The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  She cleared her mind and blue eyes were replaced with green ones staring intently into hers on a balcony overlooking the Turner Field baseball stadium. The way he seemed to wash away the knowledge of what was going on that night. Her hair pulled high on her head and the light breeze on the back of her neck gave her goosebumps, or was it the way he was looking at her. Her breath hitched as his head tilted to meet her waiting lips.

  She forcefully closed her eyes and willed her mind to stop picturing her past. Tonight was about new futures…another new future.

  “Are you even listening?” Chyna whined pushing Lexi out of the way so she could get a closer look at her closet.

  “Nope,” Lexi said giggling and falling back into a plush cream chair.

  “Hopeless,” Chyna muttered flipping through her closet.

  Just as Lexi was about to retort, Chyna’s hand brushed against an article of clothing Lexi had never seen. “What was that?” she blubbered, shooting out of the chair, and reaching forward to latch on before the item disappeared into the depths of Chyna’s closet.

  Lexi unhooked the hanger from the metal rod it had been resting on. Her hand rubbed gently against the silky plum material. She smiled softly to herself and wondered how she had never seen Chyna wear this before. When she flipped the dress around to closer examine the front, Lexi got her answer. A black rectangular price tag still hung from the dress. Lexi gaped at the price. She didn’t think she would ever get used to seeing price tags in the three, four, or even five digit range for one garment…especially not something to throw in the closet and never wear.

  “You’ve never worn this?” Lexi asked her voice unable to believe it.

  A sly smile crept up on her face at Lexi’s reaction. “Do you like it?”

  “Like it?” Lexi groaned. “I love it. How could you never wear this?”

  “Because it doesn’t belong to me,” she said airily.

  “Then what’s it doing in your closet?” Lexi eyed her suspiciously.

  “It belongs to you,” Chyna told her, immediately putting her hands behind her back to keep Lexi from giving it back to her.

  “Really?” Lexi asked pressing the material to her chest and looking at herself in the full-length mirror. Nearly dropping the dress, Lexi rushed forward and crushed Chyna with surprising force. “You’re the best.”

  “You’re not going to fight me on this?” Chyna asked skeptically.

  “I can’t believe you left the price tag on,” Lexi scolded her, “but no, I’m going to keep it.”

  “Finally, you’ve come to your senses,” Chyna teased.

  A short while later Lexi was all zipped into the strapless dress. The deep plum color focused attention on the curves of her breasts and hips. Her brown hair had been tamed for the night into neat loose curls down her lower back. Her side-swept bangs fell into her eyes whenever she made too sudden of a movement, but the overall effect was seductive. Light makeup completed the look with a dark shimmer gloss coating her full lips.

  The time and effort put in paid off when Ramsey’s eyes lit up at the sight of her. Lexi knew him well enough to know that she could have showed up in a black trash bag, and he would have thought her beautiful. However, the shock and awe that followed her entrance proved that he fully approved of what he saw.

  With a long hug, Ramsey escorted her to a waiting cab. They were dropped off at a restaurant that they had been to before and, as Lexi crossed the threshold she got a sick feeling of déjà vu. Her heart pumped wildly as they were seated at the same table, in the same place and probably ordered the same food. She wasn’t sure what about the experience was making her body kick into over drive. Something had overtaken her body and paralyzed her in place. She realized that she had been staring forward into Ramsey’s concerned face for a full minute without speaking…or really seeing.

  “Are you all right?” he asked reaching across the small table and taking one of her clenched fists.

  “Oh,” she gasped taking in a huge gulp of fresh air. “I’m sorry. I spaced out.”

  He smiled knowing that she was lying. He could always tell. “Should we have gone somewhere else?” he asked intuitively.

  “No, I love this place,” she said visibly relaxing to his words. He hadn’t done this on purpose. He wasn’t trying to put her on edge. If anything, he had probably brought her here to make her comfortable, to keep her around the familiar. She was making something out of nothing.

