Chapter Fourteen
Winter Break
Jaxon and I had holed up in his room for the rest of the weekend. I’m positive Cole and Quinn did the same thing in her room, because Cole was leaving with the guys to go back home as well. I never saw Jace for the three days that Jaxon and I had together; he must have gone to stay at a friend’s house because we were so ‘nauseating,’ as he had repeatedly reminded us. I was starting to feel bad for leaving Jace out so much. He must be looking forward to having time alone with his brother and best friend back home.
Quinn and I dropped the guys off at the airport before we left to go home. Jaxon gave me the keys to his truck, in case I needed it for any reason at all. I made it known that there was no way in hell I would even attempt to back that thing out of the garage, let alone drive it down the street. I could just imagine crushing some poor, tiny car. He just laughed at me. I did ask if I could drive the motorcycle around though.
“Absolutely not.” All humor had left his face.
He grabbed the keys back from my hands and removed the motorcycle keys from the keychain, just in case. I never actually planned to drive it; I just wanted to rile him up before he left. Mission accomplished.
I’ll never forget the look on his face when he was saying goodbye. I swear if he had stayed in front of me at that security entrance any longer, I would have seen a tear slip down his cheek. I tried to reassure him that the time would fly by, but I was equally upset about this separation. I felt like we still had a lot of obstacles in our fresh relationship, and this was such an inconvenient time to be apart. I hugged him tightly and leaned up on my toes to kiss his lips.
“Bye, baby,” I whispered on his lips.
“Bye, Beautiful, I lo...“ he stopped himself and sighed. “I’ll see you soon.”
I gave him a sad look as I waved goodbye. I hated that he had to hold back his feelings for me, but I still wasn’t ready to say those words back to him, no matter what my feelings were.
*.*.*.*.*
The next two weeks moved at a snail’s pace. Ellie and Charles had so many events planned for Quinn and me to attend. Not the fun kind either. The dull business function kind, that we had to get dressed up for, smile pretty, and make polite conversation. I tried to act as if I enjoyed it because it was good business for Charles and it was the least I could do for him after everything he had done for me.
Jace and Jaxon had been waking up extremely early every morning to help around their mom’s land while they were there. It was really hard to catch Jax on the phone. The two-hour time difference usually wouldn’t have been a big deal, but Jaxon was going to bed really early, while I was getting home late from the functions and then sleeping in late. I was becoming frustrated with the lack of communication we’d had lately. We originally planned to video chat every day, but we hadn’t been able to catch each other once yet. The most fun I’d had so far was sending him pictures of myself all dressed up for the functions. Every time I got a chance to check my phone later in the evening he had always sent me back a sexy message saying how much he enjoyed my pictures.
I know that the guys had gone out a couple of times to meet up with friends in their town. Quinn always got edgy when Cole would go out to parties with them. Being such close friends with Cole before he started dating Quinn, we got to hear about all of the girls he would hook up with when he went back home for visits. I think Quinn was worried about those girls. I’d lost count of the number of times I told her how ridiculous she sounded because Cole was absolutely crazy about her.
Recently, he had gone to a party and had gotten so drunk he ended up crashing on the couch there. When Quinn didn’t hear from him until the next morning, she was livid. Everyone in the house could hear her yelling through the phone. I realized he was explaining what had happened and was trying to reassure Quinn that there hadn’t been any girls in his vicinity when he crashed. She apparently didn’t care and eventually just hung up on him.
That was four days ago, and neither of them has even attempted to contact one another. At first, I wasn’t worried because Quinn was complaining to me while Cole was complaining to Jaxon, so I knew they would eventually cave. After four days though, I was starting to worry that their pride would get in the way and they might not be able to get past this.
Quinn had been walking around crying off and on. I was consoling her on the couch in the large living room when the doorbell rang. Ellie and Charles had gone out for breakfast together, so I knew that I would need to get up to answer it. I pulled the door open, completely surprised by Cole, who was standing there looking as sad and depressed as Quinn felt. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn’t slept a wink.
“Cole! It’s a long trip from Texas for a surprise visit!” I asked shocked.
