“Mr. Jacks, Mr. Clark is on the phone. He wanted to know if you had made a decision yet. Mr. Jacks?”

“Hmm? Oh…”

“Mr. Clark?”

“Oh uh will you tell him I haven’t made a decision but I’ll call him this afternoon…”

Jax’s assistant nodded and left him again to his blank stare

 ‘I would have you’

She stood there looking at him with the saddest eyes and said “I would have you’

They had dinner later and he couldn’t eat

That night he couldn’t sleep

And the next day he couldn’t focus on work

Why did she say that?

Did she mean it?

Was it something that just popped in to her head or did she really wish she had him?

Jasper Jax had talked himself out of falling in love with Alexis Davis one too many times

He swore he would never break her heart and he knew if he ever confessed that he had fallen in love with her he would

He understood Alexis’ insistence that she was a failure at love because he too had one failed relationship after the other

Alexis Davis was his only true success at love and marriage (as she claimed he was to her)

She was the only woman who ever made perfect sense but he forbid himself to ever let her know he fell in love with her years ago…

Now what?

Did he ask what she meant?

Did he pretend she didn’t say it at all?

They were going to be living together, it complicated things…

“Mr. Jacks I’m sorry to interrupt you again but Mr. Brooks called from the front desk needing your assistance… it sounded important”

Jax shook his head ok as he headed out the door of his office and downstairs to the lobby of the hotel

++++

Alexis held Molly in her arms as Ric leaned in to kiss Molly on the head

“Where’s Kristina?”

“Making her rounds in the lobby”

“She has everyone who works at this hotel in the palm of her hands”

“That she does!” Alexis said with a slight smile before the awkward silence… “Oh I got both Molly and Kristina’s stuff in this bag and I put some extra diapers in this bag with the dolls Kristina swore she couldn’t live without…” Alexis said handing Ric each bag one by one that had been slung over her shoulder

“Gotcha”

“Ric!!”

“Hi Sweetheart!  Ric said as he swooped Kristina in to his arms

“Did mommy tell you about our new house?”

Ric’s eyes shot to Alexis

“House? Mommy forgot to mention your new house” He said never taking his eyes from Alexis

Alexis only stood there with a deer in the headlights look

“We’re gonna live with John and Uncle Jax!” Kristina said excitedly not understanding the torture she was putting her mother through

Ric’s eyes only widened

“With Jax?” he questioned finally

“Ric”

“With Jax? You’re moving in with Jax?”

“Can we discuss this later?”

“No, we can’t” Ric said still sounding stunned

“Kristina, why don’t you go and ask Mr. Frank if you can have some hot chocolate? Ric and I need to have a grown up talk for a second, ok?”

Kristina shook her head as Ric sat her feet to the floor

Alexis sat Molly in her carrier sitting in the overstuffed chair beside them

“Were you going to tell me?”

“Of course I was going to tell you”

“When? When I came by to pick up the kids and someone else answered the door?”

“Ric… I just haven’t had the chance ok. Everything’s just happened so fast”

“Did he push you in to it?”

“No! Of course not! You know Jax would never do that and besides you know that I would never allow that to happen”

“Then why are you doing this? And why just so out of the blue?”

“I’m doing this because I want to. Is that a good enough answer?”

Ric shoved his hands in his pocket and began to pace in front of her

“I was afraid of what your reaction was going to be so I was waiting to tell you…”

“My reaction? You were worried about my reaction?”

“Well you’re obviously not taking it well”

“Did you expect me to? I mean my wife…”

“Soon to be ex-wife” she reminded lifelessly

Ric took a deep breath “You just told me you’re moving my family in with Jax I’m sorry if I’m not taking it well”

Alexis closed her eyes as if to not see his face as the words fell out of her mouth “We’re not your family anymore”

She opened her eyes to Ric looking back at her cold

Not cold with hate, cold with alone

“Ric, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that”

“No… you’re right. I lost you. I lost my family…”

“You’re Molly’s father; you’ll always be in the girls lives. They love you, Kristina adores you. I would never take either of them away from you but I have to move on. I can’t live day after day wishing that I could change what happened between us… I have to do what’s right for me and what’s right for my girls”

“And that’s Jax?”

“I think so, yes”

“So what now you’re one big happy family in your big happy house?”                           

“Ric!”

“Are you sleeping with him?” he snapped

“It’s none of your business!” she snapped back

“It is my business!”

“Who slept with who didn’t seem to concern you I were married why should it concern you now?”

“Look who I found with the chocolate mustache!” Jax said with Kristina in his arms

Jax suddenly noticed the look between Ric and Alexis

“Everything ok here?”

“For you, everything’s great. Congratulations they’re a great little family; I hope you enjoy them and your new house…”

“Ric!” Alexis scolded

Jax understood what was going on

“Kristina let me know you all were going to be one happy family”

“We don’t need to discuss this in front of the kids” Jax reminded as

Alexis glared at Ric as he glared back

“You’re right” he agreed “The girls and I have a lunch date at Kelly’s… I’ll call you tomorrow before I bring them home I wouldn’t want to interrupt you and Jax”

Alexis shook her head not believing what he saying as Jax wondered what Ric was meant by “interrupting” them

“Can we just talk about it later?” Alexis asked

Ric only nodded

Alexis kissed Kristina and Molly goodbye as did Jax…

Round one was over

“Hate I missed the main event”

Alexis only rolled her eyes as she let out a deep breath

“You ok?”

“Yeah I just wasn’t prepared”

“You knew he wouldn’t take it well…”

“I was prepared for his words; I wasn’t prepared for the look on his face. He looked as if I was pulling his heart out of his chest”

“Kristina spilled the beans?”

“She was excited about the house and wanted to tell Ric…”

“Maybe it was better he found out now. It had to be done and the more you put it off the harder it was going to be”

Alexis put her hands against her face and Jax pulled her in to his arms

“I just, I hate it”

“I know, I know”

“It’s just funny how I don’t want to hurt him even though he hurt me… I mean I can tell he’s sorry, I can tell how much he’s hurting and how much he regrets what he did…”

“I told you its ok to still care about him, to still love him”

“I don’t” Alexis said emphatically. Jax looked at Alexis “I don’t, not that way not anymore. I care about him, but not in the willing to suffer kind of way. And I can’t and won’t love him in a way that I’m willing to give up my dignity and my happiness… I know I can have that without him…”

Jax pulled Alexis to sit in the chair beside him

“What did Ric mean when he said he didn’t want to interrupt us?”

“Nothing”

“Nothing?”

Alexis looked at Jax 

“He asked were we sleeping together”

“And you said?”

“And I said it was none of his business. He took it to mean what he wanted”

“And you didn’t bother clarifying?”

“Would you like me to?”

A smirk crossed Jax’s face as he took Alexis’ hand in to his across the arm of the chair

“No, let him think what he wants, let him get used to the idea”

Alexis looked at Jax quickly before turning her eyes back straight ahead

They sat there in silence

They had caught themselves flirting, even suggesting and not in the way they normally did

Alexis pulled Jax’s hand and placed it against her chest

“Feel my heart beat?” she asked “It hasn’t beat that way in long time and I’m not sure why it is now. Maybe I’m nervous… maybe my heart is trying to tell me something”

He could feel her heart beating through her chest

“Maybe it is trying to tell you something” Jax said as he pulled her in to a kiss

But this wasn’t the kiss that he always gave her; it was a kiss he always wanted to give her

Alexis looked at him stunned

“Are you sure you meant to do that Jasper Jax?”

“It’s one of the only things I’m sure of Alexis Davis”

End Ch. 5