Page 106 of Just Friends
I glanced over my shoulder and stole a quick peek at him, still inside, saying something to the girls.ThisJax oozed a quiet confidence, muscles swelling beneath his dashing suit. He stood straight as an arrow, determined and powerful—the posture of a man who knewexactlywhat he wanted and wasn’t going to leave without it. Even as the WAGs did their best to scare him off with their cold shoulders and brusque remarks, he kept his eyes on the prize.
My heart beat faster as I waited. I hoped he hadn’t hunted me down just to break my heart again.
He turned and made his way to me.
Here we go. Moment of truth.
Jax’s smooth footsteps joined me on the balcony. I didn’t turn to greet him; instead I stared at the sunset, careful to not let any emotion show. He quietly pulled the balcony doors shut behind him with aclick.He neared and stood next to me, his round shoulder grazing mine. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I answered cautiously, sneaking a glance from the corner of my eye. God, he was handsome in a suit—even if he had forgotten his silly red pocket square. Which I didn’t think was nearly as big of a deal as the other girls did, but what did I know? Maybe Mr. Sullivan really was that big of a stickler.
He took in the view. “Beautiful sunset,” he said.
“Sure is.”
We admired it together for a few quiet and contemplative moments. He admired somethingelse,too—I sensed his eyes all over me. The girls were absolutely right; my dress had captivated his full attention.
“I’m glad I found you here,” he said after the lull. “I was looking all over the place for you until I ran into Reavo. He told me where I could find you.”
“I’ve been hanging with the girls all day,” I said flatly.
“I figured. Are you having a good time?”
Loaded question. I snickered, my eyes on the sunset. “Yeah, it’s been fun.”
“Good.” Again, I felt his eyes running up and down my body. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”
I ignored the compliment. Until I knew what his intentions with me were, I wouldn’t give in to flattery. “So what’s so important you had to talk to me, Jax?”
“First of all,” he began, running ran a hand through his neat yet perfectly disheveled hair. “I wanted to apologize.”
“For what?”
“The way I’ve been acting lately.”
I pretended I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I could hear him say it in his own words. “Oh? And how have you been acting?”
He leaned his side against the railing and looked at me, a silent request for my eyes. Sheepishly, I turned to meet his gaze.
“I’ve been out of it, Pipes. I haven’t been myself. We both know that.” He stared deeper into my eyes. “I’ll just come out and say it: I’ve been weird.”
“Yeah. You have. Today especially.” I gave a nervous laugh and looked away, unable to hold the intensity of his stare. “And honestly, you’re kinda being weird right now.”
“I am?” I didn’t have to look to see his handsome smile—I could hear it in his voice. “How am I being weird?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced at him again for a split second. “You look different.”
“How?”
“There’s just alookin your eye.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m seeing things clearly now?” he said cryptically. He didn’t wait for me to ask to explain. “Listen, Pipes, I wanna talk about what you said earlier today.”
I swallowed down a knot in my throat.“Oh, that?”
“Yeah, that,” he said. He gathered his thoughts in silence. “Honestly, I was blindsided when you told me you liked me all along. I really didn’t know what to say.”
Yikes,I thought.Not off to a great start.
