Until Jax

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “It’s okay. I can help,” I murmur against his mouth as his arms band around me tighter, allowing me to feel his arousal against my stomach.

  “I’m almost done. Why don’t you go make some coffee and call July back. She’s called a few times, but I told her you were sleeping.”

  “Was she okay?”

  “She was wondering why we didn’t show last night,” he explains.

  “Oh,” I whisper, feeling my face heat, which makes him smile.

  “Call her back. When I’m done, I’ll make us breakfast, and then we can go pick up Hope.”

  “Sure.” I nod, pressing up on my toes and placing a kiss on his mouth then pulling myself away from him to head into the kitchen.

  Finding my bag on the counter, I pull out my cell, seeing July sent three texts, all of them from when she was probably drunk. Most of them don’t make much sense, but all of them make me smile. Pressing call on her number, I put my phone to my ear and pull down a coffee cup, filling it before going to the fridge to get the cream.

  “I called you,” July answers almost right away.

  “I know, sorry. I just woke up.”

  “It’s fine. I was worried about you last night. I heard your dinner plans got shot, because of Mellissa.”

  “How did you hear about that?” I ask, dumping some cream and sugar into my coffee and stirring.

  “It’s a small town, and word travels fast.”

  “I’m so embarrassed. I shouldn’t have let her get to me, but she made me so mad,” I tell her honestly, while going back to the fridge and pulling out the carton of eggs and some left over steak from a few nights ago, along with cheese and a diced onion and pepper.

  “She had it coming besides, She’s just jealous that Jax is in love with you and not her,” She says and I feel my heart flutter.

  “How did last night go? Your texts were a little hard to understand.” I say changing the subject.

  “That’s what happens when you try to outdrink a giant,” she mutters, and I hear Wes say something in the background, and then July tells him to be quiet because he was supposed to take care of her. “So what are your plans for the day? Do you want to go shopping with me and Ashlyn? I guess her new boss is a jerk and told her she can’t wear skirts or dresses to work anymore.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I ask. Ashlyn told me a little about her new boss, but I didn’t know he was such an ass.

  “Yeah, but I think he has a thing for her.”

  “Isn’t he engaged?”

  “His fiancée’s in New York. Ashlyn overheard him on the phone with her, and she was complaining about the size of the house he had chosen for them.”

  “What?” I whisper while breaking the eggs into a bowl and beating them.

  “Yeah, my guess is things are not so good for him, and he sees sweet Ashlyn so close yet so far away, so he’s taking his women problems out on her.”

  “How old is he?”

  “I think around thirty. Have you seen him? He’s gorgeous,” she whispers, and I hear a loud smack then her say, “Honey, I just mean he’s a good-looking guy.”

  “July, don’t piss me off,” I hear Wes growl, and I smile when July starts laughing.

  “I’m gonna have to call you back,” she squeals in laughter right before the phone goes dead.

  Giggling and shaking my head, I set the phone down on the counter next to me and start chopping up the steak. Then I turn on the stove and put the meat in a pan, along with the onions and peppers, then put another pan on the stove. I go back to the fridge and grab the butter, cutting off a slice and placing it in the pan before dumping some of the eggs on top of it.

  “What are you making?” Jax asks, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, kissing the skin below my ear.

  “Omelets.” I smile then laugh when his teeth nibble on my earlobe.

  “Smells good,” he mumbles absently.

  “I do know how to cook,” I tell him, leaning into his embrace and tilting my head farther to the side, while his mouth travels down toward my shoulder and his hand moves under my shirt to cup my bare breast.

  “If we didn’t have to pick up Hope, I’d have you for breakfast,” he whispers against the shell of my ear before nipping it then licking over the sting as a flood of memories from last night come back to me in a rush, causing my knees to get weak. Looking over my shoulder at him, I wonder if I can talk him out of breakfast and into a shower.

  “Don’t look at me like that, baby. I know you’re still sore, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t,” I assure him, dropping my eyes to his mouth, watching as a smile forms on his lips.

