Lexi's Love & War

Chapter 2

By the next morning, Lexi and Nikita were at The Bean's Knees to meet up with their friends. They'd arranged to have breakfast at the small on-campus coffee shop as a way to catch up. They got in line and bought coffee for themselves before finding a large table near the back.

"It's so nice to be back here," Lexi remarked.

"Yeah, it does," Nikita admitted. "I've seen everyone else off and on during summer, but you haven't seen any of us since April."

Lexi nodded, but her eyes suddenly shifted past her friend. "Oh, there are the boys."

Nikita looked over her shoulder and saw Isaac, Felipe, and DeShawn in line. They joined their friends a few minutes later.

"Hey, guys!" Lexi exclaimed. She hopped out of her seat to hug each of them.

"Someone missed me," Felipe joked. "But seriously, I'm glad to see you both."

"How's San Diego?" DeShawn asked.

"Lovely as always," Lexi revealed. "The weather was sunny and hot for the most part, except for a little rain. I didn't miss the cool weather here, that's for sure."

"Wait until fall and winter come," Nikita warned.

"Don't remind me."

Isaac laughed. "I'll remind you when it gets closer."

"Oh, screw you," Lexi jokingly sneered.

"Hey, where are Cassie and Mariana?" Nikita asked.

"They couldn't make it," DeShawn answered. "They said that their parents are still in town, so they're all hanging out together for the morning. But Mariana told me yesterday that her parents already left, so I'm pretty sure that that's bullshit."

Isaac shook his head, while Nikita and Felipe exchanged annoyed looks.

Lexi meekly bit her lip. "My guess is that they're now avoiding me. Ugh, I don't wanna talk about this shit already."

"Same here," Isaac said. "Let's change the subject: What did you do this summer?"

"I worked for the most part. The law firm that my mother works at was looking for a temporary receptionist, and I got the job. I tried hanging out with my friends back home, but it was hard 'cause we all worked different hours."

"That was also the story of my life," DeShawn chuckled.

"We had lots of fun at work, didn't we?" Nikita asked sarcastically.

"That's one way of putting it."

"I managed to find some time for the ladies when I wasn't busy," Felipe boasted.

"How many of them rejected you?" Lexi asked.

Felipe's smirk dimmed but didn't disappear. "None!"

"I know a couple did because I was there when it happened," Isaac revealed.

"Did you really have to go and ruin it?"

"Sure."

Lexi and Nikita laughed, and the guys joined in a moment later.

"And with school starting soon, now you'll really have a lot less time to hit on women," Lexi pointed out.

"I'll try my best to enjoy myself," Felipe said.

"This might sound silly," DeShawn interrupted, "but I wanna offer a toast us being successful for our second year here at NYU."

"That's not silly at all," Lexi replied. "Here's to second year!"

Everyone raised their coffee cups with their hopes up that their second year of university would go well.

***

That afternoon, Isaac walked to the bookstore to buy a couple of textbooks he hadn't had the chance to buy earlier. He was standing in the long line at the bookstore when he suddenly heard his phone go off. He read his newest text while keeping one eye on the slow-moving queue.

Lexi: Hey, it was so nice to see you this morning! I was wondering: how's dating going? I didn't wanna ask in front of everyone.

Isaac: Yeah, thank you for not asking in front of Felipe and DeShawn cause I didn't wanna hear from them...well, more from Felipe, but still. Anyways, I've quit dating for now.

Lexi: Aww, what happened?

Isaac: Too many of them were shit, and I'm happy being single.

Lexi: I'm sorry about the first part. But at least you're happy.

Isaac looked up for the hundredth time and saw that he was next to pay. He paid for his textbooks and hustled outside before responding to Lexi's latest text.

Isaac: It feels good. I gotta go now, but I'll talk to you later, okay?

Lexi: Sure! Maybe you and I can hang out together sometime.

Isaac: Great idea! Talk to you later!

With that, Isaac began walking home. He had to walk past the cafeteria and saw Cassie and Mariana standing outside, talking and laughing amongst themselves. He remembered that there was an event going on to meet other students taking place outside the cafeteria. He also recalled DeShawn's explanation as to why they couldn't hang out at The Bean's Knees earlier that day.

Yeah, that was bullshit, he thought. Maybe now I'll find out the truth.

Even though he didn't want to talk to Cassie, Isaac decided to approach her and Mariana anyways. Each woman gave him a nervous look, but he kept up a concerned front.

"Hey, everyone missed you two this morning at The Bean's Knees," he said. "We were hoping to see you guys. Is everything alright?"

"We were busy spending time with our families," Cassie said. "My dad left this morning, and so did Mariana's parents."

Mariana nodded. "Yeah sorry, we didn't expect that. It was kinda last minute."

"We'll see you later, okay?" Cassie added.

Isaac scoffed but chose to not argue about something so ridiculous. He shook his head before storming off, causing him to miss the rest of the girls' conversation.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask him back just then," Mariana commented.

"It really wasn't the best time to ask, I think," Cassie confessed. "I don't wanna ask with him when he's clearly in a bad mood. Didn't you see how annoyed he was over not hanging out with our friends this morning?"

Mariana mused this for a moment. "Well...yeah. I see your point now. Sorry, I didn't mean to pressure you."

"It's okay," Cassie remarked. "I'm just gonna wait for the best time to try and win Isaac back. He honestly caught me off guard today. Next time around, I'll be more prepared."