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“Oh my god.” My mouth falls open. “But how will I get in?”

The way he grabs his chest in fake hurt makes me smile. Oh yeah. I suppose he’s capable of lifting me.

I squeal when he sweeps me off my feet, my crutches falling to the ground.

He sets me carefully in the back before jumping in beside me. “So, we have a complete snack bar over here, and …” He holds up a finger. “I’ve ordered pizza. It should be here in a few minutes.”

When he hands me a box of my favorite candy, I lose it.

“Hey, shh, it’s okay, Lexie.” He wraps an arm around me and hands me a tissue that he must have pulled out of thin air. “Boy, if a box of mints makes you this upset, you’re really going to lose your shit when you find out what movie we’re watching,” he teases, rocking us side to side.

I let out a little half laugh, half sob. “You’re going to spoil me,” I say, blowing my nose at the same time.

He laughs. “That’s the plan.”

A few minutes later, Jesse and Dirk pull up on his bike. She hops off and hands Ash a pizza box. “Warning, there are jalapenos in the bread sticks. I’m trying a new recipe.” She winks at him and then turns her attention to me. “Glad to see you’re home.” She reaches out and gives my knee a gentle squeeze.

JD peeks his head out the door. “Where the fuck is mine?”

She flips him off.

JD just laughs and shuts the door. I don’t think there’s anyone he likes to tease more than Jesse.

“You kids have fun,” she says as she gets back on the bike.

Dirk tips his head to us, and then they’re off.

“Fuck, this smells so good,” Ash says as he sets the box on his lap. He hands me two paper plates, and he fills them both beforesetting the box aside. He hits a button, and a bunch of old drive-in short videos begin to play. This man is too much.

We laugh at them as we eat. By the time the movie starts, darkness has settled around us. He lies back and snuggles in, opening his arms. I scoot down and rest my head on his bicep.

“I have a confession before we get too far into this movie,” he says.

The seriousness in his tone makes me turn to look at him, but the ornery smirk I’m met with tells me he’s about to feed me a load of shit.

“It scares me,” he says, hugging me close and burying his nose in my neck.

I laugh as he pecks at my skin. “What exactly are you scared of?” I ask, half-heartedly pushing him away.

He leans over me. “You’ve seen this movie, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Have you not seen those flying monkeys?”

I lay my hand over his cheek. “I’ll cover your eyes when they’re on. I promise.”

He snuggles us into the blankets. “Thank you.”

When I turn my focus back to the screen, he whispers in my ear, “I’m not kidding. I really don’t like those things.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Ash

Lexie shields me from every flying monkey before they even appear on the screen. It’s obvious she knows this movie by heart.

I watch carefully as her emotions play over her face. She lays her head on my chest when it’s over, her gaze fixed on the rolling credits.