Until You

by Cristin Cooper

  Her jaw fell open for a split second before she bit that lower lip he wished he could kiss. Dropping his hands, he stepped back knowing he had no right to touch her, no matter how much he wanted to. “I have no room to talk.” He shook his head and placed his hands on his hips taking another deep breath. “I haven’t treated you much better. I’m sorry, Alexis.” She didn’t reply. Just looked into his eyes like she was trying to figure him out.

  “Is it safe to come out? Benji’s afraid he’ll be late for the party,” Katie shouted from his closed office door.

  “Yeah,” he said with a strained voice.

  Jason and Alexis took a step back from each other at the same time but kept their eyes locked on each other until Benji stood at his side.

  Her mouth turned into a wide smile when she looked down at Benji. “You’re going to a party?” Alexis asked.

  “Yup,” he said while bouncing on his feet.

  Jason placed his hand on Benji’s head and smiled at his son’s excitement. “It’s his first Halloween party, so he hasn’t stopped talking about it since he got the invitation.”

  Alexis’s eyes widened as she grinned at Benji. “How exciting!”

  “It’s at Miss Allison’s house,” Benji said with a huge grin.

  “Jason, is that your neighbor who comes in here every single day and flirts with you?” Katie asked.

  “Yeah.” Unfortunately. He liked her well enough, but not beyond friendship. Months ago he asked her to babysit when his regular sitter called in sick. Allison happily agreed and promised it wasn’t a big deal. When he picked up Benji later that evening, she made it crystal clear she wanted more than a check for babysitting. He swallowed the lump in his throat, remembering the way she ran her hand down his chest. Before he could stop her, she grazed the front of his jeans with her long nails and whispered, “Anytime you need me, I’m here.”

  He hadn’t been able to get out of her apartment fast enough and had yet to ask her to babysit again.

  Alexis’s smile fell for a brief moment but returned when she said, “Autobots, transform and roll out!” with a serious expression. Benji twisted around like he was transforming which made Alexis laugh out loud. “I’ll keep an eye out for the Decepticons,” she said as Jason followed Benji out the door in a daze.

  In a span of twenty minutes, Alexis blew him away and changed every negative perception he had of her. Jason could no longer see how he ever put her in the same category as Sandy.

  Hours later, he tucked Benji into bed and kissed him goodnight. As he snuck out of Benji’s room, Jason checked his phone and found a text from Katie. She had sent a picture of her and Alexis. His cheeks hurt from smiling. Katie looked exactly like Dr. River Song and the perfect companion to Alexis who had dressed up as Dr. Who.

  Going to his computer, he transferred the photo to his computer and turned it into his screen saver. Considering he never invited anyone over, he didn’t worry someone would see it.

  Sitting at his desk, he thought about how earlier in the day he couldn’t wait to get online to talk to Nysterie. Now he wished he was at a Halloween party. But that might have something to do with the beautiful blonde he couldn’t stop thinking about.

  Chapter Five

  October 2015

  Alexis

  “What just happened?” Alexis whispered to herself.

  She couldn’t stop smiling after hearing Benji laugh. Seeing Jason smile was a rare occasion and she realized where Benji got his from. She wondered what it would be like to see Jason happy all the time. He would probably have women lining up just to see his smile.

  “What did you say?” Katie asked from behind the counter.

  Alexis wanted to ask why Jason stood up for her and why he suddenly seemed nice but with her head still reeling with the idea that he might actually like her, she asked Katie, “Um… when will you be able to leave?”

  “Once Kendall gets here, which should be any minute.”

  Fifteen minutes later, as she and Katie drove home together, Alexis asked the question she had been dying to ask. “So a woman comes in and flirts with Jason?” she said with humor in her voice, trying to hide the jealousy.

  “Yeah,” Katie mumbled as she checked her phone for messages.

  Digging a little deeper, she asked, “Is he nice to her?”

  Katie shrugged. “I guess since she keeps coming back.” She looked up from her phone, tilted her head with her brows pulled in and asked, “Why?”

