Spell it out.

He saw her there from across the room. He’d taken a seat at the bar when he walked in, as his eyes scanned the room; he’d noticed her right away. She was seated near the window, nothing on the table but her phone and a tumbler. It had been full then. An hour and a half later and she was still there; constantly checking her phone, looking up as the door opened, letting in more people and having her glass refilled with amber liquid.

She’d just tilted her head back, draining what John had counted as her second. He gestured towards the bar tender, asking him for another beer and whatever the girl in the corner was drinking. He watched as he poured her another whiskey over rocks. He grabbed the bottle and the glass with his long fingers as they were handed to him and he casually strode across the room to her small table for two.

“Hey there,” he greeted her. Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Her light brown eyes went from hopeful to disappointed in a matter of seconds. “Just wanted to applaud your choice of drink.” He held out the short glass to her, and put it down on the table when she didn’t reach out to take it. “You alright?” He quirked his eyebrow up. He could clearly see that something was wrong, but he didn’t want to just point it out either. It seemed a little too rude. Besides, if she didn’t want his company he’d just wander back over to the bar without having made a fool of himself. She huffed reaching out for the drink, twirling it to make the cubes of ice clink against the sides. Just as he thought she was going to take a sip, she raised the glass to her nose and took a sniff.

John chuckled. “I swear I didn’t put anything in it. You know what, here,” he held out the still closed bottle of beer. “Have this instead.” He grinned as he noticed a small smile started to play on her lips.

“Thank you,” she spoke softly, reaching for the brown bottle. “Would you like to sit?” She gestured towards the ominous empty seat in front of her. It was the least she could do, and this way she looked a little less like a loner.

John graciously accepted her offer, pulling out the chair and plopping himself down. “I’m John by the way,” he introduced himself.

“Alexis,” she answered. “But everyone calls me Lexi.”

“Well then Lexi, tell me, what’s got you down?” He reached out for the glass of whiskey he knew she wouldn’t be drinking and took a sip. Her brown eyes were trained on him, watching his every move. To say he intrigued her was saying the least. She wanted to know who this guy was and what his intensions were. She was in no mood to get hit on my some sleazy ass at the moment.

“I got stood up,” she muttered as she twisted the cap off of her beer with ease.

“You?” John’s brow shot up, surprised. “Surely he must have brain damage to not show up to a date with a pretty girl like you.” Lexi’s lips pursed as she eyed him suspiciously. He certainly wasn’t racking up points to get on her good side. Right now, he was pretty much painting the picture perfect image of him trying to pick her up. She glanced around the bar; looking for a group he might have come with, but to no avail. Great, he probably hung out here, alone, on a Saturday night just waiting for someone some poor unsuspecting girl to get stood up. He probably chose this bar to do so because he would have no competition; it wasn’t really the type of place you came alone.

“And why are you here alone?” she questioned, not bothering to beat around the bush.

John chuckled; she certainly was a feisty one. She may look cute and innocent with the dirty blond hair that fell into her doe eyes, but she definitely knew how to defend herself.

“I didn’t,” he laughed. “I came here with a friend,” he pointed to Garrett who seated at the back of the bar with a girl, the two of them laughing over a game of monopoly. “But he ditched me when his girlfriend called him up…Not really in the mood to play the third wheel tonight…”

“Some friend,” the girl muttered, making John laugh ever more. She gripped the neck of the bottle, bringing it to her lips and then set it back down on the table. She kept her gaze down, focusing on the task of pulling off the sticker from the bottle.

“Well, seeing as we’re both alone, would you like some company?” John asked. “You know, actually play one of these games,” he nodded towards the wall of shelves jam packed with every imaginable board game. He’d teased Garrett when he’d suggested the idea at first, asking if he’d be taking him to a senior center. But, now that he was here, he had to admit this place was pretty cool.

Lexi sighed, unlocking and relocking her phone one more time. This is what she got for letting her friends set her up with a guy she’d met for twenty seconds prior. Her eyes flickered towards the door and then around the room, just to make sure she hadn’t missed him. She hadn’t.

“Alright,” she replied, giving in. Maybe he wasn’t a sleaze. He seemed innocent enough so far. She could give him a shot, it’s not like she had anything better to do other than go home and cry about how humiliated she’d been.

"Pick a game," he smiled, pushing himself up off his chair. He stood, waiting for her to give him an answer.

"Scrabble?" She suggested, naming the first thing that came to mind. Maybe she could make herself feel better by beating this stranger at the game. She was usually pretty good at it. A small smirk tugged at John's lips.

"Scrabble it is," he said, striding over to the wall. His eyes scanned the boxes in search for the familiar red one. Once he spotted it, he carefully pried the game from in between Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Clue.

Lexi moved their drinks to the edge of the table and slipped her phone in her pocket to clear the surface. John opened the box and placed it on the windowsill. The girl watched his long slender fingers, mesmerized as he removed the board to place it on the table and to grab the stray tiles and put them back in the silver bag from which they had fallen.

