Until You

by Cristin Cooper

  “Whoa.” She held a hand up in front of his face to shush him. “What are you talking about?”

  He stared at her with a questioning glare. She couldn’t be that clueless. “Tyler is in love with Katie. Haven’t you seen them together? Even when he isn’t here, he’s taking care of her.” To emphasize how serious he was, he looked Alexis straight in the eye and said, “He’s good to her, so try not to be so thoughtless.”

  She pinched her lips and shook her head. Denying it wouldn’t make it any less real. “He’s not,” her voice wavered. “He’s just her friend.” He suspected she was trying to convince herself.

  He reached for her, bracing her face in his hands. “Yes, he’s her friend and probably always will be, but he’s also in love with her.”

  She tried to shake her head as tears pooled in her eyes. “But… No. He wouldn’t. He’s my brother’s best friend. Tyler wouldn’t do that.” Her eyes dropped as she began to chew on her fingernails.

  Drawing her eyes back to him, he forced her to drop her hand. With a lowered voice, he said, “Alexis.” Blinking back tears, she lifted her eyes to his. “I know this is hard to hear, but he’s been good for her.”

  Seeing the pain and grief in her eyes, he regretted saying anything. “I’m sorry, Alexis. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He sometimes forgot that not everyone appreciated his bluntness.

  “Come on.” He took her hand and guided her to the living room. “What are we playing?”

  “Spin the bottle,” she muttered.

  If he weren’t trying hard to take her mind off of Tyler and Katie, he would’ve fought harder to get out of it. Instead, he took a seat across from her in the big circle and watched as Stan handed her a shot. Before the game started, he refilled it.

  After her second shot, her mood lifted but grew serious when it was his turn to spin the bottle. Jason took a deep breath wishing he were somewhere else. He spun it, then closed his eyes not wanting to know who it landed on.

  When Jason braved a look, he saw Alexis’s face first. He noticed the way her face pinked then he looked down at the bottle and all the air in the room disappeared. He felt the blood drain from his face when he whispered, “Alexis?”

  It had been nearly four years since he kissed a girl and now he was supposed to kiss his dream girl in front of a room full of her friends? What in the world did he do to deserve this? And why was the room suddenly silent?

  Unable to force himself to move, he locked eyes with her and waited. For what he didn’t know. After the way she reacted not twenty minutes ago, he expected her to tell him to re-spin. But she didn’t.

  Katie broke the silence by yelling, “Come on, guys!”

  He jumped at the sound of her voice, and his already racing heart felt like it would jump out of his chest. Frustrated by the circumstance and the lack of privacy, he grumbled, “Quiet from the peanut gallery. If you aren’t brave enough to sit in the circle, then you can’t talk.”

  Everything seemed to slow down as Alexis made the first move. She crawled across the floor until she knelt in front of him. He watched her take a deep breath and lean in.

  This was happening. He lifted his hand and circled it around her neck, feeling her soft skin on his fingertips, and pulled her closer. Their mouths met, and he felt his life change at that moment. All the noise in the room disappeared. He tasted the alcohol on her lips and smelled the sweet scent of lavender on her skin. He wanted this. He wanted her. Every day.

  He breathed in her air wanting her to do the same. Her mouth opened just enough and he took the opportunity to swipe his tongue against hers. She tasted exquisite like the best kind of drug. This one kiss would never be enough.

  When her hands gripped his arms in a tight hold, he knew it wasn’t just him. He heard voices as if they were far away until the girl sitting next to him cleared her throat. “I’d like a turn.”

  All of his senses returned at once along with the realization that they weren’t alone. Letting go of Alexis, he leaned back trying to catch his breath while simultaneously wanting to kiss her again. That wasn’t a surprise, but it scared him how badly he wanted her in his arms.

  He stood up and backed right into a chair tripping over it. “I have to go. Babysitter,” he managed to say before he rushed out the door, leaving a shocked Alexis on the floor.

