“Then make it mean something.”
Her eyes lock with mine and she nods. “Yeah, maybe one day.” She shrugs. “Let’s go look at some more art.”
She tries to pull away from me, but I hold on to her. “Hey, don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Brush off your passion. You love art and want to make a difference. You just have to think about how you can do that. What’s important to you and how you can use art to accomplish whatever it is you want to accomplish.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“I didn’t say it would be, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You’re one of the most passionate people I know. You feel lost right now, and you keep talking about finding your path… Maybe combining your passion of art and your want to make a difference is where your path leads. You just have to figure out how to make them work together.”
Lexi’s lips curve into a beautiful smile. “You’re right. I just need to take some time to think about it.”
“And you have plenty of time.”
After we check out more art on the buildings, we stop at a German restaurant neither of us has been to and eat lunch.
“I had a really good time today,” Lexi says on our walk back to my truck. “You know this date set the bar high, right? Every date following will be compared to this one.”
I laugh, remembering what Mason said about setting the tone of our relationship, and pull her into my side. “I’m okay with that. I have every intention of raising that bar higher and higher.”
Lexi
“Lex, your alarm,” Alec groans into my ear, tightening his hold on me.
I pry my eyes open and grab my phone, pressing end so the noise will stop. It’s 5:00 a.m. and I need to head to the beach to get some surfing in, but the only thing I want to do is stay in bed with Alec. He returns to work in a few days and all I want to do is soak up as much time with him as I can. I know him going back to work isn’t life-changing. He actually has a pretty cool schedule that gives him four days off in a row. I’m just not looking forward to sleeping without him the two days he’s gone for his twenty-four-hour shifts. I’ve gotten used to sharing a bed with him, and it will suck to be in it by myself.
With a deep breath, I pry myself from Alec and sit up. With one more inhale and exhale, I stand and head into the bathroom to get my bathing suit and wetsuit on. When I come out, Alec is up.
“What are you doing?” I ask, grabbing my beach bag. “Go back to bed. I’ll pick up breakfast on my way home.”
He shakes his head. “I want to go.”
“You don’t have to do that. Surfing is my thing, and I don’t expect you to come and watch every day.”
“I know, but I hate you going out in the dark alone, so if I can go, I want to.” He grabs the fabric of my wetsuit and tugs me toward him. “I know you like to surf early, but when I’m at work and you’re going alone, can you consider going when the sun is up since you don’t have classes to get to?”
“Alec…”
“I know,” he says. “You’re a strong, independent woman, and I love that about you. But LA is a scary place and Jason giving you shit doesn’t help any.” To say Alec was pissed when I told him Jason approached me would be an understatement. He flat out said the next time Jason comes near me, he would make him regret it.
“Fine,” I say, giving in.
“Thank you.” He gives me a kiss that makes me want to go back to bed with him instead of going to the beach.
I spend the morning surfing while Alec hangs out and watches. I run into Shane and Ricco, and luckily Jason isn’t around. Maybe he finally got the hint…
After I’m done, we stop for breakfast and I grab an extra meal for Aiden. When he sees me, he removes his glasses and gives me a hug. Alec stays back but waves and Aiden waves back.
When we get to my jeep, I immediately notice two of my tires are flat. “What the hell,” Alec says, bending down to check out one of the tires. “This tire isn’t just flat, it’s been slashed.”
“What?” I look around, as if the person who did this would’ve been stupid enough to hang around afterward. “I only have one spare.”
“Yeah, and you need two new tires,” Alec says, fuming. “We’ll have to get your jeep towed to a garage nearby.”
While we wait for the tow truck, Alec finds an officer who’s patrolling the area and tells him what happened. The officer takes down my information so we can make a formal report. We also tell him about my jeep being keyed and how Jason all but admitted to doing it. He says they’ll look into it, but doesn’t sound very hopeful.