Lexi Cocker - Faleena Hopkins Page 0,30
fuck is going on, Cherry?”
The nickname relaxes her a little. “I uh…” She blinks away from me, adding a confused, “I don’t bring guys back here often.”
“Place a pit?”
A grin flashes, “No!” and disappears, “It’s not that. I mean, we’re not the clean squad, but we’re not slobs either.” She frowns and repeats, “It’s not that,” like she’s stalling.
“What is it? Brad never came here?”
She blanches, muttering, “Can we not talk about him?”
I grunt, “Sure,” irritated I allowed myself to forget her feelings for that asshole. Won’t happen again. “Why don’t you go get a napkin and let’s get outta here. I’ve got a reservation waiting for us.”
“Oh!” Lexi’s eyes widen with surprise. “You made reservations somewhere?”
“What, d’ya think mechanics don’t know how to use the Internet? I could rewire the damn thing if I wanted to.”
“Stop it, that’s not what I meant.”
“Why so surprised then, Cherry?”
“I don’t like your tone, Gage.”
Fixing my gaze on a scuff-mark probably made from a bicycle’s tire as it was carried upstairs, I nod and say nothing more.
She walks away from me, carpet taking the sting out.
I follow her. “Hey.”
Spinning around, Lexi’s fire is in full force. “What?!”
With zero aggression I tell her, “Let’s cut it out.”
She blinks narrowed greens, repeating with less fury, more confusion, “What?!”
I kiss her, and she melts in my arms while I explain what I can’t find words to say. Whenever I’m pissed they leave me hanging. But I know how to communicate like this. Lexi does, too, and her hands dig into my biceps as she pushes me against the wall, not the other way around. Our kisses are a fucking mess of arguing it out until we finally come up for air.
“We good now?”
She gives this dazed and sexy, “Mmmhmm,” taking my hand to walk the two remaining steps to her apartment.
But the door swings open before Lexi gets a chance to insert her key, and here stands the blonde sister I barely caught a glimpse of on Saturday.
“Hi!” Samantha cries out, glancing between us. “I heard something weird out in the hall!”
Lexi announces, “That was us,” as if it’s supposed to make sense, and Sam makes room for our entry into a bright living room with two cats lazily staring our way — one ashen-furred on the sofa surrounded by colorful throw pillows, the other one a ball of white fluff on a chair almost as fuzzy. “This is Gage. Gage, my sister Sam.”
“Samantha,” she corrects, adding, “You have to earn the name Sam,” with a smile much sweeter than that of the ginger’s who gives me a run for my money.
I smirk, “Will do,” and shake her hand. “How’d the audition go?”
Her brown eyes warm at my manners, nose crinkling at the touchy subject. “I’m still waiting to hear but thank you for asking. I’m sorry,” she laughs, “Your mouth is hilarious!”
Lexi waves, “Come on!” walking ahead to lead me into a hallway with four closed doors, swinging open the one first on the left. It’s hard not to check out framed photographs from their lives, but her laugh captures my attention and gives me a distraction.
“Mirrors aren’t my thing today!” she mutters, digging out a glossy packet from her medicine cabinet.
I get a look at my face as she closes it, and cock my right eyebrow. “Should get a job at the circus.” She wipes at my mouth with a moist cloth oozing lavender and I grab it, “Thanks Mom. I’ve got it.”
She teases me, calling out to Samantha, “He has a fear of not knowing things and of being treated like a little boy.”
I grumble, “No, I don’t,” wiping away until my skin’s raw enough that it doesn’t matter there’s no lipstick left. “Well shit.”
Lexi sighs, and turns for the reflection, gently patting her face back to cleanliness. Digging out the red lipstick, she stares at it, and frowns, “This isn’t going to work,” opting for a clear gloss instead.
I lean against the open door, and cross my arms as I watch her slide it around. “Look at the brains on Cherry.”
Trying not to gratify me with a smile, and failing, Lexi murmurs through the process, “You’re ridiculous.”
“First your sister says I’m hilarious. Now you say I’m ridiculous.”
With a firm tightening of the cap, she corrects me, “Sammy said your face was hilarious. Not you. There’s a big difference, Crocodile.”
“Give her a chance to get to know me and she’ll say both are pretty damn funny.”
Lexi grins, spinning around, dress flying with her.