Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding 3)

He caught her eye and smirked as if to say, Are you this happy?

She bit her lip but didn’t pull her eyes away. The answer was no, and he could read it clear all over her face.

Adam hoisted Chyna up into his arms, and her head dropped back as she laughed at the pure joy and ridiculousness of the man she loved. Instead of letting her walk down the aisle, Adam carried her to a deafening round of applause just as the sun eased to the bottom of the horizon, and the sky changed to a gorgeous pink, orange, and yellow hue across the skyline.

John and Lexi came together in the center, linked arms again, and followed the couple off of the rooftop. Lexi didn’t glance over at Ramsey once. She couldn’t meet his eye. She couldn’t let him see the thoughts swirling through her mind right now.

They made it through the double doors, and when she finally removed her hand from the sleeve of John’s suit, she took a few steps away from him. Chyna and Adam had disappeared, and Lexi could only guess what they were up to.

“We’ll take pictures in about ten minutes,” the wedding planner said, addressing them.

“Thank you,” she got out weakly.

“Are you okay, dear?”

“She’s just a little light-headed,” John interjected quickly. “I’ll make sure that she’s taken care of.”

The wedding planner smiled, relieved. “Thank you. Remember, ten minutes.”

John waited until the wedding planner left before doing anything. The reception would be starting shortly after this in the ballroom downstairs. An open bar was keeping people entertained while they waited for all the pictures to be completed. But there was only one way on and off the roof, and John was hauling her into a private room, away from the entrance to avoid the partygoers who would soon follow.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” John asked once they were inside the room.

Lexi shrugged. “No.”

“At least you didn’t say that nothing was wrong.”

“Just…leave me alone.”

“What? So, you can mope in here during your best friend’s wedding? No can do,” John said. “So, just spit out what’s wrong, and we can go take some pictures.”

Lexi just glared at him.

“Better yet. Let me just guess. You’re realizing how heavy that ring is on your finger.”

“I am not,” she snapped.

“Let me see it,” he said, snatching her left hand in his. “Pear-shaped.” He tsked her, shaking his head. “I would have pegged you for a princess cut, but what do I know? I’m not marrying you.”

“You’re such an ass,” Lexi said, snatching her hand back. “I thought you were going to try to make me feel better, not harass me about my engagement.”

“Fine. Do you want me to lock the door? I bet we can make this quick,” he said, walking toward the door.

“No! Are you out of your mind?” Lexi asked, jumping up to stop him.

“Are you sure? You look like you need a good f**k to get your head on straight.”

“The only person f**king me is my boyfriend!”

“Fiancé,” John corrected with a smirk.

“Oh, whatever.”

“That’s right. It’s just, whatever. It doesn’t really matter,” he said, whirling her around and pushing her back against the wall, right by the door.

Once again, she was backed against a wall by John when she had given no invitation.

“What the f**k are you doing?”

“Lexi, you can’t deny the physical attraction between us,” he said softly, running his hands down her cheek.

She tried to swat his hand away, but he grabbed her wrist. She started panicking. This was not good.

“Um…yes, I can!”

He leaned down toward her and smiled devilishly. “No, you can’t. You never could.”

The door swung open then with John hovering only inches above her lips, his hand gripping into her wrist, and the other, she hadn’t even noticed until then, was pressed into her waist.

“What the f**k is going on in here?” Ramsey asked, glaring daggers at John.

John released her slowly but kept that insufferable smirk on his face. He was clearly in no hurry.

Lexi didn’t even know what to say. Ramsey looked livid. His eyes were on fire. His body was rigid, and his hands were balled into fists. She had only ever seen him this angry that night on New Year’s so long ago. It was a white-hot fury, uncontrollable and unstoppable.

“I’ve only ever set one rule,” Ramsey said, walking into the room with slow, measured steps. “I don’t care who she’s friends with. I don’t care who she hangs out with. I don’t even care if they want to f**k her or love her or marry her. You just can’t touch her.”

And then, Ramsey pulled back and rammed his fist into John’s jaw.

Lexi shrieked in shock. Where the f**k had that come from? Holy shit!

John took a staggered step back on impact, but Ramsey wasn’t letting up. He slammed his fist into the other side of John’s face, then into his gut, and then another into his ribs. It wasn’t until that last one that John truly grasped what was happening. He blocked Ramsey’s next hit and sent his fist into Ramsey’s kidney.

“Stop!” Lexi cried, tugging on Ramsey’s suit. “Stop! Stop!”

It was like they didn’t even hear her or feel her trying to get between them. They were set on each other, and she could already see blood running from John’s nose. Fuck!

“It’s Chyna’s wedding! We still have pictures! Are you guys f**king stupid? Cut it out!” Lexi yelled, placing herself in between them and pushing Ramsey back with both of her hands.

He didn’t budge at first, but then he seemed to let the anger slide off him, and he sagged backward a few steps.

“What the f**k is wrong with you?” John said, holding his nose. “Do you see what you’re marrying, Lexi? Do you believe me now?”

“Just get out of here, John. Go have someone look at your nose,” she said, pointing her finger to the door. “Fuck.”

John stormed out of the room in a fury, and Lexi was sure she would never hear the end of this with Chyna. How the hell were they supposed to take pictures now when John had a busted nose? And it was all because John had cornered her when she had been freaking out, and Ramsey had jumped to conclusions. She had been trying to push John away, and she had wanted him to leave but not like that.