Page 89 of Finding Lexie
Lexie tilted her head in surprise. Before tonight, she hadn’t known Ashlyn had moved here with anyone, and while she hated that things didn’t work out, she was pleased the woman was still here. “What happened?” she asked.
“I was living and working near San Diego. I’d graduated from college and wasn’t ready to start a career, so I got a job at a place called Aces Bar and Grill. It was awesome. The owner is a super-cool chick who’s married to a former SEAL.”
“No way!” Elodie chirped. “I wonder if Scott knows him?”
“Stop interrupting,” Lexie told her friend.
“Oh, sorry,” Elodie apologized, not sounding too sorry at all.
“Anyway, the pay was awesome, the guys who came in tipped really well, and I even had benefits. A man started coming in every night, and he flirted with me hard. He was hot and a little older than me—”
“Wait, how old are you?” Elodie asked.
“She’s never gonna get through this story if you keep interrupting,” Lexie scolded. She never would’ve been so bold if she hadn’t been drinking, but Elodie didn’t get offended, she just shrugged sheepishly and pantomimed zipping her lips shut.
“I’m twenty-eight,” Ashlyn said, and held up a hand. “I know, I know, just a baby. But anyway, he was in his early thirties. He was respectful and attentive. We started seeing each other outside the bar, and I fell for him. He said he lived here on Oahu, and that he was planning on coming back soon to help out with his family. I hated the thought of never seeing him again, so when he said he could see himself spending the rest of his life with me…I agreed to come to Hawaii with him.”
“What was he doing in Southern California?” Elodie asked.
Ashlyn sighed and took another long sip of her drink. “Yeah, that’s one of about a hundred questions I really should’ve tried harder to find the answer to before I upended my entire life to fly thousands of miles to come here.”
Lexie covered her friend’s hand with her own, and Ashlyn gave her a small sad smile.
“Suffice it to say, things weren’t all sunshine and roses when we got here. The job he said he had didn’t exist, and the connection he claimed to have to help me find a half-decent apartment turned out to be a lie too.”
“That sucks!” Lexie said.
“Yeah. Anyway, Franklin said it wasn’t a big deal, that I could live with him.”
“Franklin?” Elodie said with a grin. “His name is Franklin?”
Lexie smothered a chuckle.
“Do you want to hear the rest of my sad tale of woe and no sex or what?” Ashlyn asked with a huff.
“Sorry, yes. Go on,” Elodie said.
“Right, so even though I moved to Hawaii because this is where he lived, I wasn’t ready to live with him full time. Especially not in the studio apartment he had. I started to get the feeling he’d convinced me to come to Hawaii simply so he could mooch off me. Needless to say, the relationship didn’t last very long after the move at all.”
“Yeah, I can’t blame you,” Elodie said.
“I mean, I’m not opposed to a woman making more money than a guy in a relationship, or having the man stay home with the kids while the woman works, but I thought I was moving to Hawaii to be with a man who had a stable job, and who would be fun to hang out with and take me sightseeing…but in reality, I got a lazy asshole who was really good at selling a lie.”
Ashlyn gave the other two women a small smile. “But it’s been almost a year since all that, and I got the job with Food For All, and I’m happy. So to bring this depressing conversation full circle…that’s why I miss sex. Because I haven’t had it in so long, I think I’m a born-again virgin.”
“That sucks, Ash,” Lexie said. “Did you call the police?”
“Because I haven’t gotten laid in months? I think that’s a little drastic, don’t you?” Ashlyn quipped.
Lexie chuckled and rolled her eyes. “No, because he’s a predator who’s obviously preying on women.”
“He’s not technically a predator. An asshole and a liar for sure. And I should’ve asked more questions and not moved so fast with him. I shouldn’t have been so eager to upend my entire life to move out here,” Ashlyn said. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not nearly as willing to jump into a serious relationship now than I was back then. I mean, I’m not opposed to dating, or having sex, but I’m going to be very cautious before I agree to move in with someone or marry them.”
“That’s kind of sad,” Lexie said.
“It’s fine,” Ashlyn insisted. “It’s just me being smart. Besides, things have worked out not so bad for me here in Hawaii. I’ve only been working for Food For All for a few months now, but I really enjoy it. It’s not like working in a bar, and that’s not a bad thing. Like you, they’re paying for an apartment for me to live in. It was furnished too, which was a blessing. I’ve got a better view than you though,” she said with a smile. “I get to see the top floor of a parking garage next to my building.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re my coworker,” Lexie told her.
