“Cade and Seren are here. Why don’t you come in the living room with everyone else?”
“That would be a bit awkward, don’t you think? Your ex-girlfriend and your current girlfriend in the same room?”
“Technically, Rachel was never my girlfriend. We just dated a bit on and off.”
I stared at him.
“Look, it’s not like you have to talk to her.”
The doorbell rang again, and Pax left to answer it.
Giving in, I hung the dishtowel in my hands on the oven handle and followed Paxton to the living room.
“Hey, guys! What’s up?” Hawk asked, standing just outside the front door. Paxton opened the door wider, and Hawk motioned for Amber to enter the apartment first.
I watched them together, admiring the way Hawk was always mindful of her. I had heard everyone talk about them enough to know they were getting married in a few weeks, a destination wedding at the beach if I wasn’t mistaken.
Paxton’s eyes caught mine, and he tilted his head, beckoning me to come to him. I closed the distance between us and he introduced me to Hawk and Amber. Technically, he was reintroducing me to Hawk since we’d gone to high school together. Our introduction was interrupted by Joseph’s crying, and I excused myself and went to check on him.
After changing his diaper, I took him to the living room. Rachel watched Joseph closely, and I instinctively held him a little tighter despite Paxton’s assurance that Rachel would never hurt him. She stared even more intently when Pax approached him and snapped his fingers. “I got something for you today, Baby J.”
He walked over to the front door and scooped up a shopping bag. “You can’t go to a football party without the right attire,” he said as he walked back toward us. He pulled out a little orange sweat suit with a big white “T” on the front of it. “Now you can be official.”
Joseph smiled at him, intent on every word Paxton said as his deep voice washed over us. Joseph’s eyes followed Paxton as he handed the outfit to me. Pax turned back toward Joseph. “Tell Mom to go change you. Orange is a requirement. Oh,” he continued, pulling something else orange out of the bag, “here’s a shirt for Mom.”
My mouth dropped open. “You bought me a shirt, too?”
“Yeah.”
“He was afraid you’d do something stupid,” Cade said, “like wear a Wildcats jersey.”
Pax pointed at me. “Although that would be better than a Bama fan.”
“Hey!” Amber shouted in protest. “I’m a Bama fan.”
“Oh, hell no.” Paxton’s eyes immediately sought out Hawk. “Are you sure you want to go through with this whole wedding thing?”
“Paxton!” Amber shrieked in mock indignation as her hand flew to her hip, her long red-gold tresses spilling over her shoulders.
Hawk chuckled and wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders, tucking her into his side. “I have a new appreciation for Alabama.”
“Damn.” Pax lowered his eyes to the floor and shook his head. “It’s too late. He’s been infected.”
“Roll Tide!” Amber exclaimed triumphantly.
Pax started playing “Rocky Top” on his phone, and he turned the volume up until it was blaring. “What’d you say, Amber? I can’t hear you!”
She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Roll Tide!”
Pax turned the volume back down and grinned. “It’s a good thing we’re not playing Alabama today. Things could get ugly.” He clapped his hands together. “Jess has a huge spread in the kitchen. Why don’t y’all fix a plate?”
He turned to me. “You want me to hold him while you eat?”
Touched at his consideration, I motioned him to go ahead. “You eat while we change. I wouldn’t want to get thrown out of the party for not wearing proper attire.”
“Pax, can I talk to you for a minute?” Rachel asked.
“Sure.”
“Could we take a walk outside?”
My eyes toggled between the two of them as I wondered what she wanted. Pax turned away, and Rachel hooked her palm around his muscular bicep as they headed outside.
I stared at the closed door a moment, wishing I could turn away, wishing that the sight of them together didn’t make my heart pump a little faster, make my patience wane a little more quickly. Clenching Paxton’s gifts in my hand, I stared at the orange fabric. I usually looked better in cool colors. Maybe I’d feel more confident if Rachel wasn’t so damn pretty. She was wearing orange, and she could only be described as breathtakingly radiant. I, on the other hand, was pretty sure the jersey he bought me would wash out my complexion and make me look like a carrot.
