by Lyla Grace
"Want to join us?" Lexie asks, causing Ashlynn to begin laughing.
I guess they really can read my mind.
"I think that's it for now," Ashlynn replies, biting back her laughter. "I will call you next week. I should have everything back by then."
She's talking to Lexie, not me. Guess that means Lexie's taking the job, which means that I can implement phase two.
“I’ll walk you out,” I tell Ashlynn.
“No, it’s okay. I can find my way,” she replies with a wave of her hand.
With Ashlynn gone, that leaves Lexie and me alone. Not a bad start to phase two.
“I should be going, too,” Lexie says.
“What’s the rush?” I ask.
"It's getting late, and I still have to drive back home."
“You’re welcome to stay here.”
Okay, asking her to stay right now wasn't the plan. Being near her, though, I'm just not ready to let her go.
“That’s not a good idea.”
"I have a guest room, Lex. You can stay in there. Come on, stay, have a drink with me." I hesitate for a moment not sure I should say what I want to. "We have a lot to talk about, so if it takes me getting down on my knees and begging, I'm not opposed to that."
“Begging isn’t usually what you do when you’re on your knees,” she says a slight smile gracing her face.
“I’m not opposed to doing that either,” I reply.
“And that folks is why I should go,” she says.
“It was a joke, Lex. Relax.” I nod my head in the direction of the kitchen.
I get two beers out of the fridge and hand one to her before hopping up on the counter.
"How have you been?" I ask. It's a stupid question, I know, but it's genuine, and it's a start.
"Okay," she replies. "Everything's just been crazy lately."
That's no joke. Everything was fine. Until Cody. Until her father. Until they weren't, well, that's over now. Now, it's time to get back to what matters most. Us.
“I saw that Cody went into rehab. How’s he doing?” she asks.
"Good actually. But it's only been a little over a month. Let's face it, Cody has done that before. Going to have to see how the next eleven go."
“Eleven months? That’s a long time.”
I thought so too when Landon told me about the program that a friend of his runs. From what they explained, most relapses happen within the first year of sobriety. So, typically, if you can complete the twelve-month program, your odds are better.
"That's great. I hope it works," Lexie says.
I can tell she's uncomfortable with the topic, the beginning of our demise. "I haven't been able to talk to him since he went in. But, I do know that he feels terrible for leaking the video and that you were the one in it. I think it was his rock bottom."
“Thank you for that, by the way.”
I shrug. It is my fault Lexie is in this mess, so I'm not sure why she is thanking me. And Ashlynn, despite her dedication to her career, was none too happy to do it.
“I owed you that at least.” We’re both quiet for a moment. “Why’d you go?”
“Oh. Uh…”
“Just tell me the truth. You told me you loved me and one look from your dad and you bolted. I don’t know what to believe.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you lied to me.”
I don't think there is a bigger foot to insert into a mouth.
Her eyes widen, her mouth drops, and I feel like the biggest damn idiot in existence.
“Lexie, I didn’t mean…”
"That Carter. That is why I left. Can you not see what a disaster we are? It's been nothing but lies and problems and issues. You're supposed to find someone who makes you better. Not someone who destroys you the way we do to each other. You will always remember that I am the one that lied to you, and I will always remember that Cody is the one who…"
“That’s not true. You make me better Lexie. We are great together.”
“I disagree,” she says.
She gets up from the island and walks out of the room.
That is bullshit. We do not destroy each other. Sure, we've had obstacles to deal with, but who doesn't. Lexie's crazy if she thinks I am letting her go that easy.
“You just signed a contract,” I tell her. “I won’t let you out of it.”
“I don’t want out of the contract. I sure as hell don’t have to date you, though.”
With that, she walks out of my house.
∆ ∆ ∆
“You’re an idiot,” Chase laughs as I tell him what happened last night between Lexie and me. “Why would you even bring that up?”
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I say, "Because I'm an idiot? I don't know. All I know is now, she's pissed and is back to not talking to me."
“And what are you going to do about it, young Romeo?” Chase laughs.
Fucker thinks just because he got his shit figured out and landed a woman like Callie, and now he knows everything. "Well, asshole, I won't be taking advice from you for a start." He's just lucky that Callie puts up with his shit because Callie? She sure as hell could do a lot better. Though I do have to give him credit, he's terrific with her daughter.
“Your loss,” he says.
He hands me an envelope. “What’s this?”
"Some ideas I came up with over the weekend. Just uh, don't mind the drawings. Emmy helped me, and she made me swear that I would turn them in. If it were anyone else, I would have said no. But, Emmy…"
“You sure you weren’t the one drawing them?” I ask as I pull them out of the envelope. “Nope, way too good to be yours.”
The drawings give me an idea. "What do you think Emmy would say about doing some work for us?"
“Has the lack of sex finally affected your other head?” Chase asks.
"Yes, but that's not what this is. These drawings are outstanding. I thought maybe Emmy could design a logo. You know, a for kids by kids' kind of thing."