  “You like my mouth?” he asks with a smirk.

  Shrugging, I look back at the stove, lifting some of the steak, onions, and peppers from the pan on the opposite burner and tossing them over the eggs. I then grab a handful of cheese, muttering, “It’s okay.”

  “Just okay?” he asks, licking along the pulse of my neck, and I can tell he’s smiling.

  “I don’t really have a reference point, but if I had to give you a rating, it would be around a seven,” I say, hoping he will try to turn that seven, which is actually like a hundred, into a ten.

  “A seven?” he asks in disbelief.

  “Yeah, but like I said, I don’t have a reference point. If you want, I can go find someone else to do it and see if your rating goes up.” I shrug again then squeak when he spins me around, picks me up, and tosses me over his shoulder before turning off the stove and carrying me up the stairs to his room where he drops me onto the bed then proceeds to prove he’s definitely not a seven.

  *

  “Ax, can I hab a sister?” Hope asks as soon as we walk into Jax’s parents’ house.

  Feeling my mouth fall open, I look at Jax’s mom, who is covering her mouth trying not to laugh, and then to Jax’s dad, who has his lips pressed tightly together while watching my daughter.

  “Maybe one day, sweetheart, but really, I don’t think you get to choose. You may get a brother,” Jax tells her, picking her up.

  “Do I hab to ask God or Santa for a sister, Mama?” she asks, scrunching up her face, looking at me.

  “Oh, lord,” I breathe, glaring at Jax when he laughs.

  “Do you want to show your mom and Jax what you made them?” Lilly chimes in, helpfully changing the subject of babies.

  “We made cockporn balls,” she cries happily, wiggling out of Jax’s hold while I watch horrified as she runs past us toward the kitchen.

  “Cockporn Balls?” Jax asks, raising a brow at his mom, who rolls her eyes and smacks him on the chest playfully.

  “Popcorn balls,” she says then comes to me, sliding her arm through mine and dipping her face toward my ear, where she whispers, “We heard about last night. Are you okay?”

  “Sheesh, did everyone hear about it?” I whisper, feeling my face heat in embarrassment. I know this is a small town, but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Kim and Frankie both sent me texts making sure that I was okay because they had also heard about what happed last night.

  “No, Mani was worried about you, and he called to ask Cash if he heard from Jax. He wanted to make sure you guys were okay and to let us know he told Mellissa and her family they were no longer allowed at the restaurant.”

  “Now I feel even worse than I did before,” I mutter, feeling my stomach twist.

  “Don’t feel bad. We heard what she said to you. In fact, a whole lot of people heard it, and I know that quite a few of them are disgusted by the way she acted and have pulled the houses they had listed with her father.”

  “I don’t think that makes me feel any better,” I say as my anxiety begins to increase. I hate what happened last night, but I don’t think there is any other way for this to go. I just don’t think Mellissa’s dad should be punished, just because Mellissa is evil.

  “If you’re talking about Mellissa, we’re not talking about her today,” Jax says, coming up
and wrapping his arm around my waist. “We’re taking Hope to the park and out for pizza. We’re not going to discuss Mellissa, or even think about her,” he states firmly, giving my waist a squeeze while looking pointedly at his mom.

  “When did you turn into your dad?” she asks him softly, shaking her head.

  “Mom, don’t get all mushy on me right now, okay?”

  “I’m not getting mushy,” she mutters, swiping under her eyes, but I can tell she was totally going into mushy mommy mode.

  “Jesus,” he grumbles, releasing me and taking his mom into his arms, giving her a hug, and a kiss on the top of her head.

  “Here’s your cockporn ball, Mama,” Hope says happily, coming over to me, carrying a large, unwrapped, oddly shaped popcorn ball and handing it to me, causing the candy coating to stick to my hand. “I love cockporn balls,” she tells me, licking the palm of her hand that is covered in candy.

  “Angel baby,” I say softly, getting down to her level and taking her candy-covered hand into mine so she will focus on me.

