Avoiding Commitment (61 page)

Great.

“Again with the not believing me. I have no
reason to lie to you. And I can tell you care about him,” Bekah
said reading her reaction carefully. “You don’t even know my
brother. You have no idea what he is like. He has shown you one
side of him and you fall all over yourself about him. Everyone
always does, which is why I was certain if you gave into him even a
teensy little bit that you would be lost. And look,” she said
pointing at Lexi, “you are so very lost.”

“You have every reason to lie to me. You’re
pissed because Jack wanted me. So you had to attempt to sabotage
our relationship. I don’t think Ramsey is involved. You’re just
trying to ruin every part of my life so you can have some part of
yours,” Lexi spat at her. She had been right the first time she met
Bekah. She would never ever like this backstabbing bitch.

“Well, I’m not lying to you. Jack didn’t want
you. He had this crazy idea of you from six years ago. Neither of
you are the same people, and you’re just stupid to think you could
make it through everything that you have been through.”

“Just because you are jealous of what Jack
and I had doesn’t mean you have to be such a bitch.”

“It’s not being a bitch when you are telling
the truth. For instance, Jack has no interest in you. My brother
has no interest in you whatsoever. Well, except maybe to fuck you.
I told him that was fine,” she announced nonchalantly.

Lexi cringed away from Bekah’s words. No.
This could not be happening to her. She had almost slept with
Ramsey. He had been so eager to get with her when he could tell she
was broken and in tears. Could this be all that it was? Had he only
been seducing her hoping to fuck her and leave? “I may not know
your brother very well…”

“At all,” Bekah interrupted.

“But I know that the way he was around me was
not some kind of act.”

“Yes, I’m sure you can delude yourself into
believing that, but that is the truth. That is the truth you have
been looking for since you got here. Jack is mine,” Bekah told her
taking a step forward. “He does
not
want you. Ramsey is my
brother and he would do anything for me,” she said stepping forward
until she was standing directly in front of Lexi. “He doesn’t want
you either. Thanks for your help.” Bekah grabbed the door handle
and yanked it open. “Please escort yourself off of Bridges
property. You are no longer welcome here.”

“You’re kicking me out?” Lexi asked glancing
out the hallway and then back at Bekah. “I believe we have more to
discuss here you filthy whore.”

“No, I think my work here is done,” Bekah
said smiling. “Gwen, if she doesn’t leave, call security.” And with
that Bekah stalked right through the door and into her own
office.

Gwen hopped off her chair, anxious to rush
Lexi out of the office. Lexi’s mouth was hanging open still from
Bekah’s monologue, and she was frozen in place. “Miss,” Gwen
muttered angrily.

“Oh, right,” Lexi said closing her mouth and
exiting Jack’s office. She took her time walking down the hallway
and into the elevators. The steel metal enclosure took her to the
bottom floor, and she strode across the marble tiled floor. Her
phone dinged just before she reached the sliding doors. She sighed
heavily and pulled back from the outside world. She fished her
phone out of her purse and clicked on the new text message.

“
Delivered your luggage to airport
already. Meet me there, chica. Heart you,”
read Chyna’s
message.

Lexi smiled to herself, grateful for Chyna’s
loyalty. It was so nice not to have to worry about at least one
part of her life. Chyna had been a true friend throughout it all.
She swore as soon as they made it back to New York she was going to
treat her best friend to a wonderful dinner and lots of wine.

“You’re still here,” Lexi heard someone
approach her.

She slowly turned to face the man who had
dashed all her hopes and dreams of a real relationship into a
million pieces. He had walked out on her again leaving her alone
with that stupid diamond ring, except this time it was attached to
someone else’s finger. This was the last person she had wanted to
see…the last thing she had wanted to encounter before she left for
New York. He had finally made up his mind about her. He had made
his decision to be with Bekah, not her. There was no reason for her
to ever speak to him, because God knows they could never be
friends.

