Page 55 of Somewhere Only We Know
“Where is it we’re going?” Jax asks softly.
“A place I think you’re going to have a lot of fun at.”
“You mean the rooftop wasn’t fun?”
I lean over and kiss along her neck. Just light kisses before placing one by her ear and I don’t miss the light whimper that escapes. “Anywhere with you is fun.”
I sit back in my seat and wrap my arm around her shoulder. Jax relaxes into me and wraps an arm around my thigh. Blood rushes through my ears at the contact because apparently I’ve never been touched before and this sort of contact gives me tingly feelings. I watch the lights blur by until our driver slows down.
“Here you go.” He says and pulls over to the curb.
Once we pay and get out, we just stand on the sidewalk. Neon lights illuminate the street and those in its vicinity.
“What do we do first?” Jax asks and I look down at her. Her face is the definition of awe as the lights bounce off of her face. Like this is her first true living experience. Then again, maybe it is if what I’ve heard from her sister is any indication.
“Get a drink and then walk around?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Together Jax and I experience this side of Vegas that’s full of joy. I watch her laugh more times tonight than I have since she waltzed back into my life. We watch another light show and a live performance. We dance and sing, drink more and eat a little bit of food. This version of Jax is the one I’ve been waiting to see.
27
JAX
Ouch. That’s the first thought that enters my head as the sunlight shines through the curtain I forgot to close before our night out. I scrunch my eyes closed as if that’ll eliminate the light and plunge me back into darkness. How much did I drink last night? We polished off an entire bottle of tequila last night, that I vaguely remember. The kiss? Of course I remember that. Nates lips on mine. How could I ever forget that? But I don’t remember much of anything after we left the rooftop.
I stretch and recoil when my foot hits something solid. Slowly, I turn my head to the left and see Nate lying face down in my bed. But it’s only then I realize that this is not my room. What the hell happened last night? My bladder is screaming at me and I go to flip off the covers when something catches my eye.No. No, I am not seeing that. I scrunch my eyes together again, hoping that it’s just the remaining alcohol coursing through my bloodstream playing a trick on me.
On the count of three, I’ll open my eyes and I won’t seewhat I think I saw.1, 2, 3. FUCK!And I can’t stop the gasp that escapes when there is no mistaking the ring on my finger. What the hell did we do last night?
I stay perfectly still as I feel Nate start to wake up.Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.
Nate turns his head and meets my eyes. If he’s shocked I’m in here, he played it off, although I didn’t miss the slight widening of his dark brown eyes upon seeing me in his bed. His eyes have a slight redness around them probably from how late we stayed out and the alcohol.
“Jax?” his hoarse voice does something to me.Focus, Jaclyn!
I give him a small wave and then his eyes narrow on the diamond sitting on my finger. Nate sits up rather quickly for someone who drank more than I did and the jostling of the bed proves motion sickness is here.
“What the hell is this?” He asks and grabs my hand, inspecting the ring I’m most certain he put there if the gold band on his ring finger is any indication.
“I’m assuming that’s rhetorical?”
Nate places my hand back down and rolls off the bed like we didn’t polish off more alcohol than humanly possible last night. How is he moving so easily? He paces and gets this furrow in his brow that I would find cute now if we weren’t married.Married!?How the hell did this happen? Fucking tequila that’s how. I’m never drinking again, says everyone who ever woke up after a night they can no longer remember.
I’m realizing that last night the wall I had up came down in spectacular fashion. Or I at least created a little doorway. We laughed, we drank, we kissed…we kissed a lot–but other than that, I’m failing to see how we both ended up with rings on our fingers.
“Nate, what are you doing?” I ask on his third round of pacing the room. I understand people’s need to work things out, but his pacing is threatening to make me barf.
“Trying to remember what we did last night.”
“Well, can you stop? It kind of makes me want to barf.”
He stops and looks at me with a wince before a frown mars his dark brown skin and he’s moving to the living room pit to continue his pacing there. I roll my eyes and finally slide out of his bed. My dead phone is on the nightstand so I gather that up along with my shoes.
“Where are you going?” Nate asks from his spot with a hint of panic in his voice.
“To my room to shower. And to brush my teeth. I feel like something died in my mouth.”
