Avoiding Commitment (7 page)

Recovering her state of composure, she raced
back into the living room, snatched up her luggage, and distributed
it in the bedroom. She quickly stripped down into a red satin tank
top and black sleeping shorts.

Despite the fact that she had taken a late
flight into the city and had worked for nearly fifteen straight
hours the day before, Lexi couldn’t even imagine falling asleep
yet. Jack was away on business until the next morning and had
offered her his guest bedroom. She had been wary at first; even
more wary now that she was actually situated in his apartment with
all the familiar sights and smells surrounding her. However, with
the alternative of driving forty-five minutes out of town to stay
at her parents as her only other option, the convenience of the
arrangement had won her over in the end.

Lexi grabbed her cell and dialed Chyna’s
number. “Hola chica,” Lexi uttered into her cell phone. She made
her way back to the kitchen to search for something to get her mind
off the fact that she was in Jack’s apartment. Rummaging through
his cabinets, she zeroed in on the box of snack bites. After
fishing out a pack, she pulled out a Coca-Cola from the
refrigerator and set it on the counter.

“Alexa!” Chyna yelled through the blaring
background noise.

“Where are you?”

“What?” Chyna screamed into the phone. A
giggle broke through the line.

“Chyna, where
are
you?”

“Hold on. Gimme a second.” Lexi pulled the
phone from her ear to cancel out the obnoxious techno vibes
blasting through the wireless. A short minute later, the noise
started to fade. Then, it turned into just a buzz in the
background. “Alexa, I’m so sorry,” she slurred slightly into the
receiver, clearly inebriated.

Lexi laughed. “You’re drunk.” She should have
guessed that Chyna would be in this condition on a Saturday night.
She had known her for a long time, and this was pretty much par for
the course.

“Psh, I’m just a liiiiiitle tipsy. It’s my
natural state of being, but you know that. What’s up?”

“Just wanted some other human being to know
that I landed fine.”

“Oh fantastic,” she said another giggle
filtering through the line.

“You don’t sound concerned,” Lexi said
feigning hurt feelings.

“Why would I be concerned? Flying is way
safer than driving,” she said nonchalantly. “Stop, stop,” she
squealed obviously flirting with some random guy.

“Do I know your man of choice for tonight?”
Lexi asked popping open the soda and taking a long swig.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,”
she feigned innocence.

“Sure…right.”

“Ohhhh…”

“Are you moaning into the phone? Are you
fucking serious, Chyna? Can you chill out for one second to talk to
your best friend who just traveled a thousand miles away from
home?”

“You’re from Atlanta so it’s like going to
your home away from home. So…no, I’m not concerned.” Lexi heard her
shoo her boy nonetheless.

“I’m locked up in my sorta-non-ex-boyfriend’s
apartment, and you’re not concerned?”

“Is
that
how you refer to me?” a voice
questioned from behind her.

Lexi whipped around in surprise. Her mouth
dropped open and the phone slipped from her hand hitting the tile
floor, and shattering into several pieces.

“Jack.”

He looked exactly as she remembered him.
Maybe a bit more handsome. He leaned against the kitchen doorframe,
one leg crossed over another, hands resting in his pockets staring
at her with his piercing blue eyes. His shaggy brown hair was at
her favorite length, just before he needed a haircut. Black slacks
with charcoal pinstripes hung loosely on his narrow hips. A black
long-sleeve button-up was open at the neck where a charcoal tie had
been pulled loose from its proper place; a matching overcoat had
been left unbuttoned. A smirk crossed his face as his eyes scanned
her scantily clad body. Lexi couldn’t really be embarrassed that he
saw her in her ridiculously small night clothes. Let’s just be
honest, he had seen her in less.

She could feel her heart beating like a
marathon runner at the sight of him. Yet, she felt frozen in place.
She hadn’t been prepared for this. She assumed she would have all
morning to look presentable, and get herself into the right state
of mind. Then, she would have been able to face him. But this was
completely unexpected. What was he doing here? He wasn’t supposed
to be back until tomorrow.

