by K. A. Linde
“What was that?” Lexi asked bewildered.
“Nothing,” she snapped quickly. “Sorry.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes, yes, everything is fine,” she said trying to sound convincing.
“All right,” she began hesitantly, “well, that last internship didn’t pay. I can’t believe I found one that did. It’s kind of amazing.”
“Yes, well, at least you’ll be close to home.”
“True. But, hey, I’m finally here, and I have luggage to haul up these stairs so I’m going to let you go. I’ll call you later, chica,” Lexi said hanging up the phone and sliding it into her khaki shorts.
She pulled out the shiny key she had received in the mail only a few days earlier and placed it into the hole. Her heart fluttered as she realized the enormity of what she was doing. She was taking a summer associate position at a major firm in Atlanta doing exactly what she had always wanted to do.
And…she was moving in with her boyfriend. She, miss lack-of-commitment, was actually moving in with Ramsey. It was the biggest step she had ever made. She still couldn’t believe that she was doing it. It was so unlike her. She knew Chyna thought it was too early for her to be moving in with Ramsey; after all they had only been together eight months. But since she was going to be in Atlanta for the summer internship, Lexi thought it just made sense. Plus, she really wanted to move in with him. She missed him, and hated that the majority of their relationship had been long distance.
She only had the position in Atlanta for a definite eight weeks. This meant that she would have to sublease an apartment in the city while paying rent in New York at the same time. Even though she was getting paid, her student loans were astronomical, and she couldn’t afford to use all her money on rent when she would have to start paying them off soon. All things consider it didn’t make sense for her to get her own place.
When Ramsey offered for her to stay with him, she couldn’t think of a good reason to say no to him. She wanted to be with him, and she didn’t have to pay a dime. It was the best of both worlds.
After all, she had spent eight months without him. The occasional time they had together, when he could make it to New York or fly her down to Atlanta wasn’t enough. She wanted to savor every moment she had with him. The last thing she wanted was to get stuck driving back and forth between their places. She knew that time was nothing compared to the distance they had endured since they had gotten together. Still, if they were going to be in the same city, she wanted them to be together. That drive time could be used for something much better.
So Lexi took the big leap.
She twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door to her new place—Ramsey’s place.
As soon as the door opened, a chorus of congratulations and surprise assaulted her. Her hand flew to her chest and her mouth dropped open. Her eyes fluttered around the room quickly in astonishment. A banner hung across the room that read “Congrats Grad!” in large purple letters. She couldn’t believe it; she had just walked into a surprise graduation party for her.
Graduation had been the weekend before at Madison Square Garden. Ramsey had only been able to stay long enough for the ceremony before jetting back home. Graduation weekend was one of the busiest for him, and he had the misfortune of having to fire two of his key managers the week before. He had needed all hands on deck that weekend, and hadn’t been able to celebrate with her in New York.
Now here he was, surrounded by friends, giving her the celebration he had missed. Ramsey stood at the front with a big cake that read “Congratulations Lexi” in swirling purple letters to match the purple velvet she had walked in for graduation. He was smiling brightly at her, taking in her shell-shocked face. There was something about his face in that moment that was supremely adorable. It was like he was five years old again, and he was the one having the party, not the one throwing it. The goofy grin on his face was priceless, and Lexi would remember his joy in this moment forever. He really did seem happiest making her happy.
Chyna stood next to him, beaming like a schoolgirl. She couldn’t believe that she had just been on the phone with her, talking about how Chyna was never setting foot in the city again, and here she was. Adam stood at her side with his fingers interlaced with hers. They looked like the perfect couple they were.
Lexi was just thankful they had worked everything out. After she had showed up in New York, she had let Chyna blabber on and on about her argument with Adam. He had refused to speak with her for nearly a week. Luckily, he had finally agreed to meet Lexi, mostly because she had badgered him endlessly. They had talked over dinner, and when she was finished with him, he admitted that he still wanted to see Chyna. That he had been missing her over the past week. Since then, they had worked things out and were better than ever. Sometimes they were sickeningly cute.
Brad and Jason stood off to the side talking to their respective dates. Lexi recognized Brad’s date as Katie who she hadn’t seen since their karaoke performance in March. She was surprised to see that she was still hanging around Brad, since Lexi was pretty much uncomfortable around him at all times.
Jason had a flavor of the week at his side, and Lexi was sure she would never see her again. Jessie’s fire red hair was piled high on her head and not-too-surprisingly, she wasn’t paying attention to the festivities around her. Her eyes were glued on a rather handsome man standing to her left. Lexi wanted to laugh. She had never done anything to the girl, but she certainly hadn’t taken a keen liking to Lexi.
Then Lexi saw someone she really hadn’t been expecting. Parker stood off to the side, smiling brightly at Lexi as she entered the room. Again, Lexi was struck with how similar they looked, but maybe the more time they spent together the more she would be able to look past that. Though, she hoped that she wouldn’t be spending much time with her.
Lexi noticed that Jack and Bekah were strategically absent. That was likely the best thing they could have done for her. Behind all of her friends were a group of other people who it appeared were here for the free booze.
