My Hometown Love

Chapter 24 – New Experiences

Lexie’s P.O.V

So, there I was in the middle of the hospital parking lot, staring at Kevin extending his arm out for me to sit behind him on the bike.

How on earth did I get into this situation?

For your information, I’m not a coward or something. I love adventure and love to explore new experiences. But this current experience in front of me isn’t new.

Back when I was 12, my Dad had a motorcycle. He used to take me everywhere in it. One day, the weather was bad but I still made my Dad to take me to the bookstore because there was a book signing. How I wish I wasn’t such an i***t back then.

Well, on our way to the store, our bike skidded and crashed. It wasn’t serious but my Dad broke his leg and had to wear a cast for a month. Dad, being his heroic self, pushed me off the bike the minute the bike was slanting, so, I just had a hairline fracture on my ankle and some bruises. Ever since then, I have had a phobia of motorcycles.

I looked at the situation before me with both fear and curiousness. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and composed myself.  I opened my eyes to Kevin giving me his reassuring smile and patiently extended his hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”, he said.

That was it, his words spoke to me within. I suddenly felt that I would be protected and will come out okay. I reached out and grabbed his hand to hop on the bike.

“Here, wear this.”, Kevin said as he placed his helmet on my head.

“Wait, what about you?”, I asked feeling both special and worried at the same time.

“Don’t worry, it’s not so far. I’ll take the safe route. I’ll be okay, I just can’t let anything happen to you.”, Kevin said as he backed up the bike with his legs and started the engine.

I stared at the back of Kevin’s head with awe and admiration. This man is truly one of a kind.

As he started driving, I felt the fear bubbling up again, with every curve we take. So much so, when we took a particularly sharp curve, I gripped Kevin’s shoulders with my hands, HARD.

*************

Kevin’s P.O.V

I felt a surprising and painful grip on my shoulders as I carefully attempted the tricky road curve. I peeked behind my head to see Lexie gripping my shoulders as her knuckles turned white. She had her eyes glued shut as she mumbled something under her breath.

I knew something was up when she didn’t respond immediately to my offer but I feel like such an i***t for not asking her if she was okay with it. I know this girl will say yes to everything even if she doesn’t like it. She was selfless and stubborn like that.

You’re so stupid Kevin!

I cursed myself as I blamed myself for forgetting what had happened. A year ago I caught sight of a scar on Mr. Cooper’s leg and asked about it. He told everything that happened including Lexie’s phobia of bikes after that. I can’t believe I forgot. What a jerk!

Now I was worried about her. I knew we were almost there but after this stretch, the road gets busier with bigger vehicles after this. I knew I had to do something to make her feel more protected. As I saw the traffic build-up ahead with big trucks and construction vehicles, my impulsive instincts kicked it. I grabbed her hand and tightly wound them around my waist.

I felt relief when I felt the tension in her hands loosen and she opened her eyes slowly but carefully to see her surroundings pass her by. I smiled to myself as I headed straight to the library.

*************

Lexie’s P.O.V

Soon after I felt the bike stop in front of this chic but vintage library café. Just as I started wondering why none of us were moving or getting down, I looked down and was completely embarrassed, realizing that my arms were still around Kevin’s waist. I quickly pulled away extremely glad the helmet was hiding my reddened face.

I have to admit that I was scared out of my mind on the busy road earlier. I was afraid that my nails were going to pierce through both Kevin’s leather jacket and his skin. It wasn’t till I felt his hand around my wrist pulling it to coil around his waist tightly, that I felt protected and secure. The rest of the ride became enjoyable as I opened my previously shut eyes to watch the trees and people float by.

Once my feet were on the ground again, I fumbled with the helmet buckle, desperately trying to unhook it.

“Relax. Here, let me.”, Kevin said as he bent down to my eye level and fiddled with the buckle.

I watched his hazel eyes concentrate thoroughly on the buckle as I got lost in the pool of his eyes.

“There you go.”, he said as he lifted the helmet off my head and placing it in the box.

I was taking a quick look in the bike’s rear-view mirror, desperately trying to adjust my helmet hair when I heard a chuckle behind me.

