Love Struck (Miss Match #2) (16 page)

“Damn,” Kat said. “Just … damn.”

Now that Lacy knew who Jax was, she wasn’t so comfortable with Kat’s adoration. “Uh, aren’t you and Wes still a thing?” Surely, they were and Kat was just expressing the general reaction of all women when they encountered Jax.

“We’re a thing,” Kat confirmed. But then she added, “Just not a monogamous thing. And I’m thinking it might be time for another thing.” The sultry narrowing of her eyes as she looked toward the lead singer made it apparent that the other
thing
she was referring to was a thing that involved Jax.

An alarm went off in Lacy’s head. “Is Jax going with you to see the town?”

“Yeah. Pretty sure.”

And that was a reason Lacy should tell Jax she was LoveCoda. Because she couldn’t possibly let him hook up with someone like Kat, even for just a night. The thought of Folx hooking up with anyone who wasn’t her was bothersome, actually. Even when they hadn’t made promises, Folx was hers. Not Kat’s.

Er,
Jax
was hers. Jax/Folx. Except, she wasn’t as bothered by the idea of a Jax and Kat hookup as she was a Folx and Kat hookup. Weird. But explainable. She wasn’t used to Jax and Folx being the same person—that was all.

Really, it wasn’t fair that she be bothered by any of it because she’d hooked up with Eli.

Eli.
Her stomach fluttered when she thought of him. It was silly post-sex body reactions. Yes, that. Eli had conditioned her hormonal response. Nothing serious. She’d be over it as soon as she moved on to someone new. To Folx—correction, Jax. Which she’d do as soon as sound check was over.

Probably.

No reason to even hesitate.

Though … Folx had been the one to pick Christmas Eve as a date to meet. Maybe he’d made it so far out because of the tour. But that wrapped up in November. Which meant that he must need the extra time for some other reason. Maybe he wanted to get settled back at home first. Or had some other obligation she wasn’t aware of. Lacy didn’t want to push their relationship to happen before it was time.

So she wouldn’t tell him. She’d keep the status quo and maybe try to get to know him more in person. Give him the space he needed before the big reveal, though not so much space that he’d jump into bed with Kat. He’d probably appreciate that later.

Yes. It was decided. She’d keep the secret until Christmas Eve. For him.

Certainly not because
she
wanted more time.

And, even more certainly, not because there was anyone else she wanted more time
with
before she committed completely to Folx.

Though, after sound check was done and the band was let loose for the afternoon, it sure was a whole lot easier to decide to join Kat and Jax on the town when Eli said he’d come too.

Chapter Thirteen

“So what are we doing, LacyP?” Jax asked, when the foursome stepped out of the dark venue and into the sunshine.

She hadn’t said a word while the plans were made to explore together. There was still the awkwardness with Eli and now that she knew Jax’s true identity, she felt strange around him as well. Nervous in a way that was new. Starstruck, almost. Now when she looked at him, she remembered words he’d said online, jokes he’d made. The sweet, tender gestures that had made her fall for him. But since he was still in the dark about her identity, it was as if he were a celebrity and she was a fan. She knew everything about him, and he knew nothing about her. It was hard to know how to talk to him, so she’d hung back and let the others do the talking.

But now he’d initiated the conversation, and not only was he putting her in charge—
take that Kat
—but he’d given her a nickname to boot. Giddiness swept through her along with the overwhelming feeling that everything was right with the world. “Boats! Food! Is it dangerous to go explore where they filmed
The Wire
? But first, food. All we eat today is crab.”

“Eh, I don’t really like seafood,” Kat moaned as she threw an arm around Jax and another around Eli.

“Then order off the goddamn kids menu,” Lacy snapped. “We’re in Baltimore! We eat crab.” With that, she stalked off, toward the harbor, letting out a breath of frustrated air.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Eli asked, catching up.

“I haven’t the slightest. But I had to leave on a high note.” She kept walking though her insides tightened at his nearness in a way that gave new meaning to the term “muscle memory.” She was a little worried how Jax had taken her explosion, though.

Then Eli leaned in close, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up in awareness and she forgot all about Kat alone with Jax behind her. “If you take a left at the next corner, you’ll be headed the right way.”

