27. Lexi

27

LEXI

I shut the door to my bedroom and walked straight into the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. What was I doing? Noah had just invited me to go in the hot tub with him and Easton. Why was I turning him down?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was so stupid. Why couldn't I just follow through with Juliette's plan? Make him want what he couldn't have.

I shook my head. He wouldn't want this. I looked ridiculous. I already had smudges of mascara under my eyes, probably from those stupid tears that had wanted to escape when I'd seen Noah at the game. I probably looked like a mess the entire time.

I wiped angrily at the smudges then went back into my bedroom. I opened my dresser drawers and tore through them until I found the one swimsuit I owned—a plain blue one-piece. Definitely not eye-catching at all.

I sighed and dropped it back into the drawer.

Who was I kidding? I was not the kind of girl that could get a guy with her looks. That wasn't something that had ever even remotely worked for me in the past.

Plus, going into the hot tub with Noah and Easton would be totally obvious—even if Noah had invited me. I could just imagine how awkward it would be. Me sitting there, trying to look cool like I belonged in their world while surreptitiously taking sneak peeks at Noah and his perfectly sculpted chest.

No, I would not follow them into the hot tub. I refused to look desperate. Plus, it was freezing outside. Sure the hot tub was hot, but I had to actually make it there first. And it was, like, five degrees outside.

I would just hang out inside where it was warm. Maybe I could bake something in the kitchen. There was the perfect window that could give me a view of Noah from here.

Not that I was going to be creepy—that was so me three years ago. I did have some pride.

Noah did like to eat... Hmm. Maybe I could find my way into his heart through his stomach. That usually worked in the girly movies, right?

But first I needed to get out of this ridiculous band polo. I went to my closet next. When I opened the door, I was greeted with Noah's gray shirt on my closet floor. He must have left it there this morning. Would it be so bad if I kept it as a souvenir if this plan of mine didn't work out?

I shook that thought away. This would work. It had to.

But first, I needed something to wear.

I fingered my way through the clothes hanging inside. I had to have at least one thing that said, hey, remember me? I pulled outfit after outfit off the rack, holding them against myself and looking in the mirror before ultimately tossing them to the floor. I stopped when I found something that might work. It was a white and teal striped knee-length dress that I had worn to one of the few parties I'd let Juliette drag me to last summer. Noah had been there, and I had noticed him take a second glance when he'd seen me. I hadn't really thought anything of it at the time since he had just broken up with Ashlyn. But maybe he had liked the dress. It was worth a shot, anyway.

Once I was ready and I had touched up my makeup once again, I went downstairs, feeling a fluttering of nervousness in my chest.

When I walked into the kitchen it was empty. But a quick peek out the window above the sink showed me that Easton and Noah were already in the hot tub. And my memory did not do his physique the justice that it deserved. He was a very nice specimen of a man, if I didn't say so myself. Now if only I had a reason to just stand here and stare without looking too obvious .

That's right, baking . I pulled out a cake mix from the cupboard, deciding I would make some chocolate cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting that I loved.

I grabbed what I needed from the cupboard and then got to work mixing the batter together.

As I stood at the counter stirring, my gaze wandered out the window again. What were they talking about? Could they possibly be talking about me?

I shook my head. Of course not. Noah wouldn't talk to Easton about me.

But when I checked again, I was surprised to find Noah looking at the window. Heat prickled across my skin as I held his stare. He was just talking to Easton and staring at me. Had the dress actually worked?

I was pouring batter into the cupcake liners when the sliding door opened and Noah walked in.

"It's cold out there," he said, shivering as he grabbed a towel off the chair and started drying off his arms and chest, and then his hair. I just stood there in a daze, with my mouth hanging open until he looked back at me, snapping me back to reality.

"A-are you done already?" I asked.

"Yeah, Easton's just covering it up. We were thinking about making ourselves a snack."

"I'll have cupcakes ready in about twenty minutes if you want one," I offered, concentrating hard to keep my tone from sounding too eager. I realized too late that I had been pouring the batter into the cupcake paper for too long and it had spilled over the side.

Noah stepped closer, his chest rubbing across my shoulder. "A little distracted?" He winked.

My whole body flushed with heat. Noah had just winked at me. And his bare chest had just brushed against my shoulder. I tried to even my breathing. "Um...just a little."

He leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I'll try not to be so distracting."

Chills ran down my spine. He was definitely flirting with me.

With shaky hands, I grabbed a spoon from the drawer and tried to scoop the excess batter off the side of the pan and into a new cupcake paper. Noah just watched me. I tried to come up with some sort of witty response to his flirtatious whisperings, but my brain apparently had stopped working with the overload.

He took a seat on the stool next to me. "So, what kind of cupcakes are you making?"

I focused on what I was doing, not allowing myself to take a look at him even though I really wanted to. "Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting."

"My favorite?" he asked.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "Yeah." I guess they were his favorite, too .

The sliding door opened again, and Easton stepped inside with his towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"Remind me not to try that until it's at least twenty degrees outside."

Noah laughed. "Will do."

"Do you want a sandwich or something?" Easton asked, going to the fridge.

"Sure, I could eat." Noah stood and grabbed the sandwich makings that Easton handed to him.

I tried not to watch Noah too much as he made his food. But I caught myself sneaking glances at him.

And when he talked about how he wished he knew how to make a sandwich the same as the one he'd had earlier this week, I couldn't help but remember last night.

They finished their food quicker than I'd wanted, and Easton took their plates to the sink. "I think I'll go take a shower real quick before we start our gaming again," he said to Noah.

Noah leaned over the counter next to me, his shoulder blade standing out. He really needed to go and put a shirt on. He was making me so uncomfortable...in a good way. Making me want to see if his muscles felt as good as they looked.

"Yeah, go ahead. Mind if I wash the chlorine off in the shower up here?" he asked.

His gaze slid to mine, and it was like he was trying to tell me about how this wouldn't be the first shower he'd taken at our house this week.

"Go ahead," Easton said as he walked out of the room. "There should be clean towels in the closet. I'm sure Lexi could help you."

"I'm sure she could," Noah said under his breath. Then he looked back to me. "Or I could just take one in your bathroom, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.

I shook my head and couldn't keep the blush from rising on my cheeks. "You are going to get us caught if you keep that up," I whispered in a hushed tone.

He laughed. "You know what? After this afternoon, I kind of don't care."

What did he mean by that?

As if he could read my thoughts, he leaned closer, his hot breath on my cheek. "I think we broke up too soon."

And then before I could say anything, he grabbed his towel off the back of the chair he'd set it on earlier, threw it over his shoulder, and walked out of the room.

I was in so much trouble.

But I was really hoping it would be good trouble this time.