With a trembling hand, Lexi reached for her cone. “M-hmm,” Lexi mumbled with a mouthful of Rocky Road, lost in his sexy eyes.
“I’ll keep you warm,” he offered, pulling her even closer. His tongue slipped out from between his lips, and he gently lapped at his ice cream. The way his tongue and lips moved should have been illegal.
Lexi’s mind went deep into one of her most vivid fantasies, and her heart began to pound against her ribs. She was certain the flames erupting throughout her body were going to vaporize the ice cream in her hand. He started to lead her to a booth, where she knew they would sit side to side, very intimately. If his thigh rubbed against hers or if she had to watch him lick that cone another second, Lexi knew she would explode.
“Let’s eat outside,” she exclaimed loud enough that people turned to stare.
Vincent shrugged. “Fine with me. Where to?”
“I know a spot.”
Once outside, Lexi could breathe again. There was more space, more air that was not full of his scent or his heat. Just plain old fishy-smell-off-thebay air. She drew a deep breath into her lungs and willed her heart to stop slamming into her ribcage.
In the distance, a small path meandered down toward the water. Whenever she needed to get away from everything and just think, this was where Lexi went. The last time she had been there, it was Vincent who had plagued her thoughts and sent her fleeing to her refuge, her private sanctuary.
And now, she was about to share it with him. The bench under her favorite tree was empty, so she happily took a seat in its shade and gazed out onto the water.
“The view here is beautiful,” Vincent commented as he continued eating his ice cream.
“This is my favorite place in the city.” Lexi broke off a small piece of her cone and tossed it to a nearby squirrel. “I come here all the time to think.”
“It’s very relaxing,” Vincent agreed.
“It’s the water,” Lexi murmured. “It reminds me of home. Harry took me fishing more times than I can count. He loved the water. I like to come here and just feel close to him. I know it sounds crazy.”
Vincent’s hand found hers and gave it a squeeze. “It’s not crazy at all. You miss him.”
“It helps me keep things in perspective, and sometimes it helps me forget. Whenever I think things are too much, I come here. No matter what is going on or how bad it seems, when I sit on this bench, I’m reminded that the water continues to flow, the waves keep crashing on the shore, and life goes on around me.”
They sat for a while, enjoying a comfortable silence while finishing their ice cream and watching the people walk by. Vincent snaked his arm around the back of the bench and Lexi leaned against him, taking this moment to savor the experience of sharing this place with him. For those few moments, there was no Jade, there was no Hunter Advertising. There was only Vincent and Lexi.
“Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” Vincent asked as he stroked her hair gently.
Lexi swatted him playfully on the chest. “I’m not telling you my bra size.”
“It’s thirty-four C.”
Lexi’s mouth fell open in shock as her face turned red. “How the hell did you know that?”
“It’s a gift.” Vincent grinned from ear to ear. “Now can I ask my question?”
“It can’t be worse than that. Shoot.”
“How do you remember so much about me from high school?”
“I was wrong. I think I’d like to use my pass. Next question please?”
Vincent’s eyes were pleading. “Come on. Please? Fill me in. I can’t remember anything. Did we have a bunch of classes together or something?”
“Or something,” Lexi said quickly, praying he’d let it go. But of course he didn’t.
“Did Anna tell you, back then, I mean? I know you guys did yearbook together. Did she tell you all about her obnoxious brother?”
“No.”
“So then how di—”
“I had a crush on you in high school, you idiot.” The words flew out, and there was no way to suck them back into her mouth.
“Really?” Vincent’s eyebrows rose high in surprise. When Lexi nodded, completely mortified at her admission, it seemed he couldn’t stop the stunning smile that spread across his face. “Really?”
Lexi again nodded her head in humiliation.
“Like how big of a crush? I mean, did you know my locker number and my schedule?”
“Locker number seventy-three. We had four classes together, but one of them was study hall. You’d go to the vending machines and get peanut butter crackers every day and a package of donuts. You always ate lunch outside, never in the cafeteria.”
“Did you doodle my name on your books too?”
“I’m going to kill you now.”
“You weren’t my secret admirer senior year who wrote poetry and slipped it into my locker were you?”
Lexi punched his arm. “Get real.”
“Oh, thank God, because she was kinda scary. At least I think it was a she.” “I was more of a watch-you-from-afar kind of girl.”
“I can’t believe you had a crush on me.”
Lexi could feel his amusement over the situation. He kept smiling and chuckling to himself, no matter how hard he tried to play it cool. Lexi was dying to know if he found her crush ridiculous or endearing, but her nerves were getting the better of her. In a panic, she jumped to her feet.
“God, I can’t believe I admitted that. I’m going to go drown myself in the bay now.” She hurried toward the water.
Laughing, Vincent quickly chased after her, grabbing her around the waist and swinging her into the air. Her laughter filled his ears until he placed her safely on the ground and held her tightly against his chest.
“You’re always running away from me.”
Her coy but honest reply caught both of them off guard. “Maybe I just like having you chase after me.” Lexi loved the feel of his arms around her.
Nothing would ever compare to the perfection of Vincent Drake, no matter how long she lived. He was it, her everything. If only he felt the same way.
Lexi’s trance was broken by ringing church bells off in the distance. “Come on, it’s late. We better get back before Leigh either sends out a search party or offers to help me hide your body.” Lexi laughed as she tossed her napkin into a nearby trashcan. She started to walk toward the trolley when Vincent stopped her.