“You look perfect already. Come on.”, Kevin said as he dragged me away from the bike and towards the main doors.

*************

Kevin’s P.O.V

I admire how well I controlled myself from not looking straight into Lexie’s eyes when I was unbuckling her helmet. Even as I stood there watching her frantically try to adjust her hair, I couldn’t help but think how perfect she was. And I might have accidentally told that out loud too.

But this time I didn’t care if she heard or realized it. It was high time I start making a move or else I was gonna lose her. We made our way to the café and towards the entrance.

“Hi, Kevin! Your usual table?”, Max the greeter asked.

“No, Max. Is the booth for 2 available? I’ve got company today.”, I say as I step aside to reveal Lexie standing behind me.

“Yeah, it is. Go on ahead. I’ll be right there with the menu.”, he replied.

I lead the way towards the corner of the café where there were booths creatively made out of damaged books. I slid into one side of the booth while Lexie sat opposite me.

“So, your usual huh?”, Lexie asks.

“Ha-ha. I come here a lot to study for my board exams.”, I say as I watch Max bring over the menu.

A lot of contemplating and orders later, we had our drinks in front of us. I knew that this was it, she was going to tell me her decision. My fists were balled up with tension under the table, ready to expect the worst.

***************

Lexie’s P.O.V

Kevin looked at me with his gorgeous hazel eyes in anticipation, curious to know what I had decided.

“So, I made a decision and called back the HR department yesterday.”, I started.

Kevin just responded by nodding.

“I told them that I am accepting their apology and compensation in return for my agreement to not sue the company.”, I said as I held in my smile to keep the suspense going.

Kevin looked at me, unable to comprehend or he didn’t hear me and instead was depending on my facial expressions. It wasn’t till I started bursting out laughing that he finally realized what I said. 

“Oh my god. So, you’re not leaving back to New York?”, Kevin blurted out, finally.

“No silly. I’m not suing. Oh, plus they increased the compensation.”, I replied.

“That’s great Lexie. I’m so happy for you!”, Kevin replied as he finally looked relieved.

I’m starting to think that he didn’t want me to leave. Is he starting to have feelings for me?

Nahhhh! I told myself as I finished my drink and admired the café atmosphere.

After chilling out for a while, Kevin lead me to the library with the printing facilities. I printed out the agreement and sat down to read it through. I saw the amount that they were going to pay and did some quick calculations to check. After I was satisfied with everything in the agreement, I signed it and felt closure. For the first time since the whole fiasco happened, I was at peace.

As I scanned and emailed Ms. Lee the copy and prepared to mail the hardcopy to her, I couldn’t help but think what was next for me now?

Once I was done with everything, I looked around to find Kevin. I couldn’t find him anywhere so I decided to walk around to look for him. That’s when I found him leaning against a bookshelf, reading a book as the sunlight shined through the window behind him. I could see his brows furrowed as he stared at the book intently. It was such a pleasure watching him read. What with the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you see guys reading?

“Ahem. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”, I said.

“Oh, Lexie. You’re done. Shall we?”, Kevin replied as he put the book back on the shelf and walked up to me.

I nodded as a sign of agreement and before you know it, we were back on the deadly machine heading home. This time I put my arms around him since it made me feel safe the last time and I wasn’t ready to die. But I looped my arms around him slowly, gauging his response, ready to yank away my hand at any moment if I feel him getting uncomfortable or if he said something. But as the sweetheart that he is, Kevin never said a word nor did he jerk away from my touch. Instead, I could feel him taking every curve slower and more carefully.

He dropped me off at home and said goodbye with a little salute before I watched him zoom away till he disappeared behind the trees. I walked into my house to Dad busy talking on the phone, clearly discussing something as Mom continued writing on a pad. Once in a while, she would stop to think and bite the end of her pen before continuing writing.

I picked up an apple and took a bite as I leaned on the wall, watching the fun. Soon enough, Dad hung up the phone and saw me standing at the entrance of the living room.

“Lexie! There you are! Pack your bags, we’re going camping!”, he said as he threw me a sleeping bag from the table.

“Camping?!”