Jaxon

On the ride home from campus the other night, Jaxon had decided that he was going to distance himself from Lucy. But when his alarm went off an hour earlier than usual he realized that wasn’t going to be so easy.

“You had to volunteer to drive her around in a golf cart for the next twelve weeks, didn’t you, Romeo?” he muttered to himself.

Jaxon had set his alarm early to make sure he had enough time to pick Lucy up at her dorm and get her to her first class on time. He’d promised her that he’d be there for her. But that was before the whole Alex-marking-his-territory scenario. But it’s not like Jaxon could back out now. That would make him as shady as Lucy’s dirt bag boyfriend. No, he’d show up. He’d drive her around. And that’s it.

* * *

Jaxon knocked on Lucy’s door and she opened it, beaming at him, her hazel eyes wide with surprise. “You’re here?”

“I told you I would be.”

“I know . . . I guess I just didn’t think you’d come after last night.” She looked down sheepishly and Jaxon’s chest felt like it was going to cave in. Show up. Drive her around. And that’s it.

Yeah right. He’d been standing at her door for all of two seconds and already he was spellbound by her. The poor thing was so used to being let down that she’d expected him to ditch her the first chance he got. And hadn’t he wanted to?

“Lucy, I’m not going anywhere,” Jaxon said, all the while chastising himself. Moron. Hopeless, foolish, moron. But then she smiled at him and he didn’t give a shit how stupid he was. He had a feeling he’d endure just about anything to be the reason her face lit up.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said softly.

Jaxon’s heart pounded in his chest like it was trying to say, me too. He shoved his feelings down. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just have to grab my books.”

“I got ‘em,” Jaxon slipped past her in the narrow foyer. His arm brushed hers and her light fragrance of coconut-vanilla filled the air. Jaxon breathed it in and shuddered. “You’re killin’ me, Smalls,” he muttered under his breath.

“What’s that?” Lucy asked.

Brooke walked into the living room just then saving Jaxon from having to answer. “Hey there, hot stuff.”

“Hey,” Jaxon replied.

Brooke raised her nearly transparent eyebrows. She looked particularly Luna Lovegood-ish today in her striped pink top, navy schoolgirl skirt and sparkly gold sunglasses resting in her wild white-blonde hair. “Maybe I was talking to Lucy,” Brooke teased. Then she cut her eyes at Lucy. “Don’t forget it’s unicorn season.”

Lucy flushed scarlet and looked down at her cast that Jaxon noticed was now decorated in colorful swirls and clouds. “Nice art,” Jaxon commented.

“She saved you a spot to sign,” Brooke said, handing him a marker on her way out the door. She gave Lucy a wink. “Coffee’s on the counter. Have a good day, you two. Oh, and tell Sergeant Sexy I said hello.” Then she sashayed out the door.

Jaxon smirked. The girl had moxy, that’s for sure. He could actually see her holding her own with Conner, which was something he could say for very few others.

“You don’t have to sign my cast,” Lucy said drawing his attention back.

“I want to.” Then a dark thought passed over him. Did she not want him to? Was she worried what Alex would think? “Unless you don’t want me to.”

“No. I mean, yes, I want you to sign it . . . If you want to.” She looked anywhere but his face.

Jaxon hated that the easiness of yesterday seemed to no longer exist. He huffed a laugh. “Maybe we should have some coffee first. I’m not feeling very smooth this morning.”

Lucy laughed and the tension he felt radiating off of her seemed to ease. “Yeah. I could use some coffee.”

“You park that foot, I’ll grab the coffee and your book bag. Need anything else?”

“Nope.”

Jaxon found two coffees on the kitchen counter. They were from Starbucks and had each of their names scribbled on them. He noticed there were two half eaten chocolate chip muffins on the counter along with a wrapped one. A sense of warmth washed over him. Brooke was taking care of Lucy. It wasn’t exactly the breakfast of champions, but at least she’d remembered Lucy needed to have food in her stomach before she took her painkillers.

“Don’t you girls ever cook?” Jaxon asked walking over to the couch with the coffees.

“We reheat stuff. Does that count?”

Jaxon rolled his eyes and handed Lucy her sugary coffee.

“There’s a muffin on the counter for you.”

“Oh, thanks. But I already ate breakfast. And it was actual food, with protein and nutrients. You should try it some time.”

“Very funny,” Lucy said taking a sip of her coffee.

Jaxon uncapped the black marker Brooke had given him and sat on the coffee table across from Lucy, pulling her leg into his lap.

She let out a tiny gasp.

“Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head and Jaxon noticed her cheeks turning pink. So maybe he wasn’t alone in his hopeless, foolish feelings? The thought made him bold. “Where do you want me to sign?”

“Anywhere you want.”

Jaxon ran his finger up the length of the rough plaster searching the colorful design for the perfect spot. He decided he wanted his name where Lucy could read it so he wrote it across the top of her foot, right above where her pink painted toenails stuck out of the cast. The black block letters were stark against the colorful background and Jaxon liked how they stood out, front and center. He added two numbers after his name and capped the marker with a satisfying click. “There you go.”

Lucy stared down at what he’d written. JAXON #44

“Forty-four?” she asked.

