The Beginning of Us (7 page)

  Raegan and Luke walked up to our table. “Hey, Romeo and Juliet. Are y'all planning on making out at all? Don't wanna lose my lunch.” Raegan's tone oozed sarcasm and I gritted my teeth. She was starting to piss me off.

“Cut it out, Raegan,” I said. Both of Jax's eyebrows rose and he glanced at Raegan.

She didn’t reply. Instead she sat down next to me while Luke sat in front of her. “Sorry,” she muttered. When she glanced at me, her eyes were filled with sorrow. Instantly, guilt for snapping at her bombarded me and I wanted to figure out the deeper reasons for her resentment towards my new relationship. It sucked being a teenager.

***

Jax – Friday Night

“Shit, shit, shit!” I muttered under my breath facing my closet shirtless. I felt like a girl as I basically went through everything in my closet and most of it wound up heaped on my bed.

“Oh! You said a bad word!!” Roxy's high pitch voice came from the doorway.

“Sorry, baby girl. Don't tell Mom and Dad okay?” I apologized as she skipped into my room, her pigtails bouncing around, and jumped on my bed.

“Maybe if you pay me a penny.” Her dimples showed as she flashed me a mischievous grin. Here lately she was obsessed with money, but couldn't comprehend the value of all the small coins. She thought pennies were going to make her rich.

“I guess I can handle that.” I grabbed some change off my dresser and offered it to her. Her eyes lit up and it took both of her tiny hands to hold it. She ran out of my room and I heard her run down the hallway. In a split second she was back, hands empty.

“What ya doing anyway? Why did you say a bad word?”

I took a seat on my bed, pushing my clothes to the side. I loved my baby sister; she was so innocent and sweet. When she was born, I was eleven and hated the idea of having a screaming baby in the house. I was mad at my parents, at the world. I started getting in fights and that's when my dad put me in football to direct my anger somewhere else.

Then Roxy was born and I fell in love. One of the first days she was home, I heard her crying and crawled into my parents’ room. I always thought that babies were so weird looking, but to me she was beautiful. I picked her up and sat in my dad's rocker and talked to her about football. She wrapped her hand around my finger and cooed at me. From that moment, she had become my favorite person.

“I'm just frustrated, baby girl. I'm going on a date with a really cool girl and can't find anything to wear,” I confessed. Roxy snapped her head up, her eyes growing to saucers.

“You're going on a date? Where? What is y'all gonna do?”

I opened my mouth to answer her, but she interrupted, “And why do you care what you're gonna wear? Isn't that something only girls do silly?” She giggled and I couldn't help but laugh with her. She was right on.

“Yeah, I'm being a dork I guess.”

“I can help you pick out something. I'm a fashionvista.” she puffed out her chest with pride and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the mixed up word.

“Go for it then.”

She sat up on her knees and pawed through my clothes, inspecting each item carefully. The clothes she chose against ending up on my floor. With some shirts, she turned toward me and held them up to my chest. If she didn't like something her petite nose would crinkle and she would stick out her tongue.

In the end, she held out a baby blue American Eagle long sleeve shirt with red stars and stripes haphazardly thrown around. “This is the one. And you can wear those dark jeans with your red sneakers.”

I took the shirt and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I think that's perfect. Thank you for your help, baby girl.” She beamed at me before climbing off my bed.

“That's what I'm here for. ‘Cause boys are clueless and girls are smart.” She wandered over to my desk as I pulled the shirt over my head and started fiddling with a Spider Man bobble head. “Can I use this? My Barbie Rosa has to get married tonight.”

I stood up and swooped her into my arms as she laughed and hit my back, “Don't you know that Spider Man belongs to Mary Jane? He can't marry Rosa.” I tickled her tummy until she was breathless.

“Please! It's only for today!” she begged as I flipped her upside down. We roughhoused a little longer and finally she calmed down, grabbing my Spider Man and hiding it behind her back.

“All right, fine, take him. Bring him back after the wedding,” I conceded.

She saluted me and smiled. She turned to leave my room but stopped, “Hey Jaxon, can we go on a date soon? Me and you?” Her eyes were filled with hope and she absent-mindedly chewed on her bottom lip.

