by Ella Fox
I’d never forgotten the expression of surprise on Chloe’s face the night of her family party when she’d picked up the velvet box and realized my name was on the tag tucked under the white satin bow. She’d thanked me as she always did whenever we exchanged gifts, but she didn't put it on while I was there. I’d worried she’d toss the necklace into her jewelry box and forget about it. Instead, I noticed she wore it to school that Monday. As far as I could tell, she rarely took it off. I had, in fact, not seen her without it on since the first day I realized she was wearing it.
“What’s going through your head right now?”
She slid the heart back and forth on the chain a bit faster as she turned her head to meet my eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about everything Aria said.”
I nodded my understanding. “I get it, since I’ve thought about it at some point every single day since I had that first reading when I was thirteen.”
She winced and looked away. “Thirteen wasn’t a great year for us,” she muttered.
“We had our first kiss that year,” I reminded her.
She was blushing when she looked back at me “I’m surprised you didn’t hate me after that.”
“I wasn’t mad, Chlo. To be honest, I was something more like devastated. I only ever wanted you to care about me the way I cared about you.”
Her lower lip began to tremble as she reached out and took my hand in hers. “I did and I do. I was always just… too scared to show it.”
“What scared you?”
I needed her to confide in me even though I had two reasons for believing I knew the answer. The first was that I’d known Chloe forever, which meant I knew which landmines to steer clear of. The second was that I’d had a long time to think about all the things Aria said to me in my first reading. She pretended she was okay but I knew what hurt Chloe the most in the world was her mother.
“At first I couldn’t let you in because I was so damn jealous of you.”
Aria had said as much years ago, but I’d never allowed myself to believe it because it never made sense to me. Of the two of us, Chloe was the smarter one. Always. I wasn’t an idiot, but she’d gotten scholarships to cover all four years of college, both local and the university. I’d gotten some scholarship money but it damn sure hadn’t been a full ride.
Needing an explanation, I prodded her. “Jealous?”
“Because you had a mom—and not just any mom, either. The depth of Maddie’s love for you is almost tangible. If she needed to, she’d move mountains for you. Looking back, I realize it was dumb to be mad at you simply because you were lucky enough to have a mother who adored you, but sometimes anger isn’t rational. That’s especially true for children. I was just a kid who wanted my mom. The problem was that she didn’t want me. I couldn’t take that anger out on my dad because I was afraid he’d leave me, too. I didn’t know how to deal with what happened, so I channeled all of my confusion on you.”
Knowing that I’d been right didn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling. My Chloe had been hurt and back then I’d had no way to help her.
“Then, as we got older,” she continued, “I convinced myself that everything you said and did to get my attention was done because you wanted to get back at me for all the times I acted like a stuck-up bitch.”
I’d been trying to tread slowly, but in that moment the need to have a hold on her was so strong I couldn’t ignore it. She sucked in a surprised breath as I lifted her onto my lap, but she didn’t fight it at all. Instead, once I had her situated, she relaxed against me and burrowed her face against the space where my neck met my shoulders. Realizing that she was breathing me in, I wrapped my arms around her and smiled.
“I never thought you were a bitch, Chlo. Mostly I just thought you hated me—at least until Aria got a hold of me.”
“I’ve never hated you, Jackson. I took my jealousy and abandonment issues out on you. I’m so very, very sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
She sat up and cupped either side of my face with her hands as she looked into my eyes. “Yes, I do. I’d owe you an apology no matter what, but now that I know what we are to each other it’s even more important. By being an idiot I made us both miserable. My goal from here on out is to make up for it.”
As she spoke she shifted on my lap. I’d been on the edge of having a full erection all night, but once she was on my lap staring into my eyes, all bets were off. The corners of her mouth turned up as she let out a husky laugh.
“Is that a hammer in your pocket?” she asked cheekily.
As she spoke, she moved her body against me suggestively. Goddamn, I thought, Chloe Holland might actually be the death of me. What a fucking way to go, though.
“Something like that,” I answered huskily.
All thought flew out of my head as she repositioned herself so she was straddling me.
“Remember the last time we kissed?”
My hands settled against the sides of her waist as I nodded. “Of course I remember. In addition to that being the last kiss I had, I’m not likely to forget anything that’s happened with you.”
She stilled, her smile growing wide as she looked at me. “You haven’t, um, done anything else with any other girls?”
I cocked a brow and gave her a wry look. “My heart beats for you, Chlo. No one else has ever gotten so much as a second glance from me.”
Her eyes twinkled as she nibbled at her lower lip. A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she tilted her head. “So… you’re a virgin too?”
Her use of the word too made me smile. I’d been ninety-nine percent sure that was the case, but having it confirmed did not suck.
“Like Aria told you, I’m your devoted. It’s only you for me, baby.”
Chapter Six
Chloe
Knowing that Jax had waited for me melted my heart. It killed me that I’d once worried he wouldn’t have staying power if something happened between us. It was clear that I’d worried for nothing.
