Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Four

Songs for this chapter:
• The Best Day (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift
• Love Story (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

Chapter One Hundred and Four:

Lexi's POV

My thin camisole is sticking to my back.

A bead of sweat is trickling down the side of my neck.

The strands of hair that have fallen loose from my bun are clinging to the nape of my neck.

I roll over on my stomach with a huff. "I think I hate summer. I just want to curl up under a blanket, but it's too hot for that until the nighttime. Are we sure we can't turn the air conditioning up a little bit higher?"

Jordan reaches down from the couch in my parents' living room that he's sitting on to push some sweat-slicked hair back from my forehead. He's being much less dramatic than me, who is sprawled on the cool hardwood floor like a complete and utter loser.

"So it's safe to assume that you aren't going to be having a summer wedding?" he asks cheekily.

I reach over my shoulder to pinch him in the calf despite the fact that his comment put a smile on my face. "I'd much prefer a winter wedding, thank you very much. Then I'll be able to curl up under a blanket afterwards. And take a nice hot bath with my new husband."

Jordan snickers. "I'm sure Bryce will love that."

I slap his leg this time, but this much movement makes my body disgustingly hot and impossibly sweatier and so I flop onto my back on the floor, defeated.

"Stop abusing Jordan, Lexi," Charlie chides suddenly.

I turn my head to the left just enough to be able to watch as Jasmine and Charlie enter the living room. Each of them has an ice-cold glass clasped in each hand, the heat in the room causing the condensation to drip down the sides and onto the floor. Three of the glasses are filled with brightly coloured, semi-transparent liquid and the fourth glass is filled with a deep brown liquid that I recognize much easier.

Jasmine hands one of the fluorescent drinks in her hand to Jordan before falling into the loveseat perpendicular to the couch Jordan is sitting on. Charlie beckons for me to sit and I scowl at him before I climb up off the floor and flop onto the couch beside Jordan.

He sips from his drink and raises an eyebrow at me.

"What's that?" He nods towards the dark cup in Charlie's hand.

Charlie hands me the glass with a small smile before joining Jasmine on the couch. I take a sip from my glass and glance at Jordan. "It's iced tea. Why?"

His brows furrow. "Spiked?"

I snort. "No."

He swirls his own drink around in his glass before holding it out towards me. "Want a sip? It doesn't even taste like alcohol."

I frown at him.

But then, the doorbell rings.

Charlie instinctually stands up from the couch and sets his drink down on a coaster on the coffee table, but he doesn't leave the living room before the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs echoes into the room.

My mom and dad are in the foyer already and Mom hastily opens the door, as though she knows who to expect on the other side.

I stand up from the couch and set my drink down on the coffee table as well, curious as a cat.

When I peek my head into the hallway to see who my parents just let inside, I freeze.

"What are you doing here?" I ask cautiously, ignoring the way my heart races the moment I'm in close proximity to him.