I heard Quinn gasp in the background, “What?”
“Sorry, Emmy.” He shoved past me, barely even noticing that I had spoken. He already had his eyes on Quinn in the living room. He reached her on the couch and pulled her up over his shoulder, her head hitting his strong back.
“WHAT THE HELL, COLE?” she yelled. “You can’t just come charging in here!”
“ENOUGH, QUINN! You’ve been ridiculous long enough.” He found the staircase and started climbing them with a squirming Quinn over his shoulder. I followed behind, giggling at the show. “Where’s her room?” he asked me.
“Take the left hallway. It’s the last one on the right,” I told him.
When she realized where he was taking her, she stopped fighting him. “Thanks, Em,” he called back, turning down the hallway at the top of the stairs. Thank God, he had come to work things out.
I walked up to my room to take a shower. I took all my clothes off and searched for ones to change into for the day. My phone started ringing, but it sounded different from my regular ringtone. When I found it, I realized that’s not what was ringing, and then remembered that I had kept my laptop open in case Jaxon and I could actually catch one another online. I positioned the screen so it only displayed my bare shoulders and face, since I was already undressed for my shower.
I answered excitedly, “Hi, baby!”
“Damn, beautiful, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He looked tired, but he also looked really tan and if it were possible he looked even more muscular. As if all he had been doing this whole time was working out in the sun. Which is probably exactly what he had been doing.
“Wow, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I winked at him. “So… I’m pretty sure Quinn and Cole finally made up,” I told him.
“Oh yeah? Why do you think that? I thought I would’ve never heard the end of it from him, if that were finally to happen.”
“He just showed up here and dragged her upstairs,” I laughed.
“What? He flew back? That bastard,” he grumbled, sounding upset.
“Why do you say that? I’m honestly glad I don’t have to follow a crying Quinn around anymore.”
“No, I’m glad they are making up. I’m just jealous he got to go see his girlfriend. I’m about two seconds away from jumping on a plane myself, especially after seeing your gorgeous face again,” he grinned at me through the screen. I loved that little smirk on the edges of his lips.
“I’m glad you caught me, I was about to jump in the shower.”
“Yeah, Jace and I are wiped. Mom has a million things for us to do. We just came in for some lunch.” He smiled at me and then I watched as realization hit him. “Babe, do you have a shirt on?”
I shook my head at him. “I was about to get into the shower,” I reminded him coyly.
“So, you actually don’t have anything on at all right now?” When I shook my head, he leaned forward and groaned. “Just move the camera down a little bit.” He pointed downward.
I decided to do him one better and lean back in my chair so he could still see my face while he got a show of my chest. I loved the lust that engulfed his blue eyes. When I reached down to cup my breasts in both hands and push them together for him, I swear I heard him growl.
I was about to ask him to show me something, when I spotted Jace walking into the room behind him. His eyes shot wide when he saw me in my compromising position on his brother’s screen. I rocked back forward so the camera was back on just my shoulders and face. Jaxon jutted that plush bottom lip out at me in a cute pout. I almost returned to my seduction, but I remembered how mad he would be when he realized Jace was behind him. Who, by the way, was still standing there with a big Cheshire cat grin on his face.
“Uh, Jax?” I asked.
“Yeah, Beautiful?” he responded breathily.
“Next time we should do this with your bedroom door closed.” I pointed behind him. His head shot behind him to look at his brother.
“Damn, Em, I knew you had a great rack, but wow…” Jace leaned over to look at me from behind his brother, who was now standing up.
Jaxon did not look happy. I saw his hand shoot up to grab his laptop screen. Before it slammed shut, I heard him say, “I miss you, baby doll!” Then the screen went black.
I got up to walk to my shower, laughing at the image of those two, who were probably wrestling with each other right now. I missed Jaxon tremendously, but I realized that I missed Jace too. He had become like a brother to me. Well, maybe not a brother, since brothers wouldn’t tell you how hot your rack is, but definitely closer than just a friend.
When I stepped out of the shower, I noticed I had a text message waiting for me.
Jaxon: Don’t be mad at me, but check your email.