  “No reason.” Because she no longer knew up from down. Because until today, he had been a jerk. Because she liked that he stood up for her. Because she wanted to know if he did that for the woman who flirted with him.

  Pulling into her parking spot, she blew out a breath. She would need a lot of alcohol tonight to take her mind off of Jason and his strange behavior. Because against her will, she was beginning to like him.

  As they entered the condo, Katie’s jaw dropped. “Whoa. You went all out this year. It looks like you’re ready for the party.”

  “Yeah. Stan helped me decorate this morning then we went and picked up the food and a friend of his picked up the drinks. There will be plenty of alcohol, but don’t worry, I bought you some Sprite.”

  Katie’s smiled turned into a yawn. Stretching her arms up, she said, “I hope I can stay awake for this.” Even though Alexis knew it wasn’t Katie’s fault she was tired, it still bothered her. It had become a regular excuse for Katie to back out of doing things with her.

  “Come on, Katie. We never spend time together.” Guilting her into going hadn’t been the plan, but she would use anything at this point. Katie needed to hang out with other people besides Tyler. Need might not have been the right word, but she wanted Katie to spend time with other people. Preferably her.

  “I know. I’ll stay up as long as I can,” she said with another yawn.

  “Twelve. Stay up until twelve,” Alexis pleaded.

  “Fine,” she said with a sincere smile. “Twelve it is.”

  Feeling a renewed excitement, Alexis bounced on her toes. “It’ll be fun, plus I already have the costumes. Yours is hanging in your closet.”

  A little while later, Alexis logged into the game, hoping Belakor would be online. She wanted to tell him about what happened with Jason, or as much as she could. After waiting for fifteen minutes, she sent him an in-game mail then logged off to finish dressing for her party.

  Every year since middle school, Alexis held a Halloween party. The same friends came that she knew when she had been a knocked-kneed kid with braces. As they grew up, more people came and the parties shifted. They went from drinking too much caffeine and playing board games to drinking alcohol, playing games and people getting naked. She missed the innocence of the old days but refused to stop throwing parties.

  She loved everything about Halloween. Dressing up, decorations, parties, and now she got excited when little kids showed up at her door for candy. It was also a holiday she had loved spending with Eric. He allowed her to choose their costumes since they were little. This year, Katie let her. Her chest tightened thinking about her brother and how much she missed his late night phone calls to check up on her.

  “Alexis?” Katie called from the hallway.

  “I’m in my office.” A moment later, Alexis stepped out of the room and asked, “Are you almost ready?” Then she saw Katie’s grief stricken face. “Eric?”

  She nodded as they reached for each other.

  “It just hits me out of nowhere sometimes,” Katie said choked up.

  “I know. Me too,” Alexis replied trying to keep from crying. “Let’s have fun tonight. For Eric.” Alexis wondered if every holiday would hurt like this. Since Eric graduated from college, she had only seen him at birthdays, Halloween and Christmas. Except this past year. Thanks to Katie, he made monthly trips home, making her and her parents very happy.

  When the doorbell rang, Alexis rushed to the door to answer. Stan, one of her oldest friends, walked in dressed as India
na Jones. His long hair had been piled on his head and tucked under his hat. He had always been cute growing up but had turned hot just as they graduated from high school.

  She had always thought it a shame that they weren’t attracted to each other. At least in a boyfriend-girlfriend sort of way since they had so much fun together. But as he hugged her a little longer than usual, she wondered if his feelings were changing.

  “Oh, Stan. Can you take a picture of Alexis and me?” Katie didn’t wait for his reply and pushed her phone into his hand so he could take a photo. Alexis, dressed as the Eleventh Dr. and Katie as Dr. River Song. When they smiled and posed for the camera, it felt like she had Katie back.

  “Can you text it to me?” he asked.

  “Me too,” Alexis chimed in.

