Toxic Secrets (11 page)

“Who?” I choked, triggering up another series of coughs.

Jaxon pointed at Phillip’s dad, “That guy right there.”

I smacked his hand down. “Shh, don’t be so loud,” I whispered. “That is my ex-boyfriend’s father.”

“Well, I don’t care who the hell he is, he needs to stop staring at me,” he exclaimed, his voice growing louder with each word. “From the moment we sat down, the fucker’s been looking at me.” Jaxon glared at Phillip’s dad. “People are so fuckin’ judgmental,” he muttered under his breath then looked away.

Getting agitated with his sudden behavior, I was slightly taken back by his anger, the harsh tone rubbed me the wrong way.

“I’m sure he’s not staring at only you, and, even if he is, he’s probably just wondering who you are since it does look like we are on some sort of date.” I waved my hand indicating all four of us sitting together. “And maybe he thinks your staring at him. After all, you've been noticing him watching you that long.”

Reed reached across the table with his palms out. “Calm down you two, geez. Jaxon…” he gave him a ‘get real’ look, “you should be used to the stares by now, and, after all, you are in a small town where everybody knows everybody. When we see an unfamiliar face… we stare,” he explained with widened eyes. “Stop assuming that everyone around here is so judgmental.” Reed turned his attention to me. “Courtney—”

“Reed, don’t even say it.” I interrupted him, leaning across the table and keeping my voice low so that no one from the surrounding tables could hear me. “You know how much Mr. Wilkins means to me, so keep your wise words to yourself.”

Sitting back against the booth, I turned to Jaxon, “Will you please excuse me? I need to visit the ladies room… and somebody needs to find a new attitude,” I muttered while scooting off the long bench. Jaxon stood up and let me out, keeping his eyes on Phillip’s dad the entire time.

Kendra was on my heels as I shoved the bathroom door open. I whipped my head around to face her when I heard the door close.

“What the hell just happened? I felt like I had Phillip sitting beside me, going off on one of his tirades.” I flapped my arms around in exasperation. “I don’t need to surround myself with another hot-head, so you guys can leave me out of anymore escapades you plan from now until Jaxon leaves. I have no—” 

Kendra harshly laid her hand over my mouth, muffling everything else I tried to say. “You are as out of control as Jaxon is, now shut up and listen.”
Was she seriously giving me attitude?
“Jaxon has had a hard life and had to grow up way too soon, and, when I say soon, he grew up with no parents and only his grandmother to raise him.” My eyes grew wide. “Yeah, so cut him some slack. Anyway, he’s going to be here for a lot longer than I thought.” Slowly, Kendra’s lips spread into a smile. “I was just informed this morning that Jaxon is planning on opening a bar and grill here in his grandmother’s hometown, and he’s asked Reed to manage the place for him. Isn’t that great news?”
So that was why he was out here.

I pulled Kendra’s hand off my mouth. “So, what does that have to do with the meltdown we just witnessed?”

“Well, according to Reed, he gets a little overly defensive when he thinks someone is judging him. With his upbringing, he got ridiculed a lot,” she explained. The tips of her lips pulled down slightly. “Does it really matter? Look, I just want us all to get along and have a good time together.” She dropped the cheerful charade. “If I thought he was leaving after Christmas and never coming back, I wouldn’t care if you told him to fuck off, but, since he’s practically asking Reed to be his business partner, I want us to all play nice and get along… for once. You know what I mean?” I did know what she meant, and I could tell she wasn’t trying to throw the past in my face. I owed her, it was the least I could do.

Sighing, I said, “Look, I’ll play nice in the sandbox, but you know Jaxon’s going to have to meet my mom ASAP if you expect us four to pal around together.” I took a step toward her pointing my finger to her chest. “And you are going to explain the whole miscommunication mishap to her too,” I sneered.

Kendra closed the distance between us and rested her hands on my shoulders. “Don’t worry, I will, and I’m really sorry I told you Jaxon was twenty years old. When Reed told me stories about him and Jaxon as kids, I just assumed they were the same age,” she said, releasing my shoulders with a shrug.

Leaning against the sink with my arms folded, I begged the question. “Was Jaxon as misinformed about me as I was him?” Some guys like younger girls, but Jaxon didn’t seem to fit that type.

“I honestly can’t answer that, Courtney. That is a question for Reed. I really have no idea what Reed told him about you. You've been around Jaxon more than I have.”

I was having trouble reading her face.
Was she feeding me a line of bull or telling the truth?
I decided to skip asking Reed, and, when the timing was right, I’d ask Jaxon instead.

