12 Rounds

Chapter Twelve

Jo fluttered around the kitchen, a nervous ball of fire-engine red energy, and Liv's eyes followed her carefully as she moved to the table. With the care Jo was taking to set each plate down and meticulously arranging the spoons and glasses, it was like they were prepping for a state dinner or something, not inviting two fighters in an illegal underground boxing league to their humble apartment in Reno. Considering one of those fighters was also the father of her baby, Jo's anxious energy was probably warranted.

"Okay, okay," she muttered to herself. "The table is set, the food is ready... what am I missing?"

"Jo, I think you got everything."

She just batted a hand at Liv as she surveyed their tiny table one more time. How all four of them were going to sit comfortably here was anyone's guess. They never actually used the table for anything other than a catch-all for their purses, groceries, and anything else that just happened to need a surface to sit on, so just having to clear it off was a chore in itself. Actually eating at the table was really turning this whole thing into a fancy little dinner party slash exercise in self-control and truth deterrence.

Fingers-crossed this didn't completely end in disaster.

Roaring motorcycle engines ripped through their apartment, nearly startling Jo right out of her stilettos. As far as Liv was concerned, that's what Jo got for wearing high heels inside their carpeted apartment. But now, Jo's features were drawn tight against her face and she gripped the top of a chair like her life depended on it. Right about now, maybe it did. So Liv jumped into action, closing the short space between them from the kitchen to their table and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," Liv started in as calm a voice as she could muster. "We're gonna have a nice night. Everyone's gonna get some food - we can sit out on the patio or something after dinner and just take it easy. That worked out pretty well for everyone last Friday, and it's gonna go the same way tonight. This is all gonna be okay, Jo."

She nodded furiously, twisting her hands around the edge of the chair until her knuckles turned white.

"Right," Jo murmured. "Right. Everything's gonna be fine."

When the buzzer in their apartment went off, Liv's heart just about leapt into her throat, even as she hit the button to let the guys in their building. That was the thing about putting all her focus on Jo, and keeping her calm and collected - using up all that energy just distracted her from what else was about to happen tonight. She was about to invite Jax right inside her personal space, and there was nothing she could do about it.

But the guys were already here. No going back now.

They'd only seen each other briefly in the lounge - just long enough to confirm the directions to their apartment and the time dinner was going to be ready, and so it felt like right now was about to be the first time she'd really seen Jax in a little less than a week.

Her heart was thundering away in her chest so fast, she almost forgot what she was supposed to be doing right now.

But Liv glanced over her shoulder at Jo one more time as she reached for the door and shot her a reassuring grin. Judging by the way Jo's green eyes flashed, that grin probably looked more panicked than anything. They were both in such uncharted territory here it wasn't even funny.

Well, there was only one thing left to do.

She swung the door open to reveal Jax and Happy on the other side. Happy was leaning a casual shoulder on the wall by the door, with Jax hovering near the threshold with his hands shoved a little anxiously in his pockets. His head turned the moment the door opened, and an easy smile curved up the side of his handsome face.