Page 38 of What Happens In Vegas: Jessa & Jaxon
“Pure coincidence.”
“Girl, please.” Meesha rolls her eyes dramatically. “You light up when he walks into a room. Right before you pick a fight.”
Have I really been this obvious all these years?
“I do not—”
“You do,” they say in unison.
Jasmine reaches across the table and takes my hand. “Look, we get it. Relationships are scary, especially when you’ve been burned before. But Jaxon isn’t Marcus.”
The mention of my ex makes me wrinkle my nose. “This has nothing to do with Marcus.”
“Doesn’t it?” Meesha’s voice softens. “Since that disaster, you’ve been building walls so high nobody can climb them. But Jaxon’s been scaling them anyway, hasn’t he? That’s what scares you.”
“I’m not scared,” I say automatically, but my throat feels tight.
“Then what are you?” Jasmine challenges. “Because from where we’re sitting, you finally got what you’ve secretly wanted for years, and you panicked and pushed him away.”
“I don’t know what I want.”
Meesha sighs. “Yes, you do. You’re just afraid to admit it because then you’d have to do something about it.”
I’ve always been good at spotting patterns. I’ve always changed direction when the facts didn’t match what I thought was true. It’s what makes me a good educator. Yet here I am, clinging to a lie I’ve told myself for years, refusing to see what’s right in front of me.
“And what if it doesn’t work out?” The question bursts from me with unexpected emotion. “What if we try, and it falls apart and I lose him completely?”
“What if it works out?” Jasmine counters. “What if he’s exactly what you need, and you’re exactly what he needs?”
“The way he left...”
“You told him you didn’t want him,” Meesha points out. “What did you expect? The man has his pride.”
I sit back, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the truth. I didn’t push Jaxon away because I didn’t want him. I pushed him awaybecause I wanted him too much. Because if I let myself have him and then lost him... I wouldn’t survive it.
But I’ve already lost him, haven’t I? And somehow, I’m still breathing.
My mind races ahead, planning what comes next. Saturday’s party hovers. The anxiety of seeing him mingles with unexpected importance.
What if this is my chance? What if he brings someone else? What if I never get another opportunity to tell him what I’ve only just admitted to myself?
“I don’t know what to do.”
Jasmine and Meesha exchange a look before Jasmine says, “Yes, you do. The question is whether you’re brave enough to do it.”
Am I?
Jessa
The hotel’s banquet hallbuzzes with conversation and laughter as I step inside, gift tucked under my arm. My eyes scan the room and inevitably find Jaxon.
He stands near the windows, impossibly handsome in a tailored charcoal suit. Beside him stands a woman in a sleek black dress, her hand resting casually on his arm.
Something twists in my chest, but I force my expression to remain neutral. My parents approach me before I could make my way to him.
“There’s my baby girl!” Dad’s voice booms as he sweeps me into a bear hug, lifting me off my feet. “Where you been hiding? We ain’t seen you in a minute!”
“Jamar, let the girl breathe,” Mom says, her calm voice a perfect counterbalance to his enthusiasm. She waits for Dad to release me before embracing me with her characteristic warmth. “You looking good, Jessa. That green is really your color.”
