Chapter 29 Jaxon
Chapter twenty-nine
Jaxon
“Hey, everybody,” Izzy says as she walks out of the room. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your uninvited company?”
“We’ve never needed an invitation before,” Bryn says, glancing between me and Izzy.
Izzy managed to get herself fairly well straightened out, but her cheeks are still flushed, and her hair is still a bit mussed in the back.
I knew there was absolutely zero chance I’d get myself under control before we came out here, so I’m hoping they can’t tell my very hard dick is currently tucked into the top of my briefs to keep it from tenting my jeans.
“I didn’t say you need one now,” Izzy replies. “I just wasn’t expecting you all to show up in force. Aren’t you supposed to be golfing this week, Jameo?”
“Yup, but it’s in California this week, so I’m not flying out until tomorrow.”
“And you decided to spend your last night together with me?” Izzy asks, an eyebrow raised. “Wow. Lucky me.”
“We heard Jaxon was over here,” Kelsey says, clearly deciding it was time to cut to the chase.
I shoot Carter a questioning look that he returns with a smile, like this was a fun little outing for the group or something.
“And here I am,” I say, draping an arm over Izzy’s shoulders.
“It’s not that impressive that you know where Jaxon is, Kels. Your job is literally to keep track of him,” Izzy says.
She doesn’t lean into me, but she doesn’t pull away either, and I decide to call it a victory. Maybe I’m good at this whole fake-boyfriend thing.
“I didn’t ask Nash where he was. This is a personal matter.”
I snort. This is one of the things I appreciate about working with Kelsey. She has hard lines she won’t cross and takes my privacy very seriously.
“Fortunately,” Kelsey continues, “Jaxon’s whereabouts are a hot topic these days. We were at Cattlemens eating dinner when we overheard Janice saying Jaxon had picked up food and brought it to your house again tonight. So, we decided we’d stop by and say hi.”
“Hopefully we’re not interrupting anything,” Carter says.
It feels like they were, in fact, hoping they would be interrupting something. And lucky them, they managed to do just that.
“What would you be interrupting?” Izzy asks, pulling my arm around her so that I’m almost hugging her from behind.
When no one answers, she tilts her head and asks again. “Is there something you were worried about me, a grown-ass-woman, doing in my own home?”
“Sleeping with the guy who abandoned you was what we were thinking,” Bryn offers, her fake smile matching Izzy’s. “But clearly we’re too late for that.”
“That’s not—” I start, but Izzy speaks over me.
“I thought you’d be happy I was dating someone. Anyone. Mail-ordered boyfriend if nothing else.”
Bryn shakes her head. “We just want you to be happy, Iz. We don’t care if you’re dating someone or not, no matter what we were joking about on Sunday.”
Izzy leans into me a little more, her entire back now pressed against my chest. “Well, I am happy.”
“Great,” Kelsey says.
“Great,” Izzy repeats.
“Well, now that we’ve covered how great it all is,” Carter says, “do you have any ice cream, Iz? There’s a new episode that just released that I think we should watch.”
Izzy goes to the freezer, playfully grumbling about us eating her entire stash. I, like the good fake boyfriend I am, promise to get her more.
The look her sisters exchange at the gesture seems positive, almost like they’re starting to believe us about this being real.
We spend the next hour sitting around Izzy and Becca’s living room, shooting the shit as we watch some TV show about dragons.
It’s fun and laid-back with the conversation naturally flowing from work to friends to family, and back again.
I can’t help but let myself enjoy being a part of a family again, if only for a few weeks.
I hated being an only child growing up, and with how much time I spent with the Harpers as a kid, they became my makeshift siblings.
Looking back, it’s odd that I always thought of Kelsey and Bryn as sisters, but never Izzy. She wasn’t a sister, wasn’t a crush, she was just…Izzy.
In a category all her own. One that made me feel happy and cared for.
Izzy and I are on one couch together, my arm around her shoulders as she leans into me. Kelsey is next to her, and Carter, Bryn, and Jameson take up the second couch. Izzy doesn’t say much, even when her sisters start talking about their jobs and current projects they’re working on.
Taking in the chaos around me, I relax, happy to leave the conversation to others.
I stand beside Izzy in the open doorway as the group finally leaves.
“I can’t believe they ruined my chance at an orgasm and then had the nerve to question my life choices,” Izzy whispers as they pile into their car.
As soon as they pull away, she slips out from under my arm and closes the door.
***
I’ve just gotten home from our interrupted night at Izzy’s when my phone buzzes with an incoming text.
