Love & Serenity

Chapter 14

Lillian glanced at Jax, seated next to her, in the driver's seat of his truck as he drove her back to her place. Well, Deidre's place technically, but her place for the period she would be staying here, however long that would be.

Jax glanced at her and caught her.
"What?"

"Thank you for rescuing me." She said, "I would have been stuck there if you hadn't..."

"No. You would've found a way to get back to your place." He said, "Somehow. I'm sure of it."

"Well, thanks for helping me even when you didn't have to."

"That's what neighbours do."

"Neighbours?" She said like it was a strange word, "The most any of my neighbours have ever done is yell and bang walls."

Jax smiled.
"Well, you're not in New York anymore. You'll get used to everyone's hospitable nature here."

"Sounds more like having a friend than a neighbour. It's a weird feeling." She muttered the latter to herself.

Jax caught it though.
"Weird how?"

Lillian sat up straight.
"Oh, you know." She left it unsaid, "So, how about I make you the best blueberry muffins you'll ever have in your entire life."

Jax laughed.
"That's setting the scales pretty high there." He said, "And not that I'm turning down the best blueberry muffins I'll ever have in my entire life, but you don't need to make me anything."

Lillian frowned.
"How else am I going to repay you for rescuing me? I can't exactly take up construction and offer my assistance."

"No, but I'd love to see that." Jax smiled. "Also, I thought we've established that I'm a friend and not a neighbour. Friends don't have to repay friends."

Lillian looked at him and smiled.
"So, we're friends?"

Jax glanced at her and smiled before turning back to the road in front of them.
"I guess we are."

Lillian couldn't help thinking what that would be like. Deidre was her agent before they got really close and became more like family. She hadn't associated enough with people to be able to call anyone a 'friend'. This was a first which she was looking forward to exploring.

"So Jax, tell me, would you like to have amazing blueberry muffins?"

Jax smiled.
"I would love to."

"Great. I'll make some for you."

"Hey, you have to keep off that leg for a while."

"No problem. I'll make some as soon as my doctor gives me the all-clear." She said, "When will that be, Doc?"

Jax had a smile planted on his face as he glanced at her, she was looking out the window.
She'd gone from quiet and shy to not so quiet and shy.

Jax had started to notice it at breakfast and he was glad that she was getting more relaxed the more time they spent together.

Jax pulled up in front of her place and turned the ignition off before he opened the door and stepped off.
"Wait. I'll help you." He said before he shut the door and made his way over to help her.

Lillian frowned in her seat and didn't wait for him. She pushed the door open and placed her hands on either side of the door as she slid down the truck to the ground.

"Woah!" Jax hurried to help her, placing his hands on her waist so she was on the ground safely without slipping. Her stature wasn't exactly compatible with his truck. "What part of 'wait' don't you understand?"

"The part where you thought that I'd actually wait." Lillian looked up at him with a hint of anger in her tone. "I can get out of a truck on my own."

"Of course, you can. I just thought I'd help, you know, because of your leg." Jax made sure she was stable before letting go of her.

"Well, I'm out now."

Stubborn Woman.
Jax thought.

Lillian stepped to the side and Jax shut the door behind her and walked beside her. Lillian looked at him.
"I'm good from here."

"As your friend, I have a duty to see that you make it inside in one piece."

Lillian narrowed her eyes at him and Jax almost smiled. She might seem small but her attitude and determination made up for it in folds.

Lillian put her weight on the railing as she made her way up the stairs. Creaking beneath her feet and Jax's like it had done the first night she arrived.

"That doesn't sound good," Jax said, and she looked at him. "The floorboard."

"It gives the place some character."

"It gives the place a reason to give way and collapse." Jax said, "I'll come by later and fix it."

"No!" Lillian knew he was right. But it wasn't close to giving way anytime soon. There were no cracks yet and the creaking wasn't that bad. "Why fix something that isn't broken?"

"Yet."

"I appreciate it Jax, but thank you."

Even though he didn't say anything, Lillian could hear the unsaid 'don't tell me I didn't warn you'. Lillian unlocked the door with the key she took out from her pocket. Jax, being a sensible man didn't take her key from her to help her unlock the door. He stood back and watched. Lillian turned to him after she pushed open the door.

"Thank you for... everything."

"You're welcome." He said and wanted to wait until she shut the door but didn't. "I'll see you later, Lily."

"See you later, Jax."

Jax turned around and walked down the creaking stairs and Lillian smiled when he looked down at it. She was certain it was gnawing at him as she shut the door before he reached his truck.

Turning around, back to the door, she looked around the place and sighed. Jax's truck broke the silence before the sound started to fade into the distance as he drove off.

"Shower." Lillian made her way, as quickly as she could, upstairs and took a long shower.