Avoiding Commitment (40 page)

Chyna brought the pillow viscously back down
on the intruder several more times. A yell sounded from the person
seated on the couch. “Oww, stop that.”

“Get out of here! You can’t take our stuff!”
Chyna screamed smacking him across the face another time.

“I’m here to see Lexi, Goddamn. Chill out,”
the intruder cried shielding himself from Chyna’s assault.

“Chyna, stop,” Lexi demanded her feet frozen
in place as she stared forward. Chyna paused mid-swing, and then
brought the pillow back down to her side. She glanced back at Lexi
in confusion. The intruder looked to where she had spoken ignoring
the possibility of another attack. Lexi’s throat caught at the
sight. “This is Jack.”

“Jack.
Jack
, Jack. You mean
the
Jack?” Chyna asked stumbling on the name.

Lexi nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well then,” she mumbled tossing the pillow
onto the loveseat, “guess that’s my cue. Sorry.” She walked to Lexi
and gave her a quick hug whispering into her ear, “Let me know if
you need anything, sweetie.”

“Jack, what are you doing here? How did you
get inside? How did you know where I was?” she asked letting loose
a string of questions that had flown through her head at the sight
of him.

He stared at her in awe. He stared at her
like he had never seen her before. He stared at her like she was
his lifejacket and he was sinking.

“Jack,” she whispered the earlier memories
that she had briefly evaded her were clouding her vision once
more.

He stood quickly and scooped her into his
arms. “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered sweetly into her
ear.

Goosebumps cascaded up her arms as she
circled his neck. “I’ve missed you too,” she admitted.

When he pulled back, he rested his forehead
against hers and closed his eyes breathing her in. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She couldn’t believe this was
happening to her. She felt like she was so drunk that perhaps she
had passed out and was dreaming about Jack being here.

“Don’t ask that. I’m sorry for everything. I
ended it with Kate. All I saw was you when I looked at her.”

“Me.”

“Yeah. I was an idiot for staying with her.
You’re what I want.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Lexi. You.”

“Oh,” she whispered breathlessly, pushing her
fingers up into his dark, thick, mess of hair and twisting the
strands around her fingertips.

“I shouldn’t have come like this.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed shaking
her head.

He pulled back to look at her and her breath
caught again as his brilliant blue eyes locked onto her. “I really
am sorry for everything, Lex.”

She nodded knowing he meant it. She let the
memory of him telling her that he loved her for the first time wash
over her. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to
think of that without tears springing to her eyes. He was here for
her. He had come to New York for her.

“I didn’t mean to scare your friend.”

“Don’t mind Chyna. She’s probably already
asleep. How did you get inside anyway?” she asked her brow
furrowing.

“One of your roommates let me in. I told her
I was a friend of yours and that I’d wait to see you,” he said
sheepishly.

“Ugh,” she groaned, “you could have been
anyone. I’m going to have to talk to them about this.”

He pulled her closer against him again.
“Aren’t you glad they didn’t turn me away?” he asked, his mouth
turning into his characteristic smirk.

“Very glad,” she agreed allowing his lips to
fall on hers and savoring the taste of him. In fact, what was going
on in her head was how glad she was that she hadn’t gone home with
Armani Guy, because what she had come home to was nothing compared
to what she had found at a club. She applauded herself for her
stubborn nature.

“Lex?”

“Yeah?” she mumbled licking her lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said for the first
time, allowing herself to tell him how she really felt. Then she
got lost in Jack’s kiss once more.

CHAPTER 17

PRESENT

“Mmm,” Jack grumbled holding onto Lexi’s
waist tightly, “where ya goin’?”

Lexi sighed back into his embrace loving the
feel of him pressed against her. At the same time, her stomach
rolled knowing that she shouldn’t be wrapped up in him like she
was. She had been lying there half the morning, her stomach
knotting and unknotting for every thought she had about Jack. They
had talked the night away and managed to stay closer to the
friend’s side of the spectrum, but she knew they couldn’t stay
there. She knew she didn’t want to stay there. Nor did he. In fact,
he had been the one that said that he wanted to be with her.
Luckily, she had kept her wits about her long enough to tell him
she wanted him, but only if she could have all of him.

