4
Chapter 67 Negotiating a Truce
"
Ava was waiting outside on a patio wearing a bright tropical print sundress. Her russet colored hair hung around her shoulders in a shiny curtain. Jax was struck again by Ava's beauty.
For the first time since he'd met her, Jax saw the familiar look of female admiration in Ava's eyes. It was surprising what a haircut and a shave could do. Maybe now, his ice cold bride would warm up to him.
"You look nice," Ava said a little grudgingly.
"Like the kind of men you like?"
"You still need to lose some muscles," Ava said.
"You're the only girl who has ever complained about my awesome ripped body," Jax said with some self-mockery.
There were times when Jax could be kind of . . . appealing. It was hard to believe that she was thinking about Jax in such a kind way. She remembered again about him walking in on her when she was in the shower and, while she may have gotten her revenge, she was still angry.
"I'm still mad at you for unlocking the bathroom door and walking in on me while I was showering."
"It was harmless and you told that guy that I was gay."
"That was a harmless prank," Ava protested.
"Being gay may be OK in your world, but it isn't OK in mine. We don't have gay bikers in my MC. We're not woke."
Ava realized that she should have figured that out. In Jax's testosterone fueled world, gay men just didn't have a place. Maybe she could get Jax to change that about his MC one day.
Even if she had known that gay men weren't allowed in Jax's club, she still would have told Paul about Jax being in love with his prison cell mate because he'd pretended to be a shark and then given her all those disgusting dog kisses.
"You gave me all those disgusting dog kisses and then you unlocked the bathroom door. What if I'd been using the toilet?"
"I heard the shower."
Ava scowled at him.
"What you did to me was much worse because what I did was just say words. You took action when you unlocked the bathroom door. I was so vulnerable in the shower. You made me feel attacked and then you threatened to take off your clothes and come into the shower with me. I don't walk around naked. I don't like to be seen naked," Ava said.
Jax realized that he might have taken things too far when he unlocked the bathroom door while Ava was showering. Most of his experience with women was with women who were strippers, porn stars or crow-eaters. He'd never been with a woman who wasn't comfortable being naked.
He didn't understand this shy side to Ava. He'd judged her as this rich girl, party slut. He was finding that Ava was much more conservative than any of the girls he'd been with in the past. That was the moment when he realized that he needed to use a more romantic approach to winning over Ava and get her to have sex with him.
It was going to be a first for him because he'd never romanced a girl. Girls in the clubhouse were sure things or they were kicked out of the clubhouse. He had never had to chase after a girl. He was in uncharted territory. He was going to have to learn to be romantic.
"I've never been with a shy girl before," Jax confessed. "I'm sorry I didn't think my actions through and how they might hurt you."
Ava looked into Jax's bright blue eyes checking to see if he were being sincere. He actually looked like he meant what he said. And when she checked into whether or not he intended to cheat on her, he passed that test. She thought about forgiving him.
"Will you promise me to never do that again?"
"I promise," Jax said.
Being in the MC had taught him that at some point, you had to make peace with your enemy or in this case his old lady. If you didn't call a truce, it could escalate into a war. He needed to calm things down with Ava because he really wanted to have sex and since he'd promised TB that he wouldn't cheat on Ava, she had the only available pussy.
"OK. I will forgive you because you promised not to do it again."
"That's very good of you," Jax said solemnly.
Jax knew he just had to keep his end goal with Ava in sight—sex. He might have to swallow a little of his pride to make that happen, but he was willing to make the trade off. Since he started having sex when he was fifteen, he'd never gone this long without sex. It was like his dick was in prison and Ava held the key.
They walked over to a woman who was making shaved ice in a little hut like booth. It is a magical creation. A block of iced is shaved, so the ice is light and fluffy like freshly fallen snow and then a sweet syrup is poured over the shaved ice.
Jax and Ava both picked mango flavored syrup. They ate their shaved ice with spoons as they strolled the resort's lush perfectly landscaped grounds.
Ava was beginning to relax and enjoy Jax's company. He looked the part of a Hallmark hunk. That wasn't completely accurate. The men in Hallmark movies were male but they didn't have Jax's muscular build. Jax looked like a guy who had sex.
The guys in Hallmark movies looked more neutered like they would never make a move on the heroine that would lead to nudity much less sex. She decided that really wasn't Jax's fault. He just looked that way. Even a shave and a haircut hadn't changed that.
Right now, he was at least acting the part of a Hallmark hero. He was being charming and fun. It was enough to get her to begin thinking that they might be able to have some kind of future together; one that didn't end in one of them killing the other.