I hate when people start comments like that; my mind always shoots to the worst conceivable outcome. What could he have possibly done in the last twenty-five minutes that would make me mad? When I opened up my email, I noticed that there was a confirmation for a plane ticket to Texas and the flight was leaving tomorrow.
Me: You bought me a plane tickets?
Jaxon: You don’t have to use it, but I hope you will. I miss you like crazy.
Me: You better be at that airport bearing gifts for doing this!
Jaxon: YOU’RE COMING?
Me: There’s a handsome hunk on the other side of this ticket, of course I am.
Jaxon: I’d bring the world for you if I could.
Ellie and Charles were sad to see me off so soon, but I think Ellie was happier that there was someone out there that was worth it for me to visit. I laughed at Quinn, who could barely tell me good-bye because she was so far down Cole’s throat. We’d be back in our apartment together soon anyway.
When I got to the arrivals terminal, I rode an escalator down to the baggage claim. Jaxon was the first person in the line of greeters waiting at the very bottom. I started laughing the instant I saw him because he looked like a little kid at Christmas. His excitement was contagious, and I noticed the other people around him smiling at his giddiness. I’m sure my face mirrored his as well. He grabbed both me and my bag before I even made it down the last two steps. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled his face to my lips.
He walked over to a bench kissing me when I heard an elderly woman say, “Man, can I get a welcome like that one?” I laughed into his mouth.
He sat me down on the bench and handed me a silver wrapped box that I hadn’t noticed he was holding behind his back.
“Jax, I was kidding about gifts,” I said, while taking it from his hands.
“It’s nothing really. Just open it.”
I slid my finger under the silver flap and peeled off the wrapping. When I opened the box, I instantly knew what they were. A box filled with only chocolate raspberry truffles. I don’t know how he had found this, but this man was mind-blowing.
“You remembered?” I gasped in a whisper.
“I remember everything about you, Emerson.”
“Wow, I’m in love with Texas already.” That made him throw his head back and laugh.
We walked out to the parking garage and I realized I had no idea what kind of car I was looking for; with Jaxon, it could be anything. To my total shock, he walked right up to an old black muscle car that appeared to be in perfect condition.
I froze. “This. Is. Not. Your. Car.” I could totally imagine him driving this and I was already turned on.
“Uh… yeah, my dad rebuilt with me,” he said, self-consciously.
“Why the hell didn’t you bring this with you to California? This is so hot!”
Relief spanned his face. “My mom said I would only get in trouble with it. Little did she know, I would move right next door to trouble.” He winked at me.
“Oh, I can show you all kinds of trouble in this.” I rubbed the shiny black hood.
“Please, God, do.” He came around to me and pushed me backward up against it.
“What kind of car is this?” I asked, while he was moving his body up against mine. “All I know is, it’s hot.”
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “It’s a 67’ Camaro. 470 horsepower.”
“I have no idea what any of that means, but I can’t wait to watch you drive it.”
He laughed while opening my door for me and helped me into the seat. I don’t know what it is about seeing a guy drive a manual transmission. Maybe it’s the way they pull the shifter into each gear, the way the muscles in their forearms flex with the movement, or maybe it’s the cocky smile Jax got on his face while driving it, but I was thoroughly turned on by the time we pulled up to his house.
I was still staring at him when he put it into park. “I don’t think I can meet your mom like this.”
“Like what?” he asked, smiling.
“Like I’m about to jump your bones, that’s what.” I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.
“Oh, Beautiful, there will be plenty of time for that.” He winked.
Before I could tell him I didn’t think I could wait, Jace came barreling down the porch steps. There was a gorgeous and surprisingly young woman who was the female version of her sons trailing right behind him. When I opened my car door, Jace scooped me out of the car and into a bear hug.
“Emmy! I missed you,” he said smiling. Someone was finally in a better mood; maybe he got some over the holidays.
Laughing at his enthusiasm, I returned his hug. “I missed you too, Jace.”
“Sorry about walking in on you and Jax yesterday. I got my ass kicked for that.” He gave me a puppy-dog look that closely resembled his brother’s.
