Текст книги "Avoiding Responsibility"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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As both of them were all but nude, the ring tone from a cell phone ripped through the apartment. Ramsey cursed and then looked up at Lexi apologies evident in his eyes. "Sorry, just give me a second," he said looking for the source of the noise. He grabbed his pants that he had hastily tossed on the floor and dug out his cell phone.

Lexi mouth opened in surprise that he would stop their exchange to answer a cell phone. Really? She couldn't believe this. It really must be important or she was seriously going to have a fit.

"Hello?" Ramsey asked after checking the caller id.

"What?" he asked cursing under his breath at whatever he was hearing on the other line. "No, no don't leave. Fuck. No I'll take care of it." There was a pause while someone on the other line spoke. Ramsey looked pissed all of a sudden. His eyes were fiery. His fist clenched to his side as he listened to someone ramble on. "I said I'd fucking take care of it. Jesus Christ, just hold tight. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Ramsey hung up the phone and threw it down on the bedside table. He closed his eyes and his breathing was deep and heavy. Lexi couldn't believe how utterly furious he looked. She had only seen him this way on a few occasions. If he had been a cartoon character, he would have smoke blowing out of his ears.

"Uh…what's up?" she asked cautiously.

"I have to…take care of some business," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Right now?" she asked refastening the hook and eye in her and dress and closing the zipper.

"Unfortunately, yes," he said buttoning his shirt up and throwing his pants back on.

"You're serious?" she asked straightening her dress and standing up.

Ramsey stopped what he was going and moved forward towards her. His hand came up and cupped her cheek. "If there was any way I could get out of it, I would."

"Well, where are you going?"

Ramsey sighed heavily and looked back up at her from where he was redoing the button on his pants. "I just have to take care of something."

"Is this about work?" she whispered into the silence that had followed his comment.

"No," he said shaking his head. "I wish."

"Well, can I come with you then?"

He was shaking his head before he even answered. "You're not going to want to do that."

"Why do you always have to be so fucking secretive? We were just about to fuck and now you're running off to somewhere you won't even tell me. Stop doing that," she yelled at him.

"Fine, come with me then," he growled stuffing his phone back in his pocket. "But we have to go now."

Ramsey flagged down a cab as soon as he reached the street and gave the guy an address. Lexi leaned back against the scratchy cab cushion and wondered where in the world he was taking her. She had sort of freaked out on him so she figured wherever they were going she was going to just have to deal with it. The cab drove them clear across town and as the lights started fading into darkness one sign in particular caught her eye. A bright neon yellow sign above all others read Erotica: Live Girls XXX.

Lexi's stomach dropped. "What the fuck are we doing?" she cried looking over at Ramsey in surprise mingled with anger. "I thought you said…"

"I said I had to take care of something. You insisted on going with me. I'm sorry, but this is where we're going," he murmured obviously unhappy about the situation as well.

Lexi huffed noisily, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can't believe we stopped having sex for this." The look on Ramsey's face promised that it was only going to get worse before it got better.

The cab dropped them off in front of the entrance to the strip club. A burly man dressed in all black checked their identification before allowing them inside. A petite buxom blonde took Ramsey's card to pay for the cover, but after taking a look at the name handed it back to him and proclaiming it was on the house.

"Go figure," Lexi murmured walking past the blonde who had sidled up to Ramsey.

"Excuse me," he told the woman pushing her arms back at her sides and rushing after Lexi.

"So, what's the big emergency?" she asked her eyes sweeping the dimly club filled with girls clad solely in g-strings or getting close to that point of nudity.

"Uh…" Ramsey began but was cut off by Lexi's squeal.

Lexi was lifted off her feet from behind and spun around in a circle twice. When she was set back down, she swiveled around quickly ready to assault whoever had just picked her up. "What the…?" she cried her hand coming back. As her eyes began to adjust to the lighting, the face before her registered in her mind and her mouth popped open in surprise. "Seth?" she questioned wondering if perhaps she was seeing things.

"Lexi, baby," he crowed reaching forward and running his hands up down her the sides of her body. She would have normally slapped him away, but she was in such a state of shock that she didn't even know what to do. She could tell he was severely intoxicated, and from the rush of women surrounding his approach of her, he had obviously wasted a good deal of money.

