Breathe

by Abbi Glines

  “I’m on my way.”

  “No, Jax, wait. You can’t come here.”

  He paused. “Why?”

  I laughed. “Because you will get mauled by adoring fans.”

  He sighed. “I can make a few calls and get in privately.”

  I laughed again. “No, there is no reason. We will be leaving soon, and I haven’t explained you to my mom yet, and today isn’t really a good day for that.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “I am.”

  “I miss you.”

  I got all warm and tingly at his words. “I miss you too.”

  “You know, I could get you a few posters for your walls....”

  I laughed. “I’ll pass. I happen to be interested in someone I don’t really see as the guy in those posters.”

  He hesitated a moment, and then said, “Thank you.”

  “See you later,” I said and hung up.

  I squinted up at the morning sun and smiled before turning and heading back into the hospital to check on Jessica. She wouldn’t get dehydrated again if I could help it. The whole experience was not something I wanted to repeat.

  They released Jessica to leave around lunchtime. She seemed tired and whiny. I couldn’t wait to get her home and go to work. As soon as I deposited her in bed with a large pitcher of ice water and a glass beside her, I headed outside.

  * * *

  Chapter Nine

  When I opened the door, a familiar silver Hummer sat in the drive. Jax stepped out and walked over to meet me.

  He smiled sheepishly. “I had the hospital call as soon as they released your mom.”

  I smiled and stared into his eyes, which were hidden behind black sunglasses. He wore a New York Giants baseball cap pulled down low on his forehead.

  “I see you’re in disguise?”

  He grinned and nodded.

  I nodded toward the Hummer and laughed. “You should drive a vehicle that doesn’t draw attention if you’re trying to go around undetected.”

  He frowned. “What? This is the cheapest thing in the garage.”

  I laughed. “So, you’re taking me to work?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, we’re going to the movies. You’re off for the rest of the day.”

  “You can’t go to the movies.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Wanna bet.”

  He opened my car door, took me by the waist, and lifted me into the tank he called cheap. He slid into the driver's side and headed toward the largest movie theater in town.

  “Jax, you do realize people are going to recognize you in your disguise if they pay close attention.”

  He smiled at me. “I know, but they won’t get a chance.”

  I waited for an explanation.

  “I’ve been doing this for awhile now, so I know how to hide from fans, trust me.”

  I hoped he was right. I would hate for us to get bombarded with crazy teenage fans. He may be used to it, but it wasn’t something I wanted to experience. We pulled around to the back of the theater, and a door swung open. An older man dressed in a black suit stepped outside.

  Jax grinned. “I’ll get your door.”

  I started to say I could get it, but he put his finger over my mouth and winked.

  “I want to get you out.”

  I melted in my seat. My door opened, and he picked me up by the waist and set me on the ground.

  “Mr. Stone, if you will come this way, we have a theatre closed off just as you requested.”

  Jax took my hand. I realized we were walking into the emergency exit of a theatre, and no one but this man knew we were here. I hadn’t thought of this. We walked inside, and Jax waved his hands out toward the stadium seating.

  “Take your pick.” He grinned.

  I pointed to the middle, and he sighed with relief.

  “Perfect! My favorite spot.”

  He turned to the man at the door. “All the doors have been secured?” Jax asked.

  The man nodded. “Yes, sir, no one can enter.”

  Jax handed the man what I assumed must be money. Jax turned, took my hand, and we went to our seats.

  “What are we watching?” I asked as the man who let us in wheeled in a cart with two popcorns, two drinks, two nachos and cheese, and one of every candy available in the concessions stand.

  I frowned at Jax. “Did you invite an army?”

  He laughed and took the drinks and put them in our cup holders. “No, but movies make me hungry, and I didn’t know what you wanted.”

  “Popcorn.”

  He reached for a box, handed it to me, and grabbed the other one. “You asked what we were seeing.”

  I nodded and put a handful of popcorn in my mouth.

  “Night Horse,” he replied.

  I’d wanted to see this after seeing the previews on television the other night. And then it hit me. “But Night Horse isn’t playing yet. It won’t be in theaters until next Friday.”

  He grinned at me and winked. “For everyone else, but for you and me, it is about to play right now.”

  As if on cue, the lights faded, the big screen widened, and the movie began. When I realized we were not going to have to sit through credits, I started to say something and thought against it. Today was the first day I really felt like I was dating someone from another world. Before, Jax had been a guy, a regular guy, whom I could talk to. Today, he became the rock star. It bothered me. I glanced over at his face and saw the boy who sang ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ on a guitar he had begged for and worn out. A small smile touched his lips.

  I blushed, and he leaned down to whisper in my ear. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to have a harder time staying focused on this movie than I am already.”

  I frowned. “Why are you having a hard time?”

  He grinned wickedly and set his popcorn down before taking my hands. “Because I’m with a beautiful girl who completely fascinates me, and we are in a dark room all alone, and all I want to do is sit and stare at her, but I know if I do, I won’t be able to keep myself from kissing her very perfect, very tempting, lips.”