“Don’t try to pull that sweet look on her after you violated her privacy.” His mom shoved him. She knew about that? Great.
“Oh,” I said, mortified.
She pulled me into a hug once Jace set me down. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. These boys tell me everything. I’ve heard it all, trust me, it doesn’t bother me.” I smiled at her warmth. “I’m Julie, by the way.”
“I’m Em, thank you for letting me stay in your home.”
“Think nothing of it. So you like to be called Em?” she asked. “Jaxon calls you Emerson.” Jaxon had made his way around the car and was smiling at the two of us.
“Yeah, Jax is the only one that calls me that. I tried to break it,” I shrugged.
“Come on, ladies, I’m hungry,” Jaxon said while putting his arms around the both of us and directing us up the stairs of the porch.
“You’re awful smiley, son,” Julie grinned up at him.
“I’ve got my two favorite girls in the same place, what could be better?”
“Ugh, gag me, please. When did you become such a p-ssy?” Jace asked, while squeezing under Jax’s arm and pulling his mom away from us. These two were dangerously adorable with their mom.
Jaxon’s mom didn’t care that I would be sleeping in his room with him and she didn’t bat an eyelash at some of the stories they were telling her about college parties. I learned that she got pregnant with them when she was seventeen,which was why she looked so young. Their dad sounded like he had been crazy in love with her and he had worked extremely hard to build a magnificent life for his family. I had no idea how well off Jace and Jaxon were. Apparently their dad had been the CEO of his own company, so when he died, they were at least left with enough to live comfortably for years and years. I didn’t ask for specifics. I just enjoyed hearing all of their family stories; they seemed to be pretty tight-knit. I had heard Jax talk on the phone with his mom every couple of days back home, but it was nice to see them all together in person.
I would only be out here for a short time before all three of us would fly back to California. We spent most of our time together, Jace and Julie included. Surprisingly, it wasn’t lame at all to have their mom with us the whole time. She was awesome, and she could joke right along with her boys. I could see where they got their charm. I can only imagine how devastatingly handsome their dad was.
This was the first time since I’d met Quinn that I wouldn’t be spending her birthday with her, but I was glad that Cole was there. I talked on the phone with her the majority of that day, neither one of us liking the fact that we weren’t together. I may hate celebrating my birthday, but I love being with Quinn on hers. Jaxon and I had a chocolate cake and flowers delivered to her and she made me promise to bring her something back from Texas.
Jaxon and I also went to a few parties in his town. It was nice meeting a large number of the people that he grew up with. Their parties were a lot more low-key and mellow than anything I’d been to on Fraternity Row. On New Year’s Eve, we went to a bonfire out on one of their friend’s property. I’d never actually been to a real bonfire before, so it was nice to experience it with him and his family. I could stare into Jaxon’s blue eyes lit by a fire for the rest of my life. For the first time ever, I kissed someone at midnight and I was thankful it was Jaxon I was kissing.
His family showed me around their town. Jaxon ended up buying me a pair of leather cowboy boots that he said would look hot on me with a dress. Julie bought me a dress that she said would go great with the boots. In one of the stores we ended up looking through, we lost track of Jace. I eventually came across him in the back of the store. I was surprised to see him talking with Audrey. He was speaking in harsh clipped tones to her and she looked incredibly sad.
“Hey Jace, are you ready to go?” I said across the aisle from him, afraid to go over there and get in between them.
She looked at me with a shocked expression, “What is she doing here?” she demanded, raising her voice to him.
“She’s Jax’s girlfriend, that’s what she’s doing here, Audrey,” he replied sharply, walking away. Audrey looked upset by this fact. I really didn’t like the girl, but I felt bad about the miserable expression on her face.
He came over, threw an arm around my shoulders and we walked away from her. “You okay?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Totally fine, Ems. She just cornered me.” He shrugged and we walked back to the front of the store to find my boyfriend and his mom.
On our last night there, Jaxon was cooking us all dinner. I was thrilled to see how this would turn out, because he had never cooked back home before. He had the surround sound throughout the house playing country music. Jace, his mom, and I were all sitting on the couch with drinks and talking. When a new song started playing, Julie clapped her hands together.
