He blew me a kiss down the line, making me smile widely. This is what I loved most about him. He called me a bitch and blew me a kiss all in the space of thirty seconds.
“What you up to?”
“About to grab my groceries and then head home.”
“Boring!”
“Well we can’t all be fabulous and lead exciting lives. Some of us have to adult.”
“Well, I’m avoiding that as long as I can. Sounds like a trap,” he explained. He wasn’t wrong.
“Yeah well, I’m not getting any younger. Gotta grow up sometime.”
“Elise McCoy! You’ve just turned twenty-eight. You’re young, you’re hot, and you’re the best person I know. You, my darling, are a freaking catch.”
“Sounds like you’re writing my personal ad.” I chuckled. He seemed so sure of himself. I wish I believed him.
“Say the word and I’ll have your profile online within the hour.”
“Thanks. But I’m not that desperate… not yet anyway.”
“Well, sweetheart… offer’s always open.”
“And that’s why I love ya, Jax.”
“One of the reasons anyway.” I lifted the last of my bags from the trolley into the boot of my car and slammed it shut.
“Were you just calling to see if I was ready to join the online revolution of desperate and dateless or did you have an actual reason?”
I loved Jaxson, he was my person, but having an hour-long conversation with him over my pathetic dating life required wine and a bubble bath. I had no interest in having the conversation standing in the middle of a busy car park.
“Actually, I was ringing to see if you wanted to do dinner tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, dinner tonight. You know, that meal normal people eat in a couple of hours’ time.”
“It’s a school night, Jax,” I reminded him.
As much as I loved him, there was no way I was giving up my Sunday night. Sunday nights were my me time. It was when I did all those things that us girls never admitted to having to take care of but secretly had pencilled in in our diaries. Tidying up the bikini line. Dying those sparkly silver strands from our hair. Plucking our eyebrows before they turned into a monobrow. And my personal favourite, the one I’d be absolutely mortified if anyone found out this was a thing; dying my moustache. Sometimes being a brunette sucked arse. I doubted my fair-haired friends had to worry about shit like this.
“Buzz kill.”
“Well, if you want to come do my ironing for me, I may be able to fit you in…”
“Ah, no thanks. Fine then, party pooper. Tuesday. You. Me. Dana. Tacos atTequila Mockingbird. Seven o’clock.”
Knowing there was no use in arguing, not when Jax was in one of his moods, I agreed and ended the call. Sliding behind the wheel, I managed to shut the door just before the rain came down.
***
Tuesday couldn’t arrive fast enough.
I hadn’t really been looking forward to dinner with Jax, I hadn’t been looking forward to the inevitable hangover that came with that, both emotional and alcohol induced, but after yesterday, I was more than ready for something stronger than wine. Even my favourite chardonnay didn’t cut it last night. And today, the shit show continued.
When the bell rang, I seriously considered shoulder charging the kids out of the way and making my escape. I don’t know what caused it, but everything was going wrong and the kids were feral. It wasn’t just my class either. It was down to Alex and Jay for fighting yesterday over a broom. Why they wanted the broom in the first place, I still had no idea. All I knew was neither one had got it, and when Alex clunked Jay on the head with the handle, they both earned themselves a couple of days off with a suspension. Briefly, the idea floated through my mind ifIbashed someone on the head with a broom,Icould be suspended. A couple of days at home right now sounded like bliss.
Knowing I was on bus duty, as if this day couldn’t get any worse, I grabbed my sunglasses and phone and headed for the lines. God, I hoped the buses and parents were running on time today. The last thing I needed was to get stuck waiting on some parent who couldn’t be bothered keeping track of time.
