Jax (Southern Sands Book 1)

by A. M. Williams

  “What the fuck?!” he yelled as he sputtered and jumped from the bed, water dripping off him.

  “I could ask you the same thing.” Bailey jutting her chin out and glared at him, a bowl clutched in her hands.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked as he stood dripping, not caring that he was naked.

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “What are you, a broken record?” he asked, annoyed. He wanted to get dressed and clean up the mess he was faced with, but he didn’t trust Bailey enough to turn his back on her.

  “No. What I am is a pissed off best friend.”

  Jax grimaced as he realized what she implied.

  “I see you’ve figured it out,” she said, cocking a hip out and narrowing her eyes at him. “I’d tell you to get dressed so I could properly talk to you, but this won’t take too long. What the fuck is your problem? I know you’re a love em’ and leave em’ type, but Karlie? She isn’t like that. She thought you were different and you just…”

  “Fucked up,” he finished.

  “Yes, royally fucked up. What were you thinking? Wait, you weren’t. That’s obvious. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and get over yourself.”

  With that, she dumped the bowl she was holding on the ground and stormed out of his room. He licked his lips as he listened to her stomp through the house and slam the door behind her. He sighed and looked at the mess on his bed.

  A slow clap started from his door and he looked up to see Harry standing there, mock clapping. “Well done. Stellar performance.”

  Jax glared but didn’t say anything. Instead, he rifled through a pile of clothes to grab a pair of athletic shorts and pull them on. He then worked on stripping his bed.

  “I mean, you’ve topped even yourself you know. You fucked around with the one girl I warned you about and got her best friend to come in here and drench you.”

  Jax balled the sheets in his arms and walked to the door. Harry didn’t move. “Are you going to move or not?”

  “I’m thinking not.”

  Jax clenched his jaw and pushed Harry, catching him off balance, causing him to stumble into the hall.

  “No need to be an asshole. Well, more of one that you already are,” Harry taunted as Jax walked away.

  Jax stepped into the laundry room, slammed the door behind him, and dropped the sheets to the floor. He leaned against the door and released a breath. If the two confrontations he just experienced were any indication, he had fucked up. He had fucked up big time, and he needed to figure out what to do. He just wasn’t sure what that was.

  He loaded his sheets into the washer and crept back to his room. He could hear Harry banging around in the kitchen and didn’t want to start another conversation with him. Once back in his room, he shut and locked the door.

  He grabbed his phone and sat on the edge of his bed, moving when he realized he had sat on the wet spot. He tapped it against his forehead as he thought about what he should do. He knew he shouldn’t call Karlie as she probably wouldn’t answer, but he wasn’t sure he could face her at her house either.

  He licked his lips as he dialed his parents, hoping his mom would answer and not his dad.

  “Hello,” his mom answered.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What makes you think anything is wrong?” Jax rubbed his hand over his face.

  “Jackson, I gave birth to you. I know you better than you know yourself. What’s wrong?”

  Jax sighed and ran a hand through his hair tugging on the strands. “I…messed up.”

  “Okay, I’m going to need a bit more to go on than that.” He could hear the waning patience in his mother’s voice.

  “I’m kinda embarrassed to admit it.”

  “Is it about a girl?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hmmm…”

  They were silent and Jax could hear clinking on her end. It was Saturday. That meant she was probably enjoying a late breakfast while she drank her coffee and read the newspaper.

  “Well, how bad is it?”

  “Pretty bad.” He played with the hem of his shorts. “Remember that girl I told you about?”

  “Yes, the teacher?”

  “Yeah, her. She invited me over for dinner and one thing led to another…” Jax tapered off, not wanting to admit outright that he'd had sex to his mother. There were lines and that wasn’t one he’d cross.

  “And you slept with her.”

  “Yeah,” he admitted.

  “Well, that’s not a crime. You’re two consenting adults…”

  “That’s not the problem.”

  “Alright, what am I missing then?”

  Jax bit his lip as he worked up the courage to come clean. “I snuck out this morning.”

  “Jackson Robbins! I thought you liked this girl!”

  Jax groaned and flopped back onto his bed. He felt the wet spot again, having forgotten about Bailey’s visit, and quickly sat back up.

  “I do.”

  “Then what the hell were you thinking?” she asked, her voice tight. Now, he had three women annoyed with him.

  “I wasn’t.”

  “That much is obvious.” His mom snorted and Jax hung his head. He was disgusted with himself and knowing his mom was most likely disappointed in him didn’t help.

  They lapsed into silence. His mom eventually asked, “So what are you gonna do?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know that I can fix this.”

  “You messed up. We all do it, although, we might not do it to quite the extent you do. So, you’re just gonna have to grovel.”

  Jax closed his eyes and dropped his head to his chest. “Grovel?”

  “Yep. Get on your hands and knees and beg her to forgive you. Don’t be surprised if she doesn’t give in right away. Leaving her after you just had sex is pretty low, and I’m not sure I could even forgive your father for something like that.”

  “Mom, you don’t have sex. We’ve discussed this.”

  His mom’s tinkling laugh filled his ears. Some of Jax’s unease loosened. If his mom was laughing, then she wasn’t too angry with him. “Jax, please.”

