Okaaay. I wiped my hands together in a lame attempt to clean them without the use of a napkin. “So, about that jumper cable guy—”
“I’ll go with you,” he interrupted. He was already dumping both our plates in the sink and I stood up too.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
His expression said he thought I was nuts. I probably looked a little insane. I was back in mission mode, and both Ashley and Beth had separately mentioned that I tended to get crazy eyes when I was in this state.
He didn’t comment on the crazy eyes. He just leaned back against the counter and gave me one of those intensely all-seeing stares.
Man, his eyes were ridiculous. It wasn’t so much the color as the look in them. How did he do that?
“You can’t go by yourself,” he said evenly. “Willie won’t give you the time of day if you show up by yourself asking for favors.”
“One-eyed Willie!” Bob shouted out Willie’s name like a roar and I glanced in his direction with a frown before turning back to Jax.
“Okay, fine. Do you think he’ll be up now?”
“Yeah. He should be at work.” His gaze roamed over me. “Eager to head back home, are we?”
I scowled at his tone. It was the same vaguely condescending tone he’d used last night when he’d treated me like I was some spoiled princess.
“No,” I said slowly. “I’ve actually changed my mind about heading home.”
“Sweet,” Bob said from the couch. “You gonna stay with us tonight?”
I glanced over at him but he was still staring at the screen with avid fascination. He’d been so easy about it, like girls crashing with them was a regular occurrence. Yet again it dawned on me that maybe it was. They both seemed way too cool and casual about a stranger staying for breakfast.
“Um, no.” I turned back to Jax. I didn’t want him to think I was planning on taking advantage of his hospitality. “The holiday crowds should be gone by tonight, right? I’m guessing I can get a room somewhere.”
His gaze met mine again and his silence had me shifting from foot to foot. When he finally spoke I nearly jumped out of my skin. “We’ll get you an extra night at the Sunshine Inn.”
“Oh.”
He was already heading toward the front door and I scrambled to fall into step behind him. After a couple seconds of speed walking he slowed down enough for my much shorter legs to keep pace beside his.
He wasn’t absurdly tall but I was on the short side.
“So,” he said as we left the dingy apartment complex behind and headed toward the corner. “You decided to stay.”
I glanced over at him. I wasn’t sure if that was a question or a comment. Was I supposed to reply? I didn’t answer, mainly because I’d become distracted by the air.
That’s right, the air. I’d been too frantic and worried last night to take notice, but holy cow it smelled amazing. I stopped short and took a long deep inhale.
Jax turned and watched me, his eyes narrowing in concentration like I was an exam he needed to ace.
“The salt air smells so good,” I said by way of explanation.
He gave a short nod and continued on.
“I guess you get used to it,” I said, gesturing vaguely to the beach town around us. It was warm and sunny and the air had that mix of salt and sand, the sidewalk covered in the gritty dust even this far inland.
Wait, actually… “How far are we to the beach?”
“A few blocks.” He pointed in the direction we were heading and I picked up my pace.
“Hey, what’s the rush?” he called after me.
I barely heard him, I was too excited to get there. He caught up to me quickly but I focused on the distant view of sand as I raced toward the ocean.
“I didn’t get to see it last night,” I said as I broke into a sort of slow jog.
Jax just had to walk quickly beside me to keep up. “The beach?”
“The ocean,” I said, on the verge of being winded.
I was student council president, I was on the debate team, I was the head of every dance committee and volunteer league, I was an editor on the school newspaper, and I was even a member of our math league.
The only thing missing on my extra-curriculars? Sports. So yeah, I had to slow it down a notch. As I did I made a mental note to take up jogging for my heart and lungs’ sake.
“Big fan of the ocean, are you?” Jax’s voice was laced with sarcastic amusement.
It seemed it was my lot in life to entertain this guy with my oddities.
Neat.
What the heck, it wasn’t like I’d ever see him again after this morning. I glanced over at him. “I’ve never seen it before.”
