by Leigh, Ember
Lila buried her face in her hands. “Oh, god, that’s so embarrassing! I don’t want to be known as that girl.”
“Own it,” Amara said. “It’s a beautiful thing. And I hope the four of us can go on a double date sometime…”
Lila grinned. “We’ll see.”
“Does he know about Lane?”
Lila’s stomach sank, the unsavory truth circling back to find her like a shark seeking blood. “No. He doesn’t.”
“Will you tell him? I’m sure he’d love him.”
Lila forced a smile, even though Amara couldn’t see it. Every part of her begged to tell Lex about Lane. But even Amara didn’t know the most catastrophic part of it all.
“In time,” she said. “I’ll get there sooner or later. For now…we don’t need to rush into that part.”
The friends said their goodbyes, and Lila stared at the phone in her hand, thoughts churning like waves in the sea. Something about their conversation left a strange taste in her mouth. Admitting all those bad things about Lex made a knot form in her gut. But not because of the past.
You’re being so hard on him. The knot tightened. Can’t you just see him for who he is now?
She hadn’t mentioned any of his good traits. None of the things that she’d fallen for, that continued to shine through him even now. Loyal. Dedicated. The most amazing lover. A protector. A champion. Guilt flooded her. Lex deserved to know about Lane. But at this point, how could she tell him? She swiped open her phone and went to Lex’s message.
“I did somehow manage to fall asleep…surprisingly. Did you sleep well?”
His response was lightning fast. “Well enough. Wished you were with me.”
She grinned, sauciness flaring. “Same. You didn’t even bother asking me to stay over…so I was forced to dream of those nudes you promised me.”
Lex’s end was quiet for a bit. And then his response: “Are you trying to kill me????”
A photo came through. She held her breath as she opened it. Lex stood in front of a floor-length mirror, probably in his apartment, one hand holding the phone, the other cupping his junk. Muscles rippled and gleamed in the early morning sunlight filling the room. His caramel skin made her mouth water.
He was sexier than she’d ever seen him. She whimpered, typing out a quick response.
“You must be smaller than I remember if you can fit it all in your hand.” She giggled as she sent it. If he could push her buttons, then she could push his.
“Ain’t nothing small about me, doll.”
Heat flooded her, and she rolled out of bed, eager to distract herself. This conversation was heading to one place—the only place the two of them ever headed—and she doubted sexual relief would come so soon.
“Maybe you forgot. I’ll show you again, don’t worry.”
She felt her neck flush at the latest message and pulled open the fridge, grabbing for the orange juice. “What are you doing today?” She couldn’t believe she was asking it. So soon after they’d just seen each other. So much for time and distance.
“On my way to the gym…work til 6. You?”
“I’m off. So I’ll be taking a run and doing errands soon…” She sent the message, fingers poised to keep typing. “Maybe we could grab dinner tonight.” There. She’d said it. Suggested it herself.
Lane could hang with his uncle for a few hours that evening; her brother would probably even be willing to babysit at the apartment while she ate out.
She might not be convinced of what the future held for her and Lex…but she couldn’t stay away, either.
“Hmmm….I dunno….”
She smirked. He was playing her.
“Just kidding doll, I’m all yours. Your pick or mine?”
Excitement thudded through her. “Yours. You know what I like.”
His response came fast. “Great. I’ll surprise you. Pick you up after work.”
She set the phone down, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. Sure seemed like Lex was a better man. And dammit, she wanted to find out.
See if her first and only love had really become the man she’d always hoped for.
Chapter 9
THEN
“Lila!” Lex practically tumbled into the apartment. The lock stuck, and after just two weeks in their new place, he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. He shrugged off his backpack, looking around. “Lila, you here?”
She came out of the bedroom, her hair wrapped in a turban, another towel wrapped around her body. She’d insisted on all black towels for the apartment. The sight of her, so fresh and vulnerable out of the shower, stole his breath for a moment.
“Doll.” Everything he’d been eager to tell her totally evaporated from his mind.
“Hey, there.” She winked at him, slinking back into the bedroom. He followed her like a lost puppy. “How was your day?”
The question jostled him back to focus. “Awesome. I think I figured out how to make some extra money.”
The “extra money” conversation had been weighing on them for months. Lila had it in her head that she didn’t want to be a lawyer. Halle-fuckin’-lujah. Lex couldn’t wait for her to drop that shit, but doing so would come at a price. To the tune of her entire tuition and books.
Her dad was a hard-ass, a dude totally bent on her being some bizarre, extended version of himself. An LA lawyer, pumped full of Botox and mutual funds, or whatever the fuck those types survived on. But Lila could never make the switch to her true passion and afford the schooling on her own. No fucking way. Because her dad would never ante up his part of the tuition if she switched majors.
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna start dealing drugs.” She crossed her hands through the air in front of her. “That is out of the question.”
“No. Nothing like that.” He sat on the bed beside her, grabbed her hand. “It’s so obvious if you think about it.”
She narrowed her eyes as she thought, her pretty pink lips pinching into a smirk. “You’re gonna get paid to leave your clothes in a trail from the bedroom to the bathroom like a sloth?”
