The next month had me falling into a routine. Monday to Friday, I'd leave my apartment around 7:15 to walk to the cafe Scott told me about my first Saturday in the city. I'd get a coffee and a muffin, eating the muffin as I walked to the university library. I'd arrive typically by 8:15 and have approximately 15 minutes to get ready for my day.
At the end of the day, I'd brief the overnight crew and walk home. Stopping for groceries or takeout for supper depending on my mood. Occasionally, I would see Scott in the hallway or the lobby, but he didn't seem to have any kind of normal hours. Thanks to my chronic insomnia, I sometimes heard him coming and going at all kinds of hours. We didn't really talk much, just a wave or a simple greeting.
It was boring. But right now, boring was exactly what the metaphorical doctor ordered. I was curled up on my saggy couch reading when I heard a commotion in the hallway.
Nah. Man. I'm telling you my cousin man. He told me that he was told by Ernest that Tina has this job in an arcade now. So, she was seeing this guy right. And that guy told her that someone told him that—
Luis, I swear, just skip all the unnecessary details and tell me what you are on about.
Smiling, I stood and walked over to the door, opening it to see an exasperated Scott standing at his door with a Hispanic man who must have been Luis.
I leaned against my door frame as the pair turned towards me. "Hey Scott."
HIs face brightened, "Lexi, hey."
The man standing next to him turned a wide-eyed look on Scott, speaking in a stage whisper, "This is her?"
Scott scowled at him before he turned to address me again. "Lexi, this is my buddy Luis. Luis, this is my new neighbor, Lexi."
"Nice to meet you, Luis."
Luis grinned, "Ah man, nah, it's nice to meet you. Scotty has told me a lot about you."
Scott elbowed him in the side, shaking his head, but the damage was already done. I tilted my head at him. "Oh, he has has he? What has he told you about me?"
A slightly panicked look crossed the man's face as his eyes darted between Scott and me. Then he turned towards me and opened his mouth, "Well, you see, Scotty here, he told me how you moved at the end of last month. You see, the guy who lived here before you, man he was a scary dude, right? And once he told me—-"
Bemused, I listened as Luis rattled on and on in one of the longest, most rambling answers to what should have been a pretty basic question. Scott just dropped his head into his hands as his friend continued. What had to be ten minutes later, Luis finally seemed to have reached the end of his story.
"-So anyway, what I'm saying is that Scotty here is a good guy."
I felt Luis's mind racing as it brushed against mine and was not the least bit surprised as his thoughts rambled and tumbled over each other. I decided I like this man. "Well, Luis, that is the impression I got."
Scott picked his head out of his hands and looked at me, such an earnest puppy dog look on his face that I had to internally roll my eyes.
"So, like, what are you doing tonight?" Luis asked.
"Excuse me?"
"You see, my man Scotty here and I are going out to this bar? It's owned by the girlfriend of my uncle's first wife's cousin twice removed."
I blinked, not really following what he was saying. "I'm sorry I don't understand?"
Scott huffed, "What he's trying to say is that we are going out tonight."
Luis turned towards him, "Nah man, I'm saying that your neighbor here should come out with us."
"Oh, no, she doesn't want to come out with us tonight." Scott answered automatically.
"She is right here and can answer for herself."
The pair looked at me, surprised. Scott was right. I didn't want to go out tonight, least of all with a man who was my soulmate. I opened my mouth, fully intending to confirm that, but what came out instead was, "You know what, I think I'd love that."
Luis broke out into a wide smile. "True?"
Laughing, I nodded, completely charmed by the man. He slapped a hand against Scott's chest, who was looking even more surprised than he was a second ago. "See Scotty, she wants to go with us."
"Are you leaving now, or do I have some time to change?"
Luis opened his mouth, but Scott slapped his hand over it. "Is thirty minutes good or do you need more time?"
I glanced down at myself before looking back up and saying, "Thirty minutes is great."
Scott watched as Lexi gave one more smile at him and Luis before she turned around and returned to her apartment. He still had his hand over Luis's mouth to keep it from running away again. He dropped it once her door shut, and the pair turned into Scott's apartment. Luis beamed at him.
"What?"
"See Scotty, all you had to do was ask her out man. She would have said yes." Luis was still grinning like an idiot.
"Geez, Luis, it's not a date! And I didn't even invite her. You did." Scott ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up. He looked down at his own outfit now, realizing that he wanted to wear something other than the jeans and ratty t-shirt he was currently wearing.
"I'm going to change." He wandered down the short hall to his bedroom and closed the door with a snap.
Luis grinned. It was about time that Scotty moved on from Hope. Not that there was anything wrong with her. She was a nice enough but also kind of scary. But Scotty loved her. Then she had found her soulmate and the relationship between Scott and her had deteriorated. It took a lot out of him. Scott was ready to give up on ever having the chance to find his soulmate. Now here she was.
Luis remembered that Scott had said something about how she had more than one soulmate, and he considered that for a moment. Did that mean that Scotty was also a soulmate to those others? Man, this soulmate thing, while normal, was complicated stuff.
