up , I see her looking out the window with a blanket wrapped around her body. I slowly sweep the sheet off and make my way over to her. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her head.
“You okay?”
“I will be. Thank you for being here for me; I could not do this alone.” She leans her head back and rests it on my chest, gripping one of my arms.
“I’m always here for you. You’d do the same for me. If I could take all this hurt away, I would. I would rather bear it than you,” I tell her in a soft whisper so we don’t wake her parents.
She shifts her position and faces me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and letting the sheet fall to the ground. I feel her naked body against mine. “I love you,” she whispers before planting her lips on mine. She pulls back. “Sorry if it seemed like I was out of it earlier.”
“It was understandable and you don’t have to apologize.” I kiss her forehead. “Come back to bed and get some rest.” I tug on her and pull her against me once again. And I don’t fall asleep until I hear her labored breaths.
Early in the morning , I feel Lexi moving and she turns to face me, smiling and wrapping her arm around my waist. “You are one of the best things in my life. I have no idea how I got so lucky,” she says.
I lean down and kiss her small nose then move on to her kissable lips. “We should head dow nstairs before I change my mind and have you for myself,” I tell her with a smile.
“You’re right. Time to face the music,” she says , swinging her legs over the bed.
Chapter Nine
FINALLY DRESSED , WE MAKE our way downstairs and I can’t help but feel a little twinge in my chest, imagining what Lexi is thinking. What she went through is beyond my imagination. Who knows what lies beneath the surface?
“Good morning. I hope you two slept well,” Alice greets us as we bound down the stairs.
“We did, thank you,” I say, while Lexi gives her mom a kiss on the cheek and d oes the same to her dad as he sits at the table with his newspaper.
Alice sets the table with a spread of breakfast food and instructs us to have a seat. “Any luck with the sale of the house?” Lexi asks.
“We’ve had a few walk throughs but nothing permanent,” her dad, Charles, says.
Alice asks how Lexi and I met, and Lexi t ells her through a mutual friend. And we tell her all about her self-defense classes.
“We are actually looking to buy a house closer to your campus ; that way you can come visit more often, if you’d like.” Alice smiles.
“That would be awesome,” Lexi tells her.
“Eat up; I made enough for an army,” Alice says, as we dish food onto our plates.
Once breakfast is over, Charles invites me outback as he smokes a cigar. When he offers me one, I oblige so not to offend him. He laughs his ass off when I choke on it a few times.
“So tell me about yourself. I know nothing about the guy that captured my daughter’s heart,” he says, grinning.
“ Your daughter is a very special girl. I’m an only child; my mom and dad are still married and run a diner in my hometown. I just transferred to OSU last fall, to keep an eye on my cousin who recently suffered a loss. I race cars for extra money and I like to fish. Actually, I took Lexi fishing the other week.” I smile at the thought.
“I bet that was a sight. ” Charles chuckles.
“It wasn’t too bad once she got the hang of it, and we caught a few and took them to my house to cook,” I tell him, taking another drag of the cigar.
“She’s lucky to have you, son,” he says while patting my back.
“I think I’m the lucky one ,” I say while looking off into the distance.
Lexi meets us out back, and she drags on my hand.
“Where are we going?”
“Next door,” she says , continuing to walk. But I stop in my tracks.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Of all ideas, this can’t be good .”
“No one is in there, and you want me to face my demons , right?” She
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