“Of course. We'll go see a movie, any one you want kiddo.” That brought another smile appear and she left satisfied with my answer.

I checked my watch and swore under my breath. I had 20 minutes to get dressed and pick up Teegan. I quickly dressed and headed out the door. My heart thundered like a herd of horses, I was nervous as hell. But I also couldn't wait to pick up my girlfriend.

Chapter Eight

Teegan

I opened the door after the bell rang and gasped. Jax looked amazing in his baby blue shirt and dark jeans. Coincidentally, we almost matched, as the shirt I picked out was similar in color. I had matched it with dark brown leggings.

My breath caught in my chest and I gave a small smile. “Hey good-looking.”

He tossed his hair back and grinned. Ugh, those damn dimples were going to be the death of me. I noticed he had one arm behind his back.

“I brought you a very cheesy, and overly-used cliché bouquet of flowers since this is an official date, girlfriend,” he said. With exaggerated slowness, he showed me a gorgeous basket of lilies, daisy poms and carnations that were every color of the rainbow.

“Oh my gosh!” I squealed. I reached greedily and brought my nose closer. They looked and smelled heavenly. “Now wait, this isn't very cliché because they're in a basket, boyfriend. But I accept your cheesy display of affection.” I winked and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. “Here, follow me while I go set these down.” I turned around and walked into the kitchen.

My back was still turned when I felt Jax's arms go around me. His warm breath tickled my ear as he buried his nose into my hair.

I wiggled around so I could face him. “Where are we going in this boring old town?” I whispered. I closed my eyes as he leaned in and kissed my forehead, spreading warmth throughout my body.

“How dare you call Seabrook boring? There are lots of places to go and things to do,” Jax mockingly scoffed at me.

“Not like Austin.” As soon as the words left my mouth I panicked. Shit, shit, shit! Austin was where we had originally met, at UT, but that was the future from now, not the past.

Confusion crossed his face for a brief second, but his lazy grin returned. “When have you been to Austin? You're not old enough to have fun on Sixth Street.”

“Just a couple times. My aunt lives there. Way more to do there than here; it's like a different world.” My answer sounded reasonable enough, but inside I was trembling. I hadn't had one slip up until now.

He nodded, then loosened his grip a tiny bit, “Well, you haven't been on a date with me yet. You're gonna have so much fun, by the end of the night you'll be saying, 'Austin's
so
boring compared to good old Sea B.'”

His lips collided with mine then. Our tongues met and swept across each other. The way our bodies responded to one another reminded me of our college years, how eager we had been to be so close. Those kinds of feelings eventually die down, but oh how they made you feel so alive.

We left shortly after and Jax seemed to be riding some kind of adrenaline high. He sang along with the Goo Goo Dolls’ 'Slide' which was hilarious because the boy could not sing, at all. He was so excited and I was too.

We drove to the other side of town and my heart skipped a beat when he parked in front of a building with a sign that said “Rollin'” and had two huge Rollerblades on the side.

“We're going skating?!” I squealed.

Jax nodded enthusiastically, his hair bouncing all over the place. “That cool?”

“Hell yes! I haven't been in forever!”

He leaned over and planted a kiss on the side of my mouth. “Let's go babe.”

As soon as we stepped inside, I felt like a kid again. There was loud music playing, muffled only slightly by the closed glass doors. Jax paid the girl at the counter and we took our skate tickets inside.

“Okay, so you gonna get the old school four wheels or the rollerblades?” Jax asked as he took my hand.

“Old school, and you?”

“Hmm, well, I do look good in either one, but I'll copy you and go old school this time,” he joked. I jabbed him in the ribs with my free hand.

We received out skates, laughing at how old both pairs looked and found a table to sit at so we could change into them.

There were kids everywhere and for a moment my heart tightened painfully, as Josie's freckled face came to mind. We hadn't taken her skating yet, but I didn't know why. It was something every kid should do often. I vowed if I made it back to my old life, then I would take my baby girl skating as soon as possible.

“Hello? Earth to Teeg.” Jax's voice broke me away from my reverie. My head snapped up and I gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, just thinking,” I said softly. “You know we're like the oldest people here to skate.”

