Max swerved towards Axel and Avon with a thunderous expression on his face. Axel had promised him that the barbecue was supposed to be a Lexi-free event.

Did the Wilders invite her on purpose?

Honestly, Max wouldn't put it past them.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" he demanded angrily.

"Whoa! Chill, bro," Axel held up both hands defensively as though Max was overreacting.

Yet, from the corner of his eye, Max noticed that Avon had whipped out his Sony a7S and started vlogging. Avon wasn't using his phone to record this shit. His camera didn't materialize out of thin air. Avon had clearly been prepared for to catch this moment in action.

These fuckers totally set him up!

Max glared at Avon and held up his hand to block out the lens. "Dude, get that camera out of my face!"

Avon chuckled and ignored him. He kept filming. He crowed, "Hate to break it to you, Maxie, but you signed a waiver when you RSVP'd to this little shindig. We have legal authority to film you and all of our other guests in every public area of the property."

"I know about the fucking waiver," Max growled, "but I'm asking you to stop as a friend."

"But it's for the vlog! You should know how important this shit is for people like us. The viewers wanna know what you've been up to all this time," Avon protested sulkily.

"Yeah, we figured you'd be cool with it since you agreed to come out. You should've known what you'd be getting into by simply showing up," Axel murmured in a matter-of-fact voice. "Why you gotta be such a dick about it?"

Max didn't have a chance to respond. By this time, Lexi had made her way over to the three of them. Her blonde hair was longer now. It trailed down to her waist in effortless-looking beachy waves. Her face looked perfectly drawn on, and she wore a vintage Metallica band tee, cropped just below her boobs, and a pair of high-waisted black denim shorts that looked like they might have been shredded by a dozen angry cats. The top showed off Lexi's tanned, toned midriff, and the shorts left very little to the imagination. In fact, half of her ass was on full display, and Max felt a bit uncomfortable about noticing it. He chose to avert his gaze. It felt wrong. Like he was peeping on his sister or something.

In a small, shy voice, Lexi greeted him, "Hey, Max. It's been a while, huh?"

Lexi sounded more like herself than she had in years. It was unsettling.

Was this an act, too?

Or had Lexi turned over a new leaf?

Anxiously, Max took note that the small red light on Avon's camera was still blinking. He didn't want to cause a scene, though, and let these assholes make money off of posting another scandalous video about him.

He plastered a smile on his face. "Yeah, it's, uh, been a while, for sure. How ya been, girl?"

Lexi looked relieved to see his smile. Her face brightened. "I've been doing good. Great, actually. My channel really took off in the last few months. It has been keeping me busy. Although, um, I was wondering, can we go somewhere private and... talk? I know you probably don't wanna see me right now, but I came here today because you keep dodging my calls and texts. I really care about you, Max, and I wanna clear the air between us. You've been such an important part of my life since we were kids, and I don't want this to be the end of our story."

Max gawked at her. Lexi was definitely saying all the right shit. She touched on everything a guy in his position would want to hear, but he didn't know if she was talking to him—or Avon's camera.

Max couldn't bring himself to trust her. He certainly didn't trust Axel or Avon. In careful tones, he replied, "I appreciate the gesture, Lex. You're important to me, too, but, uh, I hope you understand that I might need more time to process everything that happened between us. I'll, um, reach out to you when I feel ready to talk."

Lexi's eyes grew wide. Then, her gaze narrowed. Something sharp and hostile flashed across her sweetness and light persona. But only for a split second.

She recovered beautifully. "Of course, I completely understand. I just hope we can be friends again. I miss you, Maxie."

He frowned. "Yeah, hopefully, everything will be cool between us. Some day."

"Hold up," Lexi tilted her head and demanded aggressively, "what the hell do you mean by that? Are you saying we're not cool right now?"

Max's mouth fell open with shock at Lexi's sudden one-eighty shift in mood. "Uh..."

"I wonder whose fault that might be? You've never been one to take responsibility for your actions, Max. Clearly, you haven't changed after all this time."

Max groaned inwardly. It was always so frustrating to talk to Lexi. She had such a knack for twisting his words and exacerbating every little thing into a big fucking deal.

Just then, Nina appeared at his side. Max had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. She wore a faint, knowing smile on her pretty face. It seemed as though she understood exactly what was going on.

Nina held out her hand to Lexi as she introduced herself, "Hey! You're Lexi, right? My name is Nina. I came with Max. Nice to meet you."

Lexi stared at Nina's proffered hand as though it was something unsightly. She shook it with a begrudging gleam in her eyes. In chilly tones, Lexi prompted, "How do you and Maxie know each other?"

"We're neighbors," Nina chirped brightly. "He's such a sweetheart, isn't he? I mean, you probably know him better than I do, but he has been nothing but the perfect gentleman since we met."

Lexi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Oh, my God. Are you guys, like, dating or something?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Nina said with a laugh, "I wish! I keep throwing myself at him, but, like Max said earlier, he's still trying to work through some personal shit right now, and he really wants to focus on bettering himself without any distractions, and I respect that about him."

Lexi glared. "Is that so?"

Her voice was full of bite.

Undeterred, Nina gave Lexi a playful wink. "But just between you and me? Either you really did a number on him, or he really cares about you, girl. I hope you guys will be able to work things out! I'm a big fan of your channel, by the way."

Max stared at Nina in awe. Avon was also looking a bit distracted and slack-jawed by Nina's performance. The idiot was holding his camera at the wrong angle. In fact, everyone around them was staring at Nina in awe. Even Lexi.

Within minutes, she had somehow contained the fight that Lexi was trying to pick with him, boosted his rep as a decent human being, and challenged Lexi's narrative in a non-threatening way. She did all of this for him. On camera.

Max didn't know whether to hug Nina or drag her away before she could say another word. This was the perfect moment to make their getaway.

Nina seemed to be on the exact same page.

She turned to him and smiled. "Hey, I just had some of the most amazing sliders over there. You should try one!"

Then, Nina grabbed Max's hand and pulled him away from Lexi, Axel, and Avon as though they didn't even exist. He traipsed after her happily and tightened his grip around her palm. Her hand was rougher than he expected, slightly callused even, but it felt warm and wonderful.

And it fit perfectly in his.