  “It’s popcorn,” I tell her slowly. I have no idea where she got the whole cockporn thing, but that is definitely not something I want her saying in public, or ever, for that matter. I can just see us going to a movie and her yelling, ‘I want COCKPORN!’ at the top of her lungs in the middle of a packed theater.

  “I know, cockporn.” She nods, licking her palm again.

  “No, Angel. POP-corn,” I tell her, pronouncing each syllable.

  “COCK-porn,” she says slowly back, like I’m deaf, and then places her hands on her hips.

  “Oh, geez,” I mutter, giving up, looking at Lilly, who is fighting laughter, and ask her, “Do you have a bag for this?” while holding my hand upside down, showing the ball is stuck to my palm and now looks like a penis and balls.

  “I do.” She giggles then looks at Jax, who is looking at Hope like she’s the cutest thing in the whole wide world. It’s as if he missed everything that just happened and the fact she’s saying cockporn.

  “Do you want to go to the park, sweetheart?” he asks her, picking her up.

  “Yes! Can you push me on the swing?”

  “Sure, and after the park, we can go have pizza for dinner.”

  “Can we have fwozen yogut?” she asks, looking at him and batting her lashes. His eyes come to me, and all I can do is roll mine. She has him wrapped around her tiny little finger, and she knows it too.

  “If you eat all your dinner, then yes,” he tells her as I head to the kitchen, where I find Lilly wrapping up popcorn balls with saran wrap.

  “Thank you for keeping Hope,” I tell her, walking over to the sink and washing the sticky mess off of my hands.

  “We love her, and you, though you should know she has been talking nonstop about getting a sister.”

  Shaking my head, I pull a paper towel off the roll then take a seat next to her and start helping her wrap the remaining popcorn balls.

  “Ever since I told her Jax and I were dating, she has been asking me that everyday.”

  “We wouldn’t be upset about that. I mean, you guys have lots of time to date and get to know each other, but when you do have more babies, you can always depend on us to babysit.”

  “Thanks,” I tell her, feeling awkward. Jax and I are still so new. Even if I feel like I have known him forever, the truth is we still have so much to learn about each other, and I want to wait for more kids.

  “Did you hear me?”

  Focusing on Lilly, I shake my head then murmur, “Sorry, no.”

  Smiling, she looks toward the living room, and I turn my head to look over my shoulder at Jax, who is talking to his dad, with Hope still in his arms and her head resting on his chest. “Normally, on Jax’s birthday, we have dinner as a family, but I didn’t want to make plans if there was something you had planned.”

  “When is his birthday?” I ask her, feeling horrified I had no idea his birthday was even coming up.

  “Oh, Wednesday,” she says, wrapping another ball.

  “I have to work.”

  “Don’t worry about it. We can make reservations for dinner on Saturday if you want.”

  “What about a surprise party on Monday or Tuesday?” I ask her, and her face lights up.

  “He hates surprises,” she grins then mutters, “Let’s do it,” as Cash steps into the kitchen.

  “What are you guys whispering about?” he asks, going to the fridge, grabbing a beer, and leaning back against the counter.

  “Nothing, just wrapping up all of these cockporn balls,” Lilly whispers loud enough for him to hear, causing him to chuckle and me to laugh.

  “You ready to head out, baby?” Jax asks, settling his hand on my shoulder when he walks into the kitchen.

  “Yeah,” I say, getting up and hugging Cash and Lilly both, telling them thanks again for looking after Hope and watching them hug her before we leave the house.

  When we pull up to the park, I look through the front window of the truck. The park we normally go to is just a couple blocks from the house, and there are only a few kids who go there to play. This park is the opposite. The whole place is overrun with kids, with most of the parents sitting around the tables outside of the large sand area, talking and not really paying much attention to what their children are doing. Waiting for Jax to open my door, I hop down then grab Hope’s jacket from the front seat.

  “I want you to stay in the play area, where I can see you. Do you understand?” I ask, getting down on my haunches, zipping up her jacket and putting on her hat.

