Page 16 of Somewhere Only We Know
Her sister nods and eyes her sister like she’s a stranger.
“Damn, girl. You’ve been burned,” Sophie chimes in.
“Two times, too many,” Jax admits and I want someone to handmea shovel so I can start digging my own grave. She clears her throat with a cough mixed with a laugh. “You know, I forgot I have a meeting with my manager. Good game today, guys.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Kamryn asks as Jax abruptly stands. She’s so close to me, but so completely out of reach.
She shakes her head. “No, you stay,” she urges and hesitates with her next move, but pushes on. “Bye, guys.”
Jax leaving abruptly sends weirdness through the group. And once she’s out the door, it takes everything in me to not run after her. But I’m not that person for her anymore. Maybe she has a new person she leans on. Someone who stays, someone who is willing to meet her halfway, and that someone is not me. It hasn’t been since I sent that damn text message.
“What don’t we know about your sister?” Chance asks after no one has said anything for an awkward few minutes.
Kamryn crosses her leg over the other and swings her foot. “My sister is as complicated as a Rubik’s Cube. You may think you’re given the right moves, but unfortunately she’s something that you can never solve. Trust me, I've been trying to figure her out for the last few years.”
That’s an understatement, I say to myself.
“I don’t know much about what happened in her college years, as I was mixed up with my own stuff, but her last relationship was not good.”
Chance sits up. “Who do we need to straighten up?”
I look at Chance and then over at Kamryn hoping she gives a name. I don’t resort to violence, but anyone who hurts Jax deserves to be taught a lesson.
“He’s a nobody. Just a waste of space who used my sister’s connections to get seen.”
“How long were they together?” Sophie asks.
Kamryn draws a design in the condensation on her glass. Possibly stalling telling us her sister’s business. “Three years too long. But they were more off than on. It was toxic.”
I bite my tongue and silently do the math. What happened in the three years after college? Surely I could look everything up, thanks to modern technology, but that seems way too intrusive for a guy like me. No, I want to know about Jax the woman. Not what a generic internet search will tell me.
“Huh,” Bryce chimes in. “Can we loop back to Natey?”
“Please, no.” I groan and sit back in my chair.
“How long had you known her?” Bryce asks, ignoring me.
I look over at him and he cheeses in return. I lift my hat off my head to stall and resituate it. “We met on the first day of college.”
“Babies,” Sophie coos.
“That is cute,” Bryce agrees with an exaggerated nod of his head. “When did you tell her you had feelings for her?”
I sit back in my chair and look around at the group waiting for my answer. “Towards the end of our third year.”
Thinking back to that time, had I just buried my feelings for her, leaving wouldn’t have been as hard as it was. I mean, it still would have been hard. But then I wouldn’t have had the bonus hardship of a relationship. I never went into our friendship with less than honorable intentions and if all we got to be were friends, I would have gladly accepted it forwhat it was. But even when Jax finally reciprocated my feelings, I still never rushed her.
“Why so long?” This question comes from Kamryn.
One thing my parents taught me was to always look someone in the eye. Not only as a form of respect but so that they knew you were speaking directly to them. So I turn my head to look at Kamryn and answer her question. “Because she saw what happened with her sister and best friend at the time. How confessing feelings at the wrong time can ruin any solid friendship.”
I don’t mean to spell out that the girl I’m talking about is Jax, but I can see when it clicks for her. Kamryn’s entire demeanor changes. And it’s as if she’s gone into mama-bear mode to protect Jax, but also wanting to push her sister to happiness. I’m not sure which one I would prefer.
“Okay…” Bryce starts and then looks at the time. “It’s getting late so I think it’s time we wrap this up.”
Wordlessly, I nod and am the first to get up from my chair to head inside to pay my tab. The only thing I’m looking forward to is heading home and getting ready for tomorrow’s game.
“Good luck tomorrow,” the owner says as I cash out.
