Ethan
I still hate them both, and I know for a fact that no matter the reason they give, I won’t be giving them any money. My dad didn’t think twice about his family when he walked away and took everything. Why would they ,think I would help them?
“A whiskey, and a red wine, please.” Lexi gives the waiter our drinks order as I end a call with my mom.
“We get back home on Sunday so they'll come be at Mom’s on Monday,” I tell her. If they want to talk, then they can do it with my mother there because I know she wants to hear what they say.
“Okay.” Taking a sip of her wine, she looks around the street behind me. “I thought we could go see the White House today,” Lexi says smiling at me. Even with all the shit happening in my life, in the back of my head I keep wondering how long it'll take them to get Sam. I miss the Lexi I had before he found her. She was a little spitfire, with spunk about her. Now, she’s always cautious of her surroundings, even looking at the reflections in storefront windows to see if anyone is following her. Her body stays tense the whole time she's out, and she thinks I don't notice, but I do.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She looks at the menu as she replies.
“What would you have done if Sam found you and you were dating someone? Someone you were in love with?” I ask. She looks over her menu, then glances up and holds my eyes for a moment. “Would you have run away again, even if it meant breaking your own heart?”
“I’ve fallen in love with you, and if it meant keeping you safe, then yes, I would break my own heart.” She looks back down at the menu, but I can’t take my eyes off her.
Lexi is the most unselfish person I think I’ve ever met. She would be willing to live the rest of her life on the run to keep the people around her safe.
“So, you do love me?” I take the menu from her hand, knowing she now seems a little shy with my question. She peers at me through her eyelashes. “I love you, too,” I tell her, and seeing her shy smile has me flashing one of my own. How could I not fall in love with this woman? She's all mine. There's no way I’m letting her walk away from me. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. And if Sam comes close to her, I'll destroy him. “So, the White House then…”
“Maybe some shopping first? I need to plan ahead for an entire day of sightseeing. Which days are off-limits to do anything?” Lexi asks, and I can’t help but smile at her. “I mean, outside of the bedroom. I know you’re always free for sex.” She shakes her head at me, making me laugh.
“I’m all yours until Thursday. I'll be planning out the meeting Friday, the meeting is on Saturday, then we fly back home on Sunday,” I tell her, watching her as she looks at her phone. “Someone more important than me?”
“Yes.” She looks up and winks. “The waiter taking my order is more important that you,” she smiles, looking back at her phone, turning the screen to me. She’s been texting with her brother.
Looking up at the waiter, I place our orders. “What's on the shopping list?” I ask her. I know by the look on her face exactly what she wants. “Are you missing Jimmy?” I'll never understand her love for shoes, but seeing how happy they make her, I'll buy every pair in the store.
“There's a new collection out I want to see. There are also these shoes I want. I thought I would treat myself and break my Red Sole virginity,” he states, and my drink sprays out as I start choking. “Ethan,” Lexi shouts, grabbing her napkin and patting the drink from her top.
“What?”
“You have a dirty mind. Christian Louis Vuitton shoes have a red sole. I don’t own a pair yet,” she says throwing her napkin at me.
I have a dirty mind? She could have easily told me she wants these shoes, but she had to add the word virginity in there. “Any virginity you're losing from now, are the ones I get to break. So, I'll buy the shoes for you,” I tell her. I can't stop looking at her as she's still laughing at me.
“For someone who has sex on his mind all day, every day, you can be funny about some things. I can’t wait to see what you're like when my period comes this month,” she says, chuckling at her own joke.
“I don’t want to know, thank you very much. All you have to say is no sex, and that’ll be the end of it. Nothing else has to be mentioned on the subject," I tell her. Yes, I'm a typical man. I get uncomfortable talking about female issues. I avoid it at all costs.
Lexi continues to laugh. “What…” She stops and picks up a napkin to wipe her tears from laughing so much. “What if I …” She stops again, unable to finish her sentence from laughing so much. “What if I need…” She covers her face with the napkin and I smile seeing her laugh so much over not being able to finish the sentence, so I finish it for her.
“No, I won’t be buying them for you,” I tell her, and she starts laughing even harder. “Oh, good, the food is here.” I’m so glad to change the subject.
