Chapter 2-1
2002 Words
2
SEPTEMBER SIX YEARS EARLIER
When Lexi first arrived at her freshman dorm, her resident assistant called a hall meeting for all the freshman students where she distributed a directory listing local restaurants, clubs, bars, and an array of study nooks for the incoming freshman. Nearly every girl tossed the packet into the garbage as soon as they left the meeting, but Lexi held onto it, hoping it would come to good use in locating a perfect place to study. She investigated a handful of these locations but found them not to her tastes.
When she finally stumbled upon one particular coffee shop near the end of the list, she instantly fell in love. The coffee shop itself was nothing spectacular. To be honest, it was on the small side, especially for a college town. But when she set foot in the dimly lit shop, the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee beans that enveloped her senses sold her. It was perfect!
As the winter months gradually approached, a roaring fire crackled in a corner fireplace. Cushioned green lounge chairs and dilapidated couches were scattered haphazardly against the walls and surrounding the fireplace. On any given day, the tables were occupied by students and professors alike discussing anything from nuclear physics to Aristotelian philosophy to Freudian psychology.
After Lexi spent a few late nights in this cozy nook, she laid claim to one of the tables facing the counter. She had chosen that particular table specifically for the instances when he was working.
At first, she hadn’t even really noticed him. But the more time she spent there, the more often they crossed paths. And she couldn’t stop coming by, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Her friends, who preferred to study at the university library, kept trying to rouse her from the coffee shop. None of them could understand why she would want to work in such a loud, crowded, poorly lit space with a feeble internet connection. When they asked her why she refused to leave, she gave them the excuse of enjoying the atmosphere, but they finally weaseled it out of her.
Him.
The next day after her secret was revealed, Lexi found herself sitting at her usual table with her friend, Olivia, for company.
“Well, what do you think?” Lexi asked. She flipped through her introductory philosophy class notes, skimming through the most recent lecture on Empiricists.
“You’re right. He is pretty hot,” Olivia confirmed. She ran her fingers through her bleached blonde pixie cut, letting the tiny strands of hair fall effortlessly back into place.
“I meant about Locke.”
“He’s dead right?” Olivia asked uninterested.
Lexi rolled her eyes. “No, I mean…what’s his idea about knowledge?”
“Honestly, I don’t care. I hate this stuff. I might drop the class altogether. I don’t get it,” Olivia said. She glanced back up at the guy working the counter. “Him, I can fully understand. You should give it a shot.”
Lexi brushed her off, feeling the weight of her gaze uncomfortably. “No, what I need to shoot for is an A on this test.”
Olivia rolled her eyes dramatically. “Whatever. You know you’re going to get an A, but don’t you want to at least meet him? Know his name?”
It was Lexi’s turn to shrug. “Yeah, I guess,” she conceded.
“Have you ever even had a boyfriend?” Olivia asked.
“Of course I’ve had a boyfriend,” Lexi retorted defensively. “I’m just not looking for one now.”
“I didn’t say you wanted or even needed a relationship. We’re freshman. We’re just supposed to have fun and make mistakes anyway. So you should at least meet him and hang out with him,” she uttered persuasively. Lexi shrugged noncommittally returning to her notes.
After a pause, Olivia changed topics, “So, anyway, are you coming to Nick and Neal’s show tonight at The Theatre?”
“Yeah, I should be there.”
“Good. I’ve been helping them plan this for a month. I need as many people there as possible.”
Lexi just nodded since she had heard this same rant nearly every day since Olivia had decided to become their publicist.
“I’m going to get myself a drink from sexy Coffee Guy, and then, I’m going to head back to the dorm to get ready for tonight. You coming with?”
“Nah, I’m going to finish here.” She gestured to her notebooks sprawled on the table. “But I’ll meet you later.”
She watched Olivia slink over to the counter to get her coffee. Lexi quickly averted her eyes to avoid watching her friend shamelessly flirt with the guy she was interested in. She figured it didn’t really matter that much anyway. This guy was no one to her. He was just a pretty face in a sea of pretty faces. Or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself.
A few hours later, Lexi, Olivia, and fifteen other people they had managed to drag out of the dorms were casually standing in front of the stage at The Theatre waiting for Nick and Neal to begin their set. The Theatre was a large open space with couches positioned around the perimeter and for smaller shows, like tonight, on the main floor.
As the time passed, the room gradually filled with regulars and other locals. Considering this was Nick and Neal’s first real performance, the crowd was relatively large. A unanimous bounce began as the throng of people fell into rhythm with the flow of the music that Nick was spinning, Neal’s original lyrics filling the room. Lexi sang along with some of the words she remembered from hanging out with them.
“You’re not bad. Maybe you should show them how it’s done,” someone said to her.
Lexi laughed out loud. She turned to address whoever had spoken to her and came face-to-face with him. She froze mid-laugh.
“You think so?” she asked, trying to recover from her shock at seeing him here, standing next to her, talking to her.
“Honestly, no,” he said with a sly smile.
