Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding 1)

Once she got in the cab, she pulled out her phone to check for any messages. Her heart fluttered when she saw that she had a missed call from Jack and a voicemail waiting for her to listen.

After the annoying woman informed her of her options about the voicemail, Jack's clear voice rang in her ears. "Hey Lex, interview's over. It was just bs…just f**king bullshit. I…I don't really want to talk about it. I'm just gonna go home and crash. I'll talk to you in the morning. Have fun."

The line went dead in her hands and she snapped the phone shut. She slid the phone back into her purse feeling dejected. Something had gone wrong at the interview, but he didn't want to talk to her about it. She knew that it was a completely rational reaction for him to not want to discuss his feelings. Guys were like that all the time. She just thought that they were beyond that point. They had known each other for a long time. But she didn't want to think about any other option for him not wanting to talk tonight. Chyna and Claire had planted a seed in her mind, but she just couldn't believe them.

The only thing that she could think about right now was that after all that work she had put in for the school year, she was the only one left all alone for the night.

Somehow she just wasn't sure how this night could get any worse.

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Thanks so much for your support with the last chapter! My awesome reviewers: Cupid's Psyche, CaliBound, total romance., jet. black. dbs., misatok123, Sure as the Dawn, cosmopolitan, sammi-2688, and channingcaughtfire.

K.A. Linde

Hallway

Ewan: Love lifts us up where we belong!

Where eagles fly,

On a mountain high!

Nicole: Love makes us act like we are fools.

Throw our lives away,

For one happy day.

-Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman "Elephant Love Medley"

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Chapter 21: Present

The stadium lights were illuminated for the occasion stretching out across home plate, through the gritty dirt to the pitcher's mound, splayed out through the evenly cut emerald green grass, and further down the endless rows of bleachers. City traffic could be heard as hundreds of cars traveled across the series of roads and highways that mapped the terrain. Twinkling stars were faintly visible overhead despite the perpetual lighting that whitened the black night.

Lexi's heart stuttered as she attempted to compose her features. She folded her arms one over another and leaned onto the cool, black railing. Ramsey rested against the railing keeping his body angled towards her. His green eyes never left her face to survey the beautiful manmade structure below them.

"What's going on?" he asked his deep, husky voice asking several things with his one question.

"I…" Lexi sighed trailing off. "I don't know."

Ramsey smiled, nodding along. "You're not sick."

It was more of a statement than a question, but she nodded anyway. No, she wasn't sick. She was coming to a crossroads in her life, and she didn't know which road to take. She wanted to be with Jack. After all the shit she had put up with, he was still what she wanted. But could she handle this in-between time? Could handle him being with someone else while she waited like an idiot all over again?

"I didn't do anything," he stated attempting to get all of the possibilities out of the way as to her illness.

"You?" she asked a little taken aback. "No, you haven't done anything." Of course she had thought about Ramsey, but there was too much other stuff going on in her head that she hadn't allowed him much room. He was aggravating to no avail. Even now he was much too close for her level of personal boundaries. She could feel the warmth of his hand as it nearly grazed her elbow resting on the railing. His body tilted forward resting a mere six inches from her face. Such closeness should be reserved for intimacy, but she was coming to realize this was just Ramsey…or maybe he did want that intimacy. She cleared her thoughts. That was the last place she needed to let her mind wander. Even though honestly, it wasn't a bad alternative while she waited for Jack.

"Then it can only be one thing," he told her. She turned to meet his determined gaze waiting for his guess. "Jack and Bekah."

Lexi's heart, which had stilled as she let the light breeze calm her mind, kicked into overdrive at Ramsey's statement. Sure she knew that Ramsey had an idea about her and Jack from the conversation at Jack's apartment. As far as she knew though, he had no idea about her actual involvement with Jack. He had no idea of Jack's hold on her. He certainly had no idea that she had listened in on his threatening conversation with Jack.

But she knew she shouldn't assume anything. Who knew if Bekah had told him or if Jack had spilled the beans about their past to him while she had been at home. She didn't want to think about that either. The last thing she wanted to do was have anyone else know about her relationship with Jack, and Ramsey was getting dangerously close.

"What about Jack and Bekah?" she croaked running her fingers through the loose strands that had fallen out of her bun and compulsively threading it behind her ears.

"I'm not sure, but it's something," he admitted leaning in even closer to her.

Lexi breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn't know. That was comforting. Him invading her personal space further was not. "You're um…," she gestured between them, "in my space again. We've talked about this."

He nodded not backing up an inch. "Tell me what's going on," he gently asked bringing his hand up and stroking her face. His hand trailed down from her temple and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He touched her earlobe, traced the line of her jaw, rubbed his thumb across her wet bottom lip, and tilted her chin up placing her lips so close to his they were nearly touching.

Her breathing hitched at his advances. She liked the way he noticed her habits, the way he stroked her lovingly, the way the desire in his eyes showed he wanted her. It was intoxicating to be wanted so fiercely, to be able to see the passion written on his face. His piercing gaze melted her chocolate eyes. The heat passing between them was almost electric and Lexi felt a tingle of warmth wherever his hands had touched her.

"I'm pretty sure," she fought the urge to close her eyes, "the only thing going on has something to do with you and me," she muttered huskily feeling her body turn towards him. His other hand, that wasn't securely under her chin, wrapped around her tiny waist bridging the distance between their bodies. A gasp escaped her lips. His grasp unexpectedly sending a rush of warmth down her body.