Owned By Her Triplet Bullies
(Bk 2) Chapter 63

Lexi's

POV

Could I dare say what he was asking me from me? I knew I couldn't, not with that look in his eyes, not when I stood a chance of losing him forever. The alcohol in my system was adding to the confusion in my head. I couldn't think straight. His scent mixed in with his cologne was definitely not making things easier. "Move back," I muttered, starting to feel dizzy.

"That's not the answer to my question. Why is it so hard for you to say? You can't say it, can you?" he asked. I opened my mouth to speak but Darcey beat me to it.

"Don't say that Lexi. You can see for yourself how sincere he is. Take a leap of faith," she advised. Even without her advice, I knew I couldn't continue lying to myself that I didn't want him when I clearly did. My insecurities were the only thing stopping me and they were valid. "You are right. I can't say it," I replied.

"Why not?" he inquired.

I snickered. "I'm sure you already know why."

"I don't dwell in your mind. How would I know?" he asked, using my words against me.

"Using my own words against me huh?" I asked using the distraction to move away slightly and hoping he didn't notice.

He smiled. "I learned from the best," this was the first time I'd seen him smile. His face radiated and he had dimples on both cheeks. I never noticed that before. My heart fluttered. The feeling was crazy.

"I can't tell you that I don't want you because..," I trailed awkwardly, unwilling to say it out loud that easily.

"Because..," he probed.

"I can't say that because I don't hate you. I told you that already," I replied.

He furrowed his brows. "Hate, want. What do those words have in common?"

"I don't know. Figure it out yourself but that's all you are going to get from me today. I'm willing to put our differences aside and make this friendship work," I responded.

"Friendship?" he asked in surprise.

I nodded. "Yes, friendship," I didn't think I was ready to go into a full relationship with him yet or accept him as my mate. I needed to be sure of what I was getting into so as not to repeat the same mistake twice. "Friends?" I asked, stretching my hand towards him nervously. I bit my lips in anticipation hoping he would agree with me.

"It's still shocking how you spun the table around so quickly. But if this is what you really want, friends it is. I'm willing to do whatever makes you comfortable," he assured me, shaking my hand firmly in his. My heart warmed up at his kind gesture. How did I not notice how thoughtful he was when we first met? Maybe because you were blinded by rage and hate. An inner voice in my head replied.

I tried to remove my hand from his but he held on firmly. I arched my brow silently gesturing towards our entwined hands but he pulled me towards him. I gasped in surprise. He slowly leaned in and I held my breath. The thoughts of what happened between us at the maze rushed in. The way he held and kissed me. Right at this moment when I wasn't thinking straight, I desperately wanted to feel that again. I threw all rationality out of the window and fluttered my eyelid close eagerly waiting to feel his soft lips against mine. I waited for a while but I didn't feel his lips nor any sign of him coming closer. I jumped when I felt him tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I hurriedly snapped my eyes open.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a frown.

"Tucking your hair behind your ear. It looked uncomfortable," he replied innocently. I scoffed in disbelief. Was he seriously playing dumb with me?

"Why? Were you expecting something else? Like a kiss maybe? I thought you said we were friends. Do you kiss your friends?" he inquired with a smile. He did this to me on purpose.

"Why are you smiling so much today? It doesn't suit you," I lied in an annoyed tone to get back at him. My pride wouldn't allow me to tell the truth.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a bad liar?" he inquired. The door suddenly clicked open.

"Lexi? Are you in there?" I heard Mady ask in a worried tone. I quickly stepped away from him and turned towards the door. I fixed my hair awkwardly even though we did nothing wrong, I still felt anxious. She walked into the living room and our eyes met. "Thank goodness you are okay. Torres and I were so worried that we followed you out immediately after sorting things out but we got caught in traffic," she hurriedly explained, taking hold of my hands in hers.

"I'm fine," I replied with a smile. She paused for a while as she stared at me intently. Although I looked calm on the outside, I was panicking on the inside. Did she figure out what was going on? What gave it away? Was it my voice, expression, or movement? I thought in panic.

She suddenly bent down and removed her heels. "That's so much better. My legs were killing me."

I sighed in relief. She didn't find out anything after all. Torres walked in with coffee.

"You all look as drunk as hell. Have this," he said, stretching out the coffee towards us.

"Speak for yourselves," Mason retorted. Mady and I took the coffee gratefully. I was very aware of the piercing gaze behind me. When I couldn't stand it anymore...

"I think we should go to our room. We've had a long night. I'm sure Mason and Torres also want some rest," I said.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm not complaining," he responded.

"You might be fine but I'm sure Torres is tired," I retorted.

"I'm also fine. Although I'm a little drunk I'm fine. You can both stay," Torres replied. Did these two plan to gang up on me?

"Lexi's right. We have a long day ahead tomorrow," Mady said. Finally, someone who agrees with me.

"Goodnight. Thanks for the coffee," I said with a smile as I tried to drag Mady along.

"Wait. I need to speak with Mason first. You can go ahead. I will meet you in five minutes," she said walking towards Mason. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into one of the rooms. I stared at the closed door for a while. "Uhm..are you sure you are okay?" Torres asked, pulling my attention from the door.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking," I replied looking towards him. He nodded, placing his hands in his pocket. I placed my coffee on my lips to take a sip.

"Something is going on between you and Mason right?" he asked. I choked on my coffee in surprise at the direct question.

"I'm sorry. Was I too direct?" he inquired. I shook my head coughing slightly.

"I don't know how much Mason or Mady have told you but I've known Mason for a long time and I can confidently say I've never seen him behave the way he did in the club today for any girl except for his sisters. He's not a violent person," he explained. "Okay? And you are telling me this because?" I asked in surprise.

"I can tell he has a deep affection for you. Anyone who has known him for several years can tell except that affection is one-sided. I heard you are his anti-fan," he replied, staring at me intently.

"I'm no one's anti-fan. His fangirls made that up," I responded.

"But you don't like him either," he declared.

"Your point is?" I wondered where this was heading. He took a seat on the sofa and took a sip from his coffee.

"You seem like a smart girl Lexi. Don't let what you see deceive you. Mason is a very cool person. Give him a chance to prove it to you," he declared. Before I could process what he said, the door suddenly opened and Mady walked out with Mason. "We can go now," Mady said to me. I nodded and we headed out together. I didn't glance at Mason before walking out. Our rooms weren't too far apart so we arrived in no time. Mady unlocked the door with her keys and we got in.

"Lexi, about what happened at the club today..."

"Can we please talk about this tomorrow? I'm not in the mood right now," I said, cutting her off.

"Sure. Goodnight," she replied with a smile.

"Goodnight," I muttered walking into my room. When she mentioned what happened in the club, I remembered what happened all over again. The fear and disgust I felt when that man touched me. I hurriedly peeled off my clothes and ran to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and started to scrub my skin raw. I felt very useless at that moment. How was I going to be a good mate to Mason if I can't even handle being touched? There was no use putting much effort into our relationship. I was sure he was going to get fed up and leave me too. It was just a matter of time.