Their New Beginning (Oh Captain, My Captain #5) (7 page)

Jax

Avery left me smiling. I wasn’t expecting her to show up, but I’m glad she did. Once things wrap up with work, I call Ashton on my way home.

“Hey, how are things going?” he answers.

“They’re going. We had lunch together; she recreated our first date. Things felt good for a bit.”

“Good.”

“Well, believe it or not, I didn’t call to talk about me. How are things with you and Lexie? I’m about to send Reed another package soon, by the way.”

I can hear the smile in his voice. “We’re good, Jax. Real good. Reed’ll be excited. He’s probably going to call you tonight. He told Brooke this morning that he missed his Uncle Jax. Poor kid doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

I laugh. “I’ll definitely have to send him something extra then. Maybe he wants to switch from the piano to the drums? Brooke will love that.” Brooke is Reed’s mom and one of my good friends as well. One very drunken night between those two gave them Reed. They’ve always been friends, and they didn’t hesitate to find a way to raise their boy together.

Ashton laughs. “Don’t do that. She’ll blame it on me somehow, I’m sure.”

“I’ll think about it. All right, I’m at the house. I’m going to go relax for the rest of the evening.”

We hang up, and I wonder where Avery is. Her car isn’t in the driveway. She’s probably running errands or gone to see her sister or maybe Jasmine. I ignore the nagging thought in the back of my mind that she could be out with someone else. Maybe I should just take a nap. I could possibly get one in before Avery gets back from wherever she is doing God knows what. The temptation of my own bed, not the one in the guest bedroom, has me debating where I should sleep for the next hour.

I push open the door to our bedroom, my eyes on the bed like it’s chocolate I really crave, but shouldn’t have before dinner. Fuck it. It’s my bed in my room in my house. I can sleep wherever the hell I want. No one ever really uses the guest bedrooms, so the beds aren’t that great. My bed, however, feels amazing. There’s just something about your own bed that makes life a little sweeter.

Laying on my side, I adjust my pillow and close my eyes, inhaling deeply before releasing it. My eyes flash back open. My pillow smells like Avery. Has she been sleeping on my side of the bed? It seems like such a silly thought. Part of me wants to get up and go to the guest bedroom while another part just wants to enjoy this little piece of normalcy.

My eyes drift closed, choosing for me.

~ ~ ~

“Jax? Where are–” My eyes open as her words stop. “You?” she finishes weakly, almost stunned to see me in my own bed. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were sleeping.”

“It’s okay,” I answer, getting out of bed. “I needed to wake up anyway. Did you need something?”

“No, I saw you were home, but you were nowhere to be found at first.”

Right. She wasn’t here. “Where were you?” I glance at the clock. It’s been an hour and a half since I came home.

“Jasmine called, wanting to go for coffee, so I went to see her. She misses having me at work and wanted to rant.” She gives me a small smile. “I left a note on the kitchen counter,” she adds.

I didn’t check the kitchen for a note. For one single moment, I pause to see if I believe that she was out with Jasmine. My body deflates at the thought. I don’t want to wonder that every time she leaves the house without me or if I come home and she’s not here. “Oh, okay,” I finally say. Avery notices the change because I see it reflected in her. Before I can change my mind, I continue, “I’m going shopping for another package for Reed. Do you want to go with me?”

She doesn’t normally go with me, but I won’t worry about her cheating if she’s is with me. I hate I even think that. At the same time, for one night, my wife wanted another man because I wasn’t doing my part. I’m still not. I can’t. Not yet. Who’s to say that Avery won’t wait until I can? God, I hate this.

“Yeah,” she nods. “I haven’t done that with you in a while. How is he, anyway?”

We start out the bedroom and out the house as I answer her. “Good. Ashton said he’ll probably call soon because he misses his favorite player.” I smile at the thought.

Avery laughs. “That doesn’t surprise me. You’ve always been a kid-magnet. They all love you.” She pauses before changing the subject. “What do you plan on buying him this time?”

Reed is a safe topic, one I don’t mind talking about. “Well, I was running out of ideas. The kid pretty much has everything he wants already, but I was talking to Ashton today and you know, Reed likes to play the piano, so I thought about drums. Ashton said no, and Brooke will probably say no, which makes it perfect for Uncle Jax to give him.”

