Page 34 of Kiss Marry Kill
Once they were both on and he kicked the stand up, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him. He put the kickstand back down, took both her arms, and tightened them around him, roughly. “Tight,” he said, over his shoulder. “If you let go, you’ll get hurt, you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Lean into the turns and just . . . enjoy the ride.”
She shook her head and laughed, but when he revved up the engine and took off, all laughter disappeared and she yelped and hung on for all she was worth, trying to ignore the rippling of his abs under her palms and the way his shirt smelled like fabric softener against her cheek.
It was the best ride of her life.
* * *
“Dude, where’d you pick up the chick? I’ve never heard you talk about a Megan before,” Joey said later that night at the barbeque. After the haircut, which had taken a total of ten minutes since they had basically shaved it all off, Jax had driven her around South Beach on his bike until finally heading to Joey’s house. She held on so tightly at first he thought she’d break a rib, but then as time went on, she loosened her grip, leaned into the turns, and even let go enough to point at some of the yachts parked by the bay.
It felt nice having her wrapped around him. She wasn’t the first girl that he’d had on his bike, but it was the first time it felt noteworthy. She felt . . . right. As if she belonged wrapped around him. And when she pressed her cheek on his back and relaxed, something inside of him shifted. It was fast, it was instant, and even though they’d just met, he didn’t want today to be the only day he had with her.
Jax ran his hand over his freshly shaven head and looked out to the backyard where Megan was reaching into a cooler. “I met her early this afternoon at the game.”
“At the baseball game? You always want to go alone.”
How many times had Joey offered to go with him? He didn’t want the memory of the game with his dad tainted by anything, and always declined the offers. Normally, Jax was in good spirits. Hell, he was known for it. But on that one day a year, he always felt melancholic and just wanted to be left alone. Funny how he ended up meeting Megan on what was normally a shit day. And meeting her, having her intrude—even if unintentionally—on his day, didn’t feel wrong. Actually, it felt kind of perfect. “I do. I did,” he said, his eyes moving over to where his friend Mark was talking to Megan. “Long story. Catch you in a minute,” he distractedly said to Joey, walking to save Megan from the fucking dog, Mark.
“Mark,” Jax said, with a chin nod.
“Hey, man, nice of you to come by. You leaving Monday too?”
“Sure am.”
“Too?” Megan asked.
“Joey is also going.”
“Oh, wow. That’s pretty cool. He’s your best friend right? The blond guy we just met?”
“Yep. The tall one. Known Joey pretty much my entire life,” he said. “Did you guys meet?” Jax turned to Mark and pointed to Megan.
“Not formally, no,” Mark said. “I was horrified she was grabbing a soda at a barbeque. Beer is the only way to go. I came to rescue her.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed in on Mark, not liking that the other guy wanted to rescue his girl, even though he was only teasing.
“I don’t really like beer,” Megan admitted a little sheepishly.
“’S’cool.” Jax ignored Mark and slid his hand around Megan’s waist. He knew it was a jerk possessive move, but he didn’t want any doubt in Mark’s mind, or anyone else’s, what the nature of his relationship with Megan was. Plus, she looked so cute confessing she didn’t like beer, as if it was something he would judge her for. “Get your soda and come on, let me introduce you to some other people.”
* * *
Grabbing a towel he kept in the saddlebag of his bike, he set it by Joey and a few other people huddled by the old wooden dock in Joey’s backyard.
“Fishing? Here?” she asked, as they watched Joey cast a small rod into the water.
Jax motioned to the towel, and they sat down next to each other. “We like to fish and it’ll be a while before we can do it again.”
“You like it too?”
“Yep,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
“Is that what you’d be doing if I wasn’t here?”
“Probably.”
