was around him.
I was eager to leave the pizzeria a little early in case Phillip called. Talking with Phillip was not a conversation I was willing to have in front of everyone. I pulled my phone out again to see if I might have missed a call or text from him, but, still, there was nothing. I was bumfuzzled; it was very unlike him to not have called or texted back already. A shot of nerves hit my stomach as I thought of what kind of shenanigans he could have had up his sleeve.
Earlier, Jaxon volunteered to drive me to work, and, at first, I dreaded the thoughts of being alone again with him. But now, after thinking it over, I wanted to take advantage of the moment. I wanted to know who he really was. I wanted to dig into his personal life.
Reaching for the knob on my radio, I switched through the stations until I found something worth listening to.
"Let me guess, you love country music?"
I laughed, "Don't you know it's not nice to stereotype people?"
His smile widened, showing his beautiful teeth and setting his dimples on display. "Hell, that's not stereotyping. Everybody in California loves it, so I figured a real country girl would, too."
"Well, you're wrong," I told him as I turned the radio off. I opted for silence so there were no distractions while I interrogated him. "I like pretty much everything but country music." Dropping back in my seat, I angled myself to get a better view of him instead of the road. "So, how did you get into owning a bar at such a young age, and how long have you been running it?"
He rubbed the stubble on his face, taking his time answering me. Patiently enough, I waited for him to answer. "Hmm, well, let's see… since I got into a lot of trouble my senior year, I screwed up my chance to play football at UCLA." He chewed on his top lip, and I couldn't stop watching him. My eyes were glued to his mouth, remembering the way those lips felt. "I was messed up after graduation and had no plans for the future other than living life day by day," he smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I wasn't a good person then," he mumbled more to himself than to me.
"So, how did you ruin your chance at playing college football?"
"Hmph, I was young and dumb,” he answered flatly.
"So, if you got into a bunch of trouble then, how did you end up owning your own business? It almost sounds like things turned out good for you after all."
He let out a loud sigh. "Good God, you ask a lot of questions.”
I could see him roll his eyes behind his sunglasses. I thought of calling him out on it, but I didn't want him to stop talking.
"After my gramma passed away, she left me some money. So, my best friend, Troy talked me into partnering up with him and opening up the bar. It's not just a bar, though. It's a restaurant, too. We have live entertainment on the weekends, and every Wednesday is karaoke night.”
I squealed, "Oh my gosh! Don't you dare tell Kendra. She is like the karaoke queen." I was about to tell him that I hoped he wasn’t planning on having a karaoke night here because Kendra would take it over, but I remembered I wasn’t supposed to know about him opening up another bar.
We were hanging out in the parking lot outside of the theater and killing time until my shift started. My original plan was to use the extra time to talk to Phillip, but, since he wasn’t returning my text, I took advantage of my time with Jaxon. “Can I ask you another question?” I knew I was pressing my luck, but I wanted to know more.
Jaxon inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled loudly through pursed lips. “Give it a go,” he replied, outwardly tired of my curiosity.
“Who are Zack and Joey?”
“Nobody.”
Slowly, I rolled my eyes over to look at him. “Really? You named your bar after a couple of nobodies? Whatever.” With an exaggerated eye roll, I shook my head, then turned to look out the passenger side window.
We sat in silence for a minute or more before I whipped my head around to face
I was eager to leave the pizzeria a little early in case Phillip called. Talking with Phillip was not a conversation I was willing to have in front of everyone. I pulled my phone out again to see if I might have missed a call or text from him, but, still, there was nothing. I was bumfuzzled; it was very unlike him to not have called or texted back already. A shot of nerves hit my stomach as I thought of what kind of shenanigans he could have had up his sleeve.
Earlier, Jaxon volunteered to drive me to work, and, at first, I dreaded the thoughts of being alone again with him. But now, after thinking it over, I wanted to take advantage of the moment. I wanted to know who he really was. I wanted to dig into his personal life.
Reaching for the knob on my radio, I switched through the stations until I found something worth listening to.
"Let me guess, you love country music?"
I laughed, "Don't you know it's not nice to stereotype people?"
His smile widened, showing his beautiful teeth and setting his dimples on display. "Hell, that's not stereotyping. Everybody in California loves it, so I figured a real country girl would, too."
"Well, you're wrong," I told him as I turned the radio off. I opted for silence so there were no distractions while I interrogated him. "I like pretty much everything but country music." Dropping back in my seat, I angled myself to get a better view of him instead of the road. "So, how did you get into owning a bar at such a young age, and how long have you been running it?"
He rubbed the stubble on his face, taking his time answering me. Patiently enough, I waited for him to answer. "Hmm, well, let's see… since I got into a lot of trouble my senior year, I screwed up my chance to play football at UCLA." He chewed on his top lip, and I couldn't stop watching him. My eyes were glued to his mouth, remembering the way those lips felt. "I was messed up after graduation and had no plans for the future other than living life day by day," he smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I wasn't a good person then," he mumbled more to himself than to me.
"So, how did you ruin your chance at playing college football?"
"Hmph, I was young and dumb,” he answered flatly.
"So, if you got into a bunch of trouble then, how did you end up owning your own business? It almost sounds like things turned out good for you after all."
He let out a loud sigh. "Good God, you ask a lot of questions.”
I could see him roll his eyes behind his sunglasses. I thought of calling him out on it, but I didn't want him to stop talking.
"After my gramma passed away, she left me some money. So, my best friend, Troy talked me into partnering up with him and opening up the bar. It's not just a bar, though. It's a restaurant, too. We have live entertainment on the weekends, and every Wednesday is karaoke night.”
I squealed, "Oh my gosh! Don't you dare tell Kendra. She is like the karaoke queen." I was about to tell him that I hoped he wasn’t planning on having a karaoke night here because Kendra would take it over, but I remembered I wasn’t supposed to know about him opening up another bar.
We were hanging out in the parking lot outside of the theater and killing time until my shift started. My original plan was to use the extra time to talk to Phillip, but, since he wasn’t returning my text, I took advantage of my time with Jaxon. “Can I ask you another question?” I knew I was pressing my luck, but I wanted to know more.
Jaxon inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled loudly through pursed lips. “Give it a go,” he replied, outwardly tired of my curiosity.
“Who are Zack and Joey?”
“Nobody.”
Slowly, I rolled my eyes over to look at him. “Really? You named your bar after a couple of nobodies? Whatever.” With an exaggerated eye roll, I shook my head, then turned to look out the passenger side window.
We sat in silence for a minute or more before I whipped my head around to face
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