Avoiding Temptation

by K. A. Linde

  “Oh, believe me…I do.”

  “I was a total bitch.”

  “Yeah?” he asked. “And no one deserved it.”

  Lexi sighed and looked away. “I walked out on Ramsey.”

  Jack sputtered and then coughed to try to cover it up, but he did a terrible job at it. For someone usually so collected, he was anything but in that moment. She didn’t know how to read him then, and all she wanted was to curl into a ball on the floor and feel bad for herself. She deserved that at least.

  “You guys broke up?”

  “Well…no,” she said, twirling the ring on her finger. “I mean…I don’t think so.”

  Jack put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the couch. “I think you should sit down and start from the beginning. Do you want something to drink? I think I only have Jack Daniels and water, but—”

  “I’m fine. I think drinking is a bad idea. I’m too much of a lightweight,” she said, plopping onto the couch and pressing her head back into the cushion.

  Jack took a seat next to her, mirroring her pose before speaking. “I never thought y’all would break up.”

  “Me either.”

  The very thought made her throat constrict and her head dizzy. She couldn’t break up with Ramsey. She loved him. He was her fiancé. They were going to get married. But did she want that? Wasn’t that what Chyna had been getting at from the beginning? Lexi needed to determine what she wanted, not what someone else said she should want. And she couldn’t stick with this just because she had told herself she would no matter what.

  “What caused this? There had to be something, right? Most people don’t just wake up from an engagement…even when they should,” he all but whispered the last part. Surely, he was reflecting on the idiocy of his own marriage.

  Lexi shook her head and pressed her palms over her eyes. She didn’t want to cry anymore.

  Tears were the words she had left unspoken.

  They spoke volumes about her pain, her grief, her despair for a relationship that she had put all of herself into. They broke a seal on the emotions she so tightly contained to the point where she could literally feel the pain in her chest, in her lungs, in her very being. And yet, she hated the vulnerability of it all. Knowing that once invested in her tears, she couldn’t take them back. They consumed her.

  As another tear rolled down her cheek, she realized then how much she really needed them though. They were her heart’s way of speaking of that pain.

  So, she let herself feel.

  Tucking her feet up onto the couch, she hugged her knees to her chest and wept openly. Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. His comfort was all that she needed.

  After a few minutes, she found her voice again. “Do you remember that night on the beach last summer?”

  “How could I ever forget?”

  His hand trailed circles into her muscles, and she bit back the sigh that threatened to escape as he physically massaged the tension out of her back.

  “I took Ramsey back that night because he told me he wanted to prove to me that everything I was freaking out about with Parker was nothing. And it wasn’t.”

  Jack’s hand stilled as her words sank in. “Did he…do something with Parker?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “No. I mean, I don’t think so…but I came home, and she had found paperwork that said she had been discharged from an abortion clinic without anything happening. She proved what she had been saying all along…that she’d had a miscarriage.”

  “That’s kind of huge for them, isn’t it?” Jack asked softly.

  “Yeah. Yeah, it is. And I probably wouldn’t have cared as much if it hadn’t all been handled behind my back and if he hadn’t freaked out about the whole thing. I mean, if he’s still so hung up on this thing with Parker,” she said, turning to face Jack, “then how can he even want to marry me?”

  “I know why he wants to marry you. And I know why, despite the red flags, he can’t see anything but you,” Jack said.

  “Why? Because I sure don’t see it. I mean, I’m not crazy. How he is acting about Parker is a huge red flag, right?”

  She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and stared into his blue eyes.

  “You’re not crazy. He’s the guy who realized your worth and put you first. He gave you what you deserved. And he’s a complete fucking idiot to do anything to jeopardize that.”

  Lexi stared down at the floor as his words sank in. She had given Ramsey everything, and he had risked their relationship with whatever was going on with Parker. Something that had happened between them years ago, which should have been put to rest years ago, was cropping up and suffocating everything she had invested in.

  “He should have learned from my mistakes,” Jack said.

  And then, she saw it in those crystal-clear blue eyes she had missed more than she cared to admit.

  He wanted her. And it was a terrible idea to even let him see that she might want him, too. But it was Jack. She licked her lips and felt her pulse racing. She was too exhausted from work, too run-down, too emotionally distraught over the collapse of her life. She needed to back out of this situation and deal with it another night.

  Jack’s hand slid down her cheek and down the curve of her neck, and then he pulled her head forward toward him. She breathed in sharply as he met her halfway, their faces no more than an inch apart. She could close her eyes and practically feel his lips on hers. This was a bad idea, but her brain and her heart weren’t listening to her. She wanted to forget everything. Jack had always been the easiest escape.

  But no…

  She couldn’t.

  Her ring sat heavily on her finger.

  Jack tilted his head forward, and instead of kissing her as she had expected, he rested his forehead against hers and dropped his hands to her shoulders.

  “Losing you was the biggest mistake of my life. I don’t think another person deserves to feel that loss at my expense.”

  And he pulled back, and she was left there, gasping.

  Jack had…stopped. She didn’t know how to respond. Was she supposed to be relieved?

