The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “What? No need for name calling.”

  “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t talking about you,” she told him cautiously jogging the rest of the way to safety. “Some crazy driver.”

  “I really want to see you.”

  “I know. I want to see you too,” she confided in him. She bit her lip at the thought of going over to his house, and then quickly diverted her attention. She couldn’t let herself go down that path.

  “Well then, come see me. Nothing’s stopping you.”

  “You know there are plenty of things stopping me from coming to see you.” She grabbed a buggy and pushed it down an aisle.

  “All right. How about this: I’ll come see you. That way you don’t feel like those reasons apply.”

  Lexi shook her head. “You forget my roommates.” She threw a few items aimlessly into the cart and continued down the aisle.

  “Are they there right now?”

  Lexi knew they weren’t, but there was no way she was telling him that. She didn’t know her roommates’ schedules by heart, and if she were found with Jack, there would be a lot of explaining to do. And explaining why she was talking to him again was not something she was interested in.

  “Silence means they’re not?” Jack guessed.

  “I don’t know when they are or are not there,” she told him noncommittally.

  “I just really want to see you. We’ve both been so busy. It feels like forever since I ran into you at Chamber.”

  “Yeah, about that. How did you know I was going to be there? You never told me,” she said switching ears to adjust the uncomfortable feeling creeping through her shoulder. She couldn’t afford to have aching muscles with gymnastics conditioning beginning soon.

  “Don’t try to change the subject. When do I get to see you?”

  “You can’t see me until you answer.”

  “I won’t answer until I see you.”

  “Well, I guess we’re at a stalemate,” Lexi said,attempting to maneuver the shopping cart one-handed.

  “Okay fine. If I tell you, you promise you’ll come see me? My roommates are out of town, and we’d have the house to ourselves.”

  All of a sudden, the invitation seemed very enticing. God, she knew she shouldn’t even be talking to him. Spencer had no idea about the conversations they had been having, and she had no real desire to tell him. Sometimes she swore that he knew that something was different about her. Jack made her different. That wonderful month they had shared together, even though he had had a girlfriend, had changed her. Jack just made her glow, which was the exact reason she could not tell Spencer about Jack.

  Spencer would never understand. Sure he acted goofy and played everything off like it was a joke, but she knew that he would see more into it. And there wasn’t more to it. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

  “So, what do you say, Lex? You’ll come over?” he asked, persuasion etched in every line.

  She weighed her options. Spencer was also out of town for the weekend. His great-aunt something-or-other from some no name city in Vermont was visiting his parents, and he was obligated to entertain her. She hadn’t been too keen on the details. No matter how many times he argued with his parents about having previous arrangements, he couldn’t get out of it, and she couldn’t accompany him. His family was very old fashioned.

  He would be none the wiser if she happened to spend a few hours of her afternoon at an old friend’s house. Then again, she felt guilty enough for not telling him about the phone conversations and text messages. How would she feel if she spent time with Jack? A knot formed at the pit of her stomach.

  “Just to talk?” she peeped, already knowing his answer.

  “Of course, if that’s what you want.”

  “You can keep your hands to yourself?” she practically whispered into the other line. She glanced around the nearly empty aisle checking for people she knew or potential eavesdroppers...anyone at all that looked suspicious. If she found one person, she would turn him down flat. But she didn’t notice anyone.

  “I can if you can,” he deadpanned.

  “Well, I don’t know,” she said, prolonging the moment.

  “You don’t know if you can keep your hands to yourself?” he asked with a chuckle. “You should definitely come over.”

  “Oh, ha. Ha. I don’t know if I should come over.”

  “Lex, I already told you I just want to spend a little time with you. I know you want to come over, and there’s no reason for you not to. If one of your other guy friends asked you to hang out right this instant, what would you tell him?”

  She remained silent. He already knew what she was thinking. There would be no reservations in going to hang out with another guy. Any other guy wasn’t Jack. Plain and simple.

  “That’s what I thought. So, come see me.”

  “You know what. Fine. Whatever. If you say we’re just going to sit around and talk and hang out, then I’ll come over. But only if you tell me how you knew I’d be at Chamber,” she said, giving into him.

  “Okay, that’s an easy one,” Jack said coolly.

  Just then, Lexi’s phone began to beep in her ear. “Hold that thought,” she said, glancing down at the number beeping into the line. She swore as she read the name.

  “Hey, can I call you back?” she asked Jack impatiently. “I have to take this call.”

  “You’re still coming over, right?”

  “Sure. And you will finish your story there.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  Lexi clicked over to the other line. “Hey baby,” she trilled into the phone. “How’s hanging out with the fam?”

  “It’s so dull without you here,” Spencer complained. “Maybe I could still convince them to let you come up here and visit.”

  Lexi giggled. “In what lifetime? Your sister got married last year, and they still have trouble letting her husband come to family events.”

  “You’re right, dear. I wish I could change things.”