He stopped. “The beach?”
I nodded, not stopping. If he wanted to gawk at the freak who’d never been to a beach before, he could do it by himself. “The beach,” I repeated as he once again joined my side and walked quickly beside me. “The ocean…” I gestured again. “All of it.”
“How is that possible?”
I shrugged. I so was not in the mood to explain my life to this guy. He didn’t need to hear about how my parents split up when I was young so every break from school was spent at my mom’s house in Ohio, or how I’d been spending my summers either at camp or working at a fast food place near us since I could remember.
He seemed to have me pegged all wrong—or at least partially wrong, and I didn’t have the energy to disabuse him of his ideas. Besides, what did it matter?
“Why are you still staring at me?” I asked when I could feel his eyes on me like a weight. I glanced over to see him shrug.
“Just want to see your reaction when you see the ocean for the first time.”
Huh. Fair enough.
And then we were there, climbing the short flight of wooden steps that led to the boardwalk, and beyond that the Jersey shore in all her beautiful glory.
The sky was blue and the ocean a sort of muddy gray…and I had never seen anything more beautiful. I greedily drank in the sights and sounds of early morning beachgoers setting up umbrellas and kids running around in swimsuits. I watched as seagulls soared overhead and shivered as a breeze came off the ocean and cut through my sundress.
I’d forgotten my new, ugly windbreaker back at Jax’s place.
I was totally okay with that. The sun warmed my skin and I swear I could feel my body sucking in the vitamin D like I was a drowning woman gasping for air.
I’m not sure how long we stood there like that, and I had no idea what Jax was thinking as he looked out at the ocean beside me.
But it was nice.
For the first time in weeks, my brain stopped buzzing with plans and that ever-present anxious pit finally took a hiatus.
Maybe it was the fresh air. I inhaled deeply and relaxed a little more.
Yeah, it was definitely the fresh air.
“Well?” Jax finally said, leaning over so I was the only one around who could hear his low voice. “Is it everything you hoped?”
I nodded quickly. “It’s even more magnificent than I imagined.”
I didn’t look over at him because I’d sounded embarrassingly earnest. He’d probably be smirking at me and that would only ruin the moment.
He may have smirked but, to my surprise, he didn’t outwardly mock me. Instead he leaned forward over the wooden railing. “Crazy to think that Europe is straight ahead, right?”
I blinked at him before turning back to the Atlantic Ocean trying to visualize the seemingly endless miles that stretched before us. “Does it make you homesick?”
I don’t know where that came from, but his British accent was too darned sexy to ignore and his talk of Europe made me think about the EU and Brexit and all that stuff, and—
His snort of amusement cut off all thoughts of Brexit. “Not at all.” He turned toward me as if sensing all the questions I was firmly stifling because they were so none of my business. “My family moved to the States three years ago. My p
arents and my little sister are currently less than an hour away in Jersey. I go back to England every once in a while to see friends and the extended family, but I’m not pining away for my homeland if that’s what you’re thinking.”
I shrugged and held my hands up at his defensive tone. “I wasn’t thinking anything. Just asking.”
His eyes moved over me. “If you’ve seen enough, we should go find Willie before he sets sail.”
“Oh, okay.” Then his words registered. “Wait, before he what now?”
He turned and walked away so quickly my question seemed to blow away with the wind as I scurried after him. He led me down the boardwalk to a pier where a bunch of ships of all sizes were docked. Some of them looked to be decorative—they were restaurants that looked like they never left the pier. But others were small and filling up fast.
“That’s a fishing boat,” he said, pointing to a smaller boat that was pulling away from the dock. “And that’s Willie’s ship.”
I stopped and my breathing stopped too. “It’s beautiful,” I said in a hushed voice.
“It’s a she,” a voice said from behind us.
I spun around so quickly I bumped into Jax. He reached out a hand to steady me but I jerked away quickly from the contact. Too quickly. I felt like a freakin’ spaz for the reaction.
