Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

needed an ear, and I gave her one. I knew when I came to get you last night and you were gone, I’d screwed up. Promise me you won’t ever ride home by yourself again. I sat in your driveway last night after I’d made sure your bike was there and watched the windows for a long time, wondering which one was yours. If I’d known, I would’ve come to you then, but I didn’t want to wake your mom.” He tucked a curl behind my ear, and I shivered at his touch. “I’m trying to make myself let you go before Ms. Mary comes to get you, but you go and shiver at my touch and weaken my resolve to stop holding you.”
    He laid my head against his chest, and I smiled. He loved me. I knew heartache would be inevitable when he left, but I knew he loved me.
    I waited on Jax out in the gazebo after work. I’d promised Amanda I’d come to the party with her tonight. She sent a message through Marcus about where to meet her and what time. I’d forgotten until he reminded me. I needed to talk to Jax about it, because if he wanted to do something with me, I would cancel my prior plans. Now I wished I hadn’t accepted Amanda’s invitation, but she had seemed so excited about introducing me to people.
    “Why the frown, gorgeous?” Jax stepped into the gazebo and came to sit by me.
    “I didn’t realize I was frowning. I’m just thinking.”
    “About?”
    I sighed. “I’ve been invited to a party at a guy’s house from school. Marcus’s younger sister, Amanda, is in my grade, and she invited me to come with her. I told her yes, but it was last night when I was angry with you because of Star.”
    He leaned back and put his arm behind me. “Well, would you be against going to the party with a date?”
    I stiffened. “A date?”
    He smiled. “Yes, unless you’re ashamed to be seen with me in public.”
    I didn’t know what he meant. Surely he couldn’t mean he would go himself. “You mean, you want to go to a party?”
    He nodded. “Yes, I think I do.”
    I frowned and decided to point out the obvious. “You’re aware these people are going to flip out over you, right?”
    He shrugged. “Probably at first, but I figure they’ll get over the initial shock and leave us alone.”
    “I can cancel.”
    He shook his head, sat up, and turned toward me. “I’m going for a selfish reason. I want them to know you’re mine.”
    “Okay, but what purpose does this serve, except to make me the envy of every female in town?”
    He grinned. “It’ll let the male population know you’re not available and to stay away.”
    I laughed. “All right, then, Mr. Hotshot Rock Star, let’s go to the party so you can intimidate all the guys in a fifty-mile radius.”
    We stopped at my house so I could run inside and change clothes. Apparently, the dress code was swimsuits. I slipped a black see-through cover-up over my bikini and a pair of black heeled sandals on my feet, and let my hair down to its wild, natural, curly mess. For the first time in my life, I could be accused of being vain, and I knew it, but I wanted to look worthy of Jax tonight. I put on some red lipstick and mascara, and then stood back and appraised myself. My reflection surprised me. The black mascara really made my already dark lashes stand out. I went into the living room to tell Jessica bye. She stopped watching her reality television show and looked me up and down, then broke into a smile.
    “You can thank me for those good genes you’ve decided to flaunt tonight.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be late.”
    She waved me off. “Be careful and all that stuff.” I sighed and headed for the door. She hadn’t even asked me whom I’d dressed up for. Most girls my age wished their mothers would leave them alone, and I wished mine would just care. I grabbed my purse and headed back out to Jax and his Hummer. I’d left him outside for fear Jessica would be parading around in her underwear. He stepped away from the Hummer, and his gaze took me in. I was glad I had put the heels on because I knew it helped make my long legs seem less lanky.
    He let out a low whistle. “Wow, you’re incredible.”
    I smiled and blushed. “Thank you,” I replied.
    He frowned. “Now, could you go back inside and make yourself less sexy?”
    “What?”
    He sighed. “You were worried about me attracting attention, and you’ve gone in there and unleashed all your deadly weapons.” His gaze skimmed my legs again. “Damn, Sadie, I’m going to have a hard time with