Seth cuts his steak and the knife screeches across the plate. “Long dark curly hair?”
Jax’s eyes light up. “Yeah. When she bent over to get me a bagel…” He sticks his bent finger in his mouth and bites the knuckle.
Dylan and I share another look. I want him to be prepared to act in case Seth’s knife dives toward Jax’s throat.
“The two bagel places are competitors,” I say in the hopes that Jax will read between lines.
His eyes only light up further. “Oh, I get it. So she’s like an enemy of yours.”
Seth shrugs, sawing into the steak again. “Andrews’ bagels are better anyway.”
Jax finally looks at Dylan and me and quirks an eyebrow. I don’t know anything about Dylan and Jax’s relationship, but they obviously have some sort of non-verbal conversation. Jax nods as if he’s in the loop now.
“She’s your Juliet?” Jax asks Seth.
“Owens.” Dylan shakes his head.
Seth’s gaze flies to Jax. “No. It’s not like that.”
“If you say so. You’re cool if I hit on her then?” He winks at me.
Dylan growls over his forkful of salad.
“Why would I care?” Seth picks up the salad dressing and douses his salad with it. Not one piece of lettuce isn’t covered with dressing.
“Cool.” Jax nods, stabs the piece of meat he cut, and leans back in his chair while he chews, amused.
Dylan continues to shake his head.
“So, Jax, Knox says you’re pretty famous?” Seth asks.
Dylan grunts again, stabbing at his lettuce.
“I wouldn’t say famous, but I’ve made a name for myself.”
“You’re modest. Knox showed me all your Instagram followers.”
“Really?” I pull out my phone and look him up on Instagram. “OMG, you’re friends with all these celebrities?” I show Seth then Dylan.
Dylan never bothers to look up. Does he feel competitive with Jax? Duh, Rian. Of course he does. How do I feel about Johann? I place my phone screen-side down and pick my fork back up.
“We’re acquaintances. None of them would take a bullet for me or anything.” Jax eyes Dylan, who rolls his eyes.
“Super impressive,” Seth says. “Maybe I’ll go to you for my next piece.”
He and Jax share a laugh since Dylan has yet to pick his head up from his plate. Dylan has done all three of Seth’s tattoos.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to get one.” I play along with the joke.
But this time, Dylan’s head raises like I just announced there’s a bullet coming right for him. He cocks his head to the side. “What?”
“I’ll totally tattoo you. Do you have anything in mind?” Jax asks. “I’ve got an entire book of just chick tattoos.”
“If you want a tattoo, I’ll give you one,” Dylan says softly, eyes focused only on me.
Jax holds his hands in the air. “Oh yeah, I’d hate to step on any toes.”
“You live for stepping on fucking toes,” Dylan says, looking him square in the eye.
My patience breaks. This dinner was supposed to help us figure out how to coexist, but if anything, it’s made it worse.
“Okay, this entire friendship-turned-hatred thing is driving me crazy. Can you please just tell me what the hell happened between the two of you so we can clear the air?” My eyes shift from Jax to Dylan and back to Jax.
“It’s Phillips’s problem, not mine.” Jax shrugs and continues to eat.
“It’s water under the bridge,” Dylan mumbles.
“Bullshit,” Seth coughs out.
I’ll second Seth. I cannot continue to live with all this animosity. My fork slams down on the table and all three of their heads pop up. Jax doesn’t look as surprised as Dylan and Seth, but then again, Jax doesn’t know me well. Which, sad to say, I kind of like.
“Talk.” I lean back and cross my arms.
Dylan wipes his mouth. “It’s shit from high school. I’m over it if he is.”
Jax scoffs. “I came here willingly. Do you really think Knox didn’t tell me you were here or that I didn’t know Ink Envy was yours? Clearly, the problem isn’t mine.”
“It’s pretty obvious you like to get under Dylan’s skin,” I say.
Jax laughs and rolls his eyes. “You need Rian to do your talking, Phillips?”
“Hell no, but I don’t control her.”
Seth looks as happy as a child watching Tom Brady and Peyton Manning throw a football back and forth.
“She’s right though. You haven’t been Mary fucking Poppins since you got here.” Dylan pushes away from the table, rising, and grabs another beer out of the fridge.
“Why would I be nice? You act like I’m Jack the Ripper!” Jax yells.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
“I’ll have a bee—” Seth raises his finger, but Dylan shuts the fridge and sits back down. “Never mind.”
“Because I know how you are and things around here don’t work that way.” Dylan unscrews the top, flicking it into the garbage can and makes it.
“Don’t act like you know me. We haven’t talked in years. You have no idea who the fuck I am now.”
I look at Seth. His eyes widen and he stands, holding his arms out toward both of them. Although neither of them have stood up, so they both look at him like he’s a dumbass. “Let’s just calm this down now.”
“Sit down, Andrews,” Dylan says. “I’m not going to fight him.”
Could have fooled me.
Dylan stands and puts his plate in the sink, calmly finishes his beer, and tosses the bottle into the recycling container. Jax keeps one eye on Dylan the entire time. I’m so out of my league with these two. Am I going to come home one day to a crime scene?
“Thanks for trying, Rian, but our friendship died a long time ago.” I open my mouth to respond, but Dylan keeps going. “And Owens, you stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. Got it?” Without waiting for a response, he grabs his keys and walks out the door.
“He’s such an asshole.” Jax heads toward his bedroom. “Thanks for planning the dinner, Rian. Sorry it’s ruined.” Then he shuts his bedroom door.
Seth and I look at one another. My gaze detours to the untouched chocolate-on-chocolate cake sitting on the counter. I pick it up and place it on the table between us. Seth’s fork digs right in without me cutting a piece.
“Remind me to thank Knox for this,” I say. Seth smiles at me over the cake. “Not.” I dig my fork in the cake.
Chocolate cake always makes things better.
Chapter Six
Dylan
I pack a change of clothes in my workout bag this morning because I need to head into the city afterward. But first, I scribble a letter to Rian to apologize for last night. She started the shower already, so I can slip it under her door and hightail it out of here.
I have no idea why I allow Jax to use up my last ounce of patience. What happened between us is so far in the past.
When I walk out of my bedroom, the kitchen is spotless as usual, so I notice the math problem on the table right away. I wonder what time she woke up to start working on it. I glance at it as I grab a water, but all the numbers and symbols and letters make no sense to me. Which shows how different Rian and I are. She’s uber smart. The girl teachers loved and colleges begged for an application. Me, on the other hand, not so much.