  “Yes, Mama,” she says excitedly, bouncing up and down as she watches the kids who are running around laughing. She’s never been to a park this large before, and I’m a little worried with so many kids around that I’ll lose sight of her.

  “What did your Mom just say, Hope?” Jax asks, sounding so much like a dad that I’m a little caught off guard.

  “She said to make sure she can see me,” she tells him, and his hand comes out to cup her cheek.

  “Good, sweetheart,” he says, and she smiles up at him then raises her glove-covered hand to his as I stand up. Taking his opposite hand, we walk along the concrete path then stop when we reach the play area, which has been dug out with smooth logs built up around the edge, keeping the sand separate from the grass surrounding it.

  “Can I go on the swide?” Hope asks, pointing to a slide that has two other kids on it, one boy and one girl, both around the same age as Hope.

  “Sure, Angel,” I say, and she lets go of Jax’s hand, jumps down into the sand, and runs across to the slide. “She’ll be okay,” I tell Jax, feeling his hand tighten around mine when she stumbles before righting herself and taking off again.

  “I feel like there is a constant ball of worry in my chest when it comes to her. I’m always wondering if something’s going to happen, if there is something I can prevent from happening. Is that normal?”

  “Yeah, but it gets easier after awhile,” I say as his arm lifts to wrap around my shoulders so he can haul me closer against his side. Seeing Hope head up the stairs for the slide, I smile and wave when she reaches the top then watch as a little boy smiles at her and allows her to head down the slide before him.

  “Did that kid just flirted with her,” Jax asks, sounding annoyed and surprised.

  “He’s just being nice,” I tell him, watching as Hope glides down the slide and lands with her feet in the sand before running back to the stairs again.

  “No, he’s flirting,” he complains then growls when Hope reaches the top of the stairs, and the little boy says something to her that causes her laugh to ring out loudly above the noise of the park. “You’re telling me he’s not flirting?” he asks, and I feel my mouth drop open as the boy pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to Hope. She smiles at him then leans in, and I know she’s going to give him a hug or a kiss, but Jax’s ear-splitting whistle causes everyone to turn and look at him, including Hope and the boy.

  “Let’
s go to the swing,” he shouts to Hope, whose brows pull together before she says something to the boy and hands him back what he gave her then, slides down the slide, and runs to us.

  “Can my new fwiend come wiff?” she asks when she reaches us.

  “No,” Jax says immediately, and my hand gives his a squeeze. “Not right now, sweetheart,” he tells her more gently, taking her hand and leading her toward the swings, which just so happens to be on the opposite side of the park, far away from the boy.

  “She’s asleep?” Jax says, and I turn, looking from him to Hope and smiling, because she had just been talking excitedly about the park moments ago, but is now asleep with one elbow on the table, holding up her head, while the other hand holds her piece of pizza.

  “The park wore her out.” I giggle as her head dips suddenly, causing her eyes to spring open.

  “Are you tired, Angel?” I ask, wrapping my arm around her so she can rest against me.

  “No, my eyes are just wazy,” she mumbles, and I hear Jax laugh from across the booth.

  “I’m gonna get a box for the pizza and we can eat at home.” Jax says, sliding from the booth and stopping at my side, dipping his head toward me, placing a kiss against my lips before straightening to his full height and going to the front of the pizza shop.

  Adjusting Hope so her body is on the bench, I feel something prickle across my skin, and the fine hairs on my body stand on end. Looking around, I don’t notice anyone out of place, but something about the feeling is unsettling.

  “You okay?” Jax asks, coming back to the table, carrying a box. Looking around again, I shake off the feeling.

  “Yeah, just heebie-jeebies,” I tell him, and his eyes search my face before he looks around like he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

  “Wait here,” he commands, dropping the box to the top of the table and moving through the small restaurant then out the door. My heart pounds as I wait for him to come back. I don’t know if someone is watching us, or if I have a reason to be worried, but when Jax comes back inside, I breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.