Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

smiled at her, and she looked like she might faint. I elbowed him in the ribs. He needed to work on not overwhelming girls with his smile.
    Amanda got a grip on herself. “Okay, so, I want to introduce you to some friends,” she said, “but they’re probably going to be more interested in meeting your date.”
    “It’s okay, I know.”
    She led us over to a group of girls who seemed familiar. I remembered a few of them from school.
    “Hey, girls, I wanted to introduce you to Sadie. She was at school for the last few weeks. She’ll be a senior next year too. Sadie, this is Jessie,” she said, introducing a petite blonde with pixie hair, “Mary Ann,” a petite redhead with wavy hair and surprisingly tanned skin, “and Peyton,” a tall brunette. All the girls smiled at me, but their eyes strayed to Jax.
    “I remember you from Spanish,” Peyton said, looking from me to Jax.
    When I glanced over at him, Jax’s attention seemed to be solely focused on me. He smiled reassuringly.
    “So, how do you two know each other?” Mary Ann asked, and all three pairs of eyes went to Jax. Only Amanda seemed to remember my presence.
    Jax squeezed my hand. “I met her through a mutual friend. Then I fell under her enchantment, and I can’t seem to get enough.”
    I blushed, and all four girls got sappy smiles on their faces. One of them even sighed. “Wow, I can’t believe Jax Stone’s girlfriend lives in Sea Breeze.”
    I started to correct her. I wasn’t Jax’s girlfriend, and he would be gone soon. “Well—”
    “She worries about my privacy. But then, I like the fact that she wants to keep me all to herself.” His hand squeezed mine, and I bit back a laugh.
    Amanda sighed. “Does my brother know about Jax?”
    I glanced up at Jax, and he nodded. “Yes, he does.”
    Amanda shook her head. “I swear, he knows something like this and doesn’t even think it’s important enough to share with me.”
    “Don’t be so hard on him. It was by my request he not tell anyone,” I assured her.
    Amanda wasn’t appeased, but she shrugged. “Well, I don’t think I’ll ever forget my shock when you stepped out of his car holding his hand. I swear, I thought I was hallucinating.”
    I laughed, and Jax chuckled beside me.
    “I’m going to introduce them to some other people,” said Amanda to her friends. “And I’m sure they’re hungry. See you girls later.”
    Over the next hour we were introduced to so many people, I knew I couldn’t remember them all. But I had no doubt they’d remember me. I somehow appeared famous in their eyes. But I happened to like
not
being the center of attention. It worried me that I wouldn’t be able to deal with the way this changed my life. We sat down by the bonfire and listened to the boys talk about the upcoming football season. They all seemed excited and ready for it to begin. They were trying to impress Jax with their stories, and a couple even broke down and asked Jax about his tour and his playing guitar by ear. He answered their questions as if he’d known them forever. His ability to act comfortable in any situation amazed me. We drew a small crowd when others began to realize he was answering questions and talking. This crowd didn’t seem as crazy as the earlier one, just curious. I ate a hot dog Jax roasted for me while he talked. He’d fixed it for me as he answered questions about Star. The guys all seemed to have questions about the pop princess.
    When we finished eating, he stood up and took my hand. “If you will excuse us, I want to go dance with Sadie.”
    Their faces shone with disappointment, and I think I even heard someone sigh. We walked close enough to hear the music. He reached down, slipped off my heels, and placed them beside his discarded shoes. He pulled me out of the light and onto the moonlit beach. He nodded to the DJ who had taken over for the band, then back at me. The song began, and I instantly recognized the voice coming over the speakers. Jax held me closer as his smooth, velvet voice sang softly.
    “Let me hold you close just for tonight.
    When you’re not in my arms, nothing seems right.
    Just to see your smile lights up my darkest night.
    So, baby, please dance with me in the moonlight.”
    Jax leaned back and tilted my face to his.
    “Your touch is my only addiction.
    Your heartbeat takes my breath away.
    You’ll break my heart if you don’t stay.
    Your whispers sing to me each night,
    and your laugh is my only sun.
    “Hold