Lex and Lu (6 page)

It took him approximately twenty minutes to make his way back to the spot where he had left her. But when he got there, both she and Pete had left the bar. Looking around the kitchen, he located Pete but not Lu. Headed on a direct path to his brother, Lex was only waylaid once. He watched, fascinated as he saw Pete attempt to avoid him. He couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on, but he let Pete do his dance because he had spotted Willa engaged in a conversation across the room with her mother. Figuring Lu had fled the scene, he changed directions and headed for the garage.

He knew exactly where she would be—which struck him as odd. When he rounded the corner of the deck, on the opposite side of the house Lex marveled that it didn’t seem like anything had changed. What was it about coming home that made you feel like you were still the child you were when you left?

Spotting Lu in the rocking chair, he paused, taking her in. She looked tense, completely upright and stiff in the chair, not moving a muscle, with her eyes closed as if she wanted to shut out the world. But then a smile raced across her face. He wanted to know what brought that smile. So he crept, not really wanting to startle her, to the spot directly in front of her. As he sat down on the hard porch, he studied her. Luminous but guarded, her face caught the moonlight directly, almost an ethereal glow. And even though she smiled, she appeared stressed. He could have watched her forever, but his desire to talk with her overpowered him. So he moved, knowing that it would bring her around.

Which is how he sneaked up on her. And how she suddenly felt the planks creak and her chair move with the vibration. And how she opened her eyes to find Lex sitting directly in front of her, leaning back on his elbows, with his legs outstretched.

He cocked his head to the side, his laughing green eyes boring directly into her startled blue ones, smiling that smile. Left eyebrow raised, another Pellitteri trait, he said, “Louisa May Knight, I get the feeling that you are avoiding me.”

Caught off guard by his appearance and that smile, Lu sat up too quickly, right as the chair rocked back. In an effort to counterbalance the movement, she shifted forward at the wrong moment and found herself thrust upward in the air. Overcompensating, she leaned back. The chair was moving forward and nailed her in the back of the head. She grabbed her head and leaned forward again. But this time there was too much momentum and she found herself landing with a thump, on her knees, between Lex’s legs.

Head hurting, knees smarting, pride wounded, and nerves fraying, Lu glared at Lex as if he had gotten up and bodily thrown her out of the chair. He looked at her, and although she could see him struggling, trying not to, he burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. And maybe it was the release he’d needed, because he couldn’t seem to stop. His elbows came out from under him and he fell onto his back, flat and hysterical.

“Ugh, Alexander James, why do I always manage to have embarrassing moments in front of you?” she couldn’t help but ask, indignantly.

“Sweetheart, I’ve had a couple of women throw themselves at me, but not nearly as graceful as that,” he managed before the laughter overtook him again.

Frustrated, and unwilling to give in to the desire to join him in his amusement, Lu smacked his leg. Attempting to disengage herself from him, she started to stand up and move away. But Lex’s long arm shot out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her down on top of him. For one blissful moment, Lu let herself lie there, one leg on the outside, one leg trapped between his. Her hair splayed over his chest, his right hand finding its way underneath to rest lightly on her back. The heat of his hand on her, him between her legs, his left hand still grasping her wrist—she let it all wash over her. She could have combusted. She felt the heat creep through her body. Then he released her wrist and wrapped his other arm around her. She followed. The deck impeded her arms from fully engulfing him, but she held tight, savoring his warmth and her memories.

“So, I’m intrigued now, Lu. What other embarrassing things have happened around me?” he inquired, wanting to keep the mood light. He needed light.

“Right, Lex. Like you don’t know.”

“I don’t,” he answered in his most innocent voice. “Tell me one, just one.”

She giggled. God, she thought, I’m like putty. How does that happen to me? “No. I’m not going to relive my embarrassing moments just so you can have another laugh at my expense.”

“Do you think that maybe it was the fart?”

Mortified, she struggled to get off of him. But his arms tightened like steel bands. She could feel his laughter rumbling in his chest.

“We are
not
having this conversation, Lex.”

“Come on. I just lost my father. You are supposed to want to cheer me up.”

