“Shush,” Lexi cried for what felt like the hundredth time. “Guys, you have to cut it out and be quiet. He’ll be here soon, and then you’ll just be embarrassing me...again.”

Rachelle gave her a half-smile. Elizabeth’s freckled face darkened, but she couldn’t keep from giggling. Her red hair was flying as she let her head tilt backwards with the laughter that was overtaking her. Claire, never too far from Elizabeth’s state of emotions, ran her fingers through the thin blonde strands that curled under her chin. Her answering giggle only egged Elizabeth on.

“But I can’t wait for him to get here,” Elizabeth muttered.

Lexi’s eyes narrowed. “He’s here all the time. There’s nothing special about tonight.”

“Ah, ah, ah...” Rachelle interrupted. “Tonight is special. Finals are officially over.”

“And we’re going out with you,” Claire added her dull grey eyes searching Lexi’s face for a reaction.

“And Jack will be all dressed up,” Elizabeth mumbled closing her eyes and imagining him in much less clothing.

The two girls had been badgering her about Jack since he arrived. Even though they saw him nearly every day for the past month, they couldn’t stop their endless discussion of him. Lexi was beginning to think they did it just to get a reaction from her. And they hated that, despite their horrible finals preparation for the past couple weeks, Lexi had been in a constant state of euphoria.

Jack and Lexi had held to their word. They were not a couple. They were lovers and most definitely in love. Yet, they weren’t together. It was easier that way so far. She was busy with law school, and he had been desperately searching for a job where he would be able to use his degree. With all that, he still had to work as a waiter and sometimes performed with a piano or guitar to make money to pay the bills that were piling up in the tiny broken-down apartment.

It made the time they were afforded together that much sweeter. And somehow they had formed a friendship different from any they had ever had before. Now they spent long, late afternoons in Central Park discussing anything that came to mind. In their past, they had been careful with the precious time they were allotted and even more careful with the time they shared around others. They never wanted to appear too friendly.

But now they could lounge around each other’s apartments all afternoon, hanging with their roommates, or other times they sat alone watching movies snuggled together. But beyond all that, their passion rang through it all. They made love nearly every day. As often as she could afford to put off studying, they would spend all afternoon in his bedroom trying out new positions, volumes, and heightened climaxes. Lexi could live like this forever.

Well, as long as she could get her roommates to shut up.

A knock sounded from the doorway, and Lexi shot her roommates a fierce glare. Elizabeth and Claire, giggling into their hands, took a seat next to Rachelle, who admonished them with a look of her own. The two girls dropped their hands and tried to divert their attention from the visitor in their doorway.

Lexi pushed her hair behind her ears once before opening the door. Lexi gasped and clutched the doorframe for support, when her eyes landed on the form in front of her.

“Clark,” she gasped, shock written across her face, “What are you doing here?”

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Clark had never forgiven her for what she had done to him. And she didn’t blame him. If the situations were reversed, she wouldn’t have been able to forgive him for his treachery either. He had slandered her name, and forced her out of their circle of friends. It was like she had lost everything in the divorce. The only thing that had kept her going was the knowledge that she would be in New York soon enough, and away from it all. Which did nothing to explain why he was here on her doorstep.

Always confident, he didn’t even flinch. He smiled politely and let his green eyes work their way down her body. She instantly felt self-conscious in her skimpy black dress. The tiny spaghetti straps ended in a v-neck front and the polyester material hugged her curves in all the right places. Lexi hugged her arms across herself only increasing the amount of cleavage visible.

“I came to see you. You look beautiful,” he told her, his voice rich with emotion.

Lexi gulped hard. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her.

“Can I come in?”

Lexi bit her lip unsure of whether or not she should let him in. On the one hand, she hadn’t seen him in a very, very long time, and so it was nice to have him here. On the other hand, Jack would be here any minute. She couldn’t even imagine that.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she muttered her eyes on the floor. She could hear whispering behind her back, and knew that her roommates were trying to decipher who the mystery man was.

Clark downcast his eyes. She could tell his mind was working overtime. “I haven’t seen you in a long time. I’m all the way up here. Are you sure I can’t come inside?”

Lexi glanced over her shoulder and saw that, indeed, her roommates were very curious about the man standing before her. She felt like she had been a spectacle on display for them for the past month. When she looked back up at her ex-boyfriend, her heart skipped a beat. There were so many things wrong with this reaction that she didn’t even have time to process them all. “I…I can’t let you in. I’m sorry, Clark.”

He nodded slowly. “Well, I guess this was a mistake,” he grumbled. “Have a Merry Christmas, Lexi.”

Clark turned and began to walk back down the hallway. She stepped one foot over the threshold and watched his slumped form trudge away from her. She hated that she was hurting him. Why did she always have to hurt him? The things that she had done to him within the past year should have been enough. She couldn’t let this go on. He was here for a reason, and she owed him at least some of her time.

“Who was that?” Claire called unable to control her curiosity.

“Just a friend,” Lexi told her before slamming the door behind her. “Clark,” she called tip-toeing down the hallway in her stilettos. He stopped before he reached the stairwell and turned to face her. She raced the rest of the way down the hallway. “I’m sorry. I should have let you come inside. I was just…just so surprised.”

“I guess I should have called,” he admitted, a smile playing across his features.

“Yeah, I think that would have helped.” Her face was flushed and hands trembling. She hadn’t been this nervous in someone’s presence in a long time, and she was in law school! Mostly, she didn’t know what he wanted, and that terrified her.

Did he somehow know that she was seeing Jack? Had he come for revenge? Could he have gone to the dark side?

“Why don’t we just talk here?” she gestured for him to take a seat on the cold stone step.

His eyebrows furrowed together. “If you’d prefer that. You look like you’re freezing,” he commented reaching forward to warm her arms.

She scurried back a step not allowing herself to get in contact with him. That could be bad. She had never had this issue with anyone other than Jack, but then again she had never been in a relationship with Jack…or whatever it was.

There was no need to be like this around Clark. They had their chance, and she had blown it. There was no way they could ever be together again. She didn’t want that. She had what she wanted already. With that comforting thought, she took the seat next to him, shoulder to shoulder. He didn’t make a move to warm her again, but allowed her slight shoulder to brush against his own.

“Can I repeat my earlier question?” she asked glancing up at him through her black lashes. “What are you doing here?”