6
SEPTEMBER FIVE YEARS EARLIER
“Jack, I can’t come over,” Lexi told him for what felt like the hundredth time.
She directed her car into an available parking spot in front of the grocery store.
“Sure, you can. I don’t live that far away from you. What’s the drive, like, ten minutes?”
“It’s not the distance that’s the issue,” she told him, getting out of the car and walking toward the entrance.
She dodged a white SUV that zoomed in front of her. Lexi flipped off the driver as she skidded to a halt in the middle of the crosswalk.
“Jackass.”
“What? No need for name calling.”
“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t talking about you,” she told him. “Some crazy driver.”
“I really want to see you.”
“I know. I want to see you too,” she confided in him.
She bit her lip at the thought of going over to his