"She would love that man. Let me talk to her. And I know you don't want it. But my advice? Get your head out of your ass. Go and tell her how you feel. Don't waste time."
I slap him on the back. “Thanks, man.”
Chase is right. I fucked up. Hell, we both fucked up. That doesn't mean we aren't good together. Every relationship takes work. I glance over at Landon and Livie, sitting across from each other at a table. Even the best ones.
“They okay?” I ask Chase.
He shrugs. "No. But they will be. They have to be. Without each other, they are worse than anything they could possibly ever be together."
“I have to go,” I tell him.
A sudden urge to talk to Lexie comes over me. I need to make her understand. I need to get her back.
Chapter 20 – Lexie
Last night certainly did not go like I thought it would.
It did make me realize, though that I did the right thing. Any doubts I had about walking away were put to rest the minute he brought up me having lied to him.
“Hey, hot stuff,” a voice says from the doorway.
I don’t even bother to hold my sigh in. “We don’t have an appointment until tomorrow,” I tell him.
“I’m not here for our appointment,” he tells me.
“Then you should leave.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. We need to discuss something.”
I turn to him. Aaron Garrison, wide receiver for the Spartans and my worst nightmare, stands before me sans shirt.
“Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.”
He takes a few steps toward me. I take a few steps back, right into the wall. My body firm against the cinderblock wall, I freeze. He’s stalking toward me, nowhere to go. No. This is not happening. I slide to the right, my body still against the wall, but he follows. Shit.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“The same thing you give everyone else,” he says.
Shit, sh
it, shit.
“That’s not true.”
“Really. Not what Zane told me.”
His breath is hot against my skin now, his body pressing against mine.
“I don’t care what he said. It’s not true. It wasn’t me in that video with Carter.”
The lie rolls off my tongue with ease. I’ve said it so many times I’m actually starting to believe it myself.
His hands are on my body, pushing the material of my shirt up, exposing my breasts. His hands are kneading them. "Even so, look at you. Fucking, gorgeous," he says.
"Please, Aaron, stop."
“God, that’s sexy,” he says with a laugh that makes my skin crawl.
I struggle against him, trying to get out of his hold, but the guy is double my weight. No way am I going to get out of this unless he lets me go.
“Why don’t we take this back to my place,” I suggest trying to outsmart him.
He gives me this big toothy grin. “That sounds great.”
Thank God. I go to move, but he stops me.
“The only problem is, I’m ready to go now.”
He reaches into his shorts and pulls out his dick, forcing my hand to touch it. “Stop,” I plead.
He doesn't care, though. He's a cocky jerk who thinks he can take what he wants. I panic. There's no one here to help me, to stop this. Even if there were, I'm not sure if that would help or make the situation worse. My breathing becomes ragged. I'm gasping for air; fear sucking every breath right out of me.
His lips press against mine, hard and demanding kisses. As I try desperately to fight him, he moves my hand on him more. Tears begin to flow down my cheeks.
“Get off of her,” a voice shouts. It’s a familiar voice, a welcome voice.
Aaron releases my lips from his hold but still has our bodies pressed together. “Fuck off,” he says.
Carter charges at Aaron. He pulls his arm from his sling and grabs onto Aaron’s shirt, pulling him off of me and shoving him to the side.
He glances at me, shirt torn, lips bruised, then back to Aaron.
“If you ever fucking come near her again, I will kill you,” Carter tells him.
“Is that so, tough guy?” Aaron laughs as he takes a step in my direction.
Carter shakes his head, his injured arm pulling back and swinging at Aaron’s face.
“No,” I yell.
Not because I care if Aaron gets hurt, but I do care if Carter does. The force of the hit on his arm could cause severe and irreparable injury.
It's too late, though. Aaron flies back and hits the floor as Carter grabs his shoulder. Still in shock and devastated from what just happened, I flee to Carter's side.
“God, Carter, are you okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. Are you okay? Did he touch you? Hurt you?”
"I'm okay," I lie. I'm too concerned about Carter. All I want is to get out of here; away from Aaron and somewhere we can get Carter's arm checked. "Let's get out of here."
Aaron is scrambling to get to his feet, but Carter knocks him down again with a kick to the stomach. "Come near her again, and you won't survive," he tells him.
Carter takes my hand, pulls me out of the room, out of the building, and directly to his truck.
He looks me over, hands running over my body looking for any sign of injury. “Are you hurt?” he asks.
"I… I… I'm just shaken up, I think. We need to get your arm looked at."
"To hell with my arm Lex, we need to call the police. He attacked you," he says, pulling out his phone.
“No, stop.”
He looks at me incredulously. “He needs…”
"I don't care; I just want to get out of here and never come back."
Aaron walks out of the building, doubled over. Carter glances at him, then back at me before helping me in the truck, then climbing onto the driver's seat.
“Did he…”
"No. You showed up before…" I reply, knowing what he is about to ask before he says it. I can't finish the sentence, though. The idea of what would have happened had he not shown up makes me sick to my stomach.
