I wrap a blanket around her and I’m about to lead her over to a couch toward the back when she stops me and pulls me back. Dropping the blanket, she wraps her arms around my neck. “Dance with me?”
“How could I ever say no to you? You saved me, Lex.”
“It’s not over.”
“It never will be, but at least I’m not alone in the dark anymore.”
We dance for an eternity, with me running over and changing the records when they’d end. Every time I run back to her, she’s full of giggles and kisses and warmth. I’m in my studio and for the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to be genuinely happy. I’ve found the darkness where I belong, the shadows that will highlight the beauty around me and let me fall in love with it over and over. In love with her.
“I wish my dad was here to see this. Not the sex or us naked?—”
“I know what you mean. I do.”
“Oh, wait!” I lift her bridal style and carry her over to the couch. I pull on my jeans and dig through a couple of boxes until I find what I’m looking for. “If we’re celebrating in the studio, we have to do it right. Do you prefer scotch or whiskey? Or I can run into the house and find some wine—if Natalie hasn’t drunk it all yet.”
“Whiskey!”
“That’s my girl.” I curl up with her on the couch and we take turns drinking straight from the bottle, laughing and falling deeper in love into the early hours of the morning.
CHAPTER31
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
??? FIONA APPLE
We stumbleout of the house and into the ride share. It’s been a rough few weeks with me fighting the depression and getting back into our work, but Lexi has been there every step of the way. She’s spent the time in the house with me, avoiding the apartment whenever she could and not answering her phone. The only time she leaves is to drop things off with Sam.
We’ve spent almost every night in the studio, sleeping on the couch until I had Chase come over and help me move a spare mattress. The time has been about healing and getting to know each other. What could have easily torn us apart has brought us closer together. Our demons, it seems, have a way of playing well together.
I’ve set her up at Dad’s old station so we can work together, too. It’s like she’s always belonged there. I also have roll after roll of her covered in paint or other supplies after we’ve had sex. While I’m eager to develop those, my favorite part is lying in bed together while we work. Sam was right. Her designs and my photos are coming together to create a beautiful thing, like us.
“Hey, good morning. I’m your Lyft driver. There’s water under the seat there if you want it and plugs for?—”
“Oh my god, yes,” Lexi grabs for the water like it’s gold, ripping the cap off and guzzling half of it down before handing it to me.
“Hey man,” my voice cracks and sounds like gravel from smoking more weed than usual. We’re thinking of switching to edibles simply because they hurt less. “I promise we’ll be the easiest ride you have all week and a cash tip for you if you turn the music down a few notches.”
“Oh, yeah, sure, no problem.” He turns the dial down and pops the center console open, handing a pair of cheap sunglasses back. “Looks like she might have forgotten hers.”
“Five stars all the way, man, and a ten-page novel of a review about how excellent you are,” I say as I slide the glasses over her face. “Here you go, beautiful.”
She doesn’t say a word, just curls up against me and drapes my arm over her. She’s soft snoring before the car leaves our driveway, so I kiss her head and stare out the window, watching the buildings merge into one another. Because of everything going on in our lives, we didn’t get to do as many trips as I’d hoped. Sam loves what we’ve gotten around town, though, and promised us more work together. This day trip is the last one before we hand everything over for the big presentation next week. Lexi wants to head to San Francisco after we’re done—no phone, no laptops, and no work, only us. I haven’t told her, but I already booked the rooms and have the entire trip planned out. I spent half of the bonus Sam gave us on it, because fuck bills.
I also spent some of the money on a ring. It’s not diamonds, but it’s more Lexi—cherry blossoms and pink gems.
We pull up to Union Station and exit even less gracefully than we entered the car. We somehow get inside without tripping over each other, and we both stop, staring up at the large signs that try to tell us which way we need to go. Hieroglyphs might be easier this morning.
We get lost three times before we find the right train, but still get a table with a set of seats on either side. Since the train isn’t as busy as I had expected, we put our bags on one side of the table and sit on the other. Lexi makes me sit against the window to block the sun, then she cuddles against me and falls back asleep before the train leaves the station.
I work on Lexi’s laptop, making quick work of sorting the images we have from our other shoots and getting the next wave of files labeled and set up. It’s about five stops into the ride when Lexi finally straightens up and stretches her arms above her head, so I sneak a kiss on her cheek.
“What the…” she pulls the sunglasses off her face. “Where the hell did I get these? Please tell me I didn’t buy these from one of those overpriced gas stations?”
“Oh, absolutely not. No, you stole them from a homeless guy after smacking his ass. After that, you ran like a squirrel across traffic, screaming something about the Mandela effect. Don’t worry, I recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube. You’re a viral hit. I’ve booked you on the morning news show.”
She stares at me with eyes wider than any anime character I’ve ever seen and I can’t hold it in. She smacks me hard, and I deserved it.
“Asshole.”
