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Lexie
Theyhadarrivedin St. Thomas right before noon, boarding the Catamaran and immediately taking off onto the open waters. Everyone was sitting along the u-shaped bench seat at the back of the boat watching it glidethrough the water. Lexie tilted her head back as she swallowed the remaining sips of her delicious—and far too strong—cocktail. She leaned forward, placing her weight onto the balls of her feet. She balanced for a moment, allowing her body the chance to catch up as she took a step forward and headed into the saloon. A rush of cool air greeted her as she stepped through the threshold. The chef, Analise, was standing behind the bar placing containers of pre-packaged snacks out onto the counter. Lexie spoke a soft “hello” as she approached the small bar.
“More?” Analise asked, placing emphasis on the ‘o’.
Lexie nodded and glanced around as Analise poured her another drink. The saloon had additional seating in a c-shape with vinyl cushions that doubled as a makeshift mattress, which is where Nav was determined to spend each night on the ship. She didn’t want him to treat her as if he owed anything to her. She was capable of sleeping in the saloon as well, but he wouldn’t hear anything of it, at least not the first time she tried. She was determined to get him to listen to her–really listen to her for once. But she was also starkly aware of the man Nav was and knew if it was any other random person on this boat with him, he’d also insist to sleep in the saloon to allow them to sleep in the bed. Especially if that person was a female. That had always been Nav’s personality. He was always looking out for everyone else, rarely ever letting the focus remain on himself. The most selfish thing he ever did was leave everyone behind when he joined the military, but even then, the act in itself was unselfish. He ran into burning buildings for a living and put his life on the line every single day, always the most unselfish man in the room.
Analise finished pouring her drink and slid it gently across the bar. Lexie grabbed it and turned to face the cockpit. Through the glass windows, she could see her friends laughing and dancing to the loud music filtering throughout the boat. She smiled as Adam pulled Kennedy in for a long kiss before releasing her. Avanna’s arms were raised above her head as she dipped her hips low to the floor, falling graciously onto her butt when the waves gently rocked. Lexie smiled and took a step toward the cockpit then swung on the ball of her foot and went in the opposite direction toward the forward seating at the bow of the ship. She pushed the glass door open and felt the warmth of the sun against her skin. Her light cover-up blew against the breeze, which had previously been blocked in the cockpit area. She settled into the chaise seat facing the trampoline extended out in front of the ship. She let the comfort of her seat absorb her as she tilted her head back, soaking in the sun cascading down.
As Lexie relaxed, she let her mind flip through the pages of her past. Around the age of sixteen, Lexie started to see Nav—truly see Nav—in all his glory. In just one year he had grown from a tall, lanky, awkward twig into a grown man. She had sat on the sidelines watching the candid changes to his appearance and overall demeanor over time. He started to pay more attention to the way he looked and was going to the gym every day. He grew his hair long and wore it in a bun on the back of his head most days. The subtle changes aged him several years and Lexie could hardly believe he was the same boy she had known for thirteen years.
She had pushed those feelings away for several months, hoping the desire to be around him all the time would dissipate, but the feeling never went away. They were always together and she didn’t have to miss him when he was away because she knew he’d always come back. Lexie knew she wasn’t the only one to notice Nav’s change in appearance as he was suddenly a part of the popular crowd, with girls fawning over him in desperation. Nav gave them some attention, but it was Lexie’s window he climbed in through every night as they rehashed his crappy dates and stuffed their faces with leftover pizza.She was Ryan Reynolds in Just Friends, hanging on by just a thread.
One snowy evening in January, Lexie heard a rap on her bedroom window. Her room had moved to the basement and her parents’ room was two floors above her on the highest level. She pulled open the curtain to her window to find Nav standing in the freshly fallen snow that was starting to fill her egress window. She pulled her fleece robe tightly around her as she swung open the window, letting Nav step in through the threshold.
“Hi,” he said with a quiet whisper as he pulled her in for a hug. Despite his shivering, she felt her body warm from her head to her toes. She swung her arms around his neck and he squeezed her tighter in response. She felt the brush of his lips against her hair and had hoped it was intentional as the excitement flew around in her belly. He released his hold on her and turned to latch the window, rubbing his cold hands together. She reached her own hands out for his and held them in hers, trying to warm them up for him.
“So, how was your date?” she asked, unable to look into his eyes.
“I didn’t go,” he said as he settled into the chair next to her window.
She stared at him for a moment and narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t go?”
He shook his head and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
“Had something more important to do.” He cocked his head awaiting a response that didn’t come because she was still trying to process the fact that he didn’t go on his date with Clarissa Spears. She was only the most popular, most beautiful girl in their high school.
She lowered herself onto the edge of her bed, tucking one leg underneath her.
“Did you really think I’d forget your birthday?” he asked.
Her heart was pounding out of her chest and a shiver ran down the back of her spine. “Well, no. But it kind of felt like you did, if I’m being honest.”
He nodded and stood, walking over to her on the bed. She never used to feel weird about him being in her bedroom, but looking at him towering over her bed sent an electric current through her body. His hands disappeared into his pockets and when he pulled them back out he had something wrapped in the center of his fist. “I had to keep our tradition alive, you know?” He opened his palms out in front of her, each holding a delicately wrapped box in shiny red paper. She pulled her eyes up to meet his, unsure what was happening. He wasn’t wrong, they had a tradition every year of meeting at midnight on her birthday and every year he brought her a rock. But not just any rock. Each rock was hand-painted by Nav and always told some sort of story. He pushed his right hand toward her, a signal to open that one first. She reached for the box, pulled off the ribbon wrapped around it, and peeled the paper back. Nav didn’t usually wrap his rocks for her, so she found herself intrigued. As the paper fell from the box, Lexie’s eyes landed squarely on a tiny cream box. She pulled the top off the box and tucked it underneath the bottom. Moving aside some gold-lined tissue paper, she found a vibrant green gem centered around a gold band. She could only hear her heart beating in the silence of her room, as heat from her cheeks enveloped her. Nav got her a ring.
She stared up at him and he met her with his beaming smile. He pushed the second box toward her without a word, and she set the ring next to her on the bed. She was too stunned to ask questions and too confused to figure out what was going on. She pulled the wrapping off the second gift to reveal a similar white box. Another ring? she thought to herself. But as she pulled the lid off the second box, a flat oval rock was sitting directly in the center with ”prom?” painted in light green letters to match the ring. Lexie stared at the rock, unwilling to glance up at Nav.
“So, will you go to prom with me?” he asked with the hint of a smile in his voice.
She placed the ring onto her finger and twirled it around, letting herself imagine all the possibilities of what this gift could mean. She was so lost in admiring the beauty of the ring that she missed Nav’s question, and instead presented one of her own.
“What… What does this mean, Nav?”
He chuckled as he reached for her hand and tilted her chin up to meet her gaze. “The center stone… It’s formed from the first rock you ever gave me. The beauty always reminds me of you when I see it, and I wanted you to always have a reminder of not only your beauty but my love for you.”
Shivers spread from Lexie’s chest and landed on the tips of her fingers. Lexie gazed into his eyes for a brief moment before throwing her arms around his neck. He lost his balance and wobbled forward for a moment before stabilizing himself and picking Lexie up with him as he stood.
“Are you sure? About prom? What about Clarissa?” she asked as she pulled her head to his shoulder.
“What about her?” he asked with a smirk.
Lexie didn’t know it then, but that moment would alter the rest of her life.
