Forbidden Love

25

Jaxon

In Rose Thorn we don't have much to offer. There's one of everything, but if you want the brand names, you'll have to make the drive to the next town over. That's where Julia, Maddi, and Britney usually go to shop at the mall. It's about a forty-five-minute drive, but they make it almost every weekend.

Even with the little shops we have, I never knew we had this bookstore. It's a small one, and I've never met the old lady that runs it though she does look familiar, so I've probably seen her around town. Hundreds of books line the walls and there's a couple couches scattered around the place.

I follow Luna through all of the books. She points out five of them and then explains them all to me—in full detail. I feel like I'm at school. A good kind of school though. I don't read much, but I think I'd read these if she asked. Her face lights up when she talks and it's the cutest thing. It's much better than the way she looked when I saw her at Ty's earlier. She looked so wrecked. For a minute, I thought Julia was in there making things difficult for her, but whatever Luna was upset about had to do with family since she was there with the entire Brady Bunch.

"Ready to pay?" I question after we go around the entire store twice. She's holding ten different books, which would baffle me if it were anyone else. Who wants to read ten different books? And they look thick too—five hundred pages at least.

"Oh, I'm not actually buying them." She gives me a weird look and kind of laughs at the idea which confuses me. She was so excited about them.

"Why not?"

"Because some of us don't have limitless money." She lifts a careless shoulder. The fact that she's not even upset about it shows that she does this all the time. Just goes to a bookstore to look and talk about books without actually buying anything. "I guess I got a little carried away in grabbing them."

I furrow my eyebrows. My family doesn't have limitless money, but we're not poor either. We're pretty well off actually, just not...limitless. That sounds like a douchey thing to say to her though, so I keep my mouth shut.

"Fine." I hold my hands out—hands, plural, because one would need two hands to balance the brick of books in her arms. "I'll put them away. Go find Paxton so we can get out of here."

She stares at the books, probably saying goodbye to them and eventually gives in. "I'll meet you at the front."

I wait till she's out of sight and then I go up to the old lady at the front counter. Since it's my first time, I get a discount—which is needed because the total is one hundred and fifty-two dollars with ninety-three cents. I end up getting two books for free.

I'm truly winning at life.

Maybe I shouldn't have bought books that cost more than my allowance for Luna Stone, but she looked so excited. I couldn't not get it.

She and Paxton come into view not long after I finish paying. He's poking at her head and she's slapping his hand away, but a small smile is forming on those lips of hers.

"Seriously Paxton, if you keep on, I swear—" She pauses when she sees me. "Ready?"

"Yeah," I hand her the bag and she furrows her eyebrows clearly confused at what I'm handing her. I don't know how it isn't obvious by the weight of it.

"What's this?" She looks in the bag and then her eyes shoot up to mine. "Jaxon."

I try my best to avoid eye contact because graciousness is the last thing that I want from her. "It's not a big deal."

"Jaxon, you didn't—How much was—Why did you—"

"'Thank you' works too."

She stares at me for a moment. "I didn't bring you here to buy me books."

"Luna, I have limitless money, remember? Consider it a payment for the tutoring." I won't be able to buy anything for the next couple of weeks, but that's okay. It's worth it.

She's worth it.

Which isn't weird to think about at all.

"Thank you," She tells me. Paxton's watching us with a fat grin and it's making me feel all kinds of awkward...well it does until I notice a rosy color make its way to her cheeks, and a small sense of pride fills me that I was the one who made her blush.

"Wow, get a room you two." Paxton laughs as we head out of the bookstore. "When you get married, I better be the best man." He laughs at himself, but I suck in a sharp breath at the sudden reminder of Connor.

*6 years earlier*

"I'm gonna marry her," Connor tells me as he falls onto his bed like a dramatic kid. A huge grin is plastered on his face.

"Why her?"

"She's gorgeous and funny and not to mention she likes me back." He points to me. "That's an important quality to have."

I snort. "Every girl likes you."

"But Lucy's special." He smiles at me. "When you're in high school you'll understand."

"You've been in high school for a month," I roll my eyes.

He gives me a dismissive wave. "Anyway, when I get married you can be my best man."

"No way. I hate suits."

"Too bad. It's my wedding, my choice." He messes with my hair. "And I pick you. I expect to be yours too."

"You're being weird. I'm leaving,"

"See you later, Best Man."

I stick my tongue out and close his door. A little excitement shoots through me that he chose me to be his best man instead of one of his friends. He loves me more than them.

*Present Day*

"Are you listening?" Paxton snaps his fingers in my face bringing me back to reality.

"Sorry, what?"

He pouts. "I said I'm gonna be your best man at the wedding whether it's with Luna or whoever else. I'm calling it here and now so that no one can take it from me."

"Oh, yeah, whatever," I shake my head feeling the weight of Connor's absence big time. He won't be at whatever wedding I decide to have in the future.

As Paxton gets in the driver's seat of his truck, Luna and I wrap around the other side. I start to pull open her door for her when she wraps her arms around my waist.

My mind goes blank, and I forgot what I'm supposed to be doing. Her touch is suddenly the only thing in my mind. Every inch of her is touching my back and I feel her head hit my back. For a moment I consider turning around, just to see how perfectly she fits.

But that would be a little weird.

Calling us friends would be a bit of a stretch but calling us acquaintances doesn't sound quite right either. The lines are blurred in our relationship, and I have no idea what to do about it.

"Thank you," Luna whispers and my heart skips ten beats like the loser that I am. I don't want to move or breathe; I just want to feel her and the security that she provides.

"I told you it's no big deal," I manage to say.

"It is. It really is."

I focus on Luna for the entire drive to her house. I watch her through the car mirror remembering the other night when I woke up with her last week. And when we pull up to her house, she assures me that she'll call me tonight so we can do an on-the-phone study before bed, and then she disappears through her front door.

I've realized that Luna's distractions do help. And Luna is my biggest distraction of all.