That giggle escapes her once again and fills my car. “You aren’t really going to send him drums, are you? After his parents said no?”

“Oh, I think I am. Technically, Ashton said no because of Brooke. I haven’t asked her. I didn’t ask Ashton, come to think of it. So, yes, drums. And I’ll need to find Sadie something, too.”

“Sadie?”

I glance at her. “Yeah, Ashton’s girlfriend’s daughter and Reed’s best friend. I’ve sent her something a few times as well after meeting them at the cabin that weekend. Didn’t I tell you?”

Avery shakes her head. “I mean, you told me they would be there, but I don’t think you ever said her name and you never said much about the trip once you came home.”

She never asked either. I came home, she said, “Hey. You got home safely.” I said, “Yep,” and that was the end of that conversation. We fall quiet once again until we get to the store. When we walk around the front of my car, I reach for her hand, easily intertwining our fingers. Avery squeezes my hand when I open the door for her and I smile at her.

“Sadie loves Hello Kitty and
Frozen
, so if we can find something with that, we’re set,” I tell her as we head toward the girl toys.

“Maybe they’ll have a microphone or something for her to sing or play with Reed,” she offers an idea.

“Yeah, let’s look for something like that.”

We walk around for half an hour before we find a little, pink piano. On our way to the boys’ section to see if they have a kid’s drum set or if we’ll have to go somewhere else, my phone rings.

“Hey, Reed,” I answer. Even though my caller ID says Brooke, I’m sure it’s him.

“Hey, Uncle Jax! Mom let me stay up to watch your game. Congrats on the hat trick! It was awesome!”

I laugh, my eyes finding Avery as I smile. “Thanks. I thought so, too. How’s school?”

Reed talks for about ten minutes about school, chicken nuggets, and Sadie. Avery finds a set of drums and I tilt my phone away from my head. “Those look good, right?” I ask quietly, but Reed still hears me.

“Aren’t you listening? What are you doing? Who are you talking to anyway?”

“Didn’t your momma teach you not to be so nosey, Reed?” I don’t give him a chance to answer. “I’m shopping with your Aunt Avery.”

“I hate shopping with Mom; it takes forever. Tell Aunt Avery I said hey.”

I do and then say, “She said hey. You wouldn’t hate shopping if you knew I was out shopping for you.”

The excitement quickly grows. “You are? Am I getting a package soon? What am I getting? Tell me, Uncle Jax, please,” he begs.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oh, okay.” He sounds so sad and defeated that it makes me smile. “Mom says I have to go, but she wants to talk to you.”

“Tell her to call later then.” I’m not particularly in the mood to talk to Brooke, especially in the middle of a shopping trip. After saying our goodbyes, I hang up and turn to Avery. “All right, let’s get our shit and get out.”

She laughs, leading the way. Once we’re back in the car and on the way home, I thank Avery for coming with me. She gives me one of her smiles that has always taken my breath away. It’s a bit of relief it still does.

~ ~ ~

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jax. It’s Avery.”

I laugh. “I know it’s you. Your name popped up on my phone.”

She ignores me. “I’m doing well, thank you. Glad to hear you are, too. I was calling because I had a really good time the other day and I would like to take you out again if you have the time.”

I’m in the laundry room, about to start a load, but I stop to lean against the doorframe. “Hmm. Where would we be going?”

“It’s a surprise, Jax. So, what do you say?”

“I’d love to. What time?”

“Thirty minutes?”

“Sounds perfect,” I smile.

“Great, see you then.”

We hang up and I leave the clothes as they are. I’ll start it later. Getting ready doesn’t take me long, but I do find myself checking the time. Where is Avery? We could have left already. Exactly thirty minutes after she called, there’s a knock on the door. Who’s here and where the hell is Avery?

My questions are answered when I open the door to find Avery. She knocked?

Avery smiles, like it’s completely normal for her to knock on her own door. “Hey, Jax. Are you ready for our date?”

“Um, yeah. Let me grab my keys.” I reach from them on the table near the door.

After locking the house up, we walk to where our cars are parked and over her shoulder, just as I’m about to turn towards my Mustang, Avery says, “I’m driving.”

Okay then. I try to keep my lips in place and not smile. I like this side of Avery. “So where are we going?” I ask as she drives.

