Chapter 29: Chapter 29

LEXI

Daniel’s black SUV was ready and waiting in the pick-up line. Johnson opened the door for them to climb in.

“Put your seatbelt on,” Daniel ordered in a tone Lexi did not like. It was the tone he used when he was on the phone with colleagues. Like a superior ordering his subjects.

She folded her arms in defiance.

Daniel glared at her. Johnson refused to drive until he heard her belt ~click~ into place. Lexi rolled her eyes at both of them.

“So, you’re both gonna gang up on me? That’s very mature.”

Once all the belts were securely fastened, Johnson began the drive off the grounds.

Daniel reached for Lexi’s hand and kissed her palm. Despite her anger, her body responded like it always did. Like he had lit a flame inside her and there was no extinguishing it.

“Don’t worry about Camille,” Daniel said. “She’s not a threat.”

Lexi turned to look at him. “Who said I was worried?” she argued, though she truly felt intimidated by the woman.

“You love to overthink things. I’ve caught you talking to yourself many times. I just don’t want things to get all messed up before we even begin.”

Lexi was grateful for the communication. Talking things through made her feel at ease.

She settled into her seat and leaned her head on his shoulder. She soon drifted into a light sleep for the duration of the drive.

When Johnson parked the vehicle and opened the door, Daniel woke her with a kiss. Lexi contemplated her current surroundings. “We’re at the theater? You’re taking me to the movies? That seems so unlike you—I never guessed you’d be a movie-and-popcorn kind of guy.”

Daniel shrugged and laced their fingers together.

The parking lot was nearly empty. ~That’s weird~, Lexi thought. ~Then Daniel walked right past the ticket booth and the food court.

“You have to pay first,” she protested, but he just dragged her along. They didn’t stop until they reached one of the theater rooms.

The room was just as empty as the rest of the building, but Lexi’s attention was caught by how ~different~ it was from the ones she was accustomed to. It had big, red reclining chairs, each with a small tray for food.

Daniel led her to one with a good view of the screen and pressed a button on his chair. A male voice filled the theater. “Good afternoon, Mr. Jackson. Thank you for joining us. Hello Ms. Fox.”

It was then that Lexi knew he had set everything up. Awe didn’t even begin to describe her current feelings; emotions exploded in her chest like confetti.

Daniel placed a meal order for them both before ending the call.

Lexi stared at him in disbelief. “So, you rented this place out?”

He picked up the controller for the big screen and began skipping through movies.

“Do you honestly think I could tolerate a movie theater with a bunch of teenagers, kids, and adults walking around and talking through the whole shit?” He did not even try to hide his disgust, and she regretted asking.

A moment later, ~Beauty and the Beast~ began to play, and Lexi gasped. “How did you know I like classic animated movies?”

“I literally saw two hundred DVDs in your room last night, most of them Disney. You also told me so in your little note.”

She was still in shock about his perfect efforts. “When did you do all this?”

“I have many talents, one of which is persuading people to do whatever I want.” Daniel winked as a waiter appeared with a tray of finger food, napkins, and drinks.

“This is the most romantic, thoughtful, amazing thing anyone has ever done for me,” Lexi whispered before leaning in to kiss him, but he quickly ended it.

“Behave and watch the movie because if you kiss me again and turn me on, I’ll fuck you right here. I don’t care if you’re on your period or not.”

She wasn’t surprised he knew; she’d spent most of the previous night going to the bathroom and complaining about her tummy aching. He must have figured it out. But she was shocked that he admitted he would still proceed with such intimacy while she was bleeding. Reece’s words quickly came to mind.

“Do you have to work later?” Daniel asked while eating and staring at the screen.

“Yes, and I have a PowerPoint to write for my psychology class.”

“Can I take you to work this evening? I’m going out of town, so I want to spend as much time as I can with you today.” Lexi decided to ignore the hint of sadness in his voice; she didn’t want to ruin her good mood. “I have a million things to do next week: work and endorsements back-to-back. I won’t be back for a few days.”

Trying to hide her disappointment, Lexi stayed quiet, watched the movie, and ate the food he had bought for them.

***

The apartment was empty when Daniel dropped Lexi off to shower and change for work, and she wished Reece was home to advise her on what to do. There must be ~something~ besides saying a dry “goodbye” before he was gone for days or weeks.

A little while later, Johnson drove Lexi to work and parked outside the café. Daniel held her hand and walked her to the ~Employees Only~ access door.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Daniel breathed into her neck as they hugged on the sidewalk. Lexi clung to him much longer than she had intended, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.

~Don’t go!~ she wanted to tell him not to go out of town, to stay with her. She wanted to say that she could blow off work tonight and spend more time with him, but instead, she bit her lip.

Daniel looked her up and down, eyeing the tiny tank top showing her navel, black short-shorts, stockings, and black closed-toed wedge. “I don’t approve of the new uniform, by the way.”

“Yeah, I don’t like it either, but my boss forced me out of the T-shirt and jeans. How I’m going to stand all night in this get-up is beyond me. But it was either this or he would make me work the VIP area tonight, and the men over there like touching women inappropriately. I’d rather work behind the safety of the bar counter.”

Daniel released her and gathered his brows into a V. “You don’t have to work at all. I told you I want to take care of you, and I meant it.”

“Ha! No, thanks. I’ll be fine.” Lexi giggled to lighten the mood. “Unless you’re ashamed to be dating an inexperienced bartender.”

“No, I’m afraid I’ll end up in jail for killing any man who touches you.” He didn’t even lighten the statement with a smile; his face was as cold as metal, and she could hear his seriousness in his voice.

Lexi did not know how to respond to that, so she kissed Daniel again. “I’m going to miss you too,” she said softly.

“Johnson will pick you up every night. Don’t even think about leaving alone,” he warned. “I will know if you do, and I’ll be fucking pissed.”

Lexi glanced back at Johnson, who was leaning on the vehicle. He swiped his thumb across his neck to show she would be dead meat indeed.

She threw her hands in the air dramatically. “Okay, okay, I got it. Jeez. Both of you seriously need to stop ganging up on me.”

Daniel squeezed her again before returning to the SUV.

Once the vehicle had driven away, Lexi entered the café. She ignored the whistles of men and walked straight to the bar to clock in, but just as she was about to punch in her time, she heard Carlos yelling at the top of his lungs.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Lexi immediately checked the time on her watch to confirm that she wasn’t late.

“Hello! Are you deaf? Leave my café right now!” he barked in her face.

~Shit!~ ~What did I do?~

“Carlos, I’m confused. What’s going on?”

“You know who’s confused? Your bitch of a friend. She used me for weeks, and now that she’s gotten everything she wanted, she ditched me. You don’t get to still work for me so that you two can talk about me and laugh at me behind my back.”

“Carlos, calm down. You are overreacting. Reece hasn’t talked about you at all.”

“Overreacting? Overreacting!” His voice got louder every time he said the word. “Get the fuck out of my café! The only reason I hired you is because Reece asked me to. There are way prettier girls with the sex appeal to work in here and bring in more customers.”

Carlos snarled, “I had to force you to wear a uniform that comes naturally to the other girls. You were never fit for this job, so go and apply for a position you are more comfortable in, like a librarian, or a bus driver, or something boring that matches your personality.” He then stomped over to the door and held it open for her to leave.

As Lexi stepped out onto the sidewalk with her purse dangling by her side, she thought, ~I can’t believe what this beautiful day has turned into.~