Witness

21| Pepperoni and Pineapple

Luckily for my growling stomach, there was a pizza place right across the parking lot. We were immediately hit with the air-conditioned interior and open seating. The friendly hostess brought us back to a booth as the scent of fresh pizza filled my nostrils. It didn't take long before we were seated across from each other and scanning the menu.

"I could really go for a drink right now," I sighed as I viewed the selection of soft drinks. "Why did they have to make me 19?"

Jax shrugged, "We both are 19."

I looked around, making sure nobody was in ear shot. "No offense, but you look like you're 25."

"I am 25," he chuckled.

My mouth popped open for a second. "Really?"

He nodded, "How old did you think I was?"

Now it was my turn to shrug. "I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but I would have thought 21ish. Technically, I turn 21 in 4 months."

"That explains why you can't handle your alcohol."

I rolled my eyes, preparing to shoot him a comeback when the server came over. Since I was starving, we placed an order for a deep dish pepperoni pizza and 2 diet cokes right away.

I was quick to return to the conversation once he left to place our order. "Does it bother you that you can't drink now that you're 19?"

He shook his head, "I couldn't anyway."

"Couldn't? Or wouldn't?" I questioned. It wasn't like he had anything to drink at the dorms or house parties either.

"Couldn't," he reiterated. "I like to drink when I'm not on duty, but technically, I'm working."

"And you couldn't have just one? Even if we were back at the dorms?"

"Would you drink on the job?" He questioned.

I shrugged, watching as our server dropped off our diet cokes. "Depends on the job."

"Well, I need to always be diligent. I can't do anything that would even have the slightest potential to put you at risk."

I sighed. "You know, hanging out with you feels so normal now. Is it bad that sometimes I forget that our relationship is... complicated? I mean, sometimes I feel like you're just my friend."

"I get it," he shrugged. "We've been here for a while now without incident. Knock on wood. This campus, and hanging out with you every day, is starting to feel normal."

I finally lifted the cool soda to my lips, sloshing some over the rim with my still-shaking hands. I set it back down, putting my hands in my lap to still them.

"How are you still shaking?" Jax questioned.

I shrugged, "I don't know; I guess the adrenaline is taking forever to fade."

I leaned forward, putting my lips onto the rim and slurping the brown, fizzy liquid so that there was less in the cup.

"How ladylike of you," Jax chuckled. "But seriously, did you enjoy today? Or did you at least think it was helpful?"

I nodded a little too aggressively. "Yeah, it was definitely helpful. I'm not gonna lie to you, I think that guns will forever freak me out, but I do feel better about them now; at least a little bit."

"That's good. But again, you won't need to use one. That's my job."

I sat back in the booth, rolling the sleeves of my flannel down to block some of the air conditioning from hitting my skin. I was feeling cold all of a sudden. "Normally, I'd argue that I can do anything a man can do and that you're being sexist," I teased, "But, in this circumstance, I'm more than happy to let you take the reigns."