“Jensen”—Jax groans at his nephew—“don’t say that. Only bad people say that.”
“Bad people!” Jensen points to me and laughs. “Bad people!”
Dear God, can someone evict the kid already? Or better yet, me.
Jules all but gives me the finger as she races for the door, and Deb runs after her, threatening to toss the entire left side of the table into a Ziploc bag.
Kali loses herself in her phone a minute. “Gotta go.” She jumps up. “A bunch of us are going to see a movie tonight, and Cole is going to be there!” she squeals as if Cole were the equivalent of a nineties boy band all rolled up into one ball of testosterone and good hair. “God, I never have anything to wear,” she lambasts her meager wardrobe choices as she speeds up the stairs. On second thought, maybe they are just like us.
Deb comes back and tsks away at the sad state of her dinner party. “Why don’t you kids finish up, and I’ll be back to take care of the dishes?” She takes a step forward with an unnatural level of concern written on her face. “Poppy, you’re not really leaving in a week, are you?”
“Well, actually”— I glance to Jaxson who seems equally interested in my answer—“I have this new job I’m starting.”
“Of course, she’s leaving.” Jax gives my shoulder a quick squeeze. “She’s got a life she’s building, a budding career, and probably a boatload of friends just waiting for her to get back.”
My roommate and her less than sunny disposition come to mind. Honestly, she’s my only friend out there, if you can call someone who’s basically using you for half the utilities a true friend. We don’t exactly say much outside of accusing one another of breaking into our coveted stash of Greek yogurt—as if I would settle for plain. Then, of course, there was the sexual advance from my old boss. That was veryfriendlyin nature if I don’t say so myself. But those two hardly qualify as a boatload. Heck, I don’t even have a boatload of people waiting for me in Oak Grove.
“Is that true?” Deb looks honestly perplexed by my plans to once again ditch this subtropical oasis otherwise known as God’s icebox.
“It’s true,” I assure her. “I’m more or less a limited time deal.”
“Oh,” she muses as she looks from Jax to me. “That must be why Jaxy is lapping it up while he can. He never was one to pass up a good deal.” She gives a rather sad attempt at a wink. “I’ll leave you kids alone, but before I go, I have to tell you how happy seeing the two of you together makes your mother and me. It’s as if the stars aligned, and the two of you have finally come to your senses.”
“We sure have.” I wrap my arms around him seemingly for show, but a very real part of me craves to hold him.
She cackles up a storm from down the hall. “It’s still not too late for a June wedding, you know!”
“Nice. I’ve somehow morphed into public enemy number one in your sister’s eyes, and your mother thinks I’d make a great long distance daughter-in-law.”
He offers a tired smile. “She doesn’t get the fact we’ve got lives.”
“Right.” As in separate lives. “I have a mountain of things waiting for me back in L.A.” A mountain of lies.
Jax cocks his head just a touch. “And I’ve got to get back to work. Stade Steel doesn’t run itself, unless it’s into the ground.”
“That would be pretty terrible.”
He offers a slow nod, his eyes steadying into mine. “It is pretty terrible.” He glances to the ode to Bugs Bunny on my plate. “You still hungry?”
“Nope.” The wicked witch of the guesthouse and the battleax killed my masticating mojo. Okay, so Deb isn’t your traditional battleax, but collectively, our mothers have landed me between Los Angeles and a hard penis, so in that regard, they both qualify.
Jax flashes that dimpled grin. “You wanna see my room?”
So dinner was a disaster, and I’m not so sure anyone really got more than a few bites in, but I refuse to believe that the end result of that catastrophe had anything to do with me. It couldn’t have. I’ve known those women all my life. My presence couldn’t possibly warrant abandoning a meal over. Kali clearly would have rather been chasing her new boy toy around a movie theater. And Jules, well—okay, so if I hadn’t accidently trained Jensen to cuss like a sailor she might have stuck it out. Who knew the kid would take up a sudden interest in Pardon-My-French? Besides, Jules already looked like she had an ax to grind—into my forehead. I had no clue that neither of Jaxson’s sisters would want me near him. His mother, though…gleefully pointing out myslumber party? I bet she and Mom are beside themselves with glee—rolling around on the bed sheet Jax and I made love on, mining it for pubic hairs to press into a locket.Made love.I wrinkle my nose at the thought.
“Do you remember your way?”
“Of course, I do,” I say, leading us to the left toward a hall of closed doors, each solemnly keeping its secret of what lies behind.
“Close, but no cigar.”
“Well, good thing because I don’t smoke.”
He gives a deep hearty laugh while navigating me by the shoulders down to the second hall instead.
Darn it. I’ve always confused the two, but that’s to be expected when you find yourself in what essentially amounts to a labyrinth.
Last door on the left still has the height marker we once etched into his molding, and I run my finger over it. Jax lays his hand over mine and gently spins me into him. There’s a pained look in his eyes, but a dull smile resonates just for me.
