Chapter Eighteen
The Next Day…
Lexi
Sebastian is a surprise.
Between playing cupid to his client and my corporate receptionist, taking me to a unique gallery showing, and then filling me in on his background story over burgers and beers, I found myself looking forward to seeing him across the courtyard in his office tomorrow. Not that I hadn’t enjoyed that for some time now.
Now that I knew who he was and what he went through to get it, I was impressed. His story was like starting the first three chapters of a captivating book but having to go to bed before you could finish. I was excited to hear the rest.
He dropped me off to my car at the office and waited for me to get in my car and start the engine. He waited for me to pull out of my parking spot and then followed me out of the lot. There was something innately protective about him. As if it’s not just me he would do this for, but anyone in his care.
He hadn’t tried to kiss me, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t want to worry about what last night would have meant for Sebastian and I if he had.
I usually come into the cafe for a coffee in the morning, and he’d asked if he could see me there this morning. He knew I had a big day today because I’d told him all about it. He wanted to see me before my day started. I agreed, trying to keep the blush at bay.
As I walk into the coffee shop, I spot Sebastian instantly. He’s hard to miss with his dark features and tall build.
He’s sitting at a small table as his fingers work quickly, typing away at a text or an email. I’m not sure which one but based on his professional demeanor, I’d guessed it was work. The minute he looks up and sees me, he abandons his attention to his cell phone and quickly makes his way over to me.
"Good morning, Lexi." His deep raspy voice sends exciting goosebumps down my arms.
He leans in, gently gripping my arm as he kisses my cheek. Another set of rogue chills ripple through my body.
"Good morning," I say, unable to hold back my giddy smile.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes, I did thank you. How about you?"
"I woke up every thirty minutes after three. I couldn’t wait to get to work this morning." His smirk sets butterflies free.
"Oh, really?" I ask.
"Is that too forward?"
"No. But I feel like I need to be honest with you," I say as my face scrunches up a little.
"Ok?" He encourages me to go on.
"You know that family friend that you met in the courtyard? He asked me to have dinner with him, and I agreed. It was before you asked me to the gallery, but I thought I should be up front with you about it."
I can see him think for a second.
"The pro football player."
"Yeah. You know who he is?"
He smiles, "You’d have to live under a rock to not know who Tucker Evans is."
"I guess that might be true," I say stepping along with the moving line.
"He holds the most rushing yards held in one year. Last year, before his injury, he completed his seventieth career touchdown. He’s now the highest paid RB in the league and was traded for nineteen million, with a knee injury. Indianapolis knows what they're doing, since the QB and Evans used to dominate around here playing high school ball. Looks like it’s going to turn out to be a good move for the franchise."
"Luca Benson is my brother," I tell him.
He looks at me, trying to determine my sincerity.
"Oh," he says with both brows raised. "You two do have a lot of history."
"More than you know," I say, looking away for a moment and then turn back with a perfectly placed smile.
"Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate when people establish trust early on."
That gets my attention.
"Do you have issues with trusting people?"
"Lexi, I’m a lawyer," he chuckles. Based on the life he’s had since he was a kid, I think there’s more to it than that.
"Oh… right."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
We make it up to the barista and place our orders. Then, we move to the pickup counter and Sebastian continues.
"Are you seeing him?"
"No, I’m not. It’s just one dinner before he heads back to Indianapolis on Saturday for his game the next day. He was just in town for his great uncle’s funeral."
"He only wants to take you out to dinner?" He seems skeptical.
The barista making the drinks hands us both our orders, and we turn to leave, Sebastian following behind me out the front door of the coffee shop before I answer.
"I’m going to continue with this honesty thing since you really liked it the first time I tried." Sebastian smiles again at me, though this time there is some tension in the corners of his eyes. "We have a long history. Some of it good and some of it rocky. He wants to try tonight to clean it up and move forward in a better space before he leaves town again."
"And that’s it?" He doesn’t look convinced… and neither am I.