Carter swallows hard then puts the truck in gear and pulls out of the stadium parking lot.
Thirty minutes later, we are sitting in front of my apartment building.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. He cocks his head to the side and looks at me. “What?”
“After what just happened you want to know why I stopped by?” He shakes his head. “Let me help you inside.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it.” Feeling like an idiot, I hop out of the truck and head into the building.
“Lexie, wait,” he calls after me.
He catches up to me at the elevator. I don't acknowledge him. I get into the elevator and press my floor, waiting for him to follow suit. When we arrive at my door, I open it and enter, leaving the door open for him to follow.
“How’s your arm?” I ask him once we’re inside. He’s crazy if he thinks I didn’t notice him grimacing the whole ride here.
“It’s fine,” he says. “Lex..”
“Let me look at it,” I say.
Begrudgingly, he sits at the dining table and removes his shirt. I can see the agony on his face as he slips the shirt down his injured arm. I begin to press and maneuver his arm.
Through his pain, he says, “Lexie, talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
"We need to get your arm checked out right away," I tell him. What I feel, doesn't feel right. It has me concerned. Very concerned that I may not be able to get him back from this one.
“I don’t give a damn about my arm Lex, I give a damn about you and making sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” And I am until he touches me.
The feel of his hands on me has me jerking away instinctively. He quickly drops his hand. No. The feeling of his touch has done nothing but turn me on since the moment we met. But now, it's not Carter's hands that I feel. All I can feel is Aaron and fear.
“I’ll be fine.”
Tears sting my eyes.
“I’ll be fine.”
The adrenaline wears off.
“I will be. I’ll be…”
The tears flow down my cheeks as my body trembles. I can't speak. Carter cautiously wraps his arms around me, holding me softly against him. I hesitate for a moment then rest my head on his chest, reminding myself this is Carter; this is safe.
“Thank you,” I cry into his chest. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
Once I calm down, we sit on the couch, me resting against him, my head resting on his shoulder. A comfortable silence falls over us. I don’t know how long we stay like this, but I could stay like this forever.
“I missed this,” Carter admits breaking the silence. “Just being together.”
I nod in agreement, afraid of saying the words.
“What did you come here for?” I ask.
“Truthfully? I just missed you. I hated how things ended the last time we talked.”
“Me too.”
"I was an ass, and I'm sorry."
I sit up and look at him. "You were, but you were also right. I have lied to you, withheld information. I haven't given you much reason to trust me."
"I do, though, with my life."
“Then trust me when I say that we need to get your arm looked at.”
"I will; I know what they're going to say already. I felt it when I did it, and I could see the look on your face when you were examining me. I'm finished."
“Not necessarily. That’s why...”
"It's over Lex, and that's okay." He turns toward me, his eyes looking deep into mine. "Especially if that means it gives me a chance of getting you back."
“Carter…”
“I know, I know. You have your reasons. Well, one of them just went out the window. Maybe, we can try again? Start fresh?”
“I don’t know.”
“How about friends? Can we at least do that? Because without you in my life Lex,
well, it just sucks.”
I smile at him. “I know the feeling.” I curl back into him. “Friends.”
∆ ∆ ∆
Since we've found this new footing as friends, friends who are extremely attracted to each other, I convinced Carter to let me go with him to his doctor's appointment. I didn't want him giving up, giving in if there is something that can do. Miracles do happen. They happened to me the minute Carter walked into that room and saved me from Aaron.
The day after Aaron attacked me, I headed into the Spartans owner's office and quit. I told him exactly what his players had been doing, even though I knew it wouldn't make a damn difference. Still, I said my peace, quit my job and decided to dedicate myself to Carter's foundation fully.
Fast forward to today. Carter and I are sitting in the room, waiting for the doctor to come in. He's on the exam table, swinging his feet and looking calmer than he should. I'm a nervous wreck, and this isn't my career that's on the line. He can't possibly be okay with this, not after all the work he did to get here.
The doctor walks in a serious look on his face. Either Carter doesn't notice, or he doesn't care. "Hey, Doc," he greets him.
"Carter," the doctor says. He sits down on his rolling chair and comes to a stop in front of Carter. "What the hell are you trying to do here, kid?"
“It was an emergency,” Carter tells him.
“Yeah well, that emergency may have just cost you your career,” the doctor replies.
He begins to go over the MRI results. They’re not good. At the end of the day, it’s going to take nothing short of a miracle for Carter to repair his arm.
“Thanks, Doc, I appreciate it,” he says as he hops off the table. “See you in two weeks.”
I follow him out of the office. What the hell is with him? This is not good. Why is he so okay with this?
“Carter,” I yell after him. He stops and turns to me. “Talk to me. You can’t be okay with this?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am. It is what it is Lex.” He keeps moving.
I run to catch up with him and stop in front of him. I fold my arms across my chest. “If you quit doing stupid shit, I can help you. We might be…”