  The whole drive home, he relived their kiss over and over. It would’ve been perfect if they had been alone—and didn’t get interrupted. She made him lose all sanity, and he kind of liked it.

  With Benji staying overnight at the babysitter’s, Jason sat alone in his living room wishing he could talk to somebody. He had logged into the game hoping to talk to Nysterie. Up to this point, they had kept their personal life personal, but Jason was ready to share. Nyst had turned into a good friend, and he wanted to tell her about the girl he was falling for. He wanted to ask her if she thought Alexis was too young to deal with his grown up life. He logged off a few minutes later disappointed and just as desperate to talk to someone.

  “Now what?” He thought.

  Chapter Nine

  November 2015

  Alexis

  Alexis stayed knelt in front of his empty spot with a matching shocked expression. She watched as Jason ran out of the house like his pants were on fire. With eyes on her, she crawled back to her original spot, still feeling dazed by that kiss.

  Guys had kissed her. But not like that. She swallowed hard and tried to even out her breathing. The more she thought about Jason and the way he seemed to invade all of her senses, the more difficult it became.

  Her friends kept playing the game as if her life didn’t change. As if she didn’t just experience the best kiss of her life. As if she didn’t want to chase after Jason and beg him to kiss her again.

  Being with Jason, or near him, was like riding a roller coaster filled with ups and downs and quick turns. The kiss was definitely a loopty loop. One minute she’s angry for him calling her out for having Mica flirt with Tyler and the next, she can’t get enough of him.

  He hadn’t been wrong in scolding her. She had seen the growing affection between Tyler and Katie. She noticed the way Katie always went to him first for whatever she needed. She saw the way Tyler watched her across the room, always wanting to take care of her. She heard them talking late at night. It was only a matter of time before Katie would realize it.

  That was why she encouraged Mica to flirt with Tyler. But that wasn’t the only reason. Mica had flirted with Jason too, and she didn’t like it one single bit.

  Stan bumped her arm and handed her another drink. She took it along with another and another.

  The next morning, she woke up late to the smell of bacon and pancakes with Stan snuggled against her. Again. How did this keep happening?

  Needing coffee, she rolled away from him and managed to stand without getting sick. She made her way to the kitchen to thank Katie for making breakfast. “Hey, guys.” She squinted her eyes to the sunlight shining through the windows and rubbed at her temples, hoping it would help her headache.

  It didn’t work.

  From the way they stared at her, Alexis suspected she didn’t look her best, but at least she wouldn’t be the only one. She just left a room full of hungover adults.

  After taking a few steps into the kitchen, she stopped and looked back and forth between them. Something wasn’t right. Neither were smiling, in fact, she could feel the tension in the room. “Am I interrupting something?”

  She noticed Katie look to Tyler then back to her. “Nope,” Tyler said with a harshness she didn’t expect.

  So, yes. Something was wrong, and she wondered if what she did last night had anything to do with it.

  “Ooookay. I just came in to thank you guys for making breakfast and to say hello to the baby.” It had become a daily ritual. Alexis suspected that she was more excited about the baby than Katie.

  As Alexis rubbed Katie’s belly, she whispered good morning, then stood and backed up. She could
n’t help be curious why there was so much tension between them. She pointed behind her with her thumb and said, “I’m going to go grab some food before it’s gone.” Keeping her eyes on them, she backed out of the room giving them one last smile. “Love you guys.”

  She found Stan in the dining room holding two full plates. When he noticed her, he handed her one. She shouldn’t be annoyed by his kindness, but after last night and the way he seemed to follow her. Then finding herself waking up next to him, she couldn’t help be irritated. He had never been this clingy before.

  Still reeling from her kiss with Jason, Alexis felt hypersensitive to everything. She ate as fast as she could then excused herself to go upstairs and shower. To her relief, Stan had left by the time she came back downstairs. In fact, almost everyone was gone except for Katie and Tyler, who were cleaning up.

