Jax chuckled and shook her head. “Not exactly. I’m thinking something bigger than a candy bar that costs a few bucks and only lasts a few minutes.”
“Then, no.” Before I made a big purchase, I always had to write out a pros and cons list, plus look over my budget to see if it even makes sense.
“Another one for the list,” Jax said proudly.
I knew there was no point in fighting her, so I addedbuy something on a whimto the list. “What if I buy something then realize I didn’t actually have the money for it?”
Jax shrugged. “All part of the fun.”
I shook my head. “This list is giving my anxiety, anxiety.” But I had to admit, there was also a feeling other than anxietybubbling in my stomach. I think I was actually feeling excited about this.
“What doyouwant to put on the list? I shouldn’t be the only one to decide when it’s your list. What’s something you always wanted to do?”
Write a book.It popped into my head immediately. Since the time I was little, I dreamed of writing my own book. One of my most vivid memories from when I was younger was at our eighth birthday party when Ronan told me I should write a book someday and have my mom illustrate it. I got just as excited thinking about that now as I had back then. Writing a book didn’t really fit in with the rest of this list though.
“Maybe run a 5k.” The words were out before I could stop them, and I had no idea why I said that. It just seemed like a logical thing to put on a bucket list. “That might be a bad idea though. I don’t have an athletic bone in my body.”
Jax didn’t even try to hide the way she ran her eyes up and down my body. She subtly licked her lips when her eyes met mine. “I find that hard to believe.”
I looked down at the couch because I couldn’t handle staring into Jax’s eyes when she flirted with me like that. “It’s true. The most athletic thing I’ve ever done is play a season of soccer in middle school. I only joined the team because Olivia convinced me to, and then she quit like a week later.”
“And you stuck it out?” Jax asked with a laugh. She laughed even harder when I nodded in response. “That doesn’t surprise me about either one of you. I think a 5k is a cool idea though. We could find a fun one to do like a color run where you spend the next week getting the colors out of your hair.”
“Do we have to train for it?” I cringed at the thought of waking up before work and going on jogs through New York City to prepare for something I was inevitably going to suck at anyway.
Jax scoffed. “Part of the fun is going into it completely unprepared.”
Thank god.This was one time I was happy to jump into something without any practice. “Okay. That works.”
“New woman already,” Jax teased as I addedRun a 5kto the list.
“Or I’m just very serious about not running more than I need to,” I shot back at her.
Jax stared down at the list. “Two more. Anything else that you want to add?”
Write a book. Write a book.I couldn’t shake the idea from my head, so I decided to just say it. “I’m not really sure if this one counts, because most people probably wouldn’t consider it exciting.”
Jax lifted an eyebrow. “Try me.”
“I want to write a book. I know it’s kind of nerdy and probably not the coolest thing in the world, but…”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jax interrupted loudly before I could finish. “How is writing a book not exciting? I think that’s the coolest thing ever. I wish I could do it, but god knows I could never get myself to sit long enough to do that. We aredefinitelyadding it to the list.”
Her words made me melt inside. I never really knew how someone would react if I brought up writing a book now that I was an adult. I figured they would act like it was just a pipe dream, but Jax made me feel the opposite of that. She made me feel like I could really do it. My hand shook as I wrote the words, but not because I was nervous. I was really excited. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had felt this excited over something.
“Just one more and the list is complete,” Jax said with that signature grin of hers. “And I know just the thing if you’re going to someday be a best-selling writer.”
I held my hand in the air. “No one said anything about a best seller. For now, I’ll just be happy to get words written down.”
Jax waved her hand. “Whatever. Details. Anyway, I think the last thing on your list should be performing in public.”
“Performing in public?” Just saying the words out loud had me blushing in embarrassment. “What kind of performance are you talking about?”
Jax shrugged. “Anything. Karaoke, dancing, an open mic.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe a book reading.”
“I would need to write words before I could read them, but fine. If you get enough drinks in me,maybeyou’ll get me to do karaoke at some point.”
Jax bounced up and down where she was sitting on the couch. “Just the thought of that has me excited.”
