9. Axel
9
AXEL
A xel sat at a Formica-topped table at Mario’s that evening, watching the bubbles in his Coca-Cola dance their way to the surface.
It was nice and warm inside. The little television in the corner was playing a news channel that was usually drowned out by the friendly conversation and laughter that filled the space. The pizza shop on Park Avenue was almost always hopping with kids and adults who enjoyed the tasty offerings, the old-fashioned booth seating, and the view of the center of town out the big plate glass windows up front.
“Order up,” Lorenzo said, placing a large pepperoni on the table.
The pizza smelled amazing, and for a moment Axel could have been twelve years old again and ravenous after swimming at the town pool all day, or a senior in high school after a big game, with girls hanging over the back of the booth trying to get his or Ian Cassidy’s attention .
Same pizza shop, same pizza, same owner, same everything—except for Axel, who was still having a hard time fitting his piece back into the puzzle again.
“Thanks,” Beau said, smiling up at the pizza shop owner from where he sat on the other side of the booth from Axel. “This is great, man. I’m glad you thought of it.”
“Glad you came,” Axel said, choosing not to mention that of all the guys in the group text, Beau had been the only one to show up.
“I think a lot of guys are wrapped up with the Christmas Campfire stuff,” Beau said, clearly thinking the same thing. “And Wolf and Grayson have… a lot on their plates.”
“For sure,” Axel said, not even wanting to think about how weird it was that his two closest friends since high school were both snowed under in such a definitive way.
Beau took a slice of pepperoni off the metal tray and Axel watched the cheese stretch.
“Dig in, man,” Beau told him.
“Right,” Axel said, grabbing his own slice. “So, you and Quinn, huh?”
He expected to see Beau’s usual smile widen and for the man to launch into a big song and dance about how awesome Quinn was.
Not that Axel needed the song and dance. They all knew Quinn Allen because it was a small town. She’d been too young to run in Axel’s circles, but he’d heard she’d gone to school for Agriculture and come back ready to tackle any project. She was shy, but even back then she came out of her shell when anyone started talking about farm stuff. She would be the perfect partner for Beau now that he was taking over the family farm.
“Yeah,” Beau said, looking down at his slice of pizza for a moment, then folding it lengthwise and biting off half without another word.
Axel blinked in surprise. Beau was a great guy, but normally you couldn’t shut him up. If Axel didn’t know better, he would have sworn that the man just took an extra-large bite on purpose, just so he wouldn’t have to talk. But that was ridiculous. Beau was obviously excited about Quinn and their engagement. Why would he not be?
“I think it’s great,” Axel told him, in case that was the worry. “When you know, you know. Or… so I’m told.”
He pictured a pair of bright blue eyes in his mind.
Stop it, he told himself. She’s not into you like that.
But he couldn’t help thinking again about her flushed cheeks this afternoon when he’d given her phone back.
If that wasn’t about me, then what was it about?
“You seeing anyone?” Beau asked, as if he had guessed what Axel was thinking once again.
“Nah,” Axel said, sitting back. “I’m still… figuring things out.”
“You came back to help your aunt and uncle,” Beau said.
“That was the plan,” Axel said, nodding. “But they’ve got things pretty much squared away now, thanks to Logan and Caroline and all the historical stuff. So, I’m honestly not sure what to do with myself.”
“Heard you were doing a good job over at the school,” Beau told him .
“Who did you hear that from?” Axel asked. Then he realized and smiled. “Zandy, of course. I haven’t seen her in class, though.”
It was hard to believe that enough time had passed for Beau’s little girl to be school age.
“She’s still in preschool,” Beau said. “But her cousins are in your class. They all say it’s epic.”
Axel couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hey, it’s no joke to handle a bunch of kids like that,” Beau said. “I couldn’t do it.”
“They’ve got a teacher in there with me all the time,” Axel said, shrugging.
“I heard she just sits on the bleachers and drools at you,” Beau said, his eyes dancing.
“You didn’t hear that from Zandy and her cousins,” Axel laughed.
“Nah,” Beau said, grinning. “I heard it from Cora Webb. She teaches over at the high school, and she was helping out Quinn’s cousin with some school stuff. She said she heard half the teachers in the school were in there mooning over you.”
“That’s not really true,” Axel said, scratching the back of his neck, and feeling a little embarrassed, since it was at least partly true.
“Anyway,” Beau said. “Point is that you’re the one doing the teaching, and you’re killing it.”
“Thanks, man,” Axel said, settling into the compliment. “I like the kids. They don’t mind trying new things. It’s… it’s nice.”
“Would you want to keep doing it?” Beau asked.
“I mean, I don’t think I want to go back to school to be a gym teacher,” Axel said, grabbing another slice of pizza. “Plus, Nancy Higginbottom says she’s going to take maternity leave, so she’s not leaving permanently or anything. I’d need to be in school for a few years, and I just don’t know about putting off work for that long.”
“But you threw in with Grayson, right?” Beau asked. “That’s got to mean you have choices now.”
Axel nodded, feeling his stomach twist at the reference to the money he’d made investing. He knew plenty of people wouldn’t be uncomfortable at all at coming out on top financially. But it still made Axel feel like he’d been handed something he hadn’t really earned.
“How’s the farm?” he asked. He wasn’t exactly taking a big bite to avoid talking, but he was doing the same thing by changing the subject. “I hear Quinn’s been a real help.”
As Axel had hoped, Beau launched into a rundown of the various projects over at his place, finally really letting loose and talking the way Axel was used to him doing.
But Axel kept finding himself distracted. All day today his thoughts kept returning to Jack and Eden.
It was like the blue dawn had put a spell on him this morning, and no matter where he went, he couldn’t ever really leave Eden Wilder’s front porch, or stop thinking about the way her eyes met his, so beautiful and so filled with feeling he thought he might have gotten lost in them forever.
And for a change, instead of thinking about the past in this place full of reminders, Axel Williams started wondering about the future.