“Girl, I’m pretty sure you could wear a plastic bag and you’d knock his socks off.”
Karlie huffed in frustration. “That may be, but I want to feel sexy enough for him.”
Bailey was silent and eventually said, “Fine, but you’re driving and buying me dinner.”
“I can live with that.”
Karlie and Bailey walked through the small mall Gunner Falls boasted in the center of town.
“So, what’s your power outfit?” Bailey asked as they walked by store after store, gazing into the windows.
“I don’t know. A dress? Skirt and blouse?” Karlie paused outside a boutique to look at one of the monogrammed shirts.
Karlie saw Bailey looking at her. “You don’t have a plan? And I’m not letting you wear a monogrammed shirt on your date.”
Karlie shrugged. “Why don’t we go into Belk and see if we can’t find something then?” She turned from the window to look at Bailey fully.
“Lead the way.”
They browsed the massive selection in the department store, gathering a variety of clothing to try on. Though it was overwhelming, Belk always had a good selection and constantly ran sales, which made Karlie feel good about her pocketbook. After selecting a few outfits and paying, the two of them made their way back to the main part of the mall.
“What now?” Bailey asked.
Karlie looked around, trying to think if there was anything else they could do while they were there. She opened her mouth to suggest walking around to see if anything struck their fancy but stopped when she caught sight of a familiar head of messy blonde hair.
Seeing Jax wasn’t so shocking, but a curvy blonde was with him and his arm was draped around her shoulders. Karlie sucked in a breath.
“What’s wrong?” Bailey asked, looking around.
Karlie cleared her throat and jerked her head toward Jax.
“Oh,” Bailey said, pinging her eyes back and forth.
“Yeah, oh.” Karlie swallowed the thickness in her throat and looked away.
The couple wasn’t too far away from them, window shopping outside a shoe store. Karlie wanted to keep looking away, but she couldn’t. It was obvious they knew each other well; they seemed comfortable around each other only like a couple that had been together a while. She watched the ease with which they moved, the girl touching Jax lightly if she wanted to draw his attention elsewhere.
“Come on, let’s go.” Bailey pulled on Karlie’s arm and dragging her attention away.
Karlie refused to move. “We have to walk right by them.”
Bailey stopped and turned to face her, blocking her view of Jax and the woman. She was thankful to not have to look at him anymore, but that didn’t stop her from wondering what he was doing, if he was moving closer, if they’d have to see each other.
“We can walk around until we can slip past them or we can see if we can get to the car through Belk.” Bailey's talking drew Karlie’s attention back to her.
“No, no need. I won’t let him dictate where I go. It’s just a date.”
Bailey looked at her with a concerned look, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Karlie, what’s going through your mind?”
Karlie shrugged. “I don’t know that I can put it into words.”
That was the honest truth. Her mind was now blank. She wasn’t entirely certain what to think. While Jax hadn’t implied monogamy, it was still surprising to see him out with another woman when they had a date coming up in two days. She shouldn’t be surprised, especially since she’d seen him with women before.
She said as much to Bailey. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t be…shocked, I guess.”
Bailey frowned at her. “What do you mean you ‘shouldn’t be shocked?’”
Karlie shrugged, and Bailey scoffed cocking her hip to the side, spearing Karlie with a sharp look. “You shouldn’t have to settle for some guy that doesn’t treat you like you deserve.”
“Didn’t you say that I should give in to this and live a little?”
Bailey raised a brow at her. “Yeah, I did, but I didn’t mean at the expense of your self-esteem or self-worth.”
Karlie looked away, unable to meet Bailey’s eyes. She was right. Bailey had encouraged Karlie to put herself out there, but only because she wanted to draw her out of her shell. When her eyes slid past Bailey, she met Jax’s surprised blue eyes. Karlie closed her eyes and shook her head. Thoughts of slipping out of the mall unseen flew from her mind. She sighed in resignation.
“Karlie?”
“Jax,” she said in a flat tone, refusing to look at him.
“What are you doing here?”
She held up her bag and shook it instead of responding as she finally looked at him. He raised a brow and moved his gaze to Bailey. He flinched at what he saw there. Karlie glanced at her as well and was taken aback by the anger in her friend's expression. It seemed Bailey was ready to go to war for her if needed.
“Well, I’m out with my cousin, Sarah. She’s passing through and I told her I’d show her around,” he said indicating the blonde with him.
Karlie furrowed her brow. “Cousin?” she and Bailey asked at the same time.
Sarah piped up. “Hey, y’all. I’m in college in Charlotte. I was at the beach for a two-week internship. Aunt June said I should stop to see Jax while passin’ through.”
“Ah, that’s nice,” Karlie murmured, careful to avoid Jax’s gaze.
“Hey, Sarah, didn’t you say you needed something from Belk?” Jax asked.
Karlie looked at the two of them from the corner of her eye. Sarah glanced at Jax and a knowing look came over her. “Yeah, I did. I’ll meet you in there?”
Sarah walked off with a wave and Bailey jerked Karlie’s shopping bag from her hand. “I’ll see you at the car,” she said, already walking away. Karlie watched her get further and further away, feeling abandoned for some reason.
