Page 41

I tell Jaxon I’m full after I eat two of the grilled cheese sandwiches. He looks at me like he doesn’t believe me, but I remind him that I’m not an Alpha werewolf like him who needs to eat FOUR sandwiches for lunch. He helps me finish the last two.
He tells me that he’s been texting my mom so she doesn’t have to worry about me. She must have wanted me to come home, but I’ve been telling her that I need to finish a psychology project with Skyler.
I only missed one day of class today, which is very impressive to me. I missed a shift at Cafe, so I need to go there and say I’m sorry. I had to make up an excuse and act like I was really sick. It’s not a complete lie, but I can’t tell the whole truth.
I’m lying on the couch with Jaxon and watching a rerun of Friends right now. Ross finds his red sweater in Monica’s apartment, and Joey’s jaw drops when he finally figures out that Ross and Rachel got together. I don’t mind that Jaxon watches me more than the show.
I get up and untangle myself from Jaxon when the theme song for the next episode starts. He looks sad when I pull away from him, but I just smile and point with my finger for him to get up. He raises an eyebrow when I start to spin around on my feet.
“SO NO ONE TOLD YOU LIFE WAS GONNA BE THIS WAY” *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*
I sing the song loudly, knowing that Jaxon and I are the only ones home. He throws his head back and laughs. I keep singing and dancing to the theme song. I look like an idiot, for sure. I’m spinning, jumping, and kicking my legs out. I look crazy. But I have so much energy that I just want to have a dance party to the theme song from Friends.
As soon as the “I’ll be there for you” song starts, Jaxon is right in front of me. It’s not fair that he can run fast like a werewolf while I have to be slow. He takes my hand and spins me around before dipping me down in a big way. I laugh as my head hangs upside down for a second before I turn it back over. We keep jumping, singing, and dancing until the song is over. I’m out of breath, but Jaxon looks fine. This is another annoying difference between werewolves and people.
The show starts playing again, but now that I’m paying attention to Jaxon, it’s just background noise. We stop laughing, and I remember how good-looking he is. His dark hair is styled just right, with a little bit of messiness. I don’t get how he makes sweatpants look good. His shirt is tight against his arms and chest, which makes the dips and curves in his muscles stand out. His eyes are my favorite thing about him. I really like the blue-Jaxon color, and I finally get what “the eyes are the windows to the soul” means because I can see all of his feelings in them. I see love, weakness, and happiness. I’m sure my eyes see the same things.
As my eyes close, I forget everything but him. I lean into him and only have to reach a little bit before he bends down to close the gap between us. When we kiss, his lips are soft on mine. We kiss slowly to show how much we care about each other. He puts his hands on my waist and wraps them around me like he always does. I feel safe in his arms, and I never want this feeling to end.
When he kisses me and puts his tongue in my mouth, it gets even more intense. He seems less afraid to touch me in a more personal way since he touched me there earlier. It’s as if he opened the floodgates when he touched me once. I’m discovering a new feeling that I like.
He squeezes my b**t once with his hands before someone clears their throat and stops us from making out. I pull back quickly and turn around to see Skyler smirking at us like we’re two kids who have been caught doing something they shouldn’t have. I put my hand on my heart as I caught my breath after the kiss and after being scared to death by Skyler’s sudden appearance.
“Hey! You can’t scare me like that, Skyler!” I yell at him, but I’m really happy to see him, so I smile. He poured a bucket of cold water on my face the last time I saw him. Sure, it was to wake me up from my nightmare-filled sleep, but I’m still ready to hit him hard. The water was cold…
“I’d love to watch you two have s*x, but I have to do your schoolwork for Psych today.” Skyler always knows how to make me blush in just one sentence. He is a terrible best friend.
“W-we weren’t… We were just…”
“Uh-huh,” he hums, then takes his backpack off his shoulder and opens it to get his computer and notes from class. “Do you want to finish what you were doing or not, or do you want to get the notes?”
“I want the notes,” I say, embarrassed that Skyler is hinting that things were going to go further just now and that I was caught making out with Jaxon. Were they?
When Jaxon’s front presses against my back possessively, I know he’s there. His hands slide over my stomach and his arms wrap around me. I try not to pay attention to the butterflies he gives me. He rubs his face against my neck and kisses me all over with soft lips.
“Jaxon…” I mumble, hoping he’ll stop but also wanting him to keep going. If that sentence was hard to understand, just think about how I feel! I don’t usually do PDA, but I really want to kiss Jaxon again. But school is the most important thing. I need to get Skyler’s notes and have him explain anything I don’t get. Jaxon growls in anger as he looks up at Skyler.
