He kisses me sweetly before leaning his head on his arm. "He"ll want you there, believe me. Let"s go have breakfast, and we can figure it all out," he says, smiling down at me.
He wastes no time climbing out of bed, completely naked. He"s not in the least shy about it either. I take in his tight a.s.s and admire the view. It is one h.e.l.l of an a.s.s. He turns around and laughs. I"m caught, so I just lift my shoulders and get out of bed, grabbing my robe.
"Now why do you get to check out my a.s.s, but I didn"t get to check out yours?" he says, pouting.
I roll my eyes and grab my phone off the nightstand. I walk to the door and open it. I can feel his eyes still on me, so I peek behind me and lift up my robe quickly, letting him get an eyeful of a.s.s, and walk out laughing when he yells h.e.l.l yes."
I go out to the kitchen and start a pot of coffee while I dial Braden.
"Hey, Kallie," he answers.
My heart hurts, and I feel tears starting from just a simple h.e.l.lo.
"Hey. So, how are you going to get to the airport?" I ask, trying to appear normal.
As usual, I hear a door close and his pacing. "We"re calling for a van to pick us up," he say.
I shake my head. A van, h.e.l.l no. "Not anymore. I"ll drive you. What time should I be there?"
I pour a cup of coffee for me and Jax. I fix mine, and even though we"ve just started together as a couple, I know exactly how he likes his coffee. I guess that"s one of the bonuses to being friends for so long before dating, you already know pretty much everything.
Jax and I pull up to Braden"s two hours later. I"ve been pushing down my sadness since I hung up with Braden. Jax hasn"t pushed me to talk about it. He just holds my hand and kisses me sweetly. It"s strange to feel like I couldn"t do this without him, but that is exactly how I feel.
Braden opens the door when we climb out of Jax"s car. I blink back tears and quickly make my way to him. We hold on tight, like this is the last we will see of each other.
"It"s going to be all right, Kallie. I"ll be back before you even realize I"m gone," he says, trying to be strong for me.
I pull back and look at him. "But will you be alone?" I quietly ask, as concern for him builds.
He shrugs his shoulders and squeezes mine. "I wish I knew, Kall, I really do. But hey, let"s not worry about that. It"s an adventure, at least that"s what I"ve told the girls. They"re excited to see Sarah"s family," he says, forcing a smile.
What can I say? I just nod my head, and when Braden holds out his hand, I look behind me. Jax stands there with his arms crossed, watching over me like a hawk. He doesn"t know how to deal with me sad; it happens rarely, and I don"t think it"s happened at all since we"ve met.
Jax walks over to Braden and shakes his hand. "You need help with luggage?" Jax asks.
Just then, Dawn comes barreling out of the house. "Aunt Kal, I"m going on an airplane," she yells excitedly. She runs at me, and I catch her and squeeze her tight. I cover her in kisses, choking down a sob. "Can you take my picture by the airplane?"
I force a smile and kiss her chubby cheek. "Of course I will. You know you"re my favorite model. Now let"s get everything packed up so we can do our shoot," I say.
She runs back into the house, and I stay squatting on the walkway, trying to keep my heart from shattering in a million pieces. I feel strong arms wrap around me, and his chest against my back.
"It"s okay to cry, Kallie. I"ll catch you when you start to fall, I promise you," Jax whispers.
I turn my head and smile. "I"m fine. Let"s help so they don"t miss their plane." I pull out of his hold and go inside to help get the rest of the luggage.
"Aunt Kal, take one like this," Dawn squeals.
Their plane has been delayed by a half hour, and I"ve been snapping a ton of pictures of Dawn by the window with the planes behind her. I asked them all to get together for a shot, but conveniently, Sarah had to go to the bathroom. I took several of just Braden and the girls, which was fine by me. After a few more of Dawn, we all sit down. Jax and Braden have been talking, and I"m so happy they get along. It makes this decision so much easier.
"Oh my G.o.d. Jax Burke!"
I turn my head, as does everyone, when we hear the squeals. As two women rush over, Jax turns his head toward me, and I grin at him, lifting my shoulders. This is a part of the world we live in. He"s known, recognized, and it"s not something that bothers me. I"ve been on travel shoots where the models are hounded at the airport, not all the time, but when they do, I can"t help but laugh. They"re grateful for the fans though, and love making them smile with a few pictures.
