Second Time Around...

✨Chapter 13✨

       Dusty and sweaty, Avery stood in the center of the main entrance of the office building and looked at all the hard work she got done today. True to her word, she managed to get all of the exposed hardwood floors sanded and swept so she could stain them tomorrow.
        Walking into what would be her office, Avery grabbed her phone off the desk and checked the time. It was nearly midnight and no word from Jax. He told her it would be around 10:00 or so before he could get over to the office to keep her company but that was nearly two hours ago.
       Avery caught herself wondering if he was okay because it wasn't like Jax to not call of he had to break plans.
      Well, it wasn't like the old Jax Avery thought to herself.
       Knowing it was pointless to sit around and wait, Avery decided it was best to just head home and catch up with him tomorrow. Plus, she felt like she stunk and she knew for sure she needed a shower... maybe even more than one to remove all the dust and dirt from all her crevices. Switching off the lights to the building, she walked out into the cool night air and locked up the building. Climbing into her dad's truck that he had left for her earlier in the day, she started the engine and pulled away from the curb, heading home.

      Instead of going straight home though, she drove by the clubhouse and saw what looked to be a club party in full swing. Avery remembered those parties from many years ago. She don't have to be at the party to know that the liquor would be flowing freely as if it was never ending, pot was being smoked by everyone in attendance like it was legal, or that somewhere in the crowd there was a handful of half naked Croweaters trying to snag the attention of the guys in hopes of becoming an old lady.
       Avery got a mental imagine of leggy, blonde bimbo with big titties pressing herself against Jax that made her see red. She knew she had no claims TJ him but still knowing that he was in there somewhere probably betting his duck sucked made her feel things she hadn't felt in quite some time.

       Before he knew what she was doing, she slowed the truck to a crawl, so she could analyze the party-goers and see if she spotted her favore blonde bad boy.
       The whole lot was full of bikes, barrels burned to provide light, and music blared from the speakers placed around the lot as she slowly passed by.
Funny... Jax didn't say anything about a party tonight at the club house Avery thought to herself as she tried to think about anything but him hooking up with someone in attendance.
       Just seeing the whole gang together had her wanting to stop by and say hello to every one.
      Before she could turn the truck onto the lot though, she remembered her appearance and the fact she looked like a homeless lady from working all day at the office. Knowing that she didn't stand a chance with thr croweaters in attendance looking th me way she did, she sighed and drove away from the clubhouse. When she reached the end of the street,  she turned right and headed back to her parents house.

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        The night hadn't gone as Jax had hoped it would. At Church, John said that McGee, his VP, and Ashby -one of the Irish shot callers- were on the way from Ireland and would be arriving at the club house around 9:00pm. News of the explosion at the gun warehouse had made it way to Belfast. The Irish that used SAMCRO to traffic their guns were nervous. And rightfully so. The Irish depended on SAMCRO to traffic their guns and when warehouses explode, that's money coming out of someone's pockets.

        Since another charter was coming to town, SAMCRO was expected to throw a welcoming party and all table members were required to attend, even Piney who wasn't table to ride as much as he used to. The old man rode just enough to keep his patch.

      Immediately after church, John instructed Gemma to wrangle up some croweaters and old ladies and get things ready for their guests while the guys made sure there was plenty of beer and Jameson.

*****

        Barely having enough time to go visit his son at the hospital, Jax rushed to get back the club house in time to be in attendance for the party. He hadn't even had a chance to call Avery and let her know that he wouldn't be able to stop by the office tonight.
       In fact, it had completely slipped his mind until he saw her father's truck creeping by the lot. As bad as he wanted to hop on his bike and follow her, she knew there was no way he could leave. SAMBEL's #1 and #2 still wanted to sort out the gun deal even though they had been over it countless times, reassuring them that this type of thing wasn't normal for SAMCRO.

"Was that Quincy's truck that just drove by?" Asked Bobby as he strolled over to where Jax was sitting on the picnic table smoking a cigarette.

"Yeah. I was supposed to meet up with Vee after church and after I visited the kid." Said Jax as he took a long pull of his cigarette. "Then all this happened and my plans for the night went to shit."

"So, you two picking back up where you left off?" Asked Bobby.

      Even though Opie was Jax's best friend and knew everything about him, Bobby was the wise one when it came to relationship type things. Opie had only ever been with Donna so he wasn't as wise as Bobby when it came to thr do's and don'ts of relationships.

"I don't know man. It just about fucking killed me when she left last time. I don't know if I want to take the chance of that happening again or not." Said Jax.

"Shes setting down roots Jax. Why else would she have bought an office here when she could have went anywhere else and made more money? Its a pretty safe bet to say that girl's not going anywhere." Said Bobby as he took a hit from the bowl he always carried in his pocket.

"Still, she could leave at any moment. I don't know that I could survive that pain again. Plus, I have Abel to look out for now." Said Jax.

"I hear she's looking for a home to buy here to kid. Again, you don't do that type of thing if your planning on leaving." Said Bobby.

"I don't know man. It's different with her. Always has been. She's the one I let slip away." Said Jax.

"But she's back." Said Bobby.

       Running his hands though his shoulder length hair, Jax signed. He was clearly torn about what to do as far as Avery was concerned. The fact of the matter is, he still loved her.

"I'm gonna leave you with this Jax...That boy of yours is gonna need a mother figure in his life. Something better than the bitch that gave birth to him. I couldn't think of anyone better suited for that position than Vee, if she's up to it and you're willing to risk getting your heart broken." Said Bobby before getting up from the table and walking away, leaving Jax to process what he just told him.