“What—”
“I'm not doing this with you, Jaxon.”I tried to side-step him, but he blocked my path.
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “Clearly, this was a mistake.I don't know what game you're playing, but—”
“What?I'm not playing anything.”
“You're always playing something.Always looking for the upper hand.”
“You don't even know me.”
“Don't know you?”I laughed—short, sharp, humorless.“What, suddenly you have a classic case of amnesia?”
He frowned, clearly trying to place me.“Did we meet at a party or something?Friend of an ex?We definitely didn't fuck”—I ignored the way his eyes briefly trailed down my body and the heat it brought—“that, I would remember.”
Folding my arms across my chest, I took a step closer, my voice low and controlled.“You really don’t remember, do you?Ashburn High?You hiding my glasses?Taking my books?That cute little prank where you asked me to prom just so you and your friends could laugh when I showed up?”
His expression shifted—cockiness draining into something else.Recognition and… was that guilt?
“Bookie…”
“Don't.Call.Me.That.”
“Right.”He cleared his throat under my hard stare.“Okay.Fuck, I'm—”
“Save it,” I said, straightening my shoulders.“I don’t want or need your apology.What I need is to forget this little meeting ever happened.”
Whatever I thought was going to happen tonight, the sight of Jaxon brought a bitter taste in my mouth.
Back to the drawing board.
I huffed out a breath and walked away from him, but Jaxon's footsteps sounded behind me.
“Savannah, I was an idiot back then, but I’m not that same guy anymore.A lot has changed.”
I kept walking.“Good for you.You've managed some semblance of personal growth.Unfortunately for you, I don’t have the time or interest to participate in your redemption era.”
“Can you just hold on a second?Wait, okay—I'm sorry!”
Against my better judgment, I stopped.My brain was telling me to just walk away, but my feet were rooted in place.I told myself that his apology, no matter how satisfying it sounded, meant nothing to me now.I'd already filed away the bad memories and moved on with my life.
“I'm sorry, alright?I could give you a thousand excuses as to why I was such a dick back then, but it wouldn't change anything for you now.”
I finally turned around to face him, my arms crossed.“You're right, it wouldn't.”
“I was going through a lot back then—which I know doesn't excuse my behavior.I was wrong, and I'm sorry.”
I held his gaze, every part of me screaming to walk away.Nothing good could come from this man.But God, there was something different in his tone.He wasn’t mocking me like before.
He raised his hands as if to plead his innocence, his tone softening.“Look, Benji just said you needed someone to help out with this wedding thing.He told me everything, and it fucking sucks that they're both playing you like this.Benji asked, and Benji doesn't ask for anything.He couldn’t make it, so here I am.”
My stare didn't soften.
“This thing that you want to do… it's in three weeks, right?Let me show you how much I've changed.”Then when his lips tugged up, I knew the real Jaxon was back.“Besides, it's not like you've got much of a choice here.”
“Excuse me?”I asked through gritted teeth, my eyes narrowing.
“You’ve got, what, three weeks until the big day?And I'm guessing a shitload of engagement parties, brunches, and whatever the hell else people like that do before getting to what actually matters.It just sounds to me like you're on a bit of a tight schedule with not many volunteers.”