  Ramsey leaned forward his voice lowering compassionately. “You look like your dog just died,” he said a smile spreading across his face.

  Lexi giggled despite the depressing image that filled her mind. “I do not!”

  “There that’s better,” he said congratulating himself as he leaned his back against the chair once more. “Your smile lights up the room.”

  Lexi smiled even bigger at the compliment. She had forgotten how much she had missed his presence in her life. A month’s time wasn’t all that long to be away from each other, but she had been attempting to block him from her life. Now, when she looked at him, everything came rushing back to her. Every second they had spent together, every laugh and smile, every tear and moment of pain. She coughed uncomfortably at the wave of emotions. She reached for the glass of wine placed before her and took a large gulp.

  Yeah, alcohol was exactly what she needed.

  “Whoa there,” he said seeing her discomfort, but knowing alcohol really wasn’t the answer. “We haven’t even gotten our food yet.”

  She took one last swallow and placed the glass back on the table giving him a falsely apologetic smile. She had taken too many trips down memory lane today leaving her heart exposed. It wasn’t a feeling that she liked to accustom herself.

  “I’m really glad you called. I wanted to so many times, but I knew you needed your time. I felt that if I stepped in too soon you’d just hate me even more. I’d understand if you did hate me more. I kind of hate me,” he blabbered on.

  Lexi smiled at his adorable habit of rambling whenever he was nervous. It was completely out of step with everything else in his personality, and thus, Lexi loved it even more. His apologies were long-winded and sometimes completely incoherent. That was the way she knew that they were genuine.

  “Can we not?” she asked quietly, hating reliving anymore of her past. Seeing him was enough self-induced pain that thinking about the other stuff was threatening to make her nauseous.

  He looked up from his wine and into her wide-eyed expression. “Of course,” he said, his eyes taking in her appearance. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about,” he murmured.

  She watched him divert his eyes from her face, and she looked at him suspiciously. She wasn’t sure what this was about, but by the look on his face she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know. “What about?” she asked cautiously, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  “I…” he began.

  “Oh my God, Ramsey Bridges,” a girl squealed rushing up to their table completely uninvited.

  Lexi looked the girl up and down and groaned in protest. She was gorgeous—tall but still rail thin with long flowing blonde hair and perfectly flawless skin. She could have been on a runway. Lexi tore her eyes from the girl and moved to Ramsey face. His cheeks flushed a light pink, and she could tell in his eyes that he wasn’t happy about the interruption.

  “Ashley,” he acknowledged her standing to give her a hug. “What a pleasant surprise.”

  He said the words, but his mouth was strained around the edges. His body wasn’t comfortable with the touch of another woman. Lexi knew he wanted to be far, far away from this moment in time. Though she was curious who this woman was, she was more satisfied with his discomfort. She wasn’t sure how he always found himself in this situation…oh wait, yes, she did.

  “Holy cow, what are you doing in New York City?” she crowed, her Southern accent coming out thick with his recognition of her. Lexi figured she had to go through a lot of work to get rid of that. />
  “I’m actually here with my girlf…uh…” he stammered, breaking off his statement and glancing at Lexi. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m visiting my friend, Lexi,” he corrected gesturing in her direction.

  Lexi smiled sweetly and extended her hand politely. “Ashley Turner,” the girl replied shaking her hand meekly. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Lexi said hoping she sounded sincere.

  “Ashley went to private school with me,” Ramsey informed Lexi filling in the gaps. Lexi raised her eyebrows once. She had bad luck with people that Ramsey had known for long periods of times. Hopefully, the girl would just disappear, but she wasn’t that lucky.

  “Mind if I interrupt your friendly dinner,” Ashley asked snapping her fingers at a passing waiter and commanding him to bring her a chair. “My hubby can wait.” She wagged her fingers at a handsome gentleman across the room that barely noticed her disappearance.

  Lexi looked around at the restaurant and wondered how many people came here when they weren’t on dates. The tension between her and Ramsey was palpable, and this girl needed to get a clue.

