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My mouth opened to apologize. It was clear I overshared. It was clear I was making this situation out to be something it wasn’t. It was clear that he was going to hug me.
Wait.
What?
He was hugging me.
Jax’s body was wrapped around mine as he pulled me in close to him and held on as if he had plans on staying there for the rest of his life. His big, strong arms pooled around my whole frame, and I melted. I melted against his body and his soul. I melted into the history of our yesterdays.
He smelled like cedar and my favorite memories.
I wanted to hold on as long as I could. I wanted to breathe him in more and feel his comfort until I fell asleep that night. I wanted to thank him for giving me a moment to fall apart in his arms, even though I was certain I was supposed to be comforting him, not the other way around.
When it came time to part, he stepped back appearing a bit embarrassed by his sudden embrace. I wiped at my eyes and let out a nervous laugh. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Yeah.” He smiled, or at least I imagined he did. “Me either.”
“I should get out of your hair. I just wanted you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.” I began turning away when he called out to me.
“Kennedy.”
I turned back to wait for his next words. It seemed conversation didn’t come easy for him. That wasn’t new—it never had been easy for him. He cleared his throat once more as he gestured to the space around us. “You can come here whenever you need to clear your head.”
My chest tightened from his words. To some, they might’ve seemed a bit meaningless and cold for the truths I’d shared with him about my parents and my daughter, but from someone like Jax it was much more than that.
He was inviting me to visit his oasis, his safe haven, and it was an invitation I was going to accept.
“Thank you, Jax.”
He didn’t say a word, but before he turned away from me, the left side of his lips curved up into what was almost a sympathy smile. He raked one hand through his messy hair and sighed. “I’m bad at this.”
“Bad at what?”
“Peopling.”
I smiled. “You don’t say?” I said sarcastically.
His lips turned up into a full blown smile, and my stomach knotted up from the sight.
There he was.
The boy I once knew still lived inside the man of steel.
All I wanted him to do was to come out and play a little longer.
15
Jax
Twelve years old
Year two of summer camp
“And didyou know there are like four hundred billion birds in the world? But when Kennedy was telling me about them last summer, she didn’t know any names of the birds. That’s why I made this for her, to help her learn more about the birds, because I think—”
“Whoa there, slow down, Jaxson. I swear, I’ve never heard you talk this much before.” Mom laughed as she helped me pack my bags for my second year of summer camp. “It makes me happy that you’re so excited.”
I was excited. I was so, so,soexcited.
