Page 10 of Falling for Him
“My dad called me sweetheart,” she says with a smile. It’s the first smile I’ve seen her share in the several weeks she’s beencoming in to see me. “He bought a boat, I remember it was awful, with holes in the floor. My mom was so mad at him for wasting the money, but we’d spend every single night and all weekend, fixing it. He taught me how to fish in that boat.”
“That is a great memory, one all for you to hold on to.”
“And now you.”
“Yes, and now me.” My throat grows tight as I push past the rawness. I do something I rarely do, I share a piece of myself. “I lost my mom when I was six. She was traveling back from visiting with a college friend and someone ran a red light.”
A tear escapes me and I quickly wipe it away.
“The last memory I have with her was dancing in the rain a week before that. It was after midnight, and I remember her coming into my room whispering for me to come with her. We went out back, held hands and danced around, laughing. Neither of us realized anyone was watching until we looked up to find my dad sitting on the porch steps with the biggest smile on his face.”
“My mom did things like that,” she says with a laugh.
“Sounds like we both have great memories to hold onto then. I think maybe that’s what we should focus on and let go of all the hate and the ugly.”
“Yeah.” She nods. “That sounds like a good plan, I like that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bennett
“She’s not here,”Adley says when she opens up the door. “I’m making cookies, can’t let them burn.”
She disappears before I can say anything and I peek around the corner to see her placing oven mitts on her hands.
Stepping inside, I close the door behind me and walk in her direction.
“Chocolate chip?” I ask hopeful and Adley glances back over her shoulder as she lifts out the baking sheet.
“As if they would be any other kind.” She scoffs at me with a gleam in her eye.
I watch as she moves each one to the cooling rack she has set up. The smell circulates, filling the entire apartment, and my mouth waters.
Adley grabs two glasses, fills them with milk and then takes a plate out of the cabinet, placing several warm cookies onto it.Picking up the plate and one glass of milk she nods at the other. “That one’s for you.”
Leaving me behind as she walks to the living room, I grab my glass and follow behind her.
“Hanging out with me all night, not that I’m complaining, because you are so fun to look at, but she’s gonna be pissed when she shows up to find you waiting for her.” Adley grabs the blanket off the back of the couch and pulls it over her.
When Sutton moved in with Brant, Adley took her room and now shares an apartment with Lexi. Living with Adley I assume is always an adventure. She is full of humor, her stories, they are wild. At times it is so hard to tell if she is telling the truth or not, but she has an ability to make the simplest most uninteresting things intriguing. She adds her own flare to everything.
I like to say, there is never a dull moment. Not with her, she is a joy when you feel like things can’t get worse, she always finds a way to lift you up.
“What makes you think I’m here waiting for Lexi?”
“Because none of us are dumb, Bennett. We all know you are waiting for her. You’ve been waiting for her.”
Silence falls over us as we eat the cookies and watch whatever sitcom is playing on television. To be honest, I’m more focused on my thoughts than the TV.
“She’ll come around,” Adley breaks through the silence. “She’s humiliated, I know everyone thinks she’s angry, and she might be a little of that too. But honestly, she is embarrassed. She knew how Derrick was and against her better judgment she fell for allhis lies a second time. She doesn’t blame you, she blames herself. She just needs time to get over the shame.”
“She shouldn’t be ashamed, she was innocent in this.”
“We all know that, but telling her, it only makes matters worse. She has to come to terms with it on her own. I think she’s getting there. I’ve noticed a shift, I’ve seen the old Lexi more so than not lately. She’s still there, and all we can do is be here for her. No matter how much she pushes, we just have to be here when she’s ready to let it all go.”
The sound of a key in the door has both Adley and I looking up just as Lexi steps in. Instantly she pauses, glancing back and forth between the two of us.
“Hey.” Adley is the first to speak. “I asked Bennett to stop by and hang up the calendar board I bought last week. But I thought I’d wait to make sure you were okay with the space next to the pantry door.”