"I don’t know. Tucker is hard to nail down. Right when you think you know what he’s going to do next, he flips the script. He just bought a house yesterday… out of nowhere. I have no idea from one day to another what his next move will be. I do know that we tried when we were younger, and it never ended well."
"Listen, Lexi, I know I’m supposed to play my cards close to the vest this early on but if it wasn’t obvious from last night, I’m extremely interested in you and seeing where this goes. I know this is fast to put this on you. I’m not asking for you to choose. I’m not asking for exclusivity, at least not yet. I’m also not looking to compete with a football player with celebrity status and a Super Bowl win, who’s playing with an injury that would put the rest of us mortals in a wheelchair for the rest of our lives.
"He has the home field advantage here. He’s known you for your entire life, brought your two families together to have lunch yesterday, and has enough emotional charge to bring you to tears in your office." He pauses and focuses in on me. "All I want to know is if I should pack it in right now so that I don’t put myself out there to get let down."
What he says is hard to hear but I get where he’s coming from and frankly, I like him all the more for it. If only Tucker had been this open and honest from the beginning then I wouldn’t be in this situation.
"My past with Tucker leads me to believe that there is no future. To be fair to you, I need to hear what he has to say tonight. Give me the weekend. Let me process everything. Are you ok with that?"
"I don’t have a choice here." He takes a long sip of his coffee and plunges his free hand in the pocket of his slacks. "This is going to be a long weekend." He gives me a side smile and his dimple makes another appearance.
"Thanks for the coffee, again. I’ll talk to you on Monday?"
"Ok," he says as he turns around and heads back for his office. I start walking back to the doors of the entrance of my building when I hear my name called out from a way behind me.
"Lexi!"
I turn around to the sound of someone jogging up behind me. I gasp as Sebastian’s strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me into his chest. His lips slip over mine; they taste of coffee and mint gum. They’re sweet and soft, but also firm and demanding. They're exactly what I thought Sebastian’s kiss would feel like, except so much better. My free hand wraps around his neck as he changes the angle of his kiss and dips in again to take my lips with his.
I open for him, but he doesn’t slip his tongue inside. He’s keeping this kiss PG-13, and I should appreciate that since we’re right outside my office building where anyone could see us.
He pulls away and I know what my face must look like as he stares down at me. I must look satisfied and hungry all at the same time. My lips red from his pressure and desperate for more.
I pull myself together as best I can when his arm unwraps around my waist. My hand reluctantly slides off his shoulder and slowly descends the length of his chest.
I shouldn’t be leading him on after what I’d just told him, but he is the one who instigated it. And after that kiss, honestly… Tucker Evans, who?
"I said I didn’t want to compete, but he’s already got an unfair head start. I thought I deserved one too. Talk to you soon, Lexi."
And he walks away sipping his coffee.
I attempt to get work done in my office for the good part of two hours but after that kiss with Sebastian, there is no way I am going to focus with him across the courtyard in his glass office, staring at me with those perfect lips. I need to head home and get to a quiet place with no distraction.
Going home is the right move. Once I sink into my plush office chair, the kiss with Sebastian and the upcoming date with Tucker fade into the background.
I‘ve worked better than I have this entire week, and I am feeling in the zone. I lose track of time, as I usually do when I’m on a roll with a project. When I see my computer read at nearly five-fifteen.
Shit!
Tucker will be here in fifteen to pick me up for our odd, casual, stair climbing, take-out date.
I still haven’t decided what I will wear. Partly because I’m hoping to trick myself into believing that I don’t care what I wear tonight and partly because Sebastian’s kiss has gone a long way in me forgetting about tonight’s date with Tucker.
Any portion not covered with the first two excuses is covered in the fact that my brain is now laser focused on my presentation and offer to the resort I’m the lead on.
I race upstairs to my walk-in closet. I’ve already done my makeup and hair this morning when I knew I would see Sebastian. All I needed to do now is to reapply some lip color.