Now that they were alone, Karlie’s eyes flitted from place to place, still trying to avoid Jax’s gaze.
“We goin’ to avoid this?” he asked with a sigh.
Karlie sighed and finally brought her eyes to meet him. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I guess not.”
“You thought I was on a date with her.”
It wasn’t a question. It ashamed Karlie to nod her head.
“I guess that’s fair.” Jax sighed, running a hand through his hair and looked away.
Karlie winced as she realized that his words didn’t make her feel any better. “It’s not. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
Jax rubbed the back of his neck, the only indication she could see that he was uncomfortable. “You’ve only seen me with woman after woman. I can understand why you’d think Sarah was just one of many. I can only imagine what you thought since we have a date this weekend.”
“Jax, seriously, it’s fine.” Karlie felt like the worst human being for assuming the worst off the bat. She couldn’t stand to hear him apologize.
“It’s not. I’m serious about this.”
“It’s fine.”
“Stop trying to make me feel better.”
Karlie chuckled and shook her head. “Aren’t we a pair? I should be trying to cheer you up and here you are trying to make sure I’m okay.”
Jax laughed lightly also. “Yeah, I guess so. We good?”
Karlie nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”
He smiled at her. “Then I’ll pick you up at six Saturday?”
Karlie nodded again.
“I can’t wait,” he said, brushing past her.
She felt the whisper of his body slip past and shivered at the nonexistent touch. She licked her lips as she watched him saunter off, already thinking about Saturday and wishing it was here already.
Chapter Six
Jax
Jax was clammy all over. He wiped his hands on his dress pants before smoothing his tie down. He clenched his fist to stop himself from running his hands through his hair, which he'd slicked back
from his head after his shower earlier.
He walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water to try and soothe his scratchy throat.
“Dude, you look like shit,” Harry said from the table.
Jax cut his eyes to him and continued to suck water down.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this? I haven’t seen you look this bad since that crazy chick that started following you around everywhere.” Harry chuckled as he remembered that. It had been one of the worst times Jax ever had with a girl. It was right after Southern Sands started to gain traction. It was also about the time Jax realized how easy it was to get a woman in his bed if he was a musician. Unfortunately, he chose wrong and ended up with a woman that required him to move, change his phone number, and take out a restraining order.
He shuddered at the memory and definitely didn’t want a repeat of that ever again.
“I’m sure,” Jax said, slamming his glass on the counter.
Harry’s eyebrows rose. “Really? You’re sweating. I can see the pit stains from here.”
Jax looked and saw that Harry was right. “Dammit!”
He unbuttoned the shirt, yanked his tie off, and hoped he had another one to change into.
“If you wear an undershirt, that should help.”
“An undershirt?” Jax asked, looking at Harry in confusion as he shrugged out of the dress shirt.
“Yeah, you know, a shirt that you wear under something? How do you not know what I’m talking about?”
“I don’t really have a reason to dress up,” Jax said shrugging.
“Yeah, but I would think your parents would tell you how to dress.”
“Dressing up wasn’t big growing up either.”
Harry sighed. “Hold on.”
He left the room and Jax threw his shirt into the laundry room. He’d worry about cleaning it later. He leaned against the counter as he waited for Harry to return. Harry walked back in with a light blue dress shirt and a white t-shirt.
“Here, put this on,” Harry said as he threw the shirt at him.
Once the t-shirt was on, Jax shrugged into the dress shirt, quickly doing up the buttons and tucking them in. “Can you help with my tie?” he asked.
“How’d you tie it earlier?”
“YouTube.”
Harry snorted. “You’re impossible. Why are you doing this again?” he asked as he fiddled with Jax’s tie, knotting it at his neck.
Jax lifted his chin while he waited for Harry to finish. “I want to impress her.”
“This is a lot of stuff to do just for the sake of some pussy.”
“It’s not just pussy,” Jax mumbled, unable to meet Harry’s eyes.
“What was that? Did you just say it’s ‘not just pussy?’”
Jax shrugged while Harry laughed. “Man, I never thought I’d see the day. Who’s the lucky girl? Where are you taking her dressed like you’re going for a prayer meeting?”
Jax’s face heated and he avoided Harry’s stare.
“Come on, dude.” Harry tugged the tie into place and stepped back. “What’s got you so worked up?”
“I’m taking Karlie to dinner.”
Harry snorted. “I thought I just heard you say you’re taking Karlie to dinner.”
“I did.” Jax spoke the words through gritted teeth, finally meeting Harry’s eyes.
“I didn’t think you were interested.”
“Well, I am.”
Harry crossed his arms and squared off against Jax. “What’s your endgame?”
“Endgame?”
Jax picked his water glass back up and filled it again to avoid looking at Harry and the glare he knew he was getting.
“Yeah, what are you hoping to get from this? You’ve never taken a girl out to dinner as long as I’ve known you. What’s going on?”
“I like her.” Jax turned and watched Harry over the rim of his glass as he took a long drink, leaning against the counter.
Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You like her?”
Jax paused before saying, “Yeah.”
Harry eyed him and Jax squirmed, shifting against the counter.