“Yes, I’m still here,” Lexi told him not able
to keep herself from glaring.

“Can we talk?” he asked looking at least
mildly apologetic.

“No,” she said turning from him and walking
through the double doors. “Taxi please,” she told the attendant on
duty.

“Come on, Lex,” Jack pleaded.

“Just don’t,” she said holding up her
hand.

“Your cab, miss,” the attendant said as the
yellow car pulled up in front of the colossal set of stairs.

“Thank you,” she said sliding into the seat
as he opened the door for her.

“Lexi, you have to listen to me,” Jack said
following her into the taxi.

“I’d rather not,” she said emotionless. She
would be happier if she never saw Jack again, if she never had to
hear his smooth voice or listen to his charming words. She would
certainly be happier to go about the rest of her life knowing she
had received the necessary closure she had so desperately been
seeking while in Atlanta. “Get out of the cab,” Lexi demanded
pointing her finger towards the door.

“Hartsfield-Jackson,” Jack said to the cab
driver throwing a few twenties across the seat to keep him from
opening his mouth.

Lexi glowered at him as the cabbie followed
his instructions. “What the fuck is your problem? What are you even
doing here? You have a fiancé inside. There is no need for this
conversation. I got the gist of it with the diamond,” she
growled.

Jack looked apologetically at the cab driver
who was glancing backwards through the rearview mirror anxiously.
“It’s not what you think, Lex.”

“First, don’t ever call me that again. I hate
it,” she said crossing her arms over her chest. In fact, she had
only ever liked it when Jack said it. The way it came out of his
mouth made it sound so sexy. But that was the last thing she wanted
now. “And second, waste your time with someone who wants to listen
to you like your fiancé, or your secretary, or hell, even your
apartment attendant. They all seem very interested in you.”

Jack colored slightly at the accusation, but,
Lexi noted, he didn’t deny anything. “I know you probably never
want to speak with me, but I can’t end it like this.”

“Oh, you can’t? Well, I don’t give a fuck. If
you didn’t want it to end like this, then you wouldn’t have fucked
me in the hallway at Turner Field less than twelve hours before
proposing to someone else,” she said not caring that the cab driver
or anyone else was listening.

“I know,” he said nodding his head.

“I don’t think you do or you would have taken
the slap in the face to mean
stay the fuck away from me
like
it was meant.”

“I told you I can’t leave it like this. I was
blinded by my jealousy over you and Ramsey. I couldn’t even believe
you when you said nothing was going on. We said we’d never lie, but
neither of us trusts the other.”

Lexi kept that fact that he had been lying to
her all along to herself. He would disagree with the statement and
there was no need for him to try and convince her otherwise. He was
right. She would never believe him. He wouldn’t have chosen Bekah
over her in the end, if he had really wanted to be with her. He
would have cut his loose ends. He would have tried to make it work.
He would have loved her the way she deserved to be loved. No, he
had lied all along and she could never trust his word again. It had
been broken once before, when they had first begun, and she had
been stupid to believe in him to this day.

“You don’t trust me, right?” he asked
mournfully.

“Stupid question,” she quipped.

“Right. Well, I guess you have no reason
to.”

“Yep,” she said popping the final sound and
staring out across the city.

“I really couldn’t help it though.”

“Oh, this should be good,” she said
sarcastically. “You’re going to tell me how you couldn’t help but
propose. Wonderful!”

“No, I was going to propose. Can you just
look at me, please, Lex?” he pleaded.

She turned and glared at him. “Do
not
call me that. Why did you string me along if you knew you planned
on proposing?” she asked.

“Well, I knew before you got here that’s what
I was planning to do, but then you showed up and I couldn’t think
about doing that.”

“Then why the hell did you drag me down here?
I was supposed to be here to convince Bekah you were ready to
commit to her. You told me you wanted her off your back and that
you had no intention of doing it. If you really were ready to
commit, then why didn’t you just fucking tell her that and leave me
out of it?”

