I heard Simone’s soft laugh and Rose must have too because her gaze flickered from me to my friend who was half hidden behind me, and half hidden inside her oversized hoodie. The girl was good at hiding. I’d never once won hide-and-seek as kids.
“Hey, Simone.” Rose’s pretty features softened in a genuine smile and it was only then I remembered that Rose and Simone likely knew each other somewhat well thanks to Simone’s involvement in the art department. She did a lot of the set work for the plays that Rose starred in.
Simone waved her hand and wiggled her fingers but when Rose’s brows arched in question, Simone looked to me to keep talking. They both did.
The vibe was far from welcoming and more like ‘what on earth are you doing here?’
I shifted uncomfortably but my smile never faded. “I, uh…I heard what happened between you and Ryan.”
Her expression didn’t so much as flicker. Her blank stare was…unnerving, actually. She waited patiently for me to make my point.
And my point was…what exactly?
I gave her a rueful wince. “He’s not exactly taking it well.”
Rose turned away to reach for another book and I felt the loss of her gaze. I felt the loss of her attention. “If you’re trying to play matchmaker or whatever, I’m not really into the whole passing notes through friends thing.”
Her tone was as flat and uncharming as I’d ever heard it and Simone choked on a laugh at my expense.
“No, no, nothing like that.” I scrambled to salvage this situation. “All I meant to say was…you have nothing to worry about.”
That got her attention, at least. She shot me a sidelong look that I couldn’t decipher. “Really?”
I straightened a bit. See? This wouldn’t be so hard. I knew girls, and I absolutely knew how to play this girl. “He’s all bark and no bite,” I said with an assured smile. “He’ll get over it eventually, and until then…I’ve got your back.”
She blinked once. Twice. Then she slammed her locker shut and turned to face me. No, she didn’t just face me. She leaned into me, her body softening like she was melting against me. “Is that right?” her voice was so breathy, so tempting…
I fought hard to swallow or else I might have drooled. Man, I’d forgotten just how tempting she could be. How the world seemed to stop spinning when she was looking at you like this. Like you were her Prince Charming and the center of the universe.
Like you were the only man on the planet.
Her fingertips trailed over my chest, tiptoeing up toward my shoulder teasingly as she batted her lashes. “You’d do that for me?”
It was the slight hint of a Southern belle accent that made me blink and threatened to ruin this haze of desire. “Uh…yeah.”
“You would protect little ol’ me from that big, bad wolf?” There was no denying the teasing—nay, mocking—glint in her eyes as she leaned in even closer and batted her eyelashes dramatically.
She moved back so quickly I felt a rush of cold where she’d once been and she smacked her forehead with the back of her hand as her voice rose in that ridiculous accent. “Why, I do declare, you are such a brave gentleman.”
Simone collapsed into hysterics beside me, bending at the waist as she laughed at Rose’s antics.
Rose straightened and dropped her hand along with the accent. She gave me a grin that softened the mockery and then she reached out and patted my cheek lightly. “You’re cute, Jax. Did you know that?”
I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
“Bye, Simone,” she sang as she left.
“See ya!” Simone sounded way too giddy as she said goodbye to Rose who was sashaying away from us like she was on a freakin’ catwalk.
“Don’t say it,” I said.
Simone laughed.
I glared down at her. “Do not say a word.”
3
Two Years Ago: Bobby Newman’s Party
Rose
Jax's gaze met mine evenly, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.
"Please tell me you're joking right now," I said.
His lips twitched as he tried to smother a smile. "I would never joke about something that clearly means so much to you."
I leaned back on the ratty old sofa in Bobby's basement, ignoring the birthday party going on around us like I'd been doing for the better part of an hour. Who could focus on cheesy music and awkward conversation among fifteen-year-olds when Jax Hadley was flirting with you?
I mean, yes. I’d made this happen. And I was already planning out the thank you letter I'd send to Cosmo because, holy crap, their article about how to get your crush to notice you totally worked.
Ask him to do a small favor?
Check.
That's why I was sitting here pretending to nurse the punch that someone had spiked when Bobby's parents weren't looking. I'd had Jax fetch some for me.
Little touches?
Check.
I'd touched his forearm, his shoulder, and even his chest. I was rocking the flirting, and the best part was? Once I'd gotten his attention, it was so easy to keep up the flirting.
With Jax, flirting was like breathing. It was a give and take, a push and pull. Everything we said seemed to have a hidden subtext, every look a different meaning. We were in innuendo city over here and it was heady.
He was freakin’ intoxicating.
I’d had a crush on Jax since I’d transferred here in the eighth grade. Who wouldn’t? Dark hair, lean body, and he played the guitar! Every girl had a crush on Jax, and I was the one flirting with him.
Life was good.
“So, it’s that good, huh?” he asked. He reached a hand out and brushed a lock of my platinum blonde hair out of my face.
I held my breath as the butterflies in my belly went into overdrive. Oh heck yeah. Either he’d read the same Cosmo article I had, or he was just looking for an excuse to touch me.
And I loved
