Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding 1)

The final note of the song sounded in her ears and the shower cut off. Lexi jumped from where she was standing not expecting them to be timed together. She grabbed her clothes from his dresser and rushed into the guest bedroom. Quickly scrambling into last night's clothes, Lexi dashed for the exit. She didn't want to be here when he got out. She didn't trust herself enough not to succumb to his wiles.

Lexi hailed the first cab that she saw and had them whisk her to the airport. The plane ride from JFK to Hartfield-Jackson was only two hours, and since Chyna was flying private jet it might even be less time. Lexi didn't care how long she would have to wait. She just couldn't be around Jack right now. She needed her best friend. She needed her to tell her that she was doing the right thing, because Lexi had never been good at doing the right thing. And all she wanted to do was turn around and be back in Jack's arms.

"You not from around here?" the cab driver asked attempting to make conversation.

"Uh," Lexi mumbled. "Yeah I am."

"Oh, where you plane go?" he asked in broken English.

"Excuse me?" she asked dumbfounded.

"You go to airport. Where you plane go?" he repeated himself.

"Oh where am I going? No, um…nowhere. My friend is visiting," she told him hating to have to make small talk with cabbies.

"Oh. Where friend from?" he asked giving her a crooked-tooth smile.

Lexi flashed a half-hearted smile at the man. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and this really wasn't the best time. "New York City," she mumbled regardless.

"Oh! New York City. Big Apple. Statue of Liberty. Broadway," he exclaimed his eyes seeming to light up.

"Yeah," she responded not enthused.

"You go visit her next time," he told her. "New York very fun.'

"Right," Lexi said wondering why she was getting travel advice from someone that wasn't even from this country. She didn't even want to delve into the subject that she actually lived in New York. That would probably elicit another string of questions she didn't feel like answering.

"Is friend North or South?" he asked referring to the Atlanta airport terminal system.

Lexi bit her lip unsure of where private jets flew into the airport and she reluctantly told him as much.

His eyes widened as he took a few extra glances back in her direction as if he was wondering what kind of person she would be visiting that flew in on a private jet. "Your friend celebrity?" he asked.

"Do you know which terminal?" she asked ignoring his last question.

He nodded, but didn't seem able to take the hint. "Your friend celebrity?"

Lexi huffed and leaned backwards against the disgusting, beige interior. She really did not want to have this conversation. No, Chyna wasn't a celebrity and it would be just as easy to tell the man that she wasn't. She just wasn't in the mood to get into it with anyone right now. Her silence did seem to tip him off this time and he remained silent sending her suspicious glances every few minutes.

He stopped in front of the airport terminal. She threw some cash over the front of the seat and quickly exited the vehicle. The cabbie rolled the window down and called out to her. "Change?" She turned around and shook her head at him. "Want to wait?" he asked anxiously apparently hoping to get a glimpse of her celebrity friend.

"No thanks," she said wiggling her fingers at him as she turned and walked into the cool airport lobby.

The wait was shorter than she had expected. She had passed the time sitting with her feet propped up across three chairs, listening to whatever was blaring through her earbuds, and people watching. New York was bad enough. She couldn't believe what she had seen coming to and from an international airport. She shook her head at the remembered images and deposited the iPod back into her purse. Chyna had employed some poor sap to wheel her luggage through the airport for her. Lexi shouldn't have imagined anything less from her gorgeous friend. When Chyna caught sight of Lexi, her feet moved double time as she nearly ran in her rather impractical four inch heels to great her best friend.

"Alexa, I'm so glad I'm here," she squealed wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I'm glad you're here too Chyna," Lexi told her.

"Let's hope my town car is waiting," Chyna stated grabbing Lexi's hand and whisking her out of the airport followed closely by the baggage handler.

A black town car was indeed waiting for Chyna's arrival outside of the airport. After the baggage was secured in the trunk and the girls were in the backseat, the car whisked them away to the hotel in which Chyna already had a penthouse reserved in her name. Once the two were safely in the hotel accommodations, Chyna immediately went on a rampage. Lexi was only half listening to what she was saying as she stared in awe at the hotel room. She had seen impressive residencies. Chyna obviously had a remarkable suite, but Lexi had been there so often she had become desensitized to its beauty. This place was completely different. Everything about the room was classy and elegant drawn out in soft golden hues. An exquisite den area was set in dark oak and brown and cream suede. Through colossal double doors revealed a four-poster bed draped with an intricately detailed quilt comforter and at least a dozen throw pillows of varying shape and size. The sheer gold trimmed curtains opened to a sprawling balcony overlooking the city. From several dozen stories up Lexi could really see the splendor of the place she had grown up.

Chyna cleared her throat. "Are you listening to me?" she asked grabbing Lexi's wrist.

"Huh?" she asked turning away from the decorations to look at her friend.

"I was talking about what's been going on with you," Chyna told her unceremoniously.

"Yeah," Lexi mumbled falling backwards in a large chair that she sank into on impact. "Things aren't exactly going as planned."

"You think?" Chyna asked sarcastically. "You were just supposed to tell the girlfriend what happened between you two, and let that be the end of it. What about that was complicated?"

Lexi buried her face in her hands. "Everything," she grumbled.

"No it's not. That's what I was saying earlier. You get way too attached. Clean break is what you need. Just forget about him. Forget about whatever happened between you two. That's what you were supposed to be doing here Alexa. Tell me what happened to change that. I just cannot fathom why you'd want to have anything to do with this scumbag again after what he did to you. I kind of want to go find him myself and cut off his you-know-what," she exclaimed angrily. "He doesn't actually deserve to have them after everything that went down. I can't believe I actually convinced you to come see him. I should have seen this. What was I thinking? He's obviously the same pig-headed ass**le he always was. He just thinks he can waltz right in, take over your life, and leave you in pieces all over again. Well I'm not having it alright? Do you hear me?"