Willie looked older than me and Jax, but not by much. He had an accent too, but different from Jax’s. Maybe Irish? Or Scottish? I don’t know, I’d never even been to the seashore, let alone left the continent.
Willie had dirty blond hair and a scraggly beard that looked itchy but his grin was goofy and it made me like him instantly. He reached out and shook my hand and I hoped neither of them noticed that I was still blushing from that accidental run-in with Jax.
Actually, the run-in had given me a jolt but it was my bizarre over the top reaction to his touch that had me turning red at the moment.
It’s not like I’d never been touched by a member of the opposite sex before. I had guy friends who I hugged regularly and without spazzing out. And then there was Ted—we’d done way more than hug.
But there was something different around Jax. I trusted him. I definitely wasn’t scared of him. But he made me nervous.
No, not nervous, just…unsettled. It was the eyes, I decided as I watched Jax and Willie do a weird bro hug sort of thing. His eyes were unsettling.
And his body. He had a very nice body.
And no I hadn’t weirdly been ogling or anything but I may have caught sight of some muscles when he’d stripped off his wet shirt last night and replaced it with his T-shirt. And in that brief moment when I’d stupidly fallen against him just now?
Yeah, I’d noticed. He wasn’t big and brawny but he had muscle.
The two guys turned back to me and it was clear I’d missed their interaction while mentally ogling. “So it’s jumper cables you need, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. Do you think I can borrow yours?”
“Of course,” he said in this open, friendly way that made me feel like we’d been friends for ages. Between his warm smile and friendly outgoing nature I found myself looking between the guys as if maybe comparing them side by side I would see how on earth these two came to be friends.
Where Willie smiled, Jax glowered. Where Jax was unreadable, Willie looked to be an open book.
Like right now for example, Willie wasn’t even trying to disguise his interest. “So are you new in town or a—”
“Tourist,” Jax interrupted quickly. The word passed between the two of them like some secret code.
I found myself shifting before them, my hands clenching and unclenching in front of me. That lovely relaxing sensation I’d gotten while staring at the ocean was back in full force. “Do you think I could get it from you now?” I asked, adding an apologetic wince for my impatience. But really, I had things to do to prepare. All of the bigger events were booked, but I had so many things to do to ensure my friends had the best time imaginable and to ensure that Ted was swept off his feet.
On the drive down I’d started thinking bonfires. Yes, there was a strict no-fire policy on the beaches but what if I were to rent a private beach somewhere? Or maybe a house that had a backyard?
How epic would that be?
Granted, I didn’t have the money for that, but how romantic would that be? A kiss by a fire? Ah-mazing.
“Sorry, love,” Willie said with an equally apologetic wince. “I’ve got a morning ride to prepare for and my car’s back by my house.”
“Oh.” I’m sure my face fell.
Jax nudged my elbow and I jumped again. Dang, I really had to stop that. He already thought I was a freak, that much was clear. Jumping like a nervous rabbit was not helping me look any cooler.
Not that it mattered what Jax thought of me, but still. A girl had her pride.
“You’re not in a rush, right?” Jax said, kind of prompting me to be polite and say that it could wait.
And it could, most of the plans I was looking into were around this touristy area. I nodded quickly. “No, yeah, it’s fine. I’ve got things to do on the boardwalk today anyway.”
Willie’s grin made his whole face light up and I got the crazy feeling that I’d just made his day.
Willie was awfully easy to please.
“Great,” he said. He looked between the two of us then turned to Jax. “Hey, man, it’s your day off, right?”
Jax nodded.
“Why don’t you and your girl come out on the cruise with us,” he said.
I blinked. So many things about that statement were startling. Your girl? Cruise? What cruise?
Jax looked to me for a second then turned back. “That would be great if you think you could get us on for free.”
Willie scoffed, making Jax laugh.