I pull out some tight-fitting jeans and a pair of Adidas. I’m taking him seriously about climbing stairs and since he’s an NFL player, the last thing I want to do is end up with an impromptu leg day because I wore heels to climb ten flights of stairs or some crazy thing.
Five minutes to five-thirty, Tucker pulls up in his lifted truck and my heart flutters at seeing the man sitting inside the cab of the truck. He looks to be adjusting his radio, giving me a minute to admire his profile from my second story window.
His perfectly straight nose, his long dark eyelashes, the sharp edge of his jaw. I can’t help but want my babies to have so many of those features. It’s an odd thing to think of right now but having children of my own has certainly started entering my mind more, now that Bronx is here and I have gotten a couple of days with him this week.
I climb down the stairs as soon as I see Tucker open the driver side door. We meet in the middle of my walkway. He looks up at my house, as if he’s hoping to get a look inside. Funny, that’s exactly what I want to avoid. Tucker inside my house would be far too unnerving – too many openings and possibilities that I don’t want to get into.
"Ready?" I ask.
"As I’ll ever be." He smiles, covering up the disappointed look he had before, and turns back to head for the car.
"Are you telling me where we’re going?"
"You’ll see." He smirks.
After we climb into the car, Tucker grabs his phone and pushes a couple buttons quickly before setting it back down on his console. He pulls off the curb and onto the road. Music starts to fill the cab of the truck as he adjust the dial. As I hear the first note I start smiling uncontrollably.
"No way! Oh my God, Tuck." I laugh.
"Weezer - Island in the Sun", starts to play and the memory crowds my mind of playing this song as we pulled out of the driveway of my parent's brownstone every summer to head to the lake house.
From fifth grade until the boys started driving their own truck during their sophomore year, I forced everyone to listen to this song the minute we were all in the car. I called it our lake house anthem, and I can still hear the audible groans from Luca and Tucker as the song would start up in my mom’s Lexus crossover, stacked to the roof with everything me and the boys could cram in it.
I can’t help it as I start to belt out the words, dancing in my seat. I’ve never been able to sit still when this song comes on, and today is no different. When I look over, Tucker is singing the words with me. We’re laughing, singing, and dancing. I can’t imagine what this truck looks like from anyone following behind us as our swaying must be rocking the truck back and forth.
At a red light, Tucker reaches over, playfully trying to tickle me into missing the words, like he used to do in those days too. I’m laughing so hard my cheeks hurt from smiling this big and Tucker’s bright smile brings me back to the lake when I know, we were all the happiest.
Now I know what he had been doing while I watched him from the second story of my house. He was bringing us back like he said he would. He wants what we had, in the earlier days. When life was easy and our friendship was much less complicated.
Before the accident on the dock.
Before college admissions.
Before we had gone and screwed everything up.
A thought dawns on me.
"We’re not going to the lake house, are we?!" I can’t help my excitement at the thought, but a two-hour drive, one way, seems a bit out of the question for tonight.
"No, although I didn’t think about that. That would have been a great idea."
I’m about to give him a list of all the reason it wouldn’t have been a good idea which include, drive time, it being a Thursday, and the fact that the lake house at night would create some heavy emotional atmosphere that I’m not ready to face tonight. My brain goes blank as we turn onto my parents’ street.
I wait and watch carefully as Tucker drives down the street, stopping in front of the house across the road from my parents.
"You’re taking me to the McKinny house?"
"Nope. It’s the Evans house now."
Oh shoot, that’s right. Tucker had bought my dream home from Mr. McKinny earlier this week.
Tucker jumps out of the truck and rounds the front of the grill to open my door. He grabs my hand as I slide off the seat and onto the cement sidewalk.
As we walk up to the front door, a moment of clarity finds me.
"Wait, I thought you said you were giving him ninety days to move everything out since he had so much?"
"I am, but I told him that I wanted the house for the weekend to take down measurements and get a layout of the house. I booked him a first-class ticket to Florida to go see his son. He was more than happy to give me the space for a few days. He gets back Monday."