She glances over at me. “Don’t try to ruin my surprise.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Even though I already know where we’re going, I wanted to try and make her say it anyway. We share small talk as she asks about my day and I ask about hers. Thanks to traffic, it takes us a little longer to arrive at the rink. I brought her here for our second date because I thought it would be fun, she could try something new, and I could easily find ways to impress her.

Much like that day, there are two pairs of skates waiting for us when we go inside. We start to switch out our shoes for skates.

“You’re the pro here, so would you tie my laces for me please?”

I laugh because she can never get them tight enough. “Of course.” Once I finish with mine, I quickly tie hers for her.

Avery stands, takes my hand, and leads us to the ice. “I’m a little rusty,” she starts, glancing over her shoulder at me. “It’s like riding a bike, right?”

Laughing again, I nod. “Yeah, sure.” She’s a little wobbly when we start, but only for a moment. “You’re not trying to show off, are you?” I ask from next to her.

“I’m not the show-off type.” She shrugs, but picks up speed. “So, if you’re the type of person to have a bucket list, what’s one thing that’s on it?”

I skate just ahead of her, turn to grab both her hands so I’m skating backwards. When I start to go a little faster, thinking about my answer, she gives me a serious look.

“If I fall–” she starts.

I laugh. “You’ll be fine. You won’t fall. But, to answer your question and keeping up with your love of danger, I want to swim with sharks. You?”

“Um, I’m sure that you don’t want to hear it. It’s kind of girly and silly.”

“Sure, I do. Tell me, Avery.”

“Well, before, it was to see a Broadway musical in New York City, but now,” she pauses and looks down. “It’s you. I want you.”

Her answer catches me off guard as I stop skating and just glide over the ice. I stare at her, not paying attention to anything else and I bump right into the boards. Bump is a nice word for it, really. My footing almost slips completely out from under me and it doesn’t help that Avery runs into me and I’m trying to keep her from falling. I regain my balance, trying my damnedest not to tense up at having Avery leaning into me with my hands now on her hips.

My lips part, but I don’t say anything. Softly, Avery says, “Do you remember this date, Jax? You took me skating, I fell, and,” she pauses, “you kissed me for the first time.”

I remember all too well. Best first kiss of my life and I’m not exaggerating in the least. I still love her, but I can’t imagine kissing her right now. “I…” I stop, close my eyes, and take a deep, almost painful breath for what I’m about to say, “I can’t. Not yet.”

Avery

I sit in the restaurant waiting for Regina and my mother. Today is my mother’s birthday and I’m waiting for them at her favorite place to eat. I came early to have a large glass of wine to get myself prepared for this evening.

I stare down at my phone, letting Jax know where I am this evening, since he’s out on the road. His reply? ‘OK’. That’s it. I close my eyes think of our
date
yesterday. I wanted him to kiss me so badly. I want the connection back, but it isn’t happening. It’s been almost a month since I told him I cheated, and our anniversary is coming up fast. I don’t want to still be fighting with him on that day. I want our life back.

“There’s my baby.” I open my eyes to see my mother coming to me. My mother is unique. That’s the only way I can describe her. Well, maybe the best way is that she’s the poster child of Las Vegas Plastic Surgeries. Even when she kisses my cheek, I can feel her taut skin against mine.

“Hello, Mom. You look... lovely.”

Regina rolls her eyes behind our mother, and I do my best not to laugh.

“Thank you, darling. I’ve been taking a Pilates class.”

“That sounds like fun. Is it at the senior center?” Regina asks, sitting next to me.

Mom narrows her eyes. “Do I look like someone who goes to the
senior
center?”

I shake my head. I think she forgets she’s in her sixties and not her thirties.

“No, Mom. You look like someone that should be in a nightclub,” Regina smarts off. She leans in closer to the table. “I’ve always wondered: do the black lights make the Botox glow?”

I almost spit out my wine as Mom rolls her eyes at her. “Regina, isn’t this my birthday? Aren’t you supposed to be nice to me today?”

“Okay, no more jokes. We’re going to have a fun evening.”

“Good.” She claps her hands together as the waiter comes back and takes our order. “I do have an announcement.” We look at her. “I have fallen in love.” Instantly, Regina and I groan. Not this again. “I mean it this time. This is it. His name Donald. Well,” she smiles. “I call him Donnie, but we’re going to be married. He’s wonderful.”