"Jax, can we please get a picture with you?" she asks with a huge smile.
He gets up and goes to stand with them. They each take a picture with him and rush off giggling. He walks over to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
"Why do they want your picture?" Dawn asks and I laugh.
"Jax is a model, and ladies like to take pictures with him," I explain.
She looks from me to him several times and grabs his hand. "Can I have a picture now?" she asks with a smile.
Oh, my heart can"t take it, and when he picks her up, it pretty much explodes. I hold up my camera and she peeks at Jax. "Say cheese," she tells him. He laughs, and they both smile and say cheese.
"Now boarding flight 251 to Charlotte, North Carolina," blares through the speakers. I glance at Braden, and he gives me a tight smile. This is it. I need to say goodbye now.
I take Dawn from Jax and squeeze her. "You call me anytime, baby girl." When I put her down, she runs off to Sarah. I follow and hug her and Tiffany. "Be good to my brother and nieces."
She lifts her eyebrow and stares at me. "Why the h.e.l.l wouldn"t I?" she bites out.
Okay, not going to go there. She"s miserable, and I refuse to argue with her. I simply squeeze her hand and move on to Braden. He hugs me so tight, and I hug him right back. d.a.m.n, this is hard.
"I"ll call you," he says and kisses my cheek before walking off with his family toward the plane.
Watching them walk away makes me realize a piece of me just left with them. They are starting to blur with the tears in my eyes, and that"s when Jax wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.
"You all right?" he asks.
I nod my head and the first of my tears spill. The longer we stand like this, the harder I start to cry. He finally turns me and holds me close.
"Oh, Kallie, I"m so sorry," he says and just holds on tight for what feels like hours. When I get myself under control, I lift my head off his chest, and he wipes my tears. "Come on, let me show you something," he suggests, nodding his head.
Hand in hand, he leads me out of the airport.
"Jax, this is amazing," I whisper in amazement.
He drove around the airport to the pickup area for freight. It"s dark and there is no one else around. You can see the runway and every plane taking off and landing. It is stunning.
"Where do you think that plane is going?" he asks.
I think about it for a second and lean back in my seat. We are in Braden"s minivan; it was the only way to get everyone to the airport.
"I think they are going to Hawaii," I say with a small smile.
He leans back in his seat and links our fingers together. "Oh, Hawaii, I like that. What about that one?" he asks again.
I laugh and turn my head to him. "Oregon," I say.
He laughs and squeezes my hand. "Creative."
We sit quietly for a long time just watching the planes take off and land. I"ve kicked my feet up onto the dashboard while he still has a hold of my hand.
"Where is the one place in the world you would go, if cost wasn"t an issue?" I ask.
"Fiji, it looks so awesome. What about you?" he questions.
I laugh and watch another plane takeoff. "I think it"s the typical girl answer, but Paris. I"ve always wanted to go, and not just for the romance of it, but there is so much beauty there I would love to photograph," I say.
He leans over and kisses me. I wrap my free hand around his neck and deepen the kiss. He uses his to rub my leg, and I feel my body begging to be touched all over, but all too soon, he breaks away.
"You"d make Paris even more beautiful, and I don"t mean with your pictures," he whispers.
I smile and kiss him. "Thank you, for everything today. I couldn"t have done it without you, and this, watching the planes, has been amazing," I say.
He winks at me, and I"m so grateful he knew exactly how to distract me from Braden leaving.
"You ready to get out of here?" he asks. I nod my head and he starts the van. "How about a late dinner, then some dessert at my place?"
I giggle, but I"m totally down for exactly that. I could even skip dinner and go right for my dessert. I can"t explain all the emotions I"ve felt the last few days, but d.a.m.n, when it comes to Jax, I don"t want to.
Chapter Fourteen.
Jax Having to wake up at five o"clock this morning and leave Kallie sleeping naked in her bed was one of the hardest things I"ve had to do. I wanted to call Brody and tell him I wasn"t coming in because I had things to take care of, meaning make Kallie come over and over, but I need my job. I had to rush home and change before making it to the job just in time. I grab my tools out of the trunk and go into the house.