Yet, it was still nagging at her. If she had
really meant that, she would have left last night. She wouldn’t
have stayed up with him and imbibed a bottle of wine. She wouldn’t
have woken up this morning with his arms wrapped around her.

“I…I’m going to make some coffee,” she
whispered attempting to extract his hands from around her
middle.

“No. Don’t leave me, Lex,” he begged nuzzling
into her neck and trailing light kisses across her skin.

Her body reacted wonderfully to his touch,
forcing her back to arch and head to lean back. “Jack, you can’t do
that.”

“But I wanna,” he mumbled obviously still
half-asleep. “You taste so good.”

She giggled at his slurred speech and
attempted to push him away again. That only made him latch on
harder to her. “Jack, come on.”

“I love it when you talk dirty,” he muttered
seductively, biting down on her earlobe.

Lexi smacked him playfully on the arm and
wiggled out of his embrace. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be too long,” he said, his face nearly
covered by the covers once again.

Lexi trekked out of the room in nothing but
her red boy short underwear and one of Jack’s old band t-shirts
that was much too big for her. She padded down the hallway and into
the living room. Her eyes roamed the maze of candles displayed
around the room and sighed at the memory of last night. She had
promised herself she wouldn’t do this. But the only way to change
it was to leave the apartment and return home this minute.

But she couldn’t do that. She was not
physically capable of leaving him like this. Yes, things had
happened in their past that made her angry with him. Yes, he was as
arrogant as they came. Yes, he had a girlfriend who he had been
thinking of marrying.

Despite all that, she couldn’t leave. She had
wanted to be with Jack for so long that the thought of leaving him
without finding out if they actually could be, would break her
heart all over again. She knew that she had probably given him more
chances than anyone else would have bothered with, but those women
didn’t understand what she was going through. If they weren’t
willing to push through the hard times and savor the good times,
then they didn’t understand men at all. Everything wasn’t always
going to be peachy keen, and Lexi knew that, but she had been
around Jack long enough to know how he worked. And one thing she
knew, the one thing that kept her going through it all, was how she
felt about him.

She had never wavered in her affection for
him. Six years was a long time to wait for someone. And though
times had been trying, Lexi knew deep down that Jack was what she
had always wanted. Everything and everyone else had just been a
distraction to help her forget him.

Lexi pressed her cold hand to her head hoping
to soothe out her concerns. Exhaustion was starting to set in and
the last thing she needed was to add a headache to that mix. She
fumbled around in her purse until she located her cell phone, then
trudged into the kitchen and began brewing a pot of coffee.

She had a missed call from her parents that
she knew she ought to return right away. She was supposed to have
gone home yesterday, but with everything that had happened with
Jack, Ramsey, and Bekah, she hadn’t been able to get away. Guilt
pushed past exhaustion on the top of her list as she cleared away
her parent’s number, and punched Chyna’s instead. She couldn’t face
her parents yet.

Chyna picked up after a few rings, and by the
sound of her voice, she must have still been sleeping. “Hmmm?
Hello?” she mumbled into the phone.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Alexa, is that you?”

“Yep. Sorry I didn’t call you back.”

“I’m sorry, am I supposed to know who you
are?” she grumbled irritably into the phone. “The Alexa I know
never forgets a phone call.”

“Oh, shush you. It’s not like you never
forget to call me back.”

Chyna yawned loudly. “Fine. What’s up? I’m
sleeping.”

“Actually, you’re awake now.” Lexi heard
rustling on the other line and rolled her eyes.

“I’m only half-awake. Hold on, chica. Let me
kick him out. I have no idea why he thought he could stay the
night.” A loud smacking sound could be heard followed by a howl
from the gentleman who had shared her bed the night before. A slur
of words in Spanish cut through the line, and Lexi was pretty
certain the majority of which were not pleasant. Chyna’s voice
raised an octave as she insulted him back in Spanish. A smashing
sound came next from what Lexi guessed was one of the pieces of
priceless china she kept around her room breaking into a million
pieces. A second later a door slammed and Chyna returned on to the
phone. “Sorry about that. He doesn’t speak much English, but he’s
maddeningly handsome with all that Latin passion. Mmm mmm mmm.”