  “Yeah. I’m sending a mass text to friends and my mom. She’ll have no idea who we’re dressed as, but she’ll love it.”

  With the next knock at the door, the party began. Within an hour, her house was filled with friends, laughter and lots and lots of liquor. Since Alexis only partied like this for Halloween and her birthday, she allowed herself to let go and kept a steady drinking pace.

  At one point, she saw Tyler enter her condo but not an hour later, saw him and Katie walk out. She swallowed back her growing resentment towards him and took another drink.

  Alexis expected to wake up with a hangover. What she didn’t expect was to wake up in her bed, curled up next to Stan with his arm resting around her waist. Alexis looked down at her fully-clothed body and sighed with relief.

  Her stomach rolled as she got out of bed and she could no longer remember why she wanted to get drunk last night. Making her way to the kitchen, she found a living room floor covered in sleeping bodies and wondered if she would find them in other places.

  As she stepped into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Katie eating donuts and drinking coffee while Tyler made eggs and bacon for everyone. Then she noticed a large shopping bag from Target in the corner filled with what looked like bedding.

  Strange.

  Did they get up early to go shopping? Then she remembered they had left last night.

  “Good morning, or should I say afternoon,” Katie said with a happy lilt to her voice.

  Alexis looked at the clock and couldn’t believe it was nearing one. “You two look chipper. What time did you guys get up?” she asked as Tyler handed her a cup of coffee.

  “Hours ago. We slept over at your parents’ house,” Tyler said with a grumble.

  Alexis’s brows turned in and she asked, “Why would you sleep there?” Katie looked to Tyler than back to her without saying a word.

  It took a lot to get Tyler mad, but she felt the anger rolling off of him and in his words. “We walked in on a couple having sex on Katie’s bed. I didn’t think she should stay.” Katie gave her a half smile then looked at Tyler and her smile dropped.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked Alexis. He didn’t wait for her reply but walked out of the kitchen, expecting her to follow. And she did. Halfway down the hall, he stopped and faced her. “When I got here last night, Katie could barely keep her eyes open, but she stayed up because you asked her to. Then when she wanted to go to bed, she couldn’t because of…” He pinched his eyes closed and drew in a breath as if he were reliving the incident. “I’m not comfortable with Katie living here. Not with the drinking, the parties or random people going into her bedroom. What are you going to do when she has the baby? Have you even thought of that?” His voice rose, but she covered it with her hand to keep him from saying another word.

  Annoyed and hungover wasn’t the best time to discuss this. And she resented the fact he hinted that she was irresponsible. Katie carried her niece or nephew. She would never put either of them in danger. “It doesn’t matter if you are comfortable or not. You don’t own Katie. Katie was MY brother’s girlfriend, and she’s having MY niece or nephew.” She watched as his shoulders dropped and looked away as if he were ashamed.

  “I had one party. One. I’m sorry someone used her room, but I’ll pay to have her bedding replaced or whatever. But I’m not going to stand here and let you lecture me.”

  “Can you at least not have any more parties until Katie moves out?” he asked.

  Her jaw dropped, and she looked down the hall toward the kitchen. “She’s moving out? Did she tell you that? Is she moving back to Arizona?” Panic filled her chest. Katie couldn’t leave. She couldn’t take the last bit of Eric and leave.

  “As far as I know, she isn’t moving home, but she can’t live here after the baby comes. Not with your friends in and out of the house.”

  On the verge of tears, she pleaded with Tyler. “Please don’t encourage her to move out. I’ll stop having parties. I’ll get together with friends somewhere else, but I want her and the baby to stay. I need them to.” She couldn’t imagine what it would do to her parents if Katie moved away with the baby. It would crush all of them.

  He sighed then nodded. That was enough for her. Tyler would never go back on his word.

  Chapter Six

  November 2015

  Jason

  “Why did I say yes?” Jason asked himself for the hundredth time. Then he looked in the rearview mirror and saw his son trying to bounce in his car seat, asking if this was Lexis’s house. He had been asking about her every day since they met on Halloween.

