Without waiting for me to respond, she stands and approaches Jason. Of course, at that moment, our order number is called. Figuring it’s best to give her a minute, I get up and grab our food from the counter.
As I’m walking back over to the table with our food, my eyes find Lexi, who’s still talking to Jason. Her back is ramrod straight and she’s shaking her head. Jason’s glaring at her, his eyes filled with anger. I don’t want to interfere, but I’m not about to let him make her feel bad for choosing to be with me.
I set our tray of food on the table, then walk up to them, wrapping my arm around Lexi’s waist. The second she glances over and sees it’s me, I feel her instantly soften into my side.
“You mind?” Jason snaps. “We’re talking.”
“Not with that tone, you’re not.” I remove my arm from Lexi and step into Jason’s space.
His glare moves from Lexi to me. “That isn’t up to you.”
“Lexi, you done?” I ask, without looking at her.
“Jason, I really am sorry,” she says, her voice filled with remorse. “I didn’t plan for this to happen…”
“You don’t have to explain shit to him,” I tell her, backing up from Jason and taking her hand. “Our food’s getting cold.” I pull her away from him, refusing to give him any more of my time. He’s pissed he lost his shot with her, and I get it, but it’s not my damn problem, and quite frankly, it’s not hers either. And it sure as hell doesn’t warrant him giving her shit.
“You okay?” I ask, when I notice she’s eating her food in silence.
“Yeah.” She shrugs a single shoulder. “I just feel bad.”
“For what? You went out with him once and it didn’t work out. That’s called dating. It doesn’t always end up in marriage.”
“I know,” she says with a sigh, “but he called me a tease, said I led him on. And maybe he’s right…”
“Bullshit,” I argue, refusing to listen to her put herself down. That guy is damn lucky he’s already left. If I see him again, we’re going to have some words.
“I did only agree to go out with him with the hope of knocking you out of my thoughts.” She glances out at the water, her eyes full of guilt.
“Hey.” I press my palm to her cheek, forcing her to look at me. “He’s a grown ass man. No, you probably shouldn’t have agreed to go out with him if you weren’t interested, but it doesn’t matter. You followed through and went on your date. You weren’t interested in going out again, so you didn’t. Some guys have trouble with being let down, but that’s not your fault. It’s his, and he needs to get over it.”
“Okay,” she says, twisting her mouth into a small smile. “I’m done. Want to grab Georgia something to eat and then head home?”
“Yeah.” When my lips pull into a grin, Lexi’s own smile widens.
“You’re totally thinking about getting laid.” She smacks my shoulder playfully. “I should make you wait…”
“Until when? Marriage?” I volley, imagining Lexi walking down the aisle in a beautiful wedding dress.
“Yeah,” she smarts.
“Fine.”
Her eyes widen. “Fine?”
“Yeah, I have no intention of waiting long to marry you anyway. I’ve waited years to be with you, what’s a couple more months?”
“A couple months?” she shrieks. “You’re crazy!”
“About you.” I pull her into my arms. “I don’t want to waste any time, Lex. I love you and you love me. I want to marry you… and soon.”
“Are you proposing?”
I shake my head. “When I propose, I’ll have a ring and it will be romantic. You deserve that.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” she says with a soft laugh. “Now I’ll be waiting and wondering when.”
She snakes her arms around my neck and threads her fingers through my short hair, then climbs into my lap, not giving a shit that there are people surrounding us. “But until then, I don’t want to wait. Like you said, we’ve both waited a long time to be together. With anyone else, it would feel like we’re rushing, but you’re my path, Aleczander Sterling.”
“I don’t know what the hell a path is, but I like that I’m yours, Alexandria Scott.”
She giggles, and the sound does shit to my insides. “Georgia and I made it up. It’s not a real path… It just represents us trying to find our way because we both feel lost.”
“We’re young, Lex, and we’re not always going to know which way to go, but I can promise you, no matter what, I’ll be by your side while you’re trying to figure it out.”
“I like the sound of that,” she says, softly pressing her mouth to mine. Her tongue slides through my parted lips, and I taste the lemonade she was drinking mixed with Lexi. We kiss for a few minutes, until she grinds her center against my dick, and I remember where we are.