Chris had the TV remote in one hand, a beer in the other, and his phone propped next to him on the arm of the oversized leather sofa. He looked down at it every five seconds to see if she'd texted back. Nothing. He knew he was in the wrong. He shouldn't have continued to lead her on like he had without going ahead and making something official. He hated labels. He'd been through all of that with Stephanie and now he couldn't even stand the thought of how Stephanie had maneuvered her way into his relationship with Lesly. She'd faked a car breakdown on the side of the road once when Lesly was in town and a mutual friend had told Stephanie that Chris' new girlfriend was in Orlando. When she'd called, she'd sounded so desperate that Chris felt bad, dropped what he was doing with Lesly - dinner at a five star restaurant - and come to Stephanie's rescue. As soon as he'd gotten there, he knew it had been a set up. Her car was fine. Her tire wasn't flat in the least. And she wasn't nearly as shaken up as she'd sounded on the phone. Yet, Chris still couldn't shake her when he'd been with Lesly. And Lesly had gotten tired of it and he knew now what she'd meant by always feeling like the back up. Chris had treated her just like one.

He'd only recently heard from her a few days before he'd gone to Grayson. She wanted to talk to him about their relationship. Chris had told her there wasn't anything left. Stephanie had cried and told Chris he'd broken her heart. And Chris felt terrible for it. Which was why he had wanted to take it slow with Lesly. Only there was no need to because they'd been with each other now a year and in reality, Stephanie shouldn't have even mattered. Look where he'd gotten now - alone. And without Lesly. The one woman who he knew he was feeling a lot more with than he'd ever felt with Stephanie.

He put his beer down and picked up the phone. He didn't care what JC had said before about leaving Lesly alone. He just needed to explain.

**
Lesly had just poured herself a glass of wine and was settling in front of the television to catch up on the previous night's shows on her DVR. She was dressed in sweats and a tank top and, despite the fact that she wanted to tell her brother where to go and how fast to get there and the sinking pit she felt in her stomach because of Chris, she felt cozy and ready for an easy, relaxing rest of the night. As if on cue, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw Chris' name flash across the screen. He wasn't giving up.

"Chris, seriously? Do you understand English? I. want. to. be. left. alone!" she was deliberate in her words. 

"I know, Les. I know you do. I just can't get you off my mind. I'm sorry. I know that sounds pitiful-"

"And desperate," she sipped her wine. 

"Fine. Desperate. But maybe I am. I just realized what it was that I wanted and it's you and-"

"Chris, I can't have this conversation. I just think that we both need some time and space to think about all of this, ok? Because I feel like I'm going back and forth all the time and with everything I have to deal with with my family, I can't be dealing with this, too,"

Chris felt a bit of relief. It sounded as if she was willing to work on it. Not now, but it was a start. "Fine. Can we make a plan to talk in a few weeks?"

Lesly hesitated. Would she be strong enough by then? Even being in the next room with him sometimes made it difficult not to let him take her to bed. Yes. She had to be stronger by then. "Yes. I'll text you when I'm ready. But you can't text or call me before that, ok? Otherwise, all bets are off,"

Chris smiled on the other end of the phone. It was better than nothing.
"Good. Have a good night,"

"'Bye, Chris," 

Lesly leaned against the sofa and took a long sip of wine. She closed her eyes and wondered how long it would be before she let her guard down. Surely she could let him suffer a few weeks? Or at least she hoped she could.

**
JC had been spending most of the evening after dinner at Chad's and Lane's on a travel website looking at different deals. Chad had wholeheartedly agreed to take Sutton for two weeks and James' parents were going to keep the twins one week and JC's parents would come down from Maryland the last week. It was soon to be all set. They just had to decide on a destination. JC clicked on a deal for Greece. It looked like a great getaway. A Mediterranean cruise through the Greek islands. Five star meals every night. And a suite where he and James could be together. Alone. Without babies or six-year-olds. It seemed perfect and the price was just right.

"What are you looking at?" James came over to him, slipping her arms around his neck, her glass of wine in one hand and her head resting on the top of his as they both looked at the website together. "Greece! Really?"

JC turned around and pulled her into his lap. "Yeah. What do you think? It's a two week cruise that leaves from Athens and goes all over the Greek islands and it looks like one night in Turkey." He pulled her brown hair away from her neck and kissed her softly. "No kids. Just me and you. All alone."

James looked down at him and grinned. "Book it."

