Jax and Cori grew up together. They, along with Opie, were best friends growing up, but Cori always saw Jax differently. She watched him go through several relationships, all of them ending badly, as she sat back and waited for him to notice her. So...
Jax rolled his eyes as he felt Cori tugging on his hand to stop their movement toward the living room. He turned to look at her with a brow lifted, grinning when he saw the look of indecision on her face. "What? You don't want to go for a ride?"
He watched as she bit her lip before sighing and giving him a small grin. "No, I want to, but... what about Tara? She busy or something?"
Jax sighed as he let go of her hand to stand in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head before smirking at her. "I don't really know if she is or not. I didn't ask." He reached out and took her chin in his hand, leaning in to kiss her on the nose. "No Tara tonight, ok?" When she nodded, he grinned and took her hand back in his. "Good. Let's go."
They walked through the living room where Harry and Elliott were sitting and talking. Cori walked over to give her dad a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back in a bit. Going for a ride with Jackson. There's a fresh pot of coffee if you two want any."
Jax watched as her father nodded before pointing a finger in his direction. "Alright. Be safe and stay away from Elliott's pond."
Jax chuckled and shook his head as he once again took Cori's hand in his and pulled her toward the front door. "I'm making no promises, old man."
The two older men laughed as Jax pulled Cori out to his bike, handing her a helmet before putting on his own and throwing a leg over the bike. He hit the starter as Cori fastened her helmet and used his shoulders as leverage to climb on behind him. He couldn't hold in the grin that came across his face when he felt her mold her smaller body to his. He had missed this: the feel of a woman clinging to him as he drove the powerful motorcycle through town. He tried to remember the last time Tara had rode with him, but couldn't recall. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure she ever had.
As he took the familiar road out of town, he marveled at how much Cori had changed him over the years. She was his center, and when she had left town to go to school, he was set adrift, nothing to anchor himself to, which led to some bad decisions on his part, but soon he had buried himself in the club and turned things around. Now that she was back, it felt like he had the right balance once again, and the thought scared him a little. He knew that she would probably leave once her father passed on, but he didn't want her to.
He shook his head slightly as he suddenly realized that he loved her, and he always had, but he had managed to hide the feeling behind a wall of friendship all these years. Now, the wall was crumbling, exposing how he really felt, and he was unsure of how to proceed. He had pretty much promised Tara to try to piece their relationship back together, but then Cori had shown up and all the old memories and feelings came roaring back into the forefront.
He didn't know what to do about the situation, but hopefully, it would shake out because he knew for certain that he couldn't let Cori leave town again. He needed her here, which made him feel like a jerk for the way things were bound to go down with Tara, but he didn't feel the same connection with the doctor anymore. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to have the chance at a life with Coraline.
Jax could feel Cori laughing against his back as he pulled up and stopped in front of the cabin. She shook her head as she got off of the bike and handed him her helmet.
"I should have realized that this was where we were headed."
Jax laughed as he nodded before pulling her along behind him around the side of the house to the backyard. "Yup, you should have. We haven't had a good bonfire in years." He tilted his head, considering. "I would say the last one was right before you left for college."
As they walked the path leading to the backyard, he watched Cori's face light up at the sight of Opie and Donne sitting beside the fire. Donna hugged Cori before Opie handed her a beer and slapped Jax on the back.
"When you said you wanted to have a fire, I figured you were bringing Tara, man."
Jax shook his head then motioned toward the woodpile. "Nah, man. Let's get more wood for the fire."
The two men left the women chatting quietly as they walked to the edge of the yard where a huge pile of wood sat. Opie lifted a brow and jogged his head back toward the women. "So, what's up with that? You two getting closer? How does Tara feel about that?"
Jax shook his head as he grinned at his friend. "I really don't know how Tara feels, but yeah, I want Cori and me to be closer. A lot closer."
Opie shook his head. "Man, then you gotta do something about the good doctor because Cori isn't the kind of girl to share, ya know?" He chuckled and smacked Jax on the shoulder. "Glad to see you finally pulled your head out of your ass where Cori was concerned though. She matches you way better than Tara ever did. You two have always been two sides to the same coin."
Jax grinned as he looked over at Cori, watching her laugh at something Donna said. "Yeah, I know. I can only hope that she feels the same way about things."
Opie shook his head and snickered. "Jesus, Jax. That girl has loved you since we were kids. You were just too stupid to see it."
