Текст книги "Avoiding Commitment"
Автор книги: K. A. Linde
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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 29 страниц)
CHAPTER 5
PRESENT
Navy blue covers crinkled and scrunched around Lexi’s lithe form, and a down pillow lay crushed against her chest. One bare leg was revealed while her feet remained tangled in the matching sheets. A sharp knock on the door roused her from her reverie, and she buried her face farther into the pillow. The door creaked open uninvited. “Lex, it’s time to get up,” Jack whispered into the darkness.
“Nuh uh,” she grumbled shaking her head against the pillow.
“I thought you could use a shower,” he said flipping the light switch and holding up a white fluffy towel. “I realized that I washed all the towels before I left so there aren’t any in the bathroom. But if you don’t want it,” he said tauntingly, waving the towel back and forth in front of his face.
Her head popped up from the comfort of the pillow, and she looked at him groggily. They had been up way too late and her eyes weren’t happy with the early morning wake-up. She flipped over on her back and leaned back against her elbows giving her eyes time to focus. “What are you going to do?” she asked stifling a yawn. “I don’t mind walking around naked...and wet.” She bit her lip at her own suggestive behavior.
She successfully elicited her desired reaction from Jack. He tried to stay calm, but she had known him long enough to be able to interpret his subtle movements. His eyes bulged as they crawled down her body, his imagination running away with him. He licked his lips as he thought of her wet, naked form sauntering around his apartment...or in his shower...or on his bed...or pretty much anywhere. His chest rose and fell irregularly, and the crotch of his pants jumped just a little bit, just enough for her to notice. He gulped uneasily. “Uh...yeah...well then, I guess you’ll need this,” he stammered walking into the room, and placing the towel at the foot of the bed, trying not to show his arousal. Then, he quickly turned to leave before he did anything he might regret...or she might tell his girlfriend.
“Jack,” she said stopping his exit. She kicked the sheet to the foot of the bed and stretched out arching her back. He just stared at her hungrily. She was so bad.
“Uh...yeah?” he asked his hands clenched in fists at his side.
“Things aren’t going to be awkward today after you know...last night, are they?” she questioned him, sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest.
“No, things will be fine...normal.” She wasn’t sure what normal was for them. Normal could be so many different things. “You look concerned.”
“It’s just...you did tell your girlfriend you were coming back last night, right? She knew I was staying here?” Lexi asked watching his eyes shift uncomfortably.
“Well...”
“You didn’t tell her,” she said interpreting his behavior once again. “As I thought.”
“No. I couldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t understand why I’d let you do that.”
“That’s funny. I don’t understand either,” she said still staring him down waiting for his eyes to meet hers.
When they finally did, she could tell he was just as confused about his actions as she was. “Can we just talk about this later?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, sure. But you’ll explain it later, right?”
“I’ll always be honest with you, Lex,” he said before exiting the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
Lexi threw her head back against the covers and smiled half-heartedly up at the ceiling. Yep, things were going to be way awkward.
She quickly showered and diffused her loose curls. She unzipped her suitcase and stared at the different outfits she had planned for the day. A brown sundress she knew would go perfectly with her golden tan. Blue and white striped seersucker shorts coupled with a white tank top would have the same effect, but she was as indecisive as ever. Did she want to be cute and friendly like she should be or would she rather dress a bit sexier? After a moment longer, she opted for the shorts combo. No need to dress the part Kate had drawn her to be.
“You can’t wear that,” Jack said, entering the room without knocking.
“I could have been naked,” she cried.
He smirked. “Yep,” he said cheerfully, “looks like I waited too long.”
She scowled at him. “Anyway…why can’t I wear this?” she asked gesturing to her outfit. “I think I look good.”
“Plans just changed. Unfortunately, we’re going to the Country Club.”
Lexi crinkled her nose up at him. “Why are we doing that? I thought you said we were going to get brunch, some much needed coffee, and then get this ridiculous conversation over with,” she mumbled the last part under her breath.
“I just got off the phone with Bekah, and there was some miscommunication with her parents.”
“And?” Lexi asked clearly irritated.
“And we have to postpone our afternoon engagement.” Lexi sighed, not a good choice of words. “She thought her parents were having their monthly Club brunch next weekend, but she just found out it’s today.”
“Okay, well, you have fun with that,” Lexi said taking a seat on top of the bed stubbornly.
