Page 40 of Aftershock

Lexi smiled while shaking her head slightly. “But you can protect me from myself,” she admitted.

Without warning, she raised her hand to my face and brushed my cheek before settling on the back of my neck. Somehow, she wasn’t staring at me anymore, but instead, staring right into me.

“Lexi…” I cautioned as I noticed her face approaching mine.

“Autumn…” she trailed off.

Without warning, she pulled at my neck, bringing me toward her as our lips inched closer together. With one final tug, our lips crashed into each other. It wasn't a frantic kiss of sexual tension. It was a slow kiss filled with passion. Our lips moved together rhythmically, and my hand found its way to her waist. I could taste the vanilla Chapstick on her lips as our tongues collided in a heated motion. Out of all the kisses I’d ever had, this one broke the scale. It felt like I was experiencing my first kiss for the first time all over again, but now it was like I could actually feel it. The world around me seemed to fade away, and all I could focus on were the two of us. Lexi moved her hand from my neck to my hair and tugged gently. I bit her bottom lip, eliciting a guttural moan to escape from her mouth. I clenched my thighs together as the heat began to build between my legs. I didn't know how long we kissed each other, but to me, it wasn't long enough. Pulling apart, I opened my eyes slowly and saw the look on Lexi’s face. She was smiling, but at the same time, she was crying.

Pushing myself up and away from her, I asked, “What's wrong? I’m so sorry, did you not want…?”

Lexi laughed as she sat up too. She moved closer to me, our shoulders touching, causing a shiver to run through my body.

“Autumn, I promise you, for once in my life, I’m actually okay. More than okay, really,” she admitted, wiping her tears away and staring down at her lap. “I just…I haven't felt as seen as I do when I’m with you. You listen to me. You make me laugh. You make me feel beautiful. You make me feel safe.”

I gently lifted her head so that our eyes met again. “You make me feel heard. You make me feel like my pain is justified. You make me feel like healing is possible. You make me happy.”

Lexi smiled, refusing to look away, her eyes glistening. “Did we switch personalities there for a second there? You gained my confidence at flirting, and I gained your cute but cringy shyness?”

I shook my head and tried to hide the growing grin on my face. I pushed my hair to the side with my middle finger, flicking her off as I laughed. “Fuck you.”

“Anytime, Autumn. Any fucking time.”

When my parents' relationship went south, I gave up on the idea of being happy. I gave up on the idea of feeling secure. I gave up hope. Lexi made me question all of my beliefs in the best way possible. I had always been a pessimist, but now I wasn’t so sure. To say I was an optimist would be a bit of a stretch, but one thing was for certain—Lexi gave me hope.

Eat, Prey, Love

“How is this possible? I've known you for…” Lexi glanced down to check her phone and look at the time before speaking again, “Five hours?”

“Really, that's it, five hours? I feel like we've been through a war together.”

“Tell me about it.” Lexi stood and reached out her hand to me. Accepting her offer, she pulled me off the floor with an unexpected amount of strength. I thanked her while trying to hide my face so she wouldn’t see my cheeks, tinged with pink. A low grumble was heard as Lexi looked down at her stomach and said, “Want food?”

“God yes,” I said, my mouth watering at the thought of eating for the first time in what felt like days.

“Hey, Lilly!” Lexi called with her hands cupped around her mouth. “Can you bring two menus with some dinner options?”

“You got it, Lexi!”

Lexi turned off the television and pressed a button on a separate remote, which brightened the dark room. We both walked over to the dining table and sat across from each other. As we sat in silence and waited for the menus, I could feel the awkwardness consume us.

“So…have you kissed any other girls on a private jet recently?”

That was all Lexi needed to come back to life as she threw her napkin at me. “Don't be stupid,” she cackled while rolling her eyes.

Stifling laughter, I grabbed the napkin and stuck my tongue out at her. A few seconds later, Lilly walked out with two menus. I shifted my attention to Lilly, who was now standing with her arm outstretched and prompting me to take a menu.

“Thank you.”

She nodded before turning to Lexi and examining the empty plate that sat in front of her. With a look of confusion, Lilly then asked, “Oh, sorry Lexi, do you need a napkin?”

Then the worst idea popped into my head as I answered Lilly’s question. “No, Lexi actually gave me her napkin because she said she’d prefer to have a damp cloth heated at exactly 78 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid smudging her makeup.”

“Oh,” Lilly stuttered while failing to grasp the joke. “Uhhh…of course.”

Lexi opened her mouth to deny the accusations, but before she could, I interjected, “And from now on, she would prefer it if you didn’t address her directly but instead only speak to me.”

“Umm…okay,” Lilly squinted while looking at me quizzically, still failing to understand my humor.

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