Shuffling footsteps drag Austin’s attention up just as someone growls, “Get your hands off her.”
Jax is suddenly there, pulling him away from me, but Austin resists, flailing his arms and making a bigger idiot of himself.
Instead of entertaining Austin’s aggression, Jax cocks his arm back and slugs Austin in the face.
Holy crap!I’ve never seen Jax hit someone, and I hate that watching him stand up for me is officially the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
The fury in his eyes softens to concern as he crouches down next to me, placing his hands on both my shoulders. “Are you okay?” He inspects me, as if the damage Austin caused can be seen with the naked eye, but no one can see my shattered heart.
“I’m fine. Will you take me home?”
Jax nods. As he scoops me off the floor, he turns to Earl, the bouncer. “Get him out of here.”
When Jax steps through the back door into the cool night air, I nuzzle into his touch. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him in this way. When he first came to town, over nine years ago now, he was one of the only people who made me feel free to be myself. I didn’t have to be perfect to win his affection. But time drew us apart, and Jaxbecame my brother’s best friend who gave me an annoying nickname solely to get on my nerves. Now, I’m seeing traces of the Jax I used to know, the soft one who once swiped away my tears when he caught me crying in the barn, the thoughtful one who bought me a pint of ice cream on my birthday freshman year.
His lips curl into a gentle smile as he runs his thumb up and down my arm. I notice the perfect bow shape of his upper lip. His lips almost look stained red. With the alcohol coursing through my veins, I know I’m not thinking clearly, but I also can’t bring myself to care enough to stop the question from forming in my mind.What would it be like to kiss Jax Greer?
Between his full lips and the way he’s gently caressing me, I bet he’d be an amazing kisser. I imagine he’s passionate and experienced. He probably knows exactly what to do to make a woman feel like the only person on earth.
We sit in silence the entire drive back to my house, but when he stops his truck and puts it in park, he gently says, “I know you’re not okay.”
I pick at a stray thread on my flannel, trying to fight the surge of tears his words have brought on. “I’mfine. I don’t want to think about what just happened.”
I’ve done a great job of holding it together in front of everyone. Jax isn’t about to be the one who undoes that.
I can still feel his gaze on me when I speak again. “Do you want to come inside?” He bites his lip like I asked him to break some sort of rule. Pinning him with a look, I add, “Iwantyou to come inside, Jax.”
He gets out of the truck, rounding the bumper to help me step down, even though I’m five eight and his truck isn’t that lifted.
Once I unlock my front door and swing it open, Jax pulls me toward the couch, brushing my hair to the side. The warmth of his touch feels so good, soft but firm like I expected. He makes a tsking sound and gets up from the couch.
“Where are you going?”
“To find some ointment and Band-Aids. You’re bleeding. You must’ve hit the barstool when Austin knocked you over.”
I reach up to my head and sure enough, a small trace of blood appears on my fingertips.
I’m ready to protest, telling him I don’t need a stupid bandage, but when he comes back and sweeps my hair away from my face again, I melt. I put aside my ego for a second, basking in his intimate touch until he presses an antiseptic pad to my forehead.
I wince and pull away. I guess the effects of the alcohol are wearing off now. He wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me closer, holding my gaze and making my heart pound in my chest like a stampede of wild horses.
“Did he ever hurt you?” There’s pain in Jax’s eyes, and I can’t help but wonder what put it there. Like everyone else in town, I heard about what brought Jax and his mom to Roots his sophomore year, but people here tend to spread gossip just to keep themselves entertained, so I’ve always treated it as such. If he ever told Charlie the truth, my brother kept it to himself.
“He never laid a hand on me.”
Jax peels open a Band-Aid. “He’s still a complete asshole.”
“I know.”
“Then why’d you put up with him? Why’d you getengaged?”
“I don’t know.” I draw my knees up into my arms. “I did love him, at one point.”
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘you’ll pick a familiar hell over an unfamiliar heaven’?”
I shake my head.
“Well, Austin is your familiar hell. Yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s all you’ve known. It would make sense for you to get back with him when he came crawling back to you tonight.” He’s silent for a beat, intent on pressing the bandage to my wound before he finally meets my eyes, whispering, “Please don’t take him back.”
