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Little Toy Bikers and a Woman on the Run
Chapter 15 Unfair
Tara's BBQ with David Hale was over before she even made it to his house. A first anniversary party had turned into a drunken brawl with domestic violence, child endangerment/child abuse, a couple of attempted murders, public urination, public intoxication and lewd acts involving four men, two women and a couple of teenagers spread across four neighborhood families.
He spent most of the night filling out paperwork, writing reports and trying to keep the situation from escalating further.
To make up for the cancelled BBQ, he was taking Tara to the annual food and crafts fair that the city of Charming sponsored. It wasn't much of a fair, but in small town Charming it was one of the social events of the year.
The city closed off a couple of streets and local vendors and residents sent up booths selling food and various crafts—everything from paintings to crocheted scarves to an endless sea of hand poured candles.
Tara was nervous that she would run into Jax. She didn't want to run into him when she was with David because they wouldn't be able to talk. She didn't see any bikes in the parking lot, so she was hoping that meant that SAMCRO wasn't attending the event or at least it's hottest biker wasn't going to be there.
She did notice there was a red Corvette. A car that flashy stuck out in Charming. She'd watched some TV program and a comic called Corvettes mid-life crisis cars for men. It had gotten big laughs because there was a lot of truth to it. She decided the owner was probably a short, divorced bald guy.
Tara also didn't want to run into Jax when she was with David for another reason; he just couldn't compare to Jax. David was attractive in an average way, but he often came across as rigid and humorless. It was the same way people often saw her unless they got to know her.
How could she let David touch her after she'd seen Jax? She couldn't. It was that simple. She couldn't even pretend it was Jax. It wasn't David's fault.
She just didn't feel that physical connection she had with Jax, but she'd never felt that physical connection with any man except Jax and to a lesser degree Josh Kohn. She had even called him Joshy. How could she have fallen even a little bit for a man with a nickname that revolting?
She was most afraid of running into Jax with another girl. From what Donna told her Jax always had some girl around. She was extremely jealous, but she'd learned to conceal and control this feeling. It had been ten years, she reminded herself; she had no right to be jealous.
She got that Jax would have turned to crow-eaters for comfort after she left him, but hundreds? Could Donna's estimate be anywhere close to reality? She hoped it was just an exaggeration.
As they rounded the corner of an ice cream booth, she saw Jax with a stunning blonde girl. She shouldn't have been surprised that Jax was with a beautiful girl. She always believed that she wasn't pretty enough or hot enough for him. It was an insecurity that had haunted her during their entire relationship.
The blonde and Jax were looking into each other's eyes and laughing. He was holding onto her elbow and they seemed emotionally connected.
The sight caught at her heart and knocked the breath out of her. She wanted to run away, go home and cry. She should never have come back to Charming. She would never be good enough for Jax. She needed to face that truth.
"You want to turn around? I don't think we've been seen," David asked.
"No. I'm going to have to face him sooner or later. Might as well get it over with now."
Tara was glad she'd only had a small amount of ice cream to eat because she felt like she was going to throw up.
A girl with that blonde's looks never knew how hard life could be for others that weren't blessed with her beauty and body. Tara had had to work for everything she had. No one had ever handed her anything based on her looks.
If Tara threw up, she was aiming for Jax's girlfriend. It wouldn't even out the unfairness of life, but it would provide a little bit of comfort.