A Face in the Crowd

by Christina Kirby

  “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” He chuckled. “Wow, listen to me. That shrink is finally paying off.”

  “You have a shrink?”

  “Honey, I live in L.A. Everyone has a shrink, or at least has had one at one time. Hell, I think my shrink has a shrink.”

  “L.A. sounds like an interesting place.”

  He grinned, “Oh, believe me, it is. So, last night, I guess Mike kind of ruined your evening with Simone.”

  “Nah, he doesn’t have that kind of power. It was awkward was all.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Well, parts of it were.” Lexie smirked as she remembered what Simone had said to him. “Simone hates him and she doesn’t try to hide it.”

  “I knew I liked her.”

  “She’d be glad to hear it, but don’t be hurt if she steps over you to get to Bailey.”

  “Oh, I see how it is,” he laughed. “She’s into those ugly, untalented guys.”

  “Sure, if you say so.” They both laughed and looked at each other a moment longer and as they did, she felt something between them change. Their mutual attraction had developed into something deeper. An understanding or respect, she wasn’t sure which, but it was there between them as sure as the air. “Sorry, again, for earlier.”

  “It’s all good. Hey, you know, I know a lot of people.” He leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. “If you want me to have the bastard’s ass kicked, just say so.”

  She laughed and with it the tension of the morning melted away.

  “Hey, I have an idea.”

  “Uh-oh. I’m a little afraid to ask.”

  He grinned clearly proud of himself. “I know how you can give Simone a going away present she’ll never forget.”

  Chapter 16

  “So tonight, in honor of your final night in Georgia, I vote we watch Fried Green Tomatoes and eat all this amazing greasy Mexican food I picked up on the way home,” Lexie set her bags on the counter in the kitchen.

  “I like that plan.” Simone held out a glass of wine with one hand and reached for a tortilla chip with the other. “Pass the cheese dip.”

  Lexie accepted the wine with a grateful smile. “So, how was your day? Did you see everyone you wanted to?”

  “And then some. It was exhausting,” Simone took an unladylike gulp of her wine. “You’d think I’m moving out of the country instead of to California. I had to remind my mother there are planes that fly from Atlanta to L.A.”

  “She’s just going to miss you is all. Cut her some slack.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Simone popped the Styrofoam container open and inhaled deeply as the aroma of enchiladas filled the kitchen.

  Though tough, Lexie knew Simone was using humor to mask her feelings. It was her coping mechanism. Ever since her parents had divorced she and her mom had been close. The move was going to be hard for both of them.

  “I’ll be back in two minutes. I’ve got to get out of these scrubs. Don’t eat everything before I get back.”

  “Don’t worry, you can trust me.”

  Lexie could almost hear the sly grin in her friend’s voice as she wandered down the hall to her room. Instead of her usual pajama pants she opted for jeans and a T-shirt. Now, if she could get a little food into her system, she might feel human again.

  They talked while they ate and were about to clean up when there was a knock on the door. “Are you expecting someone?”

  “No. Maybe it’s your mom?”

  “Very funny,” Simone shot her a glare and then began to look worried. “Wait, you don’t think it is, do you?”

  “I have no idea.” Lexie approached the door thankful her back was to her friend, because she could barely hide her smile. Oliver was right, this surprise was going to knock the wind out of Simone.

  When she opened the door to find Dave standing on the other side with his guitar draped across his chest, he grinned at her conspiratorially and gave her a wink. “Hey Simone, it’s for you.”

  “Coming.”

  Lexie waited while she wiped her mouth and slid off the stool where they’d been sitting at the bar. When Simone reached the door, Lexie took a step back but stayed close enough to see her expression change from confusion to astonishment in the span of a blink. When Dave started to sing, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” Simone turned a shade of fuchsia only found in women being serenaded by rock gods, which was rare.

  As Dave wrapped up, Simone stood speechless for a beat before breaking out into a huge grin and then she and Lexie both started to clap.

  “Ladies,” Dave bent at the waist for a little bow. “Safe travels, Simone. Come see us in L.A.”

  “Wow, that was . . . I mean you were . . . Thanks. And, don’t worry, we never miss a show.”

  He grinned, and Lexie was pretty sure a noise escaped her friend she hadn’t heard in their twenty plus years of friendship.

  “Lexie, I’m sure I’ll see you around. You ladies have a good night.”

  “Thanks, Dave. Tell Oliver he owes you one.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I will.” After Dave was all the way down the stairs, Simone turned slowly around to face Lexie.

  “You heifer,” Simone practically screeched. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “What? You didn’t like being serenaded by Dave?” Lexie feigned surprise.

  “You let me stand there in front of him with my hair piled on my head, while sporting pajama pants and an old T-shirt with holes in it.”

  “Oh, that. Well, I doubt he cared. Besides, you look cute. Understated is sometimes better.”

  “Lexie, you kill me,” Simone crossed to hug her. “That was great and something I will never forget. How did you get Oliver to talk him into it?”

