“Hilarious. You get an F for originality.”
Jax mimes a shot to the heart and stumbles backward. “Ouch. Low blow, Volkswagen. Low blow.”
Jax calls me Volkswagen because my initials are V.W. I swear I don’t know where he comes up with this stuff, but people actually do laugh at him all the time.
“I have a proposition for you.”
Jax’s eyebrows shoot up, and he flashes me a lascivious grin.
“Actually, I have a proposition for both of you.”
Jax’s smile drops, and he looks back at Marshall. His head cocks to the side, looking Marshall up and down. He cocks his head to the other side, seeming to have come to some sort of conclusion.
“I can handle that. My only rule is no sword crossing. Actually, the rule is no Marshall-to-Jax touching of any kind. Other than that, I’m in.”
If I didn’t know this guy like the back of my hand, I would swear that he’s serious.He isn’t. He doesn’t see me that way.Neither of them ever had romantic interest in me actually. I’m not sure if they didn’t want to create a tense workplace situation or if they just weren’t attracted to me, but they’ve only ever hit on me in jest.
My eyes close, and I massage my temples, trying to call upon sanity that I don’t possess. Marshall has joined us now, and he’s doing the classic bartender move wiping down a glass while looking back and forth between us.
“What’s up, V Dub?”
“I need your help.”
Marshall’s face gets serious. “Yeah. Of course. What do you need?”
These guys are best friends because Jax is the fun and Marshall is the sensibility....more sensible than Jax anyway.They need each other.
“I need proxies.” My conviction wavers a bit once the words are out in the air, drifting between us.Am I really going to hand over the reins of my life to these two? Yes. I am . There are no better people on the planet than these two weirdos. They’re my weirdos.
Their chins drop in unison. “Proxies?” Marshall parrots back to me.
“Yeah. As you both know, I don’t have the best judgment when it comes to people. I need you two to act as my proxies and decide for me who gets to be in my life.”
They look at one another, and a silent conversation transpires between them. They break out into slow grins, and still no words have been spoken aloud. They each raise both hands high above their heads and double high-five one another like a couple of frat bro’s. Suddenly, this doesn’t seem like such a wise decision after all.
“We’re in.”
Jax is way too eager to confirm this. I am now seeing that it’s likely I’ve made yet another disastrous commitment.
The sudden street noise lets me know the door just opened behind me. Both Jax and Marshall look up to see who has entered. Marshall looks skyward, seeming to be thanking God for something, while Jax closes his eyes and pinches his lips together to hold in a laugh.
It only takes a moment to realize what they’re so happy about. I hear him before I see him.
“Hey, it’s Jax, right?”
Jax looks at me with a smug smile plastered across his too handsome face. “Hey man. Yeah, that’s right. Elijah, isn’t it?”
Elijah is standing directly beside me now, and I look up at him. He’s surprised to see me. The shock on his face is clear.He’s not happy to see me. That’s evident too. I get a little stabbing pain in my chest at the realization. My smile falters, and he notices. He shakes off the surprise and tosses me a friendly smile.
“Hey. Long time no see.” He chuckles awkwardly.He’s uncomfortable. I make him uncomfortable. Last night I was his soulmate, and this morning I’m someone he didn’t want to run into.
Elijah looks back to Jax. “I think I left my license here last night. Have you seen it?”
And as though he had foreseen this entire situation play out long before even I got here, Jax pulls Elijah’s license out of his back pocket and presents it to him with a flourish of his wrist. Elijah reaches up to grab it, but Jax pulls it back, slipping it out of Elijah’s grasp.
Elijah’s face contorts in confusion, and I assume that my own expression likely mirrors his.
“You know, Elijah, a funny thing was happening just before you walked in here. It’s almost like the timing of this whole thing was......fated or something. One can only speculate, of course.” Jax is rubbing his chin and inspecting the license like he’s Sherlock Holmes, and he believes Elijah may be guilty of ritualistic murder. Right on cue, the faithful assistant John Watson strides forward, wearing the same smug grin as Sherlock.