His smirk widened at her apparent shock. “I
guess
surprise
doesn’t really cover it, does it?” he asked
her, bending forward and retrieving the loose pieces of her cell
phone that had scattered across the cool tile floor.

“Not...not exactly,” she warbled. She watched
as he slid the battery back into place, secured the backing, and
switched it on. Lexi felt a chill run down her spine when his gaze
returned to her. Reaching out, he handed her back the cell phone
letting their hands brush briefly. Lexi commended herself for not
flinching. “So,” she began clearing her throat, “what are you doing
here?”

“I live here,” he said smiling down on
her.

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Jack, come on. What
are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to get in until
tomorrow.”

“Wow, Lex,” he said using her pet name as if
it had been only yesterday when he had been in New York City with
her, “no, hello how are you? No, oh my God, I’ve missed you? Not
even a hug? What the hell?”

Lexi couldn’t help herself. She giggled. This
was the Jack she knew and loved. “Hello. How are you? Oh my God,
I’ve missed you,” she said tossing her phone onto the counter. She
swung her arms around him in earnest, knocking her body against
his. He pulled her into him, gently wrapping his arms around her
slight waist. What she had intended to just be a short, almost
dismissive hug had instantly changed as she felt him breathe her
in.

“I know you were just joking, but it really
is good to see you,” he whispered into her ear.

When they pulled away, she watched as Jack
took an extra step farther from her. His eyes had gone crystal
clear blue, and seemed to be looking straight through her. She knew
what that look meant, and every muscle in her body willed her to
step forward into him. It was with great effort that she broke his
determined stare and took another step backwards.

Lexi reached up and brushed her hair behind
her ears several times anxiously. It was a habit she had never been
able to kick. Even as she did it, she knew she was giving herself
away, but she really couldn’t help it. As if saved by the bell, her
phone began to buzz noisily on the countertop. She glanced down at
the screen groaning as she saw the hairline fracture across the
surface. “Hey,” she said answering the line.

“What the fuck happened, Alexa?” Chyna
screamed into the other line. “I’ve been trying your cell for five
minutes. Are you okay? Did something happen? Were you robbed?”

Lexi could hear the concern evident in her
voice. Suddenly, Chyna sounded sober, and very serious. Not one
ounce of her previous whimsical attitude showed through. Zero
thoughts of Chyna or really anything considered to be coherent had
filtered through her head after Jack had entered the room. She was
ashamed that she hadn’t called Chyna back right away. She felt even
worse knowing that without her phone call she wouldn’t have
remembered at all.

“No, no, nothing like that. I was just
surprised, and I dropped my phone.”

“What could possibly surprise you to the
point of not calling me back?” she asked. Lexi contemplated
answering that, but didn’t get the chance as Chyna gasped on the
other line. “You said he wasn’t going to be there.”

Lexi glanced up at Jack who eyed her
humorously. She could practically read his thoughts.
Ha. Ha.
You’re in some shit now.
A blush crept up her neck and landed a
light pink hue on her cheeks. Chyna was practically screaming
through the other line, and Lexi wasn’t sure if Jack was able to
hear her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said lying
through her teeth.

Jack raised an eyebrow and mouthed to her, “I
thought we were over that.”

He meant the lying, but Lexi just shrugged
her shoulders ignoring his penetrating gaze. She had no desire
whatsoever to talk to Chyna about Jack’s unexpected arrival,
especially not while he was standing directly in front of her
listening to every word. “Alexa, you know
exactly
what I am
talking about! You
cannot
be alone with him under any
circumstances. We talked about this. Remember?”

Chyna was speaking so loudly that, Lexi had
to pull the phone away from her ear. “Yes, I know we talked about
this. But your concerns are completely irrelevant,” she stated
sharply.

“Don’t bullshit me, Alexa Mae Walsh!” Lexi
couldn’t help laughing. The only time Chyna ever called her by her
full name was when she was absolutely livid, which made the whole
situation even funnier to Lexi.

“Calm down. Calm down,” Lexi shushed her,
feeling self-conscious as Jack continued to watch the stand-off
intently. She tried to avert her eyes as he effortlessly stripped
his jacket off and held it in his arms. He just looked so good it
was hard to resist staring.

