by craziebabe45
"Alright," she said kissing him on the mouth this time a bit possessively.
Lexi, Chyna, and Adam followed Jenny to a separate area of the hotel where their items had been deposited. "We gave the gentleman his own separate room for changing. You ladies are welcome to the suite access in the room next door," Jenny said signaling to a pair of doors.
"Separate rooms weren't really necessary," Chyna said as she took the key from Jenny.
"But thanks," Adam added quickly. "We appreciate your help.
"Of course," she said with a head bob and then disappeared.
Chyna reached forward and kissed Adam lightly on the mouth. "Well off to your own room then," Chyna said shoving him gently in the opposite direction. "We need girl time."
"You're really going to make me have my own room?" he asked glancing between the two girls.
"Yep!" Lexi said quickly glad that Chyna had kept them separated.
"Yes!" Chyna agreed.
"Fine, but can we talk later?" he asked Lexi directly.
"Yeah you guys need to talk about something," Chyna said dismissively as she turned to open the door.
"Sure," she nearly whispered. "Later?"
"Sooner rather than later," he amended. She nodded her head and then ducked into the room behind Chyna.
Lexi couldn't believe that their stuff was already deposited in their room. They hadn't been with Jenny for more than ten minutes and everything was in place. Her dress was even hanging up in the closet to prevent wrinkles. She couldn't believe how on top of their game the hotel was. It must have something to do with the Bridges name for the wedding. Maybe they did their taxes or accounting. That would explain the diligence about everything….or maybe this was just how the hotel was. She had never been here. She didn't know.
The suite they entered had a full kitchen, dining room, living space, and French doors opening up into a grand master bedroom. Chyna entered the room and sat back on the plush king-sized bed. Lexi gawked at her surroundings as she entered the bathroom.
"Holy shit Chyna. This bathroom is bigger than my room at home," she said admiring the Jacuzzi tub, glass standing shower, and stretch of sink space.
"Everything is bigger than that mouse hole you live in."
"Hey!" Lexi said walking back into the bedroom.
Chyna shrugged. "So do I have to ask or are you going to just spill," Chyna said lying back on bed.
"Spill what?"
"Oh don't give me that! You were supposed to call me and tell me the details. Clearly things went well. So I want to know what happened! Last I checked you were about to run away from him and suddenly you guys are fine and back together? Sounds a little suspicious to me," Chyna stated.
Lexi filled her in on everything that had happened the night before. She excluded some of the more raunchy details of the evening, but told her everything about how Ramsey had been hiding things from her for a reason. Even though hiding what he was doing was wrong in itself, the fact that he was doing all of these things for her did kind of help the situation. Then the night long escapade…well that was worth a tale or two.
"I don't know how you do it chica," Chyna said twirling her stick straight black hair around her finger. "You always find the ones with epic baggage."
"Every guy has epic baggage C."
"Maybe," Chyna said thinking it over, "but not like you! You find them completely damaged. I sure hope he isn't lying about anything else. I will kick his ass if he turns out to be a scumbag."
Lexi laughed out loud and collapsed onto the bed next to Chyna. "You're not the only one."
"Maybe not, but my high heels can do some damage!" she crowed grabbing her shoe off her foot and showing Lexi the dangerous four inch heels.
"Is girl time over?" Adam called through the door a few minutes later.
"No!" both girls called at the same time before breaking down into a fit of giggles. It felt so nice to just be herself with Chyna like this. This is the reason she loved New York so much. She hated when Chyna had been in Milan and Lexi hadn't gotten this time with her.
Chyna hopped off the bed and opened the door for Adam. "We're not even dressed yet."
"Well hurry up. I don't want to be over there all alone," he said suggestively.
"Oh God save it!" Lexi yelled as both she and Chyna giggled at him.
Adam just shook his head. "No but really hurry up," he said as Chyna shoved him out the door.
Lexi hadn't even noticed that over an hour had already passed and Ramsey hadn't even returned to check on them. Not that she needed him there with her at all times; she just thought it was strange that he hadn't shown up. He probably had got caught up in wedding preparations with Jack and Bekah. Lexi knew firsthand how much there was to do on the day of a wedding.
Shrugging off his disappearance, Lexi and Chyna both began to get ready for the big event. Lexi took half as long as Chyna even on a day like today when she was a bit anxious about what was going to happen. She wanted to look pretty of course, but she didn't want to stand out. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a bitchy Bekah…well anymore than she already was. She left her hair loose and curly with her bangs falling across her forehead. Her makeup was light, but accentuated her best features. She slid on her strapless purple floral dress and into her brown high heels. Then she sat and waited for Chyna to finish her get up. For a woman who was flawlessly beautiful, she sure put a lot of time into herself every day.
"Hey Lexi," Ramsey called through the door as he knocked rapidly.
Lexi darted out of the bedroom and yanked the door open. Ramsey looked a bit frantic as he burst into the room. "Is everything okay?" Lexi asked following him.
"You look great," he said stopping and really looking at her.
"Uh…thanks," she said waiting for him to explain why he looked so frenzied. Whatever had happened in the time that he had been away from her hadn't been good. She could see it all over him. Something had gone wrong. She wasn't sure why he was here now though. That much she would have to find out in the next minute. "What's wrong?"
