Jax and Cori grew up together. They, along with Opie, were best friends growing up, but Cori always saw Jax differently. She watched him go through several relationships, all of them ending badly, as she sat back and waited for him to notice her. So...
Cori walked out of the hospital and grinned when she saw Jax leaning against his bike, looking like a heart-stopper in his kutte. She felt the tension ease in her shoulder blades as he smiled and tilted his head at her. She stopped in front of him and he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Need a ride, darlin'?"
Cori shook her head and chuckled. "Are you Charming's version of a taxi?"
Jax shrugged and smirked. "I'm all about the service, darlin'." He chuckled then, pulling on her hand to bring her closer. "Piney said you'd need a ride so I'm just doing as I'm told. I also just called a pizza in so it should be at your house by the time we get there." He stood to his full height and looked down at her with a frown of concern. "How ya holding up?"
Cori blew out a breath and shrugged. "Dad's resting comfortably so I guess for right now I'm doing ok. You really didn't have to offer me a ride and food, Jax. I'm a big girl."
Before he could answer her, they both heard someone calling his name and turned to see Tara jogging toward them. Cori heard Jax curse under his breath as they turned to the other woman.
"Jax! Hey, you got a minute to talk?"
Jax shook his head as he laid a hand on Cori's arm to pull her closer. "No, I really don't. Cori's had a hard day so I need to get her fed and tucked in for the night."
Tara's lip curled into a small sneer that Cori wanted to slap off of her face. "You babysitting now?"
Cori looked up to see Jax shake his head and give her a dirty look. "Be very careful, Tara."
Tara looked down at the sidewalk for a moment before nodding. "You gonna be around tomorrow? If you'll tell me what time you're going to visit Abel, I can try to be there. He should be ready to come home in a few days."
Jax nodded as he gently pushed Cori toward the bike. "Yeah? That's great to hear. I really don't know what time I'll be here. I have some things to take care of, but I know mom will be here bright and early." He looked down at Cori and winked before looking back at the doctor. "We really need to get going. Talk to you later, ok?"
Before Tara could say anything else, Jax hopped on his motorcycle and hit the starter, causing it to roar to life as Cori climbed on behind him. In minutes, they were pulling into Cori's driveway beside the pizza delivery driver. While Jax took care of the food, Cori unlocked the door and headed to the kitchen for plates and a couple of beers. Soon, they were sitting at the dining room table with a pizza box between them.
Cori kept sneaking glances at Jax until he finally sighed and tilted his head at her. "Spit it out before you choke on it, Cori."
Cori sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You haven't talked to Tara, have you?"
Jax took a sip of beer before sitting the bottle back on the table and leaning on his elbows. "You really want to talk about this? Now?"
Cori shrugged. "Why not now?"
Jax sighed and nodded. "Ok. No, I haven't talked to Tara yet because I don't know how to tell her how I feel."
Cori nodded before making eye contact with him. She knew that was a mistake because she always got sucked into the blue-eyed orbit. "It should be fairly simple, Jax. I'm sure she'll feel the same way that you do."
Jax chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I doubt that, babe."
Cori gave him a confused look before shaking her own head. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Jax."
Jax blew out a breath before standing up and taking the chair right beside her, scooting it around until they were facing each other. "When she came back, I thought maybe it was a sign that we were meant to be together, and that everything would work out the way it should. Then Harry got sick, and my first thought wasn't how horrible cancer would be for your dad. My first thought was maybe you would come back now that he was sick. I got pissed at myself for thinking about you when I was supposed to be trying to work things out with her. Then suddenly, there you were and all thoughts of getting back with Tara disappeared. Now, I think fate brought her back so we could have closure and move on with our lives." He reached out and took her hand in his, playing with her fingers as he smiled at her. "I want to