  “He knows you’re moving and I may have let it slip that you think Bailey is hot, and since he’s unavailable, Oliver went for the next best choice. It was his idea.”

  “I’m completely mortified and touched all at the same time,” she pulled back. “I think I might like Oliver.”

  “He said the same thing about you.”

  “Aww, he did?”

  “Yes, when I told him about you giving Mike hell last night.”

  “You told him about Mike?” Simone stared in disbelief.

  “Yep, so are you ready to watch the movie? I don’t want to spend your last night here talking about that jerk. Oh, and by the way, Oliver kissed me. Several times actually. I thought you’d want to know.”

  “I-you-he . . . what?” Simone grabbed her arms and shook her. “And, you’re just now telling me this?”

  “Now seemed like as good a time as any.”

  Simone slapped a palm to her forehead. “You might be the most infuriating person on the planet.”

  Lexie hunched her shoulders and gave an apologetic smile, “But, you love me.”

  She huffed out a sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

  Lexie pushed ‘play,’ and as the opening music started, Simone nudged her shoulder. “Is he as good of a kisser as I would expect him to be?”

  “Better.”

  Simone whimpered and they burst out in giggles the same way they used to do when they were in high school. Some things never changed.

  The following morning was terrible. Simone was trying to be strong, but that just meant she was overcompensating with jokes. Lexie let it ride because she didn’t want to say goodbye any more than Simone did, but the time had come. As they stood in the parking lot of Lexie’s apartment building, they were both putting forth a valiant effort to hold off the tears.

  “Here,” Simone thrust a CD in a clear case into her hands, “I made this for you. It’ll give you something to listen to on your drive to work.”

  “Aww, you made me a mix? When did you hav
e time to do that?”

  “As if I could sleep after that whole thing with Dave. You’re lucky I didn’t need a cold shower.”

  “Are you sure you don’t?”

  “Shut up and give me a hug. You’ve got to go before you get stuck in the rush.” They stood hugging for a long moment and then Simone pulled away. “Okay, so as soon as I get settled we’ll set up a time for you to visit.”

  “Definitely,” she cleared her throat. “Be careful. Call me.”

  “Skype you later,” Simone slid into her car and shut the door leaving Lexie to watch as she pulled out of the complex.

  As the car disappeared out of sight, Lexie fought the tears burning behind her eyes as a piece of herself slipped away. The move would mark the first time in two decades she couldn’t run to Simone’s house just to hang out or to vent when her mom was saddling her with another stepdad. She wouldn’t be able to drop by her apartment and watch their favorite television shows after work or gossip about their latest bad dates.

  Lexie climbed into her own car then and put in her new CD. The tears threatening to spill broke free when she burst out laughing as “Baby Got Back,” began to play. Way to keep it upbeat Simone. She started singing along with Sir-Mix-A-Lot and every song after as the rest of the disc played. It was full of songs from bands whose concerts they had attended together and when the last song came on, it was the same one Dave had sung the night before. Granted, it was the original and not Dave’s version, but it was good stuff nonetheless. Maybe she’d suggest to Oliver they cover it.

  No sooner had she felt it was a stroke of genius on her part, did she remember him saying he didn’t write love songs. Had he ever been in love before? She told him all about her past, but aside from tabloid stories she didn’t know anything about his.

  As she parked her car and continued to debate whether or not to ask him, it dawned on her that she didn’t feel sad anymore. Between Simone’s mix and thinking about Oliver her mind was too occupied to be sad, which was fine by her. She didn’t need to be mopey at work. Besides, she would be heading out to L.A. to visit Simone before she knew it and Simone would visit. Her mom was here, after all, which meant she wouldn’t be able to stay away. Feeling better and more reassured, Lexie pressed the button for the elevator. When the elevator doors opened to reveal Oliver, her lips curved up in a smile.

  “Hey, you.” Oliver grinned, something he seemed to do an obscene amount of since meeting Lexie.

  “Good morning.” She fell in step with him and stood close as the elevator dropped toward the proper floor. “Did you actually sleep this time?”

  “A bit,” he chuckled, happy he’d been able to do something for her which according to Dave had gone well. “So, how was last night?”

  “Something tells me you already know.” She bumped him with her shoulder and her scent floated on the air between them.

  He toyed with the idea of pressing the emergency stop button to buy them some alone time, but she needed to get to work.

  “What did you have to promise him? A kidney? Doing an entire concert naked?”

  “We won’t get into that. Let’s just say I’ll be in debt a long time. There’s no telling when he might decide it’s time for a little payback.” At the look of worry on her face, Oliver made sure to bump her shoulder back, to reassure her it was all good. “So, was Simone surprised?”

  “Extremely. She went crazy after he left. Of course, that was because she was ticked I let her stand in front of Dave from Survival of the Fittest in pajama pants and a T-shirt.”

  “Dave said she was cute. Tell her not to worry.”

  “I may wait and tell her that once she’s done driving. I wouldn’t want her to flip her car off the road.”

