“No, my older brother, Flynn, owns it. My twin brother Scott and I manage it together.”
“Wow,” Erica pipes up, looking at me. “It sounds like Jax has almost as many siblings as you. I don’t hear her complaining about them half as much as you moan about us.”
“I have four brothers,” Jax admits. “So I kind of get how annoying he must find all of you.”
There are peals of laughter around the table, and she smirks at me.
“And where do you live?” my mother chimes in.
“Irving, in Brooklyn?” Jax says, and there’s a hint of challenge in her voice. And no wonder, I wouldn’t evendrivethrough that part of town.
My mother’s lips thin, and she looks at me questioningly before Carrie jumps in to break the tension.
“And what do your other brothers do?” she asks.
Jax hesitates, cutting into her chicken with a little more vigor than before.
“Uh, well, they’re kind of between work right now, but they’ve been doing odd jobs all their lives.”
“And what about your mother and father?” my mother asks. “What do they do?”
Jax meets her gaze before she speaks. It feels very deliberate, and I glance over at her, feeling a weight hit my stomach when I see the challenge in her eyes.
“My mom’s dead. And… my dad’s in prison.”
Everyone goes silent. I close my eyes.Why the fuck didn’t she lie about that?
“Sorry, I know it’s an awkward topic,” Jax continues blithely. “But I believe honesty is the best policy. My dad was a bad person, and he’s doing time for it. My mom was wonderful, but she died of cancer when I was nineteen.”
The same age I was when dad died.
“Me and my brothers have worked hard to get our business off the ground,” Jax continues. “And we’ve all but erased my dad’s dirty legacy. Who he was doesn’t define us, but it got me to where I am today. I’m not ashamed of other people’s mistakes or owning up to my past. It is what it is, and I can’t change it.”
“Here, here,” Maddy says and nods at Jax approvingly as Lola beams at me like I’ve hit the jackpot.
“You know,” Lola pipes up. “You should come to my bachelorette party next weekend, Jax. I’d love to have you there.”
Jax nods at Lola, glancing at me uncertainly. I can tell she’s only agreeing because she thinks she won’t actually have to go. She doesn’t know my sister or how tenacious she can be. Even if Jax and I ‘broke up’ tomorrow, Lola would still want her to attend.
A funny feeling starts to pulse in my gut as the meal continues, and I see the little glances between my sisters. I cantell they all approve of Jax, and I’m not sure why that surprises me so much.
My mother remains stoically silent, barely eating anything and saying almost nothing. Her disapproval is palpable, but I’m far more worried about my own feelings. I can’t help imagining what this would be like if Jax were meeting them for real. What if this honest-to-a-fault, uncompromising, infuriating woman was actually someone I could potentially be with?
But I know it’s impossible. She would never agree to it, and it would be crazy for me to even try. Still, for the rest of the meal, I struggle to get her words out of my head.
“I’m not ashamed of owning up to my past...”
Maybe I should take a page out of Jax’s book on that one.
As dessert wraps up and I help my mother clear the table, I make sure she has no opportunity to get me alone. I can tell she doesn’t think Jax is good enough for this family, and I have no interest in entertaining her opinions.
As my sisters start talking about going to the living room to play a game, I linger outside the kitchen waiting for Jax to come out of the bathroom.
Either we escape now, or we’ll be dragged into an endless game of Uno, and I can’t stand how competitive my sisters get.
Jax emerges a few minutes later, the sequined lining of the skirt glittering as she closes the door. She looks gorgeous, but nothing like herself. I don’t know how she’s managed to get her hair tied up the way it is today. It’s braided intricately around the back of her head, but I much prefer the long, sexy ponytail she usually wears.
I have pictured holding onto it while I fuck her more times than I want to admit, and with that thought, I take her hand and silently lead her upstairs.
