With that, canned music came on and the place started to clear. Karlie and Bailey packed their chairs, but instead of heading to Bailey’s car, she tugged Karlie to where the band was packing up. They stopped behind Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled. “Hey, you two. What’d you think?”
“You were great!” Karlie said, smiling.
“Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. I remember how you used to sit to the side when we practiced in your parents’ garage.”
Karlie laughed. “I remember that too. I was your first, original groupie.”
Harry chuckled and pushed his hair back. “That you were. Oh! I know you know everyone in the band except our new member. Let me introduce y’all.”
He beckoned for them to follow and led them to Jax, stopping a few steps away. As they walked closer, butterflies rose in Karlie’s belly. It was one thing to watch from afar and another to actually talk to one of the hottest guys she’d ever seen. His shirt was still off and she was able to see his tattoos more clearly. On his chest, he had the name “June” in a flowing script along with musical notes. He also had words inked on his arms, but she couldn’t read what they said.
“Hey, man, let me introduce you to two of my good friends,” Harry said.
Karlie glanced at Bailey and saw her friend’s brow twitch. She wondered how annoyed she was at that comment. “Girls, this is Jax. Jax, this is Karlie Stewart and Bailey Kay.”
“Hey, how’s it going?” Jax asked them with a brilliant smile.
Bailey just lifted her chin a bit in greeting before pulling Harry to the side.
Jax cocked a brow as he watched them. His eyes met Karlie's. “They have a history or somethin’?”
“Or something. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
He leaned against the speaker behind him and raked his eyes over her. “So, you’re from here? Known Harry your whole life?”
“Yep. Grew up next door to each other.”
“Y’all ever hook up?”
Karlie snorted. “Please. He’s more like a brother to me.”
Jax nodded but didn’t say anything. Now that she was up close to him, Karlie wasn’t sure what to say. She struggled to think of anything but came up blank. Before she could clear the fog from her brain, a group of women joined them, pushing her out of the way. She was a bit taken aback by their audacity but stepped back further to watch the scene.
Jax flashed a grin at all of them, flirting with them, and he even pulled two of the girls into his lap. It was at this point that Karlie realized Jax was just another player. He was flirty with everyone, and she was just one of many. That connection she thought she felt while he was on stage had just been a figment of her imagination.
Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned and walked over to Bailey and Harry. They both looked angry, their faces tight and drawn, as they gesticulated.
“Hey guys,” she said carefully, interrupting them.
Bailey looked at her and gave her a weak smile while Harry looked past her breathing heavily.
“You ready?” she asked Bailey.
“Yep. See ya later, Harry.”
He didn’t respond and stalked off. Karlie watched him briefly before turning to Bailey. “What’s the story there?”
“No story.”
“Hmmm.” She didn't believe Bailey for a minute.
They walked in silence to the car, stowing the chairs in the trunk before climbing in.
“You good with the top down again?”
It was now dark and much cooler than it had been earlier, but it was still warm enough for a quick ride through town. “I’m good if you are.”
With a grin, Bailey started the car and zipped out of the spot. They were both quiet on the ride home. Karlie’s thoughts were on Jax and how attractive she found him, but she refused to let herself entertain thoughts of seeing him again. It was obvious from his reaction to the girls crowding him on the stage that he craved the attention they gave him, and she wasn’t interested in a guy like that. She’d been there, done that, and had the t-shirt to prove it.
Chapter Two
Jax
Sunlight speared Jax in the eye, making him groan and roll over to escape. He woke slowly and became aware of several things: the bed was harder than his and smelled floral, almost cloying. The room was entirely too bright to think properly, and light snoring came from his left, neither of which was normal for his room. He obviously wasn't home.
Blinking his eyes, his surroundings came into focus. Blinding white seared through his brain. He blinked rapidly again as he tried to focus. White was everywhere: white sheets, white walls, and white light.
“What the fuck?” he muttered, taking in the clutter of the rest of the room.
Clothing was scattered in piles throughout the room, covering more white things: a chair, the dresser, and a lamp. He glanced at the source of the snoring next to him. Looks like he bagged a redhead. He raked his eyes over her form and smirked the memories of how wild the night before had gotten trickled back into his conscious. She was a flexible one.
Carefully, he stood and gathered his clothes, pausing when the woman moved. Once he was dressed and sure he had everything, he let himself out. It wouldn’t do to leave anything behind. That meant he’d have to see his conquest again and that wouldn’t do at all.
Another pleased smirk graced his face as he got into his car and headed to the home he shared with his bandmate, Harry. Everything after the concert was a bit of a blur, but he remembered enough to know that the redhead was out of this world in the sack, and he felt deliciously sore in a way that said he had been well used.
As he drew closer to home, he idly wondered if Harry would be there. If he wasn’t mistaken, Bailey was the one that Harry thought had “gotten away.” If that was the case, he’d probably make a move at some point.
“More for me,” he chuckled.
He pulled into the driveway of the duplex and made his way inside. He headed straight to the kitchen and popped a coffee pod into their single-serve machine. While he waited for it to warm and brew, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting one up.