“Of course he is,” I mumble.
Wonderful
is how Mom describes each husband she’s had.

“Well, tell us about our new
daddy
.” Regina chugs the wine down quickly.

“No offense, Mom, but what number is going to be? Eight?”

“Ten,” Regina corrects me. “Number Nine was the Italian guy.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about him.”

“Enough,” Mom says firmly. “I may have been in a few relationships before, but this is it. This is the one.”

“Is he in his nineties and a billionaire? That’s how I’ll know he’s the one for me,” Regina mouths off.

I giggle at her. Regina is all talk. She and I are more alike on the topic of marriage. One and done is our motto. I think that’s why she’s never gotten married. That, and her job.

“I mean it this time,” Mom almost whines at us.

I sigh. “Okay, okay. If this guy means so much to you, then congrats, Mom.” I tip my glass to her.

“Thank you,” she beams, and thankfully, we move off the topic.

The dinner goes more smoothly. Regina tells us all about the hotel business and the promotion she hopes to receive. I have no doubts she’ll get it. She’s brilliant at her job.

“What about you, Avery? How’s the hospital?” Mom asks.

My mouth drops. I forgot to tell her. “Well, I quit and have become Jax’s assistant. I handle the scheduling, finances, and merchandising.”

“Really? I’m surprised. Wait,” Mom gasps. “Are you pregnant?”

I shake my head, rolling my eyes. “No, Mom.”

“Are you trying then?”

I don’t want to say I haven’t been able to since Jax and I aren’t having sex. Hell, he’s barely touched me. “Jax and I agreed a long time ago to wait until Jax’s career slowed down before we have kids. He’s just twenty-seven, and I turned twenty-six a few months ago. I mean, we still have plenty of time to have kids later on down the road.”

I can’t lie; I wished we would have a child. I want to be a mother, but right now, I’m glad we don’t. We need to rebuild us before we add more to it. We’ve talked several times about it, and we agreed no kids until later. I take my birth control pill faithfully every morning, and we haven’t had any slip ups at all.

When dinner is over, Mom seems happy, Regina is still her same old self, and I’m heading home. Pulling into the driveway, I realize that this house is much larger than we truly need, but this is what Jax’s wanted.

I walk in, shut off the security alarm, and toss my items on the table. It’s quiet. It’s different now that I’m not working at the hospital. It would be nights like these that I would pick up an extra shift or stay over to help, just so I wouldn’t be alone.

I walk into the kitchen, grab a bottle of water, and go to the TV room. I flip on NHL Network, seeing the scores. Ashton is really battling to be number one, but Jax is beginning to put distance between them. I shake my head, laughing at their friendly rivalry.

Jax’s game is over, so I give him a quick call.

“Hey. What’s going on?”

“Just walked in from Mom’s birthday dinner. You will be happy to know she’s getting married again. Oh, and I think she had her lips done.”

“What number is she on now?”

“Ten. I actually forgot about number nine last year.”

“That’s crazy. Well, did you have a good time?”

“It was nice. Regina, of course, was poking fun at Mom, making me laugh. But, you know how she is. Oh, I see that you got another point to add to the growing list tonight. Congrats. Ashton’s pissed, isn’t he?”

He laughs. “Yeah, he called to tell me that Reed acted a little disappointed in him today because of it. I offered him Hockey 101 lessons, but he turned me down.”

“Oh, Jax,” I giggle at him. “You guys are too funny.” I bite my lip and lower my voice. “What are you doing now?”

“Thinking about going to test out the hot tub in this place. You?”

“I’m laying on the couch.” My voice is still soft. “All alone. Thinking about my gorgeous husband and wishing he was here with me.”

“Oh yeah?” I can tell he’s getting the point. “I’m sure he wishes he was there too. He would probably–” The line goes silent. I look at my phone, making sure it isn’t disconnect.

“What’s wrong, Jax?” I can hear my own sadness in my tone.

“Nothing, Avery. I just…” He sighs, and I know that he doesn’t want to do this.

“Alright.” I sit up on the couch. “I understand. I just wanted to call you like we used to do when you had road games. I miss that. I miss you.” I feel the tears building. I do miss him. I miss everything.

“Thanks for calling, I really mean it.” He’s being sincere.

“You’re welcome. Go enjoy the hot tub.” I quickly hang up, and the tears roll down my cheek.