Careless (Enemies to Lovers 3)

“We had sex, Jaxson. That’s all it was. Just sex. We were never in love.” I make air quotations when I say in love. “We weren’t even friends. I didn’t like you, and you didn’t like me. I’m operating on Marcus because I know I can repair the damage to his heart. I’m not doing it for you.”

His smile widens which makes me frown.

“Why are you smiling?”

“You really haven’t changed at all.” He closes the gap between us and presses a kiss to my forehead. Keeping his lips against my skin, he whispers, “The fact that you brought up our history tells me it meant just as much to you as it did to me. I’ll be in touch.”

I stand there gaping like a fish out of the water as I watch him leave.

The arrogant ba –

My thoughts screech to a halt.

He’s right.

“He can’t be right!” I snap at myself.

You know he’s right.

He asked me how I’ve been and gave me a compliment. He even apologized! He was being well-mannered.

I cover my face with my hands as embarrassment washes over me.

That night we spent together might mean something to me, but I’m certainly not ready to examine it.

Chapter 8

JAXSON

When they place the tray of food on the stand, I reach over and lift off the lid. I take the dessert and lean back in the chair.

“How can you eat that shit?” Marcus asks with a look of disgust on his face.

“I take the spoon and scoop it up then shove it in my mouth,” I say, grinning from ear to ear.

“Wiseass,” he mumbles. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

I lick the spoon clean and place the empty bowl back on the tray.

“I saw Leigh last night,” I say, and I’m surprised when he frowns. I thought he’d be happy for me.

“Dude, can you wait until she’s done slicing into my heart before you piss her off?”

“Why do you think I’m going to piss her off?”

Marcus never lies to me, and that’s why I’m not surprised when he says, “She’s different, Jax. Her mind doesn’t work the way ours do. You told me yourself. She doesn’t care about emotions, she cares about facts. The fact is that you screwed her.”

“In another life, I could love you,” I whisper.

Marcus looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind.

“It was something she said to me the night we got together.”

“Sorry to break it to you, bro. That was before you dumped her ass back at the apartment.”

“It’s been years, Marcus. We can get to know each other. We can date. This can be our chance at that life.”

“Why do you want to put yourself through that? You were a mess after she left. You live in New York, and she lives on the other side of the fucking country. You’re not even in the same time zone.”