“I thought you quit.”
Jax glanced at Harry, whom he just now noticed sitting at the table in the breakfast nook. He blew the smoke toward the ceiling and turned to face him, leaning his hip against the counter.
“I did.”
Harry cocked a brow. “And yet, here you are.”
“Here I am.”
Harry shot him a pointed look, and Jax rolled his eyes.
“It helps take the edge off.”
Harry barked out a laugh. “The edge off of what? I thought that was what last night was for?”
Jax gave a one arm shrug. “It was.”
“You obviously need to blow off a lot of steam if you’re back to smoking after getting laid.”
The coffee machine sputtered, signaling it was done, and Jax turned to grab the mug. He walked to the table and dropped into a chair across from Harry. He doctored his drink with cream and sugar and asked, “If you’re griping at me this morning, I assume you didn’t get any.”
Harry scoffed. “You’d be right. But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
“I guess Bailey wasn’t willing to put out then.” Jax stifled the chuckle that threatened to break free as Harry’s face turned bright red. “I’ve only ever seen that color on tomatoes,” he said, grinning at Harry.”
“Wha…you…” Harry sputtered.
They sat in silence while Harry worked to get his erratic breathing to slow. Jax took a slow drag and eyed Harry from across the table. After a few moments, Harry’s face wasn’t as red and he seemed calmer.
“You’ve never been one to take an interest in what I do before. Why now?” Jax asked.
“I saw you talking to Karlie.”
Jax snorted. “You introduced us, dipwad.”
Harry shot Jax a look that
was equal parts annoyance and frustration. “You know what I mean.”
“Do I? She’s a beautiful woman. Why wouldn’t I talk to her? Last I checked, there wasn’t anything wrong with that.”
“You use women for one thing and one thing only: sex.”
“And?” Jax continued to lazily suck on his cigarette, enjoying Harry’s obvious frustration. “Who says that’s my endgame?”
Harry shifted and glared at Jax. “Karlie’s not that type of girl.”
“You know that for a fact?” he asked, cocking a brow. “Besides, why are you speaking for her? Maybe she is that type of girl and you just don’t know it.”
Harry’s jaw clenched and Jax cheered internally. He'd hit a nerve.
“I think I’d know,” Harry said through clenched teeth.
“Really? How? You bang her?”
“You know the answer to that.” Harry rolled his eyes.
“Do I? I don’t know who you sleep with.”
Harry clenched his jaw but stayed silent.
Jax was definitely getting under his skin and he had to admit, he was enjoying toying with him.
“Don’t fuck with her,” Harry said in a tight voice.
“Oh, the constipated voice has come out. I better watch out now.” Jax widened his eyes as he mocked Harry.
Harry shot Jax a glare that he returned with a smile. Though he gave him shit, Harry was one of Jax’s best friends. If he was honest, he was one of his only friends.
“Jax, I’m serious. Karlie is like the sister I never had. Don’t screw around with her.”
Jax finished off the last of his cigarette and dropped the butt into the dregs of his coffee. He watched the smoke curl up as he mulled over Harry’s words.
“Look, I have no intention of entering into any sort of thing with her.”
“Are you jerking my chain? If so, tell me now so I can get ready to beat your ass.”
Jax rolled his eyes. “Jesus, you’re tense. Go get laid or jack off or something. Yes, I’m serious.”
Harry narrowed his eyes as he stood, and Jax kept his eyes on Harry while he cleaned up his breakfast trash. As Harry walked out of the room, he paused in the doorway and said, “One day, this dicking around is going to bite you in the ass.”
With those words, Jax found himself alone in the kitchen, the smell of burnt coffee mixed with stale cigarettes invading his nostrils. It was suddenly too much and he bolted from the table, opening all the windows in the little room to air it out. He cleaned up the rest of the mess he'd made and stepped out onto the back porch, sitting on the cracked brick steps that led to a small, poured-concrete patio.
He hadn’t lied to Harry when he said he had no intention of pursuing Karlie. He could tell from their brief encounter the night before that she wasn’t one of those girls that you could hit it and quit it. She most likely was the kind that got wined and dined before taking her home to meet Mommy and Daddy. Jax definitely wasn’t about that life.
But…he also couldn’t forget the way the jeans she wore hugged her ass. He found himself wanting to reach out and grab it a few times while they spoke, just to see if it was as firm as he thought it would be. And her shirt, while loose fitting and plain, seemed to only accentuate the rack that was lurking underneath. It'd had a V-neck that hinted at the treasure below.
He hardened at the thought of the curves she was almost certainly sporting and realized he needed to think of something else quickly. Even with last night’s excursion, he felt ready to do some damage to another woman.
“Shithead, I’m heading to the warehouse. Want to ride with?” Harry asked from behind him.
“Yeah, I’ll come.” Jax stood and dusted off his pants.
The warehouse Harry referred to was the business they owned together: an auto parts warehouse, where there were perks to being the owner because it was also the space they used to practice. They could use part of the empty warehouse to host their band practices and not have to worry about renting a space or getting noise complaints.
“Let me grab my stuff.” Jax brushed past Harry and into the house.