“Really? Really? You are pulling the dead-dad card. You are horrible.” Again she struggled to get away, but the struggling started to do things to her body that were completely inappropriate. Ugh, I can’t do this, she thought.

“Yes, I’m shamelessly using the fact that my father died. What could have been worse than the farting incident?”

“You are such a bastard,” she said but even she couldn’t help smiling.

“Oh, I just remembered.”

“Lex Pellitteri, I swear if you even say it, I promise you I will hurt you.”

“That day, I remember thinking that it must really suck to be a girl,” he teased. He loved being here with her. She was still so easy to goad.

“I swear, please, Lex. I am not sure I ever got over that.”

“Big deal. What’s a little blood—”

“I hate you,” she said, cutting him off. “This is the problem with growing up next to boys. Please don’t say another word.”

“Are you blushing, Lu?” he continued. “Lemme see,” he said as he grabbed her upper arms and lifted her up so he could see her face. Sure enough, the blush had crept up her neck and was staining her cheeks. He miscalculated, though. Seeing her like that, so beautiful and fresh, actually blushing from embarrassment about an incident that happened thirteen or fourteen years ago, bowled him over. And suddenly the mood wasn’t light anymore. I want her, he marveled. Before he could think any more about it, he pulled her up so that his lips could meet hers.

It was merely a quick meeting of their lips. Not really even a kiss. But Lu pulled away from Lex so quickly that he had to wonder if she had a boyfriend, a significant other person in her life.

“Don’t, Lex,” she pleaded as she tried to disentangle herself. “Please let me up.”

Reluctantly, Lex let go of her, allowing her to crawl off of him. He closed his eyes, lying prone on the porch, trying to figure out how he had misplayed that. He rolled over quickly and stood up. He walked over to grab another rocking chair from the front of the porch, angling it so that they could both sit and talk. Feeling the past thirty-six hours zing through his body, he sat wearily and patted the arm of the chair next to him.

“Take a seat. Willa will be here in a bit. She’s helping clean up.”

They both smiled, knowing Willa was hating that.

“Great. She’ll be in a pleasant mood on the ride home,” Lu observed as she sat, albeit unwillingly.

“You never answered my question.”

Puzzled, Lu drew her brow together. “What question?”

Smirking, he said, “Are you avoiding me? Why were you hiding out over here?”

“Two.”

“Huh?”

“That was two questions.”

“Lu, I’ve been up for almost two straight days and my dad died yesterday. At least I think it was yesterday. I’m not in the mood to play word games.”

Acknowledging his comment with a nod, she leaned back in her chair. “I’m not avoiding you.” Shrugging, she continued. “Willa and I were trying to get out of here so we could get some sleep. It’s been a long couple of days for everyone. And the next two are probably going to be even more trying.”

Although skeptical, he accepted her logic. Before he’d seen her talking to Pete, he hadn’t been itching to spend any time with her either. He hated to admit he was sorry that she didn’t seem to feel the same compulsion he did. She hadn’t been rocked by the sight of him. He silently acknowledged that he’d been spending too much time with groupies. She wasn’t nearly as impressed with him.

“I know this will sound trite, but how are you?” he ventured, curious about her.

She smiled. “I’m good. Things are good.”

“What are you doing with your life?” he asked, then laughed. “Shit, that doesn’t quite sound like what I want to know.”

Again, she smiled, knowing how awkward this felt. “It’s OK. I know what you mean. And I’m finishing up my dissertation.”

“Not shocking.” Again, a pause, a smile. “What’s it on?”

She hedged. “I’m getting my doctorate in psychology.”

“Not English?”

“Ah, no.”

“Fought that tooth and nail, huh?”

“Absolutely.” She looked away. Of course he’d remember that she wanted to make her own way. Not be like her mother. “What about you? Is being who you are everything you thought it would be?”

“Just like you to start out with the hard questions.” Shaking his head, he thought carefully about his answer. “Yes and no.”

“Thought we weren’t playing word games,” she teased.

