From the driver's seat, Jaden laughed like I'd just said something funny. "Hell no. What makes you say that?"
I gave him an annoyed look. "Well, youarewearing a tux." His laughter grated on me, and I couldn’t resist tweaking him at least a little. "Are yousureyou're not the groom?"
He stopped laughing. "God no. Jesus."
Behind me, I heard a low chuckle, almost too quiet to hear. I felt it, too – Jax's body vibrating against mine, like we were sharing a secret joke.
I liked that feeling, and I let myself relax against him, even as the seatbelt dug into my hip and Jaden muttered something about marriage being for suckers.
Still, Iwascurious. "Okay, so if it's not a wedding, what is it?"
Jax said, "Just a party."
Funny, my mom had mentioned a party, too – something fancy with dancing and champagne. It had sounded surprisingly nice until she'd mentioned going someplace private afterward with Dominic.
But I refused to think about that now. "It must be some party if you're all dressed up. Who's throwing it?"
From the driver's seat, Jaden said, "A couple of assholes. We're only going because we have to."
I gave him a sideways glance. From what I'd seen so far, neither guy seemed the type to do anything they didn't want to, and I had the distinct impression that I was missing something important.
From behind me, Jax said, "Make thatoneasshole. And we're going because we promised a friend."
"Youpromised," Jaden said, "not me."
In a low voice, obviously intended for my ears only, Jax said, "…which explains why he's in such a sorry mood."
Before I could even think to reply, Jaden shot back, "No. I'm in a sorry mood because you crashed my car."
Jax said, "Yeah, well, I wouldn't've been driving the thing if you hadn't blocked me in."
"Oh, shut up."
"And that'll teach ya for leaving the keys under the seat."
Jaden was still grumbling. "You could've asked me to move it."
"While you were boning Phoebe?" Jax said. "I don't think so."
Phoebe?I had no idea who she was, but I was embarrassingly glad that she'd been with Jaden and not Jax, whose arms, even now, were holding me in a nice protective cocoon.
Still, I hated that they were arguing over something that never would've happened if not for me and my mom. Silently, I mulled this over, even as I noticed that with every passing block, our surroundings were growing noticeable nicer.
If I wasn't mistaken, we were heading toward the ocean – or more accurately, toward the gulf, with its calm waters and sandy beaches.
I loved the beach, but right now, it was the last thing on my mind.
At the next red light, I looked to Jaden and said, "I'm really sorry about the car."
"Yeah, me, too," he said. "If the dickhead had waited five more minutes, he could've crashed his own instead of mine."
I felt my gaze narrow. The so-called dickhead was my rescuer, my hero, and yes, my newfound fantasy. Even now, that inner voice was whispering something terribly obscene about dick and head, and a whole bunch of other naked stuff that I'd never consider with a stranger.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I gave Jaden a sarcastic smile. "Wow, five whole minutes, huh?"
His jaw tightened. "Meaning?"
"I'm just saying, Phoebe sounds like a lucky girl."
