Compass (19 page)

When she graduated high school, she made sure to get into a college that would get her out of town. School led her to Arizona and it was there she met Shane, a cocky pilot in flight school. Now, they were happily based in Texas, and trying to start a family of their own.

“Thanks, but I think I’m going to head home.” Alexis stood up, grabbing her windbreaker from the back of her chair. Fall in Texas was nothing like fall in New York. The trees were only starting to change colors and lose their foliage. The temperatures were much warmer than she was used to, but it was October and it felt wrong not to carry a jacket this late in the year. She’d never spent time with her Dad in Texas during the fall season, so this was all new to her. She tucked the unnecessary jacket across her bag and slipped the leather strap over her head. “Rain check?”

“Absolutely. Tell Ryan I said hi.”

Alexis stepped around the conference table, and gave Mary a pat on her shoulder. “Will do. See ya later.” She walked out the door, a weight lifted from her shoulders. All she wanted was to see Ryan and that would happen very soon.

On her way home, Alexis started to feel drained. She pulled into her local coffee shop, deciding a cup of coffee might not be a bad idea. Due to a long line in the drive-thru, she parked her car and ventured into the cafe.

The moment the doors opened, her senses were flooded with the rich, savory aroma of coffee and sweet milk. She wandered over to the barista counter and waited in line behind two teenagers who were giggling and pointing toward the corner of the store.

“I bet he’s gay,” one girl noted, as she leaned into her friend.

“Oh, no. He’s straight and my future husband,” the other sighed in that girlish sort of way.

Alexis followed the girls’ glances and noticed a good-looking man, hunched over a book, in the corner of the coffee shop. His short brown hair brushed over his forehead and his green eyes traveled over the pages of the novel without any care of his surroundings. A smile pulled at Alexis’ lips upon recognizing the man the girls had been admiring. Declan was dressed in a blue V-neck t-shirt and faded jeans. She couldn’t deny, he did look handsome.

Much like her relationship with Ryan had developed, so had her friendship with Declan. Many nights he’d message her while he was away, wanting her opinion on some woman he was about to pick up in a bar. Most times she’d tell him the woman wasn’t good enough for him, but he’d better get in there before some other smarmy guy beat him to the punch. Had they met under different circumstances, she suspected that she might’ve been interested in Declan. He was a no strings attached kind of guy, which appealed to her, and he was very handsome. But no matter how often they talked, she never felt a spark with him like she did Ryan. She simply enjoyed his company, as a friend should.

As she waited her turn in line, Alexis watched the young pilot. It was rare to see him outside his usual boisterous self. Finding him in this setting, with his long legs crossed in front of him, and his nose stuck in a book, presented a whole new light on the man. Alexis was intrigued, never having taken him for a reader.

Obtaining her coffee, Alexis made her way to Declan. “In all the coffee shops, in all the cities...” Alexis quoted.

Declan’s eyes darted up from the book, a cool smile formed over his lips. “In all the world. She had to walk into mine,” Declan finished. “I love that movie, and what on Earth are you doing here?” he asked, a shy smile dimpling the corners of his mouth.

“I was on my way home and wanted some coffee. What’s your excuse?”

Earmarking his page, Declan laid the book down on the table next to his coffee cup. He waved his hand toward the chair in front of him, offering it to her, as he sat up straight in his seat, resting his ankle over his knee. “I just got back in town and wasn’t ready to head home yet.”

Alexis accepted his invitation. “I feel you there. This whole week has dragged for me.” Alexis sipped her coffee. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, tilting her cup back and forth on its axis.

“So, I take it you had a rough day?”

“Not rough. Just long.” Her toes pushed up on their own accord and her feet started to bounce.

His brow furrowed as he took a sip of his coffee. “Doesn’t Ryan come back on the redeye?”

Alexis bobbed her head, bringing the mouth of her cup to her lips. “Yep. And the only saving grace to my week.”

“I guess that means things are good between the two of you?” Declan followed suit, taking a sip from his own cup.

