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He touched her with his hands but held me with his eyes, and every tier across her cheek, I could feel the tingle on my skin

I closed my eyes, then opened them and blinked hard to break the contact

"So do you still skate?"

I blinked again, registering thunder in the distance "What did you say?" I asked, looking over at Jax Just breathe, Fallon

"The skateboard tattoo on the inside of your wrist" He gestured "Is that your half-pipe with the severe incline in the basement?"

My half-pipe? He’d seen it?

"It’s still there?" I asked, incredulous I couldn’t believe it

He nodded "Yeah, next to the piano"

I dropped e With all of s tossed out with the trash, ould they keep a huge half-pipe that took up space? A lot of space I was about to ask Jax if there were any skateboards around it, hoping against hope that ed those to use for theuy across the fire pit

Tate brushed ht "So what’s with you and Madoc?" She looked like she was trying to keep her voice low, but Jared’s eyes flashed to mine when he heard her question "Seems like there’s bad blood between you two," she added

I quickly glanced at Jared again, wondering if Madoc ever told hi attention

"We just never hit it off" I shrugged to Tate, keeping ht "With the way these two behaved around you the last ti to Jared and Madoc, "I’rinned and twisted her head to the side, looking up at her boyfriend "Yeah, I guess I do" And then she fixed me with a stern expression "But I also know there’s two sides to every story You two should talk"

"We can barely stand to be in the saether"

Madoc was still across the fire, eyes shifting between Tate andit He was pissed Maybe he wondered ere talking about, or maybe he just didn’t want me here

Hell, I knew he didn’t want me here--which hy I was here

Clipped voices to aze away from Madoc

"I would think that if you don’t have the balls to get on the track yourself, then you can shut up" The guy next to Madoc was barking at Jax, who still sat next to et e"

"I don’t knohat the hell you want from me, Jax, but I’m sick of--"

"You want to knohat I want?" Jax interrupted, keeping his voice cocky "I want your girlfriend to wipe off her poseur pink lip gloss and get in my car That’s what I want"

I dartedoff around the fire Madoc laughed silently, shaking his head, while Jared’s body shook as he buried his laughter in Tate’s neck

Tate saw my confused look and explained "That’s Liam," she whispered "He’s KC’s boyfriend" She pointed to the beautiful dark-haired girl sitting next to Liam, who stared at her lap, stunned "He cheated on her last year, but they got back together Jax hasn’t said anything, but I think he"

Wants her I finished her thought inafter her? Clearly, her winner of a boyfriend had nothing on hiaze trailed between Jax and his shocked girlfriend, who looked like she wanted to crawl inside of her shell "Is so on between you two?" he asked her

She pursed her lips and sed, averting everyone’s eyes "Of course not," she said quietly

Everyone watched as Jax and Liam went at it, and Jared, Tate, and Madoc all either shed, or stiffened as Jax cracked jokes or suffered an insult I realized how ether Madoc had a smile of pride in his eyes when he looked at Jax like a brother, and he had such an ease with Tate He had a family in them

Well, aside from Liam and KC, anyway She stayed quiet, clearly elances at Jax didn’t escape my notice, either She looked breakable Kind of like I was once

But breaking was beautiful It hurt, and it was an uphill clier, fiercer, and more solid than you were before

I waved my hands in front of h of the idiocy "Whoa," I interrupted whatever asinine coirlfriend last year" I stopped and waved at KC "Hi, KC I’m Fallon, by the way" And then I shot my attention back over to Lia on you? I’d say you got a better girl than you deserve" Snorts sounded around the fire, and KC shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable

With her eyebrows narrowed, she stood up and hesitated as if she wasn’t sure what move to make without instructions My eyes dropped to her thu across the wrist of her other hand

"I’rabbed her T-shirt and pulled it over her bikini top "See you all later"

She walked down the stone steps to the pool deck, and I saw Jax’s fists tighten when Lia over Jax, whose forear

"Leave him alone, Liam" KC’s deep command surprised me, and I peered around her boyfriend to see a fire in her eyes that wasn’t there before

Lianored her and threatened Jax under his breath "She’s ," Jax shot back

And we all did a piss-poor job hiding our s KC