Jax's POV
Carter was on edge to say the least.
The four of us sat at some cheap dinner waiting for Liam's friend to show up and to be honest, all of us looked tense.
The tension from last night's little fight seemed to roll over and followed us all day even though the fight wasn't even that bad.
Liam seemed to be the most tense out of all of us though. He looked like he was ready to jump between people if a new fight broke out.
He had leaned into Ryder while me and Callum sat on the other side of the booth. We had been waiting for this friend for like 20 minutes and I could tell Liam's spirit was starting to fall.
"He'll be here," Liam said after a few more minutes, but his face didn't match his words.
"We know he will," Callum said with a smile as he reached across the table, Liam's hand slowly inching forward until their hands connected.
"How did your day at work go," I asked after a while just to try to get the awkwardness out of the air.
"It was pretty good," he said with a shrug. "I wish I could have just stayed at home with you all day though."
"It's not like we did anything fun," Callum said with his own shrug. "Me and Ryder just watched Carter beat up a punching bag for most of the day."
"If it makes you feel any better, Carter had fun."
Ryder was about to say something else when Liam's eyes widened as he waved over someone with his free hand. Only a few seconds later a man is standing at our table while Liam and Ryder are scooting closer to the wall to make room for him.
I did not like this man, which was weird because nothing about him was overly bad. I mean he was tall and had a fair amount of muscles but he wasn't like Dayton or anything. Carter could take him I think. It might be hard for him but I still think he could, but James still freaked me out. Something about him just put me on edge and judging by Carter's glare, he was just as off put as I was.
"Sorry about being late. One of the managers made me stay a little later than I was scheduled to," he said with a smile as he looked over to Liam.
"It's okay we waited for you. This is Ryder," Liam said as he pointed our boyfriend. "And this is Callum and Jax." Callum stood up with his classic Callum smile as he shook James' hand but his shoulders were tense. He didn't seem to like James either.
"It's nice to meet you," Callum said tensely as he sat back down and gestured for him sit as well.
"It's nice to meet you too. Liam told me a lot about you," James said with his own smile, which only highlighted the scar by his eye.
The awkwardness was back.
James seemed like he would be charming enough to start a calm conversation but his demeanor now said that he was just as awkward as the rest of us.
I don't like him, Carter decided with a scowl.
I don't either. Maybe Carter should front for now, just in case? Kyra suggested as she shushed Bram from broadcasting something.
'Carter can front when the food gets here. If we switch now Liam might think we aren't trying to get along with him.' Carter huffed at that as he leaned back against the couch.
"So Liam tells me you work at a tattoo shop," James said as he looked over the menu.
"It's really only an apprenticeship right now but eventually it will be a real job."
James only hummed at that before looking over to Ryder with another smile, making Carter's glare deepen for no reason.
'You need to stop. If you act like this when you front you're either going to start something or you're make Liam mad.'
Carter didn't seem to care.
"I hear you're working at a bookstore now. Do you like it at all?"
"It's better than I expected it to be and it's really quiet in there so I don't really mind it." Ryder honestly seemed like the only one out of all of us who didn't seem to mind James.
"Do you guys like you're new apartment? Liam said something about you guys being new to town."
"It would be better if they allowed dogs," Callum grumbled as he passed the menu to me.
"We aren't getting a pug," Ryder said with a glare of his own. "I'll let you get any other kind of dog but I'm not going to live with pug breathing for the next 12-15 years."
Callum and Ryder then start having a loud conversation of their own. Callum even went to such lengths as to climb over me so he could sit face to face with Ryder, which sadly left me sitting right across from James.
For some reason having him right in front of us actually seemed to make Carter feel better. Maybe because he wouldn't have to go as far if he needed to attack this new friend.
"Do you want a dog too?"
"I'm not really an animal person," I say with a shrug as I looked over to Liam. Callum and Ryder were starting to get a little too loud. Liam only nodded at my non-verbal cue as he lifted Ryder onto his lap while my hand started at Callum's thigh before slowly inching up until my hand was hovering over his dick, making his words die in his throat.
