Page 12 of Switch

There’s a murmur of agreement around the table, but I can feel Blade’s eyes on me, that familiar smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Here we go.

Blade leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.“So, Jax, you planning on taking up a second job as a knight in shining armor, or is this just a one-time gig?”

I roll my eyes, leaning back in my chair.“What the hell are you talking about?”

Rev grins, barely looking up from his notes.“Oh, don’t play dumb. Word gets around fast. You stepped in like a damn hero at the carnival the other night, didn’t you?”

I cross my arms, exhaling sharply.“It wasn’t like that.”

Blade snorts.“Nah, of course not. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time, saved the girl, and then what? Walked her home under the stars?”

The table erupts in laughter, and my jaw tightens.

“I just stepped in because some drunk asshole wouldn’t leave her alone. That’s it.”

Dagger raises an eyebrow, his tone calm but curious.“Who was it?”

“Mike,”I say flatly.

Rev lets out a low whistle.“That guy’s a walking problem. Good thing you handled it.”

“Yeah, no kidding,”Blade says, smirking.“So, what’s next? Gonna start offering damsel rescue services full-time? Maybe get yourself a shiny badge to go with that cape?”

More laughter.

I glare at him.“Can we not turn this into some goddamn fairy tale? It wasn’t a big deal.”

Mason finally speaks up, his tone dry.“What are we, a bunch of chicks? You want to sit here gossiping all night, or are we going to get back to business?”

The room settles, though the undercurrent of amusement lingers. Mason leans forward, giving me a pointed look.

“Good work at the carnival so far. Let’s finish strong. Jax, if you’re done playing hero, maybe you can focus on the books.”

I nod, biting back a smirk. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

As the meeting continues, I let their teasing roll off me, but my thoughts keep drifting back to Bella. They can joke all they want, but what happened that night felt bigger than just stepping in to help.

The meeting wraps up, and I’m the first one out the door, eager to escape the room before Rev and Blade find another excuse to give me hell. The late afternoon sun casts long shadows over the parking lot as I pull out my phone. I glance at the time—4:17 p.m. on Thursday.

Most people are looking forward to the weekend by now. Me? Weekends don’t mean much. Club life doesn’t come with set hours or scheduled days off. But Bella? She’s probably got a normal weekend ahead of her. I can imagine her running errands, grabbing coffee with a friend, and maybe curling up with a book.

But I wonder if she’s ever done something unexpected. Something dirty.

Shaking the thought away, I tap out a message and hit send before I overthink it.

Me: Hey, Bella. How’s your week going?

The message feels simple, casual enough. But my pulse quickens anyway as I slide the phone back into my pocket and head to my bike. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way—curious, intrigued. Most of the women who’ve come and gone in my life didn’t stick in my head like this. Bella’s different, though.

She’s got this spark, this way of carrying herself that feels both soft and sharp at the same time. I don’t know much abouther yet, but I want to. And that thought alone is enough to make me smile.

The late afternoon sun is dipping low as I walk to my bike outside of Perdition. Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I glance at the screen. No reply yet. I shake my head at myself, chuckling under my breath. It hasn’t even been five minutes.

I lean against the bike, arms crossed, and stare out at the quiet street, my thoughts circling back to Bella. She’s probably busy, I tell myself, not glued to her phone like most people. But before I can pocket my phone again, it buzzes.

Her name lights up the screen, and I open the message.

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