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She is, though I couldn’t explain how or why, but she is. There’s a calmness to her that wasn’t there before, a maturity.

She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m trying. I’ve been working on myself a lot since the last time I was here. Look.” She lowers her stare, kicking at the ground with her boot. She fiddles with a thread at the bottom of her shirt and returns her beautiful gaze to mine. “I want to apologize again for…”

I hold up a hand, halting her explanation. “I don’t need any more apologies, Lexi. You’re free to be who you want to be. You don’t have to apologize to me for that. It’s done. Over. You can do what you want.”

“But that’s the thing. I’m not that girl anymore, or at least I’m trying not to be.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I shake my head.

“It matters to me. I want you to know.”

“Why? We had a week together. We don’t owe each other anything.”

She looks from my eyes to my mouth, and my stomach flips. “Maybe not. But I still want you to know. I haven’t done anything since leaving here. No pills, no pot…not even alcohol. The girl I was when I arrived in Chicago back in May and the girl who left were different people. Maybe it was only a week, but you changed my life. For the first time, I wanted more.”

I don’t know what to do with her declaration. I can’t pretend that I’m not elated that she’s stayed away from drugs since we last saw each other. Had it not been for that one incident, who knows where we’d be now? But, at the same time, it holds no relevance in my life. What’s done is done. Our week is over. We had our fun, and the rest…well, it doesn’t matter anymore.

“I’m happy for you, really. Everyone deserves a life of more, right?” I press my lips into a grin.

She nods. “Yeah, a life of more. I like that. So how’ve you been?”

“Great. No complaints.” The lie rolls off my tongue.

The reality is, I’ve felt off-kilter until this very moment right here. Just having Lexi in my presence allows me to finally breathe—carefree and without worry.

And then I just talk. I tell her about everything and nothing just to keep her nearby. The conversation is easy, reminding me of the week we lay in bed and chatted about everything under the sun. If I’m honest, that week changed me, too. I didn’t realize how much until now. I know there’s no going back, but I can pretend that we’re still trapped in our little bubble of heaven, even if just for today.

Lifting my arm, I take a lock of her hair between my thumb and forefinger. “I love it.” Just the touch of her hair causes a shiver of heat to warm my skin. I drop my hand.

“Yeah?” Her cheeks blush. “I needed a change. So when in doubt, get a haircut, I guess.”

“It really looks good. It suits you.”

“You look good, too. The same.” She grins. “But good. So are you dating anyone?”

I shake my head. “No. You?”

“No one since you.”

Her statement has me feeling all sorts of things I shouldn’t be.

“So no partying and no guys? What have you been up to this past six months?” I arch my brow.

She laughs. “A lot. You have no idea. That’s a conversation for another day.”

“Come on. Give me something. Have you become obsessed with…crafting? Knitting afghans or something?”

“Gosh no. Firstly, I’m not eighty. Secondly, knitting a heavy blanket in Florida in the summer? Sounds like torture.”

“True. It is pretty hot down there. So what have you been up to then?”

“You know, just the run-of-the-mill self-discovery journey. Took some college courses. Stuff like that.”

“That’s awesome, Lex. So what are you going to school for?” I ask.

She bites her lip and gives me a sheepish smile. “Well, that’s to be decided at the moment. Let’s just say I haven’t found my calling yet.”

“Hey.” I tap her arm, finding any excuse to touch her. “That happens. At least you’re trying.”

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