Little Lexi || DDLG

Chapter 6

A/N: updated as of 5/28/2020

At lunch, I meet up with Rachel at our usual table and explain what's going to happen after school. "Here are the keys. Please don't wreck my car," I plead as I hand her the keys.

She rolls her eyes. "Lexi, I've never been in an accident and it's like a six minute drive from here to your house. I'll be fine."

I stare at her. "Do you even know how to use the turn signal?"

Rachel laughs. "Yeah, it's the knob next to the other knob." I spend the rest of the lunch period confirming that she does, in fact, know how to use a turn signal, but I worry for the rest of the school day about the fate of my poor car. 

Before I know it, the last bell has rung and I walk upstairs to James's classroom. When I arrive, he's tidying up his desk and looks up as I step into the room. "Hey, Lexi," he greets me, his deep voice making me want to squeal and/or pass out. "Have you gotten everything settled with Miss Tyler?"

"Yeah, I talked to her at lunch."

 James shoulders his grey messenger bag and smiles. "Ready?" he asks.

I take a deep breath and smile back. "Ready." We walk down the stairs and out a side door that lets out to the teachers' parking lot. I'm conscious of the stares that we get the whole way, mostly from girls who begin to whisper to each other as they see us walking together.

"What's our cover story?" I ask quietly as we cross the lot, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Hmm?" James says, looking down at me. He's actually quite a lot taller than me.

"I mean, what's our excuse if someone questions why we're driving off together," I say, keeping my voice low.

He takes a moment to think while he leads me to a nondescript silver BMW. "Well...I'm driving you home because Rachel needed to take your car for some reason and you have an injured ankle." He unlocks the car and opens the passenger door for me like a true gentleman. I smile gratefully as I slide in.

The interior of James's car is incredibly clean, save for the backseat where piles of books are haphazardly stacked. I pick one up titled My Family and Other Animals and leaf through it as he slides into the driver's seat. "Quite a collection you've got back there," I comment.

James chuckles. "It's basically my mobile library. I always take books in the car but I can never remember to put them back once I'm home." He starts the car and we make the short drive to Carafe, a local café.

As James cruises the parking lot trying to find a spot, I spy several cars belonging to some of my peers. Seeing this, my fear comes back full force.

"James, there are people from school  here," I say, my voice shaking slightly. "They could see us."

James parks and turns to me. "It'll be okay," he reassures me. "The worst-case scenario is that someone does see us having coffee together, and they'll probably assume that we're just discussing something related to school."

I understand what he's saying but I can't stop myself from imagining the worst as I look down at my lap, and my hands start to shake. James notices this and cups my chin gently with one hand, tilting my chin up and forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Trust me, Lexi," he says softly, his blue-grey eyes warm and sincere. "I would never deliberately put you in any kind of danger."

I take a short breath. "Okay," I say, biting my lip. James runs his thumb across my bottom lip, and some of my tenseness seems to melt away.