Page 50 of When We Fell Again
“Um, Jordan?” Levi’s voice came from the main room. “Why’s Lex messaging you? Something about seeing you today?”
My head snapped in his direction. I’d totally forgotten that by handing over my phone for him to work on the embryonic song, he’d be able to see anything that came through. I hadn’t wanted to keep secrets from him and the rest of the band, but until I’d straightened everything out with Lex, it didn’t make sense to say anything. Trying to play it cool, I sauntered back to join him. Levi held out the phone to me.
Alexis: Good to see you earlier. You never did get to tell me about your master plan… x
Shit.
I had been about to tell her about the mini album launch and the party for Levi and Jude. My idea to win her back, although after our conversation, it seemed I didn’t need to use it.
“What’s going on? Did you bail out on us this morning to see her?” There was a note of concern in Levi’s tone as I grabbed the phone from him.
Sinking onto the sofa, I nodded. “She messaged me early this morning, saying she missed me. I couldn’t let the opportunity go, mate. You understand that, right? After all, you did tell me not to give up on her.”
“Well, that escalated quickly. From not having any contact for months to clandestine meetings and messages with kisses.” Levi rubbed a hand over his chin, trying to stifle a grin.
“Hardly clandestine, and Theo turned up before we had a chance to agree where we’ll go from here.”
Levi winced. “Bet that was nice.”
Briefly, I outlined the basis of our conversation, leaving out the part about Lex being exhausted. That wasn’t mine to tell, and even though Levi was a good friend, there were some things he didn’t need to know.
“What’s next for you two?”
I shrugged. “She said she’d call me, but it still stings that she pushed me out for Theo.”
“Yeah, you’re so much better looking than he is.” Levi laughed, gesturing towards my phone. “The fact that she’s messaged you means she’s not going to shut you out again. Like you said, you can’t let the opportunity slip through your fingers. Not if it’s going to make you happy.”
Wise words from my best mate.
Being with Lex again would make me happy, and I couldn’t let it go.
The rest of the afternoon flew by. Levi and I worked on the song I’d started writing on the way to the studio, ending up with something that started slow and moody before building up to a fucking huge crescendo. While it was still ridiculously rough, I already sensed it would be a crowd-pleaser. I hoped it would be a Lex-pleaser too. The four of us went for some beers and pizza after we’d finished, talking non-stop about the progress we were making. Somehow, everything seemed to be coming together. And if I could get things to work with Lex again, life would truly be complete.
By the time we got back to the house, it was a lot later than I’d anticipated. While I hadn’t exactly done a lot physically during the day, I felt like I’d burned a lot of mental energy, which made me want to flop down on my bed and do nothing. But when I pulled my phone out and saw the missed call from Lex, every shred of tiredness lifted from my body, a new drive in its place. Without another thought, I called her back.
“Hey,” she answered, “I didn’t think you’d call back as it’s so late.”
“I’ve been at the studio. Only just got back.”
“How’s that going?”
“Really, really good. You should hear some of the new stuff.”
“I’d like that.” I could almost hear the smile in her voice. “I used to love being the first one to hear what you’d been creating.”
And you can be again.
Silence filled the air, punctuated by the sound of each of us breathing. I desperately wanted to plug that quiet with words, but just listening to Lex on the other end of the line comforted me. That we were even communicating after the past three months was progress. I didn’t want to ruin it by saying the wrong thing.
“What are you thinking?” she said at last.
“How nice this is. And wishing you were here.”
A light giggle escaped her. “Oh, I can imagine what it’s like at your place with Levi, Jude, and Robbie there. I’m pretty glad I’m not.”
“Rude.”
“But it would be nice to see you tonight.”
