Before You(11)

When Cam finally walked into the house at ten o’clock, she had finished the French Chablis, and she was drunker and angrier than she remembered being in recent history. It didn’t help that she had skipped lunch because she was too busy preparing the meal for Cam.

When he asked her why she was sitting in the dark, it took every ounce of control not to throw the cold pork belly in his face. She couldn’t remember every word that passed through her mouth, but she distinctly remembered asking him if he was too dumb to use his phone or if he was naturally an inconsiderate bastard.

Of course, Cam tried to lay the blame at her feet, saying if she had told him her plans, he wouldn’t have been late. From there, the fight morphed into something she wanted to forget. Finally, when she threatened to leave, he told her to get out and pack her shit. She stormed into his bedroom with a bottle of Bordeaux and frantically tossed her things in her suitcase. She must have passed out halfway through because she woke up around ten this morning, dressed in the same clothes from last night, with an insane headache and a thick cottonmouth.

Taped to the bathroom door was a note from Cam.



B.

Sorry for everything. Don’t leave. I love you!

C.

P.S. I’ll be home early tonight.



“Excuse me, do you know what you want to order?”

Snapped out of her private thoughts, Bre realized she was now at the front of the line, with a barista staring at her as if she were a crazy mute. “Double cappuccino and a lemon poppy seed muffin, please.”

Grabbing her drink from the counter, she walked toward a lounge area with a sleek yellow sofa and several round metal tables with white chairs. Taking a seat in the corner of the room, she opened her notepad to sketch. Drawing always worked to divert her thoughts, and right now she really didn’t want to think about last night. So she sketched people absorbed in their day.

Her hand froze when she noticed a couple leaning against a silver car right outside the coffee shop. The man’s back faced Bre, but she could see the woman clearly, and she looked vaguely familiar. The man shook his head and then he turned to the side and Bre nearly gasped, leaning forward for a better look. It was Jax, and now she understood why the woman looked familiar, too. It was Katie, or closet girl, as Bre had nicknamed her. From Katie’s body language, she could tell they were fighting about something. After waving her hands in front of her for a couple minutes, Katie walked away, and Jax turned toward the coffee shop window with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

When he looked up, he caught Bre staring at him for the second time in their short acquaintance. He waved and then walked into the coffee shop, right to Bre’s table.

“What are you doing here?” Bre asked, sharper than she intended.

“I live around the corner. What are you doing here?” Jax said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Oh. Cam recommended it,” she responded, blowing on her cappuccino.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked as he held onto the back of the white metal chair across from her.

Bre looked at his disheveled dark hair and the strikingly chiseled angles of his face and was struck again with how compellingly attractive he was. Her eyes drifted to the sun kissed column of his throat and then down his toned shoulders to his forearms, remembering how it felt to be held in those arms when they danced last week. With Cam, she felt protected, but with Jax she felt anxious and excited. Not in the mood to explore any of those confusing emotions, she slammed her sketchbook closed and pushed her chair back to stand. “Are you sure closet girl won’t mind?”

He put a hand on her shoulder, lightly pressing her back into the chair. “Huh?” he questioned, his eyebrows raised. “Who are you talking about?”

“Katie, the girl you were talking to outside.”

“Right.” Jax’s lips twitched. “I forgot you heard her say that. She probably wouldn’t be too fond of that description.”

“Well, then she shouldn’t announce her partiality for closets in a crowded bar.”

“Too true.” He burst out laughing. “She should be more discreet, but I don’t think that thought was high on her list that night.”

“No, probably not. I think she was too busy trying to stake her claim just in case I decided to sink my teeth into you.”

“Now there’s a compelling idea,” Jax teased, a smile sweeping across his face.

“You would think so.”

“So where’s Cam?” Jax questioned, changing the subject as he sat in the chair across from her.

“I don’t know—work or something. I haven’t seen much of him lately.” Bre sighed and looked away.