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Lex and Lu(67)



We have to stop fighting. She’d texted because she knew it was safe. He’d be sleeping; he’d see it tomorrow and by that time, this impulse would be gone.

So when her phone buzzed, she pulled it down, under the table so Sky couldn’t see it.

Is that what we’re doing?

Puzzled, Lu thought, Of course it is. Knowing drinking and texting was surely not a good thing, she responded.

Of course it is. What would you call it?

She was smiling. She could feel it on her face. She and Lex were talking and it made her happy. Looking at the beer in front of her, she took another sip.

Are you drunk?

She laughed. Didn’t take him long to figure that out.

Maybe.

No maybe about it. Ur drunk.

Smiling again, Lu felt his pull. She saw him leaning against the wall in her apartment. At the time, she was pissed. He’d looked like he was posing for some Vanity Fair cover. Long lean lines, relaxed pose, scruffy appearance. Enough to make any woman want him. Even her. Again.

You never answered my question.

Which one?? Lex responded quickly, as if there weren’t an ocean between them.

What would you call it, AJ?

There she was pulling out all the stops. Wanting him to remember who they were to each other.

Foreplay. Lol!

She laughed, sidesplitting laughter. She couldn’t believe he remembered. He’d made fun of her all the time. Lu wasn’t frivolous or girlie or into girlie stuff. But her favorite movie had been The Cutting Edge growing up and he’d always ribbed her about it. Saying that the dialogue wasn’t smart enough for her big brain. And that she didn’t even know what that meant. And then he showed her what it meant. That he’d remembered, made everything inside her turn to mush.

That time, she caused Sky to stop talking to Andy.

“Whatcha doing over there?” Sky asked.

“Nothing,” Lu responded, reaching again for her beer.

“I don’t believe you. Who are you texting?”

“No one.”

“Louisa May, are you lying to me?” Sky said, as she made a grab for Lu’s phone.

Lu tried to hold on to it but her reflexes were slow. Sky grabbed on and looked at the text conversation.

Smiling a smile full of I-told-you-so’s, Sky handed the phone back to her. “Oh, Lu,” she singsonged, “you are going to regret that in the morning.”

“Regret what?” Willa and Pete said, simultaneously as they picked that moment to reappear.

“Just being drunk the night before I graduate,” Lu covered sweetly.

Buying it, Pete suggested that they head out. “Speaking of, it’s late. We should probably get you home.”

Pete pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down at it, reading an incoming text.

Make sure she gets home safely.

Shaking his head, Pete walked over to Lu and helped her stand. “Let’s go, lover girl,” he said, close enough so that no one heard him. “I have orders to make sure you get home safely.”





29





Pete was curious but weary of going down the Lex-and-Lu slope. His mission tonight had nothing to do with the two of them. The moment Willa walked with him to the bar, his whole focus shifted. Originally, he had planned to talk to Lu about her relationship with Lex. He’d tried the opposite approach and had taken too many knocks from his brother for comfort. Right now, Lex needed him more than anyone else. He could see Lex withdrawing from everything around him. He could even see it in his play—something he’d never seen diminish. He knew that Lex hardly talked to their mom, and with the death of their father, his knowledge of his brother’s loneliness troubled him. So he’d decided to appeal to Lu—to beg her to reach out to him. The rarity of seeing Lu drunk weighed on his mind, though. And the text from Lex—where had that come from? His thoughts all scattered with one look into Willa’s eyes. She actually smiled at him. So now, he needed to take care of Willa.

“Let’s go, Sunshine,” Pete said as the cab came to a stop outside of Sky’s three-bedroom bungalow and he pulled Lu up from the seat. It had once been Lu and Nina’s home too, so he was familiar with it and its layout.

Willa stepped out of his way and let him follow Sky into the house.

“Where’s Bit?” he asked as he led Lu into her old room.

“At her friend’s,” Lu managed to get out before falling backward onto the bed. “I am so going to pay for this tomorrow,” she murmured to the wall.

“I will leave this to you,” Pete said, looking at Sky.

“I got her,” she said, smiling at Pete. “Go take care of your business.”

He turned to do just that, but stopped. “Was she texting with Lex?” he asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.