Page 90 of Beneath the Hood

Sighing, I close my eyes, feeling the panic start to unearth itself from where its buried, stretching its claws toward my chest.

One. Two. Three.

I open my eyes. “Kayla, promise me you won’t say anything. I told you because I wanted someone to confide in. I don’t want this getting out, okay? It’s important.He’simportant.”

She mimes zipping her lips closed and throwing away the key. “My lips are sealed, babe.”

But even with her reassurance, anxiety dances along my spine, humming with a warning.

A few hours later, it’s still there, tension having weaved its way into every breath, my brain on high alert and my body on edge.

Lennox drops me off at Jackson’s house with a pinched look and a sigh. “I’m guessing I won’t be hearing from you until the morning?”

I smile sheepishly, heat flooding my cheeks. “That would be a safe bet.”

He runs his hand over his buzzed head, his fingers coming down on the steering wheel and tightening. “You’re really putting me in an awkward position, Blakely. I hope you know that.”

Pressure weighs down my chest. “I do,” I whisper.

“Do you?” he asks. “I work for your father, not for you. And it worries me you’re spending your small amount of free time with this guy who iswaytoo old for you, and most likely looking for a way to latch on to your success.”

Annoyance makes my back stiffen. This is only the second conversation I’ve had with someone about Jackson, and already I’m exhausted from defending him. “He’s not like that.”

Lennox’s jaw clenches. “If you say so.”

The rubber band holding me together snaps. “Listen, I appreciate the concern, but honestly, you’re right. Youworkfor my father, and you’re overstepping your boundaries. Caring about my personal life is above your paygrade. Try not to forget that next time,” I hiss.

His nostrils flare and he bites the inside of his cheek.

Regret immediately slices through my stomach. “Shit,Lennox, I—”

“No.” He shakes his head. “You’re right. It’s not my place.”

And with that, he waves me away.

Despite the way my body feels like a live wire, sadness at the fact that no one else seems to approve of Jax and me, I walk up to his house with a skip in my step, excited to be spending time with him again.

Mondays are really the only chance we get to be alone together.It’s tiring having to constantly pretend like my soul isn’t tearing through my skin to latch on to his.

But if we go public, things would be much,muchworse. That was made more than obvious to me today. So, I’m going to drag this out as long as possible and hope I can convince him to keep things between the two of us for as long as I can.

I may want to show him to the world, but I don’t want the world to steal him away.

41

Jackson

I’ve never been in a relationship before.

I’m not sure anyone knows that about me, not even Blakely. It’s honestly never something I’ve cared about until recently. Until Blakely came into my life and took over every waking thought.

And now that I’m in one, I’m not sure what to do. It’s not like I can look at normal relationships and draw from their experience or reach out to my friends back home and ask for advice.

All of them are out in the open. They don’t need to hide behind metal shelves or beg their bodyguard to sneak them away in the middle of the night.

Maybe I can GoogleHow to secretly date a socialite, see what hits I get.

I thought it was exciting at first, sneaking around, but the novelty wears off fast, and ever since I told her I loved her a month ago I’ve had to keep myself from bringing up the fact that I want to say fuck it and go public.

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