“Is Jennifer here?” he asked glancing over her shoulder to see if Jennifer was about to appear at her side.

“I don’t know, but I’ll send her your way if I find her.”

“So, you didn’t come here with Jennifer then?” he asked. She flinched, realizing that she had unintentionally given away a piece of information.

“No, I didn’t. What’s it to you anyway?” Lexi demanded getting more flustered the longer she stood in front of him.

“I’m just curious about you is all. You’ve been here before, and you came back,” he said in disbelief. “That never happens.”

“Right, well, I see that I’m a fantastic spectacle for you to wonder about, but once again, you are in my way. I’m going to be late for brunch, and frankly, I’m starving.” Not to mention she was sure to be humiliated if she arrived a second behind schedule.

“Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that,” he said, bringing his hand up and scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

“Well, I haven’t. So…yeah…nice meeting you,” Lexi said offhandedly, finally getting herself around his solid figure.

“But you didn’t. I didn’t even tell you my name or get yours for that matter.”

Lexi turned letting her loose curls trail down her back. “That’s alright. I’ve survived this long without it.” He walked forward towards her. “What are you doing?” she asked throwing her hand out to stop him from walking further.

“I can escort you to your seat,” he offered, his perfectly straight white teeth appeared as he smiled brightly at her.

“Absolutely not.”

“Do you even know where you are going?”

“You don’t know where I’m going,” she reminded him. “And I’m sure I can find my way just fine, thank you.” She took another step forward and he followed her. She clenched her fists. “Jesus, why don’t you back off?” she exclaimed raising her voice for the first time. She regretted her actions almost instantly. The obnoxious middle aged members, who had only been half-listening to their conversation, now went silent and turned their full attention to her, making her cheeks burn bright red. It didn’t help that she had taken the Lord’s name in vain in the Bible belt. Goddamn it, New York had changed her! She took three calming breaths before glancing back up at him and smiling through gritted teeth.

His smile had never wavered. Country Club manners through and through. “Well, if you are sure I can’t be of any assistance, I’ll just let you find your own way,” he said politely.

Lexi watched him purposely walk off in the opposite direction. Clenching and unclenching her hands several times calmed her down enough to allow her to search for Jack. To be honest, she had no idea where to begin. She should have let that guy help her. But after he had been so goddamn pushy, all she wanted to do was get away. She searched around unsuccessfully before noticing Jack quickly approaching her.

“Where have you been?” he asked concerned and a little annoyed.

“I ran into someone and they wouldn’t stop talking to me,” she complained.

“Well, let’s hurry up. We should get in there before they start taking orders,” he said smiling down on her, his annoyance dissipating the longer he remained in her presence.

Her throat caught as his hand rested gently on her elbow and nudged her in the appropriate direction. She had wanted things to be like this for so long. It hurt to know that the only reason she was here, the only reason he was even talking to her, was because of his girlfriend. His perfect girlfriend whom he intended to marry. His perfect girlfriend that she was about to meet. She sighed, mentally preparing herself, and followed his lead into a side room with a large gold plaque labeled Anderson, Bridges, and C. Brown.

The dining room that Lexi entered opened onto a balcony overlooking the ninth hole fairway. Cream-colored walls and blue patterned carpet decorated the large space. Three elegant oak tables filled the area with matching cushioned chairs placed around them. Nearly all the seats were occupied, and roughly thirty people glanced up from their prearranged silverware to stare at Jack and Lexi as they entered the room. Lexi smiled repentantly and ambled after Jack to their assigned seats.

“Sorry we took so long,” Jack said taking his seat across from his girlfriend.

“Uh...hi,” Lexi said adding a tiny wave before scooting into her seat and tucking her dress underneath her.

Lexi pulled her eyes from the table and let them rest on Bekah. She knew that she didn’t like her as soon as Lexi laid eyes on her. Bekah was definitely beautiful in a cookie-cutter sort of way. The pin-straight blond hair, Lexi had predicted she would have, was all one length cut to the middle of her back. Chunky bangs covered her forehead. Big blue eyes popped out from Bekah’s naturally beautiful face which was hardly tainted by make-up. Lexi felt sick upon realizing that Bekah had as nearly flawless skin as Chyna. Her pale yellow, square-cut sundress was modest yet fashionable all the while accentuating her best features. Eleven millimeter white pearls dangled from her earlobes and matched the thin chain of pearls draped across her neck. What bothered Lexi the most wasn’t that she knew that this woman was one hundred percent Jack’s type, but rather that she had something that Lexi had never appeared to have.

Innocence.

Okay, to be fair, Bekah probably wasn’t all that innocent either. After all, she was dating Jack. But she sure as hell gave off the appearance. Lexi, on the other hand, had never given off that appearance. Something about Lexi’s dark, tangled, curly hair, the way her eyes looked smoky without make-up, the way her characteristically bold personality tended to intimidate strangers, and the way she almost always felt completely comfortable in her body gave off the impression not that she was easy, but certainly that she was not innocent.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Bekah said. A row of brilliant, white teeth were revealed as she smiled across the table from her. Something in that smile held a secret. She had no idea what it was. But when she looked upon her full for the first time, Bekah looked at her as if she had seen her before…as if some light bulb of recognition had just gone off in her mind.

“Likewise,” Lexi said coughing uncomfortably and glancing away from her doe-eyed gaze. The rest of the table was filled with mostly respectable middle aged men and women in high-quality attire. She was introduced as Jack’s friend from out of town, but failed to really take in any names. She didn’t plan on remembering any of them anyway. Lexi nudged Jack. “Don’t you want to sit next to Bekah?” she asked indicating the empty seat facing her.

Lexi had thought it strange that the seat was unoccupied. He smiled at her. “Well, yeah, I would, but this is where I sit.”

Lexi cocked an eyebrow at him condescendingly. This must be some Country Club thing. Not that she wanted him to leave her side. “Alright,” Lexi said not pushing the subject. “Are we missing someone?”

“My brother,” Bekah answered. “He should be here shortly. He tends to run behind.”

“Oh.” Lexi didn’t know what else to say.

Bekah leaned over the table smiling secretively. “Sorry about that. He’s a bit of a troublemaker. He likes to upset my parents by showing up late for brunch, talking a bit too loud in public and the like.” Lexi tried not to roll her eyes. This girl was serious. Talking too loud in public? Had she ever left her bubble? “I don’t mind it so much though. I think it’s humorous.”

“I’m sure it is.” Lexi tried to smile. She had just used humorous in a sentence. Fantastic.

“Yeah, Ramsey’s a riot,” Jack interjected.

Bekah smiled even bigger, her blue eyes glittering with unspoken revelations. “He is...something else,” she said dropping her voice. “But anyway, I am so glad that your flight landed as scheduled. I would have felt terrible changing plans on you if you were still in transit. Jack wasn’t sure if you would accompany us for brunch, but I’m very glad he was able to convince you.”