"Well, s.h.i.t, haven"t seen much of you," Blake says.
I shake my head at him and sit on top of my tool box. "I"ve had better things to do than hang out with you," I joke.
He tosses back the rest of his coffee and throws the paper cup at me. "A little p.u.s.s.y and I"m forgotten," he says.
I laugh at him and sip my coffee. "You"ll get it one day, brother, believe me."
He smiles and flexes his arms. "Oh, I get it now. There is nothing better than p.u.s.s.y, except maybe two," he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
My man-wh.o.r.e best friend, everyone. I can"t even say anything because I"ve been there. He"ll find someone one day and realize exactly what I"m trying to say.
"Hey, you two, enough a.s.s talk, get to work," Brody yells. Both Blake and I know better than to argue with Brody when it comes to work, so we get to it.
This day seems to drag on, and I know it"s because I can"t wait to see Kallie. I talked to her at lunch, and she was editing photos and making some phone calls about upcoming shoots. We decided to go out to dinner tonight. I suggested this Italian restaurant that I"ve been to that has amazing food. I"ve never wanted to go out without the intention of looking for fun or chicks, so this is all different for me. I just hope I can be the guy she deserves.
"All right, let"s pack it in for today. Tomorrow, we"ll finish up here and move on to the next one," Brody says.
We clean up for the day and head home. I take a shower and throw on my jeans and a black b.u.t.ton-down shirt. I walk out to the living room and Blake is on the phone. He looks up at me, smiling, and I figure he just got a booty call. I text Kallie to tell her I"ll be leaving shortly, and she sends me back a text with a picture of her smiling face. d.a.m.n, she is beautiful.
"Holy s.h.i.t. Jax, that was Shannon. I"ve got a cover shoot next month with Ivy. Another book, brother. I am so f.u.c.king excited," he says, smiling.
I give him a pound before he grabs a beer out of the fridge. "Dude, this is a huge author, or at least that"s what Shannon said."
"Blake, that"s great. Where"s the shoot?" I ask.
We talk for a few minutes about it, and I can feel his excitement. He hasn"t been this way since his first cover. It"s great to see him thinking about something other than s.e.x.
"All right, brother, I need to get going. I"m taking Kallie out to dinner. We"ll probably end up back here later, so please be on your best behavior," I say, raising an eyebrow.
He laughs and pulls his shirt off, throwing it across the room. "You worried your girl might like this more?" Maybe we"ll go back to her place.
I leave him laughing in the kitchen and go pick up Kallie. She opens the door before I can let myself in, and I am frozen in place. She looks stunning. She has on a gold dress that is hanging off one shoulder. Her hair is curled and pinned up around her head, and her makeup is somehow shimmering on her face.
"f.u.c.k, Kallie, I don"t know if we"ll be able to make it to dinner," I say, grabbing her and slamming my mouth on hers.
She hikes up her leg onto my hip, and I grab her thigh and dig my fingers in. My c.o.c.k hardens on the spot, and it only gets worse when she moans. I use my other hand to explore her a.s.s, and when I realize she isn"t wearing panties, I break the kiss and look down at her.
"Holy s.h.i.t, are you trying to kill me here?" I groan.
She laughs, drops her leg, and walks into the apartment. She grabs her purse and smiles at me.
"Ready?" she asks.
Is she f.u.c.king serious? I"m ready all right, ready to f.u.c.k her good and hard. She pushes up on her toes and kisses my cheek.
"I"m also not wearing a bra," she whispers.
"f.u.c.k," I growl.
She giggles and heads out of the apartment. How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to eat dinner knowing all I need to do is pull that dress off and she"ll be completely bare to me?
A half hour into dinner and my c.o.c.k is still hard. I requested a booth when we got here because I wanted to be as close to her as possible. I"m having a difficult time concentrating on anything else at this point.
"Jax, are you even listening?" Oops.
"I"m sorry. My head was in another place. What did you say?" I say.
My head, it sure was, but not the head on my shoulders.
"I said, I have a huge shoot this week with that new model, Josh. I"m so excited," she says excitedly.
That gets my attention. Josh Wilder may be new, but he"s already well known. He"s very popular, and I hear he uses it to his advantage.