Page 18 of Anyone But Me

I spent Sunday morning writing down my goals for the week, picking out outfits, and doing chores around the apartment.

When I was satisfied with what I had achieved, I decided to walk to the cafe to read until Jax was done working.

I had been so busy with my own job the past week, I hadn’t been able to go.

I walked in and took my spot at the back of the line, but Jax noticed me almost immediately and motioned for me to take a seat at my usual spot. I had just sat down when Jax was standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. “What can I get you?” she asked.

I pointed to the long line of patrons who were now being helped by one of Jax’s coworkers. “You could make me wait in line and pay like everyone else. That way you don’t end up getting in trouble one of these days.”

Jax waved her hand as if it was no big deal. “I’ve been here for years. They’d never dream of firing me. Plus, I’m the shift manager. Who am I going to get in trouble with?”

This took me by surprise. I had no idea Jax held such a high position because she’d never mentioned it before. Plus, as one of the managers, I was surprised she was stuck taking orders so often. “Are you always the shift manager?”

“There are three of us who are shift managers, and I’m never scheduled at the same time as the others, so yeah. Whenever I’m here, I’m in charge.” She laughed and shook her head. “Kind of. My boss is in the back most of the time I’m here, but she doesn’t intervene unless something crazy goes down.”

“I had no idea. I’m surprised you never mentioned it.”

Jax shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. It’s just a title. It’s not nearly as impressive as working a job like yours.”

Did she really believe that or was she just being modest? Either way, I needed to let her know that I didn’t see it that way. “Well, I’m very impressed. Just for the record.”

“Good to know what it takes to impress you. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Jax winked at me, before becoming serious again. “For real, though. What can I get you?”

“I’m going to switch it up this time and do a frozen hot chocolate.”

“Great choice.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “We just got our pumpkin syrup in. I can make you my special fall frozen hot chocolate if you’re interested.”

My stomach rumbled just at the thought of that. “Yes, please. That sounds excellent.”

“It is.” Jax winked at me once again before skipping away.

A strange feeling fluttered through my stomach once again, and I told myself it was from the thought of the drink. That was the only reasonable explanation anyway.

I took out my book and started to read, and was interrupted a few minutes later when one of Jax’s coworkers came over with my drink. He sat it down on the table and gave me a shy grin before walking away.

I was about to take a sip when I realized there was a note written on it. Would have delivered this myself, but I had very important boss duties to fulfill ;)

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling (and blushing) at the cup. Jax would literally use any opportunity she could to flirt. It made me wonder how other girls she spent a lot of time with handled it. I’m sure with much more grace than me.

When I took a sip of the drink, a small moan escaped from the back of my throat. The strong flavors exploded in my mouth, causing an orgasm for my taste buds. It was like drinking all of the best parts of fall. Absolute perfection. Just like the girl who made it.

These thoughts made me blush, so I brought my book back up in front of my face. Each time I took another sip, though, it was impossible to keep these thoughts from creeping back into my head.

My internal battle between trying to read and fight away unwanted feelings continued for another hour until Jax sat down beside me with a thud. “This was such a busy weekend. Thank god I’m off tomorrow.”

She looked so tired, I felt bad about putting her to work as soon as we got home, but that was the only way we would be done at a reasonable hour. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to your cooking lesson tonight? I could make the meals this time, and you can join me for the next prep.”

Jax shook her head forcefully, her tiredness suddenly replaced by a look of determination. “You’re not getting me out of this. I’m doing my cooking lesson tonight, and I’m going to kill it.”

I closed my book and picked up my now empty cup. “In that case, shall we go?”

Jax jumped to her feet and reached her hand out toward me. “Let’s do it.”

I moved my book underneath my arm and accepted her outreached hand, ignoring the way mine tingled when we touched.

Luckily, for my sanity, she dropped my hand as soon as I was standing, and we walked home together, our conversation completely normal, as if I wasn’t having an internal battle between my head and my heart.

Once we made it back to our apartment, Jax went into her room to get changed.

When she came out, she was wearing gray sweatpants, a red T-Shirt, and a white apron that had “Kiss the chef” written on it and was covered with lipstick prints.

