Misbehaving (Sea Breeze #6)(16)

“Why don’t we let him make his own decisions?” she replied, going into his arms easily.

“If you two are about to make out, please give me time to get the hell out of here,” I snapped before standing up. One weekend with these two and I was tired of their constant affection.

Jax frowned and glanced back at me. “You’re in a bad mood. Maybe you should try going back to bed.”

Or I could leave. Get away from the lovebirds so I could think about my life some without having Jax’s life forced down my throat. “I’m leaving,” I replied.

“No need to. We’ve got a plane to catch in an hour. You’ll have the place to yourself. Maybe then you can figure out what the hell is eating at you and get over it.”

I could see the concern on Sadie’s face. She didn’t like seeing us like this. Normally, Jax and I got along well. I loved him. But right now everything in my life revolved around Jax and his fame. I was tired of it. I needed to figure out what I wanted for my life. My mother was convinced I was going to be a damn politician, and I was unhappy with life at school. Going back for the fall semester was gonna suck. Even at Harvard, everyone still seemed to care more about Jax than actually getting to know me.

“I’m sorry I’m being an ass. I just need some time alone to think,” I tried explaining.

Jax nodded. “I know. Figure it out. Then come home. I’m used to having you around in the summers. I miss you.”

Chapter Six

JESS

Momma was pacing back and forth in front of me while she smoked her third cigarette in a row. “I can’t believe you let that boy stay the night. Seeing his truck parked outside when I got home . . .” She shook her head, then took another long drag.

“Momma, he was passed out on the sofa. It ain’t like I had him snuggled up in my bed,” I replied, wishing she would sit down. It was never a good thing when Momma was pacing. It’s a miracle she didn’t put a bullet in Hank last night.

“He’s trash, Jess. You know this. What is wrong with you? I thought you’d finally got that out of your system. He’s got a kid, for God’s sake. What more does he have to do to you before you wake the hell up?”

I ran my hand through my tangled hair and sighed. She wasn’t listening to me. She didn’t believe that I had let Hank sleep over because he’d been drunk. She thought it meant something more. “I don’t want Hank. It’s over. But he needed to sleep it off. I didn’t see any harm in it.”

“Any harm in it? Really, baby girl? That’s what you’re gonna say? Do I need to remind you that when that boy snaps, he goes to swinging his fists like you’re his damn punching bag? I won’t do that again. I won’t. I’ll go to jail for shooting his ass before I let him back into your life.”

She never did understand Hank. No one did. Not even the woman he shared a kid with. “I’m done saving him. He can’t be saved. I know that.”

Momma crushed her cigarette into the small dish sitting on the table and stalked over to the coffeepot. “I’ve told you since y’all were kids that he would end up in jail one day or he’d end up dead. You never listened to me, and he hurt you over and over again.”

Hank had been a point of contention with me and Momma most of my life. Momma wanted me as far away from him as possible. I, however, couldn’t seem to turn my back on him. “I know.”

We sat there in silence as she sank down into the chair across from me. “You’re beautiful. You’ve always been a looker. Use those looks, baby. Use them to get the hell out of this life. Don’t waste them on the likes of Hank. This ain’t a life I want for you.”

“I went out with Jax Stone’s brother last night,” I blurted out. I hadn’t been going to tell her that. I doubted I would ever hear from Jason again. I had tried hard to get him to make a move on me and he’d turned me down over and over. He had been so polite about it too. Like he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. Which had only made it that much worse.

“Jax Stone, the rock star? His brother?” Momma asked, to clarify.

I nodded.

“So that’s who you were skinny-dipping with last night?”

Rolling my eyes, I took a drink of coffee. Figures Momma would have already heard about that. “Walt come to Jugs last night?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Told me he gave you another warning. I made it go away, though. He’s forgiven you.”

I didn’t want to think about how Momma made it go away. I tried not to think about that part of her life.

“So he wasn’t here when Hank’s stupid ass showed up?” she asked.

No, Jason wasn’t here. He had dropped me off and run. I shook my head.

“You invite him in?”

I could hear the unasked questions in her voice. She was wondering if I had slept with him. I stood up and walked over to the sink, then rinsed my cup before setting it down.

“Did you?” she repeated.

“Outta my league,” I replied, wishing I hadn’t told her about him. She would expect him to call me. She would question how I had messed that up. Momma didn’t understand that I couldn’t just make all men fall at my feet. Jason wouldn’t be my ticket out of this life. She didn’t need to get her hopes up.