8. Chapter Eight
Maddison
“ T his is damaged. Are you going to discount it?” An elderly, brown-haired lady with a pinched expression points to a spot on the ceramic lamp she’s holding.
I study the lamp, my eyes narrowing before I turn to the woman. “I can do ten percent,” I reply tersely.
“Ten percent! That’s a low-ball offer!” She huffs, frowning at me before pointing back to the imaginary damage that doesn’t exist. It’s an ugly lamp, but it’s in perfect shape. “I mean, do you want me to spend my money or not? Look at that. It’s like buying second-hand goods!”
“You know what?” I plaster on a saccharine, sweet smile as I yank the lamp out of her hands. She gasps, her eyes going round. “You make a good point. I’ll drop it off at the Goodwill store on my way home.”
Hazel gapes at me as I march up to the register before slamming the over-priced lamp into the trash can. The disgruntled customer mumbles under her breath, shooting me a disappointed expression as she rushes out the door.
Hazel begins to cackle. “Holy shit! Do you think we could hack into the surveillance system so I can get a still frame of that moment?” She dips down at the waist, doing a mocking bow. “That was some passive-aggressive shit and I loved it.” She shakes her head, grinning at me. I let out a small chuckle. But then her smile fades, and she looks concerned. “Are you okay, Maddie?” She leans in a little closer to me and lowers her voice to a whisper. “Are you still thinking about Luke?”
I shake my head, but then my shoulders slump a little and I nod.
It’s been about a week since the fiasco at Luke’s going-away party, and Hazel has been nice enough to let me sleep on her couch. We spent the weekend binge eating ice cream and chips while I spilled all my feelings to her. I told her everything, and not only about Luke and his infidelity. Hazel is the first person I’ve ever felt comfortable enough with to talk about my sort-of past with Jax. And she’s been nothing but supportive.
Luke has been texting and calling me every day, and I’ve ignored every single one of his attempts to contact me. But what really surprises me is how Jax has been doing the same, and I have no clue why. I haven’t responded to any of his messages either.
“Maybe it shouldn’t bother me so much since I was going to break things off with him anyway. And honestly, maybe it’s what I deserve after what happened with Jax.” I swallow, my pulse fluttering nervously as I work up the courage to ask what’s been on my mind all day. “Do you think I’m a cheater, too? For letting Jax watch us like he did?” I study her face carefully.
“I think…” Hazel trails off, her lips twisting to the side as she thinks. “I think that’s a complicated question only you can answer, honey.”
My heart sinks a little and I avert my eyes, chewing on my bottom lip.
Hazel gently squeezes my shoulder. “I think the real question should be, why did you stay in a loveless relationship for so long?” she asks softly.
“It wasn’t always loveless.”
She gives me a sympathetic expression. “Of course not. But it does sound like it fizzled out a long time ago. I’m perpetually single so I probably wouldn’t take relationship advice from me, but if you want to do some soul-searching, that’s the question I would start with.” Then she gets a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, her mouth pulling into a smirk as her elbow jabs me. “Or you could find a sexy rebound and fuck him out of your system.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Some no-strings attached sex might be good for you.” Then her eyes widen and she snaps her fingers. “What about the older brother? You could get some revenge at the same time!”
“Hazel!” I push lightly on her shoulder. “I can’t go after his brother!”
She shrugs. “Why not? There’s obviously some unresolved attraction there.”
I give her an admonishing look. “I don’t want to hurt either of them. Jax would never do that to his brother anyway, and I’m not sure if he would even still be interested in me like that.”
“He watched his brother fuck you while he jacked himself off,” Hazel says, giving me an incredulous look. “Trust me, he’s still interested.”
A huff of laughter escapes me, and I shake my head. “I don’t know, maybe it was just something he did in the heat of the moment.”
Hazel rolls her eyes. “Fine then, keep living in denial. But if you do decide to fuck him, I’m going to need all the details so I can live vicariously through you.”
A burst of laughter erupts from me, and I push on her shoulder. “Hazel!”
The bell over the door chimes, and I groan. I pull my shoulders back, pasting on a polite smile as a light gust of wind blows through the open doorway. It makes me shiver, and a little bit of dread crawls up my throat. Winter is going to be here soon, and I hate the weather that comes with it. It reminds me too much of the accident that killed my parents and, even after five years, their loss still hurts some days.
“I think it’s my turn,” I offer. “I’ll go greet them.”
“Don’t bother.” The devilish smirk on Hazel’s face has my eyes narrowing. Unlike Hazel, I don’t have a clear view of the doorway from my register, so I have no clue who’s headed this way. But I can hear the study thump of boots approaching. “He knows exactly what he wants, and he’s coming to get it.”
My eyebrows furrow. “What do you—”
“Maddison.”
I jump at the sound of Jax’s voice, my head snapping up as my heart leaps into my throat. And then there he is, standing in front of my cash register, looking just as surly and pensive as ever. He holds my gaze with that brooding, somber stare of his. And he’s still in his work uniform. The buttons of his dark denim jacket are open. The white shirt he’s wearing clings to his muscled torso and, even with grease stains, it looks good.
Why did this man have to be just my type?
