Page 103 of Just Friends
Even though the girls had given me the type of response I’d been fishing for, part of me felt rotten. By playing along in this character assassination, I was betraying Jax’s friendship—andwhy? Just because he didn’t like me?
The harder I laughed at the anti-Jax jokes, the harder my heart ached. For five years, Jax had occupied so much space in my heart. It wasn’t an easy thing to surgically pluck him out of there, toss him in the dustbin, and move on. No—he refused to go peacefully, digging his nails into my heart and kicking and screaming as I tried to remove him. But the thing was, the Jax I held near and dear to my heart—the fantasy guy I’d fallen for—wasn’t the realJax.
TherealJax wouldn’t care; he’d evacuate my heart without a word. And he’d saynothing,just as he had earlier today when I told him how I felt about him. Because the real Jax didn’t have time for feelings or commitment or relationships; he had legions of “hot sexy babes” or whatever waiting for him at the pool. He’d never settle down because he didn’t need to—so why care, why say anything atall, when a crazy chick confesses all her feelings?
So I did my best to ignore the pain. And I became determined to have an amazing time tonight. No, I couldn’t drink, but the girls’ tipsy, energetic banter was infectious—and as we started getting dressed for the dinner, a fuzzy warmth glowed in my belly and blunted the heartache.
Yeah, fuck Jax.
We took turns steaming our dresses, trying them on, and modeling them for the group. I’d been worried the dress I’d picked out—a sequined, flowy mini-dress with spaghetti straps and a drapey cowl neck—was too risque for the dinner, but the girls talked me out of changing into something else.
“No! Don’t change,” Emma said. “You look freakin’ amazing in that.”
“Yeah, you aresohot, Piper,” Austen said. She snorted deviously. “And the best part is, Jax will be staring at what he can’t havealllllnight long. Boy will be absolutely kicking himself for being such a sleazy doofus.”
I shared a devious little laugh at that myself. I doubted it were true, but at least it gave my wounded ego a much-needed boost.
Before long, we were dressed and ready to go. We sat around the couch, waiting, a sudden restlessness in the air.
“Now what?” I asked.
Katerina checked the time. “We’ve got another fifteen minutes until the shuttle shows up.”
A shuttle was picking us up at the hotel and taking us to the event center, where the dinner and after party were held.
“Sounds like time for one last glass,” Emma said, and she refreshed everyone’s wine glass.
Austen sipped her wine. “So, I hate to bring up the jerk-of-the-hour again. But Piper, can I ask what you’re going to do since you have to share a room with Jax tonight?”
Before I could even answer, the girls all volunteered their couches for me to sleep on. But I refused; I knew they were all looking forward to an intimate night with their guys, and I’d hate to ruin that with my drama.
“So what will you do?” Katerina asked.
“I don’t know.” I paused. “I mean, Icouldshare the bed with him—”
The response was stern and unanimous:“No. No way.”
“Why don’t you ask the hotel for a new room?” Emma asked. “I’m sure they’d give it to you. They offered it earlier, so I can’t see any good reason why they’d refuse it now. Just tell them the circumstances changed. They’ll understand.”
“That feels so over the top, though,” I said. “It’s not like I can’t stand being around him anymore. He’s still my friend. Asking for a new room feels immature, like I’m going out of my way to spite him because he doesn’t like me back.”
“But you can’t share that bed with him,” Katerina said.“What if he tries to play on your emotions and take advantage of you? You can’t trust guys like him, Piper.”
Honestly, I didn’t think Jax would ever do something like that to me … but I knew if I’d tried to defend his character, they’d probably think I had Stockholm Syndrome. Heck, I could tell they were already thinking it.
“I could sleep on our couch, then,” I said. “It’s plenty big enough.”
“No, makehimsleep on the couch!” Austen said.
I snickered sheepishly. “But he’s a pro athlete. He needs a good rest more than I do.”
“Bullcrap!” she said. “You’ve got narcolepsy. Youneed the sleep more than he does!”
“Besides, this weekend is for us! Not him,” Ainsley said.
“That bed is yours, Piper,” Emma said, smiling. “Don’t worry about his beauty sleep. Consider it payback for all the times he brought girls home late at night.”
“You know what you could do if youreallywanted to get him back?” Ainsley asked, grinning mischievously. “Make Jax sleep on the couch, then bring Pierre back to your room for a little midnight snack …NOM NOM.”