Her face screwed into deep lines, her legs halting. “Yeah...why?”

Declan glanced up at the ceiling. “It seems odd to me that you never spend the night. Unless you do it while I’m out of town, but with Ryan’s schedule...I mean, the guy’s never home. He’ll make captain before he knows what hit him,” he rambled.

Alexis’ head jerked, her brows drawn together. “Wait? What? Why would I stay the night?”

Declan smirked, biting his knuckle. “Um, Doc, do I really need to explain
that
to you?”

“Oh my god!” Alexis exclaimed, a bright blush flooding her cheeks.

Declan laughed, loud and hard. “I get the whole saving things ‘til marriage, but damn, the boy needs to get laid and soon.”

“We’re not together,” she blurted out.

Declan’s mouth dropped. “I thought…”

Alexis shook her head. “You thought wrong. He doesn’t see me like that.”

His brows narrowed and confusion outlined his face. “Are you sure about that?”

Alexis scratched the back of her neck. “Positive.”

He inclined his head, a deep sigh pouring from his lips. “If you say so, but I think you’re wrong. The man glows when you’re around.”

Her tongue darted out over her lips, a coy smile playing over them. “You make him sound pregnant.”

Declan cocked his head. “Is he?”

Alexis’ eyes widened with amusement. “If he is, it’s not mine.”

“There are tests to prove that, you know?”

Alexis was stumped. She laughed, but had no retort. An awkward lull developed between them. Declan shifted in his seat, the tip of his finger circling the rim of his cup. Alexis glanced down at hers, unsure why being together with Declan, alone, felt so weird. Declan chuckled breaking the silence.

“What’s so funny?” she inquired.

“I was just thinking...”

“I knew I smelt smoke.”

A cocky, half grin twisted Declan’s mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. “You think you’re so funny. Just for that, I’m not going to tell you about what happened on my plane tonight.”

Alexis let go of her coffee cup, her hands reached across the table to Declan. One of her favorite pastimes was listening to Ryan tell stories about things that happened on his planes. She had to hear Declan’s. “Tell me.”

Declan glanced down at her fingers wrapped around his wrist. She caught the look in his eyes and released him, inching her hands back. A strange expression passed over his face, but he pushed it aside, bringing back his cocky grin. Alexis raised her hands, her eyes widened and her lips pursed. “Don’t leave me hanging here.”

His shoulders lifted with a silent laugh as he retold the story of a young couple’s misadventure into the mile-high club. By the time he had completed his tale, Alexis was buckled over in laughter.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she quipped, panting from her bout of laughter.

“I swear on the moon. It sounded like someone was dying in the lavatory. When we finally got the door open, his pants were around his ankles and her foot was lodged so deep in the toilet it took two attendants and the husband to get her out.” Declan scratched his head. “Come to think of it, it didn’t sound like someone dying so much as a pig squealing.”

Declan imitated the sound the woman had made.

Mid-sip of her coffee, Alexis sputtered her drink, spraying it everywhere. “Damn it,” she grumbled, still laughing at the mental image Declan’s story had created for her. She picked up a napkin and started cleaning up her spewage from herself and the table. “I swear you can’t take me anywhere.”

Declan passed her another napkin, his face bright red from laughing. “I don’t mind at all.” Alexis took the napkin and wiped it over her chin. “At least I got you to laugh.”

Making sure her face was clean, Alexis slurped the last of her coffee. She always hated when that last dropped disappeared. She sighed. “I really needed that. Thank you.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing to talk about. Really.” She wadded up the spent napkins, and rested them beside her cup.

Declan reached across the table and patted the top of Alexis’ hand. It didn’t produce the electrical spark that she always felt with Ryan, but Declan’s touch was still comforting.

“I’m sorry you had such a shitty day, but I’m glad you bumped into me tonight. Seeing you smile made my day,” Declan stated with a wink.

“I’m glad I bumped into you, too,” she agreed, glancing at Declan’s hand still over top of hers.

