Page 55 of Better Together

“The girls are at Mom’s all night, right?” Zeke asked his brother with a knowing grin.

Alexis watched Roman shift slightly, swallow his beer, and ask, “Anyone else need a refill?”

They all raised their glasses. “I’ll go with you,” Owen said.

Zeke kissed Alexis on the cheek. “I’ll help,” he said and followed Roman and Owen to the bar.

Lily, with a drink in one hand and her genie bottle in the other, rejoined their group. “Any possible prospects, Chloe?” Lily asked.

“Not really. How about you?”

“No. Most of these guys I’ve waited on at Rosie’s. The others all have dates.”

Maggie pointed at the bar. “Alexis? Isn’t that Raven?”

Raven, dressed as Elvira, stood too close to Zeke. “Yep. That’s her. Excuse me, girls,” Alexis said and started for the bar. Raven grabbed Zeke and laid a sensual kiss on his lips.

Alexis stopped and stared, watching the scene unfold in front of her. Zeke grabbed Raven’s upper arms and shoved her back. “What the hell?”

Raven placed a finger to her lips and smirked at Alexis. Zeke appeared stunned.

Zeke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and followed Raven’s gaze. Furious, he rushed to Alexis.

“That is not what it looked like,” he said when he reached her.

“Are you sure? It looked like she ambushed you and you pushed her away.”

“Okay, well, yeah.” Zeke ran his hand through his dreadlocks. His fingers momentarily got stuck in the wig. “Then I guess it was what it looked like.”

“How about we get another drink,” Alexis said.

“Yeah?” He gathered her close. “Up for a dance?”

“Sure, but you may want to wash off the bright red lipstick.” Alexis pulled a tissue from between her breasts, and he accepted it with a grimace.

“What else do you have in there?”

“Maybe you’ll find out later.”

Maggie and the rest of Alexis’s girlfriends approached them.

“Want me to make her worst nightmare come true?” Lily asked Alexis with evil in her eyes.

“No. It’s fine, Lily. She did it to make me angry. I won’t let her ruin my night.”

* * *

Alexis seemed to retreat more and more as the night went on. When she and Zeke arrived back at her house, his phone rang. It took a while to disengage the device from all the layers of his costume. He answered, “This is Zeke.”

“Zeke. It’s Luke. Is this a bad time?” Alexis had gone into her bedroom to change. He whipped off his wig and placed it on the living room table. “No. What’s up?”

“Any chance you could join a few of the guys in Minneapolis for two days? I have a job that pays well. Figured you might want the extra cash for your current project.”

Zeke scratched his goatee. “When do I need to be there?”

“By Thursday. You’d be back home by Monday.”

Alexis came out of her bedroom, sans makeup and in her pajamas. She glanced at him, sadness in her eyes.