“Noted, it won't be mentioned again,” Lexi says, finally calming down from her laughing fit.
I enjoy seeing her like this. I plan on making her this happy for the rest of my life, and from this day on, I’m going to make sure that she smiles like this every day.
***
I watch Lexi walking around the hotel room in her new shoes. “Don’t they look so cute?” she asks, not looking away from the mirror.
How can shoes cost so much? I'm sure her shoes cost the same as some of my work suits. Yes, I have the money to buy them, but I don’t spend that much on myself. If I’m not wearing my work suits, then I’m in plain old jeans and t-shirt. I've never been one to spend much money on anything other than having the penthouse remodeled. The only reason I'm spending it on that, is to remove any trace of Angie ever being a part of my life. I mean, I still carry the wallet I had in college. If it’s not broken, why change it?
“They would look even sexier if you were naked with your legs wrapped around my waist,” I tell her. That causes her to look away from her shoes and I give her a smile and a wink.
“That can be arranged for tonight,” Lexi says, looking back in the mirror at her shoes. She has been looking at them for about an hour now. “I got you something. It’s in the bag.” She points to the bed.
Lying back, I pull the bag over to me. No girl has ever bought me a gift and I know I’m going to love it no matter what it is, just because she bought it with her own money. As I lie on the bed opening the black ribbon on the Burberry bag, I look up at Lexi sitting on top of me.
I pull out the little box and smile at what I know is in there. She bought me a new wallet. Lexi reaches into my jeans pocket and pulls out my old wallet. "Yours is falling apart.” She opens it and laughs when a piece hangs from it. “See what I mean? There's fabric falling off,” she tells me as she starts taking my cards out.
I hate that she spent so much on me, but I love that she cared enough to do it. I can’t remember when someone wanted to do something for me without wanting something in return.
“Do you not like it?” she asks, watching me staring at it.
“I do. Of course I do,” I say, giving her a kiss. “Thank you. You know I'll never get rid of this.”
“Good." She takes the new wallet from my hand and starts putting my cards in there. "Now you have a sexy new wallet that needs to take me out for a nice dinner with dancing.” She has a look in her eyes that tells me I’m going to love what comes next. “Then—” she stops when my phone rings. “For fuck’s sake,” she says, getting off me.
Yep, that shot the mood to hell and back. I grab my phone and swipe to connect the call. “What?”
“Everything has been sent over for the meeting, and Travis sent you an email about the plan changes for the London mall.” Selena is quick and efficient in relaying the message to me.
“Why did he change them?” I ask. I look over at Lexi, who’s sitting on the chair with her legs stretched out on the table, drinking a glass of wine. I can’t help but smile at her admiring her shoes.
“He said there was something he thought would work better. He's planning on sending it all on Friday—”
“No, not until I’ve read it. Tell him I'll email him back.” I snap. We worked hard on that, so I want to see what he changed.
“I'll let him know, is there—”
Ending the call, I walk over to Lexi. Looking up at me, she hands me a glass of whiskey. “You know, one day I’m going to throw your phone out the window,” she says with a smile.
Not saying anything to her, I drink my whiskey. As if that would ever happen. Sitting on the chair in front of her, I pull her legs off the table and place them on mine.
Rubbing her thigh, I think about how things have changed between us and how hard I’ve fallen for her. There are mornings when I turn to face her and drink in all her beauty, happy knowing she chooses to be here with me every day.
“Our wedding day, I promise—no phone,” I tell her, and she starts choking on her wine.
“Excuse me?” she shrieks, downing the rest of her wine.
“When that day comes, and you agree to marry me, that will be the day I have no phone on me,” I tell her again. I never really wanted to get married again, but Lexi brings out this side of me. She’s this bright light that I never want to lose.
Nodding her head, she fills her glass with some more wine, then takes a sip. “So… dinner, what time should we go?” she asks. I let out a little laugh at her changing the subject.
“Whenever you’re hungry.” Placing my glass on the table, I look over at my ringing phone on the bed. Taking her legs off my lap, she places them back on the table. I watch her for a moment as she looks out the window. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about getting married. Walking over to the bed, I answer the phone.