Stay with Me (Wait for You, #3)(99)

Which I would’ve found highly ironic any other day.

He stopped in front of me, but his eyes were on Jase. “Everything okay over here, Calla?”

I couldn’t see Jase, but I imagined he had that shit-eating grin on his face. “Yeah, this is Jase.” I turned a little. “And this is Teresa. That’s Cam and Avery. They’re—”

“You’re friends from college.” Proving that he did listen to me when I rambled, he relaxed as he shoved out a hand toward Jase. “Nice to meet you.”

Jase dropped his hand and shook Jax’s. “Same here.”

Yeah, that didn’t sound sincere. And this was awkward. “Um, they came up as a surprise.”

“That’s cool,” he replied, head cocked to the side as he turned to Teresa. “Calla really misses you guys.”

“That’s because we’re awesome,” Teresa replied. “And we love Calla. Like for real. All of us. A lot. And we’re really protective of her.”

Jax stared at her.

Right now, I’d be okay with a dead body landing on my head, and strangely, I wondered who was watching Raphael and Michelangelo, their pet turtles, since Cam and Avery were here.

Cam suddenly stiffened. “What the . . . ?”

I knew who they spotted the second Cam and Jase turned into teenage girls.

“Holy shit,” breathed Jase.

“You can say that twice.”

Brock was standing a few feet behind Jax, holding a pool stick. It was obvious that Cam and Jase were openly gawking at him, and he played it cool, giving the two guys a chin lift.

“Who’s that?” Teresa murmured.

“Who’s that?” Jase turned wide eyes on her. “I don’t think I can be with you anymore.”

Her eyes rolled as she smacked his arm. “Whatever.”

“You guys want to meet him?” Jax offered, winking at me, and my heart did a little jig, because seriously, he gave good wink.

Jase and Cam effectively forgot the existence of their girlfriends and followed Jax like he was the damn pied piper of UFC fighters.

“Seriously?” Teresa folded her arms. “Who is that?”

“He’s a mixed martial arts ninja or something. Fights on TV,” I explained. “He trains in Philly.”

“Oh.” Avery nodded. “Cam’s way into those things.”

Teresa still looked somewhat unimpressed.

“You guys want to get anything?”

“A soda would be good,” Avery said, and that’s when I remembered that Teresa wasn’t old enough to legally be in here, but at this point, what the hell ever. I walked them over to the bar and then I headed behind it to grab two sodas.

“Friends?” Nick asked.

I nodded.

“Take some time. We got the bar.”

“That’s not—”

“Take some time, Calla,” he repeated solemnly. “It’s okay. Roxy and I got the bar.”

Smiling at him, I nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

I took the drinks out of the bar and around to where the two girls were huddled behind the occupied stools. Roxy was busying serving up drinks, and I reminded myself I needed to introduce her.

After handing over the drinks, I leaned against the wall, near a framed photo of a guy who looked like he belonged to the Hells Angels. Avery was looking at me strangely and when my eyes caught hers, she smiled tentatively.

“You look really good, Calla.”

“Thanks. It’s . . . um, it’s the makeup.” My cheeks heated and I felt like a dork for saying that. “Well, I mean, I’m not wearing that much.”

“I like it.” She shook her wrist so the silver cuff slid into place.

“You do look great.” Teresa bit down on her lip and then she cut right to the point. “Who’s the girl?”

I wanted to cry. I wanted to bang my forehead off the bar and cry. “She’s this girl who he’d hooked up with a while ago.”

“A while ago?” Teresa was eyeing Jax as he stood with the guys, facing us. Her tone bled doubt, and I wanted to throw myself in front of a moving truck.

“Yeah,” I whispered, taking a deep breath as Jax looked over in my direction. The grin on his face faded. I looked away, focusing on my friends, and I did smile, because I was thrilled that they were here. “Anyway, I’m glad you guys are here. How long are you all staying?”

“We checked into a hotel not too far from here.” Avery tucked her hair back behind one shoulder. She was so damn pretty with her red hair and faint freckles. “And we’re going to tour the city tomorrow.”

“You’re off, right?” Teresa asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I can join you. Should be fun.” At least, I hoped I could join them, all things considered.

“Awesome. Avery’s never been to Philly before,” she explained.

She laughed. “I’ve pretty much never been anywhere before.”

Avery and I . . . yeah, we were kind of kindred souls even though I didn’t know her as well as I knew Teresa. I grinned at her. “I’ve never been half of anywhere, so it’s okay.”

Her smile spread, reaching her eyes, and she glanced over toward the guys at the exact same moment Cam looked over. His lips curved up.