"Are you the present?" he slurred keeping his hands pressed to her hips.

"Am I what?" she asked her brows furrowing together.

"That's enough Seth," Ramsey cut in knocking his hands off of Lexi.

As soon as she was free from Seth's grip, her eyes moved to the people standing behind him. "Hunter, Luke," she murmured barely loud enough for them to hear. She felt as if she were taking a trip back in time. When she had been in college, she had done everything with these guys and now they were here…in New York City…at a strip club.

She eyes doubled in size as everything started to come together. "No," she muttered her vision losing focus. She had said that she deserved whatever came her way by insisting that she come along with Ramsey. But she wanted to take it back.

She didn't deserve this.

This could not be happening to her.

Someone was speaking to her, but the words weren't processing correctly in her brain. Her stomach was turning and she thought she might be sick at any moment. Her hand reflexively came up to twine around a loose strand of hair and she pushed it behind her ear. Of all the things for her to insist on being in attendance, she never in a million years would have guessed that this would be the place she would end up.

"Lexi, are you alright?" Ramsey asked putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me," she spat venomously shrugging his hand off her shoulder. She didn't care if this wasn't his fault. She needed someone else to blame other than herself for this and he was the easiest target.

"Come on, don't be like that," he pleaded.

"You brought me here!" she cried louder than she had intended. Seth, Luke and Hunter, despite their inebriation turned to look at her along with a few additional patrons and rather unhappy strippers. "So take care of the big emergency!"

"Lexi you're gonna need to chill out," Seth said motioning drunkenly around him. "We're celebrating. Let's do a shot, honey."

"Do I look like I want to celebrate Seth?" she growled.

"You look fucking hot."

Lexi rolled her eyes. She should have known better than to get a straight answer from Seth. He had always been the one to goof off and make everything a joke. Ever since she had known him he had been this way. Nothing should change now…seven years later.

"Come on Lexi," Hunter pleaded his eyes glazed over. "You've gotta celebrate with us."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

"I think not."

"But it's Jack's bachelor party," Seth told her smiling as if he'd just told her the best news of her life…instead of the worst.

I had some great reviews last chapter from Cupid's Psyche, total romance., misatok123, and nadinesmith. Thanks you guys rock!

K.A. Linde

Appearances

Happy to lay here

Just happy to be here

I'm happy to know you

Play me a song

Your newest one

Please leave your taste on my tongue

-Joshua Radin "Paperweight

Chapter 4: September Eleven Months Earlier

Lexi couldn't remember the last time she had been surrounded by so many people when she wasn't out clubbing. It wasn't entirely unpleasant being surrounded by a sea of faces that she didn't recognize, however, the accumulated wealth in the vicinity was astounding. Expensive tuxedos, silk formal dresses, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds were just a few of the things that tipped Lexi off to the extravagance amongst the people in the ballroom…if the ballroom itself didn't tip her off.

She knew she should have expected something like this. In fact, Chyna had warned her that her father did everything all out. She had even warned her that it might be more extravagant than normal because it was both a huge event for her father and Chyna was going to be in attendance. Chyna swore up and down that her dad always overdid things when he knew he could rub something in her face. Lexi wasn't sure if she bought that. She didn't have any personal experience with step parents, but she was sure some of this affluence had something to do with her soon-to-be step mom.

Lexi was dressed the part in a floor-length plum dress with tiny spaghetti straps. Her back was almost completely exposed and her new, shorter, hair was swirling around her shoulder blades. Even in a pair of Chyna's Manolo heels, she was a head shorter than most of the people in attendance. This was due in large part to the number of fashion models circulating the premises.

For the first time, Lexi was beginning to realize that Chyna actually held back in her lifestyle. All of the redecorating, clothing purchases, and manicure/pedicures were on the low end of the extravagance that she could have indulged. She had never imagined this possibility.

"You look nervous," someone said coming up behind her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Lexi twirled around, a little jumpier than she had even thought she was, and stared up into the handsome face. "Adam!" she cried surprising him by throwing an arm around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, woah, calm down," he said extracting her arms from around him and taking a step back. "I can't play a convincing boyfriend if you've got your hands all over me."