  “Good idea,” he followed Lexie down the hall as she set about her daily routine. “So, are you doing okay?”

  “Surprisingly, yes. I think Dave helped distract us from reality and it’s much appreciated.” She switched her bag from one shoulder to the other, but made no move to go into the locker room. “When is he heading out?”

  “This afternoon. He’s going back to meet with the rest of the guys, the label, and to see Sara.”

  She glanced at her phone and bit her bottom lip, the sight too much for him. He reached out a hand and rubbed his thumb across her lip, tugging it free and desperate to kiss her again.

  “I need to get going. Are you going to be around?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be here.”

  She smiled, the sight enough to make his blood pump faster. Between that and the way she’d bitten her lip. Damn.

  “Thanks again for last night. It was an epic surprise.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Lexie.”

  With red cheeks, she smiled and headed for the door. Jesus, she was something.

  Lexie went through her morning routine with her second patient, the same one as the day before, and then set out to organize the morning medications. Her usual cart was ready for her, marked by her ever-present Minnie Mouse picture. The other nurses left it for her, aware that to touch Lexie’s perfectly organized cart was to chance being on the receiving end of her wrath.

  A commotion at the other end of the hall caught her attention. An alarm sounded as nurses rushed into the patient’s room and when Lexie recognized which room it was, fear gripped her heart like an iron fist. She pushed her cart next to the wall and abandoned it there as she took off for Mr. Robert’s room. When she arrived, it was chaos.

  Dr. Milo stood, along with two other nurses, surrounding the bed as Mr. Roberts remained in cardiac arrest. Lexie remained by the door with her heart in her throat, unable to help. Dr. Milo flipped off the machines as was common practice for someone who was a DNR patient, but it pained her to know his fight was over. His body had finally given out.

  She turned and left the room, her footsteps laden with the weight of loss. As she passed the waiting room and saw Mr. Robert’s children and grandchildren inside, his eldest son looked up and met her eyes. His pain shined through his unshed tears and she knew he was aware his father was gone. She didn’t join the family, although she would’ve been welcome. Before she could be of any use to any of them she needed a moment to herself.

  She pushed open the locker room door and collapsed on one of the benches. Her shoulders shook and her sobs echoed off of the lockers as she let the grief wash over her. He’d been ready to move on after fighting a long battle. And, with his wife gone and his children grown, he had lived a full life. Of course, knowing it and accepting it were two different things.

  After her tears began to subside, she took a few deep breaths and stood to look at her face in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red, but regardless, she had to get back to work. There was no time to sit and mourn Mr. Robert’s passing when she had other patients to take care of. She thought about her cart sitting in the hall and wondered if anyone was trying to figure out where she had gone.

  She wiped at her eyes and touched up her makeup hoping she looked at least presentable. Resigned, she headed back out into the hall and when she passed the waiting room, she saw she wasn’t alone in her tears. The family had been made aware of the situation. She would have to see them all at the funeral. She didn’t have time to stop now. She was already behind.

  After a long stop in her first patient’s room she finally reached Bailey’s room where, true to his word, Oliver was sitting on the couch.

  “Hey, I thought you forgot about me. I was about to send out a search party.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that, Bailey. It’s been a busy morning.”

  She kept her eyes away from Oliver’s probing ones, but it didn’t do her any good.

  “Lexie, what’s wrong?”

  At Oliver’s question, Bailey tilted his head back to study her face which loomed above him.

 
She should have known she couldn’t hide her true feelings from Oliver. As much as she hated to admit it, he did understand her. He was somewhere between friend and almost lover which scared her. She was afraid she was becoming too used to having him around. And, she couldn’t become dependent on anyone else who was going to leave her.

  “I can’t talk about it right now.” She saw him suck in a deep breath to try to talk her into it, but she stopped him. “Oliver, I’m not trying to keep anything from you. I just can’t talk about it right now while I’m working. I need to get through the rest of my day.”

  When she tried to plead with him through her eyes to let it go, he nodded once in understanding.

  “Agree to come by and see me when your shift ends, and I’ll let this one slide.” He grinned to try to soothe her emotions.

  It worked. “Thank you.”

  That evening after the nightshift nurses had taken over and she changed into her street clothes, Lexie made her way back to Bailey’s room. A big part of her was tired and ready to go, but she also wasn’t looking forward to returning home to her empty apartment. Usually, she didn’t mind being alone, but not today. Not after everything that had happened.

  “Hey there,” she leaned against the doorjamb, careful to keep her voice down when she saw Bailey dozing.

  “Come on in and take a seat,” he sat up a little straighter. “You look beat.”

  “Thanks.” She lowered onto the couch beside Oliver and let her messenger bag slide off her shoulder onto the floor. “Are we going to disturb your brother?”

  “Nah, he didn’t sleep much last night, so I think he’s pretty out.” He grinned at her. “He said earlier today that he’s thinking about writing a song called Evil Insomnia.”