Roses & Ruin

Chapter 15 (Anthony)

Fuck, she's got this book and you can tell it's been properly delved into because it's all dog-eared, right? And she reads it in a way that makes it look like sex. Like slow, sexy sex that I just cannot look away from.

"'Pretty girls make graves', he said. Isn't that such a great line?" Lexi finally dropped the book in front of her and leaned into her hand again. Looking closely at me. Making me wanna find something interesting to respond to. Instead I was lame and went for smooth talk.

"You must run a whole damn cemetery then" I smirked at her. She chuckled, but I doubt she felt impressed in any way. Why the hell should I care about that?! I don't.

         "Anyways, lust, birth, suffering, death...maybe I'm just jazzed because of the women's rally I went to. I get real jazzed when something I read accidentally coincides with what's happening in my present life" she leaned back in her burgundy booth seat and waved her hand at the man behind the bar. "Order something" she tipped her head at me. I didn't even get to make a comment on what she'd just been saying. Rally?

"He already knows what I like," she told me. "Come here often then?"

Lexi lifted one thin shoulder into a shrug. 

"They don't check ID here, since I lost mine if you remember, I figured this was a good place to go. Plus, he lets me come in here to eat. You wouldn't think it by the look of this place, but it's actually really good" she assured me. "I ate before I came, but I'll grab our drinks," I told her.

I wonder how often she comes here or how she even found this place to begin with. I guess I could ask her. Make conversation and all that.

-

        Lexi and I both had a beer, but I don't like drinking heavy beers right before I take a girl to bed. It's too filling and what I wanna do to her requires a settled stomach. Still, it was just one light beer and then we took a card outta the boozehounds book and finished it with a whiskey chaser.

Our conversation had been easy. I didn't anticipate it being this easy seeing as neither of us like answering personal questions.

We talked about everything else though, and I realize there's plenty to talk about if not ourselves. Plenty more than ourselves. And that's what Lexi said she likes talking about. 

        She'd just finished telling me about some woman's rally she'd been to. She had a lot to say about it too. Intelligent things. Impressive things. She's nothing like anyone I've ever associated myself with. Not even close. And when she talked about the abortion law all I could do was think of my cousin and her current circumstances. Lexi has no idea how relevant her interests are to my life right now. 

She also talked about objectification. 

"It's not my job to disprove the sexist man. We live despite the male gaze" I heard her finish off her statement from what we'd been talking about before. 

I didn't mean to be a fool and stare at the girl, but I did take a pause. Lexi was absentmindedly twisting her shot glass around as she spoke. Her shirt was too big for her petite frame so every once in a while she'd shrug one shoulder to fix it in place. 

"What?" She asked when she noticed my staring. I cleared my throat and tried for smooth. I think I'm a little late for that. "Nothin'" I tried to lean back in the booth with ease, but those chlorine blue eyes can be brutal for your attention. 

        "I just learned a thing or two, is all. You talking about self worth and sex appeal being two different things.. and guys being stupid and getting the two confused and all...I think I focus a lot on looks and not enough on the other stuff. I don't wanna be a prick, but getting into strictly physical relationships kinda pushes the obvious focus to be the physical, ya know?" I sounded like a fucking idiot. I cringed at myself but Lexi considered my words.