  I swallowed hard, and my heart pounded in my chest. Suddenly, the dark around us seemed to close in, and a force neither of us seemed to be able to control kept our eyes locked. Jax’s hand slipped out of mine, slid behind my neck, and he leaned in. The lips of the only boy I would ever love touched mine, and I forgot where we were and everything else around us. His other hand slipped behind my head, and he cradled it as he softly kissed me. His tongue touched my bottom lip, and I opened cautiously, knowing it was what he wanted. The moment his tongue slid into my mouth, a low moan escape my throat, and his hands pulled my head closer. Soon, my hands wound their way behind his neck and tangled in his hair. It seemed like I was falling, but I didn’t care. I held onto him and let my tongue explore. The moment my tongue touched his, he groaned, released me, and sat back, putting distance between us. I worried I had done something wrong, and I froze, watching him, not sure what to say.

  He rubbed his face with a hand and gave me with the crooked grin I loved. “I’m sorry, but, wow, I, uh, wasn’t...I mean I knew it would be good, but, wow, Sadie, you taste amazing.”

  I kept my eyes cast downward, still not sure what happened. I could have kissed him all day. The “wow” led me to believe he liked it as much as I did, but I wanted to know why he stopped. However, I wasn’t about to ask. I studied my hands a moment. His finger slid under my chin, and I let him tilt my face up to meet his eyes.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t going to answer.

  “You do know why I stopped, don’t you?”

  I wanted to seem mature and say “yes,” but I also didn’t want to lie so I reluctantly shook my head “no.”

  He sighed and smiled at me. “Now, I know what you’re thinking.” He turned in his seat to face me completely. “Sadie, that was the most incredible kiss I have ever experienced in my life. Never have I
gotten completely lost in a kiss before. It made me want things I am not about to try and get. It was perfect. You are perfect. But I don’t have the strength to kiss you for a very long period of time and still keep my hands off of you.”

  I let his explanation sink in and nodded. I focused my attention on the screen, and he groaned. Suddenly, his hand slide into my hair, and he turned my face to his. His smile turned to a smoldering gaze right before my eyes, and he once again touched his lips to mine. I opened sooner this time, and he was inside my mouth making my heart race and my hands tremble. I slipped my hands into his hair, and once again allowed myself to touch his tongue. This time when he let out a low growl, he pulled me closer, and I heard a moan I realized came from me. I scooted over as far as my chair would let me and pressed close. I wanted to be even closer. He broke the kiss again, but before I could mourn the loss, he pulled me into his lap. He seized my mouth again and let his hands run down my arms as he kissed me. Jax’s breathing became fast and shallow, and I melted into him. I ran my hands up his chest, and his body shuddered under my touch. He groaned, and his kiss became more frantic. It became difficult to breathe, and my heart hammered wildly in my chest. I pressed up against him, and another growl tore from his chest as he pushed me back. We sat there looking at each other, gasping for air. I didn’t need an explanation this time. Finally, he set me back in my seat and took a deep breath.

  “It might be wise if I don’t touch you again today. I’m not strong enough to stop again. At least not for the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Okay,” I replied and smiled. I turned back to the big screen. Knowing he enjoyed kissing me as much as I enjoyed kissing him made my heart swell a little more.

  At some point, we finally caught up from what we missed in the movie. Jax managed to eat all of his popcorn, a bag of M&M’s, and some nachos and cheese. I only made it half way through the popcorn, and I ate a few of his nachos and cheese, which he fed me. Well, he didn’t have to try very hard. The minute he held one up to my mouth, I took it.

  We exited the theatre as easily as we’d entered. Jax slipped his disguise back on. “How about a walk on the beach?”

  I liked that idea, especially at this time of day. “Sounds good, but don’t go to the public beach.”

  He pointed to his hat and glasses. “I’m in disguise, and no one will look close enough to realize it is me.”

  I thought about Amanda and her friends. If they noticed Jax, things would get out of hand, and quickly. “I know people on the public beach. Remember, I live here. I go to school with these kids. If any of them come up to speak to me, then they will notice it’s you.”

  Jax didn’t say anything, but a frown set in on his perfect features.

  “What did I say?” I asked when he didn’t reply.

  He glanced at me as if he didn’t want to answer my question. “I guess I forget you have a life other than my house and me. I like having you all to myself, and I know it is selfish, but the fact you are going to go back to school to live a normal teenage life with parties and football games and dances makes me jealous as hell.”

  I let out a shocked laugh. “My life is a lot easier to accept than yours. You leave to go to movie premiers, and you’re on the cover of magazines, and The Entertainment channel follows everything you do. I have to live with you going back to another world. When you’re on stage, you belong to everyone.”

  He didn’t respond for what seemed like forever. We pulled into a secluded part of the beach, and he turned off the engine.

  “I know being with me is not easy. But I want you to understand no one has me, or has ever had me, except you.”

  I swallowed, emotion building inside me. I nodded, not sure my voice would work.

  He slipped a curl behind my ear. “I’ve never met anyone who has seen past the star and found the real me inside. But even if you hadn’t found the Jax the world doesn’t know, I would be yours. When you smiled at me that first time, I was a goner. I just got lucky with the rest of you.”

