Page 22 of Anyone But Me

I was about to open the door to my apartment after completing my sixth week of work, when it was opened for me.

Jax was standing in front of me with Speck in her arms and a huge grin on her face.

“You’re going to be so proud of me. I have all of Speck’s things packed for his weekend at his grandparents’ house and I have my bag packed as well.

All of our things are already in the car, so I’m good to help you in whatever way you need me to. ”

To say I was shocked would be an understatement.

I expected to come home to find Jax running around trying to find the clothes she wanted to take.

I figured I would have to get all of Speck’s things together, which was fine since he technically belonged to me.

Jax definitely didn’t have to take as much responsibility for him as she was.

For the past three weeks, she had pretty much split responsibility with me.

If she got home from work before me, she would clean his pee pad, then take him outside for a walk.

Many mornings, by the time I woke up, he had already been fed.

We traded off cooking responsibilities depending on Jax’s work schedule for the week and spent most nights snuggled on the couch with Speck in between us.

My plan to get my companionship through Speck seemed to be working, because my feelings weren’t creeping up on me anymore, even with Jax just on the other side of Speck on the couch.

Instead of my heart racing, I just felt content and comfortable.

Clearly, the feelings I thought I was feeling were simply a desire to be close to someone.

Jax and I were friends. Speck was our dog.

Life was as close to perfect as it could get.

“Did I shock you into silence?” Jax asked with a laugh. “I think I lost you.”

“Sorry. You definitely did. You shocked me in the best way.”

“Perfect. That was my goal.” Jax stepped to the side so I could walk in. “So, what do you need from me?”

“I’m actually good. I already have my bag packed as well because I was expecting to need to help you and Speck when I got home.”

“In that case, do you want to head out now?” Jax looked down at the watch on her wrist. “Once we’re in the car, we could call your moms to see if they want to wait for us to have a late dinner. Are Ronan and his family getting in tonight?”

I smiled at the reminder that my whole family was going to be together this weekend.

It was actually much easier than I expected to convince Ronan to visit our moms when he found out I was going.

“They are, but not until much later. We probably won’t see them until Saturday afternoon or evening.

I think they are going to leave Duncan with my moms and come meet us in the city for dinner and drinks. ”

Duncan was my six-month-old nephew and my mothers’ only grandchild, so he was naturally very spoiled.

Jax put her hand on her chest. “Duncan isn’t coming to dinner? I better get to see him at some point. I want to pinch those little cheeks of his.”

I knew Jax meant that, and it made my heart warm.

When she was just Olivia’s friend and not mine, I didn’t appreciate how much my family meant to her.

It was sweet how invested she was in her friendship with Olivia that she truly cared about our whole family.

It had always been that way, and I wasn’t sure why it took me this long to realize it.

“He’s not, but you’ll see him on Sunday as long as you’re okay with not getting back until later in the day on Sunday. My moms want to have all of us over to their house for a cookout.”

“Do you really think I would mind that? I love your family. This is going to be great. I am surprised you’re okay with staying on Sunday. I figured you’d have to prepare for the week.”

I pointed at myself. “New Carter, remember?” Plus, I already picked out all of my outfits for the week.

Jax stared at me for a long time until a cocky grin came onto her face. “You already have everything prepared for next week, don’t you?”

How the hell did she know that? Did she look in my room? I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “No. I didn’t prepare our meals.”

Jax crossed her arms as well. “That’s because we don’t do that anymore.” She nodded toward my closed bedroom door. “Let me guess. If we went in there right now, we would find your outfits for the week laid out on your bed.”

“Ha! Nope.” I lowered my voice before adding, “They’re hanging in my closet.”

Jax laughed heartily, but it didn’t feel like she was laughing at me, but rather, with me. I laughed along with her before slapping her back. “Should we head out?”

Even with getting stuck in traffic trying to leave New York, the drive still went by quickly.

No matter how much I tried not to, I found myself constantly sneaking peeks at Jax and Speck in the passenger seat of my car.

It was a much better view than I wanted to admit and had my heart constantly skipping a beat.

