When Judd Meets Lexi

24

Judd

"Ready to go?" I ask Lexi, and she tells me she is. We get in the truck and she gives me a kiss, my hand steering us to get to my parent's house.

We were invited to dinner to celebrate Hadley finishing up her sophomore year, so we were all invited over for dinner.

"I'm excited to see your family again," Lexi tells me, my lips curving. I love how close she's gotten to my family.

"I miss them. Haven't seen them since February," I say, and she grabs my hand.

When I pull up to the house, I see an unfamiliar car in the driveway and I park.

"I have no idea whose car that is," I say, and Lexi shrugs. We get out of the truck, my hand shutting the door. My hand grabs Lexi's as we walk into the house, my arms wrapping around my mom as she greets us. I hug my dad next and I look at the two.

"Whose car is that?" I ask, and my eyes land on Hadley. Next to her is a man and my eyes blow wide.

"Hank?" I wonder, and he nods. I look between the two of them and I clench my jaw, immediately figuring it out.

"Fuck no!" I yell, rushing up to him. My dad grabs my arm and I shove him off, charging at Hank.

"You stay off my sister!" I state, my dad pushing me outside the second my I'm by Hank. Hank follows and I grab his shirt again, Hadley yelling at me. My parents are too but I'm ready to rip him up. Who the fuck does he think he is? Dating my sister of all people; what a fucked up turn of events.

"Dude, stop. I'm not gonna hurt her," Hank tries, shoving me off. But I'm shoving him again and then I feel what can only be my dad rip me off. My chest is heaving and I feel two hands on my abdomen, my jaw clenched as I'm ready to kill Hank.

"Judd, stop," I hear, my eyes looking down. Lexi's doe eyes lock on mine and I start to calm down. Hadley is talking with Hank and I try to focus my attention anywhere

"Come on," Lexi says, grabbing my arm. She pulls me into the garage and I run my hand through my hair, turning around and getting ready to go back and punch him.

"No, no, Judd," she calls, grabbing my arm again and pulling me into her.

"Lexi, I'm ready to fucking kill him," I explain and she grabs my hands. I start to calm down and she looks up at me, my hands tightening on hers.

"I know you're upset but please calm down," she tries and I nod, my hands tugged to go out to the backyard. I take a seat on the steps to the porch and she stands in front of me.

"I don't know how the fuck he even met her. What the fuck?" I groan, running my hands over my face. She grabs my head and kisses the top of my head.

"His sister's Hadley's roommate," she whispers, my head lifting. She looks away from me for a moment and I stand up.

"You knew," I state firmly, poking her chest. "You fucking knew and didn't tell me?!"

"Yes I knew but it wasn't my place to say," she says calmly, my anger boiling over. My own girlfriend hid the fact that one of my friends is dating my sister.

"How long?" I ask, her lower lip taken between her teeth.

"Couple months," she nonchalantly adds, my eyes widening.

"A couple months?!" I yell, and she pushes me to sit down.

"Yes. You need to knock it off and be supportive. She's 20 years old. She's going to start dating people," she tells me, my lips pursed.

"It's my friend," I remind her, her body sitting beside mine. Her arm wraps around me and I feel her fingers run through my hair.

"I understand that Judd. But let her live. Who knows where this will go and what it will end up as? You just need to take into consideration that her feelings matter, and if she's happy, you need to let her be even if this bothers up because it's your friend."

I wrap my arm around her and pull her close, knowing she has a point. It's always been my job to protect her, but I start thinking about the situation a bit. If my dad has allowed him to be in the house, I guess I should be okay with it too. At least it's not Joe.

"So will you please be civil and give the guy a chance? At least it's not Joe," she tells me, making me snort. It's good to know we're on the same page with that one.

"I love you a lot," I remind her, and she kisses my cheek.

"And I love you too. And seeing you like that has me riled up so this dinner better go fast," Lexi says, standing up. My jaw drops and she winks at me, my hands grabbing hers once I stand. I kiss her and she laughs.

"I want it to go fast too, you know," I say, smirking down at her. She grabs my cheeks and smiles, her nose brushing mine.

"Which part?" she teases, and I grab her waist. I tug her up and she laughs on my lips, my arms tight around her.

"You know what I mean. Our night's just starting. And if you want, there's a spare room in this house," I grin as she laughs. I kiss her once more before we go into the house for what seems like a painfully long dinner.