Page 14 of Anyone But Me

“So, where are we going?” I asked Jax as we took a rideshare to the airport. Jax hadn’t told me what I owed her for this trip yet, so I couldn’t even use that to try to guess where we might be headed.

“That’s a great question.”

I watched as Jax typed Cheap last minute flights into her phone. My eyes practically shot out of my head. There was no way. She had to be joking. Right? “Please tell me you know where we’re going.”

“I could tell you that, but I don’t like to lie, so I won’t.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was just after 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Jax had to be back at work at 6 a.m. on Saturday, and we were headed to the airport with no destination in mind.

How is she not freaking out right now? I was freaking out enough for both of us.

I had to put my sweaty palms against my knees to keep my legs from nervously bouncing.

“Oh!” Jax said suddenly, causing me to jump. “There’s a sixty-five dollar flight to Orlando that leaves in two hours. We could spend a day at Disney World.”

“ Disney World? ” Now I knew she had to be lying. We went to Disney multiple times growing up and each trip was planned out months ahead of time.

Jax shrugged. “If you’re not a fan, we don’t have to. It was just a thought.”

“I love Disney World. I just don’t think it’s a trip you do on a whim.”

“Even more reason to do it on a whim.”

“Fine.” I forced the word out between pursed lips. I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this. “But since we’ll really only have time for one park, I think we should look up which one will be the least crowded tomorrow.”

“Which park is your favorite?” Jax asked as she typed away on her phone, most likely buying tickets for a flight that we should have already arrived at the airport for.

“Magic Kingdom, but I’m sure—”

“Cool. Magic Kingdom it is,” Jax said before I could finish my argument.

I shut my mouth, because there was no point in arguing with her. Jax was probably the most stubborn person I’d ever met. There was no way she was going to back down once she made up her mind about something.

When we got to the airport, we were able to go right to security since we had both brought along carry-on size bags at Jax’s request. It was hard since I had no idea what to pack, but Jax had convinced me to bring exactly what I would have worn if we stayed home.

I resisted the temptation to keep checking the time to make sure we’d get to our flight on time. This trip was supposed to be about flying by the seat of my pants. If we didn’t make the flight, so be it.

Jax bounced up and down beside me in the line for security. “This is going to be so much fun. I’ve always wanted to go to Disney.”

“Wait. You’ve never been to Disney?” This felt like a big deal.

It was definitely something that should be planned out.

Jax deserved that for her first experience.

She deserved to be making the trip with a family member or close friend, not her best friend’s sister.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before we bought these plane tickets? ”

Jax laughed. “Because I predicted exactly what’s going through your mind right now.”

“And what would that be?” I challenged, because there was no way she actually knew what I was thinking.

“You think my first experience should be more special. But if you ask me, this trip is pretty damn special. We’re both doing something we’ve never done before. I’m going to Disney for the first time, and you’re doing an unplanned trip.”

“Okay, so you did know what I was thinking.” I had no clue how she did that. “Is there a reason you never went?”

Jax shrugged. “My parents owned a beach house in South Carolina, so that’s where we spent most of our time over the summer. And then I became an adult and could plan my own trips, but my friends weren’t really trying to take vacations to Disney World.”

“Where do you normally go on vacations now?”

“The beach still. Or anywhere with a music festival.” Jax’s face lit up. “Speaking of which, tickets go on sale soon for one in Vegas in January. Do you want to go?”

“Do I really have a choice?” I asked with a laugh. I knew I did, but I also knew Jax could convince me to go even if I didn’t think I wanted to.

“Not if you want to complete the list,” Jax said smugly. “I’m doing great with mine. Not to brag, but I’ve already messaged a few girls on the dating app.”

My stomach flipped as if her words had triggered my anxiety, but it was one of those times when I didn’t know what I was so anxious about.

Jax had done two things from her list so far, and I was on the second thing from my list. Technically, I had kind of done three of them since I was actively working on my book, a task that seemed to get easier with each passing day. It’s not like I was way behind.

