Page 50 of Fierce-Jax

“Oh boy,” she said. “And you stuck up for her?”

“I did. The mean girl of the class—Anna, I think—she always had something horrible to say to Bethany. Then when I told Anna to leave Bethany alone, she went off telling everyone that I had a crush on Bethany and was a chubby lover.”

He even lowered his voice in embarrassment now to say those two words. “Yikes,” she said. “Talk about a touchy situation.”

“It could have been if Roni hadn’t told everyone that Anna secretly had a crush on me and that is why she said that. It was out of jealousy.”

“Oh,” she said. “Good for Roni. Though that goes against everything I just lectured Gianna on last night.”

“I’ll have to hear this,” he said. “So I can get the spotlight off of me.”

“It’s about the same as what you went through only these kids are younger.” She told Jax what happened last Thursday after their date and how she handled it. “I felt bad that Gianna cried, but she has to understand right from wrong too. I think they are never too young to learn.”

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m glad to know we think alike. I was mad at Roni for doing that. I didn’t think embarrassing Anna solved anything. Months later I found out Anna’s parents were getting divorced. She didn’t have the best home life. Probably had no control over things there and was trying to exhibit that at school. It doesn’t justify it, but it goes to show no one knows what another person has going on in their life.”

“I’m a good example of it,” she said. “Very few would ever feel sorry for me.”

“You wouldn’t want them to,” he said. “No more than I’d ever want someone to feel sorry for me either.”

“Exactly that,” she said, pointing her fork at him. “Are you going to kiss me after this date?”

He coughed on his bite of food. The question came out of left field, but why not?

“Do you want me to?”

“Yep,” she said. “I do. I’m done waiting for other people in my life. Well, I stopped being done a long time ago. I’ve waited long enough to date and if the pace of our first date is any indication, I’m not sure I want to wait weeks for our first kiss. Or are you afraid that there’d be no spark? I can assure you there is one on my end and the way you look at me tells me you feel the same.”

There went that cute flush to his handsome face.

He even had a little bit of a five o’clock shadow going.

Wonder how he’d look with some facial hair.

Hot. That’s how he’d look.

“Then I guess you’ve got your answer,” he said.

An hour later, she was walking into her home again, her mother in the kitchen, Gianna nowhere to be found.

“How was your date?” her mother asked.

“What?” she asked, the smile gone from her face.

“Dillion, I know my daughter.” She looked around the house. “Don’t worry, Gianna is in the front room watching a movie. She can’t hear us.”

She sat down on a chair at the island. “How do you know I went on a date?”

Her mother sat next to her. “Do we need coffee for this?”

“Yes,” she said, getting up and making two cups and bringing them back. She needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

She’d put it all out there again tonight.

She was too old to play games.

If there was a chance something could work between her and Jax, she wanted to know sooner rather than later. Otherwise, she’d just move on.

“Tell me about your date now that you’ve worked it out in your mind.”