Page 8 of Alpha Jax

I finish drying my hands and fling the damp towel in her direction. She snatches it out of the air, using the same hand to point a finger at me. “Just tell me it isn’t Clay.”

“It’s not Clay!” I sigh exasperatedly. “I told you before, your little mission totally worked. I’m over that jerk.”

“Then what is it?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

I don’t want to admit that I’m done obsessing over how things ended with Clay because I’ve moved on to obsessing over sexy stranger instead, so I go with a deflection.

“If you must know,” I begin, blowing out a breath, “one of my friends stopped by yesterday to ask if I’d consider joining the IT unit at the squad.”

“And?” Kyla steps closer, her interest piqued.

I shrug, twirling a strand of hair around a finger. “And I’m considering it, I guess.”

Kyla’s eyebrows shoot up.

I swallow, continuing. “I mean, I was interested in going out for the squad after high school, but I put everything on hold because Clay asked me to stick around. And now that we’re over… well, it kinda seems like the perfect opportunity to get away from it all, right? To start over?”

“So what’s there to consider?” Kyla laughs, folding her arms across her chest. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I don’t think my dad would be a fan of me moving out, for one. It’s just the two of us at the packhouse.”

Kyla nods sympathetically. I told her a while ago about how my mom died in an accident when I was eight, and now every time I allude to it just being me and my dad, she gets this sad look in her eyes. I know she means well, but I also kinda hate the look of pity. I’ve been getting that same look for the past ten years every time someone mentions my mom, and honestly, it has tainted her memory a little bit. I don’t want to be sad when I think about her- I want to think of how joyful and vibrant and loving she was.

I guess everybody processes things differently. My brother Theo hasn’t ever been the same since Mom died; it seems like he’s mad at the world and takes it out on everyone around him. He and my dad don’t get along, so Theo doesn’t come around much. It’s a shame, really- I wish I was closer to my brother and that we could lean on one another more. We’ve got shared trauma, after all… our mother’s death will always be a part of us.

As if she’s reading my mind, Kyla asks “but isn’t your brother on the squad?”

I give a little nod. “Yeah, but we aren’t super close.”

The five-year age gap could account for some of that, but it’s mostly the fact that Theo moved out when he turned eighteen and rarely comes back. His life is the squad, now.

“Well if your dad’s cool with him being on the squad, he’s gotta be okay with you doing it, right?” Kyla shrugs.

“It’s a little more nuanced than that.” I don’t really know how to explain all of my family drama to Kyla, nor do I really want to delve into it, so instead I grab the glass of beer that I just overpoured off of the bar. “Gotta deliver this quick.”

I walk away, bringing the beer over to a guy sitting by himself at table eight. Kyla checks on her own tables, and by the time we’re both back behind the bar, she’s back to interrogating me.

“So is that the only reason you’d turn it down?” she asks, leaning an elbow on the bar top. “Your dad?”

I sigh, sliding my hands into the back pockets of my black shorts. “There’s also the fact that Clay’s best friend is on the squad.”

Kyla narrows her eyes. “So? Wouldn’t you rather chance running into Clay’s bestie than Clay himself?”

Can’t argue with her on that one.

“And didn’t you tell me once thatyourbest friend is on the squad?” she asks, pointing a finger at me.

“Yeah, joined last year,” I say, and I can’t help but smile at the thought of my closest friend and the prospect of us getting to see each other every day again.

Kyla throws up her hands. “So I’m not seeing the problem here! You should go for it, girl. It sounds like you want to, you’re just making excuses. Clay’s not holding you back anymore, so why are you holding yourself back?”

I stare at my friend, a little dumbfounded. She’s right- Ihavebeen making excuses. Ever since my friend Brooke stopped by the packhouse yesterday to ask me to join the squad’s IT unit with her, I’ve been busy coming up with reasons why I shouldn’t. I don’t like change, but maybe Kyla’s right; maybe this is the fresh start I need. Maybe I need to stop being so damn stubborn and just take it.

“I’m thinking about joining up, myself,” Kyla says nonchalantly, reaching for the bar towel and wiping up a wet spot on the bar top.

I grin, folding my arms and leaning idly against the counter. “Oh yeah?” I’m picturing little Kyla training as a fighter- as amusing as it is, she’d probably be amazing since she’s scrappy as hell. Girl is small but fierce.

“Didn’t you hear?” She tosses the towel back down, her lips turning up into a mischievous smile. “There’s gonna be an open call for the squad. No cuts or anything, just a month of training to build up a reserve squad.”

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