“My answer has evolved over time. At twenty, it was everything I thought it would be. Soccer all the time. Localized fame. Easy pickings.” He stopped. “It’s different now. I still love playing. God, I love it. It’s like I was born just to do that. There’s no greater high. But it’s also a business. I used to just let my agent handle everything, but I wanted to be more involved with everything. Mostly because of my dad. He didn’t like that I didn’t always know what was going on. So I spend a lot of time trying to manage my affairs.”

“So he got his businessman after all,” she said knowingly.

Chuckling, Lex agreed. “Yes, he did. I hated it at first. And even though I know Caroline knows I’m not stupid, we had to jump through a lot of ‘dumb jock’ hoops. I had to prove myself to her. Which in the end felt good—but it pissed me off in the beginning. I almost fired her.”

Lu laughed. “Oh, I’d have paid to see that. She made you work. Ha. Bet that felt different.”

With a self-deprecating grin, he said, “It did.” They were quiet for a while. Each lost in their own thoughts.

“I’m so sorry about Mr. P.,” she said softly. “He was such a special person. I will really miss him.” She reached out to Lex, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

“Thanks, Lu.” Reaching over with his other hand, he turned hers, lightly stroking her palm with his thumb. “I didn’t know what it would be like to see you again. But it feels so natural sitting here with you. It doesn’t seem right that we haven’t had a conversation in eight years.”

Danger, danger! her head screamed. She pulled her hand away. “I’m going to go rescue Will,” she said hastily, as she stood up.

Standing also, he said, “Lu? Come on. She’s fine.”

Adamant, Lu started walking away. “I’ll see you in the morning, Lex.”

He started to walk the other way, but stopped and headed toward her. Covering the ground quickly, he grabbed her by the hips and moved her gently up against the HardiePlank of the house, his body penning her in. Her eyes held a weary message that he was unable to decipher. “Where’s my good-night hug?” he asked, mischief dancing in his eyes.

“You are still the same—bully.” God, could she not have exited gracefully? Annoyed but unable to resist playful Lex, she shook her head.

His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her into his body. It was almost enough, he thought. Almost. But not! He pulled back enough for her to look him in the eye. Then his mouth captured hers.

It sucked.

Not the kiss.

The kiss she resisted. For the first time in hours, she thought about her daughter, Nina. She thought about Dr. J. She thought about the devastation that she was about to rain down on everyone. This was the wrong thing to do. To complicate the situation any more was wrong. Her mind was screaming at her to stop. Her lips were clamped shut. But it was Lex. And one thing she had never been good at was resisting him. But she tried, although there was nowhere to move. He surrounded her. His body caging her in, his arms, imprisoning her she was lightly trapped. But still waging the war.

Then her body took over and she felt her mouth open under his gentle probing. As his tongue entered her mouth, her body released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Lex coaxed her tongue with his. Her hands wound up his neck, stroking his nape, feeling the bristles of his short hair. Trying to get as close to him as she could, she pulled her body away from the wall and moved toward his, seeking his heat. She wanted this. She wanted him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Willa snapped.

Lex pulled away from her gently, keeping her where she was but terminating the kiss. Lu ducked out from under his arms and looked at Willa sheepishly.

“Just saying good-bye,” Lu said, walking toward the front of the house, the same path she had started to tread just five, maybe ten minutes earlier.

Looking back, she noted that Lex was still leaning against the wall, a playful smile on his face. Probably remembering, like they all were, the first time Willa ever saw them kiss.

“Déjà-fucking-vu! It’s like a damn time warp being back here with you two,” Willa said in her snappiest voice. “Get your shit. It’s late. I’m pissed and tired.”

Rolling her eyes, Lu stepped through the front door, grabbed her bag, and headed down the steps of porch, grateful for the escape.

Lex watched her walk away and turned wearily toward Willa, who was trying like hell to imitate the death stare. Waiting for the inevitable set-down Lex pushed off the wall and walked toward her. “Whatcha got, Will?”

“She’s not made for this. For you. I’m asking you to leave her alone.”

“You’re right,” he acknowledged, eyebrow raised. “Déjà-fucking-vu.” Kissing her on the forehead, he went on, “She always has been so much stronger than you ever gave her credit for.” He started to walk away when Willa grabbed his arm. Turning back to her, he waited.