“At least you’ll look cute,” I whispered to Joseph as I carried him into the bedroom to change.
After I put the Tennessee jersey on, I contemplated my sallow skin tone in the mirror. Rachel could make a pea green burlap sack look good.
Frustrated, I wondered why I cared. It wasn’t like it mattered. I was supposed to be resisting my attraction to him, not worrying about how I compared to Rachel.
Joseph sputtered, drawing my attention to him where he lay on the bed. He grinned, and I noticed a speck of white that caught my attention. I gasped. “Do you have a new tooth?” Rubbing the pad of my finger across his gum confirmed it. “You do! Your very first top tooth is coming in!” I quickly changed his clothes, eager to share the news.
When I returned to the living room, I searched for Paxton, but he wasn’t there. I assumed that he was still outside with Rachel while everyone else had found a seat in the living room and were balancing their plates on their laps. “Guess who finally cut a new tooth? It’s his first one on the top.”
“Great news, Baby J.” Cade reached up from his spot on the couch and wiggled Joseph’s foot, eliciting a smile. “It won’t be long now and you’ll be eating steak.”
“Who’s eating steak?” Pax asked as he came through the door. I watched to see if Rachel was behind him, but he closed the door with no sign of her.
“Joseph’s getting his first top tooth.” I held his lip up, so I could see it again, and he leaned forward, trying to gnaw on my finger.
Pax walked over and examined it, too. “Way to go, little man. Too bad you don’t have a big brother to bite.” He glared at Cade out of the corner of his eyes.
“Hey,” Cade said, “you shouldn’t have taken my crayon.”
“I was trying to keep you from sticking it up your nose.”
“Better my nose than your ass.”
“Where’s Rachel?” Seren asked, ignoring their brotherly banter.
“She wasn’t feeling well,” Paxton replied.
“That’s not good,” Seren said. “I hope she gets better soon.”
“Yeah.” Paxton rubbed his palm across his head. “I do, too.”
Everyone had finished eating by the time the game started. The guys’ level of enthusiasm for the game took me by surprise. With every great play made by Tennessee, I half-expected them to jump up and start smacking each other’s rears and bumping chests.
When the Tennessee players made the first touchdown, Pax, Cade, and Hawk hit the floor and did push-ups.
Amused, I asked, “What are y’all doing?”
Seren cocked her head at me. “When Tennessee makes their first touchdown, they all drop and do five push-ups. Don’t ask me why. It’s some sort of tradition they’ve started.”
Paxton easily pushed himself back up from the floor and froze, holding his body in the up position. “It started with a bet.” He hopped back to his feet. “Mason started it. Originally, we would see who could do the most push-ups. Of course that took a while. So to make it a little more challenging, we added girls to our backs, then we would see who could do the most. Eventually, we just started doing five push-ups for the first touchdown.”
“Three guys. Three girls,” Cade said. “Think y’all can do twenty push-ups with a girl on your back?”
“Think you can?” Pax asked.
“Hell,
yeah.” Cade dropped to the floor. “Come on, Flanagan. Let’s do this.”
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“You know it,” Cade said. “Time to separate the boys from the men.”
“Says the guy who used to cram crayons up his nose,” Pax added.
“Just get your ass down here and see if you’re man enough to do it.”
Pax grinned. “Come on, Jessica.”
I stared at him, wondering if he really expected me to sit on his back. When Seren sat on Cade’s back, I assumed the testosterone levels in the room were too high for him not to be serious. After setting Joseph in his playpen, I approached Paxton, feeling a bit awkward.
“Have a seat,” he said. “Hawk, don’t think you get out of it. Come on, Amber.”
