Page 30 of Where We Fall

"Nothing. Lexi and I had an interesting talk on the way back to the hotel."

My eyes keep wandering towards the elevators, waiting to see when she will appear.

"Oh, yeah?" I respond, slightly distracted.

A set of elevator doors slide open, and I catch a glimpse of a familiar pink dress. My heart rate accelerates as she walks out.

When I get a full view of her, I lose my breath. It's a disturbing reaction to someone I'm supposed to be pretending with tonight.

But I can't deny how stunning she looks. She's almost hard to look at, yet hard to look away from. If Mia is talking right now, I can't hear her.

I can't hear anything but the beating of my own heart, and I can't do anything but stare in awe like a complete fool.

Lexi stops in front of me with a warm smile.

"Fuck, Lexi," I whisper. "You look…absolutely stunning."

Her blush appears but she wears it with pride this time. "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"Doesn't she look amazing!" Alexis says, giving me the same knowing look I got from Mia just minutes ago.

I look around the lobby. "When did you guys get here?" I ask as I notice Gabe, Luke, and Savannah.

"Uh, we came down with Lexi. You didn't notice us?" Alexis asks.

I cough. "Uh, no, I guess I didn't."

"Limo is here," Gabe says, distracting Alexis from our conversation.

I let everybody else head for the door while I pull Lexi back.

"Are you ready for this?" I ask her.

"A little nervous. I don't want to screw it up for you guys."

"That's not gonna happen. Just follow my lead. And I wasn't exaggerating when I said you look stunning." My eyes fall back down to her body as I admire her curves. I can't help but laugh when I see her blush. "I love how you get so affected by my compliments."

She smiles then bites her lip, like she's trying to stop herself. "I guess I'm not used to getting them from you. It's a bit of an adjustment."

"All of this is a bit of an adjustment. Like you running off this morning before we could talk about what happened."

There, I said it. It's out in the open.

Her eyes open wide in surprise. "I'm so sorry. I completely panicked."

She hides her face in her hands, and I have to laugh again. I grab her hands and pull them away from her face, forcing her to look at me.

"I think we just need to laugh it off. We're grown adults in our thirties. I think we can engage in some heavy cuddling without looking too far into it. Deal?"

This gets her to loosen up. "So, it was a one-night-snuggle? Does that mean you're not going to call me? Isn't that what got you into this whole mess?"

My head falls back as I let out a loud laugh. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and lead us outside before we piss off the others.

"Dammit! I keep doing that. Snuggling with chicks and then not calling them."

Gone are the nerves I was feeling about the evening. Lexi and I can do this. She's so fun and easy to be around, it'll be like hanging out with my best friend on my arm all night. When we get to the limo, they are already inside waiting for us. I hold my hand out for Lexi to climb in then follow in after her.

Alexis already has the bottle of champagne opened and is pouring everybody a glass.

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