Witness

19| Just a Movie

"So, I've been thinking," Hannah said, running a hand through her long blonde hair.

"Uh-oh," I replied, looking up from my psych homework.

"Very funny," she smiled, sitting up on her bed. "Tomorrow after class, Drayden and I are going to go see a movie. You and Mason should come! We can make it a double date."

My heart skipped a beat. A date with Jax? "Hannah... Mason and I aren't together."

"Exactly! But you told me he has feelings for you, and the two of you have done absolutely nothing about it since then. Consider this your opportunity to move things along."

"I don't know— Mason's not usually into the whole 'dating' thing," I tried again to get out of this; I couldn't come up with a decent excuse to save my life.

"Puh-lease," Hannah said, flipping onto her stomach to stare down at me. "He would definitely go if you asked; he does anything for you."

I smiled to myself. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Um, just one example off the top of my head," Hannah started, "he literally came over yesterday .5 seconds after you texted him, just so that he could help you open a pickle jar."

"Hey!" I defended, "You couldn't get it open either! And he didn't know he was just coming over for the jar. I just told him I needed help with something."

"And he came without a question. Now, are you going to ask him on this date, or am I going to have to do it for you? It's just a movie—nothing too intense."

I groaned, turning my attention back to my homework. "I'll ask him tonight."

*********

Classes were dragging today, and not just because it was calculus day. It was mainly because tonight I was going on a date with Jax. Albeit a fake date, and a double date, but still; I was feeling a little nervous.

When I had asked Jax about it, he agreed without hesitation, and he didn't seem nervous at all. He said, "whatever we need to do to keep our cover."

I was mildly disappointed by his answer; it just seemed so impersonal. Like he was agreeing just for logistics and not that he actually wanted to go on a date with me. I supposed I shouldn't have been disappointed though; it was just that with all these blurring lines, I found myself growing closer to Jax, and wanting more from him than just protection. But... I needed to remember my situation for what it was, and I couldn't expect anything more.

He had agreed to go with me, and that's all that mattered despite his reasons. Besides, it was just a movie; all things considered, it should be a casual fake date. I figured conversation would be limited anyway, which helped me to keep my cool until it was time to leave.

The theater was close to campus, but Drayden had insisted on picking the 3 of us up from our dorm since he lived off campus and had a car. I didn't really care for Drayden; not that I'd had a lot of interaction with him. But, he did give me creepy vibes at the party, and the way Hannah talked about him sometimes made him sound pretty controlling. I had warned Jax about this ahead of time and told him to keep an eye out tonight.

If anyone would be able to pick up on something being wrong, it would be him.

The ride to the theater was a little awkward, as Drayden and Hannah chatted in the front while Jax and I sat stiffly in the back. I wasn't sure how to behave around him in this setting. I mean, it was a "date," but we weren't together. In fact, pretty much every rule we had to follow in a client/bodyguard relationship was the exact opposite of how two people would normally behave on a date. I wasn't sure either of us really knew what to say or do, so we just sat quietly until we arrived at the movies.