“Come on. I can’t leave you. I already told Bekah that you made it here. She’d find it weird if I didn’t bring you along.”
“Jack, I’m not going to some snooty country club with your girlfriend and her parents! How would you explain me? How would you explain why I’m here?”
“Lex, please,” he whined. She just glared harder. No way was he winning this. She had made the mistake of going home with Jennifer, her college dorm mate, for a weekend at the Club her freshman year of college. She had been completely humiliated when the rude, stuck-up, rich members found out that her parents weren’t wealthy. She had utterly refused to go back. A repeat performance was not something she ever wanted to endure.
“No! You can forget it.”
“It will be easy. I’ll just tell them that you’re an old friend of mine who’s here from out of town...which you are,” he added. “We don’t have to give them details. They don’t give a shit about anyone else besides themselves anyway.”
“Oh, that’s real comforting,” she spat back at him.
He strode across the room and stood directly in front of her. “You know what I mean. They aren’t going to care who you are or where you’re from as long as you are with the right people.”
She tilted her head up to look into his face. “And you’re the right people?”
He nodded. “Bekah is the right people.”
Lexi’s stomach rolled at that sound. All she could picture about this girl was some blonde bimbo following daddy’s orders and spending daddy’s money. And, yes, she was certain Bekah was blonde. Jack always dated blondes. Not to mention, her parents were Country Clubbers. She groaned at the thought. No wonder Bekah was so worried about her parents cutting her off from their finances. “I’m not going,” she said crossing her arms and legs at the same time and putting on a determined face.
“Okay, alright, I can’t make you,” he said throwing his hands up. “I’ll call her back and tell her you can’t make it. It would just be for a couple hours, but...whatever.” He turned to walk out of the room.
Lexi shook her head from side to side arguing with herself. Did she really come all this way just to bicker with him? She had come here for him...even if she didn’t really want to admit it. She might as well go along with his charade. “Jack,” she said standing up and catching his arm before he exited.
“Look, Lex, I get it. You’re a different person and blah, blah, blah. But come on, the direction you’re going in life, you could be one of these people someday. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? You could make some useful connections if you decide to head back to the South?” he asked speaking roughly to her. “So stop spouting bullshit. I know why you don’t want to go. I remember what happened with Jennifer. I thought you were better than letting one bad experience cloud your judgment.”
Her jaw clenched as she listened to him rant. She didn’t want to hear any of this. “Ok. Ok. Jesus Christ, Jack, just shut up.” He paused and looked at her expectantly. For a second, she got lost in his gaze. His baby blues clouded over with grey as he let anger take him over. Something about that stare froze her in place.
“Lex?” he asked. She hadn’t even realized he had been speaking. “Were you going to say something or just stare at me?” he asked amused.
“Oh. Oh yeah,” Lexi mumbled recovering. “I was just going to say that I’ll go with you...you know...before you said all that shit.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” she said shifting her weight uncomfortably.
“Well, then, you better change.”
Lexi glared at him. “Are we back here?”
“Well, now that you’ve agreed, you have to change,” he snapped, but his anger was gone. He actually looked bemused that she had caved so easily. She tried to not let that shake her.
Lexi changed tactics. “And what would you like to see me in?” she asked cocking her head to the side and looking at him from beneath her side-swept bangs. The flirtatiousness in her voice was evident, but this was how she and Jack worked. They argued. They made up. They fucked...oh wait...she meant flirted. Damn it!
“We don’t have time for that.” She glanced up at him innocently. “Or that. Now, go put on a sundress. You brought heels right?”
Lexi shrugged. “Fine, whatever, but you know you owe me, right?”
“I always repay my debts. Now go,” he said pushing her into the room. She could imagine this conversation if they were together. He would kiss her softly on the mouth and smack her ass as she went to change. He would follow her and ravish her body before they departed for their afternoon together. She sighed. Then again if they were together, he wouldn’t dare drag her to a stupid Country Club. Oh yeah, and that whole girlfriend problem.
Lexi poured over her dress options. The brown sundress was too short for a Country Club especially if she was going as a guest. That left her to decide between a strapless ivory eyelet dress with a salmon-colored satin belt and a bright green spaghetti strap number that billowed out around her knees. Frustration started to take over as her indecision intensified. She didn’t really want to go to this brunch, and the fact that she had to put so much effort into her outfit made it even worse. Finally, she threw on the ivory dress with a pair of brown peep-toe mules leaving the green dress for a less judgmental audience.