“Because she found the ring,” he cried
throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

“I might hit you again if we continue talking
about this,” she threatened.

“She found
your
ring,” he said more
calmly.

“Yes, I fucking realize that moron. The ring
that is now currently on her finger. The ring that was meant for my
finger,” she said waving her left hand around in the air. “Is
nothing sacred, Jack? Go ahead. Please try to explain to me how her
finding my ring has anything to do with me being down here.”

“Because she flipped out and was shrieking,
jumping up and down, going insane when she found it,” he told her
deflecting the glares she was shooting his way, “and then I crushed
her when I told her it wasn’t for her.”

“Guess you changed your mind,” she muttered
angrily.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Jack, get out of the fucking cab,” she told
him. “Sir, can you pull over right here?”

“Ma’am, we’re on the highway.”

“He can walk,” she told him.

“That’s illegal. I cannot let you out of the
car until we are off the interstate,” he said zooming down highway
85 towards the airport.

“I’m not going anywhere anyway,” Jack told
her.

“Then I’ll get out and hail another cab,” she
told him turning back towards the window.

“Lexi, it’s a duplicate,” he told her
reaching out and turning her head towards him. She yanked her face
out of his reach.

“A...wait…what?” she asked staring in the
blue pools of his eyes.

“A duplicate. I had another one made, because
I couldn’t give her your ring,” he said reaching into his pocket
and pulling out a rather familiar black box. He flipped the top up
and Lexi stared down at the wedding ring he had almost given her
once. It was as exquisite as she remembered with every detail cut
to perfection.

“How do I know this isn’t the duplicate?” she
asked staring down at the ring and knowing that no one could really
duplicate this. The ring itself had an old timey appearance and was
completely unlike anything else she had ever seen.

“Why would I go to the trouble of getting you
a duplicate?”

“To cover your ass?” she guessed.

“No, to show you that, no matter what
happens, you truly will always have a place in my heart,” he
whispered tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The cab
pulled into the line of traffic in front of the airport.

Lexi pulled her gaze up from the dazzling
ring and met Jack’s look. “I appreciate the fact that you have one
redeeming quality, Jack, but that is all it is. Just a hint of
redemption with six years of disappointment.

“No matter what you do, it will never make up
for what happened between us. I will never trust you. I will never
again be comfortable around you. I will never look at you or think
of you without considering the destruction you have train wrecked
through my life.

“I wish you the very best in your future,
because without you in my life I think I might finally have a
future. And as angry as I am with what you have put me through, I
am so very glad that we are now at this moment. This moment means I
can move on to bigger and better things without you constantly
weighing on my shoulders.

“I will never again turn a corner in New York
terrified that I will run into you and even more terrified that I
won’t. I can go into any coffee shop I want. I can hope for love
again. A love that will be more than anything you ever attempted to
give to me. Because the love I am looking for will be reciprocated
one hundred and ten percent. There will never be another someone to
distract our affections, because
you
will not be in the
picture.

“So, as sad as this day is for me, as I am
losing a part of myself with the loss of you, it is really just the
beginning for me. It is like cutting off the spoiled part to get to
the juicy center. So, I would appreciate it this time, if you did
not try and contact me. Because, as I’m sure you know, I deserve
much better. I want everything this time around, and I deserve it,”
she said holding her head high as the cab came to a stop in front
of the airport terminal. “Take him back to Bridges Enterprise,”
Lexi commanded stepping out of the cab.

“Lex,” Jack called hopping out of the
cab.

“Don’t call me that,” she cried turning
around and facing him. As always Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport was crowded with thousands of people destined to travel all
around the world. Families were huddled together hugging, kissing,
and saying their farewells to their relatives. Lovers were
embracing as they came and went through the sliding glass doors.
Business men and women carrying similar black luggage took hurried
steps around the slower passengers. A few heads had turned at
Lexi’s exclamation, but she was beyond caring.