Filed to story: Breathe Story (Sadie White & Jax Stone)
“I need to get to work.”
He reached out for my hand, and I immediately snatched it back and pocketed both of my hands.
“Sadie, please.”
I hated the insecure, little boy I saw in his eyes and the fact it got to me. Dang it. “There is nothing to talk about, Jax. I work here, we are friends, I guess, and you spent some extra time with me. Your girlfriend is here. No big deal. Now, if you will move.”
He took my arms and gently, but firmly, pushed me back into the laundry room and closed the door behind him.
“What are you doing?” I asked when I realized he’d locked us in.
“We need to get a few things clear, and I can’t let you go to work until I know you understand.”
I hated the way he acted as if I needed to be reminded of reality. I stiffened and turned to glare out the window.
“Do you remember when I told you I have to get my picture taken with every female teen star in the vicinity for publicity?”
I didn’t turn or acknowledge his words.
He sighed. “I know you do. Anyway, Star and I have been thrown together since we were fifteen. She is the female me in the teen world, and people like to dream up romances between us. Because we have both spent our teen years in front of the camera, we have become friends.”
Nausea boiled inside me. I didn’t need a reminder that Star would be a much better match for him.
“But friends is all we have ever been. I’m not going to lie because, in the beginning, we did try out a relationship. It seemed natural for us, but it failed miserably. We were able to call it quits and remain friends. I didn’t know she was coming yesterday. She has been in love with a boy from her hometown for years. They have struggled to make things work, but, with her lifestyle, they never had enough time together. She just found out he is getting married next week. He got a girl pregnant, and Star is torn up about it. So she came here to see me. She needed a friend.”
He stopped talking, and I knew I needed to turn around and respond. I just wasn’t sure how, without acting like the hopelessly lovesick idiot I’d become. I took a deep breath and exhaled, hoping to calm my emotions, and turned around.
“You didn’t have to explain anything to me. I’ve known all along you live in a world I know nothing about, nor will I ever know anything about. Even if she is your girlfriend, the only thing you would have been guilty of is kissing someone else. You don’t owe me an explanation. I am just someone you spent time with for a couple of weeks one summer.” I forced a smile and nodded my head toward the door. “Now we have all this cleared up, I need to get to work.”
I stepped toward the exit, and Jax’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm. I closed my eyes and waited for him to speak.
“You think you’re just someone I spent time with?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. He looked at me incredulously, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I returned his stare. He seemed angry and hurt. I hated knowing I’d hurt him.
“What am I, then, Jax?” I heard myself whisper. “How can I ever be more than that?”
He pulled me up close to him. “You have been more than that since the night I took you home. You want to know what you are?” He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “You’re the person who owns this.”
Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t want to love you,” I forced out through the thickness in my throat.
“God, I hope you do, because you own me completely,” he whispered, and then leaned down and kissed me with such emotion the tears escaped and slid down my face. He held my face as he kissed me, until my knees went weak, and I held on to his arms to keep from falling. When he broke the kiss, he didn’t let me go, thankfully, because, without his support, I would not have had the strength to stand.
“I should have come and told you, but she kept crying and going on and on over everything they had been through. She needed an ear, and I gave her one. I knew when I came to get you last night and you were gone, I’d screwed up. Promise me you won’t ever ride home by yourself again. I sat in your driveway last night after I made sure your bike was there and watched the windows for a long time, wondering which one was yours. If I’d have known, I would have come to you then, but I didn’t want to wake your mom.” He tucked a curl behind my ear, and I shivered at his touch. “I’m trying to make myself let you go before Ms. Mary comes to get you, but you go and shiver at my touch and weaken my resolve to stop holding you.”
He laid my head against his chest, and I smiled. He loved me. I knew heartache would be inevitable when he left, but I knew he loved me.
I waited on Jax out in the gazebo after work. I’d promised Amanda I’d come to the party with her tonight. She sent a message through Marcus as to where to meet her and what time. I’d forgotten until he reminded me. I needed to talk to Jax about it, because if he wanted to do something with me, I would need to cancel my prior plans. Now, I wished I hadn’t accepted Amanda’s invitation, but she seemed so excited about introducing me to people.
“Why the frown, gorgeous?” Jax stepped into the gazebo and came to sit by me.