by K. A. Linde
Now, he had to figure out what the fuck he was going to do. The show was over. He knew her name. Wasn’t that all he had come for?
Her friend, Olivia, exited last. She was swaying on her feet, humming loudly to herself. “Hey, sweetie.” She kissed Lexi on the cheek, and without another word, she stumbled along after the rest of the group.
“I guess she’s a bit drunk,” Lexi said to him.
“A bit?” he questioned with a smirk. “Hold on one second.” Jack walked over to his friends standing in a clump on the sidewalk. “Hey guys, I’ll meet you at Chamber. I think Chasity said she was working.”
Seth winked at him, and the other guys chuckled like they thought he might bang the girl right then and there. They departed down the street, happily leaving him alone with Lexi.
When he turned back to Lexi, she was glancing around the corner toward her friends. “I’m not sure what my friends are doing. But by the look of things, I’m going to have to carry half of them home.”
Even in her high heels she was more than a handsbreadth shorter than him. It would have been interesting to see her try.
“I should go catch up with them before they get into any trouble.”
He didn’t know if she was actually interested and playing it off or if she was just ready to be rid of him.
“My friends are probably lost without me, too,” Jack said. It surprised him that he wasn’t ready for her to leave.
“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked.
“Are you studying tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, I should be there.”
“Guess I’ll see you there.”
“Sounds good,” he said, knowing she was going to leave and he wouldn’t see her again until the next time he worked.
She turned and started down the alley.
He should let her leave. He should. Honestly, he really, really should.
What good could come from him stopping her? He had a girlfriend back at home. Sure, he could become friends with Lexi. She could hang out with Seth and the guys. Maybe even meet Danielle sometime. That might be feasible…maybe.
He knew that letting her go was the smart thing to do. If he wanted anything from this, then he needed to be smart about it. Leave her alone…watch her walk away…figure things out with Danielle…
That was what he should have done.
But he couldn’t.
They got along, and they had some kind of connection. He would be an idiot to not do anything about it. Even if absolutely nothing came from it and they just became friends that would be okay with him. Her leaving without him knowing if he would ever see her again…that wasn’t okay with him. He couldn’t see that ever being okay with him.
“Lexi!” Jack called, jogging down the street to catch up with her.
She turned to face him, those big brown eyes swallowing him whole. He had to see her again.
“I know you have to study tomorrow, but what are you doing Friday?”
She didn’t respond right away, as she seemed to be thinking about her schedule. He waited impatiently, wondering what she could be doing.
“I don’t have any plans,” she finally responded.
Jack blew out a breath. Good. “Do you want to hang out?”
Lexi nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”
THE DATE
He should call the whole thing off.
Jack stared down at his phone, wavering back and forth. He knew that if he broke off the date right before the event, he would look like a total dick. Not a good first impression. But if he didn’t call it off and it ended up being a real date…then he’d feel even more like a dick.
In the end, it was this backward way of arguing with himself that led to his decision. If he were going to look like a dick either way, then he would rather spend time with Lexi. He was probably overanalyzing this anyway. This probably wasn’t even a date.
Seth, Luke, and Michael had left to pick up Hunter and Clark. Jack knew that Seth was trying to get out of his hair. Despite the fact that he and Seth had gone to dozens of parties, bought drinks for girls, and then danced and flirted, Jack had never done anything like this before. There was always a point where he was like…well, time to get back to Danielle. Seth would bring a girl or two home, and Jack would go to bed alone. There wasn’t even a moment when he’d thought it would be any other way. He was pretty sure that Seth believed that would change tonight, so he had left Jack alone.
Jack was happy for the reprieve, but he couldn’t let anything happen.
“Fuck it.” He shook his head and shoved his phone in his pocket.
He had already made up his mind. He wasn’t going to go back on it.
Jack walked out to his car and revved the engine. He shot off a text message to Lexi, saying he was on the way. He didn’t live too far from the dorms, so it was a quick commute. Soon enough, he was driving up to the front of Russell Hall. He pulled over, turned on his hazard lights, and called Lexi to let her know he was here.
She answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, do you want me to come upstairs?” Jack asked.
“Nah. No point in making you try to get past security. I’ll be right down.”
Jack hung up the phone and waited for her to leave the dorm. A few minutes later, he saw a girl racing down the steep hill to where his car was parked. Her dark hair had been tamed and slicked back into a high ponytail. Her curls bounced up and down as she jogged down the hill. She looked great in dark skinny jeans and a green tank top that hugged her in all the right places.
She reached his car, opened the door, and slid into the black leather seat. He stared at her just long enough to see that she had on that same damn pink lip-gloss. For a split second, he wanted to lean over and kiss those plump lips, but then he recovered himself. Letting off the clutch, he flew down the road.
Jack took a breath, already relaxing in her presence. All the anxiety from worrying about whether or not this was the right idea fell away from him.
“So, where are we going?” Lexi asked.
She leaned back into the seat as he took a turn.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Hmm…I like surprises.”
“I thought you might.” Jack glanced at her briefly, taking in her slight smile.
