I shrugged. “Some parts of the past are better than others.”
“Yeah and some parts remind us just how painful life can be if you aren’t careful.”
“You avoid those parts, Peaches, and you won’t remember how to live.”
Her eyes narrowed, trying to hear all the words I hadn’t said between the ones I had.
I sat back, pulling the tension back away from her and us. “It was just a bad joke, okay?” I hurried on before she could respond. “What’s with this class Jay needs to help you with? You’re smart enough to get by, aren’t you?”
She sighed and let the moment go. “It’s difficult, okay? I’m pretty sure every student left and checked their schedule to make sure they were in the right one. We all could’ve sworn we didn’t sign up for a foreign language study, yet when we walked out of there, no one understood a word of what the professor had said.”
I smiled. “Let’s see the textbook. I’ll help you.”
My smile died abruptly. What the hell was I doing?
“I ... you ... I really don’t think ...” Aubrey stuttered.
“Speechless? Really?” Normally, she could fill any moment with small talk if she needed to. “Get your damn book out, Whitfield. Jay’s not going to have time to help you when he’s in LA anyway.”
“When was the last time you took a class, Jax?” she said with all the sass she could muster while she reached in her bag to pull out her book, laptop, and phone.
“Doesn’t being part owner of Stonewood Enterprises qualify me as a good tutor?” I grabbed her phone to put in my number.
She shrugged like she used to always do when she knew I was right but didn’t want to admit it. “What are you doing with my phone?”
I flashed her the screen. “Now, you have my number. Let me know what times work best for you to study. And we’ll probably have to find a more secluded place than this café.”
We both looked toward the window and then the back room. I was sure Jackie was still listening.
We spent two hours going over material that I’ll admit was as boring as shit.
But I’d be damned if I didn’t enjoy working through it with her.