Page 12 of When We Fell Again
“Thanks, Claudia. I love you too.” I jerked my chin towards the bar. “Any chance of a drink?”
Her eyes narrowed. “For you, yes. A Coke, an orange juice. Push the boat out and have some water with ice and a slice. But you’re not having a single drop of alcohol until the show’s over. And maybe not even then.”
I snorted. “You’re not my mother.”
“Until your new tour manager gets here, I am.”
A cold hand clutched at my heart. I’d almost forgotten about Lex.
Almost.
If you discounted the billion times I’d gazed at the message she sent me on Friday.
If you discounted the hours I’d stared at the ceiling when I should have been sleeping.
If you discounted the entirety of the journey up when I’d thought about seeing her again.
“Yeah, well, she’s not here yet, is she?” I peered around Claudia to see if there was anyone serving. “So you don’t have to tell her anything.”
“I’ll get you a drink if you want one.” A girl, probably no more than nineteen, sidled up to us. She sported a student’s union t-shirt, and I guessed she worked there.
It would have been so easy to say yes, to have calmed my nerves with alcohol and mixed it up with the super-strength pain killers to prepare me for seeing Lex again. But before I could answer, she was there.
Fuck me. She still blows me away.
The dark hair, caught in a low ponytail on one side of her neck, seemed longer and glossier than I remembered. Green-grey eyes that always reminded me of the sea barely flickered as she acknowledged me. Even the sensible fitted striped blazer couldn’t hide the spectacular rack I’d worshipped on numerous occasions.
I swallowed hard, the silence around us deafening.
“Alexis! So glad you made it.” Claudia took over, making me look less of an idiot. “To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to spending this time with your other guy. Too much testosterone on this tour already.”
The corner of Lex’s mouth rose, and I couldn’t help but focus on her plump lips, slicked with a pale pink gloss. Lips I’d spent hours kissing, biting, sucking. I shook my head, mentally telling myself to get a grip.
“Um, so did you want that drink?” the young barmaid ventured.
In my Lex-induced fog, I had totally overlooked the fact she was still there. It shook me out of that trance. Slinging a casual arm around her shoulders, I leaned in. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got?”
Instantly, she preened, standing a little straighter. “Sure. You wanna come to the bar? I’m Alison, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Alison. Let’s go.” I led us away from Lex and Claudia, the urge to glance back to see whether we were being watched growing stronger. But I resisted. I couldn’t let Lex see how much she still affected me.
After a few minutes of listening to Alison going on about how excited the university was to have us there, my attention wandered back to Lex. She and Claudia stood in the same spot, talking animatedly.
Having her around again would be… different.
We were both on this tour as professionals, not as a couple.
A small pang of resentment still burned over the fact her career skyrocketed at the time mine had the potential to go down the toilet. But that had been years ago. Things changed. People changed. And if the last twelve months had taught me anything, it was that change is good.
“What do you want to drink?” Alison’s question jolted me out of my reverie.
I scanned the options. Bottles of whisky, vodka, and gin taunted me from the shelves behind the bar, not to mention the lager and beer on the pumps. My gaze darted towards the two women on the other side of the room at the same time as Lex glanced in my direction.
Our eyes met.
Brown fused to green.
No matter how much I wanted to numb any feelings with alcohol and drugs, I couldn’t do it.
