Chapter 6

Jess POV

The next morning when I woke up, I felt happier than I could ever remember. Hap and I were officially together. Before we could announce anything to the club, I knew that I needed to tell Jax and Opie. Opie would be pissed if he found out like everyone else did. And Jax…well, even though he'd hurt me I still needed to be the one to tell him. I had a feeling that he was gonna be pissed. I climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake Hap. I took a shower and got dressed, heading back to Ope's for clean clothes. When I walked in the front door, he was standing there in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning." He said.

"Hi." I said.

"Late night?" He asked me.

"You could say that. I need to change clothes, but then can we talk?" I said. He nodded. I smiled at him, making my way down the hall.

I quickly changed into a pair of blue jean shorts and a tank top. When I walked back into the kitchen, he'd poured me a cup of coffee. "So, what's on your mind?" He asked me.

"I ran into David yesterday." I said starting.

"Oh yeah. How was that?" He asked.

I shrugged. "The usual I guess. Where've you been? When did you get back? How long are you here? Told him that I knew that he saw me at Donna's funeral so he couldn't exactly act surprised that I was in town." I told him.

"That's true. I didn't even know he was there." Ope said.

"You had a lot going on that day." I said, giving him a sad smile.

"Your right."

"After you and I talked yesterday, I spent a good chunk of the afternoon driving around town. Not really having a destination in mind, just driving and thinking. When I finally made it to the clubhouse, I went and sat to Hap's dorm. I just sat there thinking. After a while, Hap found me. I started telling him everything that I'd been thinking about, I think I was rambling more than anything. And at some point I told him I loved him." I said, looking at Ope for a reaction.

"That's big." He said.

"I know. I haven't loved anyone since Jax. After I told him that I loved him, he told me that he loved me too. Had for a while. Told me that he hasn't been with anyone since he and I started. I mean, I didn't think he had and neither had I but it was nice to hear the confirmation. Then he told me that he wanted me to get his crow." I told him.

"That's a big step, Jess. You ready for that?" He asked me.

I nodded. "I am. Ope, you know how messed up I was when I left here. I was even worse when I got to SAMTAC. I had driven straight there. I didn't stop anywhere. At first Kozik was the only one that would speak to me. Lee tried to turn me away but then he called Clay and he confirmed that I was a friend of the Club. After that, they all took care of me. Mainly Kozik, Lee and Hap. It was weeks before any of them could get answers out of me about why I'd run away from Charming. Kozik was the first. When he found out why I'd left Charming, it took Donut and Lorca stopping him for him to calm down. He wanted to jump on his bike and come beat the shit out of Jax. I'm surprised that he hasn't since he's been here. Anyway, a couple months after I got there, Hap and I started spending time together. It's completely platonic at first. He'd take me for a ride. We'd get some food, maybe see a movie. It was great. Then one night after a club party, I was cleaning up and he stopped me and kissed me. Told me that I deserved better than the Prince of Charming. At first I thought he'd kissed me because he was drunk. It wasn't until the next day that I found out that he'd only had one beer that night. That was the beginning of me and Hap. It's been completely different than how me and Jax were." I said.

"Well it's a completely different relationship." Ope said.

"Your right. It is. Here's the best part. Hap told me he'd follow me anywhere. Whether it's Tacoma, here or somewhere else. Told me he'd go Nomad just as along as we were together." I told him.

Ope reached across the table and put his hand on mine. "I'm really happy for you Jess." Ope said.

"Thanks Ope."

When I left Ope's house, I headed back to the clubhouse. I still needed to talk to Jax before I could tell Gemma and Clay about me and Hap. When I pulled into the lot, I parked next to Gem's caddy and went in search of Jax. I checked the garage first and went I didn't find him, I headed inside the clubhouse. I found Jax sitting at the bar drinking a beer, with Tig. I walked over to him. "Hey." I said and he looked at me. "Can we talk?"

He nodded. He led me back to his dorm room. I sat on his desk and picked up a picture that was sitting there. It was of the two of us from when we first started dating. "What's up?" He asked me.

"Hap told me he loved me." I said, looking at him, waiting for a reaction. Nothing. "I told him that I loved him. Then he asked me to get his crow." I said.

Jax nodded. "Is that it?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. Clearly Jax was gonna be an asshole. "Yeah. Just thought you should know." I said hopping off the desk and making my way towards the door. I had just reached for the doorknob when Jax grabbed my other hand and pulled me to him, crashing his lips to mine. I quickly pushed him away from me. "What was that?" I asked.

"Tell me that you don't still feel a connection between us. Tell me that you don't still have feelings for me." Jax said.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you just let me go and be happy?" I asked.

"Jess, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. But I want you to be happy with me. I want us to have our family like we've always talked about." Jax said. "It's you and me."

"Jax, don't do this." I said.

"Jess, please. Rethink all of this before you get that crow." Jax said. "Because once you get that crow, there's no going back."

I tried to fight back the tears that were forcing to spill over. I knew that I couldn't hold them back for long. "Jax, you're an asshole. Stay away from me." I said before I rushed out the door.

When I made my way to the barroom, I literally ran into Hap. He grabbed me to keep me from falling. "Babe, what's wrong?" He asked me.

"Jax. I told him and Opie about us and when I tried to leave he kissed me. Then begged me to reconsider your crow." I told him.

Hap's eyes quickly turned to black, something that I'd only seen a handful of times. "Go get a drink. I'll be back." Hap said, before he headed down the hall. No doubt to tell Jax to get in the ring. There were rules. You didn't disrespect an old lady. I walked over to the bar and asked the prospect for a shot of Jack.