Page 41 of Aftershock

In the distance, a heavy laugh could be heard. We all turned our heads to the front of the plane, and a voice that was unmistakably Ashley’s began to shout. “She’s messing with you, you idiot! She got you good!”

Lilly whipped her head back around to look at me and Lexi as she tried to examine our facial expressions. I stayed serious for as long as I could without cracking a smile, but after six seconds, I broke out into laughter. Lexi glared at me, but the small smile on her lips was evident. In no time at all, she too was laughing hysterically alongside me. Lilly blushed and politely took our orders before heading away to prepare our food.

“You're a dick, you know that?”

“I thought she would catch on to the joke!” I exclaimed defensively.

***

Twenty minutes later, it was Ashley, this time, who returned to bring us our food. I had ordered pasta with zucchini fritters, and Lexi opted for a steak, medium rare, with a side of asparagus. Both of us sat in silence as we devoured our food without even a single crumb left to spare.

“Everything to your liking, Ms. Blake?”

“I didn't even know I was that hungry until you mentioned food,” I grumbled while leaning back in my chair.

“Honestly, me either,” she disclosed. “I was focusing on other things.” Lexi looked at me while fidgeting with her fingers. Before I could ask what she was referring to, she continued, “So, how long of a drive do you think you’ll have from LAX?”

I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what exactly would happen when we landed. Whenever I was with Lexi, I always somehow seemed to forget about everything else. Pondering her words, I tried to come up with a plan for when we arrived in LA. I didn't have a car or my suitcase, for that matter. I guess I could call a taxi, but how far was the drive?

“That's a good question,” I said while opening up my phone. Pulling up the GPS, I checked the distance from the airport to the church. “It'll take an hour and ten minutes to get there,” I revealed to her.

“Well, as of right now, we should land at around 2:15 p.m. California time,” Lexi stated while checking her phone for the time. “It’s 12:34 p.m. on the West Coast right now. What time is the funeral at?”

“3:00 p.m.,” I said flatly.

“Well, you might be a little late, but you'll still make it,” she prompted, trying to cheer me up.

“Yeah, I guess you're right,” I agreed, refusing to let negativity take hold.

We sat at the table for a while longer, debating whether we should get dessert. It wasn’t until I pushed away my plate and looked down at my lap that I realized I had spilled pasta sauce on the shirt Lexi had loaned me.

“I feel so gross right now,” I cringed while examining my stained top.

“Do you want to take a shower before we land? I can lend you one of my black dresses to wear,” Lexi offered.

My face lit up at the thought of taking a refreshing shower after being trapped in an airport and then flying on a plane for most of the day.

“Yes, please!” I sighed with relief.

“Here, follow me.” Lexi stood while walking past the table and toward the door that led to her bedroom.

Following her instructions, I bolted up from the chair, accidentally hitting my knee on the table in the process. Refusing to let her know this, I stifled a yell as I bit my lip to keep from blurting out words of profanity. Slightly limping behind her, I walked through the door as we made our way into her room. Lexi headed over to her dresser as she dug through the drawers and pulled out a plain, mid-length black dress.

“Wow, that's perfect.”

“I bet it will look amazing on you,” she smiled, walking toward me and reaching to give my hand a squeeze. After pulling away, she placed the dress neatly on her bed.

“Not too amazing, though, right? I mean, it is a funeral.”

“No, it'll be perfect. Sexy but not slutty,” she winked at me. “You’ll look beautiful.”

So often, the words that came out of her mouth left me speechless.

How do I reply to a compliment like that?

“Uhh…I—”

Lexi opened a door adjacent to her room, on the right side, that I had failed to notice even existed until this very moment.

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