"You can tell that something's wrong?" he asked running his hand through his hair a couple times.
"Yes," she muttered.
"I hate to do this," he said sinking into one of the chairs in the seating area.
"Do what?" she asked her stomach dropping out. This really couldn't be good.
"Ramsey, glad to see that you're back," Chyna said walking out of the bathroom in nothing but her lingerie.
Ramsey didn't even look at her though. He was gazing so intently at Lexi and clearly contemplating what he was about to say. "Thanks."
"Is everything alright?" Chyna asked judging the situation.
"I…don't know," Lexi said turning back towards Ramsey.
"Ramsey?" Chyna asked.
"Okay so I thought we had fixed this problem earlier this week, but it seems that it wasn't fixed," he began fidgeting in place.
"What wasn't fixed?" Chyna asked at the same time as Lexi asked, "What problem?"
"Jack's having doubts. Well…no…more than that. He's bowing out."
"What?" Lexi squealed. "What do you mean he's bowing out? Everything is paid for. The wedding party is already here. All the guests will be here soon. We're already at the hotel. He can't bow out!"
"I know," Ramsey grumbled. "We all said the same thing, but he keeps saying that he can't get married."
"It's a bit late for that don't you think?" Chyna cut in.
"You would think so!" Ramsey said pushing his hand back through his hair a couple more times.
Lexi's stomach knotted. He had said that he didn't want to do this. She didn't know what that meant, but she had a feeling this was going to be much worse than she had thought. This had something to do with her. Just the way that Ramsey looked keyed her in on the situation. Somehow she was involved in this. Where Jack was concerned, she managed to get caught up in whatever it was as well. "So what's going to happen?" she almost whispered as she started to put t
he pieces together.
"I'm sorry Lexi. I don't want to do this," Ramsey said.
Chyna glanced between the two. "Do what?"
"Jack wants to talk to you."
"No," Chyna said immediately.
"Don't you think I know that Chyna?" Ramsey asked torn in two about the decision. "I don't want her to go talk to him anymore than you do. But he might not marry Bekah if he doesn't get some grounding."
"Why does Lexi have to ground him?" Chyna asked angrily. She really had to be pissed off to not use Lexi's full name in conversation.
"Probably because they've known each other forever," he said with a shrug.
Chyna shook her head back and forth. "No, because they used to fuck…forever. Not acceptable."
Ramsey shot up out of his chair. "Don't you think I know that?" he repeated louder.
"Hey guys, I'm still here," Lexi said waving her hands between the two. Ramsey stutter-stepped backwards as he seemed to realize that he had gotten out of hand. Chyna clamped her hand over her mouth. "And I can't go talk to him."
"Exactly," Chyna agreed crossing her arms over her chest and sinking into her right hip.
"Look if there is any way that you can convince him to go through with this everyone would be eternally grateful. He doesn't even want to talk to the other groomsmen. The only person he said he would talk to about this was you. You know I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that either, but I want this wedding over with. I'll never hear the end of it if Jack flakes out. Please Lexi for me…just go talk to him."
"Oh my God, I can't believe I'm even hearing this," Chyna snapped staring angrily between the two of them. 'This is between you two. It might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and I don't want to be involved with this. So you just figure it out." Chyna stormed across the room and out the door leaving them alone. They heard her knocking on Adam's door a second later.
Ramsey hung his head. "You know I'd never ask you if it wasn't urgent…if there was any other way."
"It's not my fault that he's having doubts. Honestly I don't think he's in the right state of mind to get married, which explains why he is freaking out. He is terrified of commitment. Not to mention Bekah," Lexi cringed at the name, "well never mind." She didn't really want to bring her into this.
"Well he must have been in the right state of mind when he proposed," he said. Lexi tried to keep from rolling her eyes. Ramsey didn't know about her and Jack sleeping together that night. Besides Chyna, she didn't want anyone to know. But without that knowledge, it sure did make this seem a little ridiculous on her end. "And for the past year. He's just getting freaked out. This is normal."
"Then why does he need me?" she asked crossing her arms.
Ramsey shrugged. "He won't let us talk to him."
"Well I doubt I can convince him to stay with her."
"I bet you can," he said not skipping a beat.
"Why would I even want to convince him to stay with someone like Bekah?" she couldn't help spitting out as she circled the room in frustration.
"Because you're not in love with him anymore," he whispered into the quiet room.
Lexi stopped in place. She wasn't in love with Jack anymore. Hadn't she felt exactly that this morning when waking up in Ramsey's bed? Was that enough to make her convince him to marry Bekah?
Nope.
"I still can't do it," she murmured. "Whether I love him or does not cloud the fact that I just don't like your sister, Ramsey. I think she's manipulative and deceitful and if she loves Jack at all, I would be very surprised."
"This isn't your decision though," Ramsey told her. "You don't get to choose whether she loves him or not…if he loves her."
"Yet I have to convince him to marry her when I think it is completely idiotic?" she responded raising her voice slightly.
"We just need you to calm him down because he refuses to listen to anyone else. You've known him the longest."
