More Than Exes Read Online Free Page A

would affect the rest of us. But clearly they hadn’t, and now I was cleaning up after my brother once again. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday night.
    At least it got me out of having to avoid Alexis for the next hour or so.
    I got in the van and put the key in the ignition, but when I turned it, nothing happened. What the…? I tried it again, and this time got a few pathetic noises from it but not much else. This must be a mistake. The van had worked fine when we’d arrived. I checked the dashboard but didn’t see any warning lights, and we still had gas. It should work. I tried again. And again. Still nothing. Dammit!
    I banged on the steering wheel, accidentally honking the horn. Could this night get any worse?
    “Car trouble?” Alexis asked from outside my window.
    And just like that, it did.

I ’d been so distracted trying to get the van to start I must not have noticed her approach. She leaned through the window to glance at the dashboard, giving me a glimpse down her shirt. “Need some help?”
    I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, trying to block out the image of her impressive cleavage. That was the last thing I needed to deal with right now. Maybe if I waited a minute, everything would be fixed when I opened my eyes. The van would work, and Alexis would be gone. Or, even better, Becca would be standing there instead of Alexis. I held my breath and waited for a miracle.
    “Where are you going, anyway?” she asked. “Aren’t you on soon?”
    She was still there. The eyes-closed plan was a total fail. Damn.
    “Not until 10:30. Our bassist is missing and I need to track her down, but our fucking van won’t start.”
    I tried it again, hoping the fifth time would be the charm, but it just made that pathetic sound. I considered popping the hood and checking the engine, but I’d have no clue what to look for. Cars weren’t my thing, and Jared and Hector were just as useless with them as I was.
    “I don’t suppose you picked up anything about fixing cars at Princeton?” I asked.
    “No. But I could drive you.”
    I’d been avoiding looking at her as much as possible, but now my gaze snapped to her face. “Don’t you have work to do here?”
    She shrugged and tossed back a lock of her fiery hair, revealing a view of her graceful neck. “I have all the photos I need for the moment. I’m just waiting around until Rubber Horse goes on stage. We should be back by then, right?”
    “We better be. We’re on right after them.”
    I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel and tried to think of some other option. I could call AAA, but it would take them too long to get here and they’d probably want to tow the van to a mechanic, anyway. Public transportation in LA was such a joke I’d never get to Becca’s place and back in time. If there was anyone else I could ask for help, I would have, but Alexis was my only hope. Still, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone in a car with her. I had a feeling if I did this I’d be starting down a path I wasn’t sure I wanted to travel.
    I wracked my brain for any other solution, but in the end, it was my only option. “Are you sure?” I asked, giving her one last chance to change her mind.
    “I’m sure.” She laid her red-tipped fingers on my arm, over my phoenix tattoo. “I want to help you.”
    I swallowed as heat rushed through me, like she’d ignited the inked flames she was touching, and hopped out of the van. “Okay. Thanks.”
    “My car’s over here,” she said, leading me to the other side of the parking lot.
    “The same one as before?” We’d spent so much time in that old Mercedes back in high school. Truth be told, I was kind of excited to see it again.
    “No, that one died a year ago. I have a MINI now.”
    “Too bad. We had some good memories in that car.”
    “We did.” She gave me a sly smile. “Some very good memories in the backseat.”
    I coughed and tried to steer the conversation back to something