A blush crept up on her cheeks and she added an extra step backwards just for good measure. "Sorry to pull you into this whole thing," she muttered eyeing him up and down in his expensive tux.

"Hey, glad I could help," he said sliding one hand into his front pocket.

Chyna sure did get lucky with the type of person who had decided to save her from the scumbag who had drugged her. When he had first helped her out, Lexi hadn't even noticed how attractive he was. Now that he was standing in front of her all cleaned up, it was hard to ignore the way his dark brown eyes seemed to light up and his dark blonde, almost brown, hair curled lightly at the edges. He was really tall, but then again everyone was tall in relation to Lexi.

Most of all she liked how put together he appeared. He had the same air that he had while being in Chyna's apartment – cool and confident. Lexi could admit that it was endearing.

"Well you're more than helping," she finally muttered glancing away from him. "And anyway do I really look nervous?"

He laughed at the nervous face she flashed his way and nodded. "Just calm down," he said offering her his arm. She placed her hand gingerly on his black suit and allowed him to escort her to the refreshments table.

"Why are you so calm? Did you see who just walked by?" she asked trying to keep from staring at the platinum blonde celebrity who had just passed them.

He handed her a glass of red wine as he took his own glass of scotch on the rocks. "They're just people. You can't forget that fact. As soon as you do, you get that look on your face," he said pointing at Lexi's star struck expression. He took a swig of his drink and smiled as she immediately closed her mouth.

"They're just people. Right," she muttered following his lead and indulging in the alcohol presented to her. She needed to loosen up a bit in order to get through this night.

Lexi still couldn't believe Adam had agreed to play Chyna's boyfriend. They had known each other less than a week and had only hung out twice, outside of the unusual circumstances that surrounded her drugging. After Chyna had found out what he had done for her, she had insisted on doing anything she could to thank him. Just like that night, he had refused any payment whatsoever for his help. He swore that he would have done it for anyone if they had been in that situation.

Chyna hadn't been able to let it go though. She had coaxed him into going out to dinner with her. Though Lexi guessed it hadn't taken much coaxing. From there they had seemed to hit it off really well, and she had invited him to come to her father's engagement party. Chyna had neglected to inform him that he was doing her a huge favor and Lexi had accidentally spilled the beans by asking him how he felt being a fake boyfriend for the night. After they had explained the situation, he had come around to their side, but now they owed him two huge favors.

"Where's your faux boyfriend anyway?" Adam asked scanning the room.

Lexi sighed wondering that same thing. After her call of desperation, Lexi had spoken to Ramsey pretty frequently. She had admitted to him that she was terrified of relationships after having such a rocky past in that area, and they had agreed on some boundaries before his arrival. She wanted to make sure that she knew what she was getting herself into before he showed up and, no doubt, swept her off her feet.

This arrangement had somehow ended up with him meeting her at the party. Now she was just anxious to see him in person. It had been so long since she had left him all alone on the tarmac with just enough hope to keep him interested. She hadn't been sure that she would ever call him. Even though she did have some measured interest in him, he wasn't Jack.

That fact alone had a tendency to make her completely lose interest in everyone else. Yet, Jack was exactly who she had walked away from. He was who she had left behind. She couldn't have Jack anymore, if Jack had even ever truly been hers.

The past month without him had been difficult. Before she had always wondered if he was going to show up in her life again, but now she knew that he wasn't going to be around. He wasn't going to find her. She felt like a huge hole was left in the center of her chest that he used to occupy. Sure she had been strong when dismissing him, but the reality of letting him go was a much different story.

Now she was faced with the reality that she needed to move on, and Ramsey was the perfect suspect. He knew some of her prior escapades with his future brother-in-law, but not enough to keep him from her as he had proven by agreeing to this rendezvous in New York. And just because he wasn't Jack didn't mean he wasn't exactly what she needed.

Lexi sighed and tried to stop her mind from wandering all over the place. She needed to stay in the moment or else the past would begin to take her over. And living in the present meant finding out where exactly her faux boyfriend was at that moment in time.

