Page 75 of Losing a Piece of Me

“I’ve heard you’re still causing as much trouble as you always did.”

She smiles wider and shrugs. “It seems to follow me, what can I do?”

He laughs. “I’ll tell you what you can do. Sit down here and let me make you both something to eat.” Without waiting for a response, he rushes toward the back.

“I’m really not hungry,” she says weakly, but he is already long gone.

“No use in trying. He’s going to make you whatever he wants anyway.”

She shrugs and sits down beside me.

“Want some coffee?” I ask her as I stand and move around the counter.

I pour us both a cup and take a seat next to her. “Before we leave, I have one more thing I need to do.”

She looks at me. “What’s that?”

“I just need to stop by the house and grab some more clothes and check the mail. It’s probably overflowing from the mailbox by now.”

Pops comes out shortly and sets down two plates, each covered with a huge Belgian waffle drowned in whipped cream and strawberries.

Lex takes a bite and lets out a moan. “Oh, my God. This is amazing, Pops.”

I look at my plate and then back up at him. “Why is it that when I come here alone, I get burnt burgers, but when she’s here, we get this?”

Pops looks at me like the answer is obvious. “She’s prettier.” He shrugs.

* * *

Pops and Lex sit and catch up for an hour. They are far from done when I have to pull her away from him. We need to get on the road.

We make a quick stop by my house and I grab the handful of mail on the way inside, flipping through the envelopes as we walk to the kitchen. I toss them down on the table, one by one, until coming across a letter from the bank that issued me the loan to start my business. I open it hurriedly, thinking maybe I missed a payment.

Instead of it being a final notice, it’s the deed to my house that I used for collateral and a note congratulating me on paying off the loan and owning the business one hundred percent.

“I’m going to kill that old man,” I say as I drop the paper to the table in shock.

“What?” Lex turns and looks at me with confusion written all over her face.

“He paid off my loan.”

“Pops did?” she asks, reaching for the paper.

“Yeah, he paid off the fucking loan. I told him I didn’t want his money.” I lean against the counter, rubbing my eyes.

The next thing I know, she’s pressed against me. “He just wants to take care of you.”

When I open my eyes and see her beautiful face smiling up at me, my anger diminishes. “I know.”

I place my hands on her cheeks and bring my lips to hers. She tastes so sweet. She pulls my bottom lip in between her teeth and steps away, scraping her teeth against my lip. With her eyes locked on mine, she reaches for the hem of her shirt and pulls it off, painfully slow. The blue in her eyes is shining, almost twinkling, and her skin is glowing. In this moment, she’s completely free. She stands taller, no longer held down by the weight of all the secrets and lies that have been pulling at her for so long.

Her eyes never leave mine as she shimmies out of the rest of her clothes. I don’t move, I just stand there watching her with my arms crossed over my chest. I stare at her in awe as she strips away all of her insecurities, all of her secrets, and all of her lies. She’s completely bare and I see nothing but love and soft skin that calls my name.

I never thought I would see this Lex again. The Lex who isn’t scared of anything. The girl I’ve always known to be so brave has finally given up everything that chased her away from me and kept her running for six long fucking years.

Every inch of me craves her. Her soft skin, her gentle touch, her brilliant blue eyes watching me, her laugh, her love, her trust. I want it all.

Now that she is finally opening herself up to me completely, I move toward her in a trance, no longer in control of my own body.

---