BETTING ON THE WRONG BROTHER: ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANCE

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: SLOANE ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

✦ ✧ ✦

I don't belong at Passion College.

I'm the scholarship student who skips meals to save money at the most expensive school in the country while everyone else complains about which European vacation to take next. I'm the error in their perfect algorithm.

So why did I fight so hard to get in?

Because I've been obsessed with the Alexander Beauty Empire since I was thirteen… since I watched their campaign about redefining beauty standards. They're the kind of company where ideas don't just sell lipstick… they shift culture. And you don't get through Alexander's doors without a degree from a school like Passion.

So I clawed my way here… for a shot at my dream job. A chance to flip the script on what beauty means and finally escape my own personal hell.

It's second year now. I still hide behind oversized sweaters and chunky glasses. Keeping my head down, my GPA up, my mouth shut when people like Ashley Alexander go out of their way to remind me I don't belong.

"Hey, Goggles."

That's me.

Sloane Carter. The girl with the thick-rimmed glasses and thrift store cardigans. Freshman year, I used to shrink into myself. Not anymore. Now when they say it, I just keep walking.

Focus, Sloane. Graduate with honors. Secure the job. Show the world what beauty actually is.

It was simple.

It was working.

Until that night.

I shouldn't have gone to Lexter Gray's pool party.

But when he texted me…

(Hey. Come by tonight? I want to see you.)

….my brain just… uninstalled itself.

Because Lexter Gray doesn't text girls like me.

But lately he'd been… different. Ever since I talked back to his girl... Ashley, (who never misses a chance to humiliate me) in the library, and didn't flinch when his eyes pinned me like I was something to figure out.

He didn't say a word to me that day. But the next Tuesday, he walked into the library and asked what I was reading.

Jar of Hearts.

My favorite book.

He said something about reading it with me.

Then he kept coming back. Asking about my day. Trading stories. I'd told him almost everything about myself... including my hypothermia.

Not that he cares.

But here's the thing; I've been low-key crushing on Lexter Gray since freshman year. The boy who never looked twice at girls like me. And suddenly, for two weeks, he saw me. Actually saw me… and he was not the total asshole I thought he was.

So when he invited me to his pool party?

Of course I went.

The pool glowed blue in the dark. Music thumped softly behind the house, but most people had drifted inside. The night air smelled like chlorine and expensive cologne.

I stood at the edge, fully clothed, when the water rippled.

Lexter Gray.

Emerging from the water like some fallen angel deciding to ruin my life for fun.

Bronze skin literally glowing like he'd robbed the sun and got away with it. Water slid down his chest. Over the sharp lines of his abs. Past the ink wrapped around his ribs… some Roman numeral dates I'd spent far too many library sessions pretending not to stare at.

His hair was wet black. Pushed back from his face in that effortless way that probably required zero effort.

Then those forest-green eyes landed on me.

"You came." His lips curved lazily.

And God, his voice. Deep and rough like he'd just woken up.

My stomach flipped.

"I… yeah. I wasn't sure if…"

"I'm glad you're here."

He swam closer, resting his arms on the pool edge.

Water clung to his lashes. A faint line cut through one eyebrow. His forearm flexed as he pushed his hair back, the geometric tattoo shifting with the movement.

His eyes moved over me slowly. Not like the other guys at Passion who looked once and dismissed. Lexter Gray looked like he was studying me.

Like he had been waiting to.

"You gonna stand there staring all night," he murmured, "or are you getting in?"

"I don't have a…."

"You really think I care about a swimsuit?" My pulse stumbled. "It's just us."

Just us??!!!

My brain knew that was a terrible idea.

My heart didn't care.

I looked down at my clothes. A simple yellow wrap dress with tiny flowers. My oversized cardigan over it.

"I'll look ridiculous."

"Sloane." His voice dropped lower. "Get in the water."

Oh. That voice.