"I'm actually not certain," Lexi said pulling her phone out from the tiny black clutch she was carrying with her. "Have you seen your faux girlfriend yet?"

"Yeah she found me right when I got here, but said she needed to take care of some things," Adam said vaguely, "but that she'd find me later."

"Well this is going to be a fun night," she murmured flipping open her phone and seeing no new calls or texts. She knew his flight had been delayed in Atlanta due to weather conditions, but she hadn't heard from him since then and had assumed everything was alright. She figured she would have at least heard from him by now.

"Looks like it's just me and you," Lexi said downing the rest of her wine in one big gulp.

"Where's your date?" Adam asked concern in his eyes at her abrupt change in mood.

"His flight was delayed so I'm guessing he's stuck somewhere," she told him trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"He'll turn up," Adam said placing his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. Lexi smiled up into his brown eyes and reminded herself that he was Chyna's date. That thought made her smile grow even more. She couldn't believe what a strange situation they were in. Here she thought that she was the only one capable of getting them into uncomfortable scenarios, but Chyna had managed to force them into another, just as awkward, state of affairs.

"Well isn't this sweet," Chyna cooed coming up from behind them and eyeing them up and down. Adam immediately dropped his hand to his side glancing away from Lexi's determined gaze.

"There you are," he said a genuine smile crossing his face. "Get everything taken care of?"

"As much as could be done about this situation," Chyna announced slurring her words slightly. She took a step forward to steady herself but managed to almost fall into Adam. He caught her easily and steadied her against him.

"Are you drunk?" Lexi asked glancing around to make sure no one was paying them any attention.

"I just had a bottle of wine. It's no big deal," Chyna said falling into a fit of giggles.

"Fuck," Lexi cursed under her breath wondering how they were going to be able to handle this catastrophe when Chyna could barely even stand up straight.

"I'll just take this," Adam said snatching the glass of wine out of her hand and handing it off to a passing waiter. Chyna stuck her bottom lip out and leaned her head back against his shoulder.

"Oh stop pouting," Lexi grumbled unsure of how to continue.

"I'm not that drunk," Chyna said standing tall and smiling brightly. If Lexi didn't know her so well, she wouldn't have thought her drunk. She could pass as having just had a glass of wine, but knowing the kind of impression she needed to make tonight made Lexi nervous. Chyna's eyes were glassy and she was a bit wobbly on her feet. She was sure her father would notice when they finally ran into each other.

"Let's just hope your dad doesn't notice."

"Oh fuck him," she muttered, "him and his new trophy wife."

"Chyna shut up," Lexi hissed latching onto her arm and pulling her and Adam away from any potential eavesdroppers. "Now you know what's on the line. So pull it together," Lexi snapped at her.

She had forced Lexi to be in this position in the first place. There was no way she was going to let her blow everything after what they had gone through to get here and with the fake boyfriends her father had requested. It was one night, and they were capable of doing this. Lexi knew Chyna was hurting at that moment, but she couldn't jeopardize her future out of self-pity. Her family wasn't perfect and it never would be. It was a sad tale, but right now was not the time to tell it. She needed to show the world that Chyna Van der Wal held her head high under all circumstances…even when she was breaking inside.

"You're right. Sorry," Chyna mumbled covering her eyes with one hand. She inhaled deeply shaking her head side to side. "It's just so hard."

"I know sweetie, but it's just one night," Lexi reminded her. "Then hopefully you won't ever have to do anything like this again."

Chyna heaved her chest up and down once then glanced into Lexi's comforting gaze. Her eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. "No, I'm sure I'll be forced into similar situations for the rest of eternity. I'm being punished for living on my own and not needing him, when he was the one who kicked me out." Chyna's features hardened at the admission and she raised her chin. "Well I still don't need him. So let's get this over with."

At that moment, a bell dinged somewhere in the ballroom. The guests took that as their cue and began shuffling to their assigned seats. Lexi followed Chyna and Adam to their assigned table close to the center of the room. She stared wistfully at the empty seat next to her before sitting. She quickly checked her phone one more time to see if there was any update, but without any luck.

Another bell dinged and the room began to fall silent. Lexi looked at Chyna in disbelief. Had this been planned? Did people just naturally fall silent when a bell dinged? Had she somehow missed that memo? Chyna just rolled her eyes in response.

