Annalise Writes

Chapter 18

Later that evening, around bedtime, I wasn't surprised when Lord M and Kyra retreated together to her room. I doubted either of them got much shut eye, though, judging from the spirited, grunty, shrieky, moan-inspiring activities they took part in all night...

Kyra sounded like she was being banged to the moon and back—lucky bitch—and our walls had suddenly become a bit too thin for my liking. Meh.

Like a gentleman, Jax claimed the couch. I was relieved, of course. I respected him for it, actually. I totally wasn't disappointed about the fact that he wasn't sleeping in my room...

Not. At. All.

Over the next few days, the four of us fell into a weird, little routine. I guess this was our new normal? I went to class. Kyra went to class. Jax took it upon himself to help out with chores while we were away. He was a surprisingly amazing cook. And Lord M—well, he discovered TikTok.

Whenever Kyra didn't have to go to class, she boinked Lord M.

Whenever I didn't have to go to class, I reluctantly stood by as Jax revised the crap out of my stories.

He was currently working on chapter forty-six.

Cate released a sultry sigh and stared longingly into his pale yet deep, stormy yet calming, ocean-colored eyes—

Jax snorted. "Dude. How can something be 'stormy' and 'calming' at the same damn time, Annalise?"

I pouted with indignation. "Ugh, you don't get it, do you? It's supposed to symbolize how Cate finds his—erm, I mean—your chaos to be soothing to her soul!"

"You're not making any sense."

"Your existence doesn't make any sense," I grumbled.

Jax grinned. "Anyway, Miss Author, I'm gonna tweak this part a little so I can get my hands on a social security number..."

"Be my guest," I sighed grumpily.

His fingers began to tap across my keyboard at breakneck speeds.

The lockbox popped open with a soft 'click.'

Cate released an audible gasp as she stared anxiously into his ocean-colored eyes.

"Holy shit, Jax! How did you manage to break into your dad's lockbox?"

Jaxon smirked knowingly. "The passcode was my social security number, babygirl."

Cate gasped again in awe. "What? No fucking way!"

"Yeah, I just punched in 826-24-8219, and it worked!"

She gazed at him in pure, unadulterated adoration. "You're fucking brilliant, Jax. And you're really fucking hot. God, how did I ever get so fucking lucky with you?"

"How," I remarked with a snarky expression, "indeed."

Even though I secretly agreed with every single one of Cate's observations...

"Hush, you," he chided. "I know what I'm doing..."

Jax removed his wallet from his back pocket and, to my surprise, a social security card actually materialized from its folds.

I snatched the card from him. I scanned the front side. I flipped to the back.

Damn, it looked just like mine!

"I gotta hand it to ya, Jax. This thing looks legit as fuck!"

He beamed. "Thanks, babygirl."

Babygirl.

As the days flitted by, it became harder and harder to ignore my growing crush on Jaxon. Every time he came out of the shower—with little more than a towel wrapped around his waist—I drooled. Every time he made us dinner and cleaned up afterwards, I swooned. Every time he offered to help me carry the groceries up the stairs, I tittered and blushed. He was just such a good guy—smart, too—and, in his own words, so freaking fuckable!

With some effort, I held my hormones in check.

In a way, it felt weird and kind of wrong to feel so attracted to my own character. He was real now. But he wasn't meant to be real. I created him. Yet, he was also becoming his own person. This situation was mind-boggling as hell.

I decided it was high time for me to get over my stupid ex and get my ass back on Tinder. I needed a distraction. I needed to start dating non-fictional men again so I could stop thinking about the quasi-fictional hottie living under my roof.

By the end of the week, Jax finished making all the necessary edits to The Nerd and the Player. He obtained the necessary documents for a job. He even added an epilogue, set in modern times, to A Loveless Blood Moon Eclipse so Lord M could finally get off TikTok and look for work as well.

The next day, when I returned from campus, Jax greeted me at the door like an excited puppy.

"Guess what, Annalise?"

I bit back a smile. God, he was so cute.

"What's up, Jax?"

"I got a job!"

"No way!"

He grinned. "I start on Monday."

With a gasp of happiness, I high fived him. "That's awesome! Where are you gonna be working?"

"It's this private tutoring company called the Whitmore Learning Center."

"Oh, I think I've heard of Whitmore before. They're pretty well known among Ivy League hopefuls. I'm so proud of you, Jax."

He blushed slightly. "Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it. My supervisor said I'll be tutoring English, mostly. I feel like it'll be right up my alley."

"Well," I offered grudgingly, "I guess you did a pretty good job at fixing up my stories..."

Jax fell silent for a moment. I eyed him curiously. He looked hesitant.

"Hey, Annalise? Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, you can tell me anything, Jax!"

He mumbled shyly, "I'm thinking about applying to college, too..."

My eyes lit up.

Holy shit! We could become classmates! We could go to school together!

I exclaimed, "Dude, that's such a great idea! If you want, I can help you with your apps!"

Jax smiled at me. "Babygirl, that would mean the world to me..."

Babygirl.

My heart skipped and picked up a bit of speed.

I coughed again and tried to get my shit together. "I mean, it's not a big deal. Honestly, anyone with half a brain can get into college nowadays..."

He arched an eyebrow. "Like you?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Except for me! Clearly, my giant forehead and I are the exception!"

He laughed. The low, husky sound of it tickled my nether regions.

"You're definitely one of a kind, Annalise. I'll give you that..."

"Lies," I retorted, "I'm the most basic bitch I know."

He winked at me. "Give yourself a little more credit. For the record, I think you're pretty fucking great."

And that, ladies and gents, was when I officially died and ascended to simp heaven...