“Oh, I love Brantley Gilbert!” she exclaimed.
Jaxon came over to me with an apron on and reached out his hand for mine. “Dance with me?” he asked.
I smiled, placing my hand in his and he pulled me into an embrace. I put one hand on his shoulder and one in his outstretched palm. I looked over to see Jace pulling his mom up to dance with him as well. Jaxon spun me around the living room. Man, these boys could dance; their mom had taught them well. There wasn’t an inch of this living room that Jace and Jax didn’t cover with the two of us. Jace kept switching his mom and I back and forth between his brother and him. Jaxon only allowed me to dance with Jace for so long before he would come steal me back. Jace and his mom were laughing hysterically at how he kept spinning her around in a circle repeatedly as fast as he could.
Throughout the whole song, Jaxon was singing along right into my ear. I closed my eyes and let his voice flow through me. The artist sang about how no one knew his girl like he did. When he sang that she was his best friend, I melted into Jaxon. This was the sweetest song. I had no doubt in my mind he was singing this to me on purpose and in a way no one did know me like he did. I gripped him tighter as he sang the last words of the song to with his intoxicating voice.
I opened my eyes when the song ended and realized he had danced us out of the living room away from his family. We were staring at each other hungrily.
Then he stepped back and shouted, “Ma, can you finish dinner for me?” He washastily untying the apron from around his waist and tossing it on the ground.
“Yeah, sweetie, see y’all later!” she shouted back from the living room.
He hauled me out the front door into the night faster than my shorter legs could handle. We got all the way to the car and he opened the door and sat me inside. When he had my seat belt buckled, he went around to the driver’s side.
I jutted out my bottom lip, “I was looking forward to eating a dinner you actually made.”
“Mom’s probably throwing it out right now and starting all over again. You weren’t missing anything, I promise,” he laughed.
I enjoyed watching him as he drove. He didn’t drive off of their property. Instead, he drove off the dirt road into the fields. I was surprised this car was taking the bumps so well. When it was pitch black and it looked like we were in the middle of nowhere, he parked the car. His fingers switched the high beams on that illuminated a beautiful pond. It was fairly large with boulders and tall grass surrounding it like a hidden gem. In the night, the surface of the water looked like black glass.
“I had one more thing to show you,” he said quietly. “Jace and I use to live here in the summers. It might be a little cold right now because it’s January, but it won’t be too bad.”
“It’s really beautiful.”
I got out of the car and walked in front of the headlights. Jaxon came around the opposite side to meet me. Taking advantage of our moment of solitude, I pulled my shirt over my head and then slipped my jeans down over my ankles. I smiled up at Jax, who was watching me with wide eyes. I pulled my panties off next. When I reached behind and unsnapped my bra, I threw it up onto the hood of the car.
The look in his eyes screamed that he wanted to own me and I didn’t know how to comprehend that look. I walked over, stood directly in front of his hood, and stretched out on top of it.
“I think I promised you all kinds of trouble on this.” I patted the hood, while eyeing him seductively.
I raised my hands above my head, almost reaching the windshield. He stepped in between my thighs, reached out to palm my breasts, and ran his tongue across them. My back arched at his touch.
“F*ck, baby, you lying on this car… I’m pretty sure I had wet dreams about this kind of thing when I was sixteen,” he whispered on my skin.
He nipped his way down my stomach until he hit the spot he was looking for. I was so revved up from listening to him sing to me, from being wrapped up in his arms while dancing, and from watching him drive that car earlier; it only took a couple of minutes until I was screaming his name, thankful we were out in the middle of nowhere. He quickly removed all of his clothes and then slid his hands up my backside, picking me up. He walked us down to the water. I gave him a worried look when he stood up on a high rock above the water. My fingers clenched into his bare shoulders.
“Ready?” he asked.
“No!” I squeaked.
“Too bad, Beautiful,” he said, right before he jumped into the water with me in his arms. This pond was deeper than it looked. We sank down below the surface and it took us a second to swim back up to the top. It was absolutely freezing.
