12 Rounds

Chapter Eleven

"I'm thinking we should play it safe and make sure everyone has job security and just push the sets back by two hours," Liv mused absentmindedly as she buffed some foundation onto Jo's cheeks with a brush. "What do you think?"

Jo just lifted a shoulder from her chair in their dressing room. "I suppose that makes sense. We don't want anyone to think they might be replaced or start some kinda unnecessary competition between the old and the new."

"Right," she nodded, more to herself than anything. This was the validation she needed to make sure she was making the right decision here because she'd been back and forth so many times over these last few days she'd lost count. "And we can always hire more musicians later on once everyone's gotten used to the new schedule and the new rotations, and then we can..." Liv trailed off, her head tilting to the side as she appraised Jo with careful concern.

Jo's eyes were squeezed shut tight, and she blew out a slow breath, nice and easy. It was already pretty clear Jo was going to need a little more bronzer than usual today - and judging by the way her skin dampened and felt a tiny bit clammy to the touch, she probably should've used a waterproof foundation too.

Something was wrong here. Whether or not Jo would actually be honest with her was probably a different story...

"Hey," Liv started, caution creeping into her voice. "Are you feeling okay? I mean, you -"

But Jo's sharp, breathless voice stopped her right in her tracks.

"I was thinking maybe we should have the boys over for dinner on Friday night. Hmm? Treat them to a nice, home-cooked meal before Jax's big fight - what do you think?"

Liv leaned back, foundation brush still in hand, and frowned, her mouth opening and closing a few times before finally finding the words she was looking for. "You mean... invite them over to our apartment?"

"Yes, Livie," Jo shot her a quick, slightly exasperated smile. "We can't exactly cook for them here at the casino."

Her lips parted again, sucking in a breath nice and slow. "Are you sure this is a good idea? You really wanna invite Happy over like that?"

Panic flickered across Jo's face for just a moment, and then she pressed a tight smile to her face just as quickly. "I think it would be nice to have them over. Don't you? Unless... you want to keep your boyfriend out of your room for some reason?"

Liv huffed with some exasperation. "You know he's not my boyfriend. If you expect me to agree to this, maybe you should go about it in a different way."

When she just batted a hand at her, Liv rolled her eyes as she gripped that foundation brush a little bit tighter.

"Alright, alright. Go ahead and dig your heels in if that's what you wanna do. I'm not interested in arguing with you about that today anyway. All I'm sayin' is that I think it would be a nice gesture for those boys - especially yours - since they've got a big weekend ahead of them and everything."

Now, it was Liv's turn to feel a flicker of panic flood through her. Inviting Jax into the apartment felt... intimate. Too intimate. And in light of the lines they'd both already crossed last weekend, Jax coming over, invading her personal space like that - wouldn't that just be one more line they shouldn't cross?

Friends can go over to their friends' apartments, she told herself. That's something friends can do.

And if Jo and Happy were there too, it wasn't like she was inviting Jax over to hang out and watch a movie on her couch or something all alone. They'd have a buffer, just like last Friday night at dinner. Although that buffer had only lasted up until she ran her fingers through his hair, even if it was just to comfort him, and he pulled her in closer until he could press his face into her stomach, even if it was just to take the comfort she was offering.