“What’s this?” she gasped shocked beyond belief. Her eyes traveled the large crowd again before resting on Ramsey. He seemed to be enjoying this immensely.
“It’s a graduation party, silly,” Chyna announced coming up next to her and kissing her on the cheek.
“You were just on the phone with me,” Lexi cried staring at Chyna in disbelief.
“Yeah, someone had to find out where you were,” she said knowingly.
“But you sent me off on the plane,” Lexi said trying to make sense of Chyna’s appearance.
“Private plane, chica. Takes you way longer to get here, what with security and boarding and all that,” she explained rather diplomatically.
“And you,” she said rounding on Ramsey. He looked at her, his smile waning for the first time. He seemed to realize that she might not actually want a party after flying in from New York. There could be...other things on her mind. “You did all of this for me?” she demanded.
“I missed your party and needed to make it up to you,” he said simply setting the cake down on a platter and walking toward her. He looked spectacular that day. He wore a green polo that matched his eyes and a snug pair of jeans.
“You’re a wonderful man, Ramsey Bridges,” she whispered flying into his arms.
He chuckled as he caught her and pulled her against him. “Don’t you forget it,” he whispered back, kissing her shoulder as he held her close to him. She breathed in the familiar peppermint scent and nuzzled into his muscular chest.
“All right, all right get a room,” Chyna chimed in breaking up the happy couple. “Oh wait, you have one.” Her eyes drifted to the stairway.
“There will be plenty of time for that later,” Lexi said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. Really all she wanted to do was grab Ramsey’s hand, pull him up those stairs, and have her way with him. But he had gone through all of this to surprise her, and she was going to revel in h
er party until she could weasel her way out of the festivities.
“I’m sure there will,” Chyna muttered under her breath.
“Oh, my luggage,” Lexi cried, realizing she had been too stunned when she had come in to go back and fetch it.
“No worries. I’ll get it. Enjoy the party,” Ramsey said. He kissed her forehead and exited his apartment. As if on cue, as soon as Ramsey left the apartment, everyone broke off into groups and began chatting up their neighbors. The party had officially begun with her entrance.
“So how does it feel?” Adam asked extracting himself from the group. He stood just behind Chyna and draped his arm over her shoulders.
Lexi eased into her new environment. As everyone made the apartment feel more like a party atmosphere, she centered her attention on the friends in front of her. “Pretty damn good. Now I have to pass the bar, and I’ll be a real lawyer,” she said a big smile on her face.
“That’s so great!” Chyna cried.
“And Ramsey,” Adam added his brown eyes staring into her. Her smile faltered because she wasn’t certain of why he would have asked her with such an intense look. Like maybe, moving in with Ramsey wasn’t a good thing?
Lexi quickly broke his penetrating gaze and looked over to where her boyfriend was pulling her luggage through the door. There was really only one answer to that question. Ramsey was definitely a good thing. She wasn’t even sure why she got a bad impression from Adam’s statement now that her sights were set on Ramsey.
“Yeah, exactly,” she agreed hesitantly shifting her eyes back to Adam. He always seemed able to look straight through her. She gulped a little uncomfortably as their eyes met. His smile was light and friendly, but there was just something in his hazel eyes that she was never certain of.
“Well, I’m…we’re proud of you, chica,” Chyna said grabbing her for a big hug.
“Thanks. I can’t believe you guys put this all together for me,” she said in awe.
Chyna shook her head and threw her hands up. “Don’t give us any credit. This was all Ramsey.”
Lexi turned back to stare at her handsome boyfriend dragging her suitcases across the room so he could put them up in the guestroom...her new room. She doubted she would spend much time there, but it was good to have, nonetheless. She just couldn’t believe him. She knew he threw parties for a living, but this felt different. He had done this for her...just her. And he had completely surprised her. She had had no clue.
“I’ll give credit where credit is due,” Lexi acknowledged tracking Ramsey’s movements until he disappeared upstairs.
“Congratulations!” Parker cried coming up to Lexi from amongst the crowd. “I’m sure you’re so proud.”
“Whoa!” Chyna yelped. “You two are surreal similar.”
“Uh...” Parker murmured awkwardly.
“Chyna!” Lexi gasped staring at her wide-eyed. “Don’t be rude.”
“You must be Parker,” Chyna said extending her hand.
“Um...yeah. That’s me,” Parker said ducking her chin to her chest obviously uncomfortable, and placing her hand lightly in Chyna’s grasp.
“Sorry about Chyna,” Lexi quickly apologized. The last thing she wanted to do was make Parker feel anything but welcome. Even though she had her suspicions and she knew some of their history, Parker had never actually done anything wrong. She had been perfectly nice to Lexi at the beach. And if Ramsey said there was nothing going on, then there was nothing going.
Parker looked up at her through long black lashes. “No, it’s fine. We do kind of look similar.”
“Yeah. Yeah, we do,” Lexi agreed hesitantly. “And hey, thanks for coming to my surprise party. I see you made it safely back into town,” Lexi said, deftly changing the subject.
“I did,” she said beaming. “I got back two weeks ago. I’m working the ER at Grady until some other plans I’m working on fall into place.”
