Page 56 of Lexi Lets Go

His phone buzzed on the table next to him. He knew what it said, and he didn't want to look at it, but he did.

"Looks like your car is here."

"Okay," she sighed, picking up her bags. "Let's do this."

It took every ounce of restraint he had not to cancel the car, and tell her to stay and quit her job, but he needed time to plan. She needed time to think and be sure. This sucked. He took the bag from her, and they made their way to the elevator. Once in the parking garage the driver got her bag. Liam wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, wishing they weren’t about to be apart. He reminded himself that he had to fix his mess and that he would see her in a week. That felt like a long time right now.

He pulled back from her enough to kiss her slowly and with such tenderness. Breaking the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers, tears burning in his sinuses. The words he wanted to say were at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them down. He cupped her face and kissed her one last time.

"This has been the best week of my life," she said with such honesty it broke him.

"I’ll see you at the show next weekend."

She nodded, tears in her eyes.

"And I'm going to text you so much everyday you’ll beg me to stop."

"Not a chance.”

"And I'm going to facetime you every night."

"Even better."

He sighed and pressed another kiss to her trembling mouth. He pulled away, needing to rip off the band aid or he would whisk her right back up into bed and pretend all the stuff he had to deal with didn't exist. If he was going to make this work, he needed to give it a sturdy base to build the relationship on.

With all his will power he walked her over to the car and said goodbye. The car started its way out of the parking deck and Liam pulled out his phone.

Liam- I miss you already.

Lexi- Right back atcha.

Chapter24

Lexi

The car ride home had been a long tearful one for Lexi, which wasn’t like her. She usually had this no nonsense, sarcastic shell of protection around her. Liam had blown that all the way up. She wasn't sure how to proceed. When she let him in on the bench overlooking the falls, she thought it was safe because he was leaving. He was leaving and she would never see him again, so sharing the deep secrets she kept seemed safe. Why would a big star like Liam James care about the trials of her life? But she wasn’t prepared for what happened afterward.

She was not prepared to fall in love with him and she certainly was not expecting for him to love her back. And while neither of them had said the words, she knew what she felt, and thought he just might feel the same way.

There were still a lot of logistics to work out. This whole thing could still blow up in her face, but she knew he was worth it. Yet here she was back in her sad little house, eating a disgusting frozen dinner.

Getting up, she tossed the whole thing in the trash and ordered a pizza. It was time she got out of the autopilot she had been trapped in. She was no longer in the survival mode that had almost killed her. She had a good job. She had this house. She had money in her savings. She had a brother who loved her, and just maybe, if she let them in, she could have a group of friends. That cookout had been nice, and the Smith's had started inviting her to all the holidays. She had declined their invitations because she just thought they were being nice. Maybe they were just being nice, but what's wrong with that? Just being nice can turn into real, lasting relationships.

The dream board was still on her table, taunting her. She wished things had worked out differently for the little girl who had made that board. She wished she had been able to follow her dreams, explore the world, and find out who she was. Liam would gladly help her fulfill her dreams. She knew that without a second thought. But the thing was, she didn’t know what she wanted. She had never explored that because what would’ve the point? Her life was set for her the day her mom died. She hadn’t made a choice since that day. Now that there were choices available to her, she was at a loss about what to do.

After switching over the laundry, there was a knock at the door. She got the pizza and settled on the couch, turning on a show she had seen a million times. Tomorrow she would go back to work and pretend like her life hadn’t just been turned upside down.

Her phone vibrated on the table. She smiled when she saw who it was.

Liam- how do you feel about dick pics?

Lexi- In general not great, but for specific dick I'm all for it.

Liam- You better mean mine.

Lexi- *kissy face emoji*

Liam- photo uploading...

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