Who I Am | #Wattys2019

Chapter 5

Once back at the table, Lexi looks around the small restaurant, "Where's Ketch?"

"Oh," Evan replies, "he said he had to make a phone call."

Lexi nods her head then smirks to the man across from her, "So, there's a blonde in the bathroom...she basically wants to take you home."

Evan raises a curious eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"I grabbed her number," the girl replies, "just in case, I know you like blondes."

Evan leans forward slightly, "I don't, actually."

"If you say so," Lexi shrugs her shoulders as if she doesn't believe him.

"Do you trust anyone?" Evan shakes his head at her in disbelief.

"The list is small," she responds with a smirk.

"You used to trust me," he replies sincerely, "a long time ago."

Lexi thinks on those words for a moment, that was a lifetime ago. She swallows the lump that forms in her throat and she stands up from the table, "I'll be outside."

Evan watches her walkaway, then he somberly pulls his wallet from his back pocket to pay for their food.

Lexi has taken up position on the swing set across the street from the small diner. She hears the chime of the bell on the door indicating that someone has either entered or exited the building, but she doesn't look up. She continues to idly swing back and forth, letting her boots drag through the pea gravel on each backwards pass. After a moment, a Styrofoam milkshake container appears in her line of sight and she slows the swing to a stop, looking up at Evan who gives her a tiny, apologetic smile, "Chocolate peanut butter."

"You remembered," she looks surprised as she takes the container and takes a sip from the straw.

"Was it something I said in there?" Evan questions as he sits down on the swing next to her.

Lexi looks over at him, fiddling with the straw in her cup, "It's dumb, really."

She holds his gaze for a moment, then looks back down to her feet. He furrows his brow and grabs the chains of his swing in each hand and turns it to face her, "Tell me."

"You were the first," she begins without looking up, her arms are wrapped around the chains of her swing, "you were the first boy who broke my heart."

Evan has a look of surprise at this revelation, "What?"

"You promised to come back for me," she replies without looking at him, "and you didn't."

"I thought you died," he says with a touch of exasperation.

"I didn't know that then," Lexi looks at him innocently, "You spent over a year in and out of my life being the guy who would sneak into my room at night just to check on me."

"I never snuck into your room," Evan corrects her, "I always stayed outside the window."

"And then there's that," she continues, "You were the coolest guy, super cute, and you were always checking on me, so I just thought that...and when I brought it up, you shut me down so hard. I never got over that, maybe that's why I like to be in control now; I don't want to feel that way again."

"Alexandra," Evan begins softly, as he sits there staring at her in shock at this confession. Lexi looks back down as he continues, "You were twelve and I was seventeen, that five-year difference meant a lot back then. You were just a kid."

The dark-haired girl cuts her eyes over to him as she responds, "I'm not a kid anymore."

What are you doing? She thinks to herself, stop it, you're basically throwing yourself at him. This is not who you are. You are stronger than this.

"Trust me," he leans closer to her with a flirty grin, "I've noticed."

Lexi turns her swing sideways to face him, some unnatural force inside her feels as if it's making her body move against her will. I mean really, she thinks to herself, it could be worse. At least he's attractive, she carefully moves closer until her nose is almost touching his, she bites her bottom lip seductively and Evan takes a deep breath before he whispers, "Don't do this, unless it's what you want."

The dark-haired girl hesitates for a moment, before she lays her forehead against his, closing her eyes. After a few seconds she lifts her feet and allows the swing to jerk her away from him.

"Sorry, I feel like that was a little slutty of me," she apologizes standing up quickly, "I don't know where that came from. That was weird."

Evan raises a curious eyebrow as Lexi continues, "Where's Ketch?" The blue-eyed man shrugs his shoulders as another voice interrupts them from behind Lexi.

"Ketch," the voice begins, and Lexi turns to see Greyson standing behind her, "is back in London."

Was Greyson the call Ketch had to make, she thinks to herself and suddenly feels betrayed.

"What?" Lexi questions him in surprise as Evan stands up quickly, "Why?"

"We need to talk Lexi," Greyson says then glances at Evan, "alone."

"I don't think so pal," Evan remarks.

The dark-haired girl looks over at the blue-eyed man as she folds her arms across her chest, "Excuse you, I speak for myself."

The smug look on Greyson's face drops as Lexi turns her glare back to him, "I don't think so. He goes where I go."