COMING HOME

Chapter Five

Lexie

You have got to be kidding me. How the hell did he find out where I worked? It's been two weeks, I was starting to think I was in the clear. He just had to come and mess that up, and my hand along with it. Well the hand was probably my fault, but since I'm mad at him I'll just blame him for it. After walking off I head back to the cafeteria because I dropped my yogurt and don’t want to risk the chance of seeing him again. As I'm walking back I can feel someone watching me. I start to think he's following me but when I turn I notice Jen, one of the other nurses, is looking at me and walking in my direction. She's a pretty blonde with long hair, a nice body, and all of the guys here are going crazy trying to get her attention most of the time.

"Who was that, and where did you find him so I can go get me one?" She's smiling way too hard. It's making her look a little creepy.

"Just someone I use to know." I reply.

"Use to or still do? Because the way he was holding your hand, and how close he was, makes me think you still might." s**t she saw that? I wonder if she saw me hit him too. I don’t want to ask her though just in case she didn't. Luckily for me she doesn’t give me the chance to reply.

"He is sexy. When he saw you he practically shoved Brenda out of the way so he could get to you. Then as we were walking by we saw you guys holding hands. O-M-G! You guys looked adorable!" She thinks we're together, great!

"And I also heard he was here for an interview. How cute is that? He probably wants to work somewhere close to you!" I don’t know what to say, I know my face must give a really confused look because I had no idea he was here for an interview. If he gets hired, I might need to find a new job. I'll end up breaking both of my hands punching him and the sluts who come near him. Crap, I need to stop my way of thinking because I don’t like where it's going. He isn't mine and I refuse to get jealous.

"I didn't even know he was here."

"Oops! Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise. I'm sorry, but how freakin' lucky are you?" I want to say I'm not lucky at all, that he's here to make my life hell but I decide against it.

"Oh yea, pretty lucky." I guess I'm lying to myself now as well.

"Well anyways, I gotta go. But if he has any friends as hot as him send them my way will ya?" I just nod at her, and we both go our separate ways. Is this day over yet? I need a drink. The rest of the day is uneventful and I'm grateful for that. I'm finally off and I can’t wait to get home, have a glass of wine, and watch dumb TV shows until I fall sleep.

Once i’m done with my shift I head towards my car, and dig for my keys in my pocket when the driver side door to the car next to me opens. I jump a little, but try to act like I'm paying no mind to who it is until I hear feet moving in my direction. Being the paranoid person I am, I start getting nervous and reach for my pepper spray just in case I need it. My heart is beating faster and my palms begin to sweat.

"Hey" I hear a voice, and I recognize it instantly. I don’t know whether to put my pepper spray away or use it, and say I didn’t know it was him.

"Are you stalking me?" I turn around to face him. I can hear the annoyance in my voice and I hope he can hear it too. He's not in the same clothes he was in earlier. Now he's wearing black sweats, a grey V-neck t-shirt, and black with grey Nike shocks. I can see the tribal tattoo on his arm and what looks to be part of the same tattoo peeking out from his chest where the V part of his shirt is. The shirt is tight enough to see that he is very well built, and I can't help but stare a little. He looks completely different than he did this afternoon, but by no means in a bad way. Earlier he was wearing a red button down and slacks, he looked professional. Now he just looks comfortable.

"No, I came back to see if you wanted to grab dinner?" He looks almost embarrassed to ask. He just doesn’t quit, and I don’t know how long I'm going to be able to keep rejecting him. The pull I felt towards him years ago is still there, no matter how much I wish it wasn't. My heart is still beating faster that it should, but it's no longer from being scared. Him being this close has me feeling like an in love school girl, butterflies and all. I'm just glad I'm good at keeping a straight face, he doesn't need to know that he still has that effect on me.

"It's almost midnight."

"Breakfast then, my treat?" He smiles at me and I swear I almost give in. This man is beautiful, he's like my very own beautiful nightmare.

"Why should I go? How did you know what time I was getting off?" I won’t be surprised if he knows where I live already also.

"One of your friends told me when I brought up that I wanted to surprise you after work." Of course, those romantic loonies I call co-workers told him. I bet they're going to bombard me with questions when I come back to work.

"So, what do you say? It could be my apology breakfast since you punched me in the face." He has the nerve to smirk while pointing at his chin. I was starting to feel better about punching him earlier until I see the bruise forming on his jawline. Now I feel an ass again. I could barely get him out of my head today. The way he massaged my hand like he used to after practices with my dad, brought back so many memories.

"You deserved to be punched. What you said was inappropriate. I should punch you again for talking nonsense now." He reaches out for my waist and I slap his arms away.

"No."

"Please? I'll keep my hands to myself if you say yes. If you say no, I'll come to your job and wait for you every night until you say yes." How am I going to get out of this? I don’t want him harassing me every night. I could blow him off, but he did promise to keep his hands to himself. Food really does sound good right now, but do I have the energy to deal with him? What if he doesn’t keep his promise? I need a plan, I start running ideas through my mind and then it comes to me.

"Fine, I'll follow you in my car. We won't be riding together." The smile on his face falls as soon as I say we won’t be riding together.

"Take it or leave it." I stand my ground.

"Fine but I'll follow you, just in case you try to make a run for it." Damn it. How did he know that’s what I was thinking?

"I know you Lexie. I still remember when you told a guy you would follow them, then went the completely opposite direction." I have to laugh at that because I remember that day too.

"Of course you do, you were THAT guy."

"Yea won't make that mistake again. Come on babe, I'm hungry."

"Don’t call me that." The smile brought on by that memory falls right off my face when he calls me babe.

He puts his hands up in surrender and then motions for me to get in my car. I unlock my doors and hop in. I'm putting on my seatbelt when my passenger door opens and Elijah gets in, and smiles as he puts on his seatbelt.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting on my seatbelt, safety first." Smart ass.

"This wasn’t the deal. Get out."

"Like I said I'm not falling for that again, now come on I'm hungry." I sit in my car for a minute trying to figure out what I've done. Do I want to fight him on this or just let it go? Ugh! I put the key into the ignition, turn my car on, and start heading towards the nearest breakfast place.

The drive to The Breakfast House isn’t so bad. Probably because as soon as I can, I turn the music up and keep my eyes on the road. I do look over a few times and every time I look over, I catch him looking back at me, smiling. When we get to our destination, I turn the car off and while I'm grab my things, he comes around to open my door.

"My lady.." I have to roll my eyes at that one. He could be so corny at times.