  “Uh…actually, Ashley,” Ramsey said scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

  “Oh come on. I’ll only be a minute. I haven’t seen you in forever,” she practically pleaded.

  Ramsey looked at Lexi anxiously who stared back. They hadn’t seen each other in almost a month and after everything they had gone through, they both knew that this interruption wasn’t a good idea.

  “Geez, I’ve never felt so unwelcome by a Bridges family member before. Aren’t you supposed to bridge all my troubles or whatever?” Ashley asked expertly arching an eyebrow.

  “By all means,” Ramsey murmured, gesturing for her to take the seat that was offered to her. Lexi clenched her hands together under the table.

  “So, tell me what’s going on with Bekah?” Ashley gushed. Lexi involuntarily gagged at the mention of her name. She sputtered a bit and made it seem like a cough, but the look on Ramsey’s face showed that she wasn’t playing it off very well. “Oh dear, are you all right?” Ashley asked reaching out and touching Lexi’s arm.

  She cleared her throat once and tried to force a smile. “I’m just fine,” she said shooting Ramsey a look that clearly stated—change the subject.

  “She’s doing fine,” he murmured.

  “Isn’t she, like, getting married?” Ashley asked wide-eyed.

  Lexi nearly lost it. She quickly stood from her seat scraping the chair back against the floor. “I…uh…need to use the restroom. Excuse me,” she said throwing the napkin on the table and stalking out of the room.

  Lexi wandered into the bathroom and waited for her anger to subside. She knew that she shouldn’t have reacted so viscerally toward the subject, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to control herself if she had sat there any longer.

  After a few minutes, she figured it would begin to look suspicious if she stayed away for much longer. Lexi peered around the bathroom door toward her table and pleasantly saw Ashley standing up and walking back toward her own table.

  Lexi sighed and made her way across the room to Ramsey. Their eyes locked together as she sat down. She wasn’t going to apologize for leaving, and he knew that she had every right to want to leave. Luckily, their food arrived, and they didn’t have to fill the uncomfortable silence with anything but the scraping of silverware against glass.

  Dinner ended without any additional complications. After an evening on Broadway, Lexi and Ramsey headed back to her apartment. She knew he had a hotel in the city somewhere, most likely the Plaza, but she was more comfortable with the idea of him coming to her place…at least for a little while.

  Fumbling with the lock, Lexi finally pushed open the door to her apartment. Ramsey’s arms were around her instantly holding her flush against him. He kicked the door closed with his foot and his mouth came down upon hers. He kissed her feverishly, hungrily as if the last month had been years. It had certainly felt like it. His hand crawled up silky material of her dress to cup her breast. He groaned into her mouth at the feel of her.

  They heard someone clearing their throat behind them, and Lexi quickly backed away. She quickly adjusted her dress and ran her fingers across her wet lips. “Ray,” Lexi murmured staring between Ramsey and her roommate. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”

  Rachelle had been interning much of the summer at a Boston law firm. Lexi hadn’t seen her since she had gotten back into town. “Ramsey,” she said nodding her head in his direction but glaring nonetheless.

  “Rachelle,” he said smiling guiltily.

  “Claire and Elizabeth are in town so we were all going to meet up,” Rachelle told her. “I thought you’d be home and would want to come out with us.”

  “You’re going out?” Lexi gaped at her anti-social, study-aholic, recluse of a roommate. They had lived together for three years, and Lexi could count the number of times they had all gone out on two hands. She was actually a little disappointed that she was going to miss it.

  “Yeah, but I guess you’re busy,” she said eyeing Ramsey again. “I was heading out now anyway.” Lexi watched Rachelle scamper out of the apartment as fast as she could get away.

  Letting out the breath she was holding, Lexi wandered over to her couch and plopped down. All the interruptions were really starting to get old, first Ashley and then Ray. Would she ever be able to enjoy herself with Ramsey or would everything else always be looming over them?

