My Brother's Girl

23| The Southern Belle

"Time to fight fire with fire," I said to myself as I checked my reflection. 

I had twenty minutes left before I was supposed to meet the boys downstairs to go to Jack's Bar. I knew Wyatt was going to try something- anything- to win this bet. He was going to put the charm on or try to make me jealous. I was determined to win and not back down. Hence the outfit. 

I've never really worn anything like this. I've never even owned anything like this. I left early this morning and went to do some shopping alone. After all, if he was going to try to seduce me into bed, I wasn't going to make it easy for him. 

I looked at my reflection again. I was wearing a short black skirt, a red top that had a deep V, and a matching leather jacket. I was also wearing red high heels to match. It was going to drive him crazy. I had no intention of letting Wyatt win the bet. But a girl still has to have her fun. 

I also decided to wait until we get back home to the city before I talk to Logan. We were leaving in two days and it didn't feel right to have that talk here. The truth was, I've always known who I belonged with. It was always Wyatt. I did love Logan, but not the same way. I wasn't in love with him. 

I needed to end it with Logan. I needed to tell him that I couldn't go through with it. But not here. We needed to have a long talk. We needed to talk about the secret affair he was having, we needed to talk about what happened between Wyatt and myself, we also needed to talk about his parents. They were looking forward to Logan and I getting married. That's the main reason I didn't want to ruin everyone's trip. I didn't know how this was going to play out. 

But don't get too excited. Just because I was ending it with Logan didn't mean I was ready to marry Wyatt and sail off into the sunset. I still had trust issues when it came to being in a relationship with him. The last time I wanted more, he freaked out and ran away for four years. I still felt the pain of that day. He wasn't just some guy that rejected me. I lost my best friend all that time. The one person I did trust. I just-- wasn't ready. 

After I tell Logan it's over, I'm going to tell Wyatt that I want to be together, without being together. I want to continue the way we were. The two of us seeing how it is being together. Maybe going on dates. Definitely more of the chemistry and passion we seem to have between us. I shivered at the thought. Yes. Way more of that. 

I checked my hair one more time. I washed and straightened it. Not only did I prefer it straight, but so did Wyatt. I grabbed my cellphone and wallet from the sink and slipped them into my small clutch. I glanced at my watch and cursed under my breath. I was running late. I quickly left my room and started down the hallway. If I didn't hurry and get down there, then--

"Lia?"

I stopped where I was. Wyatt was standing in front of me at the top of the stairs. Damn. I knew he would come looking for me. Probably just in case I had one of my episodes. I felt my heart start to beat a little faster as I took in his appearance. He was wearing dark denim jeans and a blue shirt. He also had his favorite old baseball hat on backwards. Dammit. 

"Hey," I said as casually as I could. "Sorry I was running a little late."

He took a few steps towards me, his hungry gaze taking in my appearance from head to high heel. He stopped in front of me and pointed at my outfit. "This is new."

I held his gaze, basically daring him. "It is." 

He closed the small distance between us and I didn't move an inch. "This is--" he let out a low whistle-- "very sexy." When he leaned forward, my eyes closed as he nuzzled my neck. 

"Thank you," I said more breathlessly than I wanted. My whole plan to make him jealous seemed to go out of the window. I placed my arms on his shoulders, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.