Tucker uses his key to unlock the house. The image of Tucker unlocking this particular house and calling it home is a little overwhelming. I’ve seen his broad shoulders fill this doorway a million times in my dreams.
I can’t stop the fantasy flashing through my mind of Tucker leading me into this house, years down the road, with one toddler tucked under his arm and another sitting on his shoulders. I take a deep breath as I follow him inside.
I had told Tucker years ago that I imagined living in this house with kids and a dog. I left out the part where I always picture it would be him I would share that life with. If I had been more forthcoming, would things have been different?
"I’ve only ever been inside the first floor when your family was invited for dinners. Even though I think I’ve been in this house at least a dozen times, I forgot what it looked like inside," he says.
"You’ve only seen the first floor? And you bought it without even remembering what the house looks like? That doesn’t seem like you. You’re not that impulsive. In fact, this whole purchase doesn’t seem like you. Why this house? Why now?"
"It just seemed like the right time to put down roots. I know this area the best, and Mr. McKinny said he’d be willing to sell when my sister asked around to a few neighbors. And your parents being my neighbors? That was a huge bonus."
What about me? I’m only a few blocks away.
"You’re a bachelor and you bought the biggest house in the neighborhood."
"I won’t be a bachelor forever, Lex," he says as he locks eyes with me.
This night is about putting our friendship back together. Isn’t it?
I’ve pushed him away so many times for my career. And then the one time I was ready to commit, I found him with someone else and promptly gave him back his Super Bowl ring.
He couldn’t possibly be thinking about putting down roots with me, was he?
"Right, of course." I look away.
"How about you give me the grand tour?" he says.
"I’ve only been as far as the second story guest bathroom," I admit.
"How? You had pages and pages of design drawings for this house. How have you only seen so little of it?"
I shrug.
"Ok, well I will tell you what I do know," I start.
I start walking further into the house, peeking into the room to the right, that’s a large rectangle. Its set up as an office and library, of which takes up most of the entire right side of the first level. I want to make sure my memory as a kid still matches as I haven’t been inside this house in years.
I turn into the left archway right off the entry that leads into the formal living room as I begin my explanation.
"The first floor boasts a large library and office to the right." I point across the way to the room I just looked inside of. "The left side was remodeled by the McKinny’s in the early nineties with a massive kitchen. "
"Right," he says as he takes in the room with a new set of eyes.
I point to the two fireplaces. One in the living room space and one in the dining room.
"One of my very favorite features in this home, is that every room still has their original fireplaces throughout the entire house. The craftsmanship in this house is incredible."
"You really love what you do, don’t you?" he says.
I turn to glance back at him, our eyes locking. It’s the first time he’s seen me in my element, and for the first time since I’ve known Tucker, something in his eyes finally tells me that maybe he’s starting to understand why my career is so important to me.
This is my creative outlet–where I get to work with my father, and create spaces that bring people joy, relaxation… whatever they come to our resorts to feel.
"Yes, I do." I tell him. "This job gives me the freedom to dream and create. I’m getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m sure you can understand that. You’ve hit the pinnacle of your career. It feels good, doesn’t it?"
He looks around and then glances back down at me. "Somedays, yeah. But it’s the kind of career that will also takes more than it gives. It’s exhausting sometimes."
I know what he means. The hours I pull in a week are long yet still rewarding.
"Do you ever go to the beach house to get away? To recharge? The hours you're working are grueling,’ he says, concern in his eyes.
"I haven’t been there since my eighteenth birthday. It’s been a while."
"You mean to tell me that the last time you were there was when we were there alone together?" he asks, confusion coating his expression.
He can’t believe I haven’t been back since, and either have I. It used to be my favorite place on earth but life just got busy with school and my internship. And it wasn’t like Luca, or my parents had time with their schedules either.
I nod, remembering what happened the last day at the beach house together: Just Tucker and me.
How things ended.
Some days I wish we had ended things differently. Or that we hadn’t ended things at all. But then I remember that long distance for the last nine years never would have worked.
"Maybe that’s why I’m here. To bring you back to your roots."