“Hi, can I order three large pies? One pepperoni, one veggie lovers, and one chicken, spinach and feta with garlic sauce.”
Jaxon whistled low. “Damn, Smalls. Who ya inviting to this pizza party?”
Lucy swatted at him, unable to hide her grin at hearing her nickname. She continued with her order. “Can I add a pint of Cherry Garcia, a pint of Half Baked and . . . hold on one sec.” She turned to Jaxon. “What’s your favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry’s?”
“Does it have to be Ben and Jerry’s?”
“That’s all they carry at Pints & Pies.”
“Where?”
“Only the best pizza place in town. Focus! Ice cream.”
Jaxon shook his head, holding in a smirk. “Okay, you’re kinda putting me on the spot, Smalls, but I’ll go with Peanut Butter Cup if they have it.”
“Good choice!” Lucy returned to the order. “And one pint of Peanut Butter Cup, please.” She rattled off her address and phone number and then confirmed the order. “Perfect. See you in forty-five minutes.”
Jaxon’s smile was full blown when he parked the golf cart by her dorm and sauntered around to her side to help her with her crutches.
His grin was infectious and Lucy tried not to giggle as he raised his eyebrows at her. “What?”
“You sure like food for someone who looks like she never eats.”
“I eat!”
Jaxon scooped Lucy off her golf cart seat like she weighed nothing at all. Then he curled her like she was a barbell for effect. “If you say so, Smalls.”
She couldn’t suppress her giggle. “Put me down.”
“Can’t. Gotta get my workout in if you’re gonna feed me junk.”
Lucy couldn’t deny the fact that she really wasn’t struggling too hard to get out of Jaxon’s arms. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn’t help leaning into his warmth. It felt so good to be snuggled against him, and Good Lord did he smell good. Get a grip, Lucy. You have a boyfriend.
“So you’ve really never eaten at Pints & Pies?” Lucy asked, trying to distract herself from the way Jaxon’s arms made butterflies hatch in her stomach.
“I’m not a big junk food fan.”
“Pizza and ice cream is not junk food.”
Jaxon raised his eyebrows again. His eyebrows were so expressive. “I’m pretty sure pizza and ice cream is the definition of junk food.”
“You say junk food, I say main food group.”
“How are you so small if you live off junk?”
“I blame swimming. It’s an incredible workout. I burn tons of calories, or at least I used to. Maybe I should rethink my ice cream and pizza addiction now that I can’t swim, huh?”
“Nah, I think you could do with a few extra pounds. It’d make carrying you around campus more of a challenge.”
She snorted. “Oh, so I’d be doing you a favor by getting fat?”
“Yep. You’re sorta cutting into my workout time, so pack on a few extra pounds so I can multi task, will ya?” Jaxon teased, curling her like barbells again.
Lucy giggled. “Well in that case . . . maybe I’ll call back and order more.”
Jaxon
Lucy squirmed and giggled in Jaxon’s arms as he teased her about her junk food habits. He’d never seen someone light up with so much excitement just talking about ice cream. And damn it if he didn’t love her even more for it.
Love? That’s not what he meant. Well not like that. He just meant . . . Shit, who was he kidding? The girl was melting her way into his heart faster than an ice cream cone at the beach. She was adorable and bright and the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed made Jaxon want to abandon all his reservations and just kiss her already.
Lucy was busy rattling off her top five Ben & Jerry flavors when the door to her dorm opened. The figure that stepped out popped the bubble of bliss that Jaxon had been living in.
“There’s my girl,” Alex crooned.
Lucy immediately tensed in Jaxon’s arms. “Alex? I didn’t think you’d still be here.”
“Obviously,” he said, giving Jaxon a cocky glare.
Jaxon lowered Lucy to her feet. The last thing he wanted to do was let go of her after feeling her tense, but the way Alex was sizing them up made Jaxon realize the longer he held Lucy, the more shit Alex would probably give her.
