“But I wanna,” he mumbled obviously still half-asleep. “You taste so good.”

She giggled at his slurred speech and attempted to push him away again. That only made him latch on harder to her. “Jack, come on.”

“I love it when you talk dirty,” he muttered seductively, biting down on her earlobe.

Lexi smacked him playfully on the arm and wiggled out of his embrace. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be too long,” he said, his face nearly covered by the covers once again.

Lexi trekked out of the room in nothing but her red boy short underwear and one of Jack’s old band t-shirts that was much too big for her. She padded down the hallway and into the living room. Her eyes roamed the maze of candles displayed around the room and sighed at the memory of last night. She had promised herself she wouldn’t do this. But the only way to change it was to leave the apartment and return home this minute.

But she couldn’t do that. She was not physically capable of leaving him like this. Yes, things had happened in their past that made her angry with him. Yes, he was as arrogant as they came. Yes, he had a girlfriend who he had been thinking of marrying.

Despite all that, she couldn’t leave. She had wanted to be with Jack for so long that the thought of leaving him without finding out if they actually could be, would break her heart all over again. She knew that she had probably given him more chances than anyone else would have bothered with, but those women didn’t understand what she was going through. If they weren’t willing to push through the hard times and savor the good times, then they didn’t understand men at all. Everything wasn’t always going to be peachy keen, and Lexi knew that, but she had been around Jack long enough to know how he worked. And one thing she knew, the one thing that kept her going through it all, was how she felt about him.

She had never wavered in her affection for him. Six years was a long time to wait for someone. And though times had been trying, Lexi knew deep down that Jack was what she had always wanted. Everything and everyone else had just been a distraction to help her forget him.

Lexi pressed her cold hand to her head hoping to soothe out her concerns. Exhaustion was starting to set in and the last thing she needed was to add a headache to that mix. She fumbled around in her purse until she located her cell phone, then trudged into the kitchen and began brewing a pot of coffee.

She had a missed call from her parents that she knew she ought to return right away. She was supposed to have gone home yesterday, but with everything that had happened with Jack, Ramsey, and Bekah, she hadn’t been able to get away. Guilt pushed past exhaustion on the top of her list as she cleared away her parent’s number, and punched Chyna’s instead. She couldn’t face her parents yet.

Chyna picked up after a few rings, and by the sound of her voice, she must have still been sleeping. “Hmmm? Hello?” she mumbled into the phone.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Alexa, is that you?”

“Yep. Sorry I didn’t call you back.”

“I’m sorry, am I supposed to know who you are?” she grumbled irritably into the phone. “The Alexa I know never forgets a phone call.”

“Oh, shush you. It’s not like you never forget to call me back.”

Chyna yawned loudly. “Fine. What’s up? I’m sleeping.”

“Actually, you’re awake now.” Lexi heard rustling on the other line and rolled her eyes.

“I’m only half-awake. Hold on, chica. Let me kick him out. I have no idea why he thought he could stay the night.” A loud smacking sound could be heard followed by a howl from the gentleman who had shared her bed the night before. A slur of words in Spanish cut through the line, and Lexi was pretty certain the majority of which were not pleasant. Chyna’s voice raised an octave as she insulted him back in Spanish. A smashing sound came next from what Lexi guessed was one of the pieces of priceless china she kept around her room breaking into a million pieces. A second later a door slammed and Chyna returned on to the phone. “Sorry about that. He doesn’t speak much English, but he’s maddeningly handsome with all that Latin passion. Mmm mmm mmm.”

Lexi giggled at her best friend. “I’m sure he is, knowing you.”

“Now, spill everything. You went on a date and then didn’t have the decency to discuss all the sordid details with yours truly. I’m horrified. Does that mean it went too well and you’ve been locked in his apartment for two days, or was it so bad you were afraid to talk to me?” she asked waking up at the prospect of sharing dating stories.

“Neither, I suppose. I had a lot going on, but I had an amazing time if you must know,” Lexi offered loving how excited her best friend sounded.

“And I must. Tell me everything. Who is he? Where did you find him? What did you do? Where did you go? How good was he in the sack?” she asked adding extra emphasis to the last question. “I can’t believe this happens when I’m so far away,” she groaned sounding ridiculously sexy.

Lexi shook her head at Chyna’s over-the-top personality. “We had a picnic at a laser show outside of the city. It concluded with a gorgeous fireworks display that he arranged with the park specifically for us.”

“Ooh la la,” she cooed, “Not candlelit dinners and caviar, but we can work with it,” she interjected. “So, who is this Mystery Man? And please, do give me details!”

“He’s actually…Bekah’s brother. His name is Ramsey. Ramsey Bridges,” she said cringing as she uttered the words. She bit her lip as she waited for Chyna to erupt on her.

“Bekah. Jack’s Bekah? Hmm…well, interesting turn of events, but again we can work with it. What’s he look like? Is he sexy?”

Lexi giggled. “Yeah, he kind of is. Tall, really tall with bright green eyes and sandy blonde hair. His body is killer too. David Beckham-esk physique we’re talking here.”

“Damn! Sexy and wealthy.”

“Chyna!” Lexi exclaimed scolding her.

“What?” she asked, pretending to be confused by her friend’s outburst.

“You know what.”

“Don’t act like that isn’t important. You’ll be in law and he has a trust. After hanging out with me, chica, how can you live with anything else?” she asked bluntly. Chyna never refrained from discussing how important it was to find someone with similar means when you were dating. This went back to her standards of men’s clothing as well as to his taste in alcohol, cars, apartments, and down the list. She approved of very few men for anything past the first date.

“Yes, well,” Lexi said rolling her eyes, “he is supremely wealthy. And God is he good looking, Chyna. If you had picked him out in a club, you wouldn’t have even given yourself time to get a drink from him before dragging him off to your place.”

“Watch yourself. I might have to come visit my best friend and do just that.” Lexi knew that she was only half-joking. What Chyna wanted, she typically acquired. The only things in life she hadn’t been able to control were her parent’s separation and the fact that her gorgeous designer friend, Frederick, was one hundred percent playing for the other team. He was the only man she had ever met that was too gay to sleep with her and it bothered her every day.

The delicious aroma emanating from the machine was mouth-watering. Lexi poured two mugs full of the hot brew. Then she leaned back against the counter to finish her conversation and wait for the coffee to cool down. “That’s kind of the reason I called you. I need you here this weekend,” she said forcing her hair behind her ear several times as she waited for Chyna to as the question she was dreading.

“Before I get onto the subject of why you might need me in Atlanta this weekend, you didn’t answer my question. How good is he?” she asked for the third time.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” Lexi admitted reluctantly.