"I destroyed the frame."
She gasped imagining his prized portrait torn to shreds. It saddened her beyond belief. "Why would you do that? It was your favorite picture."
He shook his head. "It was your favorite."
Realization dawned on her. He had gotten rid of it because of her. He couldn't look at it anymore because of her. Her sadness deepened at the thought of him resorting to such extremes over her.
"Two days after I threw it away, I felt terrible and fished it out of the garbage. The picture was still in tact except for a few small tears from where the glass broke. I gave it to my mom."
Lexi forced the conversation to lighter subject from there not wanting to continue their suffering from long lost memories. She told him about school and her internship. He bored her with accounting information, and how his immediate supervisor was an older woman who kept trying to get him to sleep with her. They watched highlight reels from last year's mediocre football performance from their Alma Mater. Luckily, the team was still ranked in the top twenty-five due to good recruiting. She listened when he told her about his Fantasy Football strategy for the upcoming season, and gave him pointers on who she thought was going to play well. He regaled her with stories from Seth's bachelor party in Las Vegas earlier that summer. She told him about Chyna's congratulatory weekend in Atlantic City when Lexi had been accepted into her internship and found out she was top ten percent in her class.
"This feels so familiar," she breathed leaning her head back against the arm of the loveseat.
"Yeah, I suppose it does," he agreed amicably.
"You have a girlfriend."
"You don't have a boyfriend," he added.
"I could have a boyfriend," Lexi said popping her head up to look at him eyebrows raised. She hadn't told him one way or another so he couldn't really know that for certain.
He laughed lightly. "You don't have a boyfriend," he said matter-of-factly.
"How do you know?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Lex, I've known you for a long time…years, in fact. You don't have a boyfriend right now."
"Fine. I don't have a boyfriend," she conceded, "but I could."
"You could, sure. But you don't. Either way we've been here before."
"We've been everywhere before," Lexi stated running her hands through her long waves letting them fall off the back side of the loveseat.
Jack coughed into his hand covering up a laugh that began to break through. "I wouldn't say everywhere."
"Oh Jack, stop it!" she exclaimed catching his double entendre. Hefting the pillow out from behind her, she threw it with full force across the room and into his still amused face. Shocked, he picked the pillow up off the white carpeted floor and tossed it back in her direction catching her in the chest.
She gasped upon impact the weight of the pillow knocking the air from her lungs. She threw the pillow back in his direction with as much force as she could muster. He was prepared this time, and caught the pillow out of midair. Jumping up, he dove to the loveseat and smacked the pillow down into her shoulder. Lexi curled into a ball protectively covering her face.
"Do you surrender?" he asked holding the pillow high.
Just before he was about to bring it down on her one more time, another pillow materialized her in hand. "Never," she declared swinging the pillow hard hitting him full on in the chest. He teetered for a moment before regaining his balance and toppled his pillow down on her. When she didn't even seem to register his attack, he bent down over her and began to tickle her between the ribs. She giggled uncontrollably kicking out wildly with her feet, gasping for air.
"That's cheating. You're cheating," she squealed attempting to pry his hands away from her. "Stop. Stop. Oh God, Jack, stop."
He paused, his body starting to register the position he had found himself in. Lexi had unwound from her fetal position and was sprawled across the couch. Her bare legs were slightly spread with her hands above her head. The silky material of her shirt did very little to hide her hard n**ples underneath. His knee touched hers while his arms remained circling her waist in the same position where he had been tickling her. His body rested only a couple inches from her. As she recovered from his assault, her chest heaved up and down so hard she could almost touch him. Her chocolaty eyes were wide and wild, rimmed with tears of laughter. Flushed, her cheeks showed a splatter of red; her lips bare and showing slight signs of chapping. Even her hair was unruly and untamed weaving curls and waves all across the sofa. All together, she was the epitome of uninhibited, unbridled beauty.
Lexi's eyes gazed back at him seductively. She could feel how close he was, and despite herself, despite it all, she wanted him closer. Coyly, she licked her lips watching as his whole body seemed to relax into her. He was only a couple inches from her mouth at that point. So close, in fact, she could just reach her head off the armrest to meet him. In that moment, she knew. All that stuff about things being different had been bullshit. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted her.
Lexi heard a gentle trill come from the direction of the bedroom. "I think that's your phone."
His eyes roamed her face once more, and then glanced up at the clock. "Fuck, is it really 3:30?"
She arched her body up, feeling her press up against him as she got a good enough angle to read the red digital numbers. He hadn't pulled away from her, and she could feel him easily through his basketball shorts. "Yep, that's the time," she said sliding back down against the suede. His weight eased back against her as she moved. God, she wanted him. This was the reason she had promised Chyna she wouldn't be alone with him. They were a disaster together. Friends didn't do this kind of stuff. "Perhaps, you should go answer that."