  That thought hurt her and all she wanted to do was push it away. She knew she was over analyzing. It was a common thing for her to do, but sometimes she couldn’t keep her mind quiet. She threaded a piece of hair behind her ear several times before glancing up at Ramsey. “Well, are you going to sit down?”

  He smiled and walked over to meet her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. “You look tense,” he murmured reaching up and tilting her head to meet his gaze.

  “You know why,” she said looking into the depths of his green eyes. They were a rich emerald green with gold specks shooting out from the center and a deep brown rim circling the iris.

  “I know,” he said his hand beginning to massage the back of her neck. “I want to make it better.”

  “I know, Ramsey,” she said her eyes closing of their own accord as his expert hands moved from her neck to the knots in her shoulders and upper back. Her hand reached out and gripped his upper thigh as he worked out a particularly troublesome spot. She could feel him tense under her at the abrupt movement, but she didn’t change her position.

  His hands were so large when laid out flat against her back they covered the entire width of her body. Reacting to her touch, his hands moved from the massage and came around to the front of her body, rubbing her stomach. When they reached the curve of her breasts, Lexi’s head dipped back on his shoulder. He took that as encouragement and moved to cover her once more. She tilted her head to the side and kissed his neck. A smile crossed her face as she felt his black pants tighten underneath her.

  She groaned as his hands moved from her breasts to the hem of her dress and began working the muscles in her inner thighs. A pulsing began in her lower half, and the heat coming off her body only increased his growing desire for her.

  Unable to continue, he effortlessly picked her up in his arms causing her to latch onto him. Carrying her into her room, he laid her down on the bed. He quickly untucked his white button up, and threw his black slacks to the ground—where they belonged. In only his black boxer briefs and half-unbuttoned white shirt, he continued his work on her thighs. As his hands dipped closer and closer to the most sensitive part of her body, her back arched with desire. His fingers brushed as lightly as he could allow against her thin black underwear causing her to buck against him.

  He smiled knowingly and moved to her other leg. “Ramsey,” she murmured opening her eyes and begging him with them to continue.

  �
��Yes?” he questioned, acting all too oblivious.

  She wouldn’t say anymore. If he wanted to pleasure her into submission, she was perfectly okay with that for the time being. His head dipped down and kissed a trail up her leg across her now wet underwear and back up the other thigh. Her body was already very ready for him, and he knew her body all too well.

  Her dress slipped up over her butt and revealed all of her tiny black thong. His hands moved up to her hips and pulled her farther down on the bed wanting to get a closer look. He pushed his body firmly against her, pressing all of his manhood, covered only by a thin layer of cotton, against her. She moaned loudly at the pressure of his dick against her and began to grind in circles. She could feel how ready he was for her, and it was almost unbearable to have the barriers of clothing between them.

  His lips came down on top of her, and he passionately kissed the breath out of her. Her hands shot up and grabbed onto his short blonde hair, forcing them even closer together.

  When they were together like this, she wasn’t able to think properly. Even though she knew that she should be mad at him, and stay mad at him, her brain just wasn’t putting two and two together. Her body was very happy to see him.

  His hand moved between their bodies and began massaging her clit through the soft material, pushing her closer to the edge. She broke apart from his lips gasping for air. Biting down on her bottom lip, she lustfully looked up into his eyes giving him all the information he needed. He hopped off the bed and began swiftly unbuttoning the remaining buttons on his shirt. Lexi sat up and tried to find the stupid zipper on the side of her dress. She fumbled with the hook and eye on the top, but the zipper worked just fine.

  As they were all but nude, the ring tone from a cell phone ripped through the apartment. Ramsey cursed and then looked up at Lexi apologetically. “Sorry, give me a second,” he said looking for the source of the noise. He grabbed his pants that he had hastily tossed on the floor and dug out his cell phone.

  Lexi’s mouth opened in surprise that he would stop their exchange to answer a cell phone. Really? She couldn’t believe this. It really must be important or she was seriously going to have a fit.