  I wanted to lean into him but I didn’t.

  “Come on, let’s go for a walk before I start kissing you again and am forced to use superhuman will power to stop myself.”

  I laughed, and we climbed out of the Hummer. As we walked toward the water’s edge, Jax took my hand in his.

  The night breeze and sounds of the waves were soothing. It was easy to forget reality out here.

  “When I came home last night, I wanted to call you right away and realized I couldn’t. It proved really hard to go to sleep without hearing your voice and knowing you were okay,” Jax admitted.

  “I’m sorry you couldn’t call me, but it makes me happy to know you missed me too.”

  He laughed. “I didn’t just miss you. I obsessed over what you were doing and if you were okay and who you were talking to. I realized I am going to have a really hard time when the summer is over.”

  He stopped, and I turned to him.

  “I have a charity event I have to be at next week. They are auctioning off some of my things, and I have to be there too. I want you to come with me.”

  My heart hammered in my chest. Going with him into his world wasn’t something I ever expected to do. “I don’t know. I have work and Mom.”

  “Please, for me. Don’t make me go again without you.”

  I turned away from his pleading eyes. They made me want to promise him anything. “Jax, I won’t fit into your world. I don’t have any clothes to wear to something like that, and I have no idea what to say to people or how to act, and the cameras will make me a nervous wreck.”

  He stepped up behind me, pulled me up against him, and rested his chin on my head. “You will be dressed by my personal stylist, and you won’t have to speak to anyone but me. Yes, the cameras will be going, but all you have to do is smile. I’ll never leave you alone, except when I have to sing, and then you can stand backstage and wait for me.”

  I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to know every part of his life, but it terrified me. “I don’t know,” I whispered.

  We stood there for a long time without words.

  Finally, he turned me around to face him. “Please, I need my air.”

  My resolve crumbled, and I nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to Mom.”

  His earnest face broke into a grin, and he kissed me again. He held back, and it made me want to press closer. He pulled back before I could press him.

  “You taste so good,” he whispered. He ran his fingers through my hair and curled a strand around his fingers. “I love your hair,” he said softly and continued playing with it.

  My face burned with an incredible heat.

  “Too late. I’ve already seen the blush. Stop trying to hide it from me. I think it's adorable.”

  * * *

  Chapter Ten

  Ms. Mary started fussing over me the moment I walked in the door. Jax smiled and enjoyed it immensely as I assured her that Jessica and I were both fine.

  “Girl your age havin’ to run her mama to the doctor in the middle of the night ain’t right I tell ya. You’re too young to be sleeping in a waiting room all by yourself.” She turned and pointed her spoon at Jax. “You should have been there. What good are you if you ain’t there when she needs you.”

  “Ms. Mary, he didn’t know about it either. I didn’t call anyone. You can’t blame Jax for anything.”

  Ms. Mary let out a loud “hmph” and started stirring her pot of cheese grits again. “Well, you should have called him. He would have come. You’re too young to be alone in hospitals. Crazy people out there.”

  Jax took my plate to the table, and then crooked his finger for me to come sit down. I sat beside him.

  “I didn’t think about calling anyone. I’ve been taking care of my mother for a long time now. It’s no big deal.”

  Ms. Mary spun around and pointed her spoon at me. “And that’s not right. Who takes care of you?” She waited for my answer and getting none, she nodded her head. “That’s righ
t, no one does. You don’t know when to ask for help because you never had anyone to ask before. Well, now you do. You got a boy right there who looks like he would drink your bathwater if you ask him, and you got me, and Mr. Greg, and Marcus. Take your pick. Just stop trying to do it all alone.” She let out a deep sigh and turned back to her stove.

  Jax squeezed my hand. “She’s right. But I would prefer it if you call me.”

  I smiled at him, and he grinned. “And, yes, if you want me to, I will drink your bath water.”

  I laughed out loud and shook my head. “You’re crazy.”

  He nodded. “About you.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I took a deep breath to calm down. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you. She’s right. I’m not used to asking for help. But it is nice to know I have people around me who care. This is all new to me.”

  Jax leaned over and whispered in my ear, “No matter where I am, I will always be there when you need me.”

  I shivered from his warm breath against my skin and nodded, but I didn’t meet his gaze. I needed to get my heart out of my eyes first.

  Marcus walked in as we were finishing our breakfast. He stared at me when he stepped in the kitchen. “Is your mom all right?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He gave me a forced smile. “Good,” he said and walked past me toward the laundry to get dressed.

  I turned to Jax as he finished his juice. “I need to get to work too.”

  He frowned, and then stood up and took both our plates to the sink and rinsed them. I went to get my apron, and Ms. Mary shook her head.

  “No, Mr. Greg needs you outside more than I need you in here. He’s battling his arthritis today. He won’t admit it, but I can see it on his face. Go help him.”

  I nodded and looked back at Jax to say goodbye before I left.

  He smiled at me. “I have a song I'm working on, and sitting out at the gazebo today sounds like a perfect place to be creative. I will see you in a few minutes.”