When he turned back to Lexi, she was glancing around the corner toward her friends. “I’m not sure what my friends are doing. But by the look of things, I’m going to have to carry half of them home.”
Even in her high heels she was more than a handsbreadth shorter than him. It would have been interesting to see her try.
“I should go catch up with them before they get into any trouble.”
He didn’t know if she was actually interested and playing it off or if she was just ready to be rid of him.
“My friends are probably lost without me, too,” Jack said. It surprised him that he wasn’t ready for her to leave.
“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked.
“Are you studying tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, I should be there.”
“Guess I’ll see you there.”
“Sounds good,” he said, knowing she was going to leave and he wouldn’t see her again until the next time he worked.
She turned and started down the alley.
He should let her leave. He should. Honestly, he really, really should.
What good could come from him stopping her? He had a girlfriend back at home. Sure, he could become friends with Lexi. She could hang out with Seth and the guys. Maybe even meet Danielle sometime. That might be feasible…maybe.
He knew that letting her go was the smart thing to do. If he wanted anything from this, then he needed to be smart about it. Leave her alone…watch her walk away…figure things out with Danielle…
That was what he should have done.
But he couldn’t.
They got along, and they had some kind of connection. He would be an idiot to not do anything about it. Even if absolutely nothing came from it and they just became friends that would be okay with him. Her leaving without him knowing if he would ever see her again…that wasn’t okay with him. He couldn’t see that ever being okay with him.
“Lexi!” Jack called, jogging down the street to catch up with her.
She turned to face him, those big brown eyes swallowing him whole. He had to see her again.
“I know you have to study tomorrow, but what are you doing Friday?”
She didn’t respond right away, as she seemed to be thinking about her schedule. He waited impatiently, wondering what she could be doing.
“I don’t have any plans,” she finally responded.
Jack blew out a breath. Good. “Do you want to hang out?”
Lexi nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”
CHAPTER 4
THE DATE
He should call the whole thing off.
Jack stared down at his phone, wavering back and forth. He knew that if he broke off the date right before the event, he would look like a total dick. Not a good first impression. But if he didn’t call it off and it ended up being a real date…then he’d feel even more like a dick.
In the end, it was this backward way of arguing with himself that led to his decision. If he were going to look like a dick either way, then he would rather spend time with Lexi. He was probably overanalyzing this anyway. This probably wasn’t even a date.
Seth, Luke, and Michael had left to pick up Hunter and Clark. Jack knew that Seth was trying to get out of his hair. Despite the fact that he and Seth had gone to dozens of parties, bought drinks for girls, and then danced and flirted, Jack had never done anything like this before. There was always a point where he was like…well, time to get back to Danielle. Seth would bring a girl or two home, and Jack would go to bed alone. There wasn’t even a moment when he’d thought it would be any other way. He was pretty sure that Seth believed that would change tonight, so he had left Jack alone.
Jack was happy for the reprieve, but he couldn’t let anything happen.
“Fuck it.” He shook his head and shoved his phone in his pocket.
He had already made up his mind. He wasn’t going to go back on it.
Jack walked out to his car and revved the engine. He shot off a text message to Lexi, saying he was on the way. He didn’t live too far from the dorms, so it was a quick commute. Soon enough, he was driving up to the front of Russell Hall. He pulled over, turned on his hazard lights, and called Lexi to let her know he was here.
She answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, do you want me to come upstairs?” Jack asked.
“Nah. No point in making you try to get past security. I’ll be right down.”
Jack hung up the phone and waited for her to leave the dorm. A few minutes later, he saw a girl racing down the steep hill to where his car was parked. Her dark hair had been tamed and slicked back into a high ponytail. Her curls bounced up and down as she jogged down the hill. She looked great in dark skinny jeans and a green tank top that hugged her in all the right places.
She reached his car, opened the door, and slid into the black leather seat. He stared at her just long enough to see that she had on that same damn pink lip gloss. For a split second, he wanted to lean over and kiss those plump lips, but then he recovered himself. Letting off the clutch, he flew down the road.
Jack took a breath, already relaxing in her presence. All the anxiety from worrying about whether or not this was the right idea fell away from him.
“So, where are we going?” Lexi asked.
She leaned back into the seat as he took a turn.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Hmm…I like surprises.”
“I thought you might.” Jack glanced at her briefly, taking in her slight smile.
He put his iPod on shuffle, and John Mayer’s acoustic cover of “Free Fallin’” filtered through the speakers. He veered the car toward their destination, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the guitar chords.
“Do you play?” Lexi asked.
“A little.”
“Oh yeah? What instruments?”
