13 Flames | gxg

3 - twister

i'm upstairs, i'll be down in a minute
Alex Robinson (chill bro)

Still in the taxi, I should be there soon
Brayden Price (surfer dude)

same^
Peyton Adams (hot)

i'm here, where are you?
Lexa Marshall (also hot)

I hear Chloe's voice in my ear. "Anyone there?"

"Yeah, but I don't know where. I'll text you, okay? Bye Chlo, love you."

"Love you too! Have fun little slut!" She hangs up.

I laugh to myself and pull my attention back to the room, trying to find Lexa. That's when I notice the girl sitting on the couch opposite me also looks around, her phone in her hand. She glances my way and we make eye contact. Oh, shit. It's her.

I stand and fake a smile, approaching her and the guy she was practically swallowing. "Hi, are you Lexa?" I call nicely.

"Yeah, Palmer right? It's so nice to finally meet you." She shakes my hand energetically and my eyes quickly pass across her body, taking her in. She's a couple inches shorter than me with straight, chestnut brown hair falling down her back. She wears a tight t-shirt with ripped jean shorts and black vans. I search her face for just a moment. Her skin is tan, her lips parted as she smiles and shimmering in a thin layer of gloss. My gaze reaches higher and my heart nearly skips a beat as I'm met with the intensity of her dark emerald eyes, highlighted with mascara and black eyeliner.

"You too," I respond politely. My gaze flickers to the curly-haired man beside her in a dark grey t-shirt and khaki shorts.

"Hi, I'm James, her fiancée." He shakes my hand. Lexa beams at him as he says it.

I notice the diamond sparkling on her left hand. That explains it. "Oh, congratulations! When's the wedding?"

They glance at each other, Lexa's smile faltering. "Um, we haven't decided yet, but I'll let you know." Her voice becomes quiet and her eyes drop to the floor before meeting mine.

I smile enthusiastically and stand there in awkward silence, realizing I said something stupid. Although it seemed like a perfectly reasonable question.

Alex said he was upstairs, where is he? I impatiently twirl one of my rings around my finger. "I'm just going to, uh, go sit and wait for everyone else," I manage as I point back towards the couch. Lexa nods silently so I step away and sit again, immediately texting Chloe.

chlocaine ;)

BITCH AJSKFDSJDHF

OMFG WHAT

straight couple PDAing all over the lobby?
the girl's my co-star
Lexa

asfgjasfgj the hot one???

yeah
and the engaged one

oh shit
marriage

i don't think she realized i saw her with her fiancée

oop
anyone else there yet?

alex said he was coming down from his room
i'll keep you updated

I leave the message app and go into contacts, changing Lexa's contact name: Lexa Marshall (also hot but engaged).

I look up from my phone as someone approaches. "Palmer, right? Alex." He holds his hand out sideways and I high five him before sliding back into a fist bump.

"Nice shirt." I gesture to the black t-shirt he's wearing, the word hi scribbled across the front in tiny, white handwriting.

He laughs. "Thank you, very eye-catching I know." He stands at least half a foot above me, his dark skin shining under the lights. His short black hair is cut into a fade on the sides. He wears dark green cargo pants and red Reebok sneakers. "Where's Lexa?"

I gesture behind him and they introduce themselves to each other. After introductions, James leans forward and speaks softly into Lexa's ear. She kisses him goodbye as he puts his hands on her waist.

Alex and I share a look as they continue to kiss. He raises his eyebrows and I shrug. Alex clears his throat and they finally get the hint, breaking apart.

"Bye, I love you," Lexa says.

"Love you too." James lets go of her hand and turns to leave, completely ignoring me and Alex. After he leaves I glance back to Lexa before sitting on the couch. Alex flops down to my right and Lexa sits on my left. We talk while we wait for the rest of the cast to show up.

"So, Palmer, you live in Boston? How was the flight?" Lexa asks.

"Yeah, it was okay. Except there was this old guy next to me who fell asleep after twenty minutes. And he snored. Loudly," I add with a sideways smile.

Both Lexa and Alex laugh. "What's Boston like? I've never left the West Coast," Alex tells me.

My eyes widen. "Wait, never? Not even New York?" He shakes his head. "I'll have to take you sometime. To both. Not really a New Yorker, though."

"I'll be your tour guide then," Lexa laughs. "I grew up there."

"Oh, cool," I respond with a smile. We keep talking, about where we grew up, about the show. Alex keeps making stupid jokes to get us to laugh. And Lexa, she's almost... different? I don't know how to explain it. But she seems brighter, more open, like she's not worrying about meeting any standards. Like before, she kept looking at her fiancée before she said anything. I bite my lip, staring off into space as my eyes unfocus on the side of her face.

"Palmer?" She waves a hand in front of my face. "You still with us?" She smiles, and I smile back.

"Yeah, sorry. Just...overthinking," I say slowly.

She gives a slight smile like she knows exactly what I mean. "Yeah. Me too."

I blink, hard, pulling my gaze from her green eyes as Alex makes another joke. I crack up laughing, elbowing him in the side.

The laughter trails off as we lean back, sitting in the comfortable background noise of the lobby as we wait for the rest of the cast to arrive.