Sinful Addiction

Part 4 - Stop Being So Stubborn

Awoken from the ring of her phone she rolls over to the edge of her bed fumbling to pick it up.

"Hi-Hello?" She rubs her palm over her eyes trying to force herself awake. She was up late worrying about Tony. She was informed just before leaving the studio that he had lost contact and the one responsible for the ambush was none other than her, two-faced, backstabbing liar of an ex-partner and boyfriend. Even worse...She felt guilty for taking out her anger and stress out on August. Despite her distaste for him she never would have been so rude on a regular day.

"Lex, are you just now waking up?" Reya's hyper voice was enough to wake the dead.

"Mhm, why?" She asks, pulling herself from the comfort of her warm bed and walking into the kitchen.

"Babe, it's 11:36."

"Oh shit! Shit. I'm meeting someone for coffee at 12:15." Closing the cupboard, rushing back to the bathroom, switching the phone to the speaker.

"Someone from the party?" She asks excitedly.

"Yes but not in the way you're hoping." Splashing water on her face before picking up her toothbrush.

"Then who with?"

"The bartender, we had fun so we figured we would meet for coffee at the new place down the street." She tries to speak over the toothbrush in her mouth. "I wanna set him up with Chance."

"You were supposed to find someone for yourself, not someone else."

"Oh, I guess you should have been more clear."

"I think I made myself perfectly clear. Either way, have fun. I just wanted to tell you that Chris' friend was asking about you this morning, I didn't think you two had met."

"Me neither, but I did talk to a lot of people when I was there–Hey, I'm really sorry but can I call you back later? I'm running really late." Spitting the toothpaste back into the sink and rushing to her bedroom.

"Yea talk later, have fun." 

The line goes dead.

Pulling her hair from the messy bun she lets the hair fall down her back. She slips on a scoop-neck black t-shirt adjusting it to try and hide the bandage wrapped around her chest. Then sliding on a pair of loose army green cargo pants and her black docs. Walking to her dresser she slips a few rings on her fingers then grabs a chrome blue butterfly knife and slips it into her pocket. Grabbing the black leather jacket off the hook by the door on the way out. Rushing down the stairs and out to the sidewalk as she pops in her earbuds.

After a quick ten-minute walk she arrives at the coffee shop just before the typical New York spring thunderstorms start showering down. The coffee shop has bright white brick walls, contrasted by the black ceiling with industrial overhead lighting and a wooden coffee and food bar. Quickly scanning through the tables until she sees Danny.

"Hey, I am so sorry I'm late." She gives him a half hug before sitting down. She discovered early on that it is easier to just accept a hug no matter how awkward it makes her feel, it was usually easier than explaining why she doesn't like hugs. That typically results in the other person feeling insulted despite it being nothing personal. "I promise it won't happen again."

"Don't worry about it, you're totally good. This place is amazing, good call."

The two of them spend over an hour just relaxing and getting to know each other. Alexia learns that Danny is an undergrad student at Columbia and will be attending Columbia law next year. He picks up a few bartending shifts here and there to have a bit more spending money. She tells him a little about what it's like being a principal dancer for the American Dance Theater, and what it was like growing up traveling between Chicago and Moscow, sharing a few stories of her trips to Russia to visit her family over there before they passed and how different ballet classes were in Russia. She even let her Russian accent out for a while.