This was their first conversation since
it
happened, and they were talking about something as commonplace as directions. And … it didn’t feel awkward. It felt easy. More, she was grateful he’d helped her with her awkward exit.

Lacy flashed him a smile. “I don’t know why she grates on me at times. It’s really shitty of me.” Nope, not admitting why to him. Not admitting she was jealous. She wondered if Jax was following. Was that weird to care when Eli was there?

Yes, it was weird. The whole thing was weird. But that didn’t stop the impulse to glance over her shoulder to see.

Jax
was
following. As was Kat. They were no longer touching, though, and they seemed to be walking in silence, which added a boost to Lacy’s step.

“Really? I actually thought you guys were friends.” Eli drew her attention back to him. “I think she’s a bit much, but I was being nice cause I thought you liked her.” He slipped a pair of aviators on and dimpled up at her. The hot day was only getting hotter, between the two frontmen of the Blue Hills. That was cool, right? To be totally into both of them for such different reasons?

She was confused. That’s what she was. Really confused.

Also, she was perturbed to have to share the outing with Kat. “Well, I think Wes likes her, so you should probably still be nice.” She brightened as she said this, realizing that Jax wouldn’t hit on Kat because it would be rude to Wes. Folx was the type of guy who put his band members ahead of his music. Of course he wouldn’t try to steal one of the others’ girls.

It didn’t mean Kat was as decent, however. Lacy scowled. “I have to work with her, so I have no choice either.”

Maybe that was a little harsh. Or a lot harsh. Okay, really unfairly harsh.

She softened. “Plus, she’s really generous. She basically got me on this tour. I owe her big.” Lacy took the recommended left and pulled her oversized shades off her head and onto her nose, hoping the dark lenses covered the guilt welling up inside. “In fact, I should be nicer.”

“Oh, I don’t have to be nice just because she’s sleeping with Wes. We have a groupie clause. No false politeness required, and we can even share.” He winced as if realizing that might be inappropriate considering their recent activities.

Lacy, however, was grateful for the information. Hopefully that meant no hard feelings between the boys when she finally got together with Folx. Uh, Jax. Not that she was a groupie. And …

Wait a minute …

She peeked again over her shoulder at the two stragglers. They were chatting now, Kat smiling more than Lacy thought was reasonable, but otherwise a pretty innocent scene.
Hmm.
The band’s groupie clause might encourage a fling between Jax and Kat, after all.

Maybe she should be walking with them and not with Eli. Maybe Jax even thought Lacy was into Eli. Shit! She was, of course, but … dammit!

This needed to be a group adventure and not a double date if she was going to keep her bizarre new relationships on track.

She slowed her pace, hoping Jax and Kat would catch up quickly.

“You know though”—again Eli drew her attention back to him—“if Kat’s responsible for getting you here, I guess I owe her a beer.” He slid his shades down and winked. It sent a little shiver down her spine. He wanted her here.

Maybe the alone time with him was just fine after all.

“Hey, it’s a Crab Cakery!” Lacy exclaimed, both to break the delicious tension and also because
crab
. She led the way through the door. “Bet you could even buy that beer here,” she teased, as they took off their glasses to adjust to the lighting inside the crab shack. It smelled like heaven, if heaven were a divey seafood bar. Which, if you asked Lacy, it had to be. Why else would people look forward to the hereafter, if lobster rolls and whiskey weren’t on offer?

“Sweet Jesus. It smells like heaven,“pronounced Jax, from behind.

Thank God he feels the same.
She turned in time to see him run a hand through his shaggy blonde hair and inhale again appreciatively. So did Lacy, as she watched his eyes close in pleasure. She attempted to put the image to memory. She needed to draw this image of Folx when she fantasized about him in the future and not the old Eli-like image she had of him.

“I hope they have chicken tenders,” whined Kat. Or not really whined, but Lacy thought it was near enough to call it that.

Eli patted her on the shoulder. “You can drink your lunch, if you want. I’m buying.”

Kat grinned toothily at Eli, not even questioning why he’d offer.

That was a good solution—Eli and Kat should pair up.

Except that didn’t feel right either. Not at all. And not just because she needed him for lyric-inducing orgasms. Wait a minute. Would it be wrong to continue to get it on with Eli now that Jax was Folx?