  She waved the comments off. No need for him to be even sweeter than normal. That would just make her feel worse. “Your family is the way it is. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Well, I don’t agree with you on that, but I appreciate it. It would make me feel better if you were with me though. There’s only so much family backgammon I can take,” he said, chuckling heartily. “So, what are you doing? Have any big plans for the evening? Weekend get-away while I’m not in town?”

  Lexi stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the frozen food section. Did he know about her plans? She shook her head. Of course, there was no way for him to know. She had just decided herself. How could he know something like that? She steadied herself on the shopping cart and let her breath even out.

  “Nope. I’m probably just going to be boring while you’re gone. Hang out with Olivia. Finish my Spinoza reading. Stuff like that,” she said, terrified that guilt was creeping into her voice and he would notice.

  “Aww…baby… just because I’m gone doesn’t mean you can’t go out and do something. You know what?”

  “No,” she croaked.

  “I want you to have a good time, a really good time while I’m gone. It’s my fault you’re all by yourself this weekend. I feel obligated to tell you that you need to do something fun and crazy. I don’t want you sitting at home doing homework on a Friday night.”

  “I…well…”

  “Nope. That’s final. If you don’t have a good time tonight, then I’m the one to take the blame. So go home, put on something cute, and go out tonight, okay?”

  “Okay,” she mumbled.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry I’m not there,” he moaned, misinterpreting her guilty conscience.

  “It’s…it’s fine. You have family stuff.”

  “I just wish I could be there with you. I have to go, but I’ll call you tomorrow to find out how your night went. You’ll let me know how great it was, right? I love you, baby. Bye.”

  Spencer h
ung up so fast he didn’t even hear her whispered good-bye or the fact that she completely neglected saying I love you too.

  Lexi tucked her phone back into her pocket. She felt worse about going to see Jack now that she had spoken with Spencer. He wanted her to have a good time, and she knew she would if she actually went to Jack’s house. It just wouldn’t be the kind of fun that would be in her best interest, or her relationship’s best interest.

  She couldn’t go see him. He had promised they would just talk, but she just couldn’t do it. What she remembered the most about Jack was the lack of control. Her actions were compelled by him. She was compelled by him. Every time she found herself in his presence, she acted as if she was possessed. It was easy to conjure up how she had felt when she had been so enraptured in him that she could hardly sleep at night. She couldn’t let herself go there again.

  Her temples began to pulse painfully as she contemplated her options.

  She wondered if maybe she was overreacting. She had stopped anything from happening with Jack at Chamber, and she had been drunk! What she had felt with Jack before had stemmed from her understanding that they were moving toward a relationship. Now that she was with Spencer, perhaps they could just work toward a friendship.

  Deep down, she knew that what she had felt with Jack nearly a year earlier had been real. That had he been single at the time, they would have worked out. She had wanted that—for them to be together—more than anything she wanted now. And that fact scared her.

  Lexi tried not to think about it too much as she finished her grocery shopping and drove home. Pulling into a parking spot in front of her four-bedroom flat, she unloaded the groceries.

  “Need any help with that, roomie?” Olivia asked, skipping into the living room her pixie-cut bouncing as she went.

  “No thanks. I think this is the last of it.”

  “Okie dokie,” she trilled, plopping down cross-legged on the white-carpeted floor. She snatched her acoustic guitar from its stand and began absentmindedly strumming one of her new tunes. She alternated to a fast-paced picking for the chorus and her soprano filled the room.

  “I like that last part,” Lexi told her, pushing aside three half-full cartons of milk to make room for some of her groceries.

  “Thanks, sweetie,” Olivia murmured, halting her guitar playing to look back up at Lexi. “What are your plans for tonight?”

  “Uh…” Lexi froze. She hadn’t come up with an excuse for being out, because she hadn’t expected Olivia to be home.

  “The guys,” Olivia began, referring to their other two roommates, “went on some fraternity bonding retreat.” She gagged. “Spence is gone, right?”

  “Um…yeah he is.”

  “Cool, girl’s night!”

  “I’m going to have to pass,” Lexi muttered uncomfortably. As soon as the words came out, she regretted it. Olivia looked crushed. She always wore her emotions on her sleeve. “I want to, but I made plans with Jennifer,” Lexi improvised quickly.

  Olivia despised Jennifer, which was the only reason she had used her name. That way she had effectively cut off Olivia attempting to join her. God, this was getting too elaborate.

  “Oh…eww…why?” Olivia asked crinkling her nose.

  “Ex-roommate bonding something or other,” Lexi told her vaguely.

  “Right…okay. Have fun with that,” she said making another gagging noise.

  “Will do,” Lexi said, retreating to her bedroom to decide on something to wear.

  At first, she threw on a loose pair of jeans and a red baggy t-shirt. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and sighed heavily. If she was going to pretend to hang out with Jennifer, she had to play the part. Sliding the jeans and t-shirt back off, she rummaged through her closet until she found a navy, three-quarter length, scoop neck blouse, and a grey skirt. Lexi placed a tiny silver chain with a sideways heart pendant around her neck and black flats. Jennifer would have never been seen in public with Lexi in what she had been wearing previously. Or at least that was her excuse for dressing sexy.

