Author's Note: Thank you so so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! We loved hearing what y'all thought and really really appreciate the feedback!
A word of warning before you read this new chapter - there's a scene that gets about as close to M as we'll get in this story. I thought about cutting it out to be safe, but the scene just didn't flow the right way without it. It's nothing graphic and it's short, but I wanted to put a disclaimer as we have this story rated T, and think for the most part it aligns with that rating and I didn't want to change the rating or the story for a couple of sentences.
Jess collapsed on top of Jax, rolling over and breathing heavy, completely spent. Jax, grinning in satisfaction, reached over for his cigarettes and pulled one out, offering the pack to Jess, who took one. He lit it for her and they both leaned back against the headboard, the sheets in tangles around them. Jess finally stubbed her cigarette out on the ashtray as she looked curiously at Jax. She had finally regained the ability to see straight, but it would be a long time before she felt completely sober again. He glanced over at her, grinning slightly at her curious gaze.
"What?" he asked. She grinned mischievously at him as she got to her knees and flung a leg over Jax, straddling him. He ran his hands slowly up her thighs until they settled on her waist.
"Let's take a shower," Jess murmured, kissing him lightly. Jax grinned, his hands roaming up her back.
"Okay," he said, his eyes full of amusement.
"Good. Because I have a theory," she said, her hands running along his chest and down to his abs.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, grinning as he glanced down to watch her hands, "And what's your theory darlin'?"
"My theory," Jess said, her hands trailing up again before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "Is that if you look this good dry, you'll look even hotter wet." Jax laughed, cocking an eyebrow at her.
"Well let's go test your theory," he said, grabbing onto her and flipping over so she was beneath him. He kissed her, his lips lingering on hers before standing up and leading her into the bathroom.
They both stood under the hot water and Jess grabbed the soap, running it down his body, any excuse to touch him. As she rubbed it into his skin he walked her back, pushing her against the wall of the shower and pressed his body firmly against hers, kissing her hard. He hooked his hand under her knee, pulling it up and out as he swiftly entered her. She let out soft moans as he pumped in and out of her, stretching her neck back as he buried his face into her until he finished. He kissed her once more, pushing the wet hair away from her face as they moved under the water.
"So how's your theory hold up?" Jax asked, grinning as the water cascaded around him. She stared back at him for a moment, biting her lip subconsciously, her breath catching in her throat as she watched the water over his shoulders and down his body.
"Damn I was right," she finally said, smiling back at him. He laughed as he shut the water off and they stepped out of the shower. She towel dried as he walked into his bedroom, grabbing a t-shirt and tossing it to her to sleep in. She threw it on and crawled into bed next to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, holding her close to his body. They lay like that for a while, neither quite able to fall asleep. Giving up, Jess propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at Jax.
"So what does it mean, being vice president of the Sons?" she asked, a question she'd been pondering since meeting him at the Hairy Dog and seeing the patch on his cut. Jax breathed deeply, his fingers running up and down her arm.
"Mostly I just keep Clay in check," he responded, "Since he's President."
"But…what kinds of stuff do you guys do?" Jess asked, prodding him further.
"Oh, bike stuff. Motorcycle rallies, charity runs, things like that. We have a lot of charters all over that we like to go visit, so mostly we're just planning and organizing those kinds of things," he said. It seemed as if it was a rehearsed answer, but Jess let it go. She had a feeling there were a lot of things about the club nobody was telling her.
"Hm," she murmured, "So how long have you been in it?"
"The club?" Jax asked, "I mean, it's been my whole life. My dad helped start the club. Part of the First 9."
"Oh, really?" Jess asked, and Jax nodded, "What happened to your dad?"
"Died," Jax replied, "Motorcycle accident. I was pretty young when it happened. It was right after my little brother died so it was really hard on me and ma."
"I'm sorry," Jess whispered.
"Yeah, well, we've all got tragedies, right?" Jax asked, his fingers still grazing up and down her arm.
