A/N: Thank you for hanging in there with me. I needed some time to mourn after that S6 finale. I do plan on continuing this fic! Special thanks to jmwatson504 and elbeewoods
Chapter 12
"You're up early." Gemma notices the sprint in her sons' step. "And you got in late last night."
Jax was reluctant to leave Tara's. He wanted to stay the night. To stay wrapped around her like he did at Piney's but she insisted he leave before her father got home. Jax wasn't quite sure how to ask her if the rumors were true. He knew the drunk part was but was her father really a mean drunk? Did he ever hurt her? "Opie's bitching about me making him late all the time." Jax lies easily to his mother.
The little shit wasn't giving anything away and it was driving the matriarch crazy. "How did dinner go?"
He meets his mother's gaze head on. He wanted to tell her to mind her own business and to stay away from Tara but Tara told him not to. For reasons he didn't understand, his girl wanted him to play it cool. "It was nice. Thanks."
Jax grabs an apple from the counter and heads out to the porch to wait for Opie, away from his mother's watchful gaze.
"Still in one piece, I see." Opie teases hid friend when he gets in.
Jax smiles, "Of course."
"And here I thought Knowles was too smart for the Teller charm." Opie lights his cigarette and give it to his friend after taking a drag.
"She loves the Teller charm." The prince smirks. "Besides it wasn't me. It's Mommy Dearest."
"Yeah, good luck with that, bro." Opie sighs. He's known Gemma his whole life and knows she's going to be a problem. "So, we picking up Tara or what?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely." Jax smiles wide. He's missed his girl in the few hours they've been apart. He didn't know what it was but he definitely hasn't been able to get enough of her. When he was away from her all he could think about was getting to see her again and how quickly he could make that happen.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into ditching for this." Tara watches Opie and Jax. They are working on building some sort of ramp. They've taken scrap wood and metal from the garage.
"Really?" Donna teases. "Because you look like you're enjoying the view."
Tara couldn't deny it. A shirtless Jackson Teller was a beautiful view. At just shy of sixteen, he already had the most defined six pack she'd ever seen. And the sweat glistening off added a nice touch. "I'm not the only one." She notes the small crowd that has gathered, a few crow-eaters and sweet butts all watching as well. "Not that I can blame them." She admits softly, never taking her eyes off of him.
Just then, Jax looks up and catches her staring. Her gaze meets his and he smirks knowingly. "Well you are definitely the only one he's paying attention too."
Tara bites her lip and grabs the beer she's sharing with him, before walking over to him. "You look thirsty." She smiles shyly.
"I am." He pulls her to him with one arm. And takes a long swig of beer with the other. The fact that she should be grossed out by being this up close and personal with him being so sweaty is on the tip of her tongue to complain about just before he kisses her. As usual a kiss is never a kiss between them. She can taste the beer on his tongue when it meets hers. "Having fun?" He asks against her lips.
"I am." She murmurs against his.
"Yeah?" He leans back to see if she's telling the truth.
"I'm enjoying the view." She admits with a shy smirk.
He raises his eyebrows with a smirk of his own before attacking her neck with a growl.
"You gonna come up for air?" Comes the voice of none other then Gemma Teller.
Tara jumps back as far as Jax's embrace allows her too. "H…Hi Mrs. Teller." She clears her throat and tries to ignore Jax's laugh. "Hi, Ma."
"School let out early?" She asks with a hand to her hip.
Jax rolls his eyes. His mother has never given a good goddamn about him going to school or not. And she's surely never cared who was with him. "Something like that." He shrugs.
"Mmm-hmmm." Gemma murmurs, never taking her gaze off of Tara's. Finally she turns around to head back to the office.
"Oh, Mrs. Teller?" Tara calls out, making her turn around. She meets the matriarch's gaze dead on, putting on what looks to Jax as a fake smile. "Thank you for your help with dinner. It turned out better than I hoped for."
Jax can not contain his smirk at this remark. He watches as the two have a battle as to who will look away first. There is so much brewing between their gazes.
Finally it is Gemma who takes a deep breath, "Yeah, no problem." She gives a fake smile of her own and walks away. She knew that little bitch was going to be a problem. She tries to trample down the feeling of pride she has in the girl as well.
Jax laughs against her neck as his mother stalks off. "You do realize you just pissed all over your territory, right?"
"Does that make you mine?" She pulls back to see his eyes.
"It does." He keeps one hand on her ass, and brings the other up to her hair, keeping her head still and dropping his lips to hers.
"Are we building an obstacle course or making out?" Opie interrupts finally.
Jax groans and Tara giggles. "I'll let you get back to it." She grins, pulling the beer from Jax's other hands and walking back to the picnic table where Donna is. Tara glances at the girls who have watched the scene in front of them. Most look uncomfortable and finally turn to leave.
"You and the queen." Donna sips her beer. "That was…intense."
"Yeah." Tara sighs. "I don't get it. Gemma's always been so nice before."
"Before you and Jax started hooking up?" Donna asks. Tara nods. "My mom hates Gemma." Donna whispers. "Thinks she's a nut-job control freak."
"I don't get it." Tara laughs. "Compared to Teller's normal flock, I'm Mother Theresa."
Donna gives a full laugh at the comparison. "That's the problem, girl, you are someone who may upstage her."
"What a weirdo." Tara shrugs. She notices the boys, wheeling the large metal trashcans over. "What the hell are they doing now?"
"They're going to jump them." Donna smiles.
"Jump them?" Tara asks. "Jump them on what?"
It is then that she hears the rumbling before the Jax and Opie appear on dirtbikes. "On those." Donna sighs. "But I can't watch."
"Tell me they were helmets." Tara pleads. She knows head injuries are no joke.
"Sometimes." Donna grimaces.
"Like hell." Tara jumps back down and stalks over to Jax.
"Hey babe." He grins before noting her serious face.
"What are you doing?" She asks with hands on her hips.
"I was about to jump these three trashcans." He admits. "Before you messed up my momentum."
"You need to wear a helmet." She tells him.
He laughs at her seriousness. "Babe, I'm fine. I've done this before."
"Jackson, please." She stomps. "I saw this thing on TV about head injuries on TV. They are serious. You could die!"
She had him at the please. But he couldn't let her know exactly how much control she had over him so easily. "Babe, a helmet makes me look like a pussy."
"It does not!" She huffs. They stare each other down before she walks closer and leans up so he can hear her whisper above the bike's engine. "If you die, you'll never get pussy again."
He leans back. Was she implying that pussy was a viable option between them. He reads the promise somewhere in her gaze. "I'll get my helmet." He sighs, cuts the engine, and walks towards the garage.
"Whipped." Opie teases and Jax flips him off.
"Grab one for Opie too!" Donna shouts to Jax, who is now laughing.
"Oh my God!" Donna cries out as Opie goes up the ramp, she cringes and hides her face in the neck of her t-shirt. "Tell me he made it."
"He made it." Tara laughs. She didn't know how Donna could turn away. There was something so sexy about watching a shirtless Jackson Teller, flooring his bike and raising up as he soared above three thrash cans that made her stomach clench. She stood as he went over the trashcans and couldn't contain the shout as he came back down. "Wow….that was…."
"Insane!" Donna supplies, finally standing too and watching as the boys take off their helmets and grin.
"Sexy as hell." Tara grins.
"Congratulations Teller." Donna says to Jax as he and Opie come close to them. "I think you found someone as crazy as you." She leaps into Opie's arms and pulls his lips to hers.