Lexi giggled at her best friend. “I’m sure he
is, knowing you.”

“Now, spill everything. You went on a date
and then didn’t have the decency to discuss all the sordid details
with yours truly. I’m horrified. Does that mean it went too well
and you’ve been locked in his apartment for two days, or was it so
bad you were afraid to talk to me?” she asked waking up at the
prospect of sharing dating stories.

“Neither, I suppose. I had a lot going on,
but I had an amazing time if you must know,” Lexi offered loving
how excited her best friend sounded.

“And I must. Tell me everything. Who is he?
Where did you find him? What did you do? Where did you go? How good
was he in the sack?” she asked adding extra emphasis to the last
question. “I can’t believe this happens when I’m so far away,” she
groaned sounding ridiculously sexy.

Lexi shook her head at Chyna’s over-the-top
personality. “We had a picnic at a laser show outside of the city.
It concluded with a gorgeous fireworks display that he arranged
with the park specifically for us.”

“Ooh la la,” she cooed, “Not candlelit
dinners and caviar, but we can work with it,” she interjected. “So,
who is this Mystery Man? And please, do give me details!”

“He’s actually…Bekah’s brother. His name is
Ramsey. Ramsey Bridges,” she said cringing as she uttered the
words. She bit her lip as she waited for Chyna to erupt on her.

“Bekah. Jack’s Bekah? Hmm…well, interesting
turn of events, but again we can work with it. What’s he look like?
Is he sexy?”

Lexi giggled. “Yeah, he kind of is. Tall,
really tall with bright green eyes and sandy blonde hair. His body
is killer too. David Beckham-esk physique we’re talking here.”

“Damn! Sexy and wealthy.”

“Chyna!” Lexi exclaimed scolding her.

“What?” she asked, pretending to be confused
by her friend’s outburst.

“You know what.”

“Don’t act like that isn’t important. You’ll
be in law and he has a trust. After hanging out with me, chica, how
can you live with anything else?” she asked bluntly. Chyna never
refrained from discussing how important it was to find someone with
similar means when you were dating. This went back to her standards
of men’s clothing as well as to his taste in alcohol, cars,
apartments, and down the list. She approved of very few men for
anything past the first date.

“Yes, well,” Lexi said rolling her eyes, “he
is supremely wealthy. And God is he good looking, Chyna. If you had
picked him out in a club, you wouldn’t have even given yourself
time to get a drink from him before dragging him off to your
place.”

“Watch yourself. I might have to come visit
my best friend and do just that.” Lexi knew that she was only
half-joking. What Chyna wanted, she typically acquired. The only
things in life she hadn’t been able to control were her parent’s
separation and the fact that her gorgeous designer friend,
Frederick, was one hundred percent playing for the other team. He
was the only man she had ever met that was too gay to sleep with
her and it bothered her every day.

The delicious aroma emanating from the
machine was mouth-watering. Lexi poured two mugs full of the hot
brew. Then she leaned back against the counter to finish her
conversation and wait for the coffee to cool down. “That’s kind of
the reason I called you. I need you here this weekend,” she said
forcing her hair behind her ear several times as she waited for
Chyna to as the question she was dreading.

“Before I get onto the subject of
why
you might need me in Atlanta this weekend, you didn’t answer my
question. How good is he?” she asked for the third time.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” Lexi admitted
reluctantly.

“Oh. So that’s why you need me there this
weekend,” Chyna announced.

“What? No. I don’t need you here to help me
get with him. I could have if I’d wanted to, but there are a few
uh…issues with that. Like a certain someone,” she said sipping on
her coffee.

“Alexa, what have you done?”

“Oh, Chyna,” she cried exasperated with
herself, “I just need you here. I went to talk to Jack to get
everything clear between us, but it didn’t work out the way I had
planned.”