Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

seen articles like these before, but after actually meeting Jax and finding a real person, it was hard to think of him as the rock star the media portrayed.
    “See these?” he said with a grimace. “My life isn’t normal. There is no room for me to have a friendship, or any relationship, with someone like you. I want to spend more time with you, and to be honest, friendship isn’t really what I want anymore. I find myself wanting much more, but any girl who enters into a relationship with me has to be cold to put up with the life I live.” He smiled. “You’re everything I write about in my songs but can never have.”
    I studied the pictures in my lap. It was easier than watching him say things I didn’t want to hear. Even if he was right. If I spent more time with him, I would want more too, and I didn’t know the guy in those photos. He was someone completely foreign to me. I just knew Jax. The sweet guy who wanted to go into a grocery store and buy himself a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and took the time to be kind to little girls. I’d never be able to fit into his world. I wanted to disagree, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t make myself protest.
    “There’ll be transportation for you out front within moments if you want to leave,” he said. “Ms. Mary will be given directions to let you leave for the evening. Wipe the frown from your pretty face because by now she knows what happened, and she’ll be worried about you.”
    He stepped around me and went to the door. “Stay here as long as you need. I have a room full of guests wondering what I’m doing with the gorgeous blonde I abducted.” He grinned wickedly at me, but immediately it faded to a sad frown before he left the room.

Chapter Six
    JAX
    She was getting closer to Marcus every day. I was standing by and watching it happen. Telling myself it was for the best. Marcus could be a part of her world. They were similar. They worked together. They lived in this town.
    But it was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
    I didn’t want her with Marcus. I didn’t want her laughing up at him or climbing into his truck every evening. Did he kiss her when he took her home each night? Did he get to touch her? Had he felt her body pressed up against his? Did he know just how soft her skin actually was?
Fuck!
I slammed my hand against the window frame and growled in frustration. This summer was supposed to be relaxing. I was supposed to be free of all stress. I couldn’t leave now, and I wasn’t going to make her leave. This was all one big train wreck waiting to happen. I was either going to cave and go after her or she was going to end up with Marcus.
    SADIE
    Everything stayed the same. Ms. Mary still gave me a smile and a hot breakfast every morning. Mr. Greg told me stories of his time in World War II and beat me at chess. Marcus and I still talked on our way home at night. I even went waterskiing and kneeboarding with Marcus, Preston, Rock, Trisha, and Dewayne on Sunday. But even with new friends and a job with people I really cared about, my life seemed to be missing something. There was a void, and I knew why. The frustrating part was that I missed him. I’d forced myself to come to grips with the fact that I’d lost my heart to Jax Stone that night in the grocery store. The night in the library when he’d admitted to having an interest in me put another nail in my coffin. He starred in my dreams both day and night. My heart raced at the chance of a glimpse of him. His words haunted me. I thought of those times when I couldn’t believe Jax would ever notice me enough to want me. I remembered the sadness in his eyes when he walked out the door, and I really believed he meant it.
    Nothing changed the fact that I worked in his home. He signed my paychecks. If nothing else, for those two reasons anything between Jax and me would be impossible. Yet those weren’t the only two. I would never fit into his world.
    I sat out on the beach, waiting for Marcus to finish his shift so he could take me home. Mr. Greg had left early due to his not feeling well. It left me with nothing to do. I pulled my knees up under my chin and enjoyed the view. The waves were smooth tonight. I let myself think about Jax and his face when he smiled. It helped to remember him smiling and happy, instead of the expression he’d had on his face when he left me in the library. It was depressing enough to be a Shakespearean tragedy. The girl who never thought she would fall for