“Ready?” Jack asked as she entered the living room. He looked as gorgeous as ever. A rather expensive, as she could judge by the quality, baby blue button-up fit him perfectly even cutting in a bit at the waist to make him look leaner. A tri-colored blue, black, and silver tie hung from his neck to his light grey dress pants. The shirt brought out the blue of his eyes, and when they rested on her, they seemed to be a million times more intense than normal. She wasn’t sure if that was because of her or not.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They set off for the twenty minute drive out of town. A vast array of music filtered through the speakers. Lexi hummed along to what was playing as they pulled up to the gate of the Club.
After being cleared by the overweight security guard, they drove past the million dollar homes and around the immaculate eighteen-hole golf course to a mansion of a Club House. Jack parked his car into an available slot between a BMV SUV and a tiny Mercedes convertible. Sauntering past the other meticulously detailed luxury vehicles, they made their way towards the daunting Club House.
Lexi took in the massive arching entranceway and polished marble floors as her heels clicked noisily across the surface. The room was over-air conditioned, and smelled strongly of flowers. When she glanced around, she realized why. Hundreds of flowers of various types and colors were scattered in prearranged vases all around the entranceway. Lexi didn’t remember that from the last time she had been there, and didn’t much like it either. The whole thing made her want to sneeze.
She followed Jack through the foyer and up to the receptionist seated behind a desk large enough to swallow her whole and covered with similar vases brimming with carnations, lilies, and tulips.
As they approached, the aroma grew stronger and she did sneeze this time. Jack touched her arm briefly, smiling in her direction. After Jack announced their presence, he ushered her down the hall towards the colossal dining hall. Lexi glanced around her at the couples sitting in overstuffed arm chairs sipping on tea and reading the newspaper. She scoffed and several heads swiveled to get a look at the interruption. She skittered down the hall after Jack. Her hand instinctively went to her hair and began threading it behind her ear repeatedly.
Jack looked over at her and stopped moving. She took a few more steps before recognizing that he wasn’t alongside her anymore. “What?” she asked turning to face him.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said taking her hands away from her hair.
“Oh yeah, well, I’ll work on that.”
“There’s no need to be nervous.”
Lexi shrugged not wanting to have this conversation in public. “I’m going to go to the restroom,” she said seeing the blue sign behind his head.
“Alright, do you want me to wait?” Lexi shook her head, anxious to be alone and calm. “You’ll be able to find me?”
“No problem,” she said making a beeline towards sanctuary.
After about five minutes staring apprehensively at herself in the mirror, Lexi figured it was about time to get out of there. When she walked out, she was caught off guard by the man standing just outside of the bathroom talking to a woman who couldn’t be a day under eighty. Lexi assessed the gorgeous specimen standing in front of her. She was quite certain he had one of the tightest asses she had ever seen. The suit he wore was obviously tailored for his build. An extremely muscular build, if she did say so herself. She figured he had to work out with a personal trainer…daily. His hair was a sandy blonde. Not that ugly highlighted look that so many guys were sporting, but a color that seemed infused with sunlight as if he lived at the beach.
A look of disdain quickly crossed her face as realization hit her. It was pretty obvious that he was just another asshole country clubber like every other person here. Of course he was handsome. They bred them that way. His incredibly amazing physique was likely mandatory. His blonde hair doubtlessly was from the beach. No. Now that she thought about it, he probably owned the beach!
She crossed her arms uncomfortably. Whoever this guy was she already didn’t like him. There was no way he had a personality. Last time she had been here, Jennifer had been the closest thing to a human being in the establishment, and God that was saying something. Just as she began to move away from the attractive man in front of her, he finished his conversation and turned around nearly knocking Lexi over.
“Oh, sorry. Excuse me,” he said reaching out to steady her.
“No problem,” she said coldly, backing up a step out of his comforting grasp. Her dark brown eyes shifted up to his extremely handsome, apologetic face. He really looked concerned. Strange. She turned away from his strong jaw line and high cheek bones, ignoring his expression. When he didn’t seem to get the hint, she returned her gaze to his face. “Yeah?” she asked rudely.
“Uh…sorry…do I know you?” he skeptically asked, his eyes roaming her face.
