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I look over at Jax, attempting to get a read on him. Last year, although I focused mainly on Liam, I was intrigued by the man sitting next to me. The little time I spent with him was enough to pique my interest and made me want to learn what weaknesses he disguises as strengths.
Jax met his match. I’m not one to back down from a challenge, especially with my future on the line. He might be a beast on the track, but I can hold my own in the PR scene.
The silence doesn’t last long between us, with Jax breaking it first.
“Why did you agree to this dumb challenge?” Jax taps his fingers against his knee to an unknown tempo.
“Because you’re a nuclear bomb waiting to deploy at the push of a red button.”
“What a fascinating visual. Have you been planning to say that one all day?” His eyes harden.
“You caught me. I spend hours thinking of my rebuttals.”
“I’d prefer for you to think of me in a different circumstance, but it’s only a matter of time.”
I tilt my head at him. “You think rather highly of yourself.”
“Quite the opposite. But I understand women find me rather irresistible.”
My scoff sounds more like a laugh. “I find you irresistibly annoying. Does that count?”
“It’s a start.”
I ignore him, not interested in flirting. He continues to move his fingers against his knee to the beat of something I can’t put my finger on.
“I never wanted this,” he mumbles while looking out the window.
“What?”
“To become this kind of guy.” His eyes meet mine as he turns his head toward me.
“And what kind of guy is that?”
“The kind who ruins things before they ever have a chance at becoming something good. The kind who needs a babysitter because they can’t be trusted.”
“It’s your choice to teeter on the edge of too much drinking and partying, functioning yet barely living. No one is forcing you to mess up your career.”
“Right. My career.” His resigned voice hints at more.
“Do you even want to win a Championship?”
His spine straightens. “If you’re asking that question, then I guess you lack the intelligence to help me. What a pity to support the old stereotype of beauty over brains.”
I grind my teeth together, fighting with everything in me to not snap at him. How does someone go from somber to full-blown asshole in a few seconds? “Well then, you have
to start acting like a winner. You’ve lived in Liam’s glory for years, taking a backseat on succeeding. So, instead of pretending to be a badass, why don’t you become one?”
He turns in his seat, giving me a full-frontal vision of him I can’t ignore. The sight of him alone makes my lungs constrict. Everything physically about him appeals to me. From his straining muscles to the way his jeans cling to his body.
Jax’s eyes brighten as if our back-and-forth gives him energy. “I like your form of bluntness. Vicious words from seductive lips, my favorite kind of torture.”
“I could say the same thing about you except I’m not a glutton for punishment.”
“For someone who looks all uppity and perfect, you sure have a naughty mouth. I’ve yet to meet someone quite like you.”
My heart beats faster at his look of appreciation. “Someone who can put up with your attitude? Must be a bit jarring, I’m sure.”
“You have no idea.” He surprises me when his thumb runs over the thin bones of my hand, tracing the divots of my knuckles. I take a deep breath, inhaling Jax’s woodsy soap scent, wondering if he even bothers putting cologne on.