Lucy crutched her way toward Alex and he slung his arm around Lucy’s shoulders pulling her into an aggressive hug as he forcefully kissed her on the lips. Jaxon had to look away, but the sound of Lucy’s crutch hitting the ground called his attention back. Alex was crushing her toward him awkwardly and she lost her grip on one of her crutches trying to keep her balance.
“Take it easy, bro,” Jaxon warned. “The girl’s got a broken leg.”
Alex looked Jaxon up and down as he handed the crutch back to Lucy, who looked like a deer in headlights. “Right,” Alex finally drawled slinging his arm possessively around Lucy. “Thanks for taking care of my girl for me,” then he steered Lucy toward the door. “Come on, lindenza. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Jaxon’s eyes followed Lucy into her dorm. He could see red roses exploding from every surface as a camera crew shined lights in their direction. Lucy turned back to look at Jaxon who felt like a third wheel lurking in the doorway.
“I’m gonna take off,” Jaxon said, retreating.
“But, what about Pints & Pies?” Lucy asked.
“Maybe some other time.”
Disappointment clearly clouded Lucy’s pretty eyes, but before she could say more, Alex called her name, claiming her with another possessive kiss.
Jaxon forced himself to shut the door and walk away. He felt sick. What the hell did she see in that douchebag? Lucy being with a guy like Alex contradicted everything Jaxon’s heart told him was true about her. She didn’t seem like all the other girls on campus—like her only goal was to nab some player with a nice car and a trust fund.
In the short time Jaxon had spent with Lucy he’d witnessed her depth and strength and humor. The girl had drive. She’d been through hell and back with her car accident and even though she didn’t have anyone but her quirky roommate to help her, she didn’t complain.
Lucy was a fighter and she seemed determined to make the most of her life, despite her accident. She’d thanked Jaxon, saying she was grateful to have another shot at life. That’s why he couldn’t understand why the hell she was throwing it away on some douche canoe with flashy ball handling skills.
Seeing Alex kissing Lucy had pissed Jaxon off more than it should’ve. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from punching something as he stalked away from her dorm. Fine, if that’s the way she wanted to treat her second chance at life that was her right, but he didn’t have to stand around and watch it.
19
Brooke
The pungent smell of roses hit Brooke in the face when she dared to stick her head out of her bedroom “Dang, it smells like a funeral parlor in here,” she said as she moved toward the living room. It’d been quiet in their dorm for about ten minutes and she hoped that meant that Alex and his fame-filmers had left.
“Has Elvis left the building?” she asked, when she saw Lucy sitting on the couch with her cast propped up.
She looked up, seeming lost in thought. “Huh?”
“You know, because Alex obviously thinks he’s the king of everything the way he waltzes in here and orders you around. I mean look at this place. It’s like a bad telenovela. I just can’t decide if this is supposed to be a comedy or a drama.”
Lucy rubbed her hand tiredly across her face. “Me either.”
Brooke didn’t like the defeat she heard in Lucy’s voice. She was about to ask her what was wrong when there was a knock at the door. “I got it,” she said padding to the front door.
Brooke was delightfully surprised when she was greeted with the logo of her favorite pizza place. “Did you order from Pints & Pies?” she called to Lucy.
“Oh, yeah . . . let me grab
my wallet.”
“I got it,” Brooke called back. It was her turn to buy anyway.
After paying the delivery boy, she carried her bounty back to the living room and plopped everything down on the coffee table to start popping boxes. There was the usual: a veggie pizza for Brooke, and a chicken, feta pizza for Lucy, but there was a third pizza, too.
“Who’s the pepperoni for?” Brooke asked.
Lucy exhaled deeply and let her head fall back against the couch. “I think I screwed up.”
“It’s okay. We can just pick the pepperoni off,” Brooke replied, mildly disturbed that Lucy looked like she wanted to cry because she’d messed up the pizza order.
“No I don’t mean the order, I mean with Jaxon.”
Brooke stilled, mid bite and a mushroom slid off the piece of pizza halfway to her mouth. “Did something happen between you two?”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe?”