Hawk dropped to the floor, too, and Amber sat across his back and draped her legs along the length of his body while her palms pressed against his back, close to his shoulders. I copied her movements, feeling the hardness of Paxton’s muscles through his shirt. I squirmed, acutely aware that my butt cheeks were pressed against his body and my legs were draped across his shapely jean-clad ass. My mouth went dry at our close contact, and I tried to swallow as I gazed across the room. I was the only one who appeared to be in discomfort. Seren and Amber laughed, egging them on, and Cade wagered he would finish his push-ups before Hawk or Pax even got started.
“You’re on,” Pax informed him. “And your chest has to go down just above floor level. Wimp-ass push-ups don’t count.”
“All right. On three,” Cade said. “Count it off for us, Flanagan.”
Seren held her fingers up. “One, two, three!”
All three guys took off, and I squealed at the odd sensation. Paxton’s muscles flexed under my palms as I pressed my hands against him to keep my balance. It was oddly exciting, and I laughed, finally allowing myself the freedom to enjoy the moment. His strength was impressive, awakening my primal instinct as a twinge of desire fired through my body. The guys were counting off their push-ups, and as they neared the final few, they began to slow. Cade was the first to finish, followed quickly by Hawk. Pax paused at number seventeen, his arms rigid as he held my weight. His eighteenth was slow and steady.
“What the hell?” Cade asked. “I knew I’d beat you, but I didn’t expect you to take this long. Are you losing it?”
“Maybe I’m too heavy,” I suggested. “I can get off.”
“Stay where you are,” Pax demanded as he slowly completed another one. He paused once he straightened his arms. “I haven’t finished because I’m in no hurry. I’ve got a fine ass wiggling against me. Why the hell would I be in a hurry to bring that to an end?”
I flushed, feeling heat flood my cheeks as I tried to think of something to say in response but failing miserably. His flirtation was doing nothing to help me resist my attraction to him.
Luckily, I didn’t have to respond. He started pumping furiously again, counting out the last one and then adding five more to boot.
“Show-off,” Cade grumbled.
Paxton collapsed against the floor, laughing at Cade’s assessment. I scurried off his back, eager to put some distance between us to calm my raging hormones. He remained in place a moment more, catching his breath. Even though I wasn’t the one physically exerted, I felt just as breathless as he did.
It was difficult to tell why he would say that. Was he trying to flirt with me or just putting on a show for the guys? It was obvious he hadn’t slowed because he was physically incapable of continuing.
“Good job, guys,” Amber said, patting Hawk’s back.
“Oh, shit!” Cade exclaimed. “The other team just made a touchdown.”
And just like that, all eyes were on the TV.
Relieved that the awkwardness of the moment was gone, I went to the kitchen to fix a plate before I had to go to work. Joseph babbled in the playpen, and I heard Amber cooing to him.
I cleared a spot for my plate at the end of the table and sat down. The guys yelled, and I assumed there must have been a penalty flag based on the sudden roar of groans and curses.
A few minutes later, Paxton came in the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
“Getting ready to go to work?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “It’ll probably be late when I get home.”
Home. It still felt awkward saying that, and I realized it wasn’t really home, just a temporary place to lay my head until I got back on my feet.
“Who’s watching Baby J?”
“Hawk and Amber are going to take him to his mom in a little while.”
“I’ll just give you a heads-up. Hawk’s mother will spoil him rotten.”
I smiled as he sat down in the chair next to me, a loud pop reverberating through the tiny kitchen when he opened his can.
“He needs a grandmotherly type in his life,” I said. “And since he doesn’t have a real grandmother, Mrs. Hawkins will be perfect.”
Pax grabbed a vanilla wafer, scooped up some cookies and cream cheese dip, and popped it in his mouth. “She’ll definitely have him eating his vegetables. That woman is one hell of a cook.” He stood, picked up his beer, and dipped another vanilla wafer. “Damn, that stuff’s good. I’ve got to get back to the game before I miss a play.”
He had to walk past Joseph’s playpen to get to his recliner. “You like football?”
Joseph rolled off a string of nonsense.
“That’s my man,” Paxton said. “Tennessee, meet your next linebacker.”