When I came out of the water, I ran my hands over my face and hair to get the water out of my eyes. “JAXON, IT’S FREEZING!” I shouted.
He came up laughing. “Aw, babe, it’s not that bad.” I swam over to him to wrap around his body for warmth. “I’ll warm you up,” he said, nipping my ear.
With one swift thrust, he was inside of me, and I cried out instantly. If I had more time to think about it, I would have been impressed with his accuracy in the water, but before I could be amazed, he was pushing me up and down on him. The water had me out of my element and I had no control over our movements. I decided then just to relish this moment with him and all the power he has over me. I threw my head back with my hair in the water, enjoying his thrusts. His forearms were cradling my back and his hands were laced through my hair, holding me as close as he wanted. He sucked on the hollow point of my neck down to my breasts.
All of a sudden, he started to thrust into me and then stopped. He slowly drew my body back up him and quickly thrust back in. I dug my nails into his back with this new delicious rhythm. I needed to hear that groan that I love so much, so I started clinching around him. Clinch. Release. Clinch. Release.
“I love when you do that, baby,” he groaned into my ear, as I made him temporarily lose his rhythm.
“I love everything you’re doing to me right now.”
The water between our bodies and his movements were creating a wonderful friction building in between my legs. I wanted to hold this off as long as possible, and I never wanted this moment to end.
“Emerson, you’re amazing. I still can’t believe I found you. Promise you’ll stay.”
“I promise,” I breathed. “Promise you’ll stay patient with me.” I trailed kisses down his jaw.
“I promise,” he replied. “I need you in my life.”
“You have me.”
“I love you.” When I tensed up, he started slowing his movements to provide comfort for me.
I placed my forehead down onto his shoulder, silently telling him I felt the same way. I was afraid that if I said it out loud, I would be jinxing myself. I feel like I’ve been doing so well, and I’ve become an actual girlfriend. If I take this next step too soon, somehow I’ll end up failing him. I need to find a way to tell him though. I just need more time.
Shortly after, he started speeding up his movements. I’d never felt him this deep before and it was heavenly. I couldn’t help but to focus on his handsome face. The lights of the car were shining on us in the pond. The shadows contrasted against his high cheekbones perfectly. I couldn’t believe a guy this gorgeous could be so thoughtful and understanding. I began feeling that wonderful sensation of completion spiraling through me. When I called out his name, he followed behind me two seconds later.
When we finally walked back through the front door of his house, my teeth were chattering. We didn’t have a towel to dry off with so we had to put our clothes back on our wet bodies and my hair had drenched everything that my body hadn’t.
“Jaxon Riley! Tell me you didn’t take her into the pond?” Julie yelled at him right when we walked in. “Look at her, she’s freezing!”
“Don’t worry, Ma, I kept her warm,” he chuckled. I turned and smacked him in the stomach. “Umph!”
“Get up stairs, you two,” she laughed and smacked Jaxon on the back of the head on his way up.
“Geez, ladies, go easy on me!” he joked.
The next day we were at the airport saying sad good-byes to Julie. I felt at home here and I absolutely didn’t want to leave. Now I understand why both of them wanted to come home on every holiday break. When the guys went to check their luggage, Julie came over to hug me and I had tears in my eyes.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart.” She hugged me tightly.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I just like it here so much.”
“Please come back, I’ve never seen Jaxon so happy.”
“I really hope I don’t screw it up,” I whispered into her hair.
She pulled back but kept a grip on each of my arms. “Guess what, love, you will. So will he. It’s what you do with it once you’ve screwed up that matters.” She smiled at me.
“Thank you.” It was all I could say.
She grabbed my phone from my hand. “Here, have my number, and call me anytime you need to talk or vent. Jaxon told me your parents passed away. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need a mom’s ear. I won’t take his side, promise.” Then she gave me one more long hug that really had the tears streaming down my face. Besides Ellie, I’d never met someone so open and loving. I squeezed her back just as tightly.
“What the hell, Ma, I leave for two seconds and you have her crying?” His words were harsh, but his tone was playful. He reached over and pulled me into his body while kissing my temple. Jaxon and Jace each gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and then together, we walked through security to go back to the real world.