As dramatic as Lexi could have imagined, Chyna's father walked into the room through the grand double doors with his future bride at his side. Lexi had to admit, the woman was beautiful. She was only a few inches shorter than Richard with long, flowing, blonde hair that could have been in commercials. The princess cut dress showed up off her large chest and teeny tiny waistline. Her bright blue eyes were evident all the way across the room…as was the massive diamond twinkling on her left hand.

Lexi gulped and glanced uncomfortably in Chyna's direction. The woman was about as far from Chyna and her mother as anyone in this world could get. Where Chyna was dark, tanned, and exotic this woman was light, pale, and comely. She certainly had her appeal, but for complete opposite reasons.

Likely the most disturbing part about the entire situation was her utter youth. She couldn't have been a day over thirty, and that was really hitting high. She had a perfectly flawless appearance and not from botox and countless hours of plastic surgery, but from the fact that she was young enough to be her sister.

Chyna's face hadn't changed either, but Lexi could see that the same revelation had dawned on her as well. Her father was marrying someone that she had never met and someone who was nearly her age. If she had been anywhere else, she would have been throwing a tantrum about how ridiculous this entire thing was turning out to be. But she couldn't do that here not in front of everyone who mattered in the Manhattan social life…at least not unless she wanted to be headlining page 6.

Richard made a quick speech thanking everyone in attendance for coming out to his "little" get together to celebrate his beautiful bride-to-be. Lexi about gagged through half of the speech as he made a ridiculous spectacle of cooing at his fiancé repeatedly. Lexi had no idea how Chyna was able to sit through this, but she managed. The couple took their seats at the center of the room and just as another bell sounded waiters appeared from all sides of the room with dinner for the evening.

"Well that was interesting," Lexi murmured to Chyna.

"I don't want to talk about it," Chyna said requesting another glass of wine from a passing server.

"Is that really smart?" Lexi asked concerned.

"I don't give a fuck. It obviously doesn't matter that I'm here. He didn't even glance at me the whole time. So why did he have to put me through this?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but he didn't really look at anyone. Half the time he was talking directly to her so let's try not to get riled up shall we? You know how you are when you're drunk and angry," Lexi reminded her hoping that maybe she would calm down just a little.

She had no idea what she would do if the situation was reversed. Her parents had stayed together through everything so the thought of a step parent was utterly terrifying. Lexi supposed Chyna felt the same way. Even though her parents had split up due to infidelity, she still didn't want some other person coming in and replacing her mother.

"Fine," Chyna said crossing her arms and waiting for their food to arrive. She tapped her toe anxiously under the table, but a smile broke out across her face as she glanced across the room. "Hey stop checking your phone," Chyna commanded. Lexi's head snapped up. "Look straight ahead."

Lexi mouth curved up in a smile as Ramsey strode confidently across the ballroom floor. Eyes followed him as he made his way towards Lexi, but he didn't seem to notice any of them as his green eyes found her brown ones in the crowd. She licked her lips and butterflies took over her stomach. She hadn't seen him in a month, and damn did he look good. She had forgotten how strong and classically handsome his features were. The Armani suit that adorned his body had obviously been tailored specially for him, and Lexi could surely admit that it was worth every penny. His body looked incredible.

When he finally reached her, he bent down and lightly kissed the top of her head. A wave of peppermint filled her nostrils, and she shivered at the memories that scent filled her mind with. "Sorry I'm late," he said not taking his eyes from her face. He yanked the chair out from the table and sat down hardly acknowledging the rest of the room. His hand reflexively came out and fingered a strand of her loose, even curls. "It's shorter."

Lexi bit her lip to keep from pushing a chunk of it behind her ear. "Yeah. I donated it to cancer."

"I'm not sure cancer would appreciate that," he murmured smirking affectionately. She loved the way his right cheek dimpled in a little bit more than the other side. She wasn't sure why she had never noticed that. It had to be one of the most adorable features.