“Don’t fuck this up,” Harry warned before he stalked out of the room.
Jax sagged against the counter behind him and blew out a breath. Harry didn’t kill him, so that was a step in the right direction. He checked the time and cursed. It was after five and he needed to get a move on. He finished his water and turned to grab the flowers he had picked up earlier. Except, there were no flowers on the counter. Realization dawned. He meant to get some from the florist earlier, but he'd forgotten.
He wanted to give Karlie something nice when he showed up at her door. For some unfathomable reason, he wanted to make a good impression on this girl.
Shaking his head, he grabbed his wallet and keys and jogged out the door. He would stop at a grocery store on the way and grab something.
He pulled into the first store he saw and speed-walked through the automatic doors, making a beeline for the flowers. He winced at the selection. They looked sad and there wasn’t much of a selection. A wilted bouquet of half dead roses and another of lilies made him sigh. He couldn’t take her something so pathetic.
“Can I help you?” a voice asked from behind him.
He turned and saw a female teenager standing there smiling.
“Is this all you have?” he asked, indicating the flowers.
“We might have some more in the cooler in the back. Were you looking for anything special?”
“Not really. Just something not half dead.” Jax waved his hand at the bouquets and the girl grimaced.
“Yikes. I’ll see what I can find in the back.”
Jax pressed his lips together as he watched her walk off and bounced on the balls of his feet, glancing around at the people milling around the store, while he waited.
“Sir.”
He turned and saw the worker from earlier standing there with a small bouquet of daisies.
“We didn’t have a lot,” she said, holding it out to him, “but these are some of the best looking blooms from what was in the back.”
Jax smiled. “Thanks, this is perfect.”
He quickly paid and breathed a sigh of relief when he slid in behind the steering wheel. Crisis averted.
He plugged Karlie’s address into his phone’s GPS and started the short drive to her house. When he arrived, he parked at the curb, looking at her small house. It was painted gray with a bright red door.
He sucked in a breath and blew it out before flipping the visor down, and checking his hair. It was still slicked back, but he smoothed it anyways. He grabbed the flowers and stepped into the late spring heat. Though it wasn’t summer yet, it was steadily heating up and the humidity was already unbearable some days. Today was one of those days. His shirt and pants seemed to stick to him as he walked up her short walk and steps, which certainly didn’t help his nerves. He hoped he didn’t look sweaty or feel clammy if they touched.
He pressed the doorbell and straightened his shirt sleeves and tie while he waited. The door opened and he smiled, his eyes taking Karlie in. She was wearing a little black dress and a pair of boots that made her legs look like they went on for miles.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Thanks.” She stepped back so he could step in.
“Are those for me?” she asked, pointing to the flowers in his hand.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, thrusting them at her.
“Thank you.” She smiled and lifted them to her nose, sniffing them delicately. “They’re beautiful.”
His eyes followed her as she walked to the kitchen and pulled a vase out of a cabinet. The crinkling of the cellophane seemed loud with no other noises to counteract it. He cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. No words came, so he just watched as she dropped the flowers in the full vase, arranging them slightly.
“Ready?” he asked when she joined him at the door a few minutes later
.
She nodded and he stepped out, guiding her to his car once she locked up.
He helped her in and slid into his side. The ride to the restaurant was short and silent. He constantly snuck glances at her, but couldn’t think of anything to say. She shifted throughout, fidgeting with the hem of her dress and her nails until they parked.
“Wait here,” he said, turning the car off.
After getting out and closing his door, he took a moment to try and calm himself. He needed to pull it together and make this date nice. He walked around and opened her door, helping her step out.
“Thanks. Where are we going?”
“Bistro Lumière.”
Karlie’s eyes widened. “Wow, this place is super fancy I’ve heard. Have you been before?”
Jax shook his head. “No, I haven’t had a reason to come before.”
The compliment had the desired effect and color rose to Karlie’s cheeks. He smirked and mentally patted himself on the back as he opened the restaurant door for Karlie to enter before him.
“Bonsoir,” the maître d’hôtel greeted as they walked in. “Nom?”
“Uh, Robbins,” he said, his eyes flitting around the restaurant.
Though there were plenty of people seated throughout, the sound was muted. Each table had a single white candle in the center and was covered in white linen tablecloths. The people sitting at them looked like they fit without a hair out of place and expensive-looking clothes.
His tie suddenly felt tighter, but he refrained from loosening it. He felt a small trickle of sweat drip down his back.
“This way please.”
He placed a hand on Karlie’s back, guiding her through the maze of tables. She shivered as they walked and he noticed gooseflesh rise. “Are you cold?” he asked, cursing himself for not thinking of bringing a jacket for her.
“No, I’m fine.” She smiled over her shoulder at him.
The maître d’hôtel pulled Karlie’s chair out and helped her sit while Jax went to his side. With a flourish, he gave them menus and left them alone.
Karlie immediately opened the menu, as did Jax, but he was preoccupied taking in the decor of the restaurant. He’d never been in a place this nice before and he was starting to think he shouldn’t have aimed so high. He was out of his element.
Jax (Southern Sands Book 1) Page 5