  He sighed. “So, I just grovel? Apologize?”

  “And hope like hell she forgives you.”

  Jax’s stomach rolled as he walked up Karlie’s front steps. He was worried he’d be physically sick before he had a chance to actually talk to her. He took a deep breath and slowly blew it out, concentrating on not hurling in Karlie’s flower beds.

  He could hear her TV through the door, so he knew she was home. He knocked on her door and the sound of the TV was silenced. He could hear the cars driving past and the slamming of a few car doors, but he couldn’t hear anything else from the house.

  He knocked again and listened. Karlie still didn’t come to the door.

  “Karlie, come on, I know you’re in there. I heard your TV.”

  He heard shuffling on the other side of the door.

  “I can hear you moving.”

  He couldn’t hear anything else. He leaned an arm against the door jamb and knocked again, dropping his forehead to his upper arm as he waited to see if Karlie would open the door. When he still didn’t hear anything, he realized she wasn’t opening the door and he’d have to do this through it.

  “Karlie, I know you’re upset. You have every right to be. I was such an ass.”

  He paused to see if she’d say anything. When she didn’t, he sighed and tried to order his thoughts. He had this whole speech he practiced on the drive over, but he couldn’t seem to remember any of it.

  “I freaked out, okay? I woke up this morning and didn’t know what I was doing and I panicked. I bolted. I realize I should have stayed, but I realized it too late. Please, open the door.”

  He heard a sniffle and realized she was on the other side of the door, listening. He continued to talk, hoping she would eventually open the doo
r. “I want to be with you. I know this morning doesn’t show that, but I do. You’re amazing, kind, smart. Last night was nothing short of amazing. Let me prove that to you.”

  “I don’t think I believe you,” Karlie said through the door. He could tell by her thick voice that she had been crying.

  “I know, I understand. But let me prove this to you. Please.”

  A thud sounded causing Jax to lift his head and stare at the piece of wood separating the two of them.

  “Karlie?”

  A few beats passed and the locks disengaged. He held his breath as the door opened a crack. Bloodshot blue eyes met blue eyes. He took in what he could see of her. Her nose was as red as her eyes and her skin looked blotchy, like she’d been crying off and on. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and it looked like she was wearing her pajamas and a robe.

  “How are you going to prove it to me? Prove to me that you’re serious about this?”

  “I’ll commit to only you. I’ll prove it to you. Whatever you want, name it.”

  She bit her lip as she regarded him. “It’s not going to be overnight. I’ve been hurt in the past.”

  Jax looked at the porch, unable to meet her eyes anymore. He felt like scum. Facing Karlie like this made him realize that he needed to work to prove to her he was serious and that he wasn’t just looking for ass. He knew she was different than the other women he’d been with, yet he’d had no problem waltzing out of her place this morning. “I promise. I want to be with you. I haven’t been on a date in years.”

  The door slowly swung open and Jax stood up straight, taking Karlie in. She looked terrible and he knew it was because of him. He hesitantly stepped forward, crossing the threshold of her house, and stopped a few inches from her. He was close enough that they were almost touching and when she inhaled, her breasts brushed against him.

  He carefully reached forward and pulled her into his arms, and she melted against him. Her arms snaked around his waist and clutched the back of his shirt in her fists while he dropped his head down to her, burying his face in her hair.

  They stood there for an undetermined amount of time and he whispered, “I’m so sorry” over and over into her hair. He’d only just met Karlie, but he found himself feeling things he’d never experienced before. Knowing he'd hurt her made his chest ache, and he didn’t understand it.

  He pushed thoughts about what this could mean from his mind and pulled back. “What do you say we order some takeout and spend the rest of the day curled up on the couch?”

  Karlie nodded and sniffed. “Okay, that’s sound good.”

  She tried to smile, but her lips wobbled and he knew he had his work cut out for him. He kissed her forehead and released her. “Pick the movie while I order the food.”

  She scampered off and he pulled his phone out, stealing glances at her. Here and now, there was nothing else he could think of that he wanted. And he would prove that to her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jax

  Jax bobbed his head to the beat of the song playing in his head as he stepped into the warehouse space the band practiced in. He nodded his head at his bandmates as he unpacked his guitar and started tuning.

  The sound of guitars and the bass being tuned, Bentley banging on the drums, and Veronica running through her scales to warm up her vocal chords ricocheted around the space. It sounded like home. Once he was pleased with his sound, he played a few notes from “Ramblin’ Man” while he waited for Harry to show and practice to start.

  “Hey.” Harry dropped into the folding metal chair next to Jax.

  “‘Sup,” Jax returned as he continued to play.

  “How’d it go yesterday?”

  Jax’s mind flashed back to the day before when he'd groveled outside Karlie’s house.

  “Fine.”

  “She talked to you.” It wasn’t a question.

  Jax gave a one armed shrug. “I did most of the talkin’.”

  He glanced at Harry and saw him raking his gaze along Jax’s body.

  “There a reason you’re checking me out?” Jax asked, moving away from Harry slightly.

  Harry shrugged and stood. “Just making sure you’re in one piece.”

