“Actually, you’re awake now.” Lexi heard rustling on the other line and rolled her eyes.
“I’m only half-awake. Hold on, chica. Let me kick him out. I have no idea why he thought he could stay the night.” A loud smacking sound could be heard followed by a howl from the gentleman who had shared her bed the night before. A slur of words in Spanish cut through the line, and Lexi was pretty certain the majority of which were not pleasant. Chyna’s voice raised an octave as she insulted him back in Spanish. A smashing sound came next from what Lexi guessed was one of the pieces of priceless china she kept around her room breaking into a million pieces. A second later a door slammed and Chyna returned on to the phone. “Sorry about that. He doesn’t speak much English, but he’s maddeningly handsome with all that Latin passion. Mmm mmm mmm.”
Lexi giggled at her best friend. “I’m sure he is, knowing you.”
“Now, spill everything. You went on a date and then didn’t have the decency to discuss all the sordid details with yours truly. I’m horrified. Does that mean it went too well and you’ve been locked in his apartment for two days, or was it so bad you were afraid to talk to me?” she asked waking up at the prospect of sharing dating stories.
“Neither, I suppose. I had a lot going on, but I had an amazing time if you must know,” Lexi offered loving how excited her best friend sounded.
“And I must. Tell me everything. Who is he? Where did you find him? What did you do? Where did you go? How good was he in the sack?” she asked adding extra emphasis to the last question. “I can’t believe this happens when I’m so far away,” she groaned sounding ridiculously sexy.
Lexi shook her head at Chyna’s over-the-top personality. “We had a picnic at a laser show outside of the city. It concluded with a gorgeous fireworks display that he arranged with the park specifically for us.”
“Ooh la la,” she cooed, “Not candlelit dinners and caviar, but we can work with it,” she interjected. “So, who is this Mystery Man? And please, do give me details!”
“He’s actually…Bekah’s brother. His name is Ramsey. Ramsey Bridges,” she said cringing as she uttered the words. She bit her lip as she waited for Chyna to erupt on her.
“Bekah. Jack’s Bekah? Hmm…well, interesting turn of events, but again we can work with it. What’s he look like? Is he sexy?”
Lexi giggled. “Yeah, he kind of is. Tall, really tall with bright green eyes and sandy blonde hair. His body is killer too. David Beckham-esk physique we’re talking here.”
“Damn! Sexy and wealthy.”
“Chyna!” Lexi exclaimed scolding her.
“What?” she asked, pretending to be confused by her friend’s outburst.
“You know what.”
“Don’t act like that isn’t important. You’ll be in law and he has a trust. After hanging out with me, chica, how can you live with anything else?” she asked bluntly. Chyna never refrained from discussing how important it was to find someone with similar means when you were dating. This went back to her standards of men’s clothing as well as to his taste in alcohol, cars, apartments, and down the list. She approved of very few men for anything past the first date.
“Yes, well,” Lexi said rolling her eyes, “he is supremely wealthy. And God is he good looking, Chyna. If you had picked him out in a club, you wouldn’t have even given yourself time to get a drink from him before dragging him off to your place.”
“Watch yourself. I might have to come visit my best friend and do just that.” Lexi knew that she was only half-joking. What Chyna wanted, she typically acquired. The only things in life she hadn’t been able to control were her parent’s separation and the fact that her gorgeous designer friend, Frederick, was one hundred percent playing for the other team. He was the only man she had ever met that was too gay to sleep with her and it bothered her every day.
The delicious aroma emanating from the machine was mouth-watering. Lexi poured two mugs full of the hot brew. Then she leaned back against the counter to finish her conversation and wait for the coffee to cool down. “That’s kind of the reason I called you. I need you here this weekend,” she said forcing her hair behind her ear several times as she waited for Chyna to as the question she was dreading.
“Before I get onto the subject of why you might need me in Atlanta this weekend, you didn’t answer my question. How good is he?” she asked for the third time.
“I didn’t sleep with him,” Lexi admitted reluctantly.
“Oh. So that’s why you need me there this weekend,” Chyna announced.
“What? No. I don’t need you here to help me get with him. I could have if I’d wanted to, but there are a few uh…issues with that. Like a certain someone,” she said sipping on her coffee.
“Alexa, what have you done?”
“Oh, Chyna,” she cried exasperated with herself, “I just need you here. I went to talk to Jack to get everything clear between us, but it didn’t work out the way I had planned.”
“Did you sleep with him?” Chyna shrieked into the phone.
“No. No, I didn’t.”
“Don’t lie to me, Alexa Mae.”
“I’m not lying. I didn’t sleep with him. I promise, C. But he wanted to. And we would have, if I hadn’t stopped his advances. Now he’s saying he wants to be with me for real this time, and I just don’t know what to do, Chyna. He’s what I want. Of course, he is. I just don’t want things to backfire in my face,” she said, confessing all her fears.
“Oh, baby, you shouldn’t be doing this to yourself,” Chyna cried maddeningly. “You know he’s just going to hurt you. That’s what he does. He hurts you. He drags you down.”
“But he doesn’t,” Lexi eagerly protested. Though, she wasn’t quite as certain about that as she let on. “He makes everything right with me. You’ve only seen the worst of the situation. You only saw what happened in New York. If I can make it right with us, that’s what I want. That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“Shit!” Chyna cursed.
“What?”
“I told you not to do that. God, he completely changes you, doesn’t he?” Chyna asked sighing heavily. Lexi could tell that she was starting to get pissed off. She heard Chyna take a few calming breaths before continuing. “You are absolutely right, chica. I need to be there. I’ll talk to Daddy about using the jet. I should arrive in Atlanta in a matter of hours. I’ll have a car pick me up at the airport, and then we can talk this all out together. Possibly a shopping spree to get our minds off of what potential disaster you are creating in your life.”
“Chyna, you can’t come down here thinking…” Lexi stopped mid-sentence and set her coffee mug down on the counter silently. She thought that she had heard something at the door. She had been pretty sure she had heard something, but she had been so heated in her conversation she had almost missed it. She strained her ears to listen for another potential noise.
“Thinking what?” Chyna asked snippily.
“Hold on one second,” Lexi said listening more closely this time. Someone was knocking on the door. She jogged down the hallway and pressed her eye to the peep hole. Ramsey’s face appeared distorted and warped by the curved glass, but it was definitely him. “Shit!”
“What?” Chyna cried surprised by Lexi’s outburst. “What’s going on?”
Lexi rushed back down the hall her heart leaping to her throat as she panicked. “Ramsey is here.”
“Here where?” Chyna questioned her.
“Oh shit, shit, shit,” Lexi mumbled under her breath pushing her free hand through her messy bed-ridden hair.
“Alexa, calm down. Where are you? I thought you were at your parents,” she asked trying to get a grasp on the situation.
“No, I’m not. I really have to go,” Lexi told her thinking about what she would have to do next.
“Where are you?”
Lexi hated that she had to admit this to Chyna. “I’m at Jack’s place. I’ll see you in a few hours, chica.”