Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding 2)

"Maybe I will," Chyna said temporarily giving into Lexi's demands that she whisk her away to beaches far removed from the Atlanta smog.

"That'll be the day," Lexi sneered. "If I ever get

you into Atlanta again, it will have to be for something really special." Lexi didn't think she would ever get her here honestly. After what a catastrophe it was the last time she was here, Chyna had sworn off Atlanta. Too much drama in one place.

"True. The smog is killer and the traffic sounds are all wrong," Chyna said giggling.

"Well thanks for the support," Lexi said rolling her eyes.

"Alexa, I support you doll. I know you'll succeed at whatever you put your mind to," Chyna reassured her. "I just think you're picking the wrong town to succeed in. What happened to that amazing internship you had last summer in New York," she reasoned. "Ouch!"

"What was that?" Lexi asked bewildered.

"Nothing," she snapped quickly. "Sorry."

"Is everything alright up there?"

"Yes yes everything is fine," she said trying to sound convincing.

"Alright," she began hesitantly, "well that last internship didn't pay. I can't believe I found one that did. It's kind of amazing," Lexi told her.

"Yes well, at least you'll be close to home."

"True. But, hey, I'm finally here and I have a good deal of luggage to haul up these stairs so I'm going to let you go. I'll call you later chica," Lexi said hanging up the phone and stuffing it into her khaki shorts.

She pulled out the shiny key she had received in the mail only a few days earlier and slid it into the hole. Her heart fluttered as she realized the enormity of what she was doing. She was taking a summer associate position at a major firm in Atlanta doing exactly what she had always wanted to do.

And…she was moving in with her boyfriend. Her, miss lack-of-commitment was actually moving in with Ramsey. It was the biggest step she had ever made. She still couldn't believe that she was actually doing it. It was so unlike her. She could make rash decisions all day long when it came to Jack, but when it was really important she always hesitated. She knew Chyna thought it was too early for her to be moving in with Ramsey especially since they had only been together eight months. Lexi wasn't sure how much of her motivation was the fact that Lexi was leaving and how much of it was her concerns about Lexi living with Ramsey. But since she was going to be in Atlanta for the summer, Lexi thought it just made sense.

She only had the position in Atlanta for a definite eight weeks. This meant that she would have to sublease an apartment in the city while paying rent in New York at the same time since her lease ran through August. Even though she was getting paid, her student loans were astronomical. She would have to pay them off on top of two apartments. It seriously didn't make sense for her to get her own place.

When Ramsey offered for her to stay with him, she just couldn't think of a good reason to say no to him. She wanted to be with him, and she didn't have to pay a dime. It was the best of both worlds.

After all, she had spent eight months without him. The occasional time they had together when he could make it to New York or fly her down to Atlanta just wasn't enough. She wanted to savor every moment she had with him. The last thing she wanted was to get stuck driving back and forth between their places. She knew that time was nothing compared to the distance they had endured since they had gotten together, but still if they were going to be in the same city, she wanted them to be together. That drive time could be used for something much better.

So Lexi took the big leap.

She twisted the door knob and pushed open the door to her new place…Ramsey's place.

A chorus of congratulations and surprise assaulted her as soon as the door opened. Her hand flew to her chest and her mouth dropped open. Her eyes fluttered around the room quickly in astonishment. A banner hung across the room that read "Congrats Grad!" in large purple letters. She couldn't believe it. A surprise graduation party had been thrown for her.

Graduation had been the weekend before at Madison Square Garden. Ramsey had only been able to stay long enough for the ceremony before jetting back home. Graduation weekend was one of the busiest for him. And he had the misfortune of having to fire two of his key managers the week before. He had needed all hands on deck that weekend, and hadn't been able to celebrate with her in New York.

Now here he was surrounded by friends giving her the celebration he had missed. Ramsey stood at the front with a big cake that read "Congratulations Lexi" in purple letters to match the purple velvet she had walked in for graduation. He was smiling brightly at her and taking in her shell-shocked face. There was something about his face in that moment that was supremely adorable. It was like he was five years old again, and he was the one having the party not the one throwing it. The goofy grin on his face was priceless, and Lexi would remember his joy in this moment forever. He really did seem happiest making her happy.

Chyna stood next to him beaming like a school girl. She couldn't believe that she had just been on the phone with her talking about how Chyna was never setting foot in the city again, and here she was. Adam stood at her side with his fingers interlaced with her own. They looked just like the perfect couple they were.

Lexi was just thankful they had worked everything out. After she had showed up in New York, she had let Chyna blabber on and on about her argument with Adam. He had refused to speak with her for nearly a week. Luckily, he had finally agreed to meet Lexi, mostly because she had badgered him endlessly until he had agreed. They had talked over a light dinner, and when she was finished with him, he admitted that he still wanted to see Chyna. That he had been missing her over the past week. Since then, they had worked things out and were better than ever. Sometimes they were sickeningly cute.

Brad and Jason stood off to the side badgering their respective dates. Lexi recognized Brad's date as Katie who she hadn't seen since their karaoke performance in March. She was surprised to see that she was still hanging around Brad since Lexi was pretty much uncomfortable around him at all times.

Jason had a flavor of the week at his side, and Lexi was sure she would never see her again. Jessie's fire red hair was piled high on her head and not-too-surprisingly she wasn't paying attention to the festivities around her. Her eyes were glued on a rather handsome man standing to her left. Lexi wanted to just laugh. She had never done anything to the girl, but she certainly hadn't taken a keen liking to Lexi by any means.