“I’m not calm, damn it!”

“I realize that. But I have to go,” Lexi said
abruptly, already wanting out of the conversation.

“No, you need to leave. Go catch a cab. On
me
,” she added hastily.

“Love ya, chica,” Lexi said closing the phone
lightly.

Her phone lit up in her hand again, but she
switched it to silent, and turned the screen face down. No more
interruptions. The stillness in the room was disconcerting. Last
time she had been alone with Jack, she had been in a state of
hysterics. Life with Jack in general was a state of hysterics. The
rollercoaster her emotions rode when in his presence sent her
stomach rolling and every nerve standing at full attention. The
strange euphoria that had settled over her at the familiar touch of
his hands encircling her had dissipated with Chyna’s urgent
cautionary reminder.

He was not supposed to be here.

Even more important, Lexi had sworn she would
not be entrapped by him again, and that included finding herself
alone with him.

“Well, it was nice seeing you.” Lexi began
edging towards the doorframe. Unfortunately, he didn’t move a
single inch. She felt her breasts, covered only by a thin piece of
flimsy material, brush against his arm as she passed. Holding in a
gasp, she walked as quickly as possible towards the guest
bedroom.

“Nice seeing you?” he questioned following
her down the hallway. “We haven’t spoken in two years, I surprise
you, and all you have to say is nice seeing you?” Lexi let her
nails dig into her palm. The jolt of pain was the only thing
holding her back from snapping at him. “Well, it’s nice seeing you
too,” Jack retorted, his tone resolving to calm neutral.

She forced a half smile in his direction.
Clicking the tiny button at the rear of her suitcase, Lexi felt the
arm release. Her hand extended forward retrieving the rest of her
luggage.

“What are you doing?”

The earnest in his voice surprised her, and
she looked up into those clear blue eyes in surprise. Something had
changed. A flicker of doubt cast across her features; her mouth
formed a circle with a question hanging off her delicate lips.

“You can’t leave,” he stated simply; a
command not a request.

Lexi shook her head. This was so typical. “I
can and I will.”

“Lex, please, I don’t want you to leave.”

“I know this might come as a surprise to you,
but it’s not always about you. And contrary to what you may think
you know, I don’t care what you want,” Lexi said fighting to keep
her cool.

He repositioned himself in a similar fashion
in the doorframe. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”

“I didn’t come here for
you
,” she
spat.

He nodded his head in mock agreement. “Then
why did you come?”

“I came here for your lousy fiancé. I came
here,” she paused, slowly walking towards him, “to help her not
make the same mistake that I did.” Anger continued to well up
inside her especially since his expression had yet to change at her
remarks.

“That’s nice, except for the part about my
fiancé. I don’t have one.” A smart-ass smirk made its way onto his
face.

“Oh details,” she said waving her hand in the
air dismissively.

“I’d say that’s a fairly important
detail.”

“Either way. She is your girlfriend. Right?
That hasn’t changed overnight?” Jack shook his head confirming that
nothing had changed. “Well then, I should be going.” She grabbed a
hold of her rolling suitcase and walked towards the exit.

“Would you stay if she wasn’t my girlfriend?”
he asked letting her pass by him.

She stopped abruptly and turned. Her lips
were tight, jaw set. “You never change.”

“Oh come on. I’m teasing you,” he said
reaching forward and touching her hand, gently extracting the
suitcase from her grip. “If you feel that offended that I came back
all the way from Nashville just to see you, to make sure you were
alright, then fine, leave. I’ll hail you a cab or drive you
myself.”

A flustered sigh came out of her mouth. How
could he always do this? Somehow he had turned everything against
her. Now, she was the bad guy for trying to storm out of his house.
She was the bad guy for wanting to leave when he had made all the
effort to get her to stay. She was the bad guy despite his
unexpected, unwelcome appearance.

“Maybe you should do that,” she managed to
get out. She knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn’t be
here. Their history prevented them from being casual, from being
just friends.