  Because she wasn’t. She had expected him to kiss her. Her relationship was in shambles, and the thought of returning to her house left her feeling nauseated.

  And now…through her haze, she heard the words that Jack had just said to her.

  Losing you was the biggest mistake of my life.

  Oh God!

  After all this time…

  Lexi pulled away sharply and stared forward at the far wall. She wasn’t sure if she was breathing properly. Her heart felt ready to burst. It was too much, all at one time.

  “I think…I think I need to get some sleep,” she said, standing.

  She couldn’t address what had just happened. She couldn’t let herself think about his words and the consequences in his meaning. She couldn’t think about how much she had wanted him to kiss her, to feel his lips pressed against her, to taste him.

  “Yeah,” he murmured. “You can take the bed.”

  “Okay,” she said, not wanting to argue with him.

  She trudged down the short hall after him to the only bedroom in the place. He opened the door for her and flipped on a light. The minimalist décor continued into the bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed sitting in the corner and a small dresser. The closet was open on the opposite wall, and she could see that it, at least, was mostly full. It seemed the only real thing he had moved over to the place was his clothing.

  “Bathroom is across the hall. Let me know if you need anything,” he told her. “I’ll just grab a pillow. I only have the ones on the bed.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said.

  He took a pillow and walked back out of his own room. “Good night.” He smiled forlornly, and then he disappeared back down the hall to where he would be sleeping…on the couch.

  What was the world coming to?

  Lexi padded into t
he bathroom where she changed into sleeping clothes and brushed her teeth. She stared at her reflection and wondered how anyone could want her at all. She looked run-down because she was run-down. She hadn’t exercised since last week, and that wasn’t helping anything. When her job put her on benders like this, she didn’t get to do much of anything—sleep, eat, work out. Circles were under her puffy red eyes, and her complexion was seriously missing the beach. At least her hair was still long and glossy.

  Ever the optimist.

  Lexi rolled her eyes and walked back across the hall and into the bedroom. She shut the door with a sigh and then hesitantly curled up into Jack’s bed. She groaned when she took in her first breath and buried her nose into the pillow.

  Christ! The whole bed smelled like him—musky sexy cologne and sex. It made her entire body curl in on itself in pleasure from the heady feeling of intoxication that washed over her and the joyous aftereffect of an adrenaline boost pumping endorphins through her body.

  There was no way that she was going to be able to sleep in this. All she could think about was all the times she had been pressed into his body in college after marathons tucked away in his bed…and the sound of his voice telling her that losing her had been the worst mistake of his life.

  She lay in bed, wide-awake, for as long as she could stand it. She knew that she had to work bright and early in the morning, but she couldn’t fall asleep, lying here. If only her exhaustion would just set in and give her the temporary relief she needed…

  But it didn’t.

  With a sigh, she swung her legs back over the edge of the bed, walked across the room, and back down the hallway. Jack was lying on the couch, facing the ceiling, a blanket thrown across him. When she walked in, he turned to face her. He didn’t look like he had been sleeping either.

  “Can’t sleep,” she whispered.

  “Me either.”

  “Thinking about you.”

  “Yeah.”

  Lexi leaned against the entrance to the hallway and fiddled with her hair hanging loose over one shoulder. She wasn’t wearing more than a tank top and sleeping shorts, but she couldn’t be self-conscious in front of Jack.

  “What should I do?” she whispered, wishing she had all the answers.

  “Sleep on it and decide in the morning.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, that’s for the better,” she agreed. “Come with me?”

  Jack took a deep breath. “Where?”

  Her eyes found him in the darkness before she responded. “Bed.”

  “Lex,” he groaned huskily.

  “I don’t want to be alone.”

  “I…I can’t.”

  “Please,” she begged.

  Jack kicked his feet over the side and ran his hand through his hair. After taking a deep breath, he walked across the room to stand in front of her. “You’re still engaged.”

  “I know.” Lexi nodded, meeting his eyes. “I’m not asking you to sleep with me…”

  “I can’t promise you that I won’t.” His hands found her hips, and he gripped them tightly in his hand.

  He was fighting for control. She could feel it rolling off of every inch of him.

  “I didn’t ask you to,” she said, biting her lip. Her eyes flitted back to the ground, and she felt him reflexively pull her against him.

  “I don’t want to hurt you ever again…”

  “You’re not hurting me,” she said, finding his hand and pulling it into hers. “I’m just asking you to hold me. Please.”

  She tugged on his arm, and with only a moment’s hesitation, he followed her down the hallway and back into his room. Jack closed the door behind them as Lexi snuggled back under the covers. Her heart was fluttering in her chest with anticipation. She licked her lips again and tried not to think about what she was doing. Nothing was happening.

  Jack crawled into bed next to her, and she could feel her pulse in the tips of her fingers.

  He set her body on fire.

  “Lex,” he whispered.

  She could feel the charged space between them and realized that she was even more awake now than she had been before.