“Hey,” Jax said as he gently squeezed his hands at my waist. “We’re not looking back anymore. Forward only from here on out. We’re together now and there’s no fucking way I’m letting you go.”
“So we’re a thing now?”
“Truth?” he asked.
My eyes widened a bit as I nodded. “Yes.”
His hands moved from my waist to trail up my back. “We were always a thing, honey. Now we’re just acknowledging it out loud.”
I shivered when he slid one of his hands up my neck and used it to pull me closer. When our lips were almost touching, he spoke. “I’m going to enjoy kissing the hell out of you as often as humanly possible.”
My noise of agreement was lost when his tongue traced my lower lip. When he finished, he used the hand at my neck to keep me where he wanted me as he set his lips against mine. A jolt of electricity went through me as our tongues met. In that moment I was truly at home. My entire being seemed to let out a sigh of contented relief as we kissed. We fit together so perfectly, just as we had the first two times we kissed.
The heat and hardness of him beneath me was too good to ignore. He groaned as I moved on top of him, desperate to be closer. When he pulled back, I leaned forward to kiss him again.
“God, baby,” he growled before he kissed me.
I was only aware that we’d moved when I felt the leather cushions of his couch beneath me. He kept his left hand at my throat where his thumb rubbed back and forth against my pulse. The right hand he used to hitch my thigh up and the heat of his palm against my skin caused me to shiver. I gripped his waist and held on as he kissed me stupid. We were so desperate for contact that we were continuously rubbing up against one another, the friction making things hotter.
The way we fit together was so incredible. I remembered being hot and bothered the night we made out in the dugout, but being alone in his apartment with him took it to a whole new level. I kicked off my black Chucks and wrapped my legs around him, whi
mpering into his mouth as he ground against my aching core.
He groaned as I bucked my hips up to rub against him as our kiss grew more frantic. Tearing his mouth away, he turned his head, looked at the table, and let out a curse.
“No part of me wants to stop right now,” he rasped, “but we’ve been at this for hours and it’s almost two in the morning. If I don’t get you home soon your dad will probably show up here with a gun.”
I wanted to argue because my body felt like it was on fire and I wanted to stay with him no matter what, but he was right. Not about my dad and a gun, of course. My dad loved Jax and our parents were all going to be beside themselves with glee that we were together. The real issue was that my dad was a known worry-wort and since it was my first night home, I couldn’t just bail out. Not without telling him that was my plan beforehand.
“You’re right,” I sighed. As I spoke, Jax sat and then helped me up. A thousand butterflies took flight in my stomach as he rose from the couch and retrieved my Chucks before he bent down and put them back on me.
I felt like I was walking on a cloud as we left his apartment hand in hand. When we got to my house, I wasn’t ready to let him go.
“I know I have to be home tonight but I don’t want this to end. Will you spend the night with me?”
Jackson’s brows rose. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I’ll text Dad to let him know I’m home and that you’re spending the night. I’ll have to leave my bedroom door open so he knows there’s no funny business going on, but at least we can be together.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Jax laughed. “If I get to be with you, the answer is always yes.”
Even though we slept fully clothed with my door open, I’d never felt safer or more content than I did with his arms wrapped around me.
The sound of familiar voices interrupted my slumber. I stretched and rubbed my cheek against Jackson’s t-shirt covered chest as I came fully awake. Realizing who was in the house, I let out a chuckle. “Jax. Wake up.”
He grumbled something unintelligible and hugged me. I could tell by the way he was breathing that he was still out. I giggled softly as I slid my hand beneath his shirt and tickled his side. Leaning my head back, I watched as he slowly opened his eyes and focused on me. The smile of contentment on his face when he saw me was everything.
“Your parents are here,” I murmured.
He let out a soft laugh and rolled his eyes. “I figured they’d turn up. What time is it?”
I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. “A few minutes after ten.”
“We got lucky,” he said, his voice husky from sleep. “I was afraid they’d be here at sunup.”
I smiled as he hugged me tight. “What’s the plan?” he asked.
“I smell food and I’m hungry, so I’ll wait to take a shower until after breakfast. For now I just need to brush my teeth and we can go.”
“While you’re brushing your teeth I’ve got to sit here and think about toxic waste and what self tanner the president uses.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Why those particular things?”
Instead of answering verbally he cupped my bottom with one hand and rocked against me.
“Ohhh, I see,” I murmured.
“If you don’t get up now I’m going to need to add other things to that list,” he growled.
I nodded and sat up reluctantly. Already I was looking forward to being able to wake up with him each morning, alone. If no one else were around, I knew we’d find a much, much different way to take care of his situation.
By the time I got back from brushing my teeth and changing my clothes in the bathroom, he had himself in control. He dropped a quick kiss on my lips before he hurried to the bathroom. He stuck his head out into the hall as I left my bedroom. “Is it cool if I use your toothbrush?”
