Always There

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Chapter Sixty-Nine:

Lexi's POV

"Bryce?" I ask shyly, the first thing that either of us have said since we settled into our seats at this table in the very back corner of the club.

After Bryce and I made absolute fools of ourselves by standing on the dance floor and clinging to each other like we need one another to breathe, Bryce suggested that we find somewhere to sit down so that we can have a proper conversation. We ended up letting go of each other and, walking close enough to each other that our arms brushed when we walked, we located a small booth at the back of the club.

Since we're truly tucked away in a corner, it's surprisingly quiet back here as we're as far away from the dance floor as possible, and the music is therefore fairly quiet, actually. I really enjoyed the slight change of scenery straight away as the dance floor had begun to get extremely overwhelming for me.

I slid into one side of the booth immediately, but before Bryce sat down, he said he was going to go to the bar to get us glasses of water. I could tell that he was extremely hesitant to leave me, but I was able to reassure him that I would be fine, and so Bryce, with one more dubious look in my direction, headed towards the bar.

He returned surprisingly quickly with two glasses of water and a small smile on his face. He set one glass down in front of me before sliding into the booth across from me and taking a sip of his own water.

We sat there in silence for a few moments, sipping from our glasses of water, until I finally worked up the courage to speak, even if I just said his name.

Bryce raises an eyebrow at me. "Yeah?"

I look down into my glass of water, inhaling sharply before I whisper, "Aren't you going to drink, Bryce? Like, drink alcohol?"

I glance up from my glass of water, and as soon as I meet Bryce's eyes, I find confusion flickering there.

"What do you mean? I don't drink anymore. I haven't drank since that time at my dad's place when I found out about my brother. I haven't started drinking again since the breakup, either, if that's what you're assuming," Bryce says calmly.

I force my eyes back down to my glass of water, and Bryce must see the confusion flashing in my eyes because abruptly, he asks, "Do you want something alcoholic to drink, Lexi? I shouldn't have assumed that you don't drink either."

Now it's my turn to be completely shocked, and when my gaze meets Bryce's once more, I exclaim, "No! God, no. Of course not. I still don't drink, Bryce. Maybe I'm a different Lexi then the girl you dated, but I haven't changed that much."

Even though Bryce doesn't respond to this verbally, I watch as he relaxes slightly, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms against his chest. His eyes scan my face for a moment, and I feel his gaze dip to my collarbone.

I see a glimmer of hope when he notices that I'm still wearing my cherry blossom necklace.

His eyes dart back to my face, and his cheeks flush slightly, as though he's embarrassed to be caught ogling the necklace.

I'm not sure how we went from the most passionate make out session of my life to acting so awkward around each other in a matter of minutes, but a part of me wishes that we were still making out if it meant that I could pretend that things are normal between us, even if just for a moment.

"Bryce?" I ask again, shyly.

"Yeah?" he responds.

"You understand why we broke up, right? I know that you're it for me, and so as I already said, I am incredibly grateful for our time together, but you understand why I left, don't you?" I say quietly before flinching as I await Bryce's response, praying that he doesn't get upset at me.