Worth Forgiving (MMA Fighter 3)

Reed finally acknowledges we’re waiting and arches his eyebrows at me as Jax steps forward to sign for the delivery.

“I’ll get the rest of the bags,” the delivery boy says in the direction of Jax, but never takes his eyes off of Reed.

“I’ll help you.” Reed follows the barely legal looking boy-man out the door.

Jax sets the bags down on the reception desk, his attention caught by my sketch pad. Picking it up, he studies the faceless form taking shape in my drawing. “Anyone I know?” He asks knowingly, his eyes gleaming with delight.

“No,” I lie, but the pink on my cheeks gives me away easily.

Luckily Reed comes back, forcing Jax’s focus back to the task at hand. Jax takes the bag handoff from Reed.

“Can I get a rain check for lunch?” Sheepishly, Reed asks with a dirty grin just below the surface.

I roll my eyes, but he knows I’m not upset. He kisses me on the cheek and talks over my head to Jax. “You like Dragon rolls?

“Sure.”

“Great. Lunch will be here in twenty minutes.” He tosses a fifty down on the reception counter. “Enjoy you two.” Kissing me on the forehead and practically running to the door, Reed leaves me no chance to argue.

***

Twenty minutes later, a freshly showered Jax comes back down just as I’m setting out our lunch. As usual, Reed ordered enough food for a family of five, even though it was to only be the two of us.

“I can’t leave the front desk, hope you don’t mind.” I motion to the chair I’ve pulled up next to me behind the counter.

“Works for me.” Jax smiles as he walks behind the tall front counter, he brushes against my back ever so slightly, his hand lingering just a second too long on my lower back as he squeezes past me. My entire body becomes acutely aware of the close proximity, with tension gripping at my knees. He waits for me to sit, pushing in my chair before taking his own seat.

I start to open the takeout containers when my phone begins to buzz. Joe Ralley flashes on the screen for us both to read. “Sorry, it’s Joe…I should answer.”

“Hello.”

Jax takes over setting up the sushi, opening the dips and putting the ginger and wasabi on one plate between us to share.

“Yes, everything’s good. Quiet.” Joe asks me about Jax. “Yes, Mr. Knight seems happy with everything at the gym.” Jax looks up, wiggles his eyebrows playfully, a smirk on his face. Joe and I talk for a few minutes more and then he hands the phone to Caden before I can conjure up a way to politely ask him not to. Joe knows we broke up, but I haven’t let on Caden’s behavior is borderline stalkerish. I was hoping to unravel my personal life from our business without dragging Joe into it and muddying the water more than it already is.

“Hey.” My voice goes lower, less enthusiastic. “How is the trip?”

“Fine,” he responds. The creek of a door closing echoes in the background and then he immediately moves the conversation to the topic of getting back together, asking if we could go away next weekend and try to work things out. “I was thinking, with Joe’s retirement coming soon, I should probably take on a bigger role with Ralley’s too.”

He refuses to accept what I keep telling him. If I had known Caden was going to get on the phone, I would’ve let the call go to voicemail. He’s been more persistent than usual, the entire conversation is obviously going to come to a head, but I’d rather have this conversation later, rather than now. And without Jax sitting next to me. “I don’t think so, Caden. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t want to go away or don’t want me to help you run Ralley’s?”

I pause. Hating to hurt him, but he needs to hear the truth. “Both.”

Jax looks at me, catching my eye, and I do my best to smile, but it comes out timid and forced. His eyes scour my face and then he pauses for a second and smiles. It’s a boyish smile and I can tell he’s up to something. Reaching over with his chopsticks to the Alaska roll positioned in front of me, Jax plucks a roll from my plate and deposits the entire piece in his mouth in one bite.

My eyes widen and I lose focus on the conversation I’m supposed to be having with Caden. I pick up my chopsticks, Jax watching and grinning as he chews, reach over to his plate snatching a piece of his Dragon roll, and deposit it into my mouth through smiling lips. It’s a mouthful, leaving me unable to respond to the question Caden shoots at me from the phone.

“Sorry…someone came in,” I finally say as I swallow the last bit in my mouth. Jax grins at my lie.

“No. I’m busy Caden. I’m not ignoring you.”

Jax arches his eyebrows, enjoying what he can hear from my half of the conversation and attempts to take another piece of my lunch from my plate. Only this time I smack him in the knuckles with my chopstick and the piece he has gripped between his sticks falls back to my plate. I point my finger at him and give him my best mock glare warning him to behave himself.

“Can we talk about it when you get back?” I ask and pause listening to him again tell me my decisions are wrong. Of course, he throws in how he was there for me when I needed him.

Not about to let me off the phone, even though I’ve told him I’m busy, Caden continues pushing. “You’re not even listening to me,” he accuses with a hardened tone.

“I’m listening to you. And I’m responding. You just don’t like what I have to say.” I pause, sighing with frustration. “I have to go, Caden.”

“You okay?” Jax asks with concern evident in his voice after I hang up, his playful face gone.

“I’m fine. Sorry about that.”

“You want to talk about it?” His voice is low and cautious, but he looks directly into my eyes, showing his offer is sincere.

“No. But thank you.”

Feeling the need to lighten the mood, I reach over to his plate and grab another piece of sushi, smiling as I bring it to my lips.

“So what did you have delivered in all those bags?” I say before popping another bite of sushi into my mouth.

“Just some stuff for dinner with my friend.” Jax shoots me a wry smile.

“Do you realize that we will have shared all three meals together by the end of the day?”

“I’m a lucky guy,” Jax replies. “And when you say shared, it’s a pretty literal use of the word.” He pinches another piece of sushi from my plate and brings it half way to his mouth. “You want to try a piece of my Alaska roll?” Grinning, he holds up the piece.