“I think we’re way past the whole exchanging saliva conversation,” I joked.
Leaving him to it, I continued down the hall to the kitchen. Turning the corner, I smiled when I found my dad sitting at the kitchen table with Jackson’s dad. Across the kitchen, Jackson’s mom was at the stove making eggs. Conversation stopped as I opened the cabinet above the coffee maker and pulled out a mug. I feigned being oblivious as I set it down on the Corian counter and made myself a cup of the delicious brew.
I smiled when I felt Jackson at my back. Wrapping one arm around my waist, he used his other hand to open the cabinet and pull down a mug for himself. The silence at that point changed from merely quiet to stunned. I’m pretty sure we’d have heard a pin drop as our parents took in the scene before them. When he finished making his coffee and stepped back, we turned in unison. Even though our parents had had ample time to school their expressions, our fathers both looked stunned.
Only Aunt Madeline looked as if she’d been expecting us to wind up together all along. I made a mental note to ask Jax if he’d talked to her about Aria. Even without confirmation from him I was willing to bet money that he had. Jax and his mom were thick as thieves. If it was important to him, she was in the loop.
“So, I take it you kids are… seeing each other now?” Uncle John asked as we each took a seat at the table.
Jackson snicker laughed as he set his mug of coffee on the distressed white table his mom and I had refinished together years before. “We’re more than seeing each other,” he said. Turning to me, he held my gaze as he answered his dad. “Chloe is mine, I’m hers, and we’re going to be together from here on out.”
“This is the answer to so many prayers,” Aunt Maddie said gleefully.
“For us too,” Jackson agreed. “Really hoping you all aren’t going to make it weird, though,” he joked.
“Us? Weird?” my dad asked. As he talked, he made funny faces.
“We won’t make it weird,” Aunt Maddie promised. “We’ll be perfectly normal.”
Jackson and I didn’t try to hide the look of disbelief that we exchanged.
“Have we ever done anything to embarrass you?” Uncle John asked.
Jax and I were too busy laughing to answer. Parents embarrassed their children whether they tried or not, but all three of our parents were funny. Over the years they’d not hesitated to prank us when the opportunity arose.
“So now that this is all settled, you two can pay up any time now,” Aunt Maddie announced as she set a plate of scrambled eggs down on the table.
“Don’t think I don’t know you cheated, Maddie,” my dad griped.
“Goddamn con artist,” Uncle John grumbled.
I bit back a laugh as I looked between my dad and uncle. “How much did she take you for?”
“A hundred bucks,” Dad answered.
“Each,” Uncle John added.
They spent the rest of breakfast trying to detail all the times Maddie had bet and won money from them. I knew they did it to keep from staring at me and Jax as we held hands and exchanged loving glances throughout the meal.
Chapter Seven
Chloe, One week later
“Do you know where he’s taking you tonight?” Caroline asked.
I shook my head as I held up two hangers, one held a red lace bra, the other a pale pink satin bra. “Somewhere in Boston, but I don’t know where. Which do you think?”
She looked back and forth between both options before she pointed to the pink. “That’s more you, especially for losing-your-virginity night.”
I hummed in agreement and hung the red back up before I moved to the section that had matching panties. It only took a minute to find the beautiful pale pink satin panties that matched the bra.
“Are you excited?” Caro asked as I headed toward a display of pretty satin robes.
“Excited doesn’t begin to cover it,” I admitted. “He’s been adamant about making sure that this is special for me and I love that, but waiting has nearly killed me.”
“It gets worse once you do it,” she snickered. “Once you break the seal, it’s impossible to put the genie back in
the bottle.”
“Which explains why you and Alec are like rabbits,” I joked. “I hardly get to see you anymore because you spend all of your time over at his apartment doing whatever it is that you two do.”
“We do each other,” she deadpanned.
“On Jackson’s grandmother’s old lady furniture,” I teased.
Caro shrugged as she pulled a fuchsia robe from the display and assessed it. “What can I say? The floral patterns really get me hot.”
I shuddered as I chose a champagne colored robe and put it over my arm. “You have no idea how glad I am that Jax didn’t keep that furniture. It would feel sacrilegious doing anything on it.”
“That’s your loss because I’ve had many religious experiences on that furniture,” Caroline laughed. “In fact, the neighbors probably wonder why I spend so much time calling out to God.”
I pretended to gag. “If you don’t shut up I’m going to spend the rest of the day praying to the porcelain gods. Considering what’s on tap for me tonight, I’d rather not do that.”
“This view is amazing,” I said as I ran for the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Boston harbor. Behind me, Jackson was putting our bags on the bed.
“Best fucking view ever,” Jackson agreed huskily.
Turning, I found him watching me as he crossed the room. “You aren’t even looking at the harbor,” I chided softly.
“I’m too busy looking at the only thing that matters to me,” he said as he reached me. “I love you more than anything in this world, Chloe.”
My heart felt like it would burst with emotion. “I love you too,” I sniffled.