They made plans for us to return in an hour just before the boat set sail but I was too busy studying Jax.
Staring at Jax.
Okay fine, I was outright gawking.
But did I mention that he’d laughed? Like, legit laughter. The sound was low and rumbly and…oh holy cow, it was sexy as sin. And laughter meant he’d had to smile. It was as good as ever. Maybe the best one yet, not that I was keeping track or anything.
Well, yeah, I supposed I was totally keeping track. But really, he had a remarkable smile. And right now it still hovered over his lips like he’d forgotten to be pissed at life for a minute.
It softened everything about him until he actually looked…nice. Approachable, even.
This Jax was so different, it was like night and day.
Night Jax and Day Jax.
Day Jax turned to me now and nodded toward the boardwalk. “Come on, let’s go look around and let Willie get back to work.”
“Oh…okay.” I followed Jax back onto the boardwalk and let him lead the way toward the end that was filled with amusement park rides. Excitement was building up in me at the sight of it. I’d known it was there, obviously. I’d done my research and had planned a whole night of fun for my fellow seniors at these very piers. But seeing it in person was a whole other matter.
I may have started to speed walk again.
Jax just lengthened his stride beside me. “Don’t tell me you’ve never been on a roller coaster before.”
I glanced up at him with a little huff of laughter. “Was that a joke?”
His gaze was hard to read but one side of his lips twitched up at the corner.
Good Lord, was that a dimple?
“Why?” he said in that bored tone of his. “Would that be so hard to believe?”
I was so distracted by the sound of the ocean and the unfamiliar scents and the excitement of watching as the rides came fully into view, I didn’t really think before I spoke. “You making a joke? Yes.” My tone was super decisive. “Yes, that would be shocking.”
I glanced up when he inhaled through his teeth with a funny little grimace. “Was I really that much of a jerk last night?” Then he added quick
ly, “Don’t answer that.”
I kept my mouth shut. For one second. Then I answered anyways. “You were kind of a jerk.” Then to soften the blow, I quickly added, “But…” I glanced up to see him looking down at me. I gave him a rueful grin. “But I’m sure I was pretty annoying so…”
His answering smile was so beautiful it hurt. “You weren’t annoying, I was just having a bad night. You weren’t the only one Bob messed with yesterday and not everyone was as polite as you were about it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “It must suck having to deal with angry customers all the time.”
He shrugged. “Most of the time they’re annoyingly happy.”
I laughed at the flicker of disgust on his face. “Ugh, that must be so awful. Having to deal with happy customers?”
He arched his brows as if shocked by my sarcasm. “It is. I’m stuck inside behind a freakin’ counter while these people are reveling in their sunny vacation life.” He shook his head with enough melodrama that I knew he was kidding.
Jax was kidding. Yup, this was definitely night and day.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he muttered. His tone was caustic but I caught the way his lips were slightly turned up.
Apparently I couldn’t stop looking at his lips. It was getting embarrassing. I focused on the rides instead. “Actually, I totally understand.”
I could feel his gaze shift to look at me as I explained. “Back home I work at an ice cream place.”
There was a moment of silence before he said, “Ahh.”
I found myself laughing. “Yes, ahh.” I glanced up and met his gaze and turned back to face the forwards quickly. Newly nice or not, his gaze was still unsettling. “So you see, I am very well aware of how annoying it is to be surrounded by happy people when you’re cranky about being at work.”
He stopped and slapped a hand over his chest as if he’d just been wounded. “I was not cranky.”
I arched my brows in disbelief and he started walking again.
“Okay, maybe I was.” He stuck a hand out in my direction when he reached my side. “Truce?”
I took his hand and the world stopped spinning. My breath came out in a whoosh at the electric shock that shot through me at the simple touch and I pulled back too quickly. “Truce,” I said. “Although, to be fair, you pretty much made up for any jerkiness about a million times over already.”
Senior Week Kiss Page 4