Page 77 of Lightning Angel
How could she? He told her helovedher. It was something Alexa couldn’t simply brush aside. It bothered her, stole her sleep, and left her with baggy eyes in the morning that Daphne saw through her makeup, causing her to bombard her with concerned questions. Of course, she didn’t keep her best friend in the dark. She told her about Tristan’s confession and everything else that she could share without tangling with his secret.
Daphne had been in a stupor for a long minute, and then she reacted just like Cassie had, saying he might be her true love after all. Alexa, despite her stomach flipping pleasantly, had rolled her eyes in ignorance.
A part of her was guilty for the accusations she threw at his face, the one who had been her knight in shining armor and saved her life from a terrible fate. Another part of her was uncertain what to feel. In fact, Alexa didn’t knowwhatshe felt about his confession other than that she was shaken. Recalling his words made her insides tingle, especially the fire in his eyes, and she’d curl her fingers on whatever she was gripping.
Realizing she was doing it right now, Alexa unflexed her fingers and pasted on a smile before switching on her barista mode.
When her shift was over, Alexa exited the café through the back. Her mind made up an illusion of Tristan leaning against the wall and his face lighting up with a smile as he saw her, like yesterday. But she blinkedto dispel it and approached her scooter, unlocking it and pushing it onto the sidewalk. She was about to ride away when her eyes hooked on a certain figure on the opposite sidewalk across the road.
Clad in black, with his enigmatic allure, stood Tristan. His intense gaze was already on her.
Alexa’s breath hitched. Her surroundings blurred as their eyes locked, despite the distance separating them and the people and vehicles passing between.
Even from this far, she could tell his face looked unreadable. And for a long minute, all they did was stare at one another. He didn’t move, neither did she. Until a huge van passed by and blocked her view of him.
Alexa looked away and took in a breath and another. She looked back at him. He was still there, standing as still as a statue, unfailingly a welcome sight.
She looked away again, feeling like she was under some sort of pressure. She couldn’t stand there anymore. Not sparing him another glance, she pushed her scooter into moving.
Surprisingly, the fact that he was stalking herright nowdidn’t bother her. Then, what did? She didn’t know.
Two days passed after that.
Tristan hadn’t messaged her again, and she hadn’t seen him watching her from far away either. A nasty voice in her head said that she wouldn’t know it if he were with her, standing next to her, but she admonished the thought immediately. No matter what, she trusted his words; he was a gentleman, and that he had never once intruded on her privacy or invaded her personal space.
Alexa leaned back in the passenger seat in Daphne’s car and ran her hands through her hair. She was growingfrustrated day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Tristan’s face refused to leave her mind’s eye, his words refused to fade from her ears, and he was driving her crazy.
She dropped her hands to her lap and looked out the window. The cheer team meeting was holding up Daphne and she had asked Alexa to wait in the car.
Suddenly, Jude entered the line of her sight across the parking lot. He walked to his red Lamborghini, opened the driver’s door, and as he was about to get in, his eyes latched onto her direction.
Alexa didn’t look away. It would be a coward’s act. Instead, she lifted her chin and stared back defiantly. Jude hesitated, holding the door, almost like he wanted to shut it and come to her. But he gave up, his shoulders slumping slightly, and looked away with pursed lips before getting behind the wheel.
Good. He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now.
As he drove away, Alexa stared out at the sky overhead. Rain clouds were being gathered by the wind, covering most of the clear sky. A tingle of concern tickled her for Tristan. Would there be a thunderstorm tonight? She hoped there wouldn’t.
She fished out her phone and her fingers tapped all the right tabs absently that led her to Tristan’s chat, to reread his message.
His invitation for explanations tempted her. She wanted to know why he said he loved her, and how it happened.
Suddenly, the driver’s door opened and Daphne jumped in, nearly startling Alexa. “Tristan?” she asked,tossing her bag to the back.
“Tristan?” Alexa parroted incredulously, ignoring how her heart made a jump.
Daphne jerked her chin at Alexa’s phone before she started the engine, as if to ask she were texting him.
“No,” Alexa said, a bit too defensively, and pressed the screen to her chest. “We’re not texting.”
“I can’t believe you’re keeping a hot guy onread.” Daphne rolled her eyes, emphasizing the last word, and drove them out of the parking lot.
“You haven’t seen him yet, Daph.”
“No, but your descriptions have been enough—well, almost.” She shrugged. “How long are you planning on keeping this up?”
Alexa groaned and threw back her head. “Can we not talk about him?”
“You’re acting like a coward, you know that? The LexIknow has never cowered from anyone, especially not from boys. So what has you cowering from Tristan? Because he’s drop dead gorgeous and you can’t handle yourself around him?”