The smell of coffee wakes me from my slumber, and when I open my eyes to see there is barely any sunlight streaming through the blinds, I internally groan. I had wanted to sleep in, but it looks like my body has other plans for me. It's for the best; there is a lot to be done today. I am going to finally tell my dad I am in town and look for a permanent place to live. I roll over and grab my phone off the table next to JJ's guest bed.
Me: Tell me when Papa Winston comes in today!
Gemma is always at the club bright and early since she is the only one running the office. No reason to head over there before I have to. She can just text me when he comes around. If I go hang out at the club I might run into Jax or Wendy; that is not on my days to-do-list.
The smell of coffee gets stronger as I walk towards the kitchen. JJ's sweat pants he lent me drag on the floor, but they are comfy as hell, so I don't care. He won't be getting these back.
When I walk into the kitchen, I am a little retaken to see Juice is the one making coffee.
"Did you and JJ have a little sleepover?" I crack a smile when he turns to me with wide eyes. It looks like neither of us knew the other was here.
"No! No, I live here. Did you and JJ have a little sleepover," he mocks.
My eyes roll at the thought that JJ and I would ever be anything more than friends. JJ has always been like another brother to me. If I wore shorts too short, he sent me inside to change. He chased boys out of my life the second they looked at me too long. And to top it all off, he told people every chance he could that I was his little sister. No one wanted to mess with JJ, and once they heard we were related, even though we aren't, no one wanted to mess with me.
"Eww no, JJ is my older brother from another mother. There is no attraction there." I rummage through the cabinets to find myself a mug. Things aren't in the same place from the last time I was here.
Juice hands me one from a different part of the kitchen. "Things got rearranged when I moved here." Four years is all it takes for everything to change, I guess. "What are your plans for the day?"
Once I poured myself coffee, I went to the pantry. It looks like JJ still keeps a box of my favorite cereal in there. I pray it isn't old.
"List of thing Casey needs to get done: Finally see her dad, find a place to live, and then get all her shit from storage." I put up a finger as I name each errand.
"Don't worry about Piney he will get over the fact you didn't tell him you weren't coming home. He knows how spontaneous his daughter is. Live here; I have two open rooms. And fuck everything else. Now all you have to do, babydoll is stop talking in third person," JJ cuts in while walking into the room.
"Live here with you two? No way! The last thing I need is to run into either of your guys' one-night stands. Or worse, like if one of you starts dating some crazy ass girl and she tries to take me out." I take a sip of my coffee, imagine some batshit, insane girl think I want to steal JJ or Juice from her.
JJ looks at me with an angry glare, crossing his arms across his bare chest. I have only ever thought one of JJ's girls were sane, and I don't even know Juice well enough to know the kind of girl he dates.
"Juice, no more one night stands and stop bringing home crazy girlfriends," he says.
Juice, who is sitting on the other side of the table almost chokes on his cereal. "What?... I have never had a girl over before."
"Good. See Cas, now you don't have to worry about running into our one-night stands or psychotic girlfriends. Don't worry about me I don't bring those kinds of girls home." It appears JJ isn't taking no for an answer; not that I should be surprised by that. "You can even have the master suite."
"Really? JJ, you don't have to do this!"
The master suite is where JJ sleeps. It isn't just a bedroom, which is why it is shocking that he would just give it up this easily. Attached to the bedroom is it's own little living room, with a mini bar, and a shower-and-tub bathroom on top of that. The previous owners had built it that way so when their kids went to bed, they didn't have to be as quiet. Apparently, the room is the closest you could get to being sound proof without actually being considered sound proof.
"I can't keep an eye on you if you live anywhere else. You were out of my sight for four years, and when I finally see you again, you are in the hospital. With Opie unable to be in Charming, I believe it's the best option. Unless you think you could live with your dad again." JJ joins us at the table with a bowl of cereal.
I bring my empty mug down to the table with a bang; not hard enough to break it. "It settled! We are all roommates now. No take-backs, because I am sure in about two weeks you will want to." I jump up and clean my mug off in the sink. Now there are only two things on my list to do.
Shortly after breakfast, Gemma texted me saying my father showed up. Juice and JJ told me to run my errands and then we could set up my room. I left them the keys to my storage space and car. JJ let me borrow his Harley-Davidson VRSC V-Rod Muscle. It sits in the garage most of the time. He prefers a different kind of bike now.