Brooke put her slice of pizza back in the box. “Spill, now.”
“There’s not really anything to spill. Alex made sure of that.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t know he was still going to be here when we got home.”
“We? As in Jaxon was coming back here with you?”
“Yeah. I invited him over for pizza and ice cream to celebrate our success with the sketch artists today.”
“So it went well?”
“Eventually. It was actually a lot harder than I anticipated. I had to basically relive the accident over and over to get all the details the artist needed and there’s no way I could’ve done it without Jaxon. He was so incredibly sweet, Brooke. I’ve never met someone who was just kind and patient without a motive.”
Brooke frowned. “You mean like Alex?”
Lucy bit her lip, but nodded.
“What did that crap taco do?”
Lucy’s face crumbled. “Nothing. But that’s just it. The more time I spend with Jaxon, the more I realize how little Alex cares about me.”
“Then why the hell are you with Alex?”
“Sometimes I really don’t know.” Lucy’s voice broke and a tiny sob snuck out. “It’s like I finally just figured out I’ve been going down the wrong road my whole life, but now I’m so far gone in the wrong direction that I don’t have enough gas left in the tank to turn around.”
Brooke moved closer to Lucy on the couch and took her hands. “Then you get out and walk, Lucy. It’s never too late to change direction.”
Lucy looked up at Brooke with watery eyes. “Do you really believe that?”
“With all my heart.”
“I wish I was as strong as you.”
“Girl, you’re stronger. You put up with Alex for this long. God knows I would’ve buried him in a shallow grave long ago if I were you.” Brooke was only halfway joking, but Lucy gave her a weak smile anyway. “You deserve a great guy like Jaxon, Lucy.”
“But I have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, you do. But you can change that.”
Lucy looked down at her hands like she didn’t believe she truly could.
“Lucy, what have you got to lose? If you don’t make a change you’re going to stay miserable. But if you take a chance you might find happiness and love and all those amazing things people write songs about.”
“Or I might crash and burn.”
“Yeah, you might. But would you really be any worse off than you are right now?”
Lucy chewed her lip like she was considering it.
“Look, things could be worse, Lucy Lu. At least you’re not the campus virgin that everyone thinks is a big slut bag because Trista McAllister had a hard-on for Luis Martin freshman year.”
Lucy grimaced. “Maybe we can both work on changing our fate.”
Brooke lifted her chin up high. “Nope, I’ve accepted my fate. I’m never dating again. I’m destined to die a slutty virgin.”
“No one dies a virgin,” Lucy said bitterly. “Life screws us all.”
Holy Kurt Cobain, Batman. Brooke had never heard Lucy sound so depressed. A tiny prickle of worry gnawed at her, because she had a sneaking suspicion Lucy was talking about more than boy trouble. But Brooke had learned that pushing Lucy never got anywhere. Instead she rooted through the Pints & Pies shopping bag and pulled out three pints of Ben & Jerry’s and three plastic spoons. She took the lid off all three and lined them up on the coffee table, handing Lucy a spoon.
“Okay, no more wallowing. Tonight we eat ice cream and watch Shameless.”
“Why Shameless?” Lucy asked.
Brooke just shrugged. “It always makes me feel better about my own life.”
Lucy
Brooke was right, Shameless did have a way of putting her problems in prospective. Lucy spent the night eating pizza and ice cream on the couch while Brooke broke out her paint markers and doodled on her cast.
After they’d binged five episodes, Lucy announced she needed to go to bed or she’d fall asleep on the couch any minute.
Brooke switched off the television. “Okay, I’ll help you to bed on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Lucy asked through a yawn.
“That you decide to chase your unicorn.”
“Huh?”
Brooke turned on the lamp next to the couch and pointed to Lucy’s now colorfully decorated cast. Lucy’s hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh my God!”
Brooke had drawn a giant rearing white unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail on Lucy’s cast. Brooke was an incredible artist and the unicorn held lifelike detail on every level, including its well-endowed manhood.