“My basketball number.” Yeah, that’s right, Alex. Two can play at this game. Your girl’s wearing my number now.

Jaxon knew he was being possessive and petty, but at the moment, he didn’t care. At the moment, seeing his name and number branding Lucy outweighed everything else—except maybe the bewitching way her cheeks pinked up as she gazed at him.

“Oh. Thanks,” she said, shyly pulling her foot out of his lap.

Damn, he loved to see her cheeks go pink like that. Especially when he knew he was the reason for it. They sat together for a moment longer, their knees almost touching. The room felt charged with enough electricity to spark a fire. Jaxon looked deep into Lucy’s stunning green-gold eyes. Her lips parted and his pulse morphed into the soundtrack from Stomp! Goddamn he wanted to taste those lips of hers.

Not yours, his mind screamed, reeling his hormones back in.

By the grace of God, Jaxon managed to wrench himself away from Lucy’s appeal before he did something foolish. “We’d better get going or we’re gonna be late.”

Lucy

It was a crisp spring morning, but Lucy felt like it was the middle of summer as she thought about what it had been like having her leg in Jaxon’s lap. His fingers had brushed her toes and he’d looked at her with those startling blue eyes. He made her feel completely exposed. Like he could see right into her heart and view the torrid of emotions he stirred within her. And when he’d written his basketball number on her cast she’d nearly stopped breathing. #44. What were the chances? Alex was #4. Lucy had dozens of things with the number four stitched or etched into them.

It was like the world was trying to direct her toward Jaxon all along! Normally, Lucy didn’t put stock in such things, but from the moment she’d seen Jaxon write his strange flag-like fours on her hospital wall, she had a feeling it meant something. And now, staring down at the fours next to Jaxon’s name, boldly emblazoned on her cast, Lucy knew it did.

Jaxon had made his move. The next one would have to be hers.

* * *

Lucy somehow managed to make it through a full day of Jaxon chauffeuring her around campus without melting into a pile of drool. She was especially proud of herself for not letting him carry her, although he’d offered multiple times. She couldn’t decide if he was being chivalrous or if he was just trying to speed up her snail’s pace of crutching alongside him. But either way, she didn’t think she could survive being in his arms today. It was too comfortable a place.

Lucy had spent the previous night thinking about what Brooke said about Jaxon being her unicorn. Damn Brooke and her quirky metaphors. She’d painted over the image she’d drawn on Lucy’s cast just like she promised, but Lucy couldn’t erase it from her mind.

She’d laid awake all night letting her interactions with Jaxon run through her mind. Brooke was right; finding a guy as perfect as Jaxon truly was like finding a mythical creature. That was, if he was actually who he appeared to be. The verdict was still out on that. Lucy hadn’t really thought guys like Jaxon existed outside of fairytales, but here he was, showing up to save the day time and time again.

Lucy wasn’t naturally pessimistic, but she’d never really believed she deserved anything special in life. Perhaps that’s why she’d stayed with Alex for so long. Not that Alex wasn’t special. He was certainly a talented and popular athlete. But he’d never really made Lucy feel special. At least he hadn’t in a very long time.

The last time Alex had truly made Lucy feel even an inkling of the spark Jaxon ignited with just a smile was the day her father was arrested and Alex told her he’d be her family. But that was a lifetime ago. Was she really expected to limp along trying to cling to a long expired flame?

Plus, Alex treated Lucy with entitlement and disrespect, while Jaxon regarded her with compassion and understanding. The two boys couldn’t be more different. And then there was the way Jaxon made her feel. The flame between them was far from expiring. With Jaxon, the flame felt like it threatened to engulf her.

Just a few days of stolen glances and lingering touches and Lucy was starting to realize how much more there was to feel, to experience. She never realized the kind of connection she was missing, and now that she did, she was starting to realize maybe she wanted to explore it.

The feeling was terrifying. Wanting something and believing you deserved something were two completely different things. Lucy was certain the more time she spent with Jaxon the more strength she’d find to believe in her worth. But she wondered if she’d ever be strong enough to let herself be utterly alone in the world. Because that’s what it would mean if she was ever brave enough to break her ties with Alex. Would he truly cut her off from her father, her fortune? And was the chance for love worth the risk?

Lucy had never considered herself to be a risk taking kind of girl. But Brooke and Jaxon’s words were starting to weigh on her and a new sense of bravery began to take root somewhere deep within her bones. Lucy wondered if perhaps the accident had shaken something loose—a strength and will she never knew she had. But now that she’d tapped into it, the feeling seemed to spread, forging with her flesh and bones as her body fused back together, promising to make her more whole than she’d ever been if only she were brave enough to take a chance.

Lucy looked over at Jaxon from beneath her eyelashes as he drove her back toward her dorm in their golf cart. His posture was relaxed, one hand on the wheel, while the other rested across the back of the seat. Lucy could feel his warmth radiating toward her. The crisp spring air made her want to sink into it and let it seep into her bones. Everything about Jaxon seemed warm and safe. Every part of him was inviting. And when he caught her staring at him, he gave her an easy grin that she found herself returning.

Lucy had been fighting her whole life. Maybe it was time she stopped fighting. Or maybe the point was to find something worth fighting for?