I loved the adrenaline of speeding down the road and swerving in between slow cars; which happens to be the reason I got into trouble with the cops a lot after JJ taught me how to ride this thing. Back then I wasn't allowed to take it on highways or outside of the small town of Charming, but when I first learned how to drive it, I thought I would never leave Charming. So, that never bothered me.
I speed into the Teller-Morrow lot causing every guy in the garage to look up at me. I park the bike by all the other Harley's. Gemma steps out of her office, wondering what all the noise is. My father walks out of the office with her. A smile reaches across my face. The helmet comes off, and I take down my hair, letting my natural curls come down. Gemma whistles at me when she see's me all blacked out in my black jeans, black boots, black tank top, and black leather jacket. I shoot her a wink.
"Hi, Daddy!" I smile, practically knocking him over when I run into his arms.
At first, he is too taken by surprise to hug me, but then he gives me a tight squeeze.
"Casey. What are you doing back? I thought you were helping run a bar on the Vegas Strip?" I step back, giving my dad a kiss on the cheek.
That is not a story I want to get into right now. "Well, I decided to leave. Jason owns seventy-five percent of it, and I own twenty-five now. He will just be sending me checks." Gemma's eyes burn into me when I say Jason's name. Dad doesn't share my personal info, meaning the club is pretty clueless about my actions while I was gone.
"It's good to have you home. I need to go sit." He starts tugging his oxygen tank towards the clubhouse, and I tell him I will join him in a second.
"You should talk to Jax. He asked if you were coming by today." I groan when Gemma tells me this. She gives me a swift slap to the back of the head. "You two grew up together. Both of you need to get over this shit."
Gemma has a point, like usual.
"Darlin, you can't be late to your graduation party. We were supposed to stop by the house for a second, not almost a half hour," Jax yells at me from outside my bedroom door.
"I need to put clothes on," I shout laughingly while slipping into my graduation dress. I had practically drooled over my black lace, long sleeve, backless chiffon dress when I spotted it in the store. I am not normally someone who wears dresses, but this one caught my eye.
"Weren't you wearing your dress under your gown thing," Jax asks me, very confused.
I open the door with a mischievous smirk. "Of course not! I went to graduation completely naked under my gown."
"Cas, tell me you're kidding!"
"Someone bet me 500 dollars I wouldn't do it. I had to prove them wrong!"
I walk into the living room, checking my half up-half down curls while passing a mirror. Thankfully the heat hadn't gotten to them. My parents better take a hundred pictures, because I will never look this made up and beautiful again.
Jax is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Obviously, he is not pleased that I was naked during graduation. Who cares? No one even noticed. Except for the girl I flashed to prove I was naked. She thought I hilarious, and I was pretty proud of myself when the guy who made the bet forked over five hundred big ones in twenties.
"Living up to your nickname, Crazy Casey," he says, forcing a laugh.
"Just be glad I didn't take the other 500 and flash the crowd while grabbing my diploma." Jax's hands ball into fists when I say that. Good thing I didn't mention the guy's name; Jax might have gone after him for just suggesting the idea.
I walk over to the liquor cabinet my dad has; it's always stocked. Jax's arms grasp my waist and whirl me around. The corners of his mouth tug into a charming smile, his bright blue eyes piercing into mine, and his one hand moves to the small of my back. "Darlin', we are already running late. You can drink plenty when we get to the club."
A feeling explodes in my stomach; something I have never felt this intensely before. I almost buckle at the knee. Jax Teller is single-handedly the most attractive guy I know. Growing up with him I had a silly school girl crush on him, but this feeling is much deeper than that. My cheeks deepen into a crimson color.
Jax leans in, whispering in my ear. "You are beautiful when you blush."
I put my hands on his torso, leaning the top of my head against his chest. What is happening right now; my emotions are making me dizzy.
"C'mon sweetheart, we have a graduation party to attend."
Jax drove my Jeep Wrangler to the clubhouse because I didn't want to drive with heels on. And I know if I take them off there will be no one able to convince me to put them back on.
I step out of the car with my gown over my dress and my grad cap on my head. Opie is standing outside with his wife, Donna. The smile on Opie's face is the biggest I have ever seen. I run up to him and jump into his arms. "Whoa there little girl, wouldn't want to break a heel."
"I did it Op; I graduated in the top five percent!"
"I never doubted you for a second little sis."
When he puts me down, I am stupefied that Donna pulls me into a hug. We have a great friendship, but she is not the hugging type.