"Yeah, I guess so," Jess said. Now that she had Jax talking, she found she had so many questions about him burning her brain. He was a mystery to her, though she knew it would probably take more than a night of Q&A to solve this one, "What about Abel?" she asked.
"What about him?" Jax asked.
"Tell me about him," Jess prodded and Jax grinned.
"Well he's three," Jax began. Jess cocked her head to the side as she looked down at him, "And he's a great kid. He almost didn't make it. His birth mother was a fucking junkie who shot up while she was pregnant. He was premature, lotta complications. Doc's fixed him up good. Tara was one of the surgeons operating on him." Jess squirmed uncomfortably, not liking being half naked next to a fully naked Jax, talking about his ex, but she supposed Tara went with Abel territory.
"My mom was a junkie, too," Jess told him, "I mean, my birth mom. And by was I mean… probably still is."
"Shit sucks," Jax murmured in commiseration. Jess nodded, wondering if he'd continue to answer questions if she continued to ask, but it seemed like he had questions of his own.
"So how come you're friends with Lux?" Jax asked her. She laughed, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, she's a little crazy," Jax said, though there was nothing but fondness in his voice, "Why didn't you go running for the hills?" Jess laughed.
"You know, growing up in foster care, you learn to look past perception. I was always judged for being a foster kid – kids at school would make fun of me, no one to eat lunch with, all that stupid school shit you deal with. I get the feeling Lux had it the same way," Jess said. Jax nodded, sighing.
"Yeah, it was always hard for her to make friends, being so closely related to the club. People were either afraid of her, or used her to get closer to us," Jax told her. Jess glanced up at the window, noticing the haze of early morning beginning to shine through the window.
"Holy shit we've been up all night," she commented in surprise. Jax looked up at the window then back at her, grinning, before he crawled out of bed.
"Come on," he said.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he pulled on a pair of sweat pants.
"Just come on!" he said again.
"But I don't have any pants on," she said, crawling out of bed. Jax threw a pair of shorts at her and she pulled them on, flipping the band over several times until they fit around her waist without falling down.
"Alright now come on," Jax said, opening the door and waiting for her to walk out. He led her to the middle of the hallway where there was a steel ladder attached to the wall and he jumped on it, immediately climbing up. Jess raised her eyebrows but followed him up to find them on the roof of the clubhouse, overlooking the lot with a perfect view of the sunrise.
"Oh my God," Jess murmured as Jax sat down. It was a beautiful California sunrise – the sky filled with gold and copper and pink. It felt like it had been made just for them, while the rest of the world slept. Jess sat next to him, her head on his shoulder as he slung his arm around her.
"It's beautiful," Jess murmured, staring out at the sky as the wind rustled around them, "Sunrises always remind me of my dad – the one that adopted me. He used to wake me up so early every day there was a good sunrise. He'd take me into the backyard and drink coffee and I'd sit on his lap and we'd just watch it."
"Do you remember a lot about them?" Jax asked. Jess shrugged.
"I remember little things, bits here and there," she said, "But mostly I just remember those sunrises. And then I remember the police telling me they'd been in a car accident and they were dead. I didn't really understand what they meant. I spent the next few years in foster care waiting for them to come get me until I finally realized they were never coming back." She stopped talking, slightly startled at the ease in which she'd revealed that. It wasn't something she tended to share with acquaintances, even those she'd seen naked several times.
Jax wrapped his arms more tightly around her, assuming correctly that Jess didn't need a response. She leaned against him as they stared out at the sun until it had fully risen before they climbed back down the ladder and walked back to his dorm, finally falling asleep.
SOASOASOASOA
Jess woke several hours later, her head pounding and feeling like misery. She groaned as the sun shone brightly through the worthless blinds hanging in the window and glanced down at Jax, still sleeping soundly. She crawled out of bed, still wearing Jax's t-shirt and shorts, and walked down the hallway to try and find coffee.
Walking into the clubhouse, she saw Gemma and Lux sitting at the bar drinking coffee and the aroma made her cravings kick in. Lux grinned widely when she saw Jess walk in, wagging her eyebrows at her.
