Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(62)
Author: K.A. Linde

Of course they did! They had been a couple for so long that it had to come second nature to them. She knew it did for her and Jack. Being with him was like breathing. You didn’t just date someone for so long and then try and cover up the fact that it ever existed. People didn’t just get over things like that. If anything the cover up made it seem like you never got over it…which was even more troublesome.

Just when Lexi thought her brain might explode from over thinking everything that had been said she received an incoming text message. "Lunch. Sushi. You know the place. See ya in 20. – Pookie."

Lexi sighed dropping the stack of papers she was holding onto her tiny desk. She grabbed her purse and sauntered out of the office letting her manager know that she would be back in an hour. The balding middle age man leered at her as she exited the office giving no complaint. At least she had that going for her.

Entering the crowded restaurant, Lexi searched the premises for Brandon. It was nearly impossible to find a table at this place during lunch or dinner, but Brandon always seemed to find them a spot. She didn’t always ask how that was even possible. Finally seeing him crammed into a corner, Lexi strolled across the room and plopped down opposite him.

"Hey honey, you’re looking a little rough," he said not too kindly.

Lexi scoffed pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Fuck off."

"No really. Have you slept at all?" he asked leaning back in the booth.

Lexi took a sip of the water he had ordered for her and shook her head. "Not really. Did you already order?"

"Yeah same thing right?" he asked. She nodded. "Cool so what’s up? You haven’t been dogging me for lunch or interrupting my make out sessions or any other of your annoying habits. I’ve barely heard from you. Who am I supposed to have lunch with?"

"Weren’t you just complaining about me having lunch with you too often?" she asked feeling her annoyance from the past week and a half begin to take over.

"Yeah, but I was joking. You know I want to get in your pants. Lunch is just a way to be around you," he told her with a wink for good measure.

Lexi didn’t even have the patience to humor him. "Whatever Brandon."

"Brandon? Did you just call me by my first name?" he asked his brows scrunching together. "Lexi what’s wrong with you?"

"I don’t want to talk about it alright?" she snapped fiercely just as the waitress walked up.

"Uh sorry," the waitress squeaked before scurrying away.

Brandon tilted his head at her slightly. "Now you’ve run our waitress off."

"I don’t care. I’m not that hungry anyway," she mumbled though she felt pretty bad about having an outburst like that. It wasn’t like it was Brandon’s fault that she was in a pissy mood.

"So are you going to make me guess what set you off or are you just going to tell me?" he asked crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward.

Lexi sighed heavily. "Why doesn’t Ramsey like you?" she asked taking him off guard.

"You’re upset because Ramsey and I don’t get along?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. I just want to know. You never told me what actually was the reason."

"That’s because you have a perfect little picture of your boyfriend in your head. I didn’t want to ruin it for you," he said matter of factly.

"What if I don’t have such a perfect picture anymore?" she whispered.

Brandon’s smile spread at that statement. "Well I did warn you from the beginning."

"Just tell me why you’re not friends anymore," she spat not exactly wanting an I-told-you-so moment.

Brandon seemed to realize that she was being serious about the situation. Her face was set and determined to hear what he had to say. "I dated Parker for awhile after they broke up. If that didn’t make things bad enough, she told me some things about him that made my head spin. When I confronted him about it, we ended up in a fist fight. If his roommates hadn’t been around to stop him, I think he would have fought until he had no more fight left in him," Brandon told her watching her expression carefully.

"Did he hurt you?" she asked her eyes brimming with tears. Her lack of sleep was making her more emotional than usual. Just the thought of Ramsey hurting Brandon because he was dating his ex-girlfriend and had confronted him with the truth broke her heart. Who was the man that she had been dating for the last year?

"I had a few broken ribs. He would have killed me if Brad and Jason hadn’t been there to pull him off of me. I don’t like to admit it, but the guy is much bigger than I am," Brandon said with chuckle at the end to try and lighten the mood.

"Oh Brandon," Lexi murmured softly, "why didn’t you tell me?"

"You wouldn’t have believed me," he said with a snort of disbelief. "You just met me. You had no idea who I was, and you had no idea who you were dating. I wasn’t going to destroy your world."

"But you will now?" she asked looking into his big brown eyes for an answer.

"Honey, it looks like someone else already has," he said reaching across the table and grasping her hand.

Lexi looked down into her water glass and tried to hold the tears in. He was right of course. Parker had already destroyed the image that she had of her boyfriend. Sure she hadn’t liked where he worked or that he was surrounded by strippers all the time. She hadn’t liked the distance. She didn’t like that he had a reputation as a player or that he had slept with a lot of people before they were together. But she could get over those things, because she had known about them. They were a fact of their relationship, and something she could live with.

