…Listen to her secrets…

"Truth or dare Knowles?"

Jax looked over at Tara as he asked the question. He hoped she would say dare, so that he could proposition her to kiss him. Why such thoughts should enter his mind he had no idea, other than he was an adolescent sixteen year old boy who had recently noticed that she was getting curves in all the right places, that her smile, for some unknown reason, gave his stomach butterflies every time he saw it. Was it right that he was having these feelings about a girl that he had known, only ever as a friend, since he was six years old?

Tara considered the question for a moment, for a brief second Jax thought that he might get his wish, until Tara's beautiful lips blurted out "Truth"

Jax's shoulders sagged a little and he took a swig of his beer. He considered his question. "Ok. If you had to sleep with anyone at this party, who would it be?"

Opie chuckled as he brought his bottle up to his lips. It was typical that Jax would choose a question about sex. Tara gulped down some of her beer and looked around at the guys that had joined in the game. Jax had propositioned her, Opie and Lowell to a game of truth or dare because, in his opinion, it was the only thing that could 'liven up this party'. That and the beer that they were swigging back.

They were sitting at the far end of Chloe Jennings' back yard, immersed in their game. Every now and then a blonde bombshell, or bimbo, as Tara liked to call them, tried to beckon Jax away but he had wanted to keep going until Tara had a turn.

Tara initially looked uncomfortable. She thought that Jax probably knew she was a virgin and yet he was asking her something so personal in such a public place. But this was just hypothetical, right?

"You" she answered, looking Jax straight in the eye.

Opie spluttered his beer as it had gone down the wrong way. In all honesty he had been shocked by Tara's bluntness. He was not expecting Tara to give such a sassy answer. Lowell shifted uncomfortably on the ground, tearing out handfuls of grass. Subjects like this always made him nervous.

But Jax stayed as still as stone as he held Tara's gaze. He was trying to gage whether she was serious or not, whether she really was attracted to him or if she was calling his bluff. He knew though, within just a few seconds of her answering him, that she was deadly serious. She continued to meet his stare, her green eyes never leaving his blue. She bowed her head slightly so that her hair cascaded over the right side of her face, acting as a barrier to any outsiders looking in on their intimate moment.

He wet his lips, maybe he was still in with a chance of that kiss "Why?"

Tara smiled back, her unblinking gaze never leaving his handsome face. She was about to answer when Opie, feeling extremely awkward, interrupted.

"Woah, you had your question Jax. Time to spin again" Jax had never wanted to hit his best friend before, until this very moment.

After three more go's, and never landing on Tara again, she excused herself to go and get another beer. Jax watched her leave and desperately wanted to follow.

"I need to get a beer too" he said as he started to get up, brushing off the grass that had stuck to his jeans.

"You just got one" Opie answered, not cottoning on to the real reason Jax wanted to leave their company.

Jax took a final swig of his nearly full drink and emptied the remainder onto the ground next to him "Nope. I'm all out, and I'm thirsty"

And with that Jax left Opie and Lowell to the game that he had initiated, following Tara inside the house, wanting to continue their conversation.

If the truth be told Tara was never a party goer. It was never on her agenda to be the most popular girl in school, her only aim was to get good grades and get out of Charming as soon as possible. She had only come out tonight because Chloe had invited her. They shared Math class together and Chloe had mentioned in passing that Tara should come along. Knowing that Jax, Opie and Lowell would be there to meant that she wouldn't be entirely alone, even though she knew at some point Jax would take advantage of the beautiful girls that were on offer and would disappear for half the night, as he usually did.

When Jax entered the kitchen he saw Tara helping herself to the beer that was on offer. He swaggered up to her, a playful smile on his lips "Got one for me?"

Tara picked up one of the bottles and placed it to her mouth, neatly cracking the bottle top off with her teeth "Jesus Christ Knowles. You pick that up etiquette school?"

Tara giggled and handed him the beer. They stood in silence for a moment, taking in the teenage drunken debauchery around them. Jax was the first to bite the bullet.

"So you'd sleep with me, huh?" he raised his eyebrow as he looked across at Tara.

She smiled, a sudden shyness made her look down at the white tiled floor "Obviously, only if I had too"

"Obviously" Jax nodded. He questioned whether he should continue this conversation, by pursuing this he might royally fuck up a good friendship. He might not have if he hadn't seen Tara differently in recent months, if his feelings for her had started to shift from friendship into something, well, something else. He bit his lip for a moment, resting his weight on the sideboard, his hand stuffed into his pocket, the other grasping the ice cold beer. Should he pursue this? He looked across at Tara, who seemed to be focused on watching the others around her. But there was something about her stance that told him that she wanted him to continue the conversation.

"You never answered my question. Why me?"

Tara brought the bottle up to her lips and smiled coyly. She shook her head as she took a long sip.

"I'd be giving away my secrets if I told you" she answered.

Jax shifted his body so that he faced Tara, more intrigued than ever "Hey, I can keep a secret Knowles. I'm all ears"

His heart beat uncontrollably. Was she about to admit she had feelings for him? Had he completely overlooked any signals that she might have given him?

Tara glanced up at him and bit her bottom lip. "Ok. When we were younger, I had a major crush on you. I used to talk to my mom about marrying you and about the babies that we'd have. I was adamant that one day we'd end up together"

Jax's eyes lit up. How had he not known about this? "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Jax, I was six. It was a crush. I was stupid" she blushed slightly, her secret exposed.

Jax couldn't help but feel elated but a sudden disappointment rushed through him. She had had a crush on him but it had been years ago.

"What about now?" he asked.

Tara shrugged, not seeing the point to his question "What about now?"

"How do you feel about me now?" Jax probed. Why did that question make him feel so nervous? He gave her a smug grin as he looked across at her in a desperate bid to hide any nerves.

Tara looked around the room but took a step closer to Jax. She could feel the alcohol surging through her body, making her a little bolder than she would normally be. She stopped when her face was just inches from his, until he could smell both the alcohol on her lips and the Lavender soap she used. It made him lick his lips. She looked up at him and sensually brought the bottle up to her lips once more, before taking another long sip and gulping down the liquor that gave her this renewed confidence.

"Now Jax, you're everyone else's crush"

She looked around the room and saw that most of the female contingency was looking in their direction. Each pair of eyes were resting on the Prince of Samcro. It seemed that most of the female population of Charming High had realised how good looking Jackson Teller was.

"It seems I have to share you Jax." If he wasn't mistaken he thought he could see disappointment etched on her face, or maybe that was wishful thinking on his behalf. She shrugged it off "I guess we're not six anymore"

And she leaned in to stroke his handsome face, stealing one last look before leaving the other girls in the room to get one step closer to the boy that she had once been so adamant that she would one day marry.

But she had loved him first, she frustratingly thought, as she walked away from him, leaving him victim to the usual onslaught of female admiration.