Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding 2)

"Oh yes, Lexi," he drawled after a moment. "Pleasure to see you again I'm sure."

The statement sounded like a rehearsed line and Lexi tried not to take offense to the fact that they had been introduced several times previously. "You too sir," she piped up.

"Speaking of your sister, where the hell is she?" Ramsey's father growled his attention already lost.

"I think she went inside for some lemonade, dear. Don't you remember?" his wife asked him. Her petite stature looked almost comical next to the man. Despite her age, she couldn't have been larger than a size four, and she probably would have been offended with the statement. Her blonde hair was perfectly straight with soft curls at the ends, and her face had seen its fair share of surgeons…and that wasn't the only thing that had seen surgeons. Lexi glanced away immediately feeling her cheeks burn at the thought.

"If I bloody remembered, would I have asked?" he bellowed down to the woman.

"I'll go check on her," the woman replied unaffected by his belligerence.

"Tell her to hurry up. It is not every day my little girl gets married. She needs to be more attentive to these types of affairs."

"Yes dear," she drawled waltzing away from the group.

The awkward silence that followed was unlike anything Lexi had stood through. She wasn't sure what was worse. Ramsey's father was staring daggers at both Ramsey and the back entrance to the house. It was as if he couldn't determine who to be more angry at for wasting his time…or making him stand outside in the blistering August heat in a navy suit. Ramsey was trying not to notice his father's anger while at the same time avoiding Jack's entire existence. Jack was trying not to look at Ramsey as well while still sneak glances at Lexi. But he was careful also not to catch the attention of his father-in-law-to-be.

Lexi just felt her hand clamming up as Ramsey held it firmly in his. The sun was making her sweat and she was concerned that with the increased tension between her company this would make her body go into overdrive. She felt a bead of sweat run down her back and she sighed in protest. Luckily, she had been smart enough to wear something cotton so that it wouldn't show.

"Ramsey," his father barked breaking everyone's attention. "Go check on your goddamn sister." Ramsey opened his mouth to object, but the look of pure venom that he shot his son was unlike anything Lexi had ever seen. Finding it a battle not worth fighting, Ramsey nodded. He gingerly released her hand, sighing discontentedly as it if was the last thing he wanted to do, and made his way to the house.

Lexi was just glad that he hadn't drug her with him. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time with Bekah.

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" Jack asked Ramsey's father.

"Just be back before the women return. I'm not going to stand their idle chatter alone," he said clapping Jack on the back forcefully. Jack tried hard not to stumble forward a step, but he couldn't help but stutter a bit with the force of the blow.

"Lexi," Jack said snatching her up by the elbow and directing her away from the intimidating man.

As soon as she was out of arms reach from him, she jerked her elbow out of Jack's grasp. "Don't do that," she muttered.

"Sorry. I had to f**king get away from there," he responded.

"Well we're away now," she said stopping mid-step. She had no reason to be alone with him. Not that they were necessarily alone. They were in the middle of the massive backyard of Ramsey and Bekah's childhood. Still the fact that he was the only person within proper speaking distance didn't do anything to calm her roiling stomach. Just the fact that he had touched her had made her head spin. This wasn't something she had planned for at this event. In fact, she had been surprised to find that so few people were there just yet. They must have been some of the first people to arrive.

"Just walk with me a bit," Jack said resting his hand gently on the small of her back and urging her word.

"I…I can't," she muttered turning away from him. She hadn't looked him directly in the face since reaching them on the lawn. Across the lawn it had been a different story. They had a large expanse between them and it was safe for her to look at him. But up this close, it was a different story. She never trusted herself around Jack, and had gone at great lengths to keep it from ever happening again.

"I don't bite."

Lexi coughed a bit uncontrollably.

"Okay fine, I do…just a bit," he muttered huskily.

"Stop it Jack," she warned him taking another deep breath.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Can we just keep walking?" he pleaded.

Against her better judgment, Lexi turned her face up towards him and looked at him fully for the first time. He looked way better than the last time she had seen him when he had turned up at Ramsey's apartment. His hair had been cut short and styled in a way that made him look younger and more professional. The short strands stood on end instead of falling haphazardly into his eyes. She could remember pushing the long pieces out of his eyes and him kissing her tenderly just as she pulled her hand away. She pushed that memory of her mind and focused her eyes elsewhere.

He had clearly shaved only a few hours ago, because his typical stubble was completely wiped from his face. She could remember the scruffy feel of his beard running against her stomach as he kissed a trail lower. Her breathing quicken as she unsuccessfully tried to shove the memories out of her misbehaving mind. He licked his perfect lips and more memories flooded her conscious: their first kiss on top of a Ferris wheel, her fingers teasingly trailing against his pouty lips before he captured her own, the way he kissed every part of her body as if he worshipped it.

Now she could feel other parts of her body reacting to her memories. Warmth spread throughout her lower half, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. As her eyes finally moved upwards to his beautiful blue eyes, the brilliance of which she could never perfectly remember, she had a feeling he knew exactly where her thoughts were.

The longer they stood rooted in that spot, the more crystal clear his eyes became. She knew what that meant. His desire for her was building up inside of him, and despite where they were he couldn't keep the hungry look from his eyes.

"Lexi please," he growled hungrily begging her to move from the spot, "we need to keep walking." His voice was desperate and pained from restraint. She was amazed by how easily his desire flared up when in her presence. She knew that she had been unconstrained around him, but sometimes she forgot when she was away from him for so long that he acted in the same fashion.