A laugh escaped him. “You watch your sweet mouth.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, then another one. “No, babe. Not that. Some dudes saw me fighting the other day. They want me to come fight with them. It’s an underground league.”
Her face didn’t betray a reaction for too long. Made him think she somehow could glean the darker side of this opportunity: the guys who had discovered him weren’t exactly upstanding citizens. In fact, they were part of a gang. He’d recognized the gang symbols tatted onto their forearms. The Kings. A group he’d heard plenty about but had never made contact with…until now.
“And you can make money from that?”
“So much money.” He squeezed her hands, as though this might help convince her. “They make these matchups, and everyone bets. And whoever wins gets a huge cut of the earnings.” He could barely tamp down his excitement. Discounting the gang part, this was exactly what he’d been looking for. There was no way in hell they could ever come up with the money to keep Lila afloat through nursing school without her dad’s help. But if Lex could make a couple grand each week? They’d have a real shot at it.
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t know, Lex. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Babe, I’m fighter. Getting hurt is my fucking job description.” He popped to his feet. “Seriously, don’t worry about me. This is what I do. And part of what I do is take care of you.” He grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “And this is me. Taking care of you.”
He pressed his mouth to hers before she could protest.
Chapter 10
All day at work, Lex imagined himself a man on the moon. Hopping around, bouncing off the surface of the world, ricocheting off the sky and back again.
Lila was the purest high he’d ever had in his entire life.
“Lex, you are extra high energy today,” Jenni, the receptionist, mused as he lapped the foyer while waiting for a clie
nt to come in.
“Damn straight.” He made a face at her as he passed for the fourth time.
“Must be that girl,” Jenni continued. “I can always tell when one of you starts seeing a girl.”
Lex cackled, knocking over the container of pens as he passed by a fifth time. “Shut up.”
Jenni rolled her eyes and smiled, righting the pen cup. During work, this crew was like a family—pure older brothers, harassing, and noogies.
Lex jogged a bit down the hallway, slowing once he felt his phone vibrating against his thigh. He came to a stop in front of the staff room door, fishing it out of his pocket. Unknown number. He stared at it a moment, then swiped it on.
“H’lo?”
A long silence greeted him, a slight rustle, and then the call disconnected. He pocketed the phone, heading for the front desk again.
On his way there, his phone buzzed again. He fished it out—Unknown—and answered quickly.
“H’lo?”
More rustling, then silence. Beep beep. Disconnected.
“What the fuck.” He pocketed the phone, shaking his head. As he headed to the front desk, he saw his client coming into the foyer, a younger guy named Derrick who wanted to get beefy and start fighting. Lots of Lex’s clients wanted the glory of fighting, without diving headfirst into the underworld of the streets, or aiming for the UFC.
It was a small service he could offer—allowing men to reclaim their manliness, in whatever way they wanted, without breaking their ribs in a street fight. Without having to sell their souls to the streets like he had.
Derrick headed for the locker room. Lex pushed his way into the weight room, the phone pulsing against his thigh again.
He sighed tersely, swiping it on—Unknown. He answered it quickly, annoyance in his voice. “What?”
The low rattle of a breath sounded. And then a strange, gruff voice said, “I’m looking for Cheshire.”
Lex’s blood ran cold at the name, and he swiped the phone off before he could think twice. No way. No way. No fucking way.
Staring at the far wall of the weight room, it seemed like a full minute before he took another breath. If someone was sniffing around for Cheshire…it could only point to one thing.
What were the chances it was a fluke? Anxiety made shrill steps inside him, but he pushed it aside when Derrick came into the weight room. He flipped his phone onto Do Not Disturb mode, just in case the calls kept coming through.
Because for now, he had to focus on work. No matter how confusing and unsettling that raspy voice on the other end of the phone was.
He and Derrick breezed through the work out. He enjoyed training him, mostly because Derrick was eager to please and motivated. Whether a girl or simple vanity motivated his clients, it didn’t matter—both were equally as efficient when it came to physical improvements. Time and time again, the push to get fit was either a break-up or the prowl. Maybe it didn’t matter why—as long as they did it. Then the right reasons could click into place down the road.
He and Derrick hopped between machines and then hit the back room to get at the punching bags. By the time their session wrapped up, Derrick was bright red and sweating his ass off—but all smiles.
They high-fived once the hour ended, and Derrick jogged away toward the locker room. Lex paced the back room a bit, fingers twitching as he fought the urge to check his phone. What if that person had called again?
He gnawed at the inside of his lip, lasted only thirty seconds before whipping out his phone to check what he’d missed in the hour.
Eight missed calls.
His stomach plummeted. They were all Unknown. He stared at the alert screen, mind somewhere between disbelief and foreboding, when the phone rang. Again.
Unknown.
He swiped it on. “Hello?”
“I need to speak with Cheshire.” The voice was stilted, like trying to speak around coughing fits.
Lex swallowed hard. “I don’t know who that is. You have the wrong number.”
He listened for a second then swiped the phone off. He stared at the blank screen in his hand for a few moments, tense as he awaited the callback.
