Page 6 of Anyone But Me
She nodded a bunch of times. “Yep. I mean, it’s a sugar cookie latte, so there’s only so much you can do with the recipe, but I added my own special touch to it. That’s what makes it so good.”
“And what is that special touch?” I couldn’t help but smile. The happiness that radiated from Jax was contagious.
“You’ll have to stick around a little longer to get that secret out of me, roomie.” Jax winked, and it made my stomach flip.
Shit . I hated the way my body reacted to pretty girls.
It was probably because it had been so long since I had been with anyone.
My ex was my only. Only girlfriend, only kiss, only sexual partner.
Six years of complete celibacy was destined to do this to a girl.
It was fine, though. I didn’t have time for any of that.
I just had to deal with the fact that I was constantly on edge because of it.
“Speaking of being roomies, how is your first full day in New York City going?”
I thought about the blank “New Carter” list, and for the first time since arriving at the cafe, I wished I was back at the apartment so I could finally make some notes.
I didn’t want to waste even one day of my new life.
I wasn’t going to share that with Jax though, so I simply shrugged.
“It’s pretty good. I’d call finding my favorite cafe on day one a success.
” It wasn’t a lie. I knew I’d be spending a lot of time here. I loved the atmosphere so much.
Jax looked around before setting her eyes on mine once again.
“It’s pretty great, right? Are you hungry?
Do you like grilled cheese? You’d think grilled cheese is just grilled cheese no matter where you get it, but I’m telling you, here, it’s special.
If you’re even the littlest bit hungry, you should try it. You won’t regret it.”
It took my brain a few seconds to catch up to everything Jax had just said since she was talking at a mile a minute. “I am pretty hungry. I actually wanted to ask you where you normally get your groceries. I texted Olivia, but she hasn’t answered yet.”
“There’s a local grocery store between here and the apartment that I normally hit up on my way home from work. I pretty much only buy what I need for the next day or two, and since the extent of my cooking is microwaved meals, there’s never too much in the fridge. Sorry about that. Do you cook?”
“I’m not amazing at it, but I try to cook as much as I can. It’s hard when you’re only cooking for one. Most recipes have more than one person in mind. I normally end up having a lot of leftovers.”
Jax chuckled. “I get that. It’s why I normally just grab something quick to eat.
Olivia couldn’t cook either, so even when we ate together, we normally just picked something up or heated our own individual meals.
” Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Quinton is a great cook though. I loved whenever he visited your sister, because he would cook for us, and it was always so good. I think that might be one of the most important factors for a successful relationship—one person who is able to cook. I’m no relationship expert, but I bet it would suck if neither person could cook. ”
Jax had packed so much information into one breath, I had no idea how to respond. “Do you mind telling me how to get to the grocery store?”
“No problem.” Jax looked up at the clock. “I have two hours left here. Not sure if you had other plans, but if you want to stay in this general vicinity, we could go there together after I get off.”
Wow. Jax was really jumping into this roommate relationship. I just hoped she wasn’t expecting me to be her stand-in best friend in place of Olivia, because I was sure she would be sadly disappointed.
“I can definitely keep myself busy, if you’re sure you want to go together.”
“Of course, I’m sure.” Jax jumped from her seat. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll have a grilled cheese sent over for you.”
Before I could tell her that wasn’t necessary, Jax skipped away from me.
I picked up my book and started to read again, only putting my book down once to eat the grilled cheese, which really was magical.
It felt like no time had passed at all when I looked up from my book to Jax standing in front of me.
“I’m surprised you stayed here the whole time. Must be a really good book.”
“Are you done already?” I asked as I blinked up at her to try to get my eyes to focus after reading for so long.
Jax laughed. “I’m actually five minutes later than promised.
I got held up with my last customer.” Jax bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet and pointed her thumb toward the door.
“Ready to go?” She pointed to my book next.
“If you want to finish the chapter you’re on, I’m fine waiting.
I can find someone else to bother while you do. ”
I’m sure you can. I had no doubt Jax was probably friends with half of the people in this cafe, and even if she wasn’t, it still wouldn’t be hard for her to strike up a conversation with a random stranger.
“I actually just finished a chapter.”
Jax’s smile shimmered. “Look at that. Perfect pair already.”
I swallowed hard. I was sure Jax already realized it from the little bit of time we spent together, plus what she heard from Olivia throughout the years, but I really hoped she didn’t expect me to be anything like my sister.
Instead of responding, I stood up and followed her out of the cafe. As we walked, Jax pointed to different places, telling me stories about each one. I couldn’t get a word in, but that was honestly fine with me.
When we got to the grocery store, Jax warned me not to get too much, because it would make the rest of the walk home miserable.
I bought a little bit of fruit and the ingredients to make sandwiches.
As much as I didn’t want to be stuck eating only that every single day, I figured it was a good place to start since I hadn’t planned out my meals for the week yet.
I cringed looking at Jax’s small collection of microwaveable meals.
I wasn’t judging her for liking them, but I wondered if she truly did.
I thought back to the way her face lit up when she talked about Quinton’s cooking, and my next words stumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“You know, I always wanted to try one of those meal delivery services that delivers fresh ingredients, but most of them don’t offer just a single serving.
If you want to split the cost with me, I could cook for us. ”
Jax’s face lit up even more than it had earlier. “Really? You would do that? Even with how busy you’ll be with your fancy job?”
I shrugged. “I have to make time to eat, right?” Plus, this would make planning my meals for the week even easier.
“That sounds awesome! I’m in.”
The rest of the walk to the apartment was filled with discussions about what kind of food we each like to eat and which meal delivery service we should choose.
The discussion continued as we each put away our groceries and even as I walked to my room.
Jax followed closely behind me and followed me into my room.
I had forgotten all about my discarded planner until Jax’s eyes moved right to it, focusing on the page labeled “New Carter.” Great. This is fucking embarrassing.
She lifted an eyebrow at me. “New Carter? What’s wrong with the old one?”
I grabbed the planner and held it against my chest as if that was somehow going to make Jax forget what she had just read. When she continued to stare at me, waiting for my answer, I knew I had no choice but to explain it. “New York is a fresh start for me. I want to do things differently here.”
“Differently how?”
The blank page should have told her all she needed to know. “Great question,” I said with a laugh.
Jax furrowed her eyebrows like she was really considering what I had just told her. The smile that came to her face a few seconds later made me extremely nervous for multiple reasons. “Did the Old Carter host many parties in Philly?”
I choked on my laugh. “No. She definitely did not.” The old Carter hosted no parties.
“Perfect.” Jax clapped her hands together. “How would you feel about hosting a party here with me on Saturday night? It’ll be something new to do, plus you’ll get a chance to meet the whole crew.”
I felt a lot of things about it, and none of them were good, but if I wanted things to be different, I needed to step outside of my comfort zone more often. “Okay. Let’s do it.”