LEXI
At six oâclock in the morning, Lexi raced toward the end of the park before the sun came out from behind a deep gray cloud. Running usually helped her block out all thoughts, but now it was slow torture. Every step she took, every swing of her arms, every bead of sweat that dripped from her body reminded her of last nightâ¦and him.
The picture Daniel sent haunted Lexiâs dreams. To make matters worse, she hadnât seen the womanâs face, so her subconscious placed her there instead. She tossed and turned into the wee hours, which is why she decided to run at six oâclock on a Monday morning.
As she ran up the hill from her apartment, down to the beach, and through the park, Lexi saw the letters in his name scramble before her eyes. She thought she could use the letters to spell something different, maybe something like Landie and Iandel and Niadel, but none of those made any sense. Daniel dug his way into her routine like a plant that wouldnât wither.
Lexi remembered all his words, his sexy smirk, his stupid grin, his godforsaken frown. She remembered his walk and the way his shoulders twisted from side to side. She remembered the sparkle in his eyes when she walked into the ballroom and how cloudy they looked when she said she was leaving.
~Argh! I wish I could pour some cold water into my ears and wash all the memories of him from my brain. Whatâs the use of going every minute of every hour thinking about a man whoâs clearly not thinking about me? ~
Daniel only seemed interested when Lexiâs alter ego showed up to coax her through the night⦠Before her, she was invisible.
Lexi screamed in frustration, clearly the action of a mad woman. She sank to the damp green grass and clutched her forehead with both hands.
âStop thinking about him,â she said, but the warning had no effect. She couldnât shake him, as hard as she tried.
After a moment, Lexi stood up and brushed grass shavings from her leggings. In a few hours, sheâd need to get ready for her full day. With that thought, she quickly ran in the direction of home.
About fifty meters away, Lexi saw Daniel standing outside her door. Her steps hastened until she was right in front of him.
All night, all morning, her mind wouldnât let him go. Now the torture continued with this hallucination.
Lexi took a moment to study him. His hair looked tousled, his eyes darker and more intense than the night before. He was wearing the same outfit from the fundraiser, minus the jacket.
âHow was your date?â
The question made Lexi jump. ~Heâs here. For real.~
Lexi felt her lips curve into a smile, even as she chose to ignore the goosebumps racing across her tightly strung skin. ~Why is he here?~
She searched for a reply but had none, so she decided to play dumb. âGood morning to you too.â She kept her smile in place, hoping it would hide the effect he had on her.
âHow was your date?â the bastard asked again.
~Dammit. What the hell do I say? Iâm really bad at lying especially when Iâm nervous.~
After taking a deep breath, Lexi finally came up with a response. âI had a relaxing night, thanks.â
Technically that wasnât a lie. She did have a relaxing nightâ¦eating junk food and watching a movie.
Daniel pushed both hands into his pockets, and Lexiâs eyes drifted to the veins on his forearms. How had she not noticed them yesterday when he was shirtless at Makerâs?
~Snap out of it, Lex!~
âUmâ¦what are you doing here?â she finally asked.
âMy friend Joshâs wife thinks youâre charming, and she wants to have lunch with you today. Well, she wants it to be a double date. I was going to tell them we broke up and you canât make it, but that would be hard to explain given that we just announced our relationship less than twenty-four hours ago.â
The little fucker knew exactly what he was doing. Lexi could see in his eyes that he was plotting revenge, and she was certain that he knew the picture she sent was fake. She could tell by the smug little smirk on his damn face.
Lexi rolled her eyes and turned her head away.
~Heâs truly good at thisâ¦messing with womenâs heads. Iâm convinced thatâs his side job because he does it so well. I dug myself into a hole at the corner of a cliff, and heâs enjoying the fact that I have no way out.~
Lexiâs options now were fewer than they were last night. She could either lie again, tell the truth, or sass him. Either way, he would end up winning.
This annoyed her more than anything.
Lexi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. For a second there, she thought she would suffocate.
âSorry, that doesnât work for me.â Lexi turned to face Daniel again, proud that she didnât stutter. âI have to leave for school in an hour, Iâm volunteering after that, and I have to work tonight. I wonât have free time to meet for lunch.â
He was silent for a while, so she added, âYou can reschedule, and that will buy you some more time to tell them the breakup news. They didnât expect you to have a girlfriend for more than a weekend anyway.â
Daniel let out a sigh.
âIâll do that then, thanks,â he said icily. âEnjoy your day, Draya.â
As Daniel walked in the opposite direction, Lexi wondered why she felt like shit. It wasnât fair that every time she defended herself, she was the one who suffered. The one who felt bad. He deserved the cold shoulder, did he not? He deserved a beating as well for sending her that photo, for every awful thing he said to her, for all the awful things he had ever said to other women.
Lexi knew this. She knew she was justified in her responses to him. But that didnât stop her heart from aching. Especially since he had that same look on his face in the garden last night. The look that said ~she hurt him~. Lexi hated that look.
It definitely didnât help that he called her â~Draya~.â That was a name only a few people knew. The fact that he did his research to find it out made her feel even worse.
***
At home, Lexi showered and cried. Sulking beneath the hot, cascading water, she wondered, ~Why am I so emotional lately? He said it himself; he wouldâve told his friends that we broke up if it wasnât for the odd timing.~
~We agreed this would just be a one-time thing. We agreed our lives would only collide last night, and weâd walk away right after.~
Lexi hated the smidgen of hope she carried deep down. She hated that despite his arrogant behavior, there was something in her that wanted him to be close.
âCome on, Lex, pull yourself together. You did the right thing,â she whispered to herself.
Daniel was the king of assholes, yes, but physically and financially, he was way out of her league. He said it himself at the café on Sunday morning: she was not his type. And he meant it.
~Itâs my own fault for not properly protecting myself at the fundraiser. Itâs my own fault for feeling an attraction to him, and itâs my own fault for agreeing to go there in the first place.~
After drying off, Lexi decided to give herself a pep talk in the mirror. Between brushing her teeth and washing her face, she said, âToday is a new day to wash away all things Daniel, to get back to my old, boring routine.â
Last night was Lexiâs fairy tale come true. She went to the ball, danced with Prince Charming, and then left alone, just like Cinderellaâand that was the end. It was time to move on.