"Morning, slut!" Lux said, far too chipper for this time of day as Gemma looked knowingly at Jess from beside her. Jess sat next to Lux, cupping her head in her hands and groaning.
"I am never doing that again," she muttered.
"What, drinking or fucking my son?" Gemma asked. Lux grinned with amused glee at Jess as she looked up at them.
"Both," she said meekly.
"Isn't that what you said last time?" Lux asked, "I give it a week. For both."
"All I want right now is a cup of coffee," Jess moaned. Gemma motioned for one of the prospects standing around, Rat, and he ran and brought her a cup of coffee, setting the mug down in front of her. Jess stared at it for a second before looking up at Rat, beaming at him.
"Thank you," she said gratefully, taking a sip, "You're my hero."
"You really look like shit," Lux said. Jess scowled, looking over at her.
"Yeah, thanks," she grumbled, "I got a whole two hours of fucking sleep."
"Good God," Lux replied as her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "I had no idea he could go that long."
"No, we were up talking all night," Jess said.
"You were… talking… all night?" Lux asked, her voice full of surprise. Jess nodded, glancing awkwardly at Gemma as she decided not to go into all the other stuff they did, too.
"Yeah.. pretty much," she said, "And then when the sun started coming up we went up on the roof to watch." Lux and Gemma exchanged stunned looks and then both turned to stare at Jess.
"You did what now?" Lux asked.
"We went on the roof to watch the sun rise," Jess repeated. Lux's eyebrows receded nearly to her hairline. The look of shock on her face would have been funny to Jess if it hadn't been so early in the morning.
"But… that's his spot," Lux said, "He doesn't like anyone going up there. I can't remember him ever taking a girl up there." She glanced conspiratorially at Gemma, lowering her voice, "Not even Tara." She turned back to Jess, "I wonder why he took you up?" Jess shrugged, thinking she might have just been insulted but not having the energy to know or care.
"I don't have enough brain cells to theorize anything right now," she muttered, not really sure how she felt about this new bit of information. She didn't have long to think about it before Tara walked into the clubhouse holding Abel and walked up to them. Jess turned away from her, hoping to God Tara didn't recognize the shirt she was wearing as Jax's. The situation was still complicated enough as it was and she still didn't really know what was going on.
"Where's Jax?" Tara asked.
"And good morning to you, too," Lux said snidely. Gemma rolled her eyes at Lux before turning back to Tara.
"He's in the back," she said. Tara nodded, her eyes darting down the hallway that lead to the dorms before looking back at Gemma.
"Is he… alone?" Tara asked. Lux looked over at Jess, whose face was now burning, before turning back to Tara.
"He is now," she said. Tara glanced at Jess, recognition dawning on her face, before she looked quickly away and turned her attention on Gemma.
"Will you watch Abel? I need to talk to Jax about something," she said. Gemma nodded, holding her arms out for Abel, who giggled and wrapped his arms around her neck. Soon after Tara disappeared to the back, the next last person Jess felt like seeing walked down the hall and into the clubhouse: Ima.
"What are you still doing here?" Lux asked rudely.
"Doesn't anyone say good morning anymore?" Ima asked in sarcastic exasperation. They all stared at her, waiting for a response to Lux's question. Instead, Ima's eyes fell upon Jess and they narrowed at the sight of her wearing Jax's clothes.
"That's funny," Ima said, placing a hand delicately on her hip, "I assumed from the dead silence coming from Jax's room that he was alone."
"Yeah, well, you assumed wrong," Lux replied for Jess, who wanted nothing more than to enjoy her coffee in peace. Ima ignored Lux, continuing to stare spitefully at Jess.
"Don't you know, honey? Jax likes a screamer," she said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder as she grinned cockily. Jess rolled her eyes.
"Oh he was definitely satisfied by the time I left his room," Jess said, turning back to her coffee and ignoring Ima.
"You are so clueless as to what Jax wants, its actually funny," Lux said, "He knows your legs will spread for anything and yet, he wasn't with you last night." The grin was wiped off Ima's face as she glared at Lux and Gemma sighed, rolling her eyes.
