“It was the opposite,” he told her taking her hand out of her lap once again as he regained composure. “I didn’t respect her at all, because I slept with you. She was easy to handle and convenient. Nothing more to me than that. I cared for her, but when you walked away from me that day, our relationship turned hostile and almost pathetic. I stayed with her more out of boredom. And to find out you weren’t with Clark after all that, I just…I don’t know what to say…” he trailed off.

They sat in silence both milling over the new found information that miscommunication had deprived them of so long ago. Lexi sighed, itching to find out what this meant for them in the present time.

“I guess we both thought we were doing what was in the other’s best interest,” Jack told her.

“Where do we go from here?” Lexi asked tentatively looking up into his blue eyes. What she saw gave her more hope than she thought she deserved. His eyes were lit up and the smile that crossed his face took her breath away.

“I have a thought,” he began leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek. She was unable to believe he had just kissed her after all that.

“What’s that?” she asked nudging him along.

He scooted closer on the bench so that there wasn’t any room left between them. “I’m going to be in New York for a little while so why don’t we try this out?”

“You mean date?” she asked in disbelief.

He scrunched up his face. “You think that we can really be normal enough to date?” he asked sarcastically.

“Oh shush,” she said smacking him playfully, “I just mean that we’re a little bit past that point and we’re not exactly normal.”

He nodded agreeing with her. “Okay, so, we don’t date. Let’s not be a couple since we’re pretty good at that at least.”

“Then what are we?”

“We’re working on making this right,” he said bringing his lips to hers gently.

“I like the sound of that,” she said against his soft lips, her breath quickening instantly.

He drew back from her, a cocky smirk played across his features. “I forgot how much I love your reactions to everything.”

He trailed a hand down the side of her face and on to her neck. “Jack, we’re in public,” she reminded him. He retracted his hand seeming to realize that they were in a crowded place for one of the first time. Lexi glanced around at their surroundings to make sure that they hadn’t drawn any more unnecessary attention towards themselves. When she was satisfied, she turned back to Jack taking in his beautiful features and feeling giddy and light-headed all at once.

For the first time, she was hearing the words she had always dreamed of hearing. Maybe not in the exact way she had expected, but it was an improvement. So they weren’t a couple, but since when was that new? They had never been a couple. They had never had that kind of relationship. This was probably the best thing for them anyway. She couldn’t imagine them as a serious couple. Every other person they had dated that way had ended in disaster. She didn’t want them to end up like that. She wanted what she had always envisioned with Jack.

“Where are you staying in New York?” she asked not so subtly. She bit her bottom lip and stared up at him under her long black lashes.

“I’m guessing your dorm room only has a twin,” he said smirking as he stood hauling her up off the bench and leading her out of the building. “You know, I had planned on taking you through the museum.”

She smiled up at him as they entered the cold afternoon air. “I’m going to assume there will be time for that later.”

“Not if I can help it,” he said with a wink as he laced his fingers with hers. They trotted down the stairs together. He hailed a cab that drove them across town away from Central Park, Washington Square, and Park Avenue, to a rundown building with dilapidated paneling and a slew of broken windows. Lexi cringed at the sight, unfamiliar with the more unpleasant side of town. She followed him up four flights of stairs and stood before a door with three layers of off-white paint chipping from the frame.

He flashed an apologetic smile before entering the apartment. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief at the interior. Despite the disgusting outwards appearance, the inside was clean and well furnished even if nothing in the apartment seemed to match. “Sorry about this. I was staying with some family friends for awhile, but they ended up having their parents move back in with them so they could keep a better eye on their health conditions. That put me out of a place to stay, and I ended up here with this girl I met at my last job. I’m not sure if she’s around,” he said looking around the apartment warily.

“How many jobs have you had?” she asked curiously.

He squirmed under her question. “A few more than I would have liked.”

“Oh,” she stated unsure of what to say. “What are you doing now?”

“Uh…I’m a waiter, but I feel more like I’m in between jobs. I was working at this amazing job off Wall Street,” he told her his eyes glossing over with pride, “but they had to let a whole bunch of people go because of the economy. I moved up here for the job, and then it was taken out from under me. I’ve been talking to a lot of companies though. It’ll pick up.”

Lexi empathized with his pain. She had heard of so many people losing their jobs due to the economy. She was avoiding the real world as long as she possibly could and hoping everything would turn around by the time she was out of law school. Lexi reached out and touched his arm bringing him out of his bad mood.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he apologized guiding her towards a door. “This is where Stella is letting me crash until I can get on my feet again.”

He pushed open the door and revealed a room just large enough to fit a double bed, dresser, and TV. Not that he needed much else at the moment. He closed the door behind them as Lexi climbed onto the bed. She snuggled into the green comforter surprised at how comfy the mattress was. Jack crawled onto the bed after her, tucking his arm underneath her shoulders, and pulling her into him.

She let his kisses travel down her face, to her neck, and across her collarbone. It was a different feeling than she was accustomed to with Jack. He wasn’t in a hurry with her. It had been a long time since they had been together, and he wanted to savor every inch of her body. He paused at the base of her throat running his hands across the smooth skin left exposed by her sweater.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he said pressing his lips to her skin, “but this is the palest I’ve ever seen you.”

She laughed deep into her diaphragm. “There’s not as much sun here.”

Jack straddled her legs and reached for the purple sweater that was covering her pale form. He slid his hands up under the material dragging the flimsy tank top with it over her head. Trailing from her bellybutton across her ribs, up between her breasts, and then back to the hollow of her throat, he hummed softly, “Pale, pale, pale. Do, do, do.” Lexi couldn’t keep from giggling at his adorableness.

One hand snaked under her body and unsnapped the sheer lace bra she was wearing. He tossed it to the ground and yanked his own shirt over his head in one fluid motion. Lowering himself back down to her body, he made work with her breasts until she was squirming under him. The rest of their clothes followed and each took their time exploring and reacquainting themselves with each other’s body. She could tell he was getting close to going over the edge as she gripped him in her hands and used her mouth to pleasure him further. He shuddered and seized her shoulders pulling her on top of him. She gasped surprised by his forcefulness.

“You don’t want me to finish?” she asked wiggling her hips teasingly.

He smirked. “Yeah, I do,” he said as he pushed her hips down sliding inside of her. She groaned at his touch. Jack let loose a low moan at the feel of her encircling him. Lexi squeezed her muscles and felt him quiver underneath her. She leaned forward resting her hands on the bed and gave him a loving kiss before he started moving slowly inside of her. They both enjoyed alternating between who took control of the situation, the speed, and tempo that the other employed. As they both were getting close, Jack shoved her upwards and off of him. Without even giving it a seconds thought, he flipped her over grasping her hips in his hands and started where they left off doggie-style. They finished together, both spent from the physical and emotional rollercoaster from that day.