Then
Somehow our high school graduations weren’t on the same day, so yesterday Jax attended mine and today was my turn to watch him walk across the stage in his cap and gown.
His high school colors are green and yellow, and I’ve come to realize I much prefer my school’s royal blue and white. But even with a bright green cap and gown, Jax looks handsome as ever with his grown out curls spilling out the sides and the back of his cap.
The ceremony just closed, and with his little sister Walker’s hand in mine, we walk down the gymnasium bleachers and out onto the gym floor where some of the graduates are still collecting their caps after tossing them in celebration. When Jax spots us, he nods at the friends surrounding him before taking off in a run toward us.
“Come here, baby,” he yells as he closes the distance, and without giving it a second thought, I unclasp my hand from Walker’s and kick off my sandals to run to him. Once he’s close enough, I leap into his arms, crashing against his chest and wrapping my legs around his waist even though the dress I’mwearing could possibly make doing so indecent. But I couldn’t care less right now. All I want in this moment—well, every moment really—is to be in his arms.
Jackson kisses me silly in front of a gymnasium full of his peers and their families, and I know him well enough by now to know that this is an intentional display of affection, an act of staking his claim. I’m not sure what it says about me, but I love when he does things like this—essentially telling everyone that I’m his and he is mine.
Only when a throat clears behind me does Jax break our kiss. He lowers me to the ground and throws a protective arm around me, likely preparing to go toe-to-toe with his father.
“PDA is beneath Wilson men, son. Don’t let me see anything like that again. Am I understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jackson bites out, doing a poor job of hiding his disdain for his father.
My interactions with the senator have been few and far between since Jax typically only brings me to his house when his father is out of town or he’s certain he won’t be around. I’m not sure how his mother Kathy has managed to stay with such a cruel-hearted man. Especially considering how considerate and loving she is. The way her husband treats Jackson and Bennett is abhorrent. From what Jax has told me, his dad is fairly decent to Walker, thank god. The poor girl is only eleven after all.
Even with my limited interactions with Senator Wilson, I get a clear sense that he doesn’t approve of Jax being in a relationship with me. I’m honestly not sure he’d be okay with Jax being in a relationship period, regardless of who it was with. But he seems especially upset that I’m the one his son has chosen to fall for.
Jackson has already told me his father tried to forbid him from dating me, stating a relationship would distract him from his goals, which doesn’t make any sense considering he has a full ride to Harvard. What really surprised me was that when he toldJackson he had to break up with me, Jax told his father that if he tried to tell him what to do again or threatened our relationship in any way whatsoever, he’d quit hockey and sabotage not only his scholarship, but any shot he has at going pro.
Without giving his dad another opportunity to lecture him, Jax turns to hug his mom, sister and older brother, Bennett, who I only met for the first time in person today. He’s called and FaceTimed Jax a few times when we’ve been together, and from what I’ve gathered, he’s a pretty great big brother to his siblings, even with the stress of being a professional hockey player at such a young age weighing on his shoulders.
Jax has talked a lot about the upcoming NHL draft that he’s eligible to enter. He told me Bennett was drafted at eighteen, and instead of going on to play college hockey for a few years, he was signed by the Minnesota Wolverines right away. From what I’ve been told, that’s rare, especially for a defenseman. Jackson decided to enter the draft this year, but being a forward that might not go in the first or second round, he knows he’ll likely play a few years of college hockey before he signs with whatever team drafts him or possibly play for the AHL.
I’m excited for him and beyond proud, but I’d be lying if I said the unknown of where he’ll end up and when doesn’t scare the heck out of me. It’s probably naive of me to believe we’ll be together forever at such a young age and only having dated for a handful of months, but I can’t stop myself from believing with every fiber of my being that Jackson Wilson is my end game.
“Turner, what’s up man?” Jax hollers from his parents’ kitchen island when he spots a tall guy with brown hair, tanned skin, andbrown eyes approaching us. He’s walking over with Carson, but I don’t think I’ve met him before.
The guy shakes Jax’s hand and brings him in for a one-arm hug. “Not much, Jax. Just putting Carson through the grind, trying to bring him up to speed,” he taunts, looking over his shoulder at Carson, where Carson flips him the bird. Turning back to Jax, he asks, “What about you? Something has to be keeping you busy if we haven’t seen you at the rink or gym yet.”
“Yeah, yeah. I hear ya. Not something, someone,” Jackson says, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the top of my head. I melt into the embrace, slightly buzzed from the seltzer I’ve been sipping on, but more intoxicated from the way being in his arms makes me feel.
“This is Tae. Tae this is Griffin Turner, and of course you’ve met Carson.”
“Nice to see you again,” Carson says as he grabs a cup and fills it up with a rum and soda mix.
“Baby, Turner used to play on our high school team with us. Now he’s big time at Emery before he heads to Colorado,” Jax explains as he nuzzles into my neck.
I’m so lost in the feel of his lips against my neck, I forget we’re in a room full of people. “You better watch yourself, Bear, or I’ll have to take the host away from his own party and lock you away upstairs,” I murmur to him over my shoulder.
“You wanna have your wicked way with me, T? All you had to do was ask. Let’s go,” he says as he takes my hand and leads me through the crowd of people standing in front of the steps that lead to the stairs.
Before we can make our escape, his friends McKenna and Katie stop us. Realization dawns on me as I take in Katie that Griffin must be her older brother, also known as the guy McKenna couldn’t stop gushing about finally being home for the summer again when we spoke at their graduation. That makesa lot more sense now, I can see why she’d be hung up on him. Not only is he gorgeous, but the forbidden aspect of him being the boy next door and her best friend’s brother has me itching to write a song about them.
“We’re going to stop you right there, Jaxy. We need to steal our girl, Tae, for a bit of fun,” McKenna tells him.
The girls pull me from his hold and into a group of their friends. Katie and McKenna have been so kind and have adopted me as one of their own since they met me this spring. I had the best time dancing with them at Jax’s prom, and we’ve hung out as a group a few times.
“Tae! I’ve been meaning to ask if you have any plans over the Fourth of July? We have a cabin on a lake up north we typically go to every year with our families, but this year our parents have a charity gala, so it’ll be our first trip there with just us four. They said we could invite a few friends along and we’d love to have you and Jax join us!” McKenna explains as Katie nods excitedly in agreement.
“You have to come! Pretty please,” Katie begs with her hands clasped together.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’m not sure if my dad will go for a full weekend without parental supervision,” I tell them, knowing the only reason he let me stay at Jackson’s house a few weeks ago was because I lied and told him his parents were there and that we would be sleeping in separate rooms. Maybe I could stretch the truth in this case, or maybe I’ll get lucky and he won’t ask for clarification and just assume there’ll be parents there instead.
Yeah, keep dreaming . . .