I bent over in laughter at the sight in front of me.

Jax was over the top about every little thing, and I was quickly learning that it was actually one of the things I really enjoyed about her.

“Why do you have an apron if you don’t cook?” I asked once I had stopped laughing enough to speak.

Jax ran her hands over the front of the apron. “This old thing?” she asked with a wink. “I bought it a day after we made my list. I’ve just been waiting for the perfect moment to reveal it to you.”

My laughter returned. I was finding that it was pretty hard not to laugh around Jax.

She made everything light and fun, which was just about the opposite of what I did.

“Well, it looks great on you.” Those words felt a little too honest leaving my mouth, so I chose my next words very carefully. “You look just like a real chef.”

Jax strutted across the room and stood next to me in the small kitchen. “You won’t be saying that after you see what a disaster I am in the kitchen.”

“I firmly believe that no one is actually terrible at cooking. There are definitely people who are much better at it, but in the end, if you can follow directions, you can cook,” I explained to her.

I wasn’t just saying it to give her added confidence.

It was true. I wouldn’t call myself a chef, or even a great cook, by any means.

I couldn’t make anything fancy, but I could make myself a dinner that wasn’t heated up in a microwave.

The reason for that was simply because I made myself do it.

“See, there’s the problem.” Jax moved even closer to me, leaving only a few inches of space between us. “I’m not very good at following directions.”

Before I could stop myself, I leaned in so our noses were practically touching. “Lucky for you, I am.”

Jax smirked and raised her eyebrows at me, making it impossible to pull away, even though I knew I should. “Are you flirting with me, Carter Miller-Cooper?”

Her teasing brought me back to reality and caused me to shoot backward, leaving as much space between me and Jax as the small kitchen allowed.

“No. I…” I picked a spot on the kitchen floor and stared at it so I couldn’t see Jax's face (and so she hopefully couldn’t tell how red my face was). “I wasn’t. I promise.”

Jax laughed as if she found glee in my fumbling. “I know. I’m just messing with you.” She bent down and tilted her head so she was now looking at me. “It’d be totally okay if you were though. I might even like it a little bit.”

I chuckled and pushed her shoulder, which caused her to tumble away from me. “Let’s just get to cooking, okay?”

Jax stood straight up and saluted me. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Why does everything she does have to be so cute? I shook my head at myself. Nope. Not thinking about that. Focus on cooking, Carter.

“So, does that head shake mean I’m not supposed to do whatever you say?”

Shit. Busted. Panic rose up inside of me since I couldn’t admit why I actually shook my head. “No. I mean yes. I mean no. Ugh.” I threw my hand on my forehead. “You’re infuriating. You know that, right?”

Jax simpered as if she knew exactly what was going on inside my head, which I really hoped she didn’t. “I have been told that a time or two. But back to my question. Should I or should I not do what you say?”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and tried my best to appear tough, which was almost impossible for me. “You need to do everything I say.”

Jax licked her lips before biting the bottom one. “Yes, ma’am. This is going to be fun.”

We are two roommates cooking together. That is all. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the way it quivered when I let it out. “So much fun.”

It turned out we were right. Teaching Jax how to cook was a lot of fun. It was actually more fun than I expected it to be. We started with the easiest meal which was prepackaged ravioli and marinara sauce.

After convincing Jax there was really no way she could mess up boiling water, she filled a pot, turned on the stove, and placed it on the burner.

“You’re right. I’m a pro at this,” Jax said before attempting to lean cockily against the kitchen counter. The problem was that her hand wasn’t going in the direction of the counter at all.

“Jax! Watch out!” My eyes widened and my heart raced as I reached out to grab Jax’s hand before it landed on the hot stove.

Luckily, I grabbed it just in time, and Jax’s eyes went just as wide as mine when she realized what almost happened. “Shit. That was close.” She stared down at our intertwined fingers. “I can’t believe I almost lost my hand.”

I tried to hold back my laugh, but it was no use. It burst out of me before I could stop it. “That’s a bit dramatic. It would have hurt like hell and could have been badly burned, but chances are you wouldn’t have lost it.”