Chapter 232: Give Me a Chance, Part 2

Jax laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the trees and echoing around me. Soon, I was laughing, too, and all my stress and fears and doubts vanished. And in that moment, I was just a teenage girl who'd snuck out of her house to meet a boy. It was all so normal.

The wind picked up, whipping and whistling through the tree branches. Dead leaves blew around my feet, and I shivered. In my haste to get out of the house, I'd forgotten to grab my coat. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms in a feeble attempt to get rid of the chill that had settled over me.

"Cold?" Jax asked.

I nodded. "I was fine until the wind picked up."

"Want to go back to the car?" Taking hold of my hand again, he stopped and turned to face me.

His body blocked some of the wind from hitting me, and I inched closer, savoring what little warmth I could. "Do you mind?" I asked, peering up at him.

"Not at all." He hooked one arm under my knees and the other around my back and swept me off my feet.