Chapter Three
Axel
I watched the whole thing unfold like a car crash in slow motion.
Jonah, the smug bastard, dancing with some blonde who was practically climbing him like a tree. Freddy, drunk and oblivious, announcing that they'd been together for six months—the exact amount of time I knew Jonah had been secretly seeing Lindor.
And Lindor, standing across the room, watching the man she loved kiss another woman in front of everyone.
The look on her face made me want to commit murder.
I'd been in love with Lindor for years. Since the first time Rennedy brought her home from college, all big eyes and sharp wit and a smile that could stop traffic. I'd watched her date other guys, watched her get her heart broken, watched her finally seem happy with Jonah.
Except she wasn't happy. Not really. Because Jonah was a coward who kept her hidden like a dirty secret.
And now he was publicly claiming someone else.
I found Lindor outside, leaning against the brick wall of the building, her arms wrapped around herself. She wasn't crying—Lindor didn't cry—but her jaw was tight, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
"Lin," I said softly.
She didn't look at me. "Go back inside, Axel."
"Not a chance."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're out here alone while that asshole parades his fake girlfriend around."
She laughed, but it was bitter. "Fake? Looked pretty real to me."
I moved closer, until I was standing right in front of her. "You know it's bullshit. You know he's with you."
"Is he?" She finally looked at me, and the pain in her eyes gutted me. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like I'm the fake girlfriend. The secret. The one he's ashamed of."
"He's an idiot."
"He's—" Her voice cracked, and she looked away. "He told me he loved me, Axel. He said we just needed to wait a little longer, and then we could be public. And now he's in there, kissing her, touching her, introducing her as his girlfriend of six months like I don't even exist."
I wanted to go back inside and beat Jonah bloody. Wanted to make him hurt the way he'd hurt her.
But more than that, I wanted to give Lindor what she deserved.
"You deserve better than this," I said, echoing what I'd told her earlier. "You deserve someone who's proud to be with you. Someone who doesn't hide you away like you're something to be ashamed of."
"Yeah?" She looked up at me, her eyes searching. "And where exactly is this mythical perfect guy?"
"Right here."
The words hung between us, heavy with years of unspoken want.
Lindor's breath hitched. "Axel..."
"I've wanted you for years, Lin. Years. And I've watched you waste your time on guys who don't see how incredible you are. Jonah doesn't deserve you. He never did."
"This isn't—you can't just—" She shook her head, but she didn't move away. "Your sister is my best friend."
"Rennedy's been trying to set us up for months. You know that."
"That doesn't mean—"
"What are you afraid of?" I asked, stepping closer. "That it might actually work? That you might actually be happy?"
She stared at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "I'm afraid," she whispered, "that I'm not strong enough to walk away from him."
"Then let me help you."
Before she could respond, the door to the venue burst open, and voices spilled out. Lindor and I stepped apart, but not before I saw Jonah stumble outside, Chelsea still attached to his arm.
His eyes landed on us, and his expression darkened.
"Lindor," he said, his voice tight. "Can I talk to you?"
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, moving slightly in front of her.
"I wasn't talking to you, Axel." Jonah's eyes were hard. "Lindor. Please."
She looked between us, and I could see the war raging inside her. Part of her wanted to go to him, to hear his excuses, to let him explain away what we'd all just witnessed.
But another part—the part that was tired of being hidden, tired of being second—was done.
"No," she said quietly.
Jonah blinked. "What?"
"I said no." Her voice was stronger now. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Baby, please, just let me explain—"
"Don't call me that." She stepped forward, her eyes blazing. "You don't get to call me that. Not after what you just did in there."
"It's not what it looks like—"
"Really? Because it looks like you brought another woman to my brother's party, introduced her as your girlfriend of six months, and kissed her in front of everyone I know."
Chelsea, who'd been watching with wide eyes, looking smug.
"Chelsea, can you give us a minute?" Jonah said quickly.
"No," Lindor said. "She should hear this. She knows that the man she's been hanging all over has a girlfriend. A real one. One he's been fucking for six months while telling her he loves her and promising they'd go public soon. She has seen us together."
Chelsea's lips turned up. "You don’t look like his girlfriend?"
"I’m not," Lindor corrected, her voice like ice. "Past tense."
"Lindor, don't do this," Jonah pleaded. "Not here. Not like this."
"Why not? You didn't seem to have a problem humiliating me in there."
"I was trying to protect you! Protect us!"
"By pretending I don't exist?" She laughed, sharp and painful. "By kissing someone else? By kissing the girl you keep telling me is trying to get in your pants everyday at school? By letting everyone think you're available when you're supposed to be mine?"
"You are mine," Jonah growled, stepping toward her.
I moved between them. "Back off."
"This doesn't concern you, Axel."
"It does when you're upsetting her."
Jonah's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I see what this is. You've been waiting for this, haven't you? Waiting for your chance to swoop in and play hero."
"Someone has to, since you're too busy playing games."
"Fuck you—"
"Stop," Lindor said, her voice cutting through the tension. "Both of you, just stop."
She looked at Jonah, and I saw the moment she made her decision. Saw the moment she chose herself over him.
"We're done," she said simply. "You and me. Whatever this was,” she says swirling her finger in a circle, “it's over."
"You don't mean that."
"I do." She turned to me, and something shifted in her expression. Something determined and a little bit reckless. "Axel, will you take me back inside?"
I didn't hesitate. "Of course."
I offered her my arm, and she took it, her hand sliding into the crook of my elbow. We started toward the door, leaving Jonah and Chelsea standing in the alley.
"Lindor!" Jonah called after us. "Don't walk away from me!"
She paused, looking back over her shoulder. "Watch me."
And then we were inside, the music and the crowd swallowing us up.
But I could feel the tension in Lindor's body, could see the way her hands were shaking. She'd stood up to Jonah, but it had cost her.
"You okay?" I asked quietly.
"No," she admitted. "But I will be."
We made our way through the crowd, and I saw Rennedy watching us with wide eyes. She caught my gaze and mouthed, What happened?
I shook my head slightly. Later.
Lindor stopped suddenly, her grip on my arm tightening. "Axel."
"Yeah?"
She turned to face me, her eyes bright and fierce. "I need you to do something for me."
"Anything."
"I need you to kiss me."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"Right here. Right now. In front of everyone." She glanced toward the door, where Jonah was just coming back inside, his face thunderous. "I need him to see that I'm not his anymore. That I'm done being his secret."
"Lin, are you sure? Because if we do this—"
"I'm sure." Her hand came up to cup my face, and the touch sent electricity through me. "I'm so fucking sure. I'm tired of being invisible. I'm tired of waiting for someone to choose me. So I'm choosing you. Right now. If you'll have me."
If I'll have her. As if there was any question.
"I've been yours for years," I said roughly. "You just didn't know it."
And then I kissed her.