“My mistake,” he said with a smirk as she told him her discomfort wasn’t cute. The funny thing was, Trey, too, was surprising himself with his actions. This was far from a typical night for him and he was excited to see how the rest of it played out. Trey couldn’t help but smile when he noticed she was being a little bashful again. Lexi was nothing like he expected her to be, but that wasn’t a bad thing at all. Trey didn’t come to the strip club expecting to meet somebody that attracted him in this way. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure what he expected to happen that night. This wasn’t a place he predicted he’d be on his night off. There was little about the place that was particularly appealing to him besides perhaps the good service and clean interior. None of that mattered now, of course. The important thing was his change in direction had led him to Lexi and he had to say he was having a good time thus far despite the stinging pain from his lip.

Maybe it wasn’t an entirely honest statement to say he didn’t do one night stands, but it wasn’t entirely false either. He had participated in a few in the past, one as recently as a few months ago, but since then he realized how ridiculous they were. There was little point in it and he didn’t understand why so many people deemed it acceptable. It just felt so…wrong. It just left you feeling alone and used and Trey didn’t plan on experiencing that again. So as far as one night stands go, he wasn’t about to engage himself in something so silly anytime soon and he definitely didn’t want that with Lexi. She was so much more than just some girl to share a fling with.

Trey nodded when she mentioned going back to her place to freshen up. He thought she looked great, personally, but he supposed after a long night at work it was something that was to be expected. “Yeah, that’s fine with me,” he agreed before reluctantly parting ways with her, even if it would just be for half an hour. After hopping in his truck, he rested his forehead against the steering wheel and closed his eyes. What was this woman doing to him? He felt butterflies in his stomach and his head was spinning. After a few minutes, he simply smiled to himself and began the drive towards his apartment. What was the point in analyzing the situation? That could only lead to pessimistic thoughts and he didn’t want to think that any worst-case scenarios were possible here. The second he started planning on what to say or do when he was around her, he would just be complicating things rather than just being himself and let the night lead them however it chose.

Once he arrived at his place, he went to the laundry room and started a load of whites and threw his shirt in it. Call him crazy, but the thought of the blood stain sitting on his shirt for the rest of the night was rather unsettling for him. He skipped the idea of a shower since he had taken one mere hours before and hadn’t done anything since then that would require another one. He went upstairs and peeked in his closet for something to wear. It surprised him that it took several minutes just to pick out a damn shirt. He always strived to look good in what he was wearing, but with Lexi in mind he was far more self-conscious about it. That woman certainly had some sort of power over him that he wasn’t at all used to. He finally picked out a black woven button-up shirt and slipped it on. He glanced at the clock and realized he had about ten minutes before they were supposed to meet back at the club again. He used the time to comb out his hair, which had been roughed up a bit during their last kiss, which he couldn’t help but think about. That wasn’t something he would easily forget. Then again, there wasn’t anything about this night would be easy to forget.

His thoughts were fixed on Lexi as he was once again in his truck, driving back towards the club. It sounded silly, but he had definitely missed her during their short time apart and was anxious to spend more time with her that night. He pulled into the parking lot and saw Lexi standing by her car and he immediately hoped she hadn’t been waiting long. He parked his truck and exited the cab before making his way towards her with a smile on his face that he just couldn’t help. “Hmmm…you clean up nice,” he commented as he brought a hand up to fiddle with the ends of her curls for a brief second. He grinned towards her and started to feel the butterflies build up in his stomach once again. “Shall we?” he asked, holding out his arm for her to grab onto. He didn’t want to waste too much time standing in the parking lot. For one thing, it wasn’t an ideal setting for any situation and two, it hardly appeared safe this time of night.

Once she agreed, he led her to his truck and opened the passenger side door for her. Chivalry had become a bit of a habit for Trey and so he really couldn’t do much to help it at this point. After she climbed in, he shut the door and quickly made his way to the driver’s side before hopping in and starting the engine. “So I was thinking of doing Cinzetti’s. They’re open late tonight. Or we could just head to a café if you’d rather.” Cinzetti’s was a more formal place, but it would be a good setting for them to talk, but he also wanted to give her the option of going somewhere more casual if she preferred. It didn’t matter to him just as long as she was with him.