“You’re starting to get in my way.”
Skyler smiles and says, “That’s my job,” as he takes my hand and pulls me toward the kitchen table to start our work. I follow Skyler to the island where he sits down and opens his computer to the notes he made today. He sits down in the corner and I sit next to him. Jaxon sits next to me and puts his hand on my thigh as he opens his notes. I want to know why he’s here. I love being with him, but if I’m just studying with Skyler, shouldn’t Jaxon be doing something else? Skyler beats me to it before I even ask.
Skyler tells Jaxon, “What the f**k are you still doing here? Ezra has been picking up your slack for two and a half days. Go do your Alpha work!” I don’t know why Skyler thinks Jaxon will take this kind of criticism well.
Jaxon walks slowly toward Skyler, his jaw tight as he tries to keep his cool. The more he glares at Skyler, the darker his eyes get. “Be careful how you talk to your Alpha.”
I get up quickly to try to calm things down. I put my hand on my friend’s chest and tell him to give his “target” some space.
“Okay Jaxon, he didn’t mean to be rude.” He backs away and takes a deep breath through his nose as he turns to me. “Although,” I say, biting my lip and nervously playing with my fingers, “he does have a point.”
I smile at him to try to calm him down. He doesn’t like that I’m on Skyler’s side. He doesn’t show any emotion as he waits for me to explain.
“It’s just that you don’t have to sit here with us while we study. You don’t have to spend all of your time with me.”
When I say this, Jaxon’s bottom lip sticks out. “But I want to be with you all the time.”
The big bad Alpha that was just threatening my friend ten seconds ago is now acting like a five-year-old. He really does look cute like this. I’m usually the one who shows my sensitive side, but I really like how clingy and soft he is.
“I want to spend time with you too, but you’re the leader of a pack of werewolves! You must have work to do. Go do that and we can spend time together later.” I hug him and put my face in the crook of his neck. He sighs into the hug and lets go of some of the stress in his body.
He whispers, “I need you safe,” so softly that I can barely hear him.
“I’m safe here with Skyler. Promise.” I mumble my answer into his neck, but he must still understand me because he kisses me on the forehead and slowly pulls his hands away from my sides.
“Okay. I’ll be there soon to check on you.” He closes his eyes, and for a moment I’m confused until I look over and see that Skyler has his eyes closed and a look of terror on his face. It’s not fair for a human like me that they can read each other’s minds. They can’t talk behind my back!
“Hey! Don’t mind linking in front of me! That’s not fair!” I shake Jaxon’s shoulders until he opens his eyes and looks at me again. He smiles at me and kisses me quickly.
“We’ll see about that.” He gives Skyler one last glare before leaving, probably to go to his office or do whatever Alpha work means.
I look at Skyler, who looks like he’s going to pass out. “What did he tell you?”
Skyler shakes his head hard and looks down at the ground. “Nothing, it’s okay.”
“It’s not fine!” I shout as my worry grows. What could Jaxon have said to Skyler that scared him so much? And it only lasted a few seconds!
“He just told me to take care of you. If I didn’t, he made some very… creative threats.”
I roll my eyes at how dramatic Jaxon is. “He won’t do anything to you.” I know him, and he wouldn’t hurt his friends. I’m 100% sure that if I ever got hurt, it wouldn’t be Skyler’s fault. Jaxon wouldn’t punish Skyler if he didn’t protect me.
Skyler just laughs.
Jaxon couldn’t hurt anyone because of a mistake… Is that right?
******
I’m still a little confused after looking over Skyler’s notes. Skyler is probably very smart, but his ability to take notes is not very good. While Skyler explains his notes to me, I find myself opening the online textbook and reading the lesson that was taught today. An hour goes by quickly, and I’m finally done with the chapter I’m on. But I quickly realize that I don’t fully understand some of the ideas from last week. I don’t blame myself; I was spelled.
I start reading the other three chapters to get my mind back on track. Skyler is still sitting next to me on the stool, looking at his phone. He’ll laugh at something he thinks is funny from time to time, but then it’s back to silence. He groans and pushes his phone across the granite table after about ten minutes.
“Ugh, I’m bored,” he says to me as he leans his elbow on the counter and puts his cheek in his hand.
“Sorry Skyler, I have to study,” I say with a laugh as I look at him. He is definitely pouting, but only one pout works on me.
I look back at Skyler’s laptop, but someone takes it off the table.