My hands shook as I kicked off my shoes. Peeled off my cardigan. I kept the dress on because there was no universe where I was stripping down to my underwear in front of Lexter Gray. Also like… my bra didn't match my underwear.

What if he thought my body was weird?

"Sloane."

I looked up.

His eyes were softer now.

"Just get in."

The water was warmer than I expected.

I stayed near the edge, arms wrapped around myself. Lexter didn't move closer right away. Just watched me with those impossibly green eyes.

I was suddenly hyper aware of everything.

How close he was.

How his eyes kept drifting to my mouth.

How my wet dress was clinging to everything.

"Cold?" he asked softly.

"No."

"Nervous?"

"Um. Is that… is that obvious?"

His mouth curved. Not his usual smirk. Something gentler.

"Yeah. But it's cute."

Lexter Gray just called me cute.

My brain glitched.

"Me too," he added quietly.

"You're never nervous."

"You'd be surprised, Sloane Carter."

I waded in a few steps, then stopped. "I… can't go any further."

His brows pulled slightly. "You can't?"

I shook my head. "I never learned."

"Why?"

I shrugged, eyes dropping. "Just… family."

Something passed in his expression… gone as quickly as it came.

He moved through the water slowly. Giving me time to back away if I wanted.

I didn't.

When he stopped in front of me, I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.

God, he was tall.

His tattoos were everywhere.

I wanted to trace them with my fingers.

"You missed something," he said softly.

"What?"

His fingers found my glasses. "This."

Oh.

I never take these off. Not in front of people.

He slid them off carefully, like they might break.

Water droplets clung to the frames as he set them on the pool edge.

When he turned back, his eyes moved over my face.

"Better."

"Liar." My voice came out shakier than I wanted. "My eyes are plain brown. And I'm half-blind without those."

"You can see me, can't you?"

"Barely."

His mouth curved. "Then I'll stay close."

If he got any closer, my last brain cell would literally evaporate.

"You know what's been driving me crazy lately?" he asked quietly.

I blinked. "What?"

His gaze dropped to my mouth.

"You."

My heart stuttered.

"How fucking beautiful you are."

"Don't… don't say that."

"Why?"

He moved closer. Close enough that I could see the yellow flecks in his eyes. I could feel the heat coming off his skin.

"Because it's not true." My chest ached suddenly.

No one had ever called me beautiful.

"Sloane."

His hand lifted slowly. Then his fingers touched my jaw so gently I almost gasped. He traced the curve of my chin with a focus that made my breath catch. Like he was memorizing it.

"You know what I see when I look at you?" he murmured.

My throat pinched.

"What?"

His eyes lifted to mine.

"The smartest, bravest girl in this entire school."

Oh.

My heart.

"Stop," I whispered. Because if he kept talking like that I was going to cry.

"I've been trying not to kiss you for weeks, Sloane Carter."

My breath snagged.

Wait.

What?

"I'm losing that fight."

He brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. So slowly. Like he was learning the shape of it.

And I just… stood there. Frozen. Because this was Lexter Gray. And he was touching me. And looking at me like I was something he craved.

"May I?"

He leaned in, his lips barely brushing mine.

He waited.

Oh my God.

Lexter Gray wanted to kiss me.

My brain screamed (No!).

Instead my mouth betrayed me.

"Please tell me this is real…"

"I'd rather show you."

And his lips… stupidly plump and impossibly soft, swallowed my thinner mouth whole.

And oh God.

My first kiss.

With Lexter Gray.

His hand cupped my jaw. His thumb traced my jawline again as his mouth moved against mine. Like he had all the time in the world to learn the shape of me.

My hands found his chest. His heart pounded under my palm. He kissed me like he couldn't get enough.

Then he pulled back just enough to breathe.

His forehead rested against mine. His eyes were so dark now. Almost black.

"I have bad news for you, Sloane Carter."

Wait. What?

"Bad news?"

His thumb dragged across my bottom lip again. Slower this time.

His voice dropped.

"Yeah."