The vibration of her cellphone in her pocket caused her to jump. She pulled her hand back from Declan, slipping her phone out. Right on time, Ryan’s nightly message arrived. Her weary smile exploded into a genuine one as she swiped her finger over the bar to read the message.

Hope you had a wonderful day. Miss you loads.

“Secret admirer?” Declan questioned. His intention was to sound playful, but it came out more as an accusation.

“Just Ryan,” she responded, ignoring Declan’s invasive tone.

“I figured.”

Alexis’ head shot up, her eyes fixed on him. “How so?” Her voice rose an octave, as her shoulders rounded as she took in Declan’s accusing tone.

“Just a hunch.” Declan rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the table that held his book, their empty coffee cups, and the massive pile of used napkins. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to come out as it did. It’s just...your relationship...it seems…” he let out a frustrated sigh. “Can we start over?” A somber smile eclipsed his apologetic tone.

“Of course, but first, explain to me what you mean.”

Declan pressed his thumb into his eyebrow, chuckling. “I’d rather not.”

Alexis kicked his shin under the table. Declan let out a small yelp and grabbed his leg. “You better tell me,” she demanded, “or I won’t be so gentle the next time.”

“That was gentle?” He rubbed his shin. “Are you always so abusive?”

Alexis crossed her arms, smirking. “Do you really want to find out?”

Declan waved his hands in front of his face. “Fine! You win. Have you ever wondered why I never asked you out?”

Tucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she pondered the question. “You know, now that you mention it…” she chortled.

He tapped his finger against the blackened screen of her cell phone that laid on the table. “Your boy, Ryan.”

A small gasp escaped her. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious. He damn near has a conniption when I let it slip that we talk. That’s why I thought you were together.”

Alexis let out a heavy sigh, her smile disappeared. Since Ryan’s reaction to their texting several months back, she’d done her best to keep things discreet between her and Declan. It wasn’t as if she wanted to pursue him as anything more than a friend, but hearing Declan’s description of Ryan’s reaction frustrated her. “I told you, he doesn’t see me like that.”

“I call bullshit. Now, tell me, what’s the real story?” Declan inquired.

Her shoulders dropped and her head fell, but for the first time since Jenna, Alexis opened up to someone. The memories of the past flowed out of her like a river of regrets and fears. The death of her sister, the loss of her family, the mere fact that she never wanted to suffer over love the way her mother did, everything she was certain Ryan knew, but never pressed her to explain was all out on the table. When she was done, Declan reached over and grabbed her hands.

“I get it. You’ve convinced yourself he doesn’t see you as more than a friend because you’re worried about Reagan, aren’t you?”

She took in several deep breaths, before she released them through her nose. “Tell me about her. Ryan’s so vague. I know they still hang out, and I can’t tell him not to. He owes me nothing, but I feel like he keeps us separated and we each have a different part of him.”

Declan scooted back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. “You couldn’t be more wrong, I can tell you that.”

“I know they slept together,” she blurted out.

“He told you that?” Declan appeared shocked and a little confused.

She shrugged, picking at her cuticle.

He scratched the top of his head, his face scrunched tight. “I don’t know how I can expand any further than that.”

“It was silly of me to ask.”

Declan reached out to touch her only to pull back. “No, it wasn’t. Look, all I know is they slept together once. I know I pull Ryan’s chain a lot about her, but I don’t mean it. I only do it to rile him up because I know how he feels for you.”

“How he feels about me?”

“I’m not touching that one with a ten foot pole.” He chucked her chin. “Just trust me when I say, don’t worry about Reagan. She’s not what I would call the committing kind of girl, if you know what I mean.” He clicked his tongue as he gave her a suggestive wink.

“Fine.” Alexis waved a hand in dismissal. She should’ve known Declan would’ve defended Ryan. And while he only meant to make her feel better, in turn he made her worry more. From what she’d seen on Ryan’s Facebook page, Reagan was gorgeous. She could easily understand why Ryan might be attracted to her. Determined to not let it bother her anymore for the night, she rolled her shoulders and released a cleansing breath.