“You know what?” Brent said, glaring daggers down at Mitch.
“What?” Mitch asked, annoyance lacing the single syllable as it left his mouth.
“Fuck you,” Brent said, then turned and stormed from the room.
Mitch sat there, mouth agape, staring after him.
“He’s right, you know,” Cole said. “You’re the one who left. I get that we don’t know the whole story. There was some big fight? Okay, fine. But you didn’t even try. And just because things with Lexie looked bleak in the moment didn’t mean you had to give the rest of us the finger after the trade. And you have no idea what we’ve all been through dealing with that. Lexie had it worst of all because of who you were to her. Who you are to her. Looks like your time in LA changed you more than we thought it did.”
Then he followed Brent out.
Mitch sat there for a long time after they left, watching the game film until its conclusion, one thought circling his brain.
My how the mighty have fallen.
Eighteen Months Ago...
Thankfully,afterLexieandMitch knocked some sense into their respective best friends, Brent and Berkley got back together after Berkley’s law school graduation.
All was once again right in the world, especially since Mitch and Lexie were finally about to tell the world they were together…officially.
In the few months between their time in Dallas and Lexie finally agreeing to be his girlfriend, she and Mitch hadn’t exactly been quiet about the fact that they were sleeping together. Both of them enjoyed public displays of affection—to an extent—and could frequently be found holding hands, with arms wrapped around each other, or stealing kisses.
Tonight, they were at the loft. The night before, the Warriors had been knocked out of the playoffs and had taken the evening to mourn the end of their season as a team.
Now was time to celebrate the start of summer. The off-season sucked, especially when their playoff run had been cut short, but Mitch was excited about spending the next few months with Lexie and their friends.
They hadn’t agreed to make some big proclamation about the change in their relationship status, but understood that Brent and Berkley deserved to know before anyone else. They were their best friends, and sort of the reason they were together.
So when the couple walked into the loft and headed for where Mitch and Lexie were posted up near the bar, Lexie wasted no time, blurting, “Mitch and I are dating.”
Berkley stopped dead in her tracks, forehead scrunching in confusion. “I thought you were dating anyway?”
“Told you,” Mitch whispered, and chuckled when Lexie smacked him.
But hehadtold her. Theyhadbeen dating all these months regardless of whether they had labeled it or not. In his eyes, she’d been his since Dallas.
Actually, long before that.
She’d been his since the moment he first laid eyes on her.
“We were,” Mitch said with a pointed look at his girlfriend. “But I finally got her to label it.”
“Like boyfriend-girlfriend kind of labels?” Brent asked, grin growing.
“Those exact ones,” Mitch said proudly.
Berkley beamed and walked up to grab Lexie’s hands. “Look at my little baby, all grown up.”
Lexie pulled her hands away and swatted at Berkley. “Don’t be annoying. It’s not a big deal.”
“Lexie,” Brent said. “I’ve known you less than a year and evenIknow it’s ahugedeal.”
Lexie scoffed, but Mitch said to her, “He’s right, babe. You’re not exactly the relationship type. And you made it pretty clear from the beginning that this between us would never been more than sex. It’s a very big deal that you’re now my girlfriend.”
“What changed your mind anyway?” Berkley asked.
“Have you seen this guy?” Lexie replied, taking a half step away to look Mitch up and down appreciatively.