The phone stayed quiet. After a minute, he pocketed the phone, heart racing. Please don’t call again. Please just leave me alone.
Because Cheshire was over with—done. And whoever poked around looking for Cheshire wouldn’t find him.
Not after all this time; not after so much hard work.
* * *
Lila squealed when the text came through. “I’m here.” She’d been way too excited for this date, and no amount of toilet bowl scrubbing or organic vegetables purchases could lessen her anticipation for this glorious moment.
She’d specifically instructed him to wait outside the main doors for her once he arrived. No way could he come upstairs and find Lane there—and besides, she didn’t want her brother knowing Lex was her special dinner date that night. He might tell their parents, and then? A war would ensue.
If Lila simply had reservations about Lex’s growth and progress, her parents had basically erected a statue immortalizing his notoriety. There was no reason for either side to know about the other at this point.
She scurried into the living room where her brother Tommy lay on the floor, playing airplane with Lane. She paused in her rush, laughing, fishing out her camera to take a quick picture.
“I’m heading out,” she said, kissing her son’s cheek while he balanced on top of his uncle’s feet. “I’ll be back soon, you two.”
“Bye, Mommy!” Lane blew kisses from up in the air, and Tommy gave her the thumbs up.
“We’ll be here, sis.”
She grabbed her purse and bolted out of her apartment, down the steps, pushing herself as fast as she could go in her heels. When she pushed out of the main door, Lex’s black sports car idled at the curb. Just the sight of the two-door car made her throat squeeze with emotion. She smiled, heading that way, desperate to feel him, smell him, taste those kisses.
The driver-side door opened, and Lex stepped out, a disarming grin at the ready. She wobbled slightly as she took him in—distressed jeans, a black button-up, his dark hair slicked back uncharacteristically, which made it even more attractive. He headed her way, arms open.
“Damn, girl.” His cocky-smooth voice was a balm. All her jitters disappeared the second his arms wrapped around her.
“Hey.” She buried her face in his broad shoulder, releasing a deep sigh. Finally. Lex. His thick arms squeezed around her waist.
“Feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.” He pulled back, squeezing the soft part above her hips. Heat flooded her.
“I know what you mean.” She winked and strutted around to the other side of the car, loving the feel of his gaze burning over her. Yeah, this night was heading to one place. And she couldn’t stop it to save her life.
Their doors shut at the same time, and Lex shifted the car into gear. She bit back a grin, sneaking a look at his hand, veins bulging, as he shifted gears.
“So, tell me where we’re going.” She leaned over the center console a little, wanting to be nearer to him. She’d climb into his lap if it were safe—or legal. Like a kitty demanding attention.
“Can’t do that.” He tutted, shaking his head. “Sorry.”
She bit back a grin. “Fine. How was your day?”
“Same as always. Great.” He flashed a smile. His positivity was infectious—that sort of upbeat attitude still surprised her, coming from Lex. The old version might have said “today was a joke” or “fucking irritating”. Back then, external sources were always the instigator of his aggression. Someone had said this, or somebody else did that. Never realizing that maybe he had an ounce of control in some of that drama.
“What about you, babe?” He shifted gears. She clenched her thighs.
“Nice. Relaxing.”
“What did you do?”
“Cleaned my apartment. Went shopping.” Masturbated twice in the
shower, thinking about you. “Nothing exciting, just trying to slough off the work week, I guess.”
“You look pretty reset to me.” His sly grin made her insides heat up, and she tried to laugh it off, but her breath hitched. Jesus, Lex. You’re too much. Maybe she could ask him to pull over on the highway—just get the fucking out of the way so she could think straight. Have her right there in the emergency pullover lane.
“Lila?”
She snapped her head to look at him, shaking the dirty fantasies that had clouded her mind. “Yeah?”
“I asked if you have tomorrow off too.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat, shifting back into a regular sitting position. “Yeah. I do. Why?”
He shrugged, but he had another sly smile on his face. Probably planning something mischievous. And she wouldn’t mind it one bit…as long as she could squeeze it in during Lane’s preschool.
“No reason,” he said.
They chatted about their days as he sped down the freeway. After about twenty minutes and plenty of banter and laughter, he pulled off into a neighborhood she immediately recognized.
“Coglietti’s,” she said, turning to him with wide eyes.
He laughed. “You guessed it.”
She gasped, covering her mouth. “Shut up. I haven’t been here in years.”
“Me neither. I hope their food is still good.”
Coglietti’s had been her hands-down favorite Italian restaurant back when they dated. They’d spent so many date nights there she never dared return after their breakup. It was only appropriate that Lex picked this as their first stop. Another tender nod to the past, to all that they’d shared.
Her belly grumbled, as though agreeing with his choice. When he pulled into the packed parking lot, he nodded. “Yep, still as good as ever, it looks like.”
Her heart sank. No doubt they had a line out the door—they might not eat until ten p.m. “Shit. We’ll probably have to wait forever.”
“No, we won’t.” He maneuvered into a parking spot, shutting the car off. “I made a reservation.”