In her gut, she was pretty sure sleeping with one while planning to be with the other wasn’t the most couth of plans. She didn’t want to earn the same groupie reputation that Kat boasted. But she’d already been with Eli, so it probably changed nothing to do it again. As long as she cut that off before sleeping with Jax, she should be good. Once more was all she needed to confirm the lyrics-orgasm connection anyway.

Probably.

Or maybe not. The sweet thing Eli had said about her only a few minutes before was still fresh in her head, and she realized she felt truly torn between the two men. Like, maybe she might want to consider Eli as more than just a source for song material. Both men drew her to them physically—she’d known that since the first night she’d seen them onstage.

But then she remembered everything else Jax was when he was his Folx persona and the dilemma seemed moot. Her heart belonged to Folx. Every time.

Besides, Eli buying Kat’s lunch was sweet, not romantic. She’d try to remember that the gesture was about her and not anything about Kat.

“That’s so nice of you to buy,” Kat said, sidling up to Eli. Lacy scowled.

Jax’s brows shot up. “You’re buying?”

Lacy was pretty sure Eli had just meant he was buying Kat that beer, but suddenly it looked like a Blue Hills party in the making. They slid into a booth and ordered crab cakes, beer, and shots.

Lucky thing about crab and alcohol—it rebalanced Lacy’s positive energy, subduing her confusion about the men and her irritation with Kat. “You guys, I am so happy about today. I have been watching John Waters movies since I was a kid, but I have never been to Baltimore. To the Best Day Ever!” Lacy clinked her bottle of Natty Boh against the others.

“You’re a J–Dub fan? Me too! You know, I was gonna go to school for photography after I saw
Pecker
. But, you know, couldn’t let the guys down.” Jax leaned into Lacy. She thought she saw Eli frown a bit across the booth, but she couldn’t be sure. Could have just been the spicy aioli that accompanied the fried crab patties.

“Is that like a porn thing? Oh my God, I thought about doing that too! But I didn’t know there was a school. Where is the school? In Baltimore? They say you learn something new every day, and I think they were right.” Kat downed a shot, and smiled lovingly at them all.

Eli opened his mouth to explain that
Pecker
was a comedy and not a skin flick, but Lacy kicked him. It was too funny to fix. Even Jax was smirking. But then, Jax was usually smirking.

“Hey, I heard you can visit some of the old sets from
Hairspray
. Wanna try?” Jax downed the rest of his beer and glanced around.

“I don’t even like John Travolta,” Kat groaned.

This time Jax was definitely smirking at her. The other two, again, didn’t bother to correct her.

“Thanks for buying, bro,” Jax said when they’d finished their meal, patting Eli on the back as he stretched.

Lacy was going to let him know that Eli was only buying Kat a beer, but the strip of golden skin visible between his jeans and the riding-up hem of his button-down was far too distracting to allow words to come out. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. Kat admired him openly. Her whole face retained the appraisal as they walked back out into the jarring sunlight.

It’s not mutual appraisal
, Lacy told herself, trying like hell to hold onto her happy place.

“So what’s the deal with this John Rivers guy, anyway?” Kat asked, taking Jax by the arm.

Lacy shot daggers at the girl, which seemingly went unnoticed.

“Waters, man,” Jax corrected Kat. “He’s an iconic movie director, although a lot of his movies haven’t been, like, super-commercial. And they all take place in Baltimore. Have you ever seen
Serial Mom
? That was one of his.” His smirk was fading into something just as sexy—passion. His whole face lit up like Christmas while he discussed his favorite movies.

This, Lacy realized,
this
was the Folx she knew online, silly and serious all at once. She could feel her face softening as she watched him gesture. Could feel her connection with him sparking like it had so many times during their late-night conversations. Or could feel it about to spark. The actual electricity between them hadn’t quite ignited yet. Which was probably just because she was so distracted with being irritated with Kat.

“He’s something else, huh.” Eli’s voice was quiet. In fact, the more Jax talked, the quieter Eli became. Lacy hadn’t put it together before, but thinking back, it was a pattern. She guessed that was why Eli wasn’t the lead singer. Though he
could
be—she had no doubt in either his talent or his magnetism. He simply seemed to pale when Jax was around.