“Where are you going?” I ask when I reach them.
That pain is back in Nick’s eyes as he pivots toward me, and more than anything, I want him to tell me what the hell is going on.
He slides his hand around my waist. “I have to take care of something.”
“I swear you two are in the mafia,” I mutter, making Nick and Jax both smile.
“Worse, love,” Jax says.
Nick shoots him a tired look and shakes his head. “I could lie to you and say I forgot something at my house, but I don’t want to lie. All I can say is that you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll be back at closing.”
I want to tell him not to go, to stay here instead of leaving again. Still, something tells me he’d just go anyway.
“You’d better. We have a date,” I remind him.
His eyes brighten a fraction at the mention. “I wouldn’t miss it. Jax is going to stay here. You’ll wait for me?”
“I will.”
His lips land on mine for the briefest second before he lets me go and makes his way to the door, his jacket undulating behind him when he exits the building.
I stare after him and rest my hip against the table. “Why does it feel like he’s hiding something?” I ask Jax.
Jax shifts as he glances at the door. “Because he is.”
My brows lift, eyes widening, though he waves me off and shakes his head.
“My brother has many secrets. I promise, it’s nothing you should fear.”
Fear.
The word has me thinking about last night, about the fireflies and the birds and the ice on the sidewalks melting beneath my feet. I stare out at the ocean like Nick was just minutes before as it all runs through my mind.
“You know, ever since I met you two, weird things have been happening around me. I’ve been blaming Marge and her Rumpus Brothers stories, but I’m starting to think it might have something to do with you two instead,” I say.
He considers me as he sits up. “What makes you think that?”
I hesitate to answer, to reveal something that might make him think I’m crazy. “You two just don’t feel real,” I eventually decide.
Jax reaches for my fingers and brings them to his lips. His touch is chilled, but not a startling chill. It’s like sinking into cool, clean sheets at the end of a hot day, the magic you feel when you step outside into the snow for the first time.
“I assure you, darling. We’re real.”
An uneven breath leaves me at the way he stares. I slide onto the edge of the table at his side, goosebumps rising on my skin when his fingers gently move to my thigh. He’s touching me so delicately… as if he’s afraid that if he goes too far, he won’t be able to stop himself from consuming me entirely. It almost makes me smile. Someone so obviously used to creating disruption, restraining himself like he’s never had to do it before.
“So, you’re the moon,” I say.
He squints up at me. “What does that mean?”
“Nick was telling me the other day that he loved the sun. That the moon meant chaos. Now, meeting you, I assume he means you.”
Jax smiles fondly. “You think I’m chaotic?”
“I think you’re used to doing whatever the fuck you want to do,” I reply.
He huffs. “I never liked being caged. It made me… restless. Limitations fucked with my head and caused me to make mistakes.”
He sounds like he’s talking about more than simple pranks and mischief.