“Well, Grady’s a great hospital. I’m sure you’re doing great,” Lexi told her though she was curious about her rather vague comment about other plans. Hopefully, whatever her plans, they took her out of the city. That would be ideal.
“Oh, let’s not talk about me,” she said shaking out her long hair as she started to relax with the group. “Ramsey tells me that you got an associate position at a firm around here.”
“He did, did he?” she asked apprehensively. So they had been talking.
“Yeah. You must be thrilled what with such a great opportunity just unfolding at your door like that,” Parker said smiling sweetly.
“I know,” Lexi couldn’t help but gush. “It’s almost too good to be true.”
“Almost...” she murmured. Lexi couldn’t figure out the peculiar look that crossed Parker’s face at the comment. “I know that these positions are nearly impossible to get lately.”
“They really are. I couldn’t believe it when I was accepted,” Lexi gushed.
“Hello ladies,” Ramsey said coming up next to them and interrupting the conversation. Both girls could see that he looked uncomfortable finding them talking to each other, but he was trying desperately to hide it.
“Ramsey,” Parker said bobbing her head in welcome. “You’ve done a wonderful job here. I’m sure Lexi is very pleased with the result.”
“Yeah, I am,” Lexi agreed letting her eyes drift to the beautiful party thrown in her honor.
“Good, I’m glad and thanks,” he said with a boastful grin.
“Ramsey, I was just telling Lexi how happy I was for her to get the job at the law firm,” Parker said, “and how proud you must be of her.”
Lexi couldn’t decipher the look that passed between them. She knew Ramsey. She had spent the better part of the year with him, but she didn’t know what he was thinking. Parker had known him their entire lives, and it was obvious that something secret was being spoken between them.
“I am very proud,” he agreed.
Lexi did notice that his uneasiness only intensified the longer they stood together. Yet, there was nothing about this conversation that should have made him uneasy. He was very, very proud of her for securing such a good job for the summer and so wonderfully close to him. The only thing that could be a problem was the fact that it was coming from Parker. Their long lost fling clearly had something to do with the situation. Even though in the pit of her stomach she knew that she should try to figure out the source of the uneasiness, she just let it slide.
“Obviously he’s proud. He threw me this whole party,” Lexi said as if it were commonplace.
“Obviously,” Parker repeated, her words sounding hollow.
“How about we get you to cut the cake,” Ramsey diverted quickly. Parker smiled sweetly at the two of them, and then excused herself. Lexi waved her off, happy that she was gone and would no longer muddle her party, but also curious as to where their strange friendship might take them. After all, she had seemed truly happy for her, and it had taken a lot of guts to come out to her party.
Or maybe Lexi was looking at it all wrong. She conceded the point that she might just be imagining the whole thing. Ramsey had been up front about them sleeping together. There was no need for Parker to feel any discomfort around Lexi, since she had never been in her position and was a thing of the past
More comforted by this new train of thought, Lexi followed Ramsey over to the cake. She felt almost like it was her birthday, and the only thing she was missing was the candles. She took a small piece for herself, and then began to mingle with the rest of the group. Somehow Lexi got dragged into a conversation with Brad and Jason about the varying aesthetics of the female rear end. She should have known better than to ask what they were talking about. The conversation was beginning to go a direction she hadn’t dreamed of them discussing in front of her. Once they started talking about the extra shape and structure of her own butt, she had had enough. She needed to get out of there.
She smiled anxiously at Ramsey’s two roommates as she tried to insert an excuse to leave the
conversation. She finally squeezed in the remark, and quickly scurried away from them and out the back door. Closing the door behind her, she took a deep breath of fresh air and checked her watch. She was stunned. How had the time gone by so fast? The party had been going on for hours, and she hadn’t even realized it, because up until the conversation with Brad and Jason, she had been having an incredible time.
“Well, this doesn’t look like much of a party,” someone said following Lexi out onto the balcony and closing the door behind him.
Lexi turned quickly and found herself face to face with a guy she was all too familiar with. Both times she had ventured into Bridges Enterprise she had run into him, and after her experiences with Jack and Ramsey, she stopped believing these occurrences were purely coincidence. People just gravitated to her at times and she was never quite sure why it happened, but here he was: Brandon Calloway.
“I think it’s a fine party,” she responded letting herself relax back into the railing. The afternoon heat hadn’t quite subsided as night took over, but still it was better than being surrounded by people.
“It would be fine if the guest of honor was inside, but since you’re out here I have to disagree, respectfully of course,” he said with a charming smile. “So, I came to find the party.”
She remembered his easy flirtations the last time she had been around him. He teased every girl in his vicinity and had likely been with as many. His easy words were nothing to her, but she smiled nonetheless. She could enjoy the compliment. “Thank you. Though I came out here for peace and quiet, which I don’t think is what you have to offer.”
“I can be quiet,” he said pushing his lips together with his fingers and leaning his body against the railing beside her. Instead of turning his head out to the lingering sunset, he kept his gaze strictly on her face.
“You’re missing it,” she said gesturing to the skyline. She feared his answer would be predictable, and she couldn’t keep from smiling bigger the longer his eyes bore into her.