Deciding Love (Bloomfield #3)

by Janelle Stalder

  “Jax,” I said, pulling on his hand with mine. He didn’t seem to notice, his eyes focused on Kyle.

  “Of course you’re going to show up and offer,” Jax said angrily.

  Kyle shoved his hands in his pockets, looking as though Jax were nothing but some petulant child. He was as scared of Jax’s obvious anger as I was a piece of fluff. My cheeks burned with embarrassment for him.

  “Jax,” I said again, more urgently.

  “Seems to me like you’ve had too much to drink,” Kyle said evenly. “So either I drive you both home, and you can grab your car another time. Or I can drive Chloe home, and you can get your fucking hand off her before I throw you across this yard.”

  Jax blinked, his gaze going to where he gripped my arm, my hand still trying to remove it.

  He instantly let go, taking a step back. “Shit,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I didn’t realize.”

  “It’s fine,” I murmured, massaging my reddened skin.

  “Fine, you can drive us home,” Jax said, turning to Kyle. “But you drop me off last,” he said, pointing his finger at Kyle’s chest. Kyle simply smirked at him.

  Needless to say, he didn’t listen.

  14

  Kyle

  I threw Jax in the back seat, making Chloe sit up front. Which had seemed like a good idea at the time, until I realized how difficult it was to concentrate on driving with her thighs bared as her dress rose when she sat.

  My eyes kept glancing down, my body tense with the urge to feel if her skin was as soft as it looked. Jax lasted about five minutes before he crashed. Thank God. I’d been two seconds away from knocking the asshole out after the way he’d held onto Chloe. Not to mention he’d gone and gotten drunk, and then insisted he could still drive Chloe home.

  My anger started to bubble at the thought of all the things that could have happened.

  “Your man can’t hold his liquor,” I said a little sharper than I’d intended. Chloe should be smarter than to pick a guy like him.

  “He’s not my man,” she said immediately.

  I raised my eyebrows at that. “You’ve been getting in his truck every day and invited him to this party. It sure seems like he’s your man.” Even saying those words left a sour taste in my mouth.

  She shrugged, shifting uncomfortably. “We’re friends,” she said, sounding unsure. I sensed her turn her head to look at me. “I got in your car for a week and that didn’t mean you were my man.”

  My breath escaped me in a whoosh. “That wasn’t the same, and you know it,” I said.

  “It’s all about perception though, isn’t it?”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, my mind still replaying her words, you were my man.

  “It’s not like he’s ever asked me to be official or anything,” she said suddenly.

  “Well if he’s not your man, maybe you should tell him that, because he certainly seems to think he is.”

  We reverted back to silence as I pulled into Jax’s driveway. I put the car into park and sat there for a second.

  “You deserve better than some guy who’s going to get wasted at a party and leave you stranded,” I said into the silence. “Or worse, put you at risk by actually getting behind the wheel like this.”

  I couldn’t look at her to see her reaction. The words just hung between us and she finally spoke softly.

  “I know.” Then she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Everyone makes mistakes though,” she continued. “This doesn’t make Jax a bad guy.”

  She was defending him, giving him the benefit out of the doubt. She was forgiving him even though he screwed up. For some reason it pissed me off, but I didn’t say anything.

  Popping open the door, I got out, pulling the seat forward so I could drag an unconscious Jax out of my car. I grunted, straining to remove him from the small space.

  “Jesus, how much did he drink?” I said, gritting my teeth as I shouldered all his weight. The fucker was completely out of it, and he weighed a ton.

  Chloe had gotten out of the car too, coming around to try and help, not that she could do much. The back seat was small, and there was only room enough for me. A few more tugs finally got him out enough that I could grip him under his shoulders, lifting him so he was on his feet.

  I swung one of his arms around my shoulders as Chloe did the same with the other.

  “Your man needs to lose a few pounds,” I grunted.

  She grimaced. “He’s really out of it,” she said. Great, now she was even concerned for him. This just kept getting better and better. Chloe was far too kind for this jackass.

  We both struggled to get him to his front door. I looked over at her.

  “Are you going to knock?” I sure as hell wasn’t. She didn’t look too eager either.

  “This is so embarrassing,” she muttered. At that moment Jax let out a loud snore, mumbling something under his breath before dropping his head forward again.

  Our eyes met and we both laughed. There was nothing better than seeing Chloe laugh.

  “Do you think he’s going to remember any of this when he wakes up?” She asked once her laughter subsided.

  “I hope so,” I said, grunting as I shifted him. “If I were him, I’d be feeling like an idiot for it too. He couldn’t handle hanging with the big boys.” I smirked at her as she rolled her eyes, unable to hide the grin that lifted her lips.

  “Your ego knows no bounds,” she said.

  I winked at her. “Damn straight.” I shifted him again. “My strength does though, so can you hurry this up? Your boyfriend weighs a lot and my back is about to give out.”

  She huffed, stepping up to the door. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I heard her say under her breath.