"You two are getting to be a little too loud," I whispered to them, mostly to show my volume compared to theirs. Ryder frowned as he scooted off of Liam's lap. James looked like he was having a hard time keeping in his laughter.
"I'm going to get you back for that later," Callum whispered in my ear when I removed my hand from his slightly hard dick. I only hum and brush him off as the waiter comes to take orders.
Conversation stays casual as we wait for everyone's food to come out. I was convinced that James wasn't as bad as I thought he was but Carter still thought he was hiding something.
When the food came out Carter seemed reluctant to front for a second but when he did, his emotionless mask slipped on his face as he stared at James.
James' eyes widen at the sudden change until he seemed to remember something, probably that we were apart of a system; I'm sure Liam told him but I honestly didn't mind.
It meant we didn't have to explain anything and with the way Carter was acting, that was probably a good thing.
Carter's POV
You seriously need to calm down. Jax said with a sigh as he leaned back against the couch.
Staying tense like this is going to make things worse, Kyra reminded but I was done listening to their advice. Something about this dude didn't sit right with me.
He seemed okay enough but the longer I sat across from him; the more he let his own mask drop.
Little by little his relaxed shoulders tensed as if he were ready to bolt at any moment. His easy eyes began scanning the room as if he were checking for something. His smile slowly became more genuine as time went on though. He was hard to figure out and I didn't like it.
"You're Carter right," he asked as he began moving his pasta around his plate. "What do you usually do for fun?"
"I like to punch things," I huffed out, making Callum frown as his hand found mine under the table while James didn't seem to be surprised.
"Like kick boxing? I actually have a gym I go to all the time, a friend of mine owns it, maybe you could come with me some day?"
"That probably isn't a good idea," Liam admitted with a frown of his own.
"Why, you think he's going to beat me or something," James teased with a smirk as he stared at me. I can't help but glare back as I gripped Callum's hand tighter.
Damn. Jax cursed as he sank into the couch, knowing good and damn well there was no stopping this now.
He was mocking me. Whether he meant to or not, he was mocking me and I wasn't going to stand for it.
"We could always go outside and find out," I practically seethed.
Ryder's eyes went wide at my words as he sent me a pleading look but I was beyond that at this point.
I couldn't stress enough how much I didn't like this guy. If anyone else had said that I wouldn't have cared, but everything this guy did rubbed me the wrong way.
James' smile dropped in a second as he stared at me with wide eyes, as if he didn't know what to say.
"I didn't mean to say anything offensive," he assured as he backed into the booth while Liam looked ready to dive between us again. "I'm just a pretty competitive person. I still think we could go and work out at some point."
I only hummed as my jaw clenched. His reassuring words did little to sooth his previous ones.
'If someone doesn't front now, I will jump over this table and punch him into the ground.'
That was all Jax needed to start pulling me back as he pushed forward again.
The second he was up front again he was giving a half assed apology while I forced myself off the couch for Bram's sake. I hadn't been here for more than a few seconds and he was already hiding behind Kyra.
'Do you want some help calming down,' Kyra asked as she watched me walk out of the room.
'No, just keep Jax from being stupid for a few hours.'
'Few hours? Are you sure you don't need help?'
'I'll be fine,' I seethed out as I forced myself to take a deep breath. 'But if that ass wipe does something yell loudly and I'll come running.'
I didn't wait for her response as I walked out of the front room without another word and headed for the back door.
I could tell somehow, James was dangerous. He had that kind of vibe to him. It was the same feeling I used to get around Jax's dad. Whenever you were around him, you could just tell that he has done some shit.
And after dealing with his dad's shit for so long, I've learned that those kind of gut feelings were there for a reason so you should listen them.
I didn't know how often I would have to deal with that man, but if it were too often, I can't promise that I would be able to control myself.
Last updated July 5, 2021
Comments (6)
See all