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“First off, I’m not your bro. Secondly, you were in the middle of nothing. In fact, your time was very much up. And as you have
already caused enough of a scene this evening, I’m going to give you until the count of three to get the hell out of here and never bother this woman again.”
“Not your buddy,” Jaxon says, and then surprises me by giving Keith a conspiratorial wink. “And believe me, she’s definitely worth it. In fact, I should be thanking you.”
“Why?”
“Your date with Holly was so terrible that it made me look g...
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“I’ve been begging her to go out with me for weeks. And one dinner with you—just one single pasta course—made her...
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“I texted Jaxon the second you left. Thank you for helping me find my soulmate.”
“Um… Thank you for that.” “Don’t mention it, soulmate.”
“I can honestly say that I’d never seen a truly terrible date until tonight.” Jax lifts his gray eyes to meet mine. “At that point, it wasn’t so much ‘job description’ as much as it was ‘humanitarian obligation.’”
“More like a dating app match gone wrong.” “And you matched with him because…” “He had all his teeth and didn’t send me dick pics?”
“I figured I’d have to kiss a few frogs to find a prince. I’m not totally clueless. But I feel
like I’m pretty much living in Frogland these days.”
“The guy who just left was more of a toad...
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“What’s that?” “You always end your dates with cheesecake.” He presses the box into my hands and looks at me kindly. Too kindly. “That’s… more than a little weird that you know that.” “I think the words you are looking for are ‘thank you.’”
“And thank you for saving me from Keith.” “His name was Keith?” I nod. He sighs. “Do me one favor, Holly?” “Sure.” I shrug. “I owe you one.” “Do better.”
In fact, most women I’ve dated have been way, way too good for me. It’s just that I don’t want to fall in love with anyone. And, deep down, I know that they don’t really want to fall in love with me, either. I’m the temporary distraction, not the happily ever after.
“No” is my favorite complete sentence, and in my opinion, people don’t utilize it enough.
“This is Rick. He’s a real ladies’ man.” “Dogs do take after their owners, I’ve heard,”
“Short for Richard?” “Short for Rick Astley, actually.” I stare at him. “Rick Astley… the singer.” “That’s the one.” “Like, one-hit-wonder, never going to give you up or let you down, Rick Astley.” “Exactly.” “Why?!” I exclaim. A shrug. “He’s a rescue. Wanted him to know he was in his forever home.”
“Find a man who wrecks your lipstick, not your mascara, am I right?” Jax smirks. “I always heard ‘break her bed, not her heart.’”
And for some reason, this makes me smile. She’s like an unfortunate romance movie heroine. A real life Hollywood starlet.
“You guys seem like you’ve known each other forever. Hence why I thought you were related.”
We both use banter to deflect, and I kind of like that we’re well-matched.
I don’t usually warm to people so easily—or go out of my way to make friends—but something about Holly feels friend-like.
Her reaction to my news makes me feel strangely buoyant.
And for some reason, Holly’s reaction seems to affect me more than most. Hearing that she thinks it’s a good idea makes me feel more self-assured than I have in a while.
“Well, for one, the whole moving to the wilderness thing. And for two… I don’t want one.” “Ever?” “Probably not. I’m not that guy.” He gives me a smile that makes my heart a little stuttery. Weirdly. “But I am more than happy to help you find your perfect person.”
“I’m Dylan,” he says coolly, stepping forward to shake Jax’s hand. “And you are?” “The perfect man,” Jax replies
“Sorry, hun. I didn’t realize you were talking to someone. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” My mouth hangs open as I look at Jax, who’s currently gazing down at me like I hung the moon. “I, uh—” “I’m Jax.”
“Sabrina and I went to high school together. And Jax is my fr—”
“Her boyfriend,” Jax cuts me off swiftly,
“No matter what I do, I cannot get this one to put a label on things. All I wanna do is wife her up and put a baby in her, and she’s all no, I’m not ready, I have so much life to live, so many adventures to go on.”
I, meanwhile, am blushing head to toe at Jax’s proclamation that he “wants to put a baby in me.”
Which conjures up a lot of… images.
“She’s so amazing, I’ll take what I can get in th...
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“I’m just lucky that she’s with me.”
It brings a smile to my face and I can’t help but think that Holly is so much stronger than she gives herself credit for. That she might often get overlooked because she’s staying confined in a box that she doesn’t belong in.
Because the thing is, once you start focusing on your quit list—on yourself and all the things you want to do for you—an actual hit list will come naturally from there. One that’s more than the external factors you listed. One that will lead you to a man who’s truly ideal for you.”
“So what do you want, Holly? Forget everything and everyone else.” He pauses. “Deep down, what do you actually desire?”
“I… I want sparks. Fireworks. Adventures.” I swallow. “Romance that makes me feel like I’m on a rollercoaster, but with someone safe next to me, holding my hand.” I say this all in a burst, then press my lips together, surprised by my own admission.
“That’s it, Hol. You need to find someone to complement you, not complete you. You’re
already a whole person all on your own, but to find your equal partner, you first need to pursue who you are and what you want in life. Find what brings you joy and makes you happy, and then find a person to share all that with you and even add to it.”
“I need to go on that backpacking trip with you.”
And not gonna lie, the mental image of Jax out there leading me in the wilderness is downright sexy.
This journey is about me. Finding what I want. Focusing on my plan, my quit list… and not the hot guy helping me execute said quit list.
That grin of his is starting to feel like a jolt of electricity to the stomach. Obviously, Jax loves to crank up his flirty charm to make me blush—it might as well be his favorite freaking song on the radio. Ridiculous man.
“Don’t worry, Hollywood, you got this. I won’t let you fall.” I don’t know why, but I believe him.
I almost jolt in surprise when I hear Jax’s breath hitch. Just slightly. Just for a moment. Almost like he… might be feeling this, too? Is this what sparks and fireworks are meant to feel like? Impossible, I tell myself.
“We better go tell Aaron where I am. He promised Aubrey he’d look after me.” Jax puts his lips to my ear. “All good, I already talked to him. He knows you’re with me.” You’re with me.
Before I even got her text earlier tonight, I was already feeling something foreign to me, loud and clear: jealousy.