  Jax snorted and stood as well, wrapping his guitar strap around his back. “All together. She didn’t take a bite out of me.”

  “Good. We need to sound good at our next gig.”

  “You saying I didn’t sound good last night?” he asked as they moved into place.

  “You sounded fine.”

  Jax rolled his eyes. Fine was Harry’s equivalent of sucking. To be honest, he was surprised Harry hadn’t said anything when they were playing the night before. He'd anticipated the third degree before or after the show. But nothing.

  “Just fine?” he asked, shooting Harry a look.

  He just shrugged as he picked a few chords out on the guitar. Jax rolled his eyes at Harry’s noncommittal answer.

  The members gathered together and reviewed their set list for their gig Thursday night in Morehead City. It was a new venue and they were hoping they’d get consistent bookings from them. A lot of their gigs were with the same venues throughout the year and it helped to keep a steady income flowing in. But they were always looking for new places to play, especially during the summer when they played most nights of the week. Beach bookings always meant bigger crowds.

  “Let’s run through it from the top. You good with singin’ the opening song, Jax?”

  Jax normally sang back up if it was needed, so for him to sing something as lead vocalist was unusual. But their opening song for the night was “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock and they all agreed a huskier voice was needed. Veronica was even playing the keyboard for this.

  Bentley counted them out and they started playing. Though he didn’t do it often, Jax did enjoy singing, especially when he was able to sing such a fun song. They paused a few times to iron out some chord progressions and to work on timing, but practice flew by and Jax lost himself in the music. With a guitar in his hand, he didn’t have to think about anything else going on in his life except for the music he was playing.

  As they packed up, Harry carried on. “Make sure you rest your vocal chords, Jax. You’re singing more than normal Thursday. We don’t need you hoarse and unable to sing.”

  Jax rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dad.”

  “No need to get huffy. We all know what you’re like. You’ll probably go home and smoke a pack a day just to spite us.”

  “I would not,” he said, though he was thinking that he would do something like that if he got pissed enough. He made a note to throw his cigarettes out so he wasn’t tempted to light up.

  Everyone trickled out until it was just Harry and Jax left. “You did good today,” Harry said.

  Jax snapped his guitar case shut and chuckled. “Thanks. Your approval means so much.”

  “Sarcasm and you don’t mix.”

  “And yet, we’re bosom friends.”

  Jax grasped his case and started to walk away, but Harry stopped him with a hand on his arm. Jax turned and raised his eyebrows. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to touch base about yesterday.”

  “We talked about it earlier,” he said, turning again to leave.

  Harry pulled him back. “Yeah, I know. But seriously? Things cool?”

  Jax shook him off. “Yeah, things are fine.”

  “So…y’all are what?”

  Jax sighed and realized Harry wouldn’t let him leave without fessing up to something. He longed for a cigarette as he turned and set his case down. “We’re not labeling it, but we’re exclusive and going to see where it goes.”

  Harry's eyes widened. “You’re good with that? A one-woman man?”

  Jax rubbed the back of his neck as he debated what to say. “I mean, yeah, I’m cool with it. I’m just worried, ya know?”

  “Melissa?”

  He shrugged. “I guess that’s part of it. That marriage was a disaster and I don’t wan
t a repeat.”

  “I think we can both agree that your marriage fell apart because of immaturity and not being ready, not some deficiency on your part.”

  Jax shrugged. “Yeah, partially. We obviously weren’t ready and thought we were. Stupid teenage shit, ya know?”

  Harry snorted. “Yeah, I do. I saw the tail-end, remember? You were a shit show.”

  Jax sighed. Harry was right, he had been. When his marriage had crumbled, he'd gone a little crazy, served the divorce papers, and didn’t look back. He slept with a new woman every night and didn’t bother to get their names. That’s what freaked him out so much about Karlie. She wasn’t one of many. She was just one. Possibly “the one.” But he wouldn’t let himself think about that just yet. He wasn’t ready to face the thought that he might settle down again.

  Harry continued. “So, you’re good?”

  “As good as I can be, I guess,” Jax admitted.

  Harry regarded him for a few moments before saying, “I think you’ll be better at this than you think. You know, the whole boyfriend thing.”

  Jax snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m sure I’ll fuck it up the first chance I get.”

  Harry made a high-pitched noise in his throat. “Maybe, maybe not. You already know what not to do. How hard can it be?”

  Thursday night came and Jax was pleased to see Karlie in the crowd. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to come since the school year was finishing up, but she surprised him by showing up when they were setting up their gear. He didn’t tell her he was singing and couldn’t wait to see how she would react to it.

  He smiled and tilted his head to her as he strapped his guitar on. He did a last minute check of his amp and tuning while Harry got the crowd’s attention.

  “Hey there Emerald City, how y’all doin’ tonight?”

  The crowd answered with a cheer and Harry waved his hands to get them to quiet down. “We’re pretty happy to be here also. For those of you that don’t know, we’re Southern Sands based out of Gunner Falls, North Carolina. You might notta heard of it, but it’s about an hour and a half thatta way!”

  Harry pointed in a general direction and a man in the crowd shouted, “Then you must be Aquaman!”