Saving Her || Ian Gallagher

Pizza

-Lexi's POV-

I check my watch and it reads 6:30pm. I stare at myself in the full length mirror and sigh. Taylor Swift quietly fills the room from my phone as I look over my outfit. I don't want to go out at all tonight but I didn't want to fight with Kenz. She makes it incredibly difficult to say no. At least I'm driving this time so I can leave when I want and by myself.

I throw my hair up in a claw clip and turn the music off. I grab my purse from the bed and hesitate as I pass my desk. Ian's jacket from last weekend hangs over the back of the chair. I pick it up and then head out of my room. Mom and dad are out so I stop by Serena's room. I open the door quietly to find her sleeping in bed. Since the accident, she takes frequent and long naps. I stare at her for a moment and then shut the door again.

I walk out the front door and shiver at the cold air. January in Chicago can be brutal but I'm thankful it's not supposed to snow tonight. The pizza place is only 10 minutes away but I take my time driving there. I park and walk in right at 7:00. My eyes scan the busy restaurant and I see a hand rise and wave at me. I follow the hand down to a familiar smiling face.

I walk over to the booth and slide in next to Kenz. I look across the table to find the other side empty and confusion yet relief fills me. I turn to Kenz to ask her where Brady is because it's a red flag that he's late but before I open my mouth he slides into the booth with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Lexi. It's nice to see you again. Thanks for coming." He says with a genuine smile. I nod and try to smile back.

"Brady was just telling me that this is the best pizza in Chicago!" Kenz pipes up, her eyes gleaming.

"Well, to me at least. Ask any person around here and they will tell you something different." He responds with a laugh while looking down at the menu.

Kenz starts asking Brady questions about the menu and different types of pizza but all I can focus on is the front door. Maybe Ian isn't coming and I can relax. Each time I try to look at the menu my eyes eventually drift back up to the front.

"He's coming. Work kept him late." Brady says and my eyes snap to him. I feel the heat creep up into my cheeks. I gulp and can only manage a head nod. Nice Lex, way to make it obvious.

We order waters for the table and some cheesy bread with marinara. As I'm listening to Kenz excitedly tell us a pizza story from when she was little, out of the corner of my eye I see the front door open and Ian walk in. Kenz sees him too and immediately stops her story to throw her hand in air to signal him over. I suddenly feel like I should excuse myself to the bathroom and sneak out the back door. I stare at my plate as he reaches our table. Brady scoots over and Ian sits across from me.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." He says, unzipping his jacket.

"No worries, man. We haven't ordered the pizza yet. I'm thinking we should try two different ones. The house special is amazing and then a deep dish?" Brady asks, looking around the table for confirmation.

"That sounds perfect to me!" Kenz says. Brady looks at me and then Ian. I give him a nod. My stomach feels so queasy I might only be able to eat one slice of whatever we get.

The waitress comes by and Brady orders for us. Kenz returns to her pizza story. I try to focus on her but my eyes wander over to Ian. My first time really looking at him since he sat down. His hair is slightly wet and disheveled. The light above us bounces off it, making it look more orange in places. His face is freshly shaven and his eyes are focused on Kenz. He's wearing a black shirt and a grey zip-up sweatshirt. When I look back up at his face his eyes are on me. Actually, everyone's eyes are on me when I look around the table.

"Sorry, what?" I ask Kenz, registering that she must have asked me something.

"I asked if you were okay." She says, a worried look on her face.

"Me? Yeah, perfectly fine." I say with a reassuring smile. I must look awful. I know I'm acting weird too. I don't want this to be a bad first date for them so I need to act normal. I take a deep breath.

"So, Brady does your family live around here?" I ask.

"They're about an hour and a half away. I try to see them as much as I can. I've got two younger twin sisters." He says with a proud smile.

"That is SO adorable!" Kenzie says, reaching out to grab Brady's arm.

"Yeah, we are pretty much your average family. Nothing compared to this guy's." Brady laughs, nudging Ian in the side. Ian was mid drink and chokes slightly on his water.

"Oh no, is your family crazy or something?" Kenz asks, looking at Ian. He hesitates for a moment and I speak up.

"Kenz, why don't you tell Brady about how your family's ancestry can be traced back to British royals?" I say and her face lights up. She immediately turns back to Brady and starts telling him all about her family's genealogy.

Ian nudges my leg under the table with his and I look back at him. He nods at me slightly in appreciation. I want to say I did it for him but it was also for me too. After a while, the waitress arrives with our pizzas. They smell and look heavenly.

I take a slice of each and eat them slowly as we talk about random things. Ian and I chime in here or there but I think we both realized at some point that this whole thing was for Kenz and Brady so we let them do most of the talking. After a while, I realize that my knee has been resting slightly against Ian's ever since he nudged me. I move my leg away and Ian looks over at me.

After we've finished eating, Brady pays the bill, even after we all opposed, and we begin to get up. Brady and Ian walk ahead and talk as Kenz and I follow.

"Wasn't that great?" Kenz asks me quietly. I look over at her and can see how happy she is.

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad." I say with a smile and wrap my arm around her. I would do it again and again just to make her happy. We step outside to the cold air. I hug Kenz and say bye to Brady. As they walk off I watch Kenz grab Brady's arm and I can't help but smile.

I turn around to find that Ian has already started walking towards his car. I don't know why, but a small part of me feels disappointed. I begin walking too and speed up a little until I'm next to him.

"Um, I have your jacket in my car if you want to grab it." I say, looking up at him. He looks down at me and nods.

"Yeah, sure." Is all he says. We walk a block in silence and I unlock my car when we get close. I open the passenger side door and grab it from the front seat. I turn around to hand it to him. I hold it out to him and he takes it but I don't let go.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about last weekend. I was drunk and upset and I didn't even let you explain anything. I feel like such an idiot." I say, looking at the jacket and our hands on it.

"You're not an idiot. I know how I handled things was wrong and I hate that I hurt you in the process. Things weren't supposed to happen like that." He says and I look up at him. His nose and cheeks are slightly pink from the cold and his hair moves with the wind. This is not the best place to have this conversation.

"Sorry, I'll let you go. It's freezing out here." I say, letting go of the jacket finally. He stares at me for a moment and I can see the hesitation in his eyes.

"Come back to my place." He finally says, which catches me off guard.

"What?" Is all I manage to say.

"Please." He responds. His eyes filled with sincerity.