  She spent most of her time in the shower thinking about Jason and what he said to her. His opinion of her mattered, and though she felt like he reprimanded her like a child, he had a point. When she had a moment alone with Tyler, she apologized for the lap dance debacle. She had been cruel and immature, and she didn’t want to be, and she didn’t want Jason to see her that way.

  Tyler shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, but she still wondered if it was the reason for the tension between him and Katie.

  That night, she logged onto the game and smiled when Belakor messaged her. She liked the familiarity of playing the game and talking to him. He mentioned he wanted to ask for her advice, but when she thought he was about to open up, he said, “Never mind.” She wished he would, because she wanted to tell him about this guy she was falling for and ask his advice about what to do.

  Chapter Ten

  December 2015

  Jason

  “I like her,” Katie whispered. They stood side by side watching Jason’s new employee, Kami. She talked to a customer using her hands and almost spilled the drink she should’ve been handing over.

  He still wasn’t sure, but she did add some color to the place, and not just because of her bright pink and purple hair. Kami had a big personality, and his customers seemed to like her. “Hmm.”

  “So, you think you can handle her until closing?” Jason hadn’t meant to stay as long as he had, but he forgot he had planned to train Kami today. Since he didn’t want to cancel his plans, he asked Katie to come in and do it for him. Today would be the first time he allowed someone else to train a new employee.

  “I’ve got it, boss.”

  “Okay, if there are any issues…”

  Katie pushed him toward the exit. “I have your number, but I got this. Have fun tonight.”

  Just as he stepped out the door, he saw Alexis walking towards him carrying two presents, one large enough she could barely see over it.

  She didn’t see him, and if he hadn’t moved out of the way, she would’ve bumped into him. “Oh. Hey.” Alexis blushed and moved the packages to her hip.

  At least he wasn’t the only one feeling awkward at seeing her for the first time since her party. Considering how many times he relived their kiss in his head, he should be more embarrassed, but he was too happy to see her.

  “Do you need help with that?” He opened his arms to take the presents from her.

  Handing them over, she told him, “Actually, they’re for you and Benji for Christmas. I didn’t know if you guys had plans and since next week I’ll be busy with finals and the week after that I’ll be working, I thought I’d bring them by today,” she rambled, not taking a breath until she finished.

  “You got us presents?” But she barely knew them.

  “Well, yeah. Unless you don’t do Christmas. I’m sorry, I should have asked.”

  “No, we do. I’m just surprised. Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” She picked at her nails as they stared at one another, unsure of what to say.

  “Well.” She looked over her shoulder then back to him. “I guess I’ll go. Tell Benji Merry Christmas from me and I hope he enjoys his present.”

  “Wait. I uh was just about to pick up Benji to go to dinner. Would you like to join us? I know it’s early, but he eats early because of his bedtime. Though I’m sure you have plans, so if you can’t go, I’ll understand.” Great, now he was rambling.

  When her face brightened, he couldn’t help but smile. He liked that look on her face. “I don’t have plans, and I’m starving. I didn’t have time for lunch today, so an early dinner would be perfect.”

  “Great.” He nodded his head in the opposite direction. “Um… His babysitter lives in an apartment just around the corner.”

  He wanted to slow his steps to spend a few extra minutes alone with her, but he didn’t know what to say. He was still embarrassed by the way he ran out of the house in a complete panic.

  “Benji will be...” he said the same time she said, “I can’t wait to see...”

  “You first,” they said in unison.

  Laughing, she said exactly what he had been thinking. “This is really awkward.”

  He felt his cheeks redden. “I agree. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry,” she said with a small laugh.

  Shaking his head, he braved looking into her eyes. “Not just about the weirdness between us, but because of the way I left the night of your party. I had wanted to kiss you all night and then we did, and it was really...”

  “Wonderful,” she added.