  “I can’t…”

  Lexi pushed her body into him, and he stopped talking. She relaxed against his chest, fitting into him like the missing puzzle piece. His hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against his body, his head falling onto her shoulder.

  “God, you smell so good,” he groaned, breathing her in.

  His body was warm, and together like this, it was like an inferno. They hadn’t been together like this since his birthday and before that…New York. All of the resistance that she had put up melted away in an instant, and she wondered how she had ever said no. She remembered why she had been an idiot all those years. She remembered why it had all been worth it to her.

  But she wouldn’t…couldn’t do this with him. She was still engaged. If she slept with Jack tonight, like her body was practically demanding in that moment, then she would be completely in the wrong. It wouldn’t be her decision with Ramsey anymore. She would have fucked up another relationship, no matter if it was already in a weakened condition. She had sworn she would never do that to Ramsey…ever. Even where they were now, she knew that she had to hold on to that. If she were with Jack now, then she would be no better than Ramsey having feelings for Parker.

  With a groan, Lexi pulled away from Jack. “I can’t either,” she said, turning to face him.

  He dropped his head to the pillow with a sigh. “I know.”

  “We’re friends,” she said, trying to put back up the barrier that they had worked so hard to achieve, the barrier she had single-handedly knocked down.

  “I can’t just be your friend,” he breathed huskily into the darkness.

  Lexi couldn’t make out the outline of his jawline or the smirk she knew that played across his face or the shaggy set of his hair that perpetually fell into his eyes. But she knew what it all looked like by memory. His breath, hot on her face, made her eyes close, conjuring those memories that she desperately tried to hold back.

  “You have to be,” she managed to get out. She didn’t even sound like herself. She wasn’t herself when she was with him. She was his.

  Seth had said it the best all that time ago—when they were together, there was no one else.

  “No.” His hand found her fingers and slowly pried them apart, and then he slipped his hand into hers.

  She didn’t even fight him.

  “See.”

  “What?” she asked, pressing her palm against his as his thumb stroked up her hand.

  “We fit together perfectly,” he murmured. “Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

  Lexi whimpered at the words falling from his lips that she so desperately craved. It wasn’t fair. It was too late. Too damn late. Why now?

  “No, Jack.”

  “We’ve tried being friends. It was the only thing we hadn’t tried,” he said, his voice changing.

  He had a commanding edge to him that pushed aside what she had been saying.

  “I gave it a shot, Lex. I gave you your space. I let you be happy. That’s what you said you wanted.” He gripped her hand a little harder. “How did that work out? Are you happy? Are you happy without me?”

  “Jack,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes once again.

  “I know I wasn’t.”

  Lexi spent the next four days, alternating between locking herself away at work and Jack’s apartment. The case was coming to a close. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least things were going well in her professional life even if her personal life was shit. Her secretary had even stopped her on Monday morning to ask if she was all right. Lexi hadn’t thought that she looked that bad, but apparently, that hadn’t been the case.

  She had splurged over the weekend and bought some new clothes, so she wouldn’t have to go home. She had felt guilty about it…about spending the money and about avoiding her place.

  She had know
n she needed to talk to Ramsey. He had freaked out when she hadn’t come home the next night.

  At nearly midnight, she had returned to Jack’s place, and she hadn’t responded to any of Ramsey’s messages or calls during the day. She hadn’t been able to talk to him. The memory of being locked in Jack’s arms, falling asleep in them, waking up in them, had kept her from being able to speak to Ramsey.

  Nothing had happened, but still…something had happened.

  Lexi had finally broken down and texted Ramsey.

  I’m all right, but I don’t know when I’ll be coming back.

  The response had been instantaneous.

  Please come home. I’m sorry. I’m losing my mind over here. I can’t lose you, too.

  Lexi had almost broken down at those words. Her heart had felt like someone had rolled over it with a steamroller. Every muscle in her body had itched to walk back to her car and comfort him. But she hadn’t.

  I need some time away.

  We should talk about this. Please come home and talk to me about this.

  I can’t. Just give me some time, she had responded, biting down hard on her lip.

  Where are you? I’ll come to you.

  Yeah, she wasn’t even going to go there. If Ramsey knew that she was with Jack, he might do something drastic…like drive over here and come find her. She had remembered only a week ago when his fist had connected with John’s face. She had doubted he would be so merciful with Jack.

  I’m sorry. I can’t. I have to go.

  She had turned off her phone and tossed in her purse. She hadn’t spoken to him since.

  Three days later, and still, all she wanted to do was sleep.

  Jack had given her a key to the place, so she could come and go as she pleased. He hadn’t even hesitated. He had just placed it in her hand Friday morning before he had left for work. It hadn’t really mattered because she hadn’t been there without him, but it had been a nice feeling.

  She slid the key into the lock and opened the door to the quiet apartment. She knew it was late. She wasn’t expecting Jack to be awake. The past three nights, she had found him passed out on the couch when she got back. She would shake him awake to let him know that she was home, and he would sit up to talk to her about her day, to try to get her mind off of everything else. She would relax back into his lap, and he would stroke her hair until she stopped speaking and fell asleep.