I held onto my stomach as we moved through security. “Any dates planned?”

“No. I’m trying to get to know them before I decide if they’re worthy of a date.”

I knew she was joking around, but I hoped Jax actually made sure these girls were worthy of dating her, because she deserved the best. In just a month of living together, it was obvious how special she was. I didn’t want her to give her big heart away to just anyone.

Before we could continue this conversation, it was our turn to go through security. The line was so long that by the time we were through, we had to rush to make it to our gate just in time for them to do the final boarding call.

I laughed harder than I could ever remember as Jax and I stumbled onto the airplane. This wasn’t something I wanted to do all the time (or ever again), but there was a certain rush to not knowing if we would make it that had my adrenaline racing in a way that was actually kind of fun and exciting.

I let out a long sigh as we sat down in our seats. “That was… something.”

“Admit it. You kind of loved it.” Jax smiled at me and my stomach flipped again, but this time felt different than the anxious flip from before.

What the hell? What was that all about?

“Oh! When they come around, we should have a snack,” Jax said, her eyes wide and voice high-pitched as if it was the most exciting idea in the world. “We forgot to eat lunch.”

That’s what was going on with my stomach. It was nice to know there was a logical explanation. “Definitely. I’m starving.”

Once we were safely in the air, we ordered overpriced snacks and Bloody Marys.

I don’t know if it was the fact that I barely ever drank, something about the elevation, or maybe just the company, but by the time the pilot announced we would be starting our final descent, it was as if I was intoxicated.

I couldn’t stop giggling as Jax pointed out of the plane window and made up stories about the buildings and the people inside.

“What about the house with the pool?” I asked as I reached past Jax to point out the window.

Jax grabbed my hand and used it to point at three different places. “Do you mean that one, that one, or that one?”

“Yes,” I said with a giggle.

Jax laughed along with me as if my joke was actually funny. “Definitely a family of five. Probably two moms, because why not? The oldest daughter is straight, bless her heart, and instead of enjoying the pool with the rest of the family, she’s laying on the side texting her boyfriend.”

I laughed so hard I snorted, which made no sense since this really shouldn’t have been as funny as we were both making it out to be.

“No! You snort when you laugh really hard?” Jax asked between her own laughter. “I love that so much.”

I instinctively put my hand over my mouth and nose. “I do, but I hate it.”

Jax pulled my hand away. “You shouldn’t. It’s cute. I wasn’t kidding. I really do love it.”

She held my hand for another few seconds before dropping it, and I immediately felt the loss.

Have I really been without human contact for so long that a girl touching my hand has this effect on me?

I didn’t have time to harp on that question because the plane landed at that moment, pushing these thoughts from my head. Thank god.

The only problem was that worry was immediately replaced by another one. “Wait. We don’t have anywhere to stay.”

“You’re right.” Jax shrugged as if this was no big deal. “I’ll find something now.”

“It’s summer! What if we can’t find anything?”

Jax turned to face me completely and put her hands on my arms, which was strangely calming. “Just breathe, okay? I’ll find us something. I promise.” Jax smirked. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll even be able to find a room that has two beds.”

Blood rushed to my face at the thought of being forced to share a bed. I’m not sure why this was my immediate reaction. It’s not like I hadn’t shared a bed before. Olivia and I had shared more times than I could count. Sharing with Jax shouldn’t be any different than that.

Jax’s boisterous laughter brought me back to the present moment.

“You’ve been reading too many romance books.

I was kidding. It’s not that hard to find a room with two beds.

I honestly think it’s harder to find a room with one.

” She removed her hand from my arm to type into her phone, then held it out toward me.

“All booked. Two nights. Two queen beds. Happy?”

“Of course. I wasn’t worried.”

We both knew it was a lie, but Jax didn’t address it. Instead, she stood and motioned for me to get off of the plane. “Our hotel has a restaurant. Want to get a ride over there and get something to eat while we’re waiting for our room to be ready?”

“Sounds great.” As if on cue, my stomach growled at that very moment, causing us both to laugh.