Page 123 of Stay with Me

I vaguely wondered how weird it would be if I climbed under a table and started rocking.

Jax looked over then and his lips split into a grin when his eyes connected with mine. That grin didn’t last very long, because Jase put his hand on my shoulder, and when I looked behind him, Teresa wasn’t wrapped around him like a sexy octopus anymore.

His eyes narrowed.

This was all about to go downhill.

Jax started around the bar, which caused Aimee and her friend to wheel around like they were on a turntable, but he prowled past them like they didn’t exist.

Which I would’ve found highly ironic any other day.

He stopped in front of me, but his eyes were on Jase. “Everything okay over here, Calla?”

I couldn’t see Jase, but I imagined he had that shit-eating grin on his face. “Yeah, this is Jase.” I turned a little. “And this is Teresa. That’s Cam and Avery. They’re—”

“You’re friends from college.” Proving that he did listen to me when I rambled, he relaxed as he shoved out a hand toward Jase. “Nice to meet you.”

Jase dropped his hand and shook Jax’s. “Same here.”

Yeah, that didn’t sound sincere. And this was awkward. “Um, they came up as a surprise.”

“That’s cool,” he replied, head cocked to the side as he turned to Teresa. “Calla really misses you guys.”

“That’s because we’re awesome,” Teresa replied. “And we love Calla. Like for real. All of us. A lot. And we’re really protective of her.”

Jax stared at her.

Right now, I’d be okay with a dead body landing on my head, and strangely, I wondered who was watching Raphael and Michelangelo, their pet turtles, since Cam and Avery were here.

Cam suddenly stiffened. “What the ... ?”

I knew who they spotted the second Cam and Jase turned into teenage girls.

“Holy shit,” breathed Jase.

“You can say that twice.”

Brock was standing a few feet behind Jax, holding a pool stick. It was obvious that Cam and Jase were openly gawking at him, and he played it cool, giving the two guys a chin lift.

“Who’s that?” Teresa murmured.

“Who’s that?” Jase turned wide eyes on her. “I don’t think I can be with you anymore.”

Her eyes rolled as she smacked his arm. “Whatever.”

“You guys want to meet him?” Jax offered, winking at me, and my heart did a little jig, because seriously, he gave good wink.

Jase and Cam effectively forgot the existence of their girlfriends and followed Jax like he was the damn pied piper of UFC fighters.

“Seriously?” Teresa folded her arms. “Who is that?”

“He’s a mixed martial arts ninja or something. Fights on TV,” I explained. “He trains in Philly.”

“Oh.” Avery nodded. “Cam’s way into those things.”

Teresa still looked somewhat unimpressed.

“You guys want to get anything?”

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