Lexi shook her head.
“What, then? Did she try to hit on you?” April asked. “Wait, did something happen between the two of you?”
Lexi shrugged. “Kind of? I mean, we didn’t actually sleep together. We almost did.”
April felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I didn’t know. Vicki never said anything.” Vicki had never indicated that she’d met Lexi before, let alone anything more.
“I didn’t say anything to you about it either. And I didn’t exactly want to share the fact that I’d gotten played by a woman, let alone the woman who is about to bulldoze the library.”
“What happened?”
“It was a long time ago,” Lexi said. “Back when I was barely old enough to get into a bar. I used to go to Sapphire every weekend, trying to flirt with women and failing more often than not.” Lexi smiled. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t always this suave. Anyway, Vicki would come to Sapphire all the time too, and she’d have women wrapped around her finger with only a few words.”
Yep. That sounded like Vicki.
“I was so jealous of how easy it was for her. Then one night, she came to talk to me, and I was flattered by her attention. I should have known better, but the things she said made me think she was actually interested in me, and not just trying to get into my pants. So, when she asked me if I wanted to go back to her place, I said yes.
“When we got back to her apartment, things got all hot and heavy, then-” Lexi paused. “I don’t know what happened exactly. We were both a little drunk. But one minute we were making out on her bed, and the next, Vicki shoved my shirt into my arms, called me a cab, and booted me out the door with zero explanation. I guess she changed her mind? I was pretty upset about it at the time. I’m not sure if I was upset at her for blowing me off, or at myself for falling for her act in the first place. To top it off, I saw her back at Sapphire the next weekend, doing the same thing as always.”
“Wow. I’m sorry, Lex,” April said.
“Don’t be,” Lexi replied. “It was years ago. It wasn’t that big a deal at the time either. I mean, I was back at Sapphire doing my thing the next week too. I guess I still resent her though.” Lexi flicked one of her dark curls out of her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe it’s justified. Plenty of women out there have been screwed around by Vicki Blake. Word gets around, you know how it is.”
April said nothing, unsure of whether she even wanted to defend Vicki.
“Look,” Lexi said. “We’re all adults here. I’m not going to tell you that you can’t date someone because of one night when we almost slept together years ago. I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.”
“I won’t,” April said. “I’m being careful about this.” That was a lie.
“Okay. Sorry I’ve been such a bitch about her.”
“It’s all right. Sorry I kept this all from you. Are we okay?”
Lexi nodded. “We are.”
Relief washed over April. She couldn’t bear the thought of being on bad terms with Lexi. But with that problem resolved, she still had a bigger one.
“Where did you find that photo of Vicki and me?” April asked.
“The photos from the ball are up on the city’s website. They have a society pages section. I was checking them out because I wanted to see the fruit of all my hard work. I have to admit, those ice sculptures looked pretty good.” Lexi noticed April’s frown. “Oh, you’re worried people will see the photo?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve somehow become some sort of crusader for West Heights. And Vicki is high up in Oasis’s hierarchy. I can’t imagine it’ll look good for either of us to be caught sleeping with the enemy, so to speak.”
“Don’t worry,” Lexi said. “No one looks at the city’s website. And the only reason I spotted you in that picture is because I recognized that red dre
ss of yours. I was there when you bought it for Caroline’s wedding last year. With the masks on, no one is going to recognize you.”
That did little to reassure April.
“If you’re really worried, you can try to get the photo taken down, but that might draw more attention to it. People love to gossip after all. Do you really want Anne down at City Hall wondering why we’re so eager to have the photo taken down?”
“That’s a good point,” April said.
She would have to work out some way to deal with the photo. And she should probably warn Vicki. April asked Lexi for a link to the photo, and she sent it to Vicki along with a quick message. A few minutes later, she received a reply.
Thanks for the warning.
Another message soon followed.