“Jax! What are you doing here?” The thought of him trying to convince me to give Luke another chance makes my stomach sour. “I’m not going back to Luke,” I warn him. “Nothing you say will change my mind, so if that’s what you are here for, then I’m sorry, but you are wasting your time.”
“I love my brother, but we both know he doesn’t deserve you,” he murmurs. His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and my head rears back. A light dusting of pink coats his cheeks as he clears his throat.
That’s high praise coming from a man like Jax.
“Where are you staying?” he asks, continuing like he didn’t almost knock me off my feet.
“I—uh…” I pause, swallowing as my eyes dart to Hazel. She arches an eyebrow, remaining silent as if to say, “This is your circus, not mine.” “Hazel is letting me sleep on her couch.”
“That’s not acceptable.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Behind me, Hazel coughs.
“How long do you plan to sleep on a stranger’s couch?” He crosses his arms as he waits for me to answer.
“She’s not a stranger. She’s my friend.”
“Answer the question,” Jax demands. His voice is firm, a little harsher than before.
Irene the Wicked Witch decides to choose this exact moment to stalk out of her office, her beady eyes immediately landing on me. Shit. “I’m not allowed to have visitors at work,” I warn him, lowering my voice to a whisper. “You can’t be here.”
The click-click-click of Irene’s high heels make me tense.
Fuck. That woman has no mercy.
Jax grabs an armful of decorative pillows off a nearby display and dumps them on the register between us. “She can’t kick me out if I’m a paying customer.” His gaze follows Irene as she turns back around, the corner of his lips tugging into an infuriatingly sexy smirk. “Now answer the question.”
“I don’t have to answer to you,” I whisper-hiss. Then I glance down at the small mountain of pillows, my forehead wrinkling. “You don’t really want these, do you?”
“Just ring up the damn pillows,” he growls. He reaches into the back pocket of his Wranglers before slamming his wallet down on the counter.
I lift my eyebrows. “This has got to be like a hundred dollars’ worth of pillows.”
“You’re a really shitty salesperson, you know that, right?” He gives me such an exasperated look that I want to laugh, despite our heated words.
“This is so fucking good,” Hazel mumbles. We divert our attention to where she’s standing off to the side, quietly munching on a bag of cookies as she openly stares at us. I’m pretty sure she’s talking about the show we’re inadvertently putting on for her and not the cookies.
“How did you sneak those past Irene?” I ask. It’s honestly an impressive feat. Hazel shrugs. Her posture is casual but her eyes dart between us like she’s invested in a really good movie.
“Maddie,” Jax warns. Right.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I reply, crossing my arms and sticking my nose in the air. Who does he think he is right now? I’m not beholden to him.
“Why are you staying on a friend’s couch when I have an empty guestroom?”
“Is that a trick question?” He can’t be serious. But he merely arches an eyebrow, waiting expectantly, the self-entitled asshole. “Did you forget the part where my cheating ex-boyfriend lives there?” I ask dryly.
“Not for the next three months. That’s plenty of time to save up for your own apartment.”
My heart begins to pound as my adrenaline rises at the thought of this crazy, hair-brained idea. It could never work. Me and Jax in the same house? It’s dangerous for a multitude of reasons. Until recently, we barely got along. And here lately, I’m noticing more and more how unfairly attractive he is. Not to mention, my still very confusing and conflicting feelings about the way he watched me with Luke.
Although, I don’t particularly like the idea of sleeping on Hazel’s couch for the next few months. My neck already feels like it has a permanent crick in it. But I get the feeling that being alone with Jax on a regular basis is going to be riddled with temptation. Just the idea of it makes me nervous and antsy. And…weirdly pleased, which in turn makes my palms sweaty. My brain scrambles to come up with another excuse.
“Word is going to get out that I broke up with him. If people know I’m still living with you, they’re going to talk.”
“Ah, I see,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, exactly,” I say, relieved and only a little disappointed we are both on the same page now.
“Then I’m sorry,” he continues, tapping a credit card on the counter.
I give him a perplexed look. “Why? You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I’m sorry I gave you the impression that I give a single fuck what other people think about me,” he snaps. Something flashes in his eyes.
Oh.
He grits his teeth. “What time do you get off work?”
“Uh—in like five minutes,” I say, hesitating only briefly, my eyes darting to the nearest clock.
“Good. Meet me outside when you’re finished.” He grabs the bags of pillows that he definitely doesn’t want.
“Why?”
“Because,” he says, giving me a stern look. Honestly, it’s pretty fucking hot. “We’re going to get your shit off of Hazel’s couch and go home.”
Home.
The word makes my heart squeeze, and I remain silent for a moment. I feel my resolve crumbling. “I haven’t agreed to that yet.” The protest sounds weak.
A deep chuckle rumbles out of his chest, and it makes my knees tremble. “I wasn’t asking, sweetheart.”
With that, he turns and walks out the door. My head slowly turns towards Hazel, my mouth still hanging open.
“What the heck just happened?” I ask.
“Are you still sure you don’t want to bang his brains out?” Hazel asks, giving a pointed stare towards the door. “I’ll ride him if you won’t.”
“Hazel! You are absolutely shameless!”
I throw a wadded-up receipt paper at her while she cackles.