He chuckled softly, thinking about the answer to this question. He had been kind of a musical fiend when he was younger. He had picked up every instrument imaginable. He wasn’t wonderful at any of them, but he was good at pretty much all of them. “Just guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and some drums, but I’m really rusty.”
“Jesus!” Lexi cried. “All I can do is sing.”
“Oh, and I sing.” He smirked as he hit the brake at a red light.
“Well, don’t you seem to be good at everything?” Lexi said, staring up at him through thick dark lashes.
Jack hastily returned his attention to the road, but he still watched her out of the corner of his eye. “You just wait and see.”
“I look forward to it.” She giggled, turning back around to face the front.
Jack’s smirk grew with her laughter. Something about Lexi seemed to just fit. She was so easy to be around. There was no forcing the conversation. There were no awkward silences. There was only Jack and Lexi.
He took the last turn to their destination, and Lexi’s eyes widened considerably. Before them, on an expanse of university property that was typically just an empty field, stood a recently constructed carnival with university students flooding the park. A giant Ferris wheel with dozens of bright twirling carts rested at the center of the field with carnival rides and booths surrounding it.
“I didn’t know a carnival was coming through town!” Lexi cried.
“One night only,” Jack explained. “The university sets up celebrations like this throughout the year. Since you’re new, I thought I’d take you to the first one of the year.”
He was rewarded with a gorgeous smile that knocked him breathless. He was glad that she liked the surprise, but if she kept looking at him like that, she wouldn’t have any pink lip gloss on by the end of the night.
A plump older man in an orange vest was waving a light stick to direct them into a makeshift parking spot on the lawn.
The couple trekked across the muddy terrain toward the vinyl ticket booth. After handing over their student identification cards, the student association representative slid the cards through a reader. The machine dinged each time, confirming their authenticity.
“Have a good time, and don’t forget to grab a complimentary T-shirt on your way out,” the woman said.
She handed them back their cards with one hand and used the other to gesture toward a display of boxes containing hundreds of bright green tees.
“Thanks,” Jack said.
He grabbed Lexi’s arm and raced through the entrance. She laughed completely and totally carefree as she rushed after him through the bright flashing carnival signs and booths. Jack pulled up short when he saw who was standing directly in front of them.
Damn! He thought he would have had more alone time with Lexi before he ran into his friends.
Between his five friends, they were counting out at least several hundred orange paper tickets, like little kids at Chuck E. Cheese. Each looked more excited than the next. Seth and Clark began trying to steal each other’s tickets, and Jack shook his head, expecting a fight to break out any minute. He laughed at their behavior, not surprised in the least.
“Hey, guys,” he said, casually approaching them with Lexi.
They all stared at her with knowing smiles on their faces.
He could have punched them, but instead, he just swept out his hand and said, “This is Lexi.”
Thankfully, the guys gave their names and nodded hellos without completely embarrassing him. He hadn’t known what to expect from his friends when they would inevitably meet her. Maybe Seth had talked some sense into them.
After introductions, they had to decide which ride to hit first. Seth took the lead as per usual, and he started to push them toward the bumper cars. When Luke put up a fight, claiming they always ganged up on him, he and Seth started arguing.
Jack laughed as they bickered, but his focus was on Lexi. She seemed completely relaxed with his friends. They were a lively bunch, and most girls didn’t seem to fit in right away. He liked that she had no such problems.
Overriding Luke’s complaints, the group got into the line for the bumper cars.
Jack moved closer to Lexi, taking a little too much pleasure in sidling up to her. He whispered in her ear, “We actually do gang up on Luke. Better make sure you join in on the fun. His reaction will be well worth it.”
She nodded and even seemed anxious to mess with Luke.
Had Jack ever met a girl who immediately followed along with their joking?
As expected, Luke got rocked on the bumper cars. When he came off the ride, he started swinging at anything he could get his hands on. He even knocked over a tiny blonde in his angst. His friends’ laughter only egged him on further.
Without thinking, Jack slung his arm across Lexi’s shoulders as they laughed. As she turned into him, trying to catch her breath through giggles, he breathed in sharply. He needed to stop this. Why did she make that so hard?
“I cannot believe him,” Lexi said, breaking contact, as she wiped away tears of laughter.
“He is a riot,” Jack confirmed.
They watched Luke try to punch Seth, but Seth ducked under Luke’s halfhearted blow easily.
“Why don’t we get you something to rot your teeth?” Jack suggested.
He wanted her away from the walking comedy act, so he could have her all to himself again. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away toward a cotton candy machine. Her hand fit perfectly in his, and he quickly dropped it when he came to that realization.