Page 66 of Just Friends
“Oh, um, no, he didn’t say a whole lot about the situation other than he’d look into it.”
“Gee. Great. Lot of help that is.” Jax blew a short gust through flared nostrils. “Must’ve been a pretty short email, then.”
“It was pretty lengthy, actually,” I said with a gulp.
Jax’s eyes narrowed. “What else did he say?”
“Well … he seemed pretty interested in talking about us.”
“Us?” Jax asked, a smug flicker in his eyes. “Me and you?”
“No, not me and you.” I hesitated, rubbing at an ugly bruise on my thigh. “Me and him.”
The sparkle in his eye vanished. “What about you and him?”
“Well, he was pretty insistent that he made a mistake all those years ago, and he wants a second chance.”
Jax’s jaw tensed. “Yeah, okay. Fuck that. Fuckhim.”
“I know. And believe me, part of me says the same thing.”
“Partof you? Why notallof you? You’re not actually considering this, are you?”
“I don’t know,” I grumbled. “What’s the harm in meeting up and seeing if there’s still a spark?”
“Piper, he dumped you so he could gofuck other girls!”
“Yes, Jax, I’m aware,” I said, casting my gaze out the window.
“So why aren’t you as outraged by this idea as I am?”
“Probably because youalwaysget agitated when I bring him up. I’m starting to think you believe Nate is some sort of super villain. ”
“Uh, yeah,isn’the? The guy broke your heart so he could get his dick wet, Pipes. That’s a pretty shitty dude, if you ask me.”
“You don’t have to tell me that, Jax. I’m the one who got my heart broken—and it took years to process that pain. And it’s true, I always thought when he broke up with me that he’d lost his chance. But now …” I trailed off.
“Now what?”
“Now, I’m not so sure. My parents are getting older, heck,I’mgetting older—”
He laughed. “Why are you talking like you’re knocking on death’s door? You’re twenty-six, not eighty-six.”
“Yeah, but I always thought I’d be married by now; maybe even have a kid or two. At the very least,I thought I’d be in a long-term and fulfilling relationship with the guy I could easily see myself marrying someday soon. And yet the only serious relationship I’ve had so far was with Nate.”
“So you’re going to back to Nate because you think you’re running out of time?” he asked. “Even though you’re absolutely gorgeous and in the prime of your life? You realize you could go out and nab basically any guy you wanted, right?”
Basically any guy I wanted … but not THE guy …
I rolled my eyes. “Look, I never said I’m definitely ‘going back to Nate,’ okay.”
“Really? Because it sure sounds like you are.”
“I’m justthinkingabout things in my life,” I said. “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”
“Because of Soulmate?” he asked.
Because of you, Jax!
