“Lexi?” Jack asked as she collapsed into his arms. “Are you okay? Don’t listen to him. Just don’t even think about it. He’s such an asshole. I could kill him for hurting you.”
Lexi shook her head. Her body was trembling as he wrapped his arms around her waist lifting her from her feet as he stood straight. She wouldn’t let the tears fall. She simply couldn’t let the tears fall. As Jack held her closely, her breathing slowed and her trembling eased. His embrace was more comforting than anything else could be. It let the memories be pushed back into the box that encased them in her mind.
After a minute, she spoke, “I’m fine, Jack. It’s not what he said. It’s what he made me remember.”
He set her down on her feet resting his forehead against hers. “I know.”
“It’s okay,” she murmured.
“It’s not okay,” he uttered wrenching back and looking into her dark brown eyes. “Lex, it’s not okay.”
Lexi sighed heavily and took a step backwards. “You’re right. It’s not okay. We’ve moved on. So…let’s just move on,” she said yanking the stairwell door open and walking through it without waiting for his response.
She heard Jack’s footsteps behind her, but he was smart enough not to come any closer. When she reached her doorway, she strolled inside. A chorus of questions bombarded her upon entry. The cacophony pained her fragile eardrums, and she held her hand up to silence them. Surprisingly, the girls stopped at once. Their dramatic gossip before she returned must have made them realize that something had gone on, and with Jack in tow, they didn’t care to embarrass themselves.
“Jack is here now,” she murmured, “Feel free to ogle him. That’s much more normal than the rest of my life,” she said walking into the only bedroom and shutting the door.
She heard whispers on the other side as the girls hypothesized what had occurred. Then a knock sounded on the door. “Lex,” Jack smooth voice called out to her.
“Just give me a minute,” Lexi told him taking a seat on the cold tile floor and hugging her knees to her chest. She just needed a second to let the waves of emotion fall off her shoulders. A few deep healing breaths later, Lexi stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Beyond the wild look in her eye, she didn’t look any different than before. Her make-up hadn’t smudged and since she hadn’t allowed herself to cry over the pain, she didn’t have any mascara streaks. Pleased with her appearance, Lexi plastered a smile on her face and exited the bathroom.
“Are you guys ready to party?” she asked tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
The faces before her did not look as convinced that they were ready to party as she had hoped they would be. Claire and Elizabeth weren’t even eyeing Jack as they had promised. Jack’s face was ashen with worry for her, but she could see something else in his eyes. She wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling at the present moment. And all she wanted to do was get this night over with so they could crawl into bed together. Rachelle was the only person who hopped up out of her chair at Lexi’s announcement. She smiled politely, meeting Lexi’s eye and winking.
The two girls hustled everyone out of the apartment and into the awaiting cab. Claire and Elizabeth seemed to regain their typical bubbly personality, and kept the ride interesting. Luckily, neither Jack nor Lexi had to participate much in the conversation to keep them talking. Jack paid the cab as the girls climbed out of the backseat and onto the sidewalk.
“Miss Lexi,” Bernard, Chyna’s doorman, said tipping his hat and smiling brightly.
“Hey, Mr. B, it’s good to see you!” she told him sincerely. “You must be pretty busy tonight.”
He shrugged. “You know how Miss Chyna can be with her parties.” Lexi nodded. She sure did. “Well, you have a good time. Try and keep her under control.” He swung the door open and allowed them to enter Chyna’s building.
They could hear the loud music before the elevator doors dinged open on the top floor. Chyna had really outdone herself in celebration of the end of Lexi’s first semester. All of the lighting had been replaced with black lights. Strobe stage lighting hung from the ceiling reflecting off the blank walls and the mass of bodies grinding to the techno beats blaring from studio speakers. The sunken-in living room had been emptied of furniture and converted into a dance floor. Lexi couldn’t differentiate one person from another in the room.
Jack reached out and took Lexi’s hand in his own. His touch momentarily dispelled her earlier apprehensions. She led them through the crowded apartment amazed at how few of the people she actually recognized. A path cleared for them and they moved forward into the swinging double doors that led to the kitchen where a full bar was in service for the guests.
When they walked in, they found Chyna seated at the kitchen table, her head tilted backwards, an upside down margarita being poured into her mouth. She gulped down the tequila and stood. The crowd surrounding her cheered and she pumped her fist in the air in victory. Another girl took her place and Chyna bounded over to the group.
“Thank goodness you are here!” she cried wrapping her arms around Lexi. “My Alexa is that much closer to being a lawyer. Which is fabulous, because you never know when I’ll need one,” she said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively and bumping hips with Lexi.
“Lord I hope you never need one,” Lexi mumbled.
Chyna giggled hysterically, already beyond wasted for the evening. Lexi smiled letting Chyna’s infectious personality wash over her. Lexi settled into a corner of the kitchen with the rest of her entourage taking shots of varying colors. Rachelle, who never drank, even participated for the special occasion. After a few rounds, Claire and Elizabeth ran off to the living room claiming that they needed to get their groove on. Chyna hadn’t been able to suppress her laughter.
“Are you sure they are in law school with you?” she asked turning back to face Lexi.
Lexi giggled. “Yeah, my sentiments exactly,” she yelled over the music.
“They are a bit much,” Jack agreed lounging back in his chair. He threw an arm over the back of Lexi’s seat and propped his leg up on his knee.
“They are absu…fucking…lutely ridiculous,” Rachelle slurred resting her head on the table.
“Are you alright, Ray?” Lexi asked placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder in concern.
“I don’t understand them. I don’t know how they got in, and I don’t know how they survived!” she cried leaping up unexpectedly.
Lexi wasn’t sure how Rachelle had survived with how high strung she was and the amount of Adderall that passed through her system. “Who cares, Ray? We made it! That’s what matters.”
“I’m going to go celebrate,” Rachelle announced, “with him.” She pointed towards a guy standing against the wall waiting for his beer. And with that she sauntered off leaving Lexi, Jack, and Chyna alone.
“That was interesting,” Chyna said, “but I need more booze. You love birds have fun.” She fluttered her fingers at them as she disappeared behind the kitchen doors.
“Just you and me,” Lexi said turning towards Jack and licking her lips seductively.
“Finally,” he murmured capturing his lips with hers.
She groaned deep in her throat and shifted from her seat to his lap letting her legs face towards the wall. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her tight to his chest. He deepened the kiss letting his tongue brush across her lips and into her mouth. She sighed with pleasure and met his tongue. Her hands pushed up into his thick dark hair and gripped the strands causing a moan to escape his mouth. She felt his wandering hands sneak under her dress, trail across her inner thighs, and tease the flimsy lace material.
Lexi jerked back from his mouth in surprise. She couldn’t believe he wanted to do this here, with all these people around. Not that anyone would really notice. There were dozens of people filling the rooms and the lights were all but extinguished. His demanding fingers pushed the thong aside and began to gently rub from her clit down to her hot, wet opening. A smirk played across his features as he watched her surprise shift to desire.