7. JAX - HONEY
JAX - HONEY
The crowds are crazy out here today. A bunch of drunk people dressed head to toe in green, with oversized hats and glasses with green and white striped leggings and socks.
Knox’s head is bouncing back and forth through the crowd as he makes his way over to us with an arm full of beers in leprechaun shoes with clear legs attached.
Idiot.
A smile pulls across my lips as I watch him get closer and closer.
It’s hard not to be jealous of him sometimes. With the shit he’s seen and experienced, he just has a positive attitude and outlook on life. It’s like nothing ever bothers him and he’s never worried about anything.
Things are going to work out. That’s what he always says and they do for him. He’s just a lucky son of a bitch.
My eyes dart over to Ev, who has her arms looped between Beckett and Will's, and she’s looking up at her brother with the biggest smile spread across her face. She’s so happy he’s here. Every time he’s here. There’s this connection they seem to have that’s almost like that twin vibe you hear about, but obviously they aren’t twins.
This is good for her. Having him here.
Even though she hasn’t talked about it much, I know the fact she’s not pregnant yet worries her. Maybe not at first because she knew it was going to take some time, but after Valentine’s, I know she was hopeful.
Last week we were running low on toilet paper, so I stuck into her bathroom because I know she likes to keep a few rolls hidden and I found several tests in her trash. I couldn’t stop myself. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I picked up a few and looked at them. Negative.
I was bummed and Knox found me a little while later and somehow got me to talk. It’s like this gift he has that just gets me to open up. It’s also why he was our go to interrogator in the SEALs. His ability to extract information was unheard of.
He told me it would all work out and that it’s just not our time yet and things happen for a reason. And I believe that. I do. But for so long, I didn’t want kids and now that I do… it’s like I don’t want to wait.
“Here we are!” Knox announces, offloading beers to everyone.
He was just going to look and see what they had, so I don’t know what changed.
“Dudes and my lady.” He tosses his shoulder up and winks at Ev. “It was chaos, so I got us all the beer special so we didn’t have to go back and wait in that crazy line.”
“It’s green,” I mumble, looking at it.
“Oh, stop crabby patty.”
“Just making a statement,” I say, lifting it to my lips.
“So, where are these jumpy houses?” Beckett asks, taking another sip of his drink.
“You can’t be serious,” Ev chuckles.
“Of course I’m not…” His words fall off at the end and he cuts his eyes at Knox like a kid who just walked into a candy store, but has been told he can’t get anything.
“How are your parents?” I point to the sidewalk along the edge of the road under an awning. The bustling street makes me feel like a boulder in the middle of a stream.
I know Ev was excited to come down here, and Knox too, but damn it. I hate it. All the people and noise and… just everything. Callum, too. I know he’s cringing because it’s not an easily controllable environment. Emmett just goes along for the ride, so he’s a horrible tie breaker.
“They’re good. Excited to see everyone in a couple of weeks. Mom’s been talking about the egg toss. You know.” He points his finger at me. “The fact she’s so eager to see Ev and I lose is a little concerning.”
Knox throws his arm around Beckett’s neck. “Well, if you need any pointers for this year, let me know.”
Beckett pushes him off. “Give me a break. You got lucky.”
“Dude, you totally botched the throw to Ev.”
“Did I?” His brow quirks. “Perhaps I threw the game to test out a little theory.”
“You didn’t.” Her words are low and her tone is shocked.
That evil genius.
He shrugs. “I’ll never admit to anything.”
I can’t help but smile. He’s a dumbass like Knox, but a good man.
We stand on the sidewalk trying to figure out where we’re going to go next and end up finishing our beer. Not contributing anything to the conversation, simply because I don’t care, I offer to go wait in line to get us more drinks. Hopefully, by the time I get back, they’ll have decided on food or games and please God, not dancing. There’s some sort of clogging stomping sound echoing between some buildings and I feel like it’s a siren call to Ev and Knox and then my ass will get dragged into the middle of it because where she goes, I go. But damn it. I don’t want to have any part of that.