“Tell me I’m hallucinating,” Lucy whispered.
“Can’t do, Lucy Lu.”
“Brooke! Why the hell did you brand me with a well-hung horse?”
“Well-hung unicorn,” Brooke corrected. “And it’s to remind you to go after your dreams.”
“How the hell does a horny unicorn represent my dreams?”
“Duh, Jaxon’s your unicorn. He’s gorgeous, sweet and he gives a shit. Do you know how impossible it is to find all those qualities in the same man? Those three things never line up—AKA he’s a unicorn. Plus, you just a know a boy that magically delicious is packing the goods.” Brooke giggled and waggled her eyebrows again.
Lucy just blinked at her best friend. Brooke had surely lost her mind if she thought Lucy was going to gimp around campus with an X-rated Rainbow Brite scene unfolding on her leg.
“Brooke, I’m going to kill you.”
“Or maybe you’ll thank me?”
“Nope, pretty sure I’m settled on killing you.”
“Fine. Pinky swear to at least explore the possibility of Jaxon and I’ll paint over the unicorn.”
“This is cruel and unusual punishment.”
A twinkle gleamed in Brooke’s pale blue eyes. “Is there any other kind?”
“Fine! But only if you swear to go out on at least one date before we graduate.”
Brooke crossed her arms. “This isn’t about me.”
“If I have to face my fears so do you.”
Brooke looked like she was still on the fence.
“Come on, Brooke. You haven’t dated anyone since freshman year. You can’t let one jerk make you give up on guys all together.”
“One jerk and Trista,” Brooke amended. “But I could say the same to you. All guys aren’t cocky crap tacos like Alex. You can’t let him make you settle for less than you deserve.”
Lucy held up her pinky. “Fine. To finding unicorns for both of us.”
Brooke grinned conspiratorially. “You’re on.”
20
Jaxon
On the ride home from campus the other night, Jaxon had decided that he was going to distance himself from Lucy. But when his alarm went off an hour earlier than usual he realized that wasn’t going to be so easy.
“You had to volunteer to drive her around in a golf cart for the next twelve weeks, didn’t you, Romeo?” he muttered
to himself.
Jaxon had set his alarm early to make sure he had enough time to pick Lucy up at her dorm and get her to her first class on time. He’d promised her that he’d be there for her. But that was before the whole Alex-marking-his-territory scenario. But it’s not like Jaxon could back out now. That would make him as shady as Lucy’s dirt bag boyfriend. No, he’d show up. He’d drive her around. And that’s it.
Jaxon knocked on Lucy’s door and she opened it, beaming at him, her hazel eyes wide with surprise. “You’re here?”
“I told you I would be.”
“I know . . . I guess I just didn’t think you’d come after last night.” She looked down sheepishly and Jaxon’s chest felt like it was going to cave in. Show up. Drive her around. And that’s it.
Yeah right. He’d been standing at her door for all of two seconds and already he was spellbound by her. The poor thing was so used to being let down that she’d expected him to ditch her the first chance he got. And hadn’t he wanted to?
“Lucy, I’m not going anywhere,” Jaxon said, all the while chastising himself. Moron. Hopeless, foolish, moron. But then she smiled at him and he didn’t give a shit how stupid he was. He had a feeling he’d endure just about anything to be the reason her face lit up.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said softly.
Jaxon’s heart pounded in his chest like it was trying to say, me too. He shoved his feelings down. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I just have to grab my books.”
“I got ‘em,” Jaxon slipped past her in the narrow foyer. His arm brushed hers and her light fragrance of coconut-vanilla filled the air. Jaxon breathed it in and shuddered. “You’re killin’ me, Smalls,” he muttered under his breath.
“What’s that?” Lucy asked.
Brooke walked into the living room just then saving Jaxon from having to answer. “Hey there, hot stuff.”
“Hey,” Jaxon replied.
The Accidental Boyfriend: A YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series Book 7) Page 14