Scott's bedroom door opened. He was wearing a nicer pair of jeans and a grey button-up shirt that he had rolled up to his elbows. Luis couldn't keep the silly grin off his face, and Scott scowled at him.
"What now?"
"Nothing man. You look good though."
Scott rolled his eyes. "Shut up Luis."
"What did I do? I'm just sayin' you look good."
"I said stop talking Luis."
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Scott went to answer it. He never truly grasped what the term 'took my breath away' actually was referring to until that moment. He literally felt like he had fallen from a height and his breath had been knocked out of him. Lexi had taken her hair down, leaving it to cascade down her back in soft waves. She was wearing a black pleated skirt and paired it with a simple blue shirt. To Scott, she was the most stunning woman he'd ever laid eyes on.
Scott was standing there in his doorway, looking like someone had slapped him in the face. I felt the smile on my face falter a bit as I looked down at myself again, reconsidering what I was wearing. Luis peaked around Scott's shoulder, nudging him. "Well man, why are you still standing there? Let's go."
Scott shook his head, like he was trying to dislodge an irksome fly and then that lopsided grin he had flashed up. He shuffled out of his door, Luis following close behind.
"So, is it within walking distance?" I asked as we headed out.
"Nah man, I mean ma'am, we are gonna take the van." Luis piped up.
I followed the guys around the corner, and Luis made a grand sweeping gesture with his hands. He was standing in front of an ugly brown 1972 Ford Ecoline. I eyed it, "Um. This looks like a murder van. You aren't planning on driving me somewhere deserted and murdering me, are you?"
Scott suddenly looked sheepish. "Sorry, uh, if you wanna back out, we'd understand."
I met his eyes, "Scott, relax, I was joking. It's fine. I just didn't know people still drove dinosaurs like this."
Luis held open the back passenger door, gesturing towards it. Clearly intending me to get in. Before I could, Scott shoved against Luis's shoulder, "Luis, she can sit shotgun."
Luis protested, "Awe man, bro, that's not fair. You know I get carsick."
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and I said that I was fine sitting in the back, but Scott cut me off, "Just get in the van Luis."
"Sure thing, sure thing, Scotty, don't blow a brain cell." Luis groused as he climbed into the van. Scott moved around the van and got into the driver's seat while I opened the passenger door and climbed in. Luis was leaning forward from the back, between the two seats. When I glanced into the back of the van, I saw a bunch of electrical supplies and other weird equipment.
I looked between the two men, "So uh...what do you use this van for?"
I watched as the two of them exchanged a look and then Luis said, "Well, you know, work."
"Uh-huh, and what is it exactly that you do for work?"
"Oh, we have a company called X-Con Security Consultants."
I turned towards Luis since he seemed to be in such a chatty Cathy. "So, you and Scott run a business together?"
"Oh, well, we used to see, but then Scotty started doing–" Scott loudly cleared his throat and Luis changed what he was going to say, "Ah, Scotty he started to do some classified security work and stuff."
"So, you just run it yourself, then?"
Luis shook his head, "Nah. Scott still is the boss. I just help run the day to day with our buddies Kurt and Dave."
Scott sighed, "I think they are more your friends than mine, Luis."
"Bro, don't be silly, you know you love them too."
I nodded, "And it's called X-Con because…"
"Oh, because we all have records. See, that's how Scotty and I first met, I was made his cellmate in San Quentin. I had stolen two smoothie machines–"
"Wait? You stole two smoothie machines and that got you sent to prison?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Technically, I stole plenty of shit, but it was the smoothie machines that did me in."
I looked at Scott, who was shaking his head again as his friend rambled on, "So, what were you in for, Scott?"
He glanced at me before returning his attention to the road. "I stole shit."
Luis scoffed, "Man, it's so much cooler than that–" And he was off. Explaining how Scott used to work security at this company called VistaCorp. And then he found out that the company was stealing from its customers, so he broke in, stole the money back and returned it. Then, he broke into the CEO's house.
"...and then after he broke the safe and loaded up all the ill-gotten gains, he happened to find himself in the guy's garage, right? And then he sees this car just sitting there. Just sitting there looking all pretty and he knew it was likely bought with stolen money, right? And he couldn't let that slide, ya know? So, he climbed into that cherry ride and drove it into the pool."
I looked at Scott, who was seriously looking like he regretted this whole outing as he parked the van and climbed out.
Luis kept up his chatter as we walked up the block and entered a small bar. It wasn't exactly empty, but it also didn't seem that busy. It was clean, but still definitely a dive. I loved it immediately. Scott led the way over to a table in the corner and Luis and followed. Luis was still giving me his entire life story and dropping a lot of tidbits about Scott as he did.
A pretty blond woman came over to the table, resting a hand on Scott's shoulder as she asked if Luis and Scott wanted their usual. When she smiled at me, I ordered a vodka soda.
Luis opened his mouth again and Scott elbowed him in the side, "Luis let the poor woman talk. You've been yammering away at her for like 30 minutes straight."
I smiled at him, "I don't mind Scott, I'm learning a lot."
"Yeah Scotty, she doesn't mind." Luis echoed.
