Before You(19)

“No, hardly,” she said, twirling the bracelet on her wrist. “I needed some space, and the door was open.” She paused, remembering that Jax said he wasn’t alone. She looked toward a door that appeared to lead to an adjoined bathroom and nodded in that direction. “I should probably go before your company comes back.”

“What company?”

Bre nervously pushed her hair behind her ears. “Remember? You said you weren’t alone.”

A lopsided grin crossed his face. “I’m not. You’re with me.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want me to introduce you to some people?”

“Honestly, I wanted a break from the party. It’s kind of overwhelming.”

“Good, so do I. Do you want to play a game?”

“What do you have in mind?” Bre said, touching a hand carved wooden box on his dresser. She noticed her fingers were noticeably trembling.

“Top Card. Have you ever played that?”

“Is that the game where you use your cards to equal the card flipped from the deck and if you can’t, you have to drink?”

“Yep. Do you want to play?”

The impish gleam in his eyes compelled her to agree. “Okay, but I don’t want to drink so much that I end up passed out in your room.”

“As intriguing as that sounds, I prefer you awake, so we’ll take it slow.”

Jax grabbed the bottle of bourbon and a glass next to his guitar, and placed them in the middle of the floor. Sitting down, he dealt each of them a stack of cards and spread out the remaining cards in a circle around the glass. Jax patted the floor across from him, signaling for her to sit. Plopping down on the floor directly across from him, she picked up her stack of cards.

Jax flipped a card over, revealing a seven of diamonds. “Do you want to play a few practice rounds or do you think you know the rules?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Bre said, dropping a five and a two on top of the seven, leaving the two on the top.

“Good thing I have a two. What about you, do you have another?”

Bre groaned lifting the glass to her mouth and drinking it in one large gulp. She drew two additional cards from the stack. “I’m not off to a good start.” Bre picked up the bottle of bourbon and refilled the glass. “You have another two in your pile of cards or maybe two aces?”

“No, but I have a king.”

“I forgot that a king is wild.”

“So, how long have you and Cam been together?”

“About seven years, but we’ve been friends for much longer.” Bre tossed a few cards on the pile. “What about you and Katie?”

Jax sighed. “Katie and I aren’t together.”

Bre released a sudden bark of laughter. “You’ve told me that before, but every time I see you, she’s around.”

“Katie and I have known each other for a long time—since we were kids. Our families are really close. We have a shared history. I can’t just kick her out of my life because I’m not interested in her as more than a friend.”

“And as an occasional closet buddy,” Bre added, throwing another card on the pile.

“I think I should be offended that you keep bringing that up,” he replied gravely, throwing a card on the pile with a ghost of a smile dancing in the corners of his mouth.

Unable to keep a straight face, Bre picked of the glass of bourbon and drank it. “I don’t have anything that adds up to nine.”

“I think you’re trying to change the subject,” he said smoothly, grabbing her hand as she reached for two more cards. “And I’m out of cards. You lose.”

Her cheeks heated when she felt the warmth of his hand on top of hers. Strange, it was such a simple touch, but one that made her insides flutter. “You cheated. I don’t think you took more than one or two shots!” she blurted out, trying to ignore the confusing feelings swirling inside of her.

“I had a winning strategy. You followed my lead instead of coming up with your own game plan,” he said softly, his eyes trained on her parted lips.

Jax either started pulling her toward him or she started leaning toward him, she wasn’t sure which. The way his thumb delicately stroked her wrist scattered her alcohol-soaked wits, and it took her a few seconds to remember to breathe. Bre stared at his mouth; completely fascinated by the sensual curve of his lips and she just barely resisted the urge to wet her own lips in anticipation.

With his mouth only inches from hers, he whispered, “You can’t look at me like that, Bre. I’m trying to be good. I know you’re Cam’s girl and the band’s important to me, but there’s only so much I can resist, and when you look at me like that I want to ignore all the reasons why kissing you is a really bad idea.”