He looked around and saw all the elementary school and the few middle school kids skating around. Parents were scattered around the table area, busy looking at their phones instead of their children. How many times did I look like that? I shook my head at such a sad thought and finished lacing up my skates.

Jax stood up quickly and glided around the table. I on the other hand was a tad bit wobbly, taking baby steps.

“Show off,” I muttered. He smiled in response then skated beside me.

“Come on, girlfriend; I won't let you fall.” His whisper in my ear made my heart flutter for a moment. I grabbed his warm hand and we were off.

The first couple trips around the rink were slow, with me getting the hang of the whole process. The little kids stared at me and Jax and he waved hello to most of them. He was really happy, his grin plastered on his face the whole time. I finally got the hang of it and we skated faster and faster. Different colored lights chased each other on the rink floor and the music was upbeat and sassy. A song by Pia Toscano called 'This Time' came on and I squeezed Jax's hand.

“Oh my gosh, I love this song!”

“It's a man-hatin' song!” he scoffed.

“Nah, it's an empowering, women-won't-take-no-crap song,” I rebuked. He made his way to where he was facing me, skating backwards.

“Ugh, you are
such
a show off!”

“Darlin’ I’m just trying to impress you,” he smirked and took my other free hand. As we skated around, I saw a few parents smile at us. Heat spread across my chest and made its way to my cheeks. The way Jax was so unashamed at being so overly sweet and cute towards me was astonishing.

He slowed down and turned back around. “I'm freakin' thirsty. I forgot how much of a workout this was. Let's go grab a drink.”

Taking a break, we sat side by side in the uncomfortable chairs and shared a drink. My feet and calves screamed at me, and I knew that tomorrow I would be paying for it. Happened
every
time. Jax was right; it was a workout, but it was actually a fun one.

“I bet they have that skate dance thing, where the guys and chicks line up on different sides and pick each other,” Jax said, looking out into the rink. A group of little girls was holding hands and moving slowly around. One almost fell and the rest of the line teetered along with her.

“What are you gonna do if some little girl comes picks you?” I asked, the thought making me smile.

“Jax Donney is a heartbreaker, but I can't break a little elementary girl's heart. You'll just have to take a back seat and wait your turn,” he joked. Rolling my eyes, I poked him again in his ribs.

“Well same goes for you if some little dude wants to skate with me,” I scolded. He turned toward me and leaned in. He made my body go on alert, being so close.

“As long as you keep your kisses for me and me alone, I'm cool with it,” he replied, brushing his lips across mine. He got closer to my ear and whispered, “A part of me wishes I hadn't picked such a public place to go. All I'm thinking about is making out with you, with you sitting on my lap like you did at the party.” He leaned back and smirked taking a drink. He knew exactly what to say to incite a reaction from me. I loved and hated it equally.

The rink DJ made an announcement for the hokey pokey and we went back to the rink. For the next hour we had so much fun, that my stomach was in knots from laughing so hard. When I fell on my ass at one point, Jax hurried to my side and picked me up. He held me close and asked if I was alright.

Embarrassed, all I could do was shake my head. It had knocked the wind out of me, but I didn't want to seem like a whiny brat. Nevertheless, he led me out of the rink and to a table.

“Just sit here for a minute. I'll be back,” he softly commanded, and he took off. When he came back he had another soft drink and offered it to me. “That was a tough fall. If you wanna leave, we can, babe.”

I shook my head no and gave him a small grin, “You still owe me that skate dance mister.”

He smiled back at me and kissed my nose.

“You have no freaking idea how damn adorable you are right now.”

Minutes later the DJ actually announced for guys to line up on one side and girls on the other and Jax beamed. “Ha! Let's go.”

He escorted me to my side of the rink and then glided over to his. He was the oldest guy lined up and I laughed out loud. I looked down each side of me and realized I was the oldest girl too and I laughed even harder.

'Breath Me' by Sia came on and it was the boys turn to choose first. Jax was the first one to leave the wall and skated to a stop right in front of me. He presented his hand and said, “My lady, may I have this skate?”