He quickly changed clothes so he wasn’t wearing last night’s walk of shame clothing and snagged his guitar case and harmonica. Upon stepping through the front door, he saw Harry was already sitting in his car waiting.
The ride to the warehouse was silent, though Jax’s mind was going a thousand miles a minute. Now that he was trying to actively not think of Karlie, he couldn’t help but think of her. She was beautiful, and he wanted to get to know her—and not just in the biblical sense.
“What does Karlie do?” Jax asked as Harry merged onto the highway.
The car jerked and Jax whipped his head to look at Harry. His fists gripped the steering wheel as his jaw worked.
“Was it something I said?” Jax drawled.
“I told you to steer clear.”
Jax rolled his eyes. “I’m asking a question, not defiling her.”
Harry looked at him from the corner of his eye before saying, “She’s a middle school science and math teacher.”
Jax cocked a brow. “A middle school teacher? If I’d had a teacher like that when I was in middle school, I might have paid more attention.”
“You’re disgusting, you know that?”
“I’m only saying what those little horndogs in her class are thinking.”
“The difference is you’re a grown man, they’re not. You have some control, they don’t.”
Jax rolled his eyes. “Please. It’s not like I’m going to jack off to her image or anything. I’m sure she has enough prepubescent boys doing that anyways.” He almost choked on the words as he said them. He was lying through his teeth. He could almost guarantee he’d be jacking off to thoughts of her later that night. “If y’all are so close, why haven’t I met her before?”
Harry shrugged and shifted in his seat. “I don’t know. Life, I guess.”
Jax snorted. “Sounds like a cop-out to me.”
“Maybe it is,” Harry said defensively.
Jax glanced at him again and saw that he was still tense.
“Dude, chill out. You’re like a charging bull eyeing the red flag. You’re driving and need to calm down. What the fuck is your problem?”
An uncomfortable silence descended in the car. Harry looked ready to go off and Jax wasn’t sure why. Harry finally said, “Like I said, she’s like a sister to me. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Jax didn’t say anything. Harry’s words rang true, but he was sure there was something else there. He just wasn’t sure what.
“I don’t think that’s it.” Jax glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye.
Harry shrugged but didn’t say anything. Jax had a feeling Harry’s issues arose from Karlie’s relationship with Bailey more than anything. Harry probably feared that if he and Karlie hooked up, it might ruin his own chances with the best friend.
Jax shook his head and realized needling Harry wouldn’t solve anything.
He sighed and endeavored to break the silence. “What did you think of the show last night?”
Harry noticeably relaxed and settled back into his seat. “It was good. The atmosphere was killer. Did you see how they sang along when we played a good one?”
Jax smiled, remembering the crowd. It was a powerful feeling for so many people to join you in song. “That was pretty sweet. What’d you think about the lineup?”
Harry nodded slowly as he parked in front of their warehouse. “I think it was good. We should see about throwing another song or two in that can highlight Veronica though.”
Jax nodded as he got out. “I agree. She’s got a set of pipes and we should definitely bank on that.”
He pushed through the door to reception and smiled at the girl sitting there. “Trinity!”
The girl rolled her eyes and answered the ringing phone. “Wholesale Auto Parts. This is Trinity, how may I assist you? One moment please.”
She stared at Jax with a flat e
xpression. “I don’t know why you’re coming in here so excited.”
“Because I get to see you.” He smirked as he leaned against the chest high counter.
“Flattery gets you nowhere. I think you’d know this by now.”
Jax chuckled and straightened. “I do. Can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”
The phone rang and saved him from whatever sharp words were most likely about to follow. Though they argued back and forth daily, Jax and Trinity had never dated. She had been at the company since day one and was an asset; he didn’t shit where he ate and trying something with Trinity would definitely qualify as that.
He tapped the counter as he made his way down the hall that led to the offices. Other than him, Harry, and Trinity they had a bookkeeper, Della, and a parts manager, Steve, who helped oversee the day to day. He and Harry were just figureheads at this point, but they still liked to get hands on if they could.
The building that housed their business was older; it was built in the seventies and it showed in the decor. Though they had replaced the carpet and painted, there was no disguising the cheap wood paneling that covered half the walls or the old light fixtures that cast yellow light on everything. They had tried to spruce the place up with artwork, but there was no masking the vibe. They would need to replace that paneling soon so they could create a decent space for customers.
He stepped into the first office to his right and plopped into a chair across from Harry who was already talking to someone on the phone. Jax picked at a callus on his hand while he waited for Harry to wrap it up.
Once he was done, Jax said, “You should invite Karlie and whoever her friend was to our show tomorrow night.”
Harry let out a long-suffering sigh, glaring at the ceiling before turning his stare to Jax. “Dude, you’re like a dog with a bone. What’s the deal?”
Jax shrugged and concentrated on the callus he was picking at. Harry’s chair creaked and Jax looked up at him through his eyelashes. Harry was leaning back and his hands were steepled in front of his face as he looked at Jax thoughtfully. “You like her.”
Jax (Southern Sands Book 1) Page 2