I stare out at her, speechless.
“Do you know how much this window costs?!” Fancy Car Guy shouts.
“I’d rather pay for a new window than have my friend pass out from overheating!” she retorts. And in that moment, I believe her.
“Just wait! Okay? I’ll—I’ll call the tow truck! The fire department! Anything! Just don’t hurt my car,” he begs, voice hitching.
Slowly, Lex lowers the rock. “You have ten minutes, and if nobody’s on their way I’m breaking down the damn door. Do you understand?”
His bottom lip trembles. “Yes, ma’am.”
Lex drops the rock and makes her way around to my side of the car, reaching her fingers through the crack in the window. I touch my fingers to hers, and even though it’s the slightest point of contact it makes me feel a hundred times better.
As Fancy Car Guy relays instructions to the 911 operator, Lex holds my gaze through the glass.
“You okay in there? Can I get you some water? A snack? Anything?” she asks, her eyes fiercely protective.
“No, just stay here with me,” I manage. She has no idea how much she’s helping just bybeingthere.
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” Lex says, and my heart squeezes. I trust her completely. She doesn’t let me go, even with the sun beating down on her so intensely that a trickle of sweat forms on her brow and drips along the side of her face.
Thankfully, help arrives fifteen minutes later—the fire department, a tow truck,andthe McLaren repair technicians all at the same time. It takes them all of two minutes to pop the hood and reconnect the wire, which allows the car to start and the doors to open.
I practically leap into Lex’s arms. Both of our bodies are hotand sweaty, but I don’t care. Her clammy grasp may as well be a cold drink of water. I nuzzle my face into her neck and breathe her in as Lex rubs calming circles over my back.
After checking in with the fire department and assuring them that I’m okay, we leave Fancy Car Guy to deal with the chaos of all the emergency vehicles and walk back to Lex’s car, which, thank god, she’d had the foresight to use her auto-start function on and cranked the air conditioning.
For the longest moment we just sit there, cold air blasting over us, as the date sinks in. Finally, I ask, “You weren’t really going to break that guy’s window, were you?”
“Me? No. I knew he’d do the right thing.” Lex rubs the back of her neck, which I’m assuming is her tell. I’ve never known her to lie before, so it’s good to know that when she does, I can spot it from a mile away.
“Mm-hm, sure.” I nudge her with my elbow.
“Cheeseburgers?” Lex asks, changing the topic. My stomach rumbles in response. Lex gives me a smile before backing out of the parking lot and navigating us around the chaos of yet another ruined date.
chapter twelve
But Wait, There’s More
“Alright, I think we have enough,” Lex states while looking at her notes from the other side of the booth one week later. We’re curled up in the corner of a trendy downtown patio with string lights overhead, bushels of green plants strategically placed to give the illusion of privacy, and a guitarist in the corner strumming covers of Coldplay.
“Thank fuck,” I say, throwing my hands in the air.
“I’d like to gather more data,” she says, tapping a pen against her bottom lip, “but I’m running out of decent guys to match with.”
“What!”
“I’m getting better at finding red flags. The risk is too high,” she explains.
“No more unicorn emojis?” I smile into my drink.
Lex rolls her eyes, failing to hide her dimples. “No more unicorn emojis. Speaking of which, has your mom reached out to you since?”
I set my drink down and slump in my chair, my good mooddraining out of me. “No. She hasn’t. Not that I’m surprised. I should probably call her again—or text her, as she requested. Get together for lunch or something.”
Lex thinks for a long moment. “You know... just because she’s your mom doesn’t mean you have to force a relationship with her.”
“I’m her only family. I should put in some effort, shouldn’t I?”