“Well, thanks. I’m very offended right now.” Lexi placed her hand over her wounded heart. “So, do I know you or do you always just insult people when you first meet them?”
He bent down, so she was better able to hear him. He smelled heavenly. “I think you study at the coffee shop where I work.”
She turned her head up to face him. His brown hair fell neatly across his eyes as he looked down at her. She had never noticed just how clear blue his eyes really were until they were set intently and solely on her.
“I think you might be right,” she confirmed. She was having a hard time breathing with him looking at her so intently. She could practically feel the energy crackling between their bodies at his nearness. Trying to ease the s****l tension, she asked him, “Are you much into college boy rap?”
His laugh was easy and sincere, and she loved the musicality of it. “No, not really, but this guy’s not bad. Is he a friend of yours?”
“Yeah, he lives in my dorm.” She cringed, realizing she had given away her youth. She had no idea how old he was or whether he would consider a freshman to be worth his time.
“Nice. Those guys over there.” He gestured with his thumb to three guys clustered behind him. “They lived on my hall last year in the dorms. Which one are you in?”
Lexi let out the breath. “Um, Russell.”
“That’s where we were,” he said. “Fifth floor east. You?”
“Five north,” she told him. If she had only been a year older, she could have lived on the same hall as him for a year. Her head swam with the thought.
“Small world.”
“Yeah, it is. How exactly did you hear about the band? I mean, if you don’t really listen to the music.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of purple paper. He opened it revealing the flyer Olivia had been relentlessly handing out for the past two weeks.
“I believe a friend of yours gave this to me.” He pointed to Olivia over the crowd of people.
That little devil. Olivia hadn’t been flirting with him, when she had gone to get her coffee earlier that afternoon. In fact, she had been helping Lexi, by convincing Coffee Guy to come here. “Well, yeah, that’s Olivia for you,” she said, shrugging. “Oh, I’m Lexi, by the way.”
She extended her hand out to him.
“Lexi, hmm, I like that,” he said. He took her outstretched hand. “Jack. It’s nice to meet you.”
Silence fell between them as the show progressed. The hip-hop beats blaring in the background made it difficult to carry on a conversation. When the set was complete, the crowd filed outside for intermission, allowing the main act time to set-up on stage. She watched as some of her friends made their way to the back entrance to meet up with Nick and Neal. Lexi waited awkwardly with Jack at the front of the building.
A few seconds later, Olivia exited through the doors. She bounded up to them humming one of the songs she preferred.
“Hey, sweetie.” Olivia kissed Lexi on the cheek. Her eyes were glazed over, and she smelled strongly of beer and secondhand smoke. Before Lexi had a chance to respond, she stumbled along after the rest of the group.
“I guess she’s a bit drunk,” Lexi said.
“A bit?” he questioned with a smirk. “Hold on one second.” He directed his attention on his friends hovering behind him. “Hey guys, I’ll meet you at Chamber. I think Chasity said she was working.”
Nodding, the three guys disappeared down the street leaving Jack and Lexi alone.
“I’m not sure what my friends are doing,” she said. The group she had arrived with were stumbling around outside with Nick and Neal at the center. “But by the look of things, I’m going to have to carry half of them home.” At only a couple inches over five feet, that really would be a feat. “I should go catch up with them before they get into any trouble.”
“My friends are probably lost without me too,” he said.
“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked, not anxious to leave his presence.
“Are you studying tomorrow?” he countered flirtatiously.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Definitely.”
“Then, I should be there.”
She stood with him another second taking in his near flawless appearance. The dark snug-fit jeans, a black button-up rolled to his elbows, and worn navy Chuck Taylors. He was taller than her by a lot with a well-toned muscular physique. She figured she wouldn’t be able to reach his lips if she stood on her tip-toes, but he was strong enough to pick her up to them. Quickly pushing the idea out of her mind, she snapped herself back to reality.
“Guess I’ll see you there.”
“Sounds good,” he said.
She turned and began to walk down the alleyway toward her friends. After a few steps, Jack called out to her and jogged toward her. She turned on her high heels in surprise.
“I know you have to study tomorrow, but what are you doing Friday?”
She paused, giving enough time to make it seem like she was considering her schedule. “I don’t have any plans.”
“Do you want to hang out?”
She nodded giddily. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Friday night, Lexi found herself pacing her tiny dorm room, twining her dark curls around her fingers. The room was nothing special, but she and Jennifer made it look the best they could with the space provided.
Two beds were lofted on opposite sides of the room. Lexi’s side of the room was covered in red-and-black Georgia stuff along with a selection of her favorite books and textbooks. Jennifer’s side was hot pink and lined with sorority initiation paraphernalia that made Lexi roll her eyes every time she glanced over there.
“Jen, do I look okay?”
Jennifer gave her a once-over. Lexi wore black, slightly-worn, skinny jeans, a pale green camisole with lace-trim, and black thong sandals that tied around her ankle. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with the dark bouncing curls streaming out of the rubber band.
“Hmm,” Jennifer murmured. She tilted her head to the side, before turning back to her Latin homework spread out across the futon.
- Writer