He put his iPod on shuffle, and John Mayer’s acoustic cover of “Free Fallin’” filtered through the speakers. He veered the car toward their destination, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the guitar chords.
“Do you play?” Lexi asked.
“A little.”
“Oh yeah? What instruments?”
He chuckled softly, thinking about the answer to this question. He had been kind of a musical fiend when he was younger. He had picked up every instrument imaginable. He wasn’t wonderful at any of them, but he was good at pretty much all of them. “Just guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and some drums, but I’m really rusty.”
“Jesus!” Lexi cried. “All I can do is sing.”
“Oh, and I sing.” He smirked as he hit the brake at a red light.
“Well, don’t you seem to be good at everything?” Lexi said, staring up at him through thick dark lashes.
Jack hastily returned his attention to the road, but he still watched her out of the corner of his eye. “You just wait and see.”
“I look forward to it.” She giggled, turning back around to face the front.
Jack’s smirk grew with her laughter. Something about Lexi seemed to just fit. She was so easy to be around. There was no forcing the conversation. There were no awkward silences. There was only Jack and Lexi.
He took the last turn to their destination, and Lexi’s eyes widened considerably. Before them, on an expanse of university property that was typically just an empty field, stood a recently constructed carnival with university students flooding the park. A giant Ferris wheel with dozens of bright twirling carts rested at the center of the field with carnival rides
and booths surrounding it.
“I didn’t know a carnival was coming through town!” Lexi cried.
“One night only,” Jack explained. “The university sets up celebrations like this throughout the year. Since you’re new, I thought I’d take you to the first one of the year.”
He was rewarded with a gorgeous smile that knocked him breathless. He was glad that she liked the surprise, but if she kept looking at him like that, she wouldn’t have any pink lip-gloss on by the end of the night.
A plump older man in an orange vest was waving a light stick to direct them into a makeshift parking spot on the lawn.
The couple trekked across the muddy terrain toward the vinyl ticket booth. After handing over their student identification cards, the student association representative slid the cards through a reader. The machine dinged each time, confirming their authenticity.
“Have a good time, and don’t forget to grab a complimentary T-shirt on your way out,” the woman said.
She handed them back their cards with one hand and used the other to gesture toward a display of boxes containing hundreds of bright green tees.
“Thanks,” Jack said.
He grabbed Lexi’s arm and raced through the entrance. She laughed completely and totally carefree as she rushed after him through the bright flashing carnival signs and booths. Jack pulled up short when he saw who was standing directly in front of them.
Damn! He thought he would have had more alone time with Lexi before he ran into his friends.
Between his five friends, they were counting out at least several hundred orange paper tickets, like little kids at Chuck E. Cheese. Each looked more excited than the next. Seth and Clark began trying to steal each other’s tickets, and Jack shook his head, expecting a fight to break out any minute. He laughed at their behavior, not surprised in the least.
“Hey, guys,” he said, casually approaching them with Lexi.
They all stared at her with knowing smiles on their faces.
He could have punched them, but instead, he just swept out his hand and said, “This is Lexi.”
Thankfully, the guys gave their names and nodded hellos without completely embarrassing him. He hadn’t known what to expect from his friends when they would inevitably meet her. Maybe Seth had talked some sense into them.
After introductions, they had to decide which ride to hit first. Seth took the lead as per usual, and he started to push them toward the bumper cars. When Luke put up a fight, claiming they always ganged up on him, he and Seth started arguing.
Jack laughed as they bickered, but his focus was on Lexi. She seemed completely relaxed with his friends. They were a lively bunch, and most girls didn’t seem to fit in right away. He liked that she had no such problems.
Overriding Luke’s complaints, the group got into the line for the bumper cars.
Jack moved closer to Lexi, taking a little too much pleasure in sidling up to her. He whispered in her ear, “We actually do gang up on Luke. Better make sure you join in on the fun. His reaction will be well worth it.”
She nodded and even seemed anxious to mess with Luke.
Had Jack ever met a girl who immediately followed along with their joking?
As expected, Luke got rocked on the bumper cars. When he came off the ride, he started swinging at anything he could get his hands on. He even knocked over a tiny blonde in his angst. His friends’ laughter only egged him on further.
Without thinking, Jack slung his arm across Lexi’s shoulders as they laughed. As she turned into him, trying to catch her breath through giggles, he breathed in sharply. He needed to stop this. Why did she make that so hard?
“I cannot believe him,” Lexi said, breaking contact, as she wiped away tears of laughter.
“He is a riot,” Jack confirmed.
They watched Luke try to punch Seth, but Seth ducked under Luke’s halfhearted blow easily.
“Why don’t we get you something to rot your teeth?” Jack suggested.
He wanted her away from the walking comedy act, so he could have her all to himself again. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away toward a cotton candy machine. Her hand fit perfectly in his, and he quickly dropped it when he came to that realization.
Needing to change the subject, Jack asked, “So, tell me, Lex, what do you normally do on Friday nights?”
