Always There

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Chapter Seventy-Nine:

Lexi's POV

Bryce groans. "Are you sure you have to use baby pink? What about black nail polish? I think I might actually like black nail polish. It's kind of cool. Maybe I would let you paint my nails frequently if you painted them black."

I shake the bottle of shimmery, baby pink nail polish in my hand for emphasis, grinning like a maniac up at Bryce. "Don't be so bitter. I'll paint your nails black once this polish starts chipping. I don't have black polish right now, anyway."

Bryce narrows his eyes at me.

I blow him a kiss. "The good news is that we're going to match now! See?" I hold out my hand so that my nails are on display. "And it's not that different a colour from your natural nails. It's just a little be more pink and a little bit sparkly. That's why I love it."

Bryce's eyes remain narrowed for a few more moments before his expression softens into a small smile.

"You weren't kidding when you said that the littlest things make you happy, were you?" he says softly. "God, you look adorable right now. So fucking cute. I love that smile."

I'm kneeling on the floor in the living room in front of Bryce, who is sitting on the couch. I smile up at him before kissing the back of each of his hands.

"Nope. I wasn't kidding. And besides, I'm always happy when I'm spending time with you no matter what we're doing," I say softly

I avert my eyes to the nail polish bottle immediately, afraid of what emotion I may see on Bryce's face. I give the bottle another shake before unscrewing the cap and beginning to brush the polish onto Bryce's nails.

He remains completely still for me the entire time it takes me to paint on two layers of the pink polish and then a third layer of topcoat. He seems content to watch whatever is playing on the TV as I paint, but every once in awhile, he pauses to ask me a question or two about how my life has been since we broke up.

"So you really do love your job?" he asks just as I'm screwing the lid back on to the bottle of topcoat.

I smile at him, setting down the bottle on the coffee table next to the other bottle of polish. I then rise up from my knees to instead take a seat on the couch next to him.

Bryce makes a move to take my hands in his but before he gets the chance, I wrap my fingers around his wrists, locking his hands midair. "Nope. You need to keep your hands still for a little bit while the nail polish dries. I don't want you to mess it up."

Bryce rolls his eyes at me. "Boo."

Once Bryce gently sets his hands down on his knees where his nails are safe to dry, I fold my own hands in my lap and actually answer his question.

"Yes. I really do love working at the cafe. I wish I made more money because rent in this city is obnoxiously expensive, but I still love my job. I might try and get another job that I can do simultaneously once school starts up again, though," I say, leaning in to kiss Bryce on the cheek before resting my head on his shoulder.

He tenses momentarily before resting his head atop mine. "I don't want you to do that. You don't have to work two jobs. You don't have the time to work two jobs while in school. Just let me know if you need money for something. I won't expect you to pay me back, if that's what you're worried about. It's technically my fault that you're in this position financially anyway, because when you were living with me you didn't have to worry about bills and therefore didn't need to stress about getting a job soon enough. It's my fault you didn't get a job earlier, so just let me help you out."