  Apprehensively, Lexi slid back into her car to head over to Jack’s apartment. Two hours had passed since their phone call, and he probably thought she had bailed. After all, she shouldn’t be seeing him at all.

  She just hoped nothing would go wrong. As long as they both knew that this wasn’t going anywhere. They had gone down that path, and had seen how poorly it had ended.

  But this time there was no girlfriend holding him back from showing his true feelings for Lexi. The only thing preventing him was himself. She hoped that was enough.

  Lexi skipped up to Jack’s doorway and found it open just as she arrived. He had been waiting for her. “Here you are,” he said looking her up and down. “Wow, you look great.” He was obviously ogling the length of the skirt revealing so much of her tanned thighs.

  “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t know if you were going to show,” he stated as she skirted past him into the living room.

  “Me either.”

  “Well, I’m glad you did.” She nodded not letting herself admit that she already felt better by being around him. “Did you want to watch a movie or something?” he asked.

  “Sure thing.” She grabbed a movie off of the shelf and went to put it into the DVD player remembering their movie nights all too well.

  “Actually, I just got a TV for my room, if you want to watch it in there,” he said casually.

  She could read him though. He knew if they were in his bedroom that she would be forced to sit next to him. But she couldn’t decide whether or not she minded.

  “Okay. We’ll go in there, but don’t think you’re off the hook about the Chamber story,” Lexi said pointing the movie at him.

  He raised his hands in defense. “Of course not.”

  They moved to the bedroom, and Jack put the movie in turning the volume down until it was more background noise than anything. He sat next to her on his bed, but was careful not to touch her. He was being courteous and respectful, which was good, so far.

  Lexi poked him in the ribs playfully. “So spill mister! How did you know I was going to be at Chamber? That’s been bothering me for awhile now.”

  “I already told you, that’s an easy one.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, but how?”

  “Krista told me.”

  She stared at him blankly. “Huh?” That didn’t add up. Krista, last year’s gymnastics captain, was currently residing in Las Vegas. How would she know that Lexi was at a bar on any given night? And why would she tell Jack about it even if she did find out?

  “You asked me how I knew, and it was because Krista told me.”

  “Yeah, but how do you know Krista? And why did she tell you?”

  “Well, one—I knew her before you did. She dated one of my friends freshman year. When they broke up, we remained friends.” Her eyes narrowed. “Just as friends,” he added quickly. “And, two—she received a text or something from you. She told me you were there, because I was the one who told her about you.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “Yeah. After you stopped returning my messages, I just went ahead and told Krista about you. I gave her your email and told her that you were worth her time. I think you know the rest of the story.”

  “You did that for me?” she asked wistfully, realizing for the first time that Jack had single-handedly secured her position with the gymnastics team.

  “Of course, I did it for you.”

  “I mean, I figured you had something to do with it since I hadn’t told anyone else about it.”

  “You hadn’t told anyone else?” he asked in disbelief.

  She blushed at the admission. “Uh…no.”

  “But why? I mean, why did you tell me?”

  “Well, first, you asked and second, I don’t know…it sounded like you were honestly interested. I thought that gymnastics was part of my past. That since I hadn’t been recruited out of high school everything had been a waste. And
I hated admitting that to myself. Let alone to anyone else.”

  “But you told me.”

  Lexi nodded. “I told you.”

  “Because you trusted me,” he said, his voice lowering.

  “That’s right.”

  “And I ruined it,” he said looking away from her.

  She could tell he was in pain about what had happened. He looked just as hurt now admitting that he had hurt her as he had nearly a year earlier. It was almost too much to bear. Why was he so damn sexy and caring? Why couldn’t she see past that? Why couldn’t she stay angry with him for playing her for a fool?

  Finally, he met her gaze. “Let me make it up to you,” he said scooting closer so their knees were almost touching.

  “Jack,” she said in warning, but she didn’t move away.

  “I need to make it up to you. I told you I’d never lie to you again, but that’s just the beginning. That’s not enough.”

  Lexi just stared at him. She didn’t know what he had in mind, but she knew that she wouldn’t...couldn’t stop him…whatever it was. The feeling was exhilarating.

  “You deserve more than that,” Jack said reaching out and caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

  It was the first time he had touched her. His hand turned and cupped her cheek affectionately, lifting her face up to his. His hands were warm and she could feel the calluses from working for his dad. Yet, the touch was kind and gentle. There was so much affection in that gesture she thought she might break right then and there.

  “Will you let me prove that to you?” he asked his piercing blue eyes set solely on her.

  She couldn’t believe what she was doing. His lips were only inches away from her. She was putty in his hands. The instant he had touched her, she was lost. Her eyes were closing of their own accord, and she could feel her head tilt back to reach him. She was craving his sweet kiss. Her conscience told her to run from him, but she just couldn’t. Despite the fact that she had promised herself that all they were going to do was talk, she didn’t pull away from him. Everything about the situation was wrong, and she knew it. But it felt so right to be with him, and she couldn’t seem to process anything else.