Chapter 16 Jace
JACE
Waiting for Scarlett to perform her finishing touches of getting ready, I opened my phone and typed a message directly to Axel.
Me: Need your expertise. Time-sensitive.
Axel: My specific areas of expertise include tequila brands, luxury watches, and making women forget their own names. Which one do you need?
Me: The last one. Sort of.
Axel: *skull emoji* HOLD UP. Is Jace “I’ll Die Alone with My Stock Portfolio” Lockwood asking ME for advice about WOMEN? Dude, I’m totally screenshotting this.
Me: *middle finger emoji* I’m exploring a no-strings arrangement and have a question.
Axel: I don’t know whether to be flattered or check if the world is ending. The mighty Jace Lockwood, taking romantic advice from the guy you called, and I quote, “emotionally stunted with the commitment capacity of a goldfish.”
Me: Have you ever … had trouble walking away from someone?
Axel: Oh, yeah. This one woman could bend her legs behind her head. Like a human pretzel. *pretzel emoji* Still dream about that flexibility.
Me: Not what I meant. Ever develop actual feelings?
Axel: *barfing emoji* Not once. That’s your first mistake. Catching feelings is like catching an STD. Preventable if you’re careful.
Me: Your analogies remain disturbing as ever.
Axel: Wait. WAIT. You’re actually INTO someone? The same guy who told me relationships are “inefficient business mergers with excessive emotional overhead”?
Me: I don’t want these … complications.
Axel: Damn. All these years, I thought your emotional suppression meant your hardware was defective. *laugh out loud emoji*
Me: At least I don’t need a spreadsheet to keep track of my “dates” like some people.
Axel: That spreadsheet is a work of art. Color-coded and everything.
Me: You’re useless.
Axel: Yet you still ask my advice. Look, just because I don’t do feelings doesn’t mean I can’t spot them from a mile away. And you, my friend, are in deep shit.
Me: Thanks for that stellar observation. Really helpful.
Axel: What can I say? I’m a giver.
Me: This conversation has been about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
Axel: But seriously … tread carefully with feelings. They have a way of …
Axel: … [typing message]
Axel. Never mind. Just avoid them.
I stared at my phone, wondering what he had been about to text.
But right now, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was no closer to understanding or preventing this swelling desire to see Scarlett past this one weekend. And what, if anything, I was going to do about it …