Those things hadn’t ruined her view of him. Sure he had taken awhile to tell her what he did for a living, but it was kind of understandable. Most women would not be comfortable leaving their man in the hands of other women whether he ran the place or not. But at least he had come clean. What Parker had told him…what Brandon had just revealed were things Ramsey never planned on telling her.

That much was obvious at least now that she knew them. He was a liar. He had lied to her. He had looked her straight in the eyes and said that he had never been in love or had a serious girlfriend. Had he expected never to be confronted with Parker again? Or had Lexi just been temporary? She didn’t even know what to believe.

"What did Parker tell you that made your head spin?" Lexi finally asked him licking her lips and looking up at him.

"Judging by your appearance, I think you already know the answer to that," he said eyeing her sheepishly. "I would have told you Lexi, but it wasn’t my story to tell."

"I know. I don’t blame you. But what did she say?" Lexi asked. "I have to know."

He sighed clearly hating the position that he was in. "The gist of it is that he knocked her up when they were in college, and before he knew that she was pregnant, she walked in on him cheating on her with some other girls. Or something like that. Then when she told him later that she miscarried, he refused to believe her and called her a slut." Lexi gasped out loud and covered her mouth quickly. She hadn’t intended to get so emotional, but hearing basically the same thing from Brandon…confirmation of Parker’s story made it all so much more real. "Lexi I’m sorry. I really…I don’t know what to say."

Lexi shook her head effectively silencing him. "No. Thank you for telling me," she told him. "I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else."

"You know maybe he has changed," Brandon said trying to be reassuring though it sounded strange coming from him of all people. He had never really said a nice thing about Ramsey since they had started hanging out.

"Don’t lie to me," Lexi said pulling her hand gently out of his. "I’ve had enough of that lately."

"It’s true I don’t think he’s changed," he said, "but that’s up to you to decide."

‘Thanks Brandon…pookie," she said with a sad smile. She stood from the booth. "I’m suddenly not hungry. Sorry to leave you hanging on lunch again."

"It’s alright," he said standing as well. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Let me know if you need me."

"Bye," she said taking a step towards the door.

"Hey honey," he called back. She spun around to look at him. "I’m serious. I’m here for you." She nodded solemnly and then strode out of the restaurant.

Driving to the club was a blur. She knew that at some point she called her boss and told him that she wasn’t feeling well. He hadn’t been pleased, but she was pretty sure she sounded convincingly sick since she felt like vomiting already. So he had let her off the hook as long as she promised to make up the hours if she was feeling better in the morning. And her final project was due Friday, the last day of the summer associate position, regardless. She also knew that her car had driven her to the mostly empty parking lot of the club that Ramsey worked. She wouldn’t say that she had driven herself there exactly. It was more like the car was on auto pilot, and she was just along for the ride. Her body felt numb to the realities of the universe around her.

All she knew was that she had to talk to Ramsey, and she had to talk to him now. Waiting around for over a week had been a terrible mistake. All her emotions were like a shaken up bottle of coke ready to explode at a seconds notice. The confirmation of the facts from Brandon had just solidified her determination which she had been lacking before. She hadn’t been able to face him, because she wasn’t sure if she could believe Parker’s tale. Even though Lexi knew it was impossible to truly fake the kind of emotions Parker displayed, she still hadn’t wanted to believe her. Then Brandon had said, albeit in a more concise fashion, the exact same story. Now she knew she had to talk to him. Though it didn’t mean that she was dreading it any less.

She wished, not for the first or last time that summer, that Chyna was still in the country. She would know what to do and say in that moment. She would know how to calm Lexi down and how to approach the situation. But she didn’t have her best friend there for her now. She still had a couple weeks before she returned from Milan. So Lexi was on her own. She would have to face down her demons all on her own.

Taking a deep breath, Lexi punched in the code to the back entrance that Ramsey had given her and stepped through the large black door. She trudged down the long hallway and stood in front of his closed office door. Staring at the big door for awhile didn’t give her any more motivation to push through it. She knew she needed answers, but her stomach was in knots at the prospect of what was to come. Pushing back her hair a few times to calm her nerves, Lexi knocked twice and then opened the door to Ramsey’s office.

Ramsey turned around sharply at the interruption. His eyes were narrowed and he looked furious at the distraction until he realized who was standing before him. "Lexi!" he said with surprise jumping to his feet. "What a surprise! I didn’t think you would be here until after work."

"Honestly I hadn’t planned on coming at all," she told him stepping into the room and pushing the heavy door closed behind her.

Ramsey stopped in his tracks and examined her more closely. Her hands were shaking at her sides. The black circles under her eyes were more pronounced, and she looked as if she might have been crying earlier. She had already tucked nonexistent strands of hair behind her ear three times since walking through the door. She couldn’t even stop biting her bottom lip. "Why not? What’s wrong?"