"I can call them back," he said automatically. Lexi felt as if she had traveled back in time six years, and Danielle would be on the other line.
"You know, perhaps this feels a little too familiar," Lexi said sitting up and pulling away from him.
He coughed uneasily and righted himself on the sofa. "You're right. Sorry."
She could tell he wasn't. It didn't matter though. He was doing the right thing. She was doing the right thing. For once.
* * *
K.A. Linde
That Thing You Do
'Cause we, could be happy can't you see,
If you'd only let me be the one to hold you,
And keep you here with me
Cause it hurts me so just to see you go,
Around with someone new,
Every time you doing that thing you do
- The Wonders "That Thing You Do"
* * *
Chapter 4: August Five Years Earlier
Flashes of silver light careened around the open dance floor sending blurred, refracting images across the wide-eyed girls shaking their asses in time with the rap beats blaring from the projection speakers. Saturday night at Chamber showcased new DJ spinning talent, and for the sea of wall-to-wall listeners nothing could get better. Several bartenders distributed lethal quantities of whatever one's heart desired in alcohol. The medium-sized rectangular room divided in two by sliding glass doors separating the dance space from the more secluded lounge area which was covered with romantic nooks and couches that practically swallowed you whole. A raised platform designed in an L-shape leaned against one wall in the dance hall and had a black bar against the open side to avoid any serious drunken injuries. Beefy security guards in bright yellow Chamber polos remained stationed in precarious locations as a rather deliberate reminder for the drunkards to keep their cool. One too many customers had found themselves sprawled on their ass on the outside pavement after a fight broke out or the Fire Marshall deemed the building to be over the limit, which tended to happen most nights. Tonight was no exception.
"I need six lemon drops, three Bud Lights, two Jager bombs, and an Amaretto sour," Trina demanded of the tiny red headed bartender. The girl looked frantic pulling random bottles off the shelf and replacing them almost instantly. She grabbed several shot glasses placing them haphazardly on the bar before glancing up at her customer helplessly.
"How many shots did you want?" the girl asked her voice coming out mousy.
Trina rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Honey, why are you working the busiest night of the week if you can't take an order? I said six"
A blush crept up across her cheeks and down her neck. "I…uh…" the girl stammered not anticipating the harassment.
"I mean really, what was Joe thinking hiring someone so incompetent?" Trina questioned her further leaning forward against the bar. Her eyes were locked with the mouse who looked terrified. Several of the surrounding customers looked anxiously over at Trina. Some just looked angry that she was taking up so much time with the only bartender at this end of the bar. A small blond girl standing to her right nudged her lightly in the ribs giving her a shut the f**k up look. Trina didn't even register the jab. She was smiling instead at the girl behind the bar. "What's your name sweetheart?"
"Mary," she said fumbling with the bottle opener. Mary getting even more flustered managed to drop the metal opener. She quickly ducked down to retrieve it only to continue to be badgered.
Trina smirked at the girl maliciously. "Seems like you are better suited for church…Mary," she said dragging her name out. The girl just glanced up meekly not even able to form words. Her eyes were beginning to well up with unshed tears.
"Trina, stop being such a bitch," another girl said materializing next to the redhead. The voluptuous bartender scooted Mary to the side with her hip and began expertly filling the order.
Trina's smile widened at the sight. "Chasity, I thought I would have to break your newbie before you got over here. What took you so long?"
"I'd like to remind you that you are underage darling," Chasity quipped pushing the beers across the counter. "Might I also point out," she said thrusting the bottle opener into the back pocket of her micro mini jean skirt and leaning into one hip, "that three-fourths of the people in here know that."
Mary's eyes bulged. "Oh my God, Chasity, I had no idea. I wouldn't have served her if I'd known."
Chasity rolled her eyes and her innocent naivety. "We don't ID at the bar silly girl." Mary's blush returned in full force. "Anyway, you should recognize Trina here as one of our All-American gymnasts."
"Thanks for the introduction. Why not add a lemon drop to that order for yourself and little Mary too," Trina said fishing out her credit card and passing it to Chasity who stuffed it into her red bra strap. Chasity added two more glasses to the counter and began filling them with clear liquid. Trina held a shot in hand and beckoned the couple off the dance floor.
Lexi brushed her side-swept bangs off her glistening forehead as she made her way to Trina and the rest of the group. Trina smiled as she approached a shot appearing in front of her face. "For you my dear," she said passing her the drink.
Lexi reached forward to extract another shot from the bar and passed it to the guy standing behind her before diving back in and retrieving two sugar coated lemon slices. The eight people in attendance smacked their glasses against one another and downed the contents feeling the familiar burn of vodka. Quickly inserting the lemon slice into her mouth, Lexi instantly felt the dizzying effects of the alcohol, even stumbling a little. "Ugh," she groaned leaning back against the guy's shoulder, "I can't feel my legs. Is that bad?"