"Ladies first," John held out the bag to her, shacking it slightly, making the wooden pieces inside bang together. She extended her own fingers to pull out a letter.

"J," she announced. His own hand dipped in to remove a tile.

"Y," he chuckled, reaching out for we letter to put it back in the bag. Lexi couldn't help but look down as his fingers grazed against hers. He shook the bag again before holding it out once more so that she could pull out seven letters. He picked his own before placing the bag aside and aligning the tiny squares on the provided wooden frame. He stared down at them, moving a couple around, rearranging them until he was satisfied.

He glanced up to see Lexi's eyes on him and smiled. She snapped out of her trance, dropping her eyes down to her own letters. She felt herself blush as she tried to form a word with her letters. She couldn't believe that he'd just caught her staring. She was grateful that he didn't say anything about it though.

It took her a minute, but she was finally able to concentrate on the letters in front of her. She stared at them, trying to form a word. John watched as her lips pursed out ever so slightly and a small crease formed between her brows as she concentrated.

Finally, she chose a tile a placed in on the center square, and placed two others one the side.

“Ace” she stated. John fished out a pencil and notepad from the box and drew a line down the middle, splitting the sheet in two.

“Alright then, ten points for you.” He placed the writing utensils to the side and glanced at this letters once more.

He chose four, easily picking them up in his hand, letting them fall into his palm. He used his other long and slender fingers to pick them up one by one, placing them on the board. “Linen gives me seven points, your turn.” He gestured to the bag as he scribbled down his score.

Lexi smirked; oh this was going to be easier than she thought.

*

“So in all that makes two hundred and seventy-two for you and four oh six for me,” John smirked, glancing up at her frustrated face.

“You have to be cheating!” she exclaimed with a huff.

“Darlin’ you played me three times. I won by a landslide for each game, plus you checked my pockets for extra tiles. I promise you that I’m not cheating,” he chuckled as he started picking up the tiles from the board.

“Says the guy who manages to use all his letters and spell Flapjack as well as use the word Quinoa for fuck sakes John, are you a walking dictionary?” He man chuckled again.

“I have a way with words,” he replied.

“Yeah, well I want another rematch!” she retailed just as the bartender announced the last call. Her eyes flickered around the room and she was surprised to find it next to empty.

“How about some other time?” the boy across from her suggested as he placed the lid on the game he’d already finished putting away. He shot her a wink as he got up from the table and went to put it back on a shelf.

Lexi blushed, reaching for her beer and downing the rest of it.

“Do you want to split a cab?” she jumped at the sound of his warm, deep voice coming from behind her.

“I live like two blocks from here; it’s okay I can walk.” She shot him a small smile, grabbing her purse off of the back of the chair. She slung it over her shoulder and turned to face him. “Thanks for keeping me company.”

She turned and made a beeline towards the door. He was friendly and all, but after what had happened early she didn’t want to get her hopes up. He probably wasn’t even interested anyway; he most likely only spent the night with her because he felt sorry for her.

“Hey, slow down there,” she heard him call out as those long fingers slipped around her wrist. “Do you really think I’ll let you walk home alone at three a.m.?” He gave her a warm smile as he dropped her arm. She glanced down at it before glancing back up into those marvelous green eyes. Just being nice. The corner of her mouth twitched up, feigning a smile before she continued towards the door, letting him trail along behind her.

Had he done something wrong? He wondered as he took a couple of long strides so that he could walk alongside her on the sidewalk. They stayed silent, venturing through the silent streets on the brisk night. John was pondering where in this fun night this had taken a turn for the worst while Lexi focused on getting home as soon as she could.

“Well this is me,” she announced, coming to a stop in front of an apartment building. “Thanks again for the company.”

“Pleasure was mine Lexi,” he grinned. She couldn’t help but actually smile back this time; his was too contagious not too.

“Have a good night,” she whispered before turning towards the door, trying to fish the key out of her bag.

“What? I don’t get your number? I thought you wanted a rematch,” John chuckled awkwardly, he was really starting to think he’d read the signs from. Sure, she’d been holding off a little in the beginning, but he had thought that she’d been opening up towards the end. They’d been laughing and playfully flirting.

Lexi paused, her key suspended in midair.

“Um, sure,” she replied. She turned to face him again, holding out her hand for his phone. There was no way she was taking his number. Then she’d probably just end up calling him or texting him when he wouldn’t. She didn’t want to go through that humiliation again. Tonight was too much. She was tired of being that clingy girl who thought a guy was interested when he was being nothing more than nice to her. This way, if he never called that’d be it. She’d have no means of contacting him and that would be the end of it.

She punched in her number and handed him his phone.

“I’ll call you,” he smiled. She simply nodded, turning back to unlock the door. She pulled it open and waved at him ever so slightly before stepping into her building. She kept her head held high as she walked across the lobby and waited for the elevator. When she finally stepped into the empty lift she let tonight’s emotions wash over her. She couldn’t believe how naïve she’d been. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently.