  I drove Chloe home after passing Jax off to his frazzled mom. Something told me he was going to be in shit when he finally came around. Not my problem though. All I cared about was making sure Chloe got home safe.

  Pulling into her driveway a short time later, disappointment suddenly washed over me knowing I probably wouldn’t get alone time with her again for a long time - if ever. I doubted I’d be driving her home, despite Jax’s behavior today.

  “Thanks for giving me a lift,” Chloe said, awarding me with a sweet smile. One hand was already on the door, as though she couldn’t wait to get away from me.

  “Anytime,” I said, tampering my emotions. I didn’t want her running from me even though I knew that was exactly what she should be doing.

  She nodded, looking as if she would say something else, but thinking better of it.

  “I mean that, Chloe,” I called out. She bent down to look at me from outside. “If you find yourself in that kind of situation again, or anything that you need help with, you can always call me.”

  I could at least do that, right? I might not be able to make her happy, but I could ensure she was always safe.

  She did that thing again where I thought she’d say something, but instead just nodded her head before slamming the door shut.

  I watched her walk into her house, reluctant to leave. Just as she stepped inside, she glanced over her shoulder at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Our eyes met for a moment before she shut the door.

  Blowing out a deep breath, I pulled out and headed home, eager to rid myself of today’s events. I’d almost screwed up again with the incident in the kitchen.

  That had been exactly why I wasn’t safe to be around her. It was hard to control my actions when all I wanted to do was touch her and be close to her when she was near. Chloe Morgan tempted me more than any other girl. I could only imagine what it would be like if I allowed myself to act on the feelings that overwhelmed me.

  Watching from the sidelines would have to be enough. It was the best thing - for both of us.

  Pulling up to the curb, I spotted Cat’s head over the top of the gate at the side of the house. Getting out of the car, I headed her way instead of the front door, finding her standing
in the middle of the yard with her hands on her hips. Her lips were pursed as she surveyed the little garden she must have planted this afternoon.

  She glanced over at me disinterestedly, before going back to whatever dilemma she was having inside that head of hers. I stood next to her, looking at the plants and thinking it actually looked pretty good. Not that I knew much when it came to gardening.

  “You’re home early,” she said, almost as an afterthought, her hand now rubbing her chin in contemplation.

  “Yeah, well I have work in the morning.”

  She snorted. “Responsible, Kyle Briggs. Someone alert the media.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said with a chuckle. “Do you want to tell me what you’re doing?”

  She sighed. “I think it needs more green,” she answered, tapping the tip of her index finger on her lip. “What do you think?”

  I nodded. “It needs more green.” It was always best just to go with Cat in these matters.

  She snapped her fingers. “Just what I suspected. Looks like I need to head back to the nursery.”

  I looked up at the sun, now low in the sky. “Maybe you should leave it for another day,” I suggested.

  Finally she looked directly at me and then up at the sky. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “I usually am.”

  She harrumphed. “Let’s not get carried away.” She turned and started to clean up her gardening tools as I started toward the back doors.

  “How was the barbecue anyway?” She called out.

  “It was...okay.”

  “Jax was there.”

  This sounded more like she was stating a fact than asking me. “Is there a question in there?” I said, stopping just at the doors.

  “No.”

  “Okay then.” My sister could be so cryptic, I felt sorry for whoever dated her.

  “He posted a pic of him and Chloe online earlier.”

  What was she getting at? I remained quiet. Finally she looked back at me.

  “How was that for you?”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets, tilting my head to the side. “It had nothing to do with me,” I answered.

  She shrugged, acting as though her questions were perfectly normal and of no consequence.

  “If you must know,” I said with a sigh. “He ended up getting drunk and he was supposed to drive your friend home.” I don’t know why I couldn’t just say Chloe instead. I was distancing myself from any familiarity with her, and it felt shitty.

  Cat stood up straight, her mouth dropping open. “What an ass. Did you make sure Chloe got home?” She asked.

  “Of course I did,” I said, running a hand through my hair.

  She smiled, giving me an approving nod. “Of course you did.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her, not liking the way she said that. “I dropped his passed out ass home too,” I added, as if that somehow made a difference.

  She screwed up her face. “Why? I would have let him walk his butt home.”

  I gripped my chest in feigned surprise. “How very unfriendly of you, kitty. I’m shocked. Catherine Briggs being mean? Someone alert the media.”

  She chuckled waving me off as she went back to work. I went inside, a grin plastered on my face.

  15

  Chloe

  Monday morning came and I was not looking forward to going to school. Jax had called and texted me a number of times yesterday, probably when he’d finally sobered up, but I’d ignored them all.

  It wasn’t that I wouldn’t forgive him. I just didn’t want to have to deal with it while my head was all screwed up from Kyle. It seemed like whenever we were around each other, I walked away feeling more confused than ever.

  My body buzzed every time I thought about the incident in the kitchen. Everything inside of me heated remembering the way he’d held on to me, his body all around mine. I’d never had that reaction to Jax when he touched me.

