Page 5 of Jaxson

“Because you mentioned it.”

“Jaxson, whatever you do in your spare time is totally up to you. Trust me, I’ve heard all about you, that you’re the town playboy, the rebel and all that.” Tillie smiled at him and he saw there was no judgment, but he fucking hated his reputation. His father had warned him there would come a point when he would regret the decisions he’d made as a young man. He always figured his dad was just talking shit, but right now, he felt it.

“I’ve been with a lot of women, and yes, Callie was one of them, but that’s over and in the past.”

Tillie held her hands up. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not judging you, but with the way she was looking, I hope she didn’t spit in your sandwich.” She lifted her dink and took a look inside.

Jaxson laughed. “We both know a lot of people would go out of business if they took shit like this personally.”

Tillie completely agreed.

“So, what will you be working on first?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“I’m thinking potentially the hardest one, which is the pants pattern. I always find pants hard to make, because I have very large hips and thighs, and the waistband tends to gape.”

He had watched the multiple videos she had done where she had gone through many different layers of fittings. It was quite fascinating, but he also watched it to catch glimpses of her flesh. Jaxson knew he was addicted. No matter where he went, he was always looking to catch a glimpse of her.

“And there I go again, with my verbal diarrhea.” She wrinkled her nose.

“I get it, pants are not the easiest garments to fit, and that is because your waist-to-hip ratio is quite a significant difference.”

“You don’t want to make a comment about my coffee?” Tillie asked.

“Why would I do that?”

“Trust me, I have a lot of comments implying if I stopped eating bad stuff—”

“Tell them to fuck off,” Jaxson said. “They don’t know what they’re fucking talking about. Ignore that shit.”

Her mouth had opened just a little. “Wow,” Tillie said.

“You’re fine the way you are, and you don’t need to go changing anything for anyone. Some people have nothing nice to say, they should keep it to their fucking selves and not say shit. Pisses me off.”

He saw the smile on her lips.

“Thank you, Jaxson, that actually is lovely to hear,” she said.

To him, Tillie was absolutely perfect.

****

She wanted to make a double-chocolate fudge cake, but she also needed to get some groceries. In her cart, she had gotten plenty of chicken and pork, as it was on sale, and the moment she went home, she would marinate it, bag it, and freeze it.

Her mother had gotten her into the habit of shopping on a budget and making her money last, especially when it came to groceries. It was why she also maintained a garden patch of vegetables. So far, she’d grown a couple of zucchinis, but even though she loved it, eating only zucchini was not exactly joyous. It figured the one vegetable she could grow in abundance was the one she was a little “meh” about.

She also had some tomatoes ripening and a few green onions. It was really coming along, and of course, she did remember what her father would grow and how he would do it. She was simply carrying on the tradition, and also helping to cut her food bill in half.

Rounding the corner, she let out a little cry and was taken aback, as it was a Sunday morning and the shop was getting busier, but she had crashed into Jaxson. Three days, one after the other, she and Jaxson seemed to end up in some kind of conversation.

“Jaxson,” she said. “I’m so sorry, and hi, good morning.” She let out a little laugh.

“Good morning,” he said. “Sorry for bumping into you.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t know where I was going, and I wasn’t really paying attention. I should let you get back to shopping before all the good stuff goes.”

“Thanks, I don’t like shopping at the best of times.”

“You don’t?” she asked.