Finally, a ding sounded, letting her know she’d reached her floor. She took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks, hoping her tears hadn’t smeared her makeup. That was it, as soon as she stepped out of this elevator she wouldn’t be that needy little girl any more. She was a strong independent woman who didn’t need a man. Who gave a fuck anyway? She was so over getting hung up on them and so sick of getting hurt.

She got to her apartment and went straight to her bedroom. She just wanted to change into her pajamas and go to bed. When she came back from the bathroom she could hear her phone vibrating in her purse.

Her mind flickered to Anthony, who she’d been waiting for at the bar. Was he calling to apologize? To explain why he hadn’t showed? She was going to ignore it, but curiosity got the best of her. So much for changing.

She pulled out the phone and stared at the unfamiliar number that was scrolled across the screen. Of course it wasn’t Anthony. Why would he be calling at three a.m.? It was probably some stupid telemarketer. The phone stopped ringing and the screen went dark. With a sigh she chucked it on her bed and pulled her hair up into a messy bun before she heard it go off again. It was the same number.

She swiped her thumb across the screen and pressed it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Finally, I only had to call you three times,” a familiar voice chuckled in her ear.

“John?” she wasn’t going to lie, she was surprised.

“Who else would it be?” he asked. He face suddenly fell as it dawned on him. She was probably hoping to hear from that guy who’d stood her up. She wasn’t interested in him at all. He’d merely been the entertainment for the night. “Oh… Wow, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize….”

“No,” she quickly interrupted him. “It’s okay. Why were you calling?”

“Well, um, I’m standing outside your building waiting for a cab and I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he confessed quietly. Her brow furrowed as she strode over to the window that was facing the street. She pushed aside the curtain and noticed him pacing on the side walk, his phone pressed to his ear as he stared down at his feet, kicking pebbles into the road. “I had a great time tonight…I was wondering if you…If you wanted that rematch. Maybe sometime this week?”

She watched as his free hand went up to rub the back of his neck. Was he really nervous about this? Her heart fluttered at the thought. She bit down on her bottom lip as she continued to watch him from above.

“I don’t know John… I’ve got a pretty busy week,” she replied. She’d made a vow to herself early; she wasn’t going to break it ten minutes in.

“Oh. Okay, well then, call me when you’re free?” he asked. She saw his shoulders drop.

“Sure,” she replied. “Have a good night.”

“Bye.” She watched as he stuffed the phone in his front pocket and forcefully ran his fingers through his hair before taking a seat on the side walk. She glanced down at the phone in her hand before looking back out the window.

Oh fuck it, she thought to herself. People couldn’t really change anyway, right? That’s what they said? She hit redial and brought it up to her ear, watching John fish his own out of his pocked.

“What?” he answered, not having looked at the screen. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

“Hi John, it’s Lexi.” His head snapped up in surprise. “I’m free now, if you still want that rematch…?” Light suddenly flooded the street as his cab pulled up in front of him. He didn’t answer her as he opened the back door, taking a seat inside the vehicle. Her heart dropped. Stupid, stupid girl.

She closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn’t watch him leave.

“Lex?” his voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Yeah?” she whispered, not trusting her voice not to crack.

“I asked if you were going to let me up,” he chuckled. Her eyes snapped open as she looked down to see him waiting by the door. The cab was nowhere in sight.

“Give me a sec, I’ll buzz you in,” she grinned. She hung up her phone, chucking it on the bed, rushing towards the kitchen from where she could open the door for him. As she waited she went to pull out the game from her hall closet and put on some coffee. She had a feeling it would be a long night.

She heard a quiet knock on her front door and she rushed to open it. A small smirk fell on John’s lips as he took in her appearance. She blushed, she forgotten that she changed.

“Promise you won’t let me win?” she asked as she let him inside. He chuckled as he stepped inside.

“And risk not having an excuse to see you anymore? No way,” he smirked. She blushed, making her way into the kitchen to pour them some coffee. She took a seat in front of him and watched as he shook up the tiles in the bag. He held it out so that she could pick first, again.

“Why, John?” she asked suddenly.

“Ladies first?” he replied with a shrug, unsure of where she was going with this.

“No, why did you come talk to me tonight? Why did you stay? Why did you call in the same night?” she asked. She was unused to all of this.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” he asked, laughing quietly as he smiled at her. “I like you Lexi, it’s as simple as that. Now, are you going to let me beat you?” He shook the bag to emphasize his point, urging her to pick a tile.

She smiled, reaching her hand in the bag. “J,” she announced, laughing a little as he went to pick his own.

“Y,” he rolled his eyes as the events from earlier in the night repeated themselves. Lexi picked her seven letters and stared at them, trying to form the best possible word. She glanced up at John who’d picked his own letters and was currently rearranging them to his liking.

Sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some. But tonight, she was definitely the winner.