Donna pulls back, taking grip of my hands. "I am beyond proud of you. Casey, you can go anywhere, and do anything." Her and my mother have always pushed me to leave Charming. They consistently say there is better out there for me. Donna is kind and subtle about it, but not so much my mom.
"Not that she will," my mother tells her as she and my father walks towards me. They are divorced, but they try hard to be civil when around me.
My jaw clenches at her statement. Being cordial with me is clearly not a priority for her tonight. "We are not doing this today, mom."
"There is never a right time to talk to you about it. These boys have you wrapped around their fingers." I walk closer to her, smelling the alcohol on her breath.
Not once in my life have I been around her when she is drunk, but I guess being at the clubhouse was too much for her. Part of the reason her and dad broke up is due to her disapproval of the club. Mom is not the old lady type. Still, that isn't a good reason to be spiteful towards her daughter.
"Mom, please not now." I put my hand on her arm, but she smacks it away.
"Then when? When are you going to see this club is beneath you? All you do is waste your time here, and cause trouble with them! You could have been bigger than this." Her voice is loud enough that she is attracting stares. My father clamps his hand on her shoulder, letting her know she has said enough. My mother thinks I am a disappointment.
Two strong arm wraps themselves around the front of me, leaning in to whisper in my ear. "C'mon beautiful, let's take a picture like you wanted." Jax pulls me away from her and towards the Harleys. He lets me walk forward, and he intertwines his hand with mine. My body tingles as he does this.
Gemma has her camera out and ready, the SOA guys are all lined up in their cuts, looking handsome as ever. Looking at all of them dressed up nicely just for my graduation party makes me happy. They are badass bikers; they didn't have to do any of this for me, but they did. My mom is wrong; these men are my life. None of them are inferior to me. We take a huge group picture first and then Gemma insists on getting one of only Op, JJ, Jax, and I.
"On the count of three. Let's make it a good one boys."
We were are supposed to be taking a serious picture, but when Gemma says three Opie puts his arms around the front my shoulders, probably making a funny face, JJ kisses one side of my cheeks and Jax the other.
"Alright, now get inside. I worked hard on this party and Casey wasn't even allowed to help me since the party is for her. All of you better thank me tonight," Gemma yells.
Everyone starts to walk in, but Jax holds me back for a second. "Hold on, there is something I want to tell you." He grabs the side of my face, looking deep into my eyes. "Whatever happens in life darlin, I want you to know, you being in my life is the best thing that could have ever happened to me." Jax leans his forehead against mine.
The feeling of sparks going off in my stomach returns, and I realize that the schoolgirl crush I had on him is no longer there.
No, it's more than that now. I am in love with Jax Teller.
"You are right Gemma." I give her a small grin, spotting Jax working on a car not too far away. "Jax and I have been through too much not to work this out."
"Sweetheart, I am always right. Now go make my baby happy." Gemma pushes me towards the garage. Some of the guys are still staring from my dramatic arrival, but most have gone back to what they were doing.
"Jax Teller, can I get a word?" I ask, pretending to be cross with him.
However, I am not mad at him. I am jealous, jealous that someone else swooped in and took what I had thought was mine. But the truth is, he isn't mine. Jax Teller is the love of my life, the best friend I have ever had, and the only person who knows me more than I know myself. However, he isn't mine; I gave up that chance four years ago. What happened between us happened, and it's my fault that things worked out this way. But, I won't lose Jax over my stupidity. If I have to hide my jealousy for the rest of my life, just to be around him, I will do it.
Jax turns towards me, his mouth forming into a small grin. When he sees my stature, his smile falls a little, but regardless he walks up to me. "I am glad you came by the garage. Listen, I am sorry about yesterday-"
"No, don't apologize. Jax if you are happy, I am happy. It's that simple; it's all I ever wanted for you." I surge towards him, wrapping him in a hug.
It takes a second for him to return the hug. "I missed you, darlin'."
Tears well in my eyes, knowing what I was going to say next would probably kill me inside, but I wanted to know if he remembered the feelings that I did.
I turn my head to his ear; my breath hot against it. "Whatever happens in life Jax, I want you to know, you being in my life is the best thing that could have ever happened to me." With the words out of my mouth, I let him out of the hug.
Jax's face is pale, and his mouth is hanging open. He doesn't budge or say anything, even when I start walking backward away from him. Those words had once begun my love story, with Jax Teller being my prince charming. And now, it may or may not have ended it.