AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sharing had never been one of his strong suits. Especially having a brother who always wanted everything he had, taking it without a thought. Champ didn’t know what sharing meant. He wanted something, he took it. Mostly taking what was his, which he refused to allow and would snatch it back. Then hearing his father say more times than not, “Share with your brother, Dane. You’re older. You know better.”
Damn it! He wasn’t sharing now. This was his time with Gabriella, and he didn’t want to share a moment of it with anyone else, least of all Jaxson. Not going to happen.
He walked back into the living room just to see Gabriella walk from the hallway and grab a quick hug from Jaxson. Seeing red was a saying he never understood until that moment. But, boy, he was seeing hazes and hazes of red.
Did Jaxson always hug her in greeting? Why the hell would he need to?
“How’s your day going?” Gabriella asked Jaxson as if nothing was wrong at all for him to stop by.
She glanced at him and watched as the confusion slowly emerged. He realized his anger must have shown quite prominently. Jaw clenched. Fists tight. He was ready for an all-out brawl.
Which he could not do. Nope. He refused to fight once more with Gabriella. It was too painful, seeing the hurt in her eyes, knowing he put it there. Trying to remove the fierce emotion coursing through his veins took an amount of strength he didn’t know he possessed. But for Gabriella’s sake, he plastered on a fake smile.
“Fine. I wanted to see how you were doing.” Jaxson glanced at Dane, then back to Gabriella. “How’s Mia doing?”
Gabby grabbed a few strands of her hair and toyed with it. “You know, I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to her today. I was planning on calling her later.”
“Or,” Dane said with a little too much enthusiasm, “you could always check on her, Jaxson. That would be a great way to show you care.”
Dane leaned against the wall and crossed his arms with a real smile this time. He perversely enjoyed the way Jaxson squirmed and shifted on his feet.
“I’m sure Mia wouldn’t want me to bother her like that,” Jaxson replied. A little too quick. A little too defensive.
“Yet, you have no problem bothering Gabriella like that.” His tone was clear, letting Jaxson know he didn’t like it.
Gabby raised her eyebrows. “Am I missing something here?”
“Of course not, sweetheart.” Dane stood up from the wall and walked over to Gabriella, kissing her deeply. “I’ll get the popcorn started. You want some popcorn, Jaxson?”
“Gosh, Dane, I’d love some popcorn,” Jaxson said with a smooth smile.
Dane resisted the urge—again—to throw a punch in his face and walked out of the room. Damn, the man had nerves.
If he didn’t want to avoid getting Gabriella upset, he would’ve knocked him on his ass.
10
Gabby propped a hand on her hip and delivered a nasty glare that said Jaxson better start talking and fast. “Well?”
Jaxson leaned closer. “Your boyfriend is one jealous man, Gabs.” He laughed. “Holy shit is he jealous. He does not like me coming to see you. He knows I do that a lot, doesn’t he?”
Gabby smirked. “Well, I can’t say we talked a whole lot, Jaxson. So, no, he doesn’t know that yet, that we are very good friends. Friends. Only friends.” She sighed. “He’s not my boyfriend.” Yet.
She hated to voice it because it implied they really didn’t talk. Well, they did. But not about that.
Could she say he was her boyfriend? Had they moved to that stage? He was still here, so maybe she could say he was her boyfriend.
Jaxson rolled his eyes and stepped away, putting his fingers together like a cross. “TMI, Gabs. I don’t need to know what you two were doing all night and today. I can figure that out on my own. He’s a little intense. He had no problem getting in my face about you…or Mia.”
“He can be abrupt, yes. But he means the best. I like him, Jax. I really like him. He’s not like the other guys I’ve dated. He’s different in a good way. You could check on Mia.”
She saw the surprise flash across his features. “Are you kicking me out of your apartment? I’m wounded.”
“No, you’re not. I might not get as much time with him as I want, so I want to take advantage of it when I can.” She raised her brow again, pursing her lips with devious intent. “And you ignored the part about Mia. Is there a problem for you to check on her? It was a very sound suggestion by Dane.”
Jaxson shielded his eyes, swiping a hand through his shaggy black hair. “Mia and I are friends, sure, but not close like you and I are. I can’t show up at her place like that.”
“The only time you don’t like to do something is when you’re nervous. I never saw it before until Dane said it last night. You like her. Why have you never told me this before?”
