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“Then this will make up for the coffee I owe you,” Jaxon said.
We pulled into a plaza that had a local sports bar on the end of the strip. There were quite a few cars parked outside, but not enough to indicate that it was crowded and we wouldn’t get seated.
Jaxon turned off the engine and shifted to face me. “Ready?”
I stared him up and down and took a moment to fully appreciate this day's turn. I never thought I would ever do anything on Valentine’s Day with Jaxon, but if I kept reminding myself that this was just another outing between friends, it would be fine.
I was notorious for overthinking things like this. I wasn’t going to allow this to be one of those times.
“Ready.” I nodded and followed him inside.
Chapter47
Jaxon
February 2016
It was almostsix thirty when I dropped Maci off at her place. We had been at the bar longer than expected, but my impromptu decision to get some food turned into something we both needed. Ever since that night at The Attic, we hadn’t done anything just the two of us. Being with Maci was easy. It was nice to hang out and just act like we used to be before everything got complicated.
As soon as I pulled out of her parking lot, I dialed my mom’s number to have our annual “V-Day Chat” as she liked to put it. My parents always went to dinner around seven on the lovey-dovey holiday, so I had some time before she had to leave to meet my dad wherever he made reservations.
“Hey baby,” she exclaimed as soon as she picked up the phone. It felt good to hear her voice.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ma.” I smiled and turned down my music. “You all ready for your date with Dad?”
She sighed. “I have some finishing touches, of course, but it never helps that your father doesn’t tell me where we are going. A woman needs to have this information.”
“Well, whatever you’re wearing, I already know you look beautiful.”
“So what are you up to? Are you coming from somewhere?” She changed the subject and then quickly rescinded her question. “Don’t tell me if I really don’t want to know the answer to that question.”
“I just dropped off a friend at her apartment.” I was careful to leave out any leading information, but she caught on quickly.
“Herapartment?” she piped up.
“Just a friend, Ma,” I emphasized and turned into my parking lot.
“Uh-huh,” she stated, and I laughed at her obvious disappointment. My mom knew me all too well. Growing up, she always tried to keep an open household and maintain respectable boundaries. She loved knowing what was going on in my life but always appreciated filters when they were necessary.
Even though she knew how I was with women and how I felt about being in a relationship, she hadn’t lost hope that one day I would call her to say I went on a date or that I was bringing someone home to meet her. At least she had Alex for that, especially now that he was with Bella.
I turned off my Jeep and sunk into my seat. “How are things? How are you and Dad?”
“You know he’s busy, baby. We both are. But we’re doing good. Alex and Bella flew back to California shortly after you left. Have you talked to your brother?”
“I haven’t. It’s a shitty excuse, but I’ve had a lot going on. I’ll call him tomorrow. I’m sure he’s busy with Bella tonight.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I took a deep breath. It only took a few seconds for her to know what was going through my head. It had been eating at me for days, and I hadn’t taken the time to fully reflect on the letter I received from John Krane.
“You read it, didn’t you,” she said sadly. I knew she didn’t mean to sound sad about it, but talking about John Krane wasn’t easy for either of us.
I swallowed and looked up at the ceiling of the Jeep. “Yeah.”
“Well, you know I’m here if you want to talk about it. It’s been a while since he last sent you something. It took everything I had in me to give it to you when it came.”
“Revisiting anything that has to do with him or Karina just always puts my life in perspective, you know?” I admitted. The weight on my chest shifted as the words came out of my mouth. “After I read it, it made me think about a fight I had with a friend. Maybe it wasn’t a fight, but it made me reach out to her when I wasn’t sure if I should.”
“Things will happen like that, baby. As painful as reminders can be, sometimes it takes us having to revisit them for us to see what we already have,” she said in a soothing voice.