  They saw her last week when Benji’s babysitter dropped him off at The Coffee Pot the same time Alexis dropped off Katie. Benji ran to her the moment she walked in the door. She settled him onto her lap while she drank her iced coffee and discussed Thanksgiving plans with her mother.

  That was when Katie mentioned to Tracy that he and Benji didn’t have anywhere to go. He could’ve choked her for that. Nothing like being called out for not having family or friends that liked him enough to invite them over. Tracy vetoed his plan to take Benji to an All You Can Eat restaurant and invited them over. He wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the invitation, him or Alexis.

  Benji said yes before Jason could make a lame excuse. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he warmed to the idea of spending time with Alexis…and her parents.

  Anxious to see her again, and terrified by the fact, he unbuckled Benji and lifted him out of the car. The moment his feet touched the ground, Benji ran up to the door and knocked.

  “BENJI!” Alexis cheered right before she opened her arms and he jumped into them. He couldn’t help be jealous of his son. He wondered what it would be like to hug her or to have her in his arms.

  Their distance had been his own fault, and he knew it. He had spent a year being a complete jerk and judging her for something Benji’s mother did. He didn’t deserve anything but resentment from her, but when he reached the front steps she smiled and opened the door wider. Moving Benji to her back to give him a piggyback ride, they looked at him both grinning ear to ear. “Come on in.”

  He couldn’t get over how easily Benji went to her like he had known her his whole life instead of just a few weeks.

  Tracy came out of the kitchen wearing an apron that had a light dusting of flour. “You’re here.” She kissed Benji on the cheek then gave Jason a hug. His mother hadn’t been a hugger, and he found himself awkwardly patting her back like a baby. She didn’t seem to notice and had him follow her to the kitchen where Jeff stood at the kitchen sink washing pots and pans.

  “Everyone has to work for dinner around here,” Tracy said, her face practically glowing with happiness. Alexis had inherited her bright smile from her mother.

  Jason opened his arms and said, “Then put me to work.”

  He spent the next hour talking to Jeff about business while peeling potatoes and cutting up veggies. He couldn’t help watch Alexis teach Benji how to make rolls. The only thing she claimed to know how to make. She handed Benji his own dough that he played with more than followed her directions. When they finished, they placed his rolls on a separate pan because Benji only wanted to eat h
is rolls for dinner.

  Alexis caught Jason staring a few times. Each time, she blushed and gave him a small smile then went back to helping his son. For someone who had men stare at her wherever she went, her response surprised him. Alexis fascinated him in a way no other woman had.

  Once the food was set out on the large dining room table, they each took a seat. Instead of sitting next to him, Benji said, “I wanna sit next to Lexis.”

  Alexis bit back a smile and said, “I don’t mind.” When his son beamed at him from across the table, he said okay. Alexis fastened a booster seat to the chair and helped him sit down like she had done it a million times.

  With every hour Jason spent with the McHenry’s, he felt a familiar connection. An acceptance he had only felt with his grandparents. When he looked at his son, his heart filled with joy from the smile on his face.

  Tracy, Jeff, and Alexis gushed over every little thing Benji did, and he soaked it up. Jason had been so focused on just getting through life he never thought about how his son might need more than him. Jason made sure Benji knew he was loved, but they didn’t have this. Family.

  After dinner, Jason volunteered to do the dishes and Alexis offered to put food away. “How about you help me and then I can help you,” Alexis offered. It was the first time he had a chance to say more than a few words to her, and he didn’t know what else to say. He thought an apology might be appropriate, but before he could, she said, “Benji’s a sweet kid, and you’re a good dad.”

  He sighed wishing he could take credit. “Thanks. He makes it easy.”

  Standing hip to hip, she bumped his elbow with hers as she passed him a food container to fill. “Give yourself some credit, Jason. Being a single parent and owning your own business...” She shook her head and sighed. “I can’t imagine how hard that is. Don’t sell yourself short.”