“We better get our asses back out there before they think we are having bathroom issues for real this time,” Kendra laughed, reminding me of my bathroom escape last night.

We both took a quick glance in the mirror, making sure everything was in place before joining the guys.

As we walked out of the bathroom, I stopped Kendra right outside of the door. “I didn’t say it earlier, but I’m uber excited for you and Reed. Even though you haven’t said much about it, I know how stressed you’ve been lately.” Reed wanted to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in business management after graduating with an Associate’s this spring, and he was contemplating whether or not to move close to the college or make the long commute every day. This business proposition Jaxon offered him was a godsend. “We should celebrate.”

Kendra flat-palmed my chest, stopping me from taking another step. “No, we shouldn’t. I’m not supposed to know about any of it. Reed made me swear to secrecy because they’ve not told anyone yet, so keep your mouth shut.”

“Fine, my lips are sealed,” I huffed.

As we walked back toward our booth, I took notice that the Wilkins were still at their table.

Reed winked at me as Jaxon stepped out from the booth to let me in. I avoided all eye contact as I stepped by him to slide into my seat.

“I’m very sorry for my behavior, but people staring at me is a big pet peeve of mine. I know that’s not a good excuse, but do you think you could find it in your sweet southern heart to forgive me?” He whispered into my ear, sending chills across my body. I slowly nodded as his lips lingered. “And, just so you know, you are an exception to that pet peeve.” Instantly heat rolled through me, flushing away the chills. Jaxon moved away quickly as I heard a familiar voice. Looking up, I saw Phillip’s parents standing at our table. Sure, they had gotten their eyes full of Jaxon’s lips on my ear. I prayed at that moment that my face was not flashing in red.

“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins,” I said too cheerfully. I kicked Jaxon in the leg under the table to let him know to keep his mouth shut.

“Courtney, Kendra, Reed,” Sean nodded as he greeted each one of us. “And, you are?” He asked, nodding to Jaxon.

“I’m Jaxon Vaughn,” he replied extending his hand. We sat there in an awkward hiatus as Jaxon and Sean shook hands staring at one another. "You look very familiar young man. Are you from around here?"

"No, Sir."

"Do you visit here often?"

"No, Sir."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jaxon.”

Sean kept his eyes on Jaxon, studying him. Not judging him like Maryann, but observing like he was trying to figure out something about him.

“Jaxon, this is Pastor Wilkins and his lovely wife, Maryann,” I explained, trying not to choke on the last few words that spout out of my mouth. I was proud I had the ability to withhold my distaste for her from rolling off my tongue…
Bitch!

Jaxon gave her a nod as she gave him a weak smile. I could tell she judged him by appearance alone, and her eyes definitely saw something different than what I saw.

“Well, kids, it was nice seeing y’all. Hope you enjoy your lunch, and, you,” Sean said, pointing at me, “don’t be a stranger.” I understood his double meaning. Not only had I stopped going to their house, but I had also stopped going to their church after breaking things off with Phillip.

I mumbled a ‘goodbye’ to them as they left our table.

As the waitress came back to take our order, I discreetly slipped my phone out to see if I had a text or missed call from Phillip. The only unread text on my phone was from Kendra, asking if I had left the house yet. Seeing Phillip’s parents made me sure that I would be hearing from him sooner rather than later.

Chapter 11 ~ Showtime at Seven O’clock

The remainder of lunch ended with a monotonous conversation. The company, though, was far from dull. Jaxon had this indescribable vibrancy about him. He was just one of those types of people that you wanted to hang out with. Besides the occasional sexual innuendo he tossed my way, I felt more at ease in his presence the longer I 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 him. He obviously wasn't going to answer me. I guess I had probed too much. There was no point in sitting around any longer if we weren’t going to talk, so I gathered my purse. “You know I think I’m going to start my shift early. I can see you are clearly finished with this conversation.” I grabbed my purse, then reached for the door handle. “Oh, and thanks for lunch, and, if I forget to tell you later, thank you for taking a look at my car,” I sneered.

As I pushed the car door open, Jaxon grabbed my arm holding me in place. “If you must know, Jack and Zoey are my grandparents… I just switched the first initials.” He peered up at me over the top of his sunglasses.

Letting go of my arm, he then straightened up in his seat to inspect his teeth in the rearview mirror. “So you see, Zack and Joey really are nobody,” he said sarcastically, as he readjusted the mirror back in place then sat back comfortably in his seat giving me an adorable crooked grin.
Smartass.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you would stop meddling in my personal business,” he added in a serious tone.