“Hey! Watch it, buddy.” My arms prickle when I recognize that voice filtering over the crowd. Lizzy.
“You watch it.” A man responds with a deep voice and a tone I don’t like.
Gaze flickering across the heads of people around me, I spot her- them, near the front of the line. She’s turned back in line, waiting patiently, but some drunk asshole in a green shirt with the sleeves ripped off is pressing his chest against her shoulder. She’s trying her best to ignore him, but he’s an idiot who was never taught manners.
“Will you please back up?” She turns to him and gives him all the sass she can muster.
“How about you go?”
Her brows furrow in confusion. “Maybe you should pass on the beer. My two-year-old niece could come up with a better retort than that.”
The man steps forward again and pulls his fist up.
Damn it.
Well, if I beat some guy's face in today, that would make this whole thing a lot more fun.
I step out of line and push through the crowd with ease. They feel like weeds in my path. Plentiful in numbers, but easy to pluck out of the way.
My hand wraps around the man's wrist, who is still holding his arm over his head, stepping at Lizzy, trying to scare her. This man is easily twice her size, but surprisingly, she doesn’t flinch. She has some balls on her, that’s for sure.
“Hey honey,” I say from behind the man.
Her eyes look up to meet mine and I can see the stress melt from her shoulders. Most wouldn’t be able to see it, but I can. I know her. Like a splinter that has worked its way into your finger and no matter how hard you try to remove it, you just can’t quite get to it.
“Hey.” She smiles and lets out a breath.
“Is everything ok?”
The man, a little slow on the uptake, speaks with fury. “If you don’t let me go, then I’ll…” his words fall off when he turns around and is eye to nipple with me. I shouldn’t feel the amount of joy I do when I watch all the emotions flitter across the man's face, landing on terror.
“Sorry. What were you saying?”
“Man. You need to get this bitch checked.”
My hand slides up his arm to his hand and I grab his fingers and bend them backwards until he is on his tiptoes, screaming.
“Fuck! Man!”
“You don’t call her a bitch. Or any woman, for that matter. You don’t push up on a woman or try to intimidate them with your size. It doesn’t make you a stronger man, but a weaker one. And you sure as shit don’t hit or threaten to hit. Because when that happens, I have to step in and I don’t enjoy stepping in, because sometimes I lose control with jackasses and I was really trying to have a good day here without losing control.” I press down on his fingers until he’s standing higher on his toes and screaming out again.
“Is there a problem over here?” A uniformed police officer walks up to us.
“I don’t have a problem. Do you have a problem?” I ask the dickhead.
“No. No. No. No problem.”
“See officer. No problem. I was just reminding this man of his manners.” I release his hand and pat him on the back, at the same time he holds his hand and tries to rub the ache out of it.
The officer doesn’t move, but watches us, then looks at Lizzy and nods his head.
“Can I buy you a drink?” I offer to the officer.
“I’m on duty.”
“I’m sure they have water or something else. It’s probably going to be a long day out here.” My eyes fall back on numb nuts who’s still soothing his hand. Poor guy won’t be able to jack off with it tonight without thinking of me.
“No, thank you. Just try to make it easier on us and stay out of trouble.”
“I have no intentions of causing a problem, officer.” I have every intention of ending one, though, should the need arise. But I don’t think he needs to hear that.
“Next,” the bartender calls out.
I usher Lizzy forward. She props her arms on the little ledge, stands on her tiptoes and orders. The officer takes a few steps away, but is still watching us, rather, douchecanoe.
She orders her drink and I get several more beers and order a water for my new friend.
On the way over to the group, she looks up at me for a second but doesn’t speak. Gratitude and happiness cross her face, but the last is a mischievous little grin and before she opens her mouth, I know I’m about to regret stepping in and saving her. “Thanks for earlier.”
There’s a long pause and I don’t speak because I know she’s not done, so I wait. I wait for the other shoe to kick me in my balls, because it’s Lizzy.
“Honey.” She throws her head back, laughing.
There it is.
“I knew you liked me. I mean, I didn’t think you loved me, but hey, I’m game if Ev is.” She laughs again.