As soon as we pulled onto the driveway of my parents’ house, the front door flew open, and both of my moms ran out with their arms outstretched as if they were each desperate for a hug.

Jax pointed at them and chuckled. “See. This is why I love your moms so much. They’re the best ever. I hope I can be like them someday.”

Before I could answer, Jax took off her seatbelt and jumped out of the car with Speck still in her arms. She reached my mama first and the two of them hugged, squishing Speck in between them.

When they pulled apart, Jax spoke animatedly, and my mama took Speck from her and laughed as he kissed her incessantly.

The scene pulled me in, and I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away until there was a knock on my window. I turned to see my mom standing outside of my car and opened the door for her.

“I better get as big of a hug as Jax gave your mama,” she joked as I took off my seatbelt.

I got out of the car and pulled my mom tight up against me. It had been over two months since I saw my moms, but two months felt like years. I rested my head against my mom’s shoulder and didn’t pull away until there was a tap on my own shoulder.

I found my mama standing there with her arms now outstretched toward me. “Where’s my hug?”

“Right here.” I grabbed my mama and held her just as tightly as I had held my mom. “I really missed you.”

“Aw, sweetie. We missed you too.” My mama gave me an extra squeeze before pulling away. She kept her hands on my arms and stayed like this for a few seconds. “I swear you’ve gotten taller since the last time I saw you. Did you get taller? Or maybe just more mature? Are you growing?”

I snorted out a laugh from my mama’s questions. “I’m twenty-eight. I don’t think I’m having any growth spurts at this point.” I did feel like I had grown as a person, but I wasn’t going to get into that while standing in my parents’ driveway.

My mama chuckled and dropped her hands. “Maybe it’s because you’re a mother now.”

I looked over to where my mom was now meeting Speck. She and Jax were laughing together as he twirled in circles at their feet as if he couldn’t decide who to focus his attention on. “He’s a good dog.”

My mom watched them with me. “He reminds me of Patch. Well, in looks at least. I wouldn’t have exactly ever called Patch a good dog . We loved that little asshole though. Did I ever tell you about the time he ate our wedding invitations? We had to invite everyone through a Facebook event.”

“No!” My moms had told us so many stories about their relationship, I was surprised I had never heard that one.

My mom put an arm around my shoulder. “Oh yeah. I’ll tell you about it later, but first, I want to hear everything about your new job.”

We spent the next hour talking to my moms about work, life in New York, and Speck. My mom shared her own stories of all the years she lived in New York with my Uncle Jamie, and my mama talked about the first pediatric optometry practice she owned, which was also in New York City.

When Olivia and Quinton arrived much later than expected, we finally had dinner.

Watching Olivia and Jax interact during dinner reminded me why the feelings I thought I might be feeling could never go beyond a fleeting thought.

It might have worked out okay (well, much better than just okay) for my moms, but dating a sibling’s best friend was a slippery slope.

Not that it mattered anyway, since Jax would never in a million years see me that way.

It didn’t matter how many exciting list items I completed. I would never be on her level.

After dinner, we went with Olivia and Quinton back to their house.

The place they were renting was a cute little townhouse in the Spring Garden area of Philadelphia.

It was so late by the time we arrived, we all headed to bed pretty quickly.

After arguing over it, I finally gave in and took the guest room and Jax slept on the pull out couch.

The next morning, Quinton made us breakfast. After eating, Jax and I changed into the white T-Shirts and shorts we had picked out for the run.

It probably wasn’t the best outfit for early October, but it was at least an unseasonably warm day for this time of year.

Luckily, the race start was just over a twenty-minute walk from Olivia and Quinton’s apartment, so we wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone who was willing to drive us home after we were covered with colors.

“Ready to go?” Jax asked when we met at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hold on,” Olivia said from behind me. “I need to get a picture of you two. You look so cute in your matching outfits.”

“Okay, Mom,” I teased. Our mom had been obsessed with taking pictures of even the smallest occasions. She actually still was, so I already figured she’d probably end up taking one of the three of us at the cookout the next day.