  No matter how much I had tried not to think about it, my mind had other plans. And when I’d finally gone to sleep that night, those dark eyes and sinful smile had been waiting for me. I’d woken up panting, my cheeks hot as the last images of my dream still floated through my consciousness.

  It had taken me a half an hour to fall back asleep after that. Even when I wasn’t obsessing over what happened in the kitchen, I’d just start thinking about him driving me home. About the way he called Jax my boyfriend, and how I caught a glimpse of displeasure on his face when he’d said it. And how we’d shared a laugh together when we dropped Jax off. At the time, my breath had caught in my throat from his easy smile.

  Sometimes that’s exactly what it was between us. Easy. And then other times it was tense, uncomfortable, and complicated beyond my understanding. I didn’t understand why it couldn’t just always be easy? Did I want it to be?

  Hadn’t I already decided to forget any thoughts of being with Kyle? So then why was I still obsessing over it?

  With a huff, I gave my reflection a stern look that said, be stronger, Chloe, and headed downstairs. I was just pulling on a cardigan over my tank top when mom walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh good, you’re still here,” she said, leaning against the counter. She looked at me with an expression that told me something was bothering her.

  “Is there something wrong?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Not really, but your dad and I do need to talk to you.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Can you talk now? I’m supposed to be going shopping with Cat later for homecoming dresses.”

  Dad walked in just then, his gaze going between us. “Did you tell her already?”

  “No,” Mom answered.

  “Tell me what? You guys are scaring me.”

  Dad chuckled, throwing his arm around me and pulling me in tight. “There’s nothing to be scared about, sweetheart. There’s just been some developments at work that we wanted to discuss with you.”

  “What kind of developments?”

  “Dad is getting transferred again, temporarily.”

  I stood up straighter, causing Dad’s arm to fall from me. “We’re moving again?”

  “No, no,” Dad answered. “This is just temporary, but it would still be for about six months, maybe longer.”

  Six months? That was still a long time.

  “Where?” I asked, my panic rising. I’d just gotten comfortable here, and I didn’t want to leave Colt or Cat. I had friends here, a life. And the people at my school were nicer than the last school I’d been at.

  “California,” he said. “The Orange County office.”

  “Listen, honey,” Mom said, approaching me and grabbing my hands reassuringly. “Just because he’s being transferred, doesn’t mean you and I have to go too.”

  I blinked, taken back. “What?”

  “We can stay here if you don’t want to move schools. It’s why we wanted to talk to you about it. If you want, we can stay here and just Dad can go. He’ll be back on weekends.”

  As soon as relief washed over me, so did guilt. “What about you? Won’t you miss Dad?”

  She smiled, giving my hand a squeeze. “It’s only for a little while. And we want you to be happy too. I know how hard it is to move schools again, especially for your senior year.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Of course,” they said together.

  Was that fair of me? And how would it be to not have Dad around all the time?

  “When are you supposed to go?” I asked, conflicted.

  “Not until after Thanksgiving.”

  I nodded, looking up at them. “Can I think about it?”

  “Of course. There’s no rush,” Dad said.

  I thanked them and then grabbed a muffin before going outside to wait for Colt. Now I had even more on my mind as I sat on the top step of the porch. It was official, I hated Monday’s.

  Cat plopped down beside me in first period, her eyes bright. At least someone was having a good morning.

  “Aaaaand go
,” she said, staring at me expectantly.

  I looked around, brows furrowed. “Go, what?”

  “Tell me about the barbecue,” she said as though it were obvious.

  My cheeks heated against my wishes. “It was a barbecue?” I said with a shrug.

  She grunted in frustration, shaking her head. “I mean about Jax getting drunk and being a total idiot. Kyle told me he had to drive you both home.”

  “Oh. That.” I got a funny feeling thinking of Kyle talking about me to Cat for some strange reason. Maybe because I’d almost expected him to hide any of our dealings from his sister. Knowing he didn’t made me feel slightly happier than I’d been all morning.

  I told her the whole story, quickly before the teacher came in. She was as unimpressed as I’d been. Jax had been sitting with us at lunch all last week. I was pretty sure most of the student body considered us dating, even though I didn’t since he’d yet to formally ask me. I hadn’t been lying to Kyle when I’d said he wasn’t my man. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him sitting with us today, which made my mood plummet again. If there was one thing I hated most, it was confrontation.

  “Are you mad at him?” She asked.

  “Not really,” I said, not quite convinced that was true. “I guess I’m more annoyed than anything. I’m just not looking forward to him apologizing and begging for my forgiveness,” I added, thinking back to the pleading texts he’d sent the night before.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want his apology, because I thought it was owed to me. But I also hated when people started up with lame excuses. Was it too much to have a guy just be strong and assertive, and own up to their mistakes without seeming sucky?

  “Maybe we should eat outside today,” Cat suggested. “It gives you more time before having to face him.”

  I gave her a grateful smile. “That sounds like a great idea.”

  Except it ended up being unnecessary, since Jax never showed up at lunch, or in Geography. I couldn’t deny my relief even as I became curious as to where he was. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I finally had to come face to face with him.