**
On her way to work the next day, Lesly decided to pay her brother a visit. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but after the state her father had been in the day before, she knew something had to be done. Pulling into his driveway, she cringed a little. There were toys scattered all over the front yard. And she also noticed an old washing machine proudly on display on the front porch. Her brother's pick-up truck boasted a confederate flag on the back and a bumper sticker which read, "No Fat Chicks." Lesly groaned inwardly. How in the world was she related to him? Sure they'd grown up in one of the smallest towns in Georgia, she knew they spoke with a Southern drawl (and Chris would never let her forget it when they'd been together), and they'd grown up learning all about hunting and fishing from their father. But Lesly would never in a million years have had an old washing machine on her front porch and the bumper sticker was just a little offensive. She wondered how Brianne, Dane's girlfriend, felt about that bumper sticker. Then again, Brianne wasn't exactly what you'd refer to as "classy." She was a tall brunette that had bleached her hair so many times, Lesly was surprised it hadn't fallen out. Brianne talked as though she was some kind of Hollywood socialite, but the thick Southern accent and multiple uses of "ain't"gave it away all too soon when people met her. 

Lesly got out of the car and walked up to the front door, knocking after seeing a small piece of paper taped over the doorbell that simply stated: "Doorbell don't work." She rolled her eyes and waited for Dane or Brianne to answer the door. In a few seconds, Brianne's voice could be heard and she opened the door with four-year-old Griffin clinging to her leg. 

"Oh, hey! Look, Griffy, it's your Aunt Lesly!" Brianne opened the door wider so that Lesly could step inside. The entire house reeked of cigarette smoke and what could only be described as onions. Lesly tried to hold her breath but she figured she'd suffocate before too long and gave up. She couldn't wait to explain to James why she smelled like a cigarette onion factory at work later that day.

After hellos and hugs to Griffin had been exchanged, Lesly looked over at Brianne, whose platinum bleach hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing old flannel pajama bottoms with a faded t-shirt that said something about a monster truck show from 1999. Lesly had to ignore it. Otherwise it would only make her depressed that her nephew was growing up in white trash. "Brianne, is Dane here?" she finally asked.

Brianne shook her head, "He's sleepin'. Got in late last night from Ruby's. Why what's up?" 

"Well," Lesly cleared her throat, "I was over at Dad's last night and it just looked like Dane hadn't come over when it was his day to help out. I just -"

Brianne cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, I think that was his poker night and he forgot. I'll remind him. When is he s'posed to be back over there?" 

Poker night?! Her brother could barely handle a job and he was gambling away money? Whatever. She couldn't think about that right now, either. Lesly was beginning to wonder if she just needed to keep a journal of happy thoughts since most of her thoughts were heading towards downright awful. "Tonight. It would really be good if he could remember this time. I'm closing the shop and can't make it over there. All you need to do is-"

Brianne interrupted yet again, "I know what we have to do, Lesly. We'll do it, okay?" her tone was a bit defensive and Lesly was about to interject but decided against it and rose to leave.

"Ok. Thanks," Lesly responded a bit awkwardly. She gave a smile to Brianne and hugged Griffin. "Thanks. See you later," 

Back inside her car, Lesly rested her head on the back of her seat. For some reason, she was thinking about Chris and how he would've reacted if he'd been there with her. He would've made a joke to cut the ice, that was for sure. And he would've been sympathetic to Lesly's plea for her father's care. This was why Chris was good for her when she was stressed out like this. 

Then she began to think of all of the excuses. He didn't want to commit. He was scared. He still was, for some reason, connected with Stephanie and couldn't let that go. No. He wasn't ready for this. And Lesly didn't have time for his bullshit. 

But it sure would've been nice to have him in her corner today.

**
Chris sat in her driveway. He had to tell her. He had to do it this time. All communication would be broken off after today. She was an unhealthy part of his life and needed to be out of it. Because he loved Lesly and having Stephanie around, even in small doses, was not going to help him make amends with Lesly. He sat there for as long as he could without looking like a creeper and finally opened the car door. He still had her house keys and could have easily opened the front door with it. But he hadn't done that in a while and knocking felt more natural now. 

She answered the door immediately, her face in a sexy pout, her brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. She bit on her lower lip and smiled. 

Chris didn't budge. "Stephanie, I didn't come here for anything but to tell you that this-" he pointed to her and then back to himself. "-is over. I'm sorry. But I want to move on and having you around isn't helping me to move on."

Stephanie looked at him as though she hadn't heard a word he'd just said. "I'm pregnant. And it's yours. So I don't think this is going to be as easy as you thought it would be."