“I can’t wait till he’s old enough to play,” Cade piped in. “He’s going to kick ass.”
“Don’t start putting pressure on him,” Seren scolded. “He might not even like football.”
Cade scoffed. “He’s going to like it.”
“We’ll make sure of that,” Pax added.
I couldn’t stop the smile that crept over my face. Maybe stealing that bottle of medicine was one of the best things I’d ever done. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now and my son wouldn’t be surrounded by people who genuinely cared about him.
But thinking about my petty theft charge, also made me realize that I still needed money for an attorney, which meant I needed to get to work.
I finished my plate, kissed Joseph bye, and headed toward Mandy’s restaurant.
***
Since it was Saturday night, we were busy. Time passed quickly, and I delivered the food to one table and prepared to take a drink order from the single patron who was just seated in my section. As I headed toward the table, I glanced up and froze, recognizing the woman who was perusing the menu.
I scurried to the safety behind the counter. Good grief, what was I going to do? She was the one person I didn’t want to face.
I grabbed one of the server’s arms as she scurried past. “Linda, do you have time to pick up another table?”
“Sorry, babe, I’m doing good to keep up with the ones I got.”
I released her and found another server making drinks. “Tom, can you pick up another table? It’s a party of one.”
“Girl, you know I would, but she just seated me a party of ten.”
Glancing at the bustle of activity, I knew that everyone else was scrambling just to stay on top of their own sections. It wasn’t fair for me to ask them to pick up one of mine, but heck, I did not want to wait on that table.
Blowing out a puff of air, I grabbed my order pad from my apron and marched toward the table. I held my head up high, pretending like I hadn’t totally embarrassed myself in front of this woman a few months ago.
To my chagrin, she looked at me, full recognition exploding on her face as she watched me approach.
I ignored the tension winding in my chest as I attempted to act nonchalant. “Hello, Mrs. Mayfield.” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat.
“Jessica? You work here?” She gestured at the table as if my workspace consisted of that one small tabletop. I was tempted to assure her they entrusted me with more than just on
e table, but I wisely kept that thought to myself.
“I do. They hired me about a week ago.” She didn’t respond, and I grew more nervous. “It’s really nice of Pax to let me stay with him, and I want to pay him back for his kindness.”
Her brow crinkled just over her nose. “You’re staying with Paxton?”
And that’s when I realized Paxton had never told his mother I was in town.
“And your baby’s staying with you, too?”
At first, I was offended she would insinuate that I would leave my baby somewhere else, but then I realized the only thing more shocking than me staying with Paxton would be Paxton having a baby in his apartment. And everything was even more shocking when I took into consideration that the last time I had seen Paxton’s mother, I was accusing Cade of fathering my child, followed by me making a mad dash out of their house.
No wonder the poor woman was in shock.
“Yes, Joseph is staying with me. With us. With me and Pax.” Words vomited from my mouth, and the intense look on her face did nothing to assuage the anxiety running rampant through my body. I seriously wanted to duck behind the next cleaning cart that came by and follow it all the way to the back door so I could make my escape, just like they did in the movies.
Only this wasn’t the movies. And there weren’t any cleaning carts in my general area. And slinking away from Paxton’s mother would do nothing to try to salvage my relationship with the woman. Even though Paxton and I wouldn’t be getting back together, I reasoned that if Cade and Seren continued helping me with Joseph, there might be an occasion in the future where I might find myself in the presence of Mrs. Mayfield. As much as I might prefer color crayons and a juice box at this moment, I needed to be an adult and face the consequences of my poor decisions.
“Look, I know I screwed up, but in my defense, I was scared and confused and alone. And I know that doesn’t excuse my actions….”
“It certainly doesn’t.” Her face pinched together. “I have no idea why Paxton wants to waste his time on you. It’s bad enough that you betrayed him with his own brother.”
“I….”
“I’m really not hungry, anymore.” She scooted to the edge of the booth, and I automatically took a step back to clear her path.
Betrayed (Whiskey Nights #4) Page 11