JAX (The Beckett Boys #2) - Olivia Chase Page 0,42
a present? When? I open it up and see the metal dachshund inside, and my heart gives a painful little flip.
“I saw you looking at it when I was talking to Rob. You seemed to love it, so I wanted you to have it.”
The fact that he was still noticing me, was aware of me when he was with his friend, thaws some of my heart out. I reach over and give him a big hug. Squeeze him to me as tight as I can. “Thank you,” I whisper in his ear, giving it a small kiss before pulling away. “I had a wiener dog when I was kid. It was my best friend. We slept together—hell, it even gave me its fleas once.” I laugh. “Mom about had a stroke when she saw us both scratching ourselves.”
“You’re so fucking adorable,” he tells me, a dimple popping out from his crooked smile, and he reaches over to touch my cheek. “Now go take something for that headache and text me later so I know you’re okay.”
I put the dog back in the bag, grab my purse, and exit the car. Just when I think there’s no hope, Jax goes and does something sweet that makes me wonder if perhaps I’m judging him too harshly. Making assumptions.
When I get inside the room, Gail’s sitting cross-legged on her bed, books spread out everywhere. She’s got a pencil between her teeth and she’s flipping through her notebook. When she looks up at me, she smiles and takes the pencil out. “Hey, how’s it going?”
I flop on my side of the bed and lie back, exhaling hard. “Fine.”
“That doesn’t sound fine,” Gail says with a laugh. “That sounds like relationship sighs. God knows I’ve done enough of those myself.” She leans over and procures a flask from under her bed. “Want a drink? It’s shitty vodka. If anything can take your mind off of dick, it’s this shit.”
I scrunch my nose and chuckle. “Wow, you’ve really sold me on it.” Still, I reach over and take the flask, lift my head just enough to swallow a gulp, which burns all the way down to my stomach. Maybe a buzz will help me shake off the tension headache. “So how’s studying going?” A flare of guilt swells in my chest. I should be working on a paper right now, actually. It isn’t going to write itself.
“Fine.” Her voice sounds a little smug. “I’m gonna ace my finals. I know this crap backward and forward.”
“Wanna take mine for me?” I ask, only half joking. “Hey, Gail…how did you know when you were in love with Samantha?”
Gail exhales and then takes her own big drink of the vodka. She grimaces. “Fuck, that shit is nasty.” After closing her books, she faces me with her full attention. “Are you wondering if you’re in love with Jax?”
“I don’t know. It shouldn’t be possible. He’s not the kind of guy you should love. He’s great for fun times, for…” My face burns. “Uh, for more.”
“Like sex?”
I nod.
“He must be important in some capacity if you two did that. You don’t seem like the kind to casually hook up with a person.” There’s no judgment in her voice, just caring, and I feel some of my tension easing away.
“I’m not. But he is.”
“And you don’t think he could be serious about a long-term relationship. Are you two exclusive?”
I draw in a couple of slow breaths and roll to my side to face her, fluffing my pillow. “I think so? We didn’t exactly…we haven’t talked about that, but I did tell him that I’m not comfortable having a sexual relationship with him if he’s out with other women, too.” The conversation floats to my mind, and a smile creeps unbidden to my face. When I told him that, Jax shook his head and kissed me breathless, then said he didn’t want to have sex with anyone else but me.
Of course, there’s a difference between wanting to be sexually exclusive and wanting to be in a relationship. The smile fades.
“I think Jax is really new to all of this. He’s probably never had a serious girlfriend. Be a little patient with him as he sorts it all out. But don’t sit around and wait forever for him to decide to commit—you deserve better than that.” Gail takes another swig, groans in misery, then screws the cap back on the flask. “Fuck, that’s nasty.”