Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding #1)(57)
Author: K.A. Linde

He flashed an apologetic smile before entering the apartment. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief at the interior. Despite the disgusting outwards appearance, the inside was clean and well furnished even if nothing in the apartment seemed to match. "Sorry about this. I was staying with some family friends for awhile, but they ended up having their parents move back in with them so they could keep a better eye on their health conditions. That put me out of a place to stay, and I ended up here with this girl I met at my last job. I’m not sure if she’s around," he said looking around the apartment warily.

"How many jobs have you had?" she asked curiously.

He squirmed under her question. "A few more than I would have liked."

"Oh," she stated unsure of what to say. "What are you doing now?"

"Uh…I’m a waiter, but I feel more like I’m in between jobs. I was working at this amazing job off Wall Street," he told her his eyes glossing over with pride, "but they had to let a whole bunch of people go because of the economy. I moved up here for the job and then it was just taken out from under me. I’ve been talking to a lot of companies though. It’ll pick up."

Lexi empathized with his pain. She had heard of so many people losing their jobs due to the economy. She was avoiding the real world as long as she possibly could and hoping everything would turn around by the time she was out of law school. Lexi reached out and touched his arm bringing him out of his bad mood.

"Oh yeah sorry," he apologized guiding her towards a door. "This is where Stella is letting me crash until I can get on my feet again."

He pushed open the door and revealed a room just large enough to fit a double bed, dresser, and TV. Not that he needed much else at the moment. He closed the door behind them as Lexi climbed onto the bed. She snuggled into the green comforter surprised by how comfy the mattress was. Jack crawled onto the bed after her, tucking his arm underneath her shoulders, and pulling her into him.

She let his kisses travel lightly down her face and to her neck. It was a different feeling than she was accustomed to with Jack. He wasn’t in a hurry with her. It had been a long time since they had been together, and he wanted to savor every inch of her body. He paused at the base of her throat running his hands across the smooth skin left exposed by her sweater.

"Don’t take this the wrong way," he said pressing his lips to her skin, "but this is the palest I’ve ever seen you."

She laughed deep into her diaphragm. "There’s not as much sun here."

Jack straddled her legs and reached for the purple sweater that was covering her pale form. He slid his hands up under the material dragging the flimsy tank top with it over her head. Trailing from her bellybutton across her ribs up between her br**sts and then back to the hollow of her throat humming softly, "Pale, pale, pale. Do do do." Lexi couldn’t keep from giggling at his adorableness.

One hand snaked under her body and unsnapped the sheer lace bra she was wearing. He tossed it to the ground and yanked his own shirt over his head in one fluid motion. Lowering himself back down to her body, he made work with her br**sts until she was squirming under him. The rest of their clothes followed and each took their time exploring and reacquainting themselves with each other’s body. She could tell he was getting close to going over the edge as she gripped him in her hands and used her mouth to pleasure him further. He shuddered and seized her shoulders pulling her on top of him. She gasped surprised by his forcefulness.

"You don’t want me to finish?" she asked wiggling her h*ps teasingly.

He smirked. "Yeah I do," he said as he pushed her h*ps down sliding him inside of her. She gasped again this time out of pure bliss. Jack let loose a low groan at the feel of her encircling him. Lexi squeezed her muscles and felt him quiver underneath her. She leaned forward resting her hands on the bed and gave him a loving kiss before he started moving slowly inside of her. They both enjoyed alternating between who took control of the situation and the speed and tempo that the other employed. Just as they both were getting close Jack shoved her upwards and off of him. Without even giving it a seconds thought, he flipped over grasping her h*ps in his hands and starting where they left off doggie-style. They finished together both spent from the physical and emotional rollercoaster from that day.

After cleaning up, Lexi fell back into Jack’s arms letting him hold her tight. He fanned out her hair letting it run loose between his fingers. "Better than the museum?" she asked playfully.

"Much better," he said leaning down and kissing her on her temple. "Everything is better when I’m with you."

She sighed heavily unable to believe that after everything they had been through and all the heartache and tears she had endured, she was finally getting the chance she deserved with Jack. So maybe they weren’t officially a couple, but at least they were something. She could deal with whatever came next as long as he was around. That would be good enough for her…for now. Then they could go past this, and work towards a real future together.

But right now, she was ready for round two.

* * *

Thanks Cupid’s Psyche, CaliBound, and total romance. for comments! Also, check out my book and Cupid’s Psyche’s "Thoughtless" in total romance.’s new Community The Greats of The Greats.

K.A. Linde

Fainting Spell

Am I alone in this?

Never a night where I can sleep myself ’til day.

We must try to figure it out, figure it out.

It won’t be that easy.

We lost it somehow.

You come over unannounced.

Silence broken by your voice in the dark.

I need you here tonight,

Just like the ocean needs the waves.

– Mae "The Ocean"

* * *

Chapter 19: Present

Lexi bounded into Jack’s room and quickly stripped off the band t-shirt he had loaned her. She looked longingly at the cracked bathroom door where steam was currently streaming from. She took one step forward her heart racing with desire with the knowledge that Jack was just on the other side. She sighed heavily as she cautiously approached the bathroom and peered into the room. Lexi could just make out Jack’s figure through the glass despite the room looking like a sauna.

She had been so determined to barge in there even though she had just kept them from making the same mistake. She leaned her head against the doorframe and shut her eyes attempting to reason with herself.

Yes, Jack was nak*d in the next room.

Yes, he probably looked freaking amazing as the water ran down his body.

Yes, she wanted him.

All of these things were obvious to her, but she needed to keep a lid on her emotions. Just because she wanted Jack didn’t mean that she should have him. He was taken. Though she had never respected that in the past, she liked to think that she was a different person now.

Just as she was about to walk away, she heard soft humming over the drum of the water hitting the glass. The humming turned into a melody and eventually, Lexi could put the pieces together and make out the lyrics to Mae’s song "The Ocean." She left her eyes shut tight allowing the lyrics to flow over her. She could have stood there indefinitely just listening to him sing so clearly over the water. His voice was mesmerizingly smooth and took her back to times when things had been easier. Or at least, she had thought they had been easier. In fact, they had just been the calm before the storm.

She knew that if she rushed into that bathroom right now it would be exactly the same. Jack would have all the control. She would be unable to control herself. It was hard enough turning him down twice in a twelve hour period. She wasn’t sure she was capable of doing it a third time.

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.