"No Seth has," she jumped in.
Ramsey didn't even seem to listen to what she had said. "And he trusts you. He will listen to you. You don't have to convince him to get married. If you can calm him down enough, he will figure it out on his own."
Lexi wasn't too sure about that. Ramsey did not know Jack like she did. If she went down there to "calm him down" all hell could break loose. "You don't know that."
"Well there aren't really any other options since he refuses to speak to anyone else."
"Does Bekah know?" Lexi asked.
"Fuck no!" Ramsey cried standing in frustration. "If this ever gets to Bekah it would be too soon. She does not need to know that Jack is freaking out. This is normal, and the bride doesn't need to be involved in this."
"Will she ever know that I went to see him?" she asked curious how this scenario would actually play out.
"Never," he said instantly. Bekah would be furious with everyone involved for all of eternity if she knew that Jack had seen Lexi alone prior to his wedding. No one wanted to deal with that wrath.
Lexi nodded. "Well I still won't do it."
Ramsey sighed and walked across the room to her. He pulled her into a hug releasing all the tension they had both been carrying in this argument. He didn't want her to go talk to Jack and she didn't want to go talk to Jack. Yet he was in the unfortunate position of convincing her to do something that neither of them wanted to happen.
He pulled back and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Okay. If you won't do it, then I can't force you. But if you can find a way to do it…for me, I would appreciate it more than anything I've ever asked of you. I want us to work more than anything. Could you imagine having to deal with Bekah in our relationship if she doesn't get married today?" he whispered almost as a side note.
Lexi froze in his arms. That thought really chilled her to the core. If she didn't marry Jack, then Bekah would be even more involved in trying to break them up. Lexi never wanted to deal with Bekah again. Not that her marrying Jack was the ideal situation, but she didn't want her involved in their relationship ever again.
"That would be…awful."
"I know."
"Ramsey I don't want to talk to him today," she groaned sinking into his arms again.
"I know baby," he said stroking her long hair. "Can you just do it for me?"
Lexi hated this with every ounce of her being. She was standing her ground. She wasn't going to talk to him. She was finally over him, and then Ramsey had to pull that line. She wouldn't have done it for anyone else. She could have turned down anyone else, but Ramsey seemed so desperate. He needed her to do this, and what else had he really asked of her?
"Fine," she mumbled disheartened. "I'll go talk to him."
"Thank you so much," he said giving her another kiss on the cheek before releasing her, and reminding her how to get to the groom's rooms.
Lexi left the room a few seconds later. She sighed heavily as she moved throughout the hotel. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to do this. After everything that had just happened with Ramsey, the last thing she wanted to do was be alone with Jack. She had been alone with him under that weeping willow earlier in the week, and that had almost been catastrophic. Here she was finally happy with her lot and Jack just insisted on interfering.
She always had a place in her heart for him, but he wasn't it anymore for her. She couldn't remember a time in their pseudo relationship where she had ever woken up as happy as she had this morning with Ramsey. That was really saying something, because she had always thought that Jack made her happy. She was pretty sure that she had deluded herself into thinking that. How could you be happy with someone who you always had to wonder if they were deceiving you? How could you be happy with someone when you always had to deceive someone else to be with them?
Yet, she was still on her way to see him. She truly felt like an idiot. What kind of person puts herself through so much hell? The only reason she was doing this at all was because Ramsey had asked her to. Even though she had begged him not to make her do it
, he had insisted. It wasn't the smartest moment of his life, but she had agreed albeit reluctantly.
She wasn't stupid enough to think that Jack had no hold on her anymore. She knew what he was capable of. But then maybe that was her greatest strength going into this situation. She knew that Jack had a pull on her…that he had always had a pull on her. She just had to resist him.
Easier said then done. She knew that for a fact. Look at how her resisting had gone on his birthday last year. She had ended up sleeping with him. But then here she was assuming that Jack even wanted to sleep with her. God, this was his wedding day!
She was being too pessimistic about the situation. If Jack wanted to be with Lexi, he had had more than a million opportunities for that to happen. And it hadn't happened. She had to accept the fact that they just weren't going to be together. She had gotten past that. Wasn't that the whole reason she was at this wedding? Wasn't that the whole reason she had flown down to Atlanta last year? She had wanted closure.
If anything, Ramsey had brought that semblance of closure. Having someone else to love fully was what had really brought her out of this obsession with Jack. No matter how much her heart told her that she wanted to be with him, she didn't honestly want to be with him. They were a train wreck together…as good as a train wreck could get, but still a train wreck.
Still, she wouldn't put it past Jack to be freaking out. She gulped hard at that thought. If he was freaking out then he would want the first thing that would calm him down. The fact that she was that thing infuriated her. He couldn't have his cake and eat it too. He was getting married in a few short hours. There was no way that she could allow him to seduce her in any way. He had a chance with her, and he had flat out chosen that evil wench over her. She didn't understand his decision, but it was still the decision he had made and he had to stick with it.
Lexi was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice her surroundings, and she nearly ran into someone directly in front of her. "Sorry," she said not even glancing up as she tried to side-step the person she had ran into.
"Lexi?" the man asked.