I felt the uncertainty in Scott's mind. But when I smiled at him again, he returned his own. Luis's antics continued and for the first time in a really long time, I found myself not only laughing, but laughing so much my sides hurt with it. Eventually we were joined by two other guys, Kurt and Dave, and I got to learn their stories too.
Every so often, I would catch Scott staring at me, like he was trying to memorize everything about me. He talked little, other than when the others egged him into saying something witty in response. It kind of surprised me to find that these three men were who Scott seemed to be closest to. They just seemed like they should come from different worlds. But I got the sense, partly from how they interacted and partly from what I inevitably picked up off them, just from the unintentional and close contact with their minds, that these four shared a similar moral compass. They may have all been former criminals, but they did things they thought were for the greater good or would harm the least amount of people.
Before I knew it was nearing midnight, and I was getting tired. Almost like he sensed it, Scott said, "Well, guys, I think we need to call it a night. I have to go to work early tomorrow for a thing."
I stood as he did. "You mind if I bum a ride back to our apartment building?"
He looked at me strangely. "Of course, why would you think I wouldn't?"
Luis stood too, bumping his fist against Dave's before he followed us out of the bar. When we arrived outside our apartment building, Scott and I got out and Luis climbed into the driver's seat, "Let me know if you need my help with that project thing you will be doing. Yeah?"
Scott leaned into the driver's window to speak with Luis as I let myself into the building and started heading up. He caught up to me on the second floor landing, and we walked the final two flights in silence.
Reaching our floor, I turned towards him, intending to thank him. Before I could, he rubbed the back of his head and said, "I really appreciate you putting up with Luis and the other guys. I know they can be a bit…much."
I grinned, "No thanks needed, I really enjoyed tonight. I haven't had that much fun in–" I hesitated as I thought about it, "Well, let's just say a really long time."
His face brightened. "Well, then I am glad that you enjoyed yourself."
We stood there, his blue eyes searching my face like he was looking for something. I had a hunch that I knew what it was, and I intentionally kept my face blank as I looked back at him. He took a step closer to me and when I didn't move back; he reached a hand up and brushed his palm across my cheek. Even though I was blocking him, I could feel his intent coming through.
I should have taken a step back and broke the contact. Instead, I dropped my eyes briefly to his lips before I returned them to his eyes. It had been so long since I let someone touch me I was so touch starved that this simple contact left me wanting more. But I held myself back. The arguments and reason I had literally built up in my head for so long, especially with the whole soulmate thing, were hard to overcome.
I expected him to kiss me, but I didn't expect that he would lay his lips on my cheek. The contact was brief before he was pulling back and away. I barely prevented myself from reaching up and pressing my fingers to the spot. His lopsided grin flashed as he stepped back and nodded to my door.
"Go on, Lexi. I want to make sure you make it home, okay."
I laughed and rolled my eyes as I turned away from him and got my door open. I gave him one more long look before I shut the door and locked the deadbolt.
I didn't expect to see Scott for a while, considering the unpredictability of his job, but bright and early Monday morning, when I entered Snack and Caffeinate, he was standing to the side, waiting for his coffee to be made. Whatever he was doing on his phone had all of his attention, and I could tell without even using my powers that it stressed him out.
I stepped up to the cashier and ordered my usual coffee and a cranberry muffin. Scott looked up as I stepped away from the cashier and his eyes cleared with his smile.
"Hey, Lexi. Didn't expect to see you here this morning." He tucked his phone back into his pocket.
I shrugged, "I basically stop here for a coffee every morning before I walk to work."
Scott's name was called, and he absently grabbed his coffee, but kept his attention on me. "You walk to work?"
I nodded, "Yep, I figure as long as I live so close to where I work, I might as well just walk unless the weather is so extreme that driving makes more sense."
"I don't think you've ever told me what you do for work."
"I work at the university." My name was called, and I gathered my coffee and muffin and we edited the cafe together. When he fell in step next to me, I raised an eyebrow at him.
This time he shrugged, "The university is on my way to work, so if you don't mind some company?"
I considered saying no, but how do you tell a person you know, who has to walk in the same direction as you, that you don't want to walk next to them? "Sure thing."
I offered him some of my muffin. If he was surprised, he hid it well, breaking off a bite and thanking me.
"So, what do you do at the university? Teach?"
"Nah, I'm a librarian."
"That's cool." I got an image flash and the word nice and I had to stifle a laugh.
We chatted the rest of the way about things I did when I was at work. At a corner, he stopped and angled towards me, gesturing with his coffee cup in a direction opposite of the way I needed to go. "Well, this is where we need to part. I'm that way."
"See you later." I turned and walked away when he called my name.
"Hey, Lexi!" I turned back. "Would you maybe want to go out sometime? Like soon?"
I felt my heart sink a little. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. But I fixed on a smile and responded with, "Sure, Scott, we could hang out as friends sometime soon. You know where to find me."
I tried to ignore the look of disappointment that flicked over his face before he fixed on a smile and agreed, turning away and dashing across the street before the light turned. Sighing a little, I turned towards the university and walked the rest of the way to work. This is exactly why I never wanted to meet any of my soulmates.