She shrugged. “I hang out with my roommate or Olivia, go downtown, see movies, game nights, dinners, fraternity parties.”
She seemed to add the last part reluctantly.
“Cool. I like to do all of those things,” Jack said with an easygoing smile.
“Fraternity parties?”
“Mike’s in a fraternity,” he told her. “So, yes, even fraternity parties. Probably not as often as my freshman year though.”
After they ordered cotton candy, they made their way toward the Ferris wheel. When Jack offered the candy to Lexi, she snatched a piece of it and stuck it in her mouth. He stared down at her mouth where pink sugar had mingled with her lip-gloss. He couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away.
Lexi licked her lips, and Jack swallowed.
He would really like to know what that tasted like.
“You’re such a mess,” he said, trying to cover his inappropriate thoughts.
They stopped at the line for the Ferris wheel, which was wrapped around the ride. Jack popped some cotton candy into his mouth as she watched the machine transfixed. He didn’t even see the giant ride when standing next to her.
He let the sugar dissolve in his mouth before speaking. “What’s your major?”
“As of today, I’m undecided.” She seemed happy about it.
“An indecisive one, I like it.”
“I’m not indecisive. Just open minded.”
“Same thing.”
“Well, what’s your major, Mr. Decisive?” She stuck one hand on her hip and gave him with a knowing look.
“I’m not decisive, just practical. I’m pre-business, likely going to the accounting route. Not so sure though.”
Lexi wrinkled her nose. It was adorable.
“Eww. I’ll forestall practical. Thank you!”
He found himself laughing at her forthrightness. She didn’t seem to hold anything back.
“Yeah, it’s what I’m good at.”
“At least there are a lot of jobs out there for you. Not much a person can do while being undecided, and what I really want to do has only a few more jobs than that,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“And what is that? What do you really want to do?” he asked very seriously. Despite the joking, he found that he was actually very interested in what she wanted to do with her life. It suddenly mattered a lot to him.
She paused before answering. “Gymnastics.”
“That’s awesome,” he said, noticing all the wonderful muscles gymnastics had put on her small frame. And…she was probably flexible. He needed to stop that line of thinking or else it could get embarrassing.
He knew the gymnastics captain. He wondered if Lexi had been recruited or if she had tried walking on. “Have you talked to the gymnastics team here? If you like it so much, you should try out.”
“No,” she responded solemnly.
“Why not?
“You don’t just try out for the gymnastics team here. They’re amazing. If they don’t recruit you, then you have no chance. No walk-ons. Nothing.”
“How do you know that? Were you recruited?”
“No, I wasn’t,” she said sharply.
Oh, sore subject. He should introduce her to Krista. Maybe that would help.
“Oh, well, I know one of the gymnasts. I bet she could talk to the coach. Even if you can’t be on the team, you could probably practice with them.”
The glance she gave to him was as if she were approaching a martian.
“Okay, maybe not,” he said, raising his eyebrows. He took another bite of cotton candy to prevent himself from speaking again.
“Even if I could get
to talk with the coach, there would be no way she would let me practice with them.”
“Never know until you try,” he said, swallowing the remaining bit.
She was hot when she got herself all riled up. Luckily, they were now at the front of the line, so he didn’t have time to think about it again.
Jack handed the man four orange tickets, and then he ushered Lexi into a big swinging yellow bucket with the number twenty-five plastered against the back. He recognized the guy working, and as Lexi took a seat, he asked the guy to do him a favor. The guy laughed, called him an asshole, and told him to sit down.
Once Jack took his seat next to Lexi, the Ferris wheel began to rotate in an endless circle. Jack smirked at Lexi, and then started shaking their bucket back and forth. She grabbed on to the sides and squeaked. The girl in the bucket in front of them started threatening them, but he just laughed.
Lexi put her hand on his knee. “Calm down. We don’t want to get kicked off!”
“I know the guy who’s running it. No way we’ll get kicked off,” Jack said.
But he stopped anyway and used that moment to throw his arm across the back of the bucket seat. Lexi relaxed until she was almost leaning into him but not quite. He wondered what she was thinking.
As they made their final rotation, the ride crawled to a stop at the very top, looking out across the open fields. Jack smiled, silently thanking his friend, as the sun was setting low on the horizon, casting the last sliver of orange, pink, and red on the sky.
The world was lost to them in that moment, and without a second thought, he dropped his arm across her shoulders and drew her into him, her head falling into the crook of his neck. She fit into him like she was the missing puzzle piece. She sighed contentedly just as the sun dropped from the sky, leaving them to stare out at the twinkling white stars burning in the distance.
They spent the next several hours perusing the carnival life. He even won her a huge teddy bear from a dart game. She held it tightly as they made their way toward the exit with the rest of the crowd. An associate stuffed two green T-shirts into their hands as they stepped across the threshold.
Later that evening, Jack drove Lexi back to her dorm. The whole time he couldn’t stop wishing that the night didn’t have to end. He’d had a great time with her, and despite all the complications, he really wanted to see her again. It felt like only seconds before he was pulling up in front of her dorm again.