“Yeah, the subway is a wild place, not for the faint of heart, but hey, if that’s how you want to spend this date, who am I to judge?” She shrugged and swiped her card, moving through the turnstile before I could pay for her.
I quickly caught up with her. “You should’ve let me pay for the subway.”
“Why? Listen, I let you get dinner, but just because we’re on a date, doesn’t mean you have to pay for everything or that I’m now suddenly helpless.”
I shook my head. “Believe me, I’d never call you helpless, but I want to take care of you tonight. Can you let me do that?”
“You’re really testing my limits, but I’ll try.”
As we approachedour final destination for the evening, a block away from where we got off the subway, I turned to watch Lexi’s reaction.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Lexi was bouncing up and down, clearly excited about our next activity. “I’ve always wanted to do this!”
After checking in at the front desk and securing ourselves a couple of drinks from the bar, we made our way to our assigned lane. While a staff member went over some instructions and did a brief demonstration, Lexi was practically chomping at the bit to get started. She bounced from one foot to the other, constantly moving.
“My turn?” she asked excitedly, when the staff member had finished their demonstration.
“Here ya go,” he said, handing Lexi the axe.
Lexi gripped it and gave me a wink.Oh, fuck, maybe handing her a weapon was a bad idea.
Thwack. Dead center. “Ha! You’re going down, Brando!”
33
LEXI
“Ican’t believe he bought you a fucking cabin?”
Daphne’s laugh echoed throughout the cabin. “He didn’t buymea cabin. It’s an investment.”
“Bullshit, girlie pop. Nate Dog’s got it bad for you.” The cabin was amazing—the perfect retreat from the city. We were going to have so much fun here in the summer. I was looking out the back window, imagining myself floating on a raft in the middle of the lake, when Daphne came to stand next to me.
“It’s pretty great, huh?”
“It’s perfect. I can’t wait for summer. You, me, floaties, and margs. Say less!” I wrapped an arm around my bestie. She invited me here for a girls’ weekend to help her get the place ready for Christmas, and I was more than willing to help. But we also needed this time to reconnect. My little menty b last winter put too much space between us bothphysically and emotionally, and I thought it was about time for me to come clean. The Lexi that pushed people away was on her way out, never to be seen again. At least I hoped so.
“Fall will always be my favorite, but you’re right, I’m excited for summers here too.” Daphne moved into the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
I joined her in the large open kitchen. “Nah, I’m good for now. So, what’s our plan of attack?”
“Let’s get all the stuff out of the car first, and then I can figure out where everything will go.”
Hours later,we’d put a pretty significant dent in the decorations, but still had half-full boxes of decor strewn about the space.
“Okay, I’m toast. How about we call it for today?” Daphne said as she plopped onto the couch.
“Sounds good to me. I think it’s wine-o’clock anyway.” I called from the kitchen, where I was already uncorking a bottle of our favorite red.
“Yes, please! We deserve it.”
I handed Daphne her glass and joined her on the couch. “The place looks great, Daphne, really. And I’m so happy for you.” I raised my glass. “Here’s to you and Nate Dog and your beautiful future.”
Daphne eyed me suspiciously, but clinked her glass against mine. “California changed you.”
“What do you mean?” I wondered if she really saw a difference in me since I’d gone away.
“Babe, I love you, but something’s been up with you for a while. You up and left in March and haven’t really been yourself since. And now a toast to me, Nathan and our beautiful life? Come on. Spill it. What’s going on with you?”