"Oh I mean Locks of Love," she stammered out. She wasn't certain why she was acting so nervous. She had never been nervous around him before. In fact, she typically was pretty forward and rude in his presence. She didn't give into his easy charm and he had seemed to like her more for that. Perhaps, since it had been under different circumstances and her mind had been so focused elsewhere, she hadn't even realized what she felt for Ramsey. She still wasn't sure and that made her more nervous than she would have been.

"Well either way, you look gorgeous," he said reaching forward and capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

Lexi was surprised by his boldness. After turning him down and then not seeing or speaking to him in a month, he was rather forward with his affections. "Thank you," she muttered pulling back her voice breathy.

"Am I playing the boyfriend role well enough?" he asked still staring longingly into her eyes.

Her heart stopped and then sank. He was just acting. Of course that would make sense. She had put him up to this role. She had set up the boundaries. Though she didn't know where that last kiss fell in with everything. But since he had shown up late, he felt he had to put on an appearance of devotion. "Uh…yeah," she said turning from his powerful gaze. "Where were you?"

"I told you my flight was delayed."

"That was hours ago. Why didn't you call or text?" Lexi asked hating that she sounded like the overbearing girlfriend, but she really had been worried. At least if they were acting, everyone would believe her role.

Ramsey dug into his pocket and pulled out a black, touch screen phone. "The damn thing died mid-flight and we were circling JFK for about an hour. I had no way to get a hold of you. I'm sorry," he said reaching out and grabbing her hand under the table. "I got here as soon as I could."

"I'm glad you made it safe," she said forgiving his lateness easily. She was still too concerned about his acting abilities to care.

Suddenly Ramsey seemed to notice that everyone had been watching them and turned to face the table. "How's it going?" he asked smiling like the confident heir to an empire that he was. "Pleasure to meet you all. I'm Ramsey Bridges."

Everyone shared their name with him, but one particular couple seemed fascinated by his name and began speaking in hushed whispers. Lexi could only imagine what they were saying. She really didn't want to think about it.

"Hey man, I'm Adam," he said shaking hands with Ramsey across the table.

"Nice to meet you," Ramsey reciprocated squeezing just a bit harder. "How do you know this bunch?"

"I'm here with Chyna," he said placing his arm across the back of Chyna's chair.

"Really?" Ramsey asked arching an eyebrow in Chyna's direction. "Interesting." Adam looked at Ramsey as if he wanted to confront him about why it was so interesting but he managed to keep his mouth shut long enough that the food arrived.

Chyna dug into the salad that had been placed before her. She glanced around the table, noticed everyone else's food, and nearly dropped her fork. "What are you eating?"

Lexi glanced down at her plate which was filled with a zesty, grilled, lemon-pepper chicken breast with garlic asparagus and a tiny helping of mashed potatoes. "Chicken?" she muttered confused by the question.

"Right. It looks incredible. Why the fuck do I just have a salad?" she asked seeing that everyone else around them had either chicken or steak placed before them.

"Uh…it was probably just a mistake," Lexi reasoned. This didn't look good.

"A mistake?" Chyna asked looking around at the rest of the ballroom. "Is anyone else eating a salad?"

Lexi bit her lip as her eyes shifted around the rest of the room and realized, in fact, that no one else had a salad placed before them. "Uh…"

"Is he trying to say I'm fat?" Chyna squeaked out in horror.

"He's trying to get a rise out of you," Ramsey informed her. "If you give into him, then he's won."

"And how would you know?" Chyna spat out. She was too angry to care who she was speaking to and in what tone of voice.

"Let's just say I have a lot of experience dealing with father figures who want to control everything and everyone. The first tactic employed is degradation," he said taking a sip of the water in front of him. "If he can make you feel like you are less than you are, he thinks he can have more power, more control over you."

Chyna huffed not wanting to give into his obviously good reason. Lexi could tell she was fuming, but she was trying to hold it in. Ramsey's advice was sound, and she wanted to take it, but that didn't make it any easier. Chyna murmured something incoherent into her salad, but finished the rest of the meal without complaint.

Dinner ended without any additional hitches in the plan, and as the plates were cleared away, music filled the ballroom and dancing ensued. Chyna looked as if she might combust with the anticipation of meeting her soon-to-be step-mom. A line had formed before them as hundreds of introductions were made.