Begin Again

Chapter 6

"Oh yeah? You're dating me?" She teases.

I smile and shrug, "Yeah, I mean, I don't just kiss anyone."

She laughs and leans in, kissing me hard and pulls away.

I stand up and grab her hand, pulling her to the door and grab my backpack.

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into me.

"I'll see you soon, like next weekend. And I'll call you. We can do FaceTime dinners." She whispers.

I nod, "Okay."

I open the door and lead her out to her car.

She rubs my cheek and presses another kiss to my lips.

"Have a safe flight."

She smiles, "I'll text you when we land. Have a good day at school."

I smile, "I will. Bye."

"Bye, Mack."

She gets into her car and I watch her pull away.

I shake my head.

'So smitten.'

Alex POV

Me: Hey. Call me when you get a chance.

I stare at the text that has no response and sigh.

"Hey Alex!" I turn and see Naomi.

"Hey."

"What's eating you?" She asks.

I smile, "Eh, nothing, just tired. Long travel day."

She nods, "Where's the little gremlin?"

I laugh, "She's snoozing, already."

"It's 7." She deadpans.

"I know! She's exhausted though. My dad is up in the room with her."

She nods and the elevator dings.

"Where you off to?" She asks.

"Just doing a walk before bed."

She smiles, "Nice. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, night Nay." I say and head towards the pool area.

I wander around and find a seat by the pool.

I'm staring at the sunset when my phone buzzes.

I look and see that it's Mack FaceTiming me.

I smile and answer it.

I see Riley pop up, "Hi, Alex!"

I chuckle, "Hey, Ry! How was your day?"

She lets out a breath, "Was okay, I got in trouble though."

"Oh? For what?" I ask.

"I pushed a boy down on the playground, but Alex, he said something mean about my momma!" She says.

My eyes widen.

"That had to make you really upset, huh Ry."

She nods, "Very upset."

I nod, "I get it. People say things about me or people I love that make me really upset too."

She stares at me, "What do you do?"

I take a deep breath, "I talk to someone about it. Someone that I trust and feel safe with."

I can see her thinking and she bobs her head, "I feel safe with mommy."