Read The Diary of Lexi Ashford (Lexi Ashford: Part One) for Free Online Page A

a few measured breaths. “Just chill out,” I tell myself. “You’re not Lexi T-rexi anymore. You’re just Lexi who graduated college and lived in the city for eight years.”
    A pair of dark boots suddenly appears in my line of vision. “I thought I heard a rumor you were back.”
    “God, I forgot how fast gossip spreads around here …” As I lift my head, I trail off.
    Anders Mackay, the guy I was secretly in love with all during high school, is standing in front of me. He’s a couple of years older than me, and back in the day, he was the star athlete of almost every team. He was also popular and way out of my league. And not just because I was unpopular. Back then, I sucked at talking to guys. Every time I came close to striking up a conversation with him, I ended up sounding like Yoda.
    He’s still completely hot, even if he is rocking acid-washed, parachute pants. His shoulders are broad, his arms muscular, and his blond hair is styled in an intentionally messy way.
    “You can’t blame them for getting this excited,” he says to me with a hint of playfulness in his tone. “It’s not every day we get a visit from city folk.” He does the crappiest impression of a hillbilly voice at the end, but it makes me laugh.
    “I’m not visiting,” I admit and mentally fist bump myself for not scrambling up my sentences. “I moved back.”
    He seems surprised. “Really?”
    I nod, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “For a month or two, anyway.”
    “That’s cool. I’m sure your parents are happy about it.” He pauses, studying me closely. “You don’t seem that happy about it, though.”
    “I’m not. I loved living in the city. There was always so much to do. Even at two o’clock in the morning, there’s all sorts of wild stuff going on. Here … Well, the only thing you really can do at two o’clock in the morning is streak down Main Street.” I flash him a smirk.
    “Hey, I only did that one time on a dare.” He grins. “And you’re wrong.”
    “About what?”
    “About nothing to do at two o’clock in the morning.”
    “What? Did Fairville finally upgrade and get a club or something?” I say, joking.
    “We actually did.” He winks at me. “It’s all the rage right now.”
    “I bet it is,” I say, giving him a come-on-and-be-serious look. “The only way a club would ever open here is if the no-loud-music-after-nine-o’clock ban was lifted. And that’ll never happen.”
    “It did happen, about a year ago, after Benny left the town committee. Things kind of lightened up after that. They’ve even toned down on all the contests and fairs.”
    I scrunch up my nose at the tent behind me. “Clearly, not enough of them.”
    “We wouldn’t be Fairville if we didn’t have some contests.” His smile is contagious.
    I find myself grinning in spite of the fact that I have a clear view of Carrie Lynn, standing just a ways away, waving at me like a lunatic. She gives me a thumbs up and mouths, I’ll wait until you’re done .
    “I know you’re probably too cool for all of this stuff now,” Anders continues, “but deep down, I remember the old Lexi who used to run around, dressed up as a piece of cherry pie, handing out flyers for this very event.”
    “Hey, I did that for the cash, not to show town spirit or anything like that,” I tell him lightly. “I was saving up so I could get the hell out of here right after graduation.”
    “Yeah, I remember.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “You didn’t even stick around for any of the parties.”
    “I really wasn’t a party girl back then.”
    “But you are now?”
    I decide to go bold on this one, take a risk. It’s not like I have anything left to lose. “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to find out for yourself, won’t you?”
    When he remains silent, I worry I might have crossed a line. Maybe he has a girlfriend. Fuck, maybe he’s married.
    I subtly glance down at his finger. Please don’t have a