Izzy
In all the hullabaloo, I forgot to mention I need to bump up our hangout this weekend to Saturday morning.
Me
Not a problem. I will literally make any time work.
Izzy
Cool. I’ll need to leave around noon to make it to the airport in time for my flight, so let’s say 8:30?
I’ll call in a coffee order if you can swing by and pick it up?
Me
Sounds good.
Where are you headed?
Izzy
I’ve got a client meeting.
Me
So important with your big meetings. Wait. Is it on Sunday?
Izzy
Monday. The flights to Nashville just all suck.
Me
Nashville??
Why didn’t she tell me she was going to my city!
Izzy
Yup. Just for a short trip. Becca couldn’t go, so they’re stuck meeting with me.
Me
I can’t believe you’re headed to Nashville and didn’t tell your fake boyfriend. Rude.
Izzy
I’m going to be on my own all day Sunday. Do you have any good food recommendations?
I stare at the screen, the joy that hits me every time I text with Izzy fading. I don’t like the idea of her being in Nashville without me—without even telling me—and the thought of her eating dinner alone makes me sad, especially after the last couple of weeks.
Especially after tonight.
Fuck. Watching her tonight was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life.
An entire song flowed out of me on the drive home, my voice recorder app running as I sang and drove, but that’s not it. I felt grounded. Complete. Well, almost complete. I guess we’re still chasing her high.
Not that I’m complaining. It means I have another chance to watch Izzy as she starts to fall apart.
It’s a particularly un-fake-boyfriend thing to think, but I don’t care.
Before I can overthink it, I tap her name to call her.
“Jaxon?” Her voice comes through soft and warm, and fuck, I like it. Something is playing in the background, and I suddenly get a vision of her tucked into bed watching TV.
“Hey,” I say, leaning back on the couch.
“Is everything okay? Or are you just suddenly pro-phone call these days?”
“Only with you. And Andre.”
“And Andre is your…lover?” she asks, teasing.
“Yes. The best kind because he makes sure my life runs smoothly. I also have to pay him a lot of money…”
Izzy lets out a huff of amusement that curls up and settles in my chest.
“I’m serious, though, Iz. You can’t just go to Nashville and not tell me. What kind of fake relationship are we running here?”
“The kind where you pick up coffee for me and my roommate, and then I bail early.”
“You should stay at my house while you’re there.”
A pause later, she sighs. “Jaxon…”
Anyone else would be jumping at the chance to stay at my place in Nashville. It’s been featured in just about every home, garden, and architecture magazine, for fuck’s sake. But not Izzy.
“I’m serious. It’s twenty minutes from downtown, there’s plenty of room, and I have a private chef for any meals you don’t want to eat out.”
“I wouldn’t feel right using your place like a rental,” she says.
Of course she wouldn’t. I’m sure she thinks it would be an inconvenience.
“Oh, I need to go too,” I lie, keeping my tone light. “My team needs me back so I can record my new song.”
“That’s amazing,” Izzy says, sounding excited for me. “What’s it called?”
“Nothing is finalized yet, but I’ve been calling it ‘Carry You With Me.’”
Izzy lets out a soft snort of a laugh. “All I can imagine is a man carrying a woman over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.”
“Well, you can listen to me record the song and help me pick a better title while we’re there.”
When there’s silence on the line, I cut in before she can overthink it and refuse.
“It’ll be great. I’ll have my team set it up so my plane picks us up Saturday morning from the airport here in town, and then we can spend the weekend exploring in Nashville.
Flying you somewhere in my plane will definitely sell the dating ruse in town.
You know how much people get worked up around here when private planes land. ”
“They’ve gotten used to it now that there are two professional golfers flying in and out all the time,” Izzy replies.
“They’ll still talk about it. Plus, I have an amazing steam shower in my bathroom that I have big plans for.”
She laughs, and I feel like I’ve won something. “Big plans, huh?”
“Very big,” I say. “The heat is supposed to increase blood flow, which in turn makes nerve endings more sensitive…” I trail off, letting the implication hang in the empty space.
“That does sound…promising.”
“Come on. I’m texting Andre and Annie now.” I put the phone on speaker while I type. “There. Now if you don’t come, you’ll be letting them down.”
“Fine. But only because I don’t want to upset Andre…or your steam shower.”
“They’re both very needy,” I deadpan. “It’s a whole thing. Not Annie though, she’s a saint.”
“Well, thanks, Jaxon. It’ll be…fun to see what your life is like there.” Her tone changes as she says it, her voice sounding unbelievably sad as she says the word “fun.”