"I'd prefer Abel not to know all about his dad's sexual interests at 3 years old," she said, bouncing Abel on her knee as he looked at everyone with interest.
"That means you can leave," Lux said to Ima.
"I was invited," Ima replied haughtily, crossing her arms across her chest.
"You were invited to the party," Lux corrected, standing up and walking towards Ima, "Party's over, invitation's over." Ima scowled at her.
"I'm so sick of you trying to order me around like you're a fucking princess around here!" she yelled. Lux blinked at her.
"I am the fucking princess around here," she said. She pointed back at where Gemma still sat at the bar, holding Abel, "Queen," she said, pointing back at herself, "Princess." She took a step closer to Ima, pointing her finger in her face, "Skanky bitch."
Ima slapped Lux's hand out of her face just before Lux slapped Ima across the face. Jess jumped up from her spot at the bar as Gemma yelled, "Lux!"
Ima pulled a gun out of her purse, pointing it directly at Lux, who froze. Jess saw Rat run to the back, presumably to get Jax, while everyone else in the clubhouse froze, staring at Ima.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Lux shrieked at her, her arms held up. Abel began sobbing on Gemma's lap as she began patting his back soothingly.
"Ima, put the gun away," Gemma said as calmly as she could, but Ima shook her head, her eyes wide as if she knew she'd made a bad decision and wasn't quite sure how to get out of it. Jess's head was still pounding, feeling as if it was going to explode, and she finally did.
"Jesus Christ, Ima!" Jess yelled, walking up to her. Ima turned, pointing the gun at Jess, but she was too hung over and in too much pain to think straight or to care.
"Put that shit away, there's a fucking baby in here!" Jess yelled, reaching for the gun in Ima's hand. She grabbed hold of the barrel and Ima shrieked, yanking it out of Jess' grip and accidentally firing the gun into the floor right in front of Jess's feet. Jess screamed, her head really feeling like it was now exploding, and jumped back, staring in shock at Ima. Ima stared back for half a second before running towards the front door of the club house.
"Yeah you better keep that gun close, bitch!" Lux shrieked after her, "You're gonna need it!" Ima ran out of the door just as Jax, Tara, and every other Son that had just been sleeping all ran into the room.
"What the fuck is going on!?" Jax yelled. Lux turned around angrily to look at Jax.
"That stupid cunt!" she yelled, "Ima just pulled a damn gun on everyone, and Jess tried to grab it from her and the stupid bitch fired it into the floor."
Jess wasn't listening. She was still staring at the bullet hole in the floor in complete shock. She'd never heard a gun go off before. Not in person anyway. And certainly not so close to her. She was vaguely aware of Chibs pulling a chair up to her and helping her to sit down, but her eyes never moved from that spot in the floor.
"She's in shock," Chibs said and Jax walked over to her, squatting in front of Jess and taking her face gingerly in his hands.
"Hey, I got a gun pulled on me first!" Lux said, but she was smiling, "Nice to see where your loyalties lie, big brother." She grinned over at Gemma, who was watching Jax with Jess closely.
"Never do that again," Jax said softly when Jess had finally made eye contact with him. He ran his thumb gently across her cheek, "You could have been hurt."
"I… I wasn't thinking," Jess mumbled, "Abel was crying and Ima had that gun and…."
"Geez, Jess, I thought orphans were supposed to be street smart," Lux commented.
"Jax," Tara said, her voice slightly annoyed, "We need to finish our talk before I have to go to work." Jax looked back at Jess, his face creased with worry.
"I'm okay," she told him and he nodded, standing up and walking back to Tara.
"I… have to go," Jess muttered, standing quickly and running back to Jax's room to quickly get her things before speeding out of the clubhouse, not taking a second glance at Jax or Tara or anyone else.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Again, we really appreciate your feedback and it really helps us in our chapter! And a shout out to the guest who reviewed the last chapter (who we're pretty sure is GeorgieGirl75?) whose last review actually did inspire a change in this chapter. So please continue to let us know what you think, because it really does help us!