Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“Hey.” Face flushed red, Jaxon rose to his feet.
“You have no right to speak to us that way. You don’t get to dictate how Theo lives his life.
He’s an adult.” He came nose to nose with Jet, who seemed as surprised as the rest of us at Jaxon’s fierce response.
“Maybe you feel guilty because you ignored him growing up like everyone else, but that’s a you problem.
Deal with it. As far as Theo and me, we’re in a great place now, which is all that matters.
Not your opinion.” He leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek.
“I’m gonna go home and wait for you there. ”
“B-but you didn’t finish your food,” I pointed out.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” he flung over his shoulder, walking away. The door shut behind him, and I realized I didn’t get to learn more about the interview or tell him about my mother.
Harte pointed his finger at Jet. “What the heck were you trying to do? I thought you all settled this a while ago and things were okay. Why did you say that to Jaxon?”
As much as I liked Jet, I was thoroughly annoyed with him. In the past, I wouldn’t have made a big deal about it. But now?
“Th-that was unfair. I thought we put this to rest already. And in case you need to hear it from me, this is our relationship, and we don’t owe anyone any explanation.
And maybe Jaxon’s right. M-maybe you do feel guilty because we weren’t friends growing up, and you never noticed me.
And while I…I do appreciate how you and Harte always included me in everything, if you were doing it out of some false sense of responsibility, you shouldn’t have bothered. ”
I hated that I stuttered my words, but I’d made my point.
“Theo—no.” Stricken, Jet set his beer on the bar.
“That’s not true at all. I think…I don’t know.
It’s possible that subconsciously I tried to make up for the lousy time you had growing up, but we really do care about you.
All the years hiding who I was kept me buried in my own head.
I didn’t think about you or anyone else.
And I know that’s no excuse, but I was a fucked-up teenager. ”
“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Emerson asked.
I had no time to think about anyone else’s feelings. Jaxon was alone, and that wasn’t right. I should be with him.
“I’m leaving. Tony, can you manage the rest of the night? I have to go.”
“Yeah, sure. Is Jaxon finished, or is he coming back?”
“No, he’s not. Can you wrap up his burger to go?”
“Of course.”
Jet stepped in front of me as I waited, bouncing on my toes.
“Theo. I’m sorry. I know I owe Jaxon an apology.”
“Yeah, well, not now.” Tony approached with a takeout bag. “He’s got more important things on his mind.”
“Here you go,” Tony said. “I put in fries too.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you all.”
Without waiting for an answer, I left Sweeny’s and ran across the street. When I opened the door, I found Jaxon lying on the couch. Meeting my eyes, he sat up.
“What’re you doing here? The bar’s still open, isn’t it?”
I set the bag on the table and sat by his side. “I’m here to be with you, of course, and if I want to leave early, I will.”
He smiled at me. “Boss man. I like it.”
“I also let Jet know I didn’t appreciate how he spoke to you and that he needs to stop bringing up the past.”
Blue eyes glowing, Jaxon leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I do love me a bad-ass Theo. But seriously? Thank you. It’s frustrating. I guess he thinks he’s being a friend.”
“He’s being annoying. How we started doesn’t matter anymore. Only how we finish.”
“That’s right. Together.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “You never told me what happened in that interview that upset you so much.”
He put his arm around me. “I don’t think it was a real interview. I think it was a setup. He kept asking questions about my sex life in college and then Professor Gunther. It didn’t feel right, so I ended it and called Blair, who rightfully got annoyed with me.”
“Blair will know what to do.” I rubbed my cheek against his. “And I don’t want to hear any more about you dropping out of the race. You’re going to win on your merits. Has anyone approached you about withdrawing your name?”
“No, but I don’t want to ruin the party’s chance to get real change on the bench.”
“Trust me, if they didn’t want you running and believed you were going to lose, they’d yank you. We all know you can be the darling one minute and the dregs the next. They’d tell you to get out if they didn’t want you in the race.”
“Maybe you should be in politics.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I said darkly. “I wouldn’t want to be in that den of vipers.”
Jaxon chuckled lightly and pulled me close to lie next to him. “Okay, Boss. I’ll see what Blair comes up with.” He played with my hair. “What’s going on with you? Why was your day so hard?”
I stiffened. “We don’t have to talk about that now.”
“Yes. We do. Your problems are just as important as mine.” Jaxon held me tighter. “Talk to me.” My heart raced, and he sat up again, taking me with him. “Theo? What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t meet his eyes. “This woman from your fund raiser came to talk to me. She…she knew my mother.”
“What?” He jumped away from me and grabbed my arms. “Your mom? Where is she? Are you going to see her?”
I loved how excited he was for me, and in a strange way, I felt like I was disappointing him by telling him the news.
“I can’t. She died.”
I repeated what Maggie told me, and Jaxon drew me close, rocking with me back and forth.
“Baby, baby. I’m so sorry. At least now you know. She was coming home to you.”
“You’re right. She was.”
I didn’t think I’d get so emotional about it hours later, but Jaxon’s comforting words sent tears rushing to my eyes.
I turned my face to his chest and let them come.