  He released a heavy breath. “Yeah. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I wanted to call you, but I didn’t know what to say.”

  “You did?” she asked sounding hopeful.

  “But so much time had passed, and I’m really bad at this. Whatever this is.” He waved his hand between them.

  “Well…” she said as she lifted her hand to chew on her nails. He recognized her nervous habit and took her hand just long enough to make her stop. “Maybe, we can pretend we didn’t kiss and be friends.”

  Stopping in front of his babysitter’s apartment, he faced her and looked into her eyes. “I don’t want to pretend we didn’t kiss. But I’d like for us to be friends.” When she smiled up at him, he wanted to kiss her again—still.

  The moment Benji saw Alexis, he ran into her arms, and she lifted him, planting kisses all over his face.

  “Alexis is coming to dinner with us.”

  “For Daddy’s happy birthday?” he asked.

  She looked at Jason over his son’s shoulder with lifted brows. “It’s your birthday? Why didn’t you say something?”

  Before he answered, he ushered Alexis and Benji out the front door and said goodnight to the babysitter. “Usually, it’s just me and Benji, and I haven’t celebrated since I was a kid.” As he led the way to his apartment a few blocks away, Benji talked nonstop. At least they wouldn’t have any more awkward silence.

  “Benji? How old is your dad?” He looked at his dad then back to Alexis. “Three and four.”

  “Three and four?” she asked with a giggle. He felt like it sometimes.

  “Twenty-four,” he clarified.

  She followed Jason to his second-floor apartment with Benji on her back. “I just need to drop these off and change my clothes then we can go,” he said as he lifted up the presents.

  He couldn’t remember how he left his apartment this morning and felt relieved that it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. He had cereal bowls in the sink, and the floor could use some time with a vacuum but besides that, it wasn’t too bad.

  “Lexis, my room is this way.” Benji took her hand and dragged her into his bedroom. Jason went to his to put on a clean pair of jeans and T-shirt that didn’t smell like coffee and pastries.

  When he finished, he stopped by Benji’s room and found him and Alexis on the floor playing with his Legos. Alexis had already begun to build what looked like a rocket. Benji passed her Legos while watching how she put them together. When Benji noticed him watching them, he looked at Jason and asked if they could have pizza at home.

 
“We can do that, buddy.”

  “Are you sure? It’s your birthday,” she said.

  “I have no problem hanging out at home eating pizza and playing with Legos. Sounds like a good birthday to me.”

  She laughed softly then turned to Benji and asked him for another Lego.

  After dessert of ice cream sundaes, Jason announced, “Bath time.”

  Alexis took it as a hint and stood to put on her coat when Benji asked her to stay and read to him. Looking at Jason, she waited for permission, and his heart tripped. He liked the idea of having her here at his favorite time of the day.

  Together, they sang songs while Jason bathed Benji then she took a seat in the living room while Jason tucked Benji into bed.

  Not a minute later, Benji sent him out to get Alexis. “He’s asking for you.”

  “Me?” She shouldn’t have been surprised; Benji didn’t hide the fact that he crushed on her.

  “Yeah. He wants you to tuck him in.” Her smile lit up her whole face.

  Benji’s grin grew when she walked into his room. “Tuck me in, pease.”

  She brought the blanket up to his chin then bent down and kissed his forehead. “Here,” he said pointing to his cheek. She laughed softly and placed a kiss on his cheek, and when he pointed to the other, she did the same.

  Together, Jason and Alexis took turns reading to him until he fell asleep.

  Once they were back in the living room, she warned, “You’ve got a lady’s man living in your house. You better watch out.”

  “Don’t I know it. I didn’t even realize it until you.”

  “Well, I’m pretty cool with the two to five year olds.” Twenty-four year olds too, he thought.

  “I guess I better go,” she said reluctantly. He wished she didn’t need to, but it was getting late, and he already felt bad he couldn’t take her home. “I had fun. Thanks for inviting me.”