Ev’s face pulls into a smile as she watches us walk up, wondering what is going on. Me too, Ev. Me, too.
“Looks like you may have to share boo boo,” Lizzy says, giving Ev a hug.
“Oh lord. What happened?”
“Jax called me honey.”
“Shut the front door.” Beckett’s mouth drops. “Why? How? Deets!” Beckett grabs her arm, spinning her around.
How is it I attract a gaggle of chatty Knoxs? It’s like the longer they’re around him he just embeds… him, his personality, into them and they replicate. Like a virus or something.
“Nothing too exciting. I was just minding my business, and he was so excited to see me. Walked right up and said hey honey. Completely took me by surprise.”
“I bet it did. If that’s what happened.” Ev smiles, popping her brow on her forehead, not buying the story.
“Well, I may have left out some key pieces of information.”
“You don’t say,” Callum chimes in, taking a beer from me.
“A man may have been a little drunk and got a little close to me and I told him to back up. He may have snapped at me, so I snapped back and then he may have tried to scare me. And then maybe, just maybe, this handsome devil walked over.”
She pats me on the chest, and all I can do is chuckle.
“You should have seen it. The other guy nearly shit his pants when he turned around. He’s too drunk to stop running his mouth, but I thought he was going to piss himself. Classic.”
“Where’s Tony?” Ev asks.
Lizzy’s face drops. “Oh shit! I was supposed to get him a drink, then go back.” She laughs again. “One of your men calls me honey and I forget where I am, what day it is, and who I’m engaged to. No wonder why you spend most of your time on your back in bed, or upright, or in swings, or on rope, or-”
“Fuck Lizzy!” Ev slaps at her, the cutest hint of pink tinging her cheeks when she looks at me.
I toss her a quick wink, and a new wave of pink crawls up her chest.
“I need to go find Tony.”
“No need,” Tony says, walking up to the group. “When you didn’t come back, I figured you left me for Ev. Even after we’re married, I’ll still be waiting for the day.” He laughs.
“I don’t know. Maybe Jax now. He called me honey.”
Tony looks at me and I can’t help but roll my eyes and shake my head.
“Well, as long as it’s not Knox. He’s too chipper.” Tony laughs and steps out of reach of Knox’s swing.
“Man. Not cool. I thought we were bros.” Knox puckers out his bottom lip and crosses his arms.
“I’m kidding.” He turns to me. “Thank you, Jax, for stepping in and saving Lizzy. I don’t know what she did, but I’d have to assume she ran her mouth a little too much to the wrong person.”
“Hey!” She slaps his chest, and the crowd laughs.
“It’s such a cute little mouth, though.” Tony grabs her under the chin and pulls her in, kissing her.
“Thank you, daddy,” she whispers, when he pushes her away. She takes a sip of beer and says, “He could have called me honey on his own though, unable to hide his pent-up feelings for me any longer.”
“He could have.” Tony loops his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. “But if that’s the case, I would be forced to fight for you, because I’m not losing you and… he would probably kill me. Man’s a beast.” He kisses the tip of her nose and if hearts could pulse out of her eyes, they would. They are completely smitten with each other. It’s almost nauseating to look at, but then I think about Ev and Emmett and while I’ll be damned if hearts ever pulse from my eyes, it would be close.
My eyes fall to Ev, who is just beaming with happiness as she watches her best friend and all feels right with the world.
“Now what?” Knox claps.
“We have tonight and then head out super early tomorrow morning, so do with us what you want.” Beckett laughs. “Within reason. I know how you kinky fuckers like to play.”
“Fire daddy Becks!” Knox teases running his hand down Becketts arm before jumping on his back for only a second. “We have the gang all here. I say we go clogging or river dancing or whatever they are doing on those boards at the end of the street. It’s like the beat of their feet is calling to me.” He throws his arms out like a zombie and starts walking away.
“Idiot,” I sigh.
The crowd laughs, and for some reason, we all naturally follow him.
It’s what we do. We follow Knox.