5

Little Toy Bikers and a Woman on the Run

Chapter 130 Nose

Jax couldn't understand why Scarlett was so angry with him over asking her if she was asking him to kill her ex. He put it down to the mysteries of women.

He just remembered something JT told him when he was little. When girls were giving him trouble, give them chocolate. Now that he was thinking about it, JT used that on Gemma and it usually worked.

"There's this little place just outside Charming that has the best chili dogs and onion rings. They also have the best hot fudge sundaes you've ever eaten. You mind if we stop there?"

"No, I'd like a sundae. Hot fudge sounds good."

Scarlett seemed less angry with him. Give that one to JT. It was nice to think about his father's wisdom, forgotten until this moment, reaching out from years ago helping him. He could have used his father's guidance in his life. Instead, he got Clay.

"I'll help you out of the car," Jax said after he'd parked the car at Roadside Food Heaven.

Jax let his hands linger on Scarlett's body as he helped her out of the car. She didn't pull away. She was definitely less angry.

As soon as Scarlett saw the three bite mini chili cheese dogs, she realized she was hungry. Jax ordered their food while Scarlett found them a table.

"I used to come here a lot with Opie—he's my best friend—when we were learning to ride bikes," Jax explained. "We'd come here to ride on the open road."

A server came with almost a dozen mini chili cheese dogs and a mound of crispy onion rings.

"There's just something so comforting about a plateful of unhealthy food," Scarlett said before biting into her first mini chili cheese dog. "Absolutely delicious. I'm glad you thought about coming here."

"It's been awhile. Save room for the ice cream sundae," Jax said.

"Not a problem. There's always room for ice cream especially if it has chocolate over it."

After finishing their food, Jax got them hot fudge sundaes. His sundae was made with strawberry ice cream while she'd stuck to the traditional vanilla. The restaurant's ice cream was homemade and it was limited to strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The lack of variety didn't hurt the business because the ice cream was so delicious.

"I never thought of strawberry ice cream with hot fudge, but it makes sense. Strawberries get dipped in chocolate," Scarlett said looking at Jax's ice cream.

"You want a taste?" Jax asked dipping his spoon into ice cream and hot fudge.

"Of course," she said, leaning a little forward, so he could get the spoon into her mouth. "That is delicious. That strawberry ice cream really tastes like strawberries. Most strawberry ice cream is just vanilla with a few chopped up berries."

"I do have great taste," Jax with mock seriousness.

"OK. I'll give you that."

"You've got chocolate on your nose," Jax said.

"I do," Scarlett said. She raised her forefinger and touched her nose. "There's no . . ."

Jax dipped his finger in the last bit of chocolate in his bowl and touched Scarlett's nose.

She looked at him, her eyes sparkling with laughter and she was smiling ear to ear. He felt it then. A kick to the heart. He understood now how she had wrapped her father around her little finger. He wouldn't let that happen to him, but he might have to admit that he was losing his heart to her.

Scarlett left the chocolate on her nose until they were ready to leave. He suggested they take a walk before returning to the car. There was a small park nearby. He took her elbow automatically and matched his pace to hers. She took small steps and walked slowly, but he knew that her pain level determined how fast she walked.

Judging by her pace, he thought she had to be in a lot of pain. She didn't complain though. That just made him more observant and careful to help her. They only walked for twenty minutes before Jax decided that her back was worse and they needed to head back to Charming.

Scarlett had changed motels. She had already registered online and made sure to get a room on the first floor. None of Charming's motels had elevators.

Of the four motels in Charming, this motel was the nicest. The furnishings were newer and a little more expensive, but that was about the only difference Jax could see. The one disadvantage was Scarlett's car couldn't be seen from the street. He wouldn't be able to ride past to check on her car.

He brought her luggage in, put two suitcases on a desk and opened them for her. He also put her smaller bag on a little table next to a chair.

They stood there face to face. Jax knew he should leave, but he didn't want to leave. Jax laughed and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"My mother is probably circling the block waiting to pounce on me the second I get home."

Scarlett burst into laughter quickly wrapping her arms around her waist to minimize the pulling muscle pain laughter caused.

"Here you are a big, tough biker who shows not a trace of fear at the prospect of facing a team of ruthless mercenaries that will kill him, but you're afraid of your mother."

"There's one big difference. I can't use an AK on my mother."

They both laughed.

"If you want to avoid facing your mother tonight, you can hide out with me."

"What if I just want to stay with you tonight?"

Scarlett sucked in her breath.

"That's OK too," she said softly.

"I'll get my bag."

Jax returned to the room and dumped his bag.

"I want to take a really hot shower before I take my medication. I've signed into my laptop. I've got DVDs downloaded and some actual DVDs. Pick out whatever you want to watch."

Jax changed into his sleeping attire and looked over her DVD collection. He picked out a one season wonder of a show called Undeclared. It was about students in their first year at college. A blonde exchange student named Lloyd bore a striking resemblance to Jax only Lloyd had an English accent.

"That guy looks like he could be your identical twin brother," Scarlett said watching the first episode.

"No way. His hair is the right color, but that's about it," Jax said.

They watched an episode called "Addicts" that left Scarlett in awe of Lloyd's dancing skills.

"I could never do that leg jump thing. I don't have the coordination. I'd end up in a heap on the floor," Scarlett said.

"It doesn't look that hard," Jax said. He studied that dance sequence and he got the move on his second try.

"I'm very impressed," Scarlett said. "I have absolutely no coordination."

"You just need the right man to teach it to you."

"Are we still talking about dancing?"

"What do you think?"

Scarlett's face was flushed and, for a moment, her composure slipped.

"I think it's time we talked business," she said regaining her composure. "I have a proposal for you."

Author's Note: Prior to SOA, Charlie Hunnam appeared on Undeclared an American TV series about college students living in the dorms during their first year of college. The dance move he does is in the episode "Addicts". The dance move is on the internet. You can watch the episode on the internet for free. Just type in Undeclared TV series Addicts or something similar.