Lexi rolled her eyes. Was he really playing this game? That had to be the most overused line ever. Why would she know him? “Um…no, I don’t think so,” she said diverting her attention again. “I have to get to brunch.” Lexi attempted to side-step him, but he cut off her path.
“No really, I think I know you from somewhere.”
“You’re in my way,” she pointed out to him. She couldn’t help how rude she was being. She wasn’t really sure why he was eliciting such a reaction either. It’s not like he had been rude to her, but Lexi didn’t want to give him the chance.
“Oh yeah, sorry, but really we’ve met before.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Have you ever been here before? I think it was here. Actually, I’m almost certain it was here.”
“Just once a long time ago, but really I need to leave, and you’ve blocked my path.” Lexi didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to remember anyone she might have met that day when she had come with Jennifer.
“Okay, yeah, I definitely remember you now,” he said cheerfully. “You came with one of my sister’s friends. But she wasn’t here, of course. I mean you wouldn’t know that. My sister went to Duke. So she wasn’t here. Which I already said. But you were here with her friend, I’m pretty sure. And man, she’s really annoying.” Lexi looked back up at him skeptically. Had he just called Jennifer annoying? Of course, Lexi thought Jennifer was annoying, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to think that. “Oh no,” he said staring down at her apologetically, “I mean she’s your friend. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” She stared at him longer unable to believe what she was hearing. This guy was babbling. She was certain there was an unwritten rule somewhere preventing this from happening. “Wow, this isn’t coming out right at all.”
Lexi looked up at him incredulously. “Right then, I’m going to go,” she said attempting to dodge him again.
“Oh right,” he said seeming to step out of her way, but only blocking her path further. She sighed heavily, stepping in the opposite direction. He had the same idea and moved in front of her once again. He laughed heartily. Probably a little too loud for the environment. The people she had been attempting to remain invisible from turned in their direction and began staring. She cringed and pushed her hair behind her ears.
“Okay, stop,” Lexi commanded, reaching out and grabbing his arm to prevent him from moving farther. “I’m going to go right. Just…don’t move.”
“Who are you here with?” he asked, ignoring her demand.
“That’s none of your business,” she snapped, extracting her hand from his suit.
“You’re right,” he said sheepishly. “It’s just I don’t know if you remember me, which I guess you don’t, but I remember you.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant and didn’t plan on finding out. “That’s great,” she stated sarcastically.
“Is Jennifer here?” he asked glancing over her shoulder to see if Jennifer was about to appear at her side.
“I don’t know, but I’ll send her your way if I find her.”
“So, you didn’t come here with Jennifer then?” he asked. She flinched, realizing that she had unintentionally given away a piece of information.
“No, I didn’t. What’s it to you anyway?” Lexi demanded getting more flustered the longer she stood in front of him.
“I’m just curious about you is all. You’ve been here before, and you came back,” he said in disbelief. “That never happens.”
“Right, well, I see that I’m a fantastic spectacle for you to wonder about, but once again, you are in my way. I’m going to be late for brunch, and frankly, I’m starving.” Not to mention she was sure to be humiliated if she arrived a second behind schedule.
“Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that,” he said, bringing his hand up and scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.
“Well, I haven’t. So…yeah…nice meeting you,” Lexi said offhandedly, finally getting herself around his solid figure.
“But you didn’t. I didn’t even tell you my name or get yours for that matter.”
Lexi turned letting her loose curls trail down her back. “That’s alright. I’ve survived this long without it.” He walked forward towards her. “What are you doing?” she asked throwing her hand out to stop him from walking further.
“I can escort you to your seat,” he offered, his perfectly straight white teeth appeared as he smiled brightly at her.
“Absolutely not.”
“Do you even know where you are going?”
“You don’t know where I’m going,” she reminded him. “And I’m sure I can find my way just fine, thank you.” She took another step forward and he followed her. She clenched her fists. “Jesus, why don’t you back off?” she exclaimed raising her voice for the first time. She regretted her actions almost instantly. The obnoxious middle aged members, who had only been half-listening to their conversation, now went silent and turned their full attention to her, making her cheeks burn bright red. It didn’t help that she had taken the Lord’s name in vain in the Bible belt. Goddamn it, New York had changed her! She took three calming breaths before glancing back up at him and smiling through gritted teeth.
His smile had never wavered. Country Club manners through and through. “Well, if you are sure I can’t be of any assistance, I’ll just let you find your own way,” he said politely.
Lexi watched him purposely walk off in the opposite direction. Clenching and unclenching her hands several times calmed her down enough to allow her to search for Jack. To be honest, she had no idea where to begin. She should have let that guy help her. But after he had been so goddamn pushy, all she wanted to do was get away. She searched around unsuccessfully before noticing Jack quickly approaching her.
“Where have you been?” he asked concerned and a little annoyed.
“I ran into someone and they wouldn’t stop talking to me,” she complained.
“Well, let’s hurry up. We should get in there before they start taking orders,” he said smiling down on her, his annoyance dissipating the longer he remained in her presence.
Her throat caught as his hand rested gently on her elbow and nudged her in the appropriate direction. She had wanted things to be like this for so long. It hurt to know that the only reason she was here, the only reason he was even talking to her, was because of his girlfriend. His perfect girlfriend whom he intended to marry. His perfect girlfriend that she was about to meet. She sighed, mentally preparing herself, and followed his lead into a side room with a large gold plaque labeled Anderson, Bridges, and C. Brown.
The dining room that Lexi entered opened onto a balcony overlooking the ninth hole fairway. Cream-colored walls and blue patterned carpet decorated the large space. Three elegant oak tables filled the area with matching cushioned chairs placed around them. Nearly all the seats were occupied, and roughly thirty people glanced up from their prearranged silverware to stare at Jack and Lexi as they entered the room. Lexi smiled repentantly and ambled after Jack to their assigned seats.
“Sorry we took so long,” Jack said taking his seat across from his girlfriend.
“Uh...hi,” Lexi said adding a tiny wave before scooting into her seat and tucking her dress underneath her.
Lexi pulled her eyes from the table and let them rest on Bekah. She knew that she didn’t like her as soon as Lexi laid eyes on her. Bekah was definitely beautiful in a cookie-cutter sort of way. The pin-straight blond hair, Lexi had predicted she would have, was all one length cut to the middle of her back. Chunky bangs covered her forehead. Big blue eyes popped out from Bekah’s naturally beautiful face which was hardly tainted by make-up. Lexi felt sick upon realizing that Bekah had as nearly flawless skin as Chyna. Her pale yellow, square-cut sundress was modest yet fashionable all the while accentuating her best features. Eleven millimeter white pearls dangled from her earlobes and matched the thin chain of pearls draped across her neck. What bothered Lexi the most wasn’t that she knew that this woman was one hundred percent Jack’s type, but rather that she had something that Lexi had never appeared to have.
Innocence.
Okay, to be fair, Bekah probably wasn’t all that innocent either. After all, she was dating Jack. But she sure as hell gave off the appearance. Lexi, on the other hand, had never given off that appearance. Something about Lexi’s dark, tangled, curly hair, the way her eyes looked smoky without make-up, the way her characteristically bold personality tended to intimidate strangers, and the way she almost always felt completely comfortable in her body gave off the impression not that she was easy, but certainly that she was not innocent.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Bekah said. A row of brilliant, white teeth were revealed as she smiled across the table from her. Something in that smile held a secret. She had no idea what it was. But when she looked upon her full for the first time, Bekah looked at her as if she had seen her before…as if some light bulb of recognition had just gone off in her mind.
“Likewise,” Lexi said coughing uncomfortably and glancing away from her doe-eyed gaze. The rest of the table was filled with mostly respectable middle aged men and women in high-quality attire. She was introduced as Jack’s friend from out of town, but failed to really take in any names. She didn’t plan on remembering any of them anyway. Lexi nudged Jack. “Don’t you want to sit next to Bekah?” she asked indicating the empty seat facing her.
Lexi had thought it strange that the seat was unoccupied. He smiled at her. “Well, yeah, I would, but this is where I sit.”
Lexi cocked an eyebrow at him condescendingly. This must be some Country Club thing. Not that she wanted him to leave her side. “Alright,” Lexi said not pushing the subject. “Are we missing someone?”
“My brother,” Bekah answered. “He should be here shortly. He tends to run behind.”
“Oh.” Lexi didn’t know what else to say.
Bekah leaned over the table smiling secretively. “Sorry about that. He’s a bit of a troublemaker. He likes to upset my parents by showing up late for brunch, talking a bit too loud in public and the like.” Lexi tried not to roll her eyes. This girl was serious. Talking too loud in public? Had she ever left her bubble? “I don’t mind it so much though. I think it’s humorous.”
“I’m sure it is.” Lexi tried to smile. She had just used humorous in a sentence. Fantastic.
“Yeah, Ramsey’s a riot,” Jack interjected.
Bekah smiled even bigger, her blue eyes glittering with unspoken revelations. “He is...something else,” she said dropping her voice. “But anyway, I am so glad that your flight landed as scheduled. I would have felt terrible changing plans on you if you were still in transit. Jack wasn’t sure if you would accompany us for brunch, but I’m very glad he was able to convince you.”
Lexi jerked her head to the side and glared at Jack. “What?” he asked defensively, a slow smirk creeping onto his face.
“You forced me to be here,” she muttered angrily.
“Well, it convinced you didn’t it?”
“Did you not want to come?” Bekah asked crestfallen.
She swore under her breath. Then she remembered where she was and furiously bit her lip. Lexi could not believe this! Why would she want to be here? This was the most awkward situation she had ever been in, and then Jack had dragged her tooth and nail to the one place she absolutely despised. Of course she didn’t want to be here! It was just dumb of Bekah to think that any outsider would want to be trapped in their dumb old-timey Country Club. But even Lexi couldn’t blurt that out in front of complete strangers. So she just smiled and said, “Oh no, it’s fine.”
Jack chuckled under his breath. The laugh turned into a cough as Bekah turned her blue eyes on him. “Well, I’m glad you made the trip,” Bekah said cheerfully.
Before Lexi could embarrass herself further, several stuffy-looking waiters entered the room and began to fill beverage orders. Lexi sighed as she listened to all the requests for sweet tea. She had forgotten how addicted Southerners were to the stuff. If they could have sweet tea poured directly into their veins, they would do it. What was even more disgusting was how the women, all diet-addicted forty year olds pretending to be twenty-five, ordered their drinks with Splenda, as if the alternative sugar option wouldn’t give them cancer like everything else. Lexi ordered coffee.
“Sugar and milk?” the man questioned, staring down at her through his thick black-rimmed glasses over the bridge of his large nose.
“Uh, no, thank you. Black is fine.”
“Mmm hmm,” he said hotly and turned on his heel.
“Sorry I’m late everyone,” a familiar voice said pushing past the snotty waiter and over to their table.
Lexi heard the chair in front of her scuff against the carpeted floor before she had a chance to glance up. When she did, a short gasp escaped her tight set lips. Recognition swept over her. No. She didn’t want to believe it. This couldn’t really be happening to her. Really, she should have just expected obnoxious bathroom guy to be Bekah’s brother. She had been rude enough that she should have been more surprised not to see him. The smile he sent her way was practically unbearable. Life couldn’t get any worse.
“Oh, hey you,” the guy said when he noticed her.
“Hi,” she managed to say through her gritted teeth.
“You know each other?” Bekah asked, the surprise exceedingly evident in her voice. She had perked up even further than Lexi had thought possible. Bekah’s eyes glittered as she glanced between the two of them several times catching Ramsey’s gaze briefly. A look passed between them.
“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Lexi responded. She sat back against the hard-backed chair and began pushing her hair behind her ear forcefully. Jack peered at her reaction curiously.
“Oh, don’t be like that. We go way back,” he said openly smirking.
“Oh yeah?” Lexi asked leaning forward and crossing her arms on the table. “Then what’s my name?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in a challenge.
A voice from the other end of the table cut off his response. “Ramsey, where were you?” a man Lexi recognized as his father asked in an obviously controlled neutral tone. Ramsey just shrugged, his eyes remaining on Lexi’s face. “I’m talking to you son,” he growled. The room fell silent.
“Yeah, I heard,” Ramsey said finally turning his attention to his father. “I got lost.”
Lexi could tell his father was boiling over. The only thing holding him back was the fact that he was in the midst of friends and colleagues. “You’ve lived here since you were a boy,” his father pointed out. “It’s not possible for you to get lost.”
“Sure it is. I got lost in a broom closet,” Ramsey said shrugging his shoulders as if this was common place. He also said the words as if it were suggestive of foul behavior. Behavior that should not be spoken of over afternoon brunch at the Country Club...or perhaps anywhere. “Anyway, can I get back to my conversation?”
