Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)(39)

Hands slipped around my waist. “Don’t tell me you were going to leave me to the crowd and go down there all alone,” Jax whispered in my ear.

I leaned against him and enjoyed the comfort of his arms. I hated how lost I’d been when he’d been everyone else’s, instead of mine.

“Dylan’s not a bad host. All it took was my letting him know I wanted freedom tonight with you, and he took over.”

I smiled. “Well, you are making his party the hottest event this town has ever seen.”

Jax kissed my head. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

He relaxed his hold and came to stand beside me, still holding me against his side. “Do you want to escape down there by ourselves, or do you want to attend this party we came to? Just so you know, I'm good with whatever you choose.”

I wanted to escape and keep Jax to myself. But I also came here tonight because Amanda invited me, and I wanted to hang out with her some and meet some of the others. The crowed was slowly getting back into the party. Many still watched Jax. I couldn’t blame them. I wanted to stare at him myself.

“I guess I should go find Amanda and mingle,” I said reluctantly.

Jax took my hands and pulled me close. “When this is over, we can have some time alone.” He grinned wickedly at me. “Time alone with you is my favorite pastime.”

I blushed and turned back toward the heart of the party. As we passed people, they introduced themselves, and Jax never failed to be nice and polite. He shook hands, and some of the braver guests asked him to autograph their items.

Amanda came up beside me. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I hope Dylan has made it easier.”

“Yes, he did. We expected it, or something similar, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”

Amanda grinned. “Well he is the hottest teen idol in America.”

Jax smiled at her, and she looked like she might faint, and I elbowed him in the ribs. He needed to work on not overwhelming girls with his smile. Amanda got a grip on herself.

“Okay, so, I want to introduce you to some friends. But,” she said, “they are probably going to be more interested in meeting your date.”

“It’s okay, I know.”

She led us over to a group of girls who seemed familiar. I remembered a few of them from school.

“Hey, girls, I wanted to introduce you to Sadie. She was at school for the last few weeks. She will be a senior this year too. Sadie, this is Jessie,” a petite blond with pixie hair, “Mary Ann,” a petite redhead, with wavy hair and surprisingly tanned skin, and “Peyton,” a tall brunette. All the girls smiled at me, but their eyes strayed to Jax.

“I remember you from Spanish,” Peyton said, looking from me to Jax.

When I glanced over at him, Jax attention seemed to be solely focused on me. He smiled reassuringly.

“So, how do you two know each other?” Mary Ann asked, and all three sets of eyes went to Jax. Only Amanda seemed to remember my presence.

Jax squeezed my hand. “I met her through a mutual friend. Then I fell under her enchantment, and I can’t seem to get enough.”

I blushed, and all four girls got sappy smiles on their faces, and one of them even sighed. “Wow, I can’t believe Jax Stone’s girlfriend lives in Sea Breeze.”

I started to correct her. I wasn’t Jax's girlfriend, and he would be gone soon.

“Well--”

“She worries about my privacy. But then, I like the fact she wants to keep me all to herself.” His hand squeezed mine, and I bit back a laugh.

Amanda sighed. “Does my brother know about Jax?”

I glanced up at Jax, and he nodded. “Yes, he does.”

Amanda shook her head. “I swear, he knows something like this and doesn’t even think it’s important enough to share with me.”

“Don’t be so hard on him. It was by my request he not tell anyone,” I assured her.

Amanda wasn’t appeased, but she shrugged. “Well, I don’t think I will ever forget my shock when you stepped out of his car holding his hand. I swear, I thought I was hallucinating.”

I laughed, and Jax chuckled beside me.

“I’m going to introduce them to some other people,” said Amanda to her friends. “And I am sure they are hungry. See you girls later.”

Over the next hour, we were introduced to so many people I knew I couldn’t remember them all. But I had no doubt they’d remember me. I somehow appeared famous in their eyes. I happened to like not being the center of attention. It worried me that I wouldn’t be able to deal with the way this changed my life. We sat down by the bonfire and listened to the boys talk about the upcoming football season. They all seemed excited and ready for it to begin. They were trying to impress Jax with their stories, and a couple even broke down and asked Jax about his tour and his playing guitar by ear. He answered their questions as if he’d known them forever. His ability to act comfortable in any situation amazed me. We drew a small crowd when others began to realize he was answering questions and talking. This crowd didn’t seem as crazy as the earlier one, just curious. I ate a hot dog Jax roasted for me while he talked. He’d fixed it for me as he answered questions about Star. Guys all seemed to have questions about the pop princess.