say who did it. He got a warning, but if anything else happens, he’s done.”

“I can’t believe he did that,” Lexi whispered, shaking her head.

Jeremy and I exchanged a glance, thinking the same thing. Jace would’ve done anything for Lexi. She just couldn’t see what the rest of us could, and it was a crying shame.

I’d hoped Jace and Lexi would’ve ridden off into the sunset after that, but it never happened. They still acted like friends who were trying to save face after the disasters with both Aaron and Mallory. I was proud of Lexi for holding her head high in the hall, especially when it became clear Aaron and Mallory hadn’t missed a beat from being a couple of cheating assholes to dating. Good riddance to them, I told both Jace and my sister.

Now, I’m just wondering how I was going to get them to open their eyes and see what was standing right in front of them. I’d been brainstorming all day, and I planned on making Jeremy help me figure it out after he got home from his weightlifting session.

The house was dark when I pulled into the drive. Mom and Dad had gone away for the weekend, celebrating their anniversary at some posh hotel in Atlanta. They’d only gone after receiving the promise from the Banks parentals that they’d look in on us from time to time. I wouldn’t have been shocked if Dad had put a lock on my window. Not that my parents had anything to worry about in that department. At least, not really.

As I walked towards my house, I glanced to his, wondering when he’d be home from the gym. We had plans that night, and even though all they involved were dinner and a movie, I was looking forward to some cuddling time on the couch with him.

Out of nowhere, a strong set of hands wound around my waist and pulled me back against a sturdy, muscular chest. The warm, familiar scent of surf, sand, and a little bit of sweat enveloped me, riling up the same swarm of butterflies I’d had ever since Jeremy had first kissed me.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted, his deep voice rumbling as his warm breath tickled my neck. “I couldn’t help but notice you over here all by yourself. How about you take me inside and let me have my dirty, wicked way with you?”

I squirmed in his arms, but he held me tighter.

“Wicked?” I asked breathlessly.

“Yes,” he replied. “The new Harry Potter movie just came out and it’s in my back pocket. What’s it gonna be, pretty lady? Will you take me inside or do I have to Slytherin?”

His ridiculous joke was as adorable as he was. I giggled and turned in his arms. My heart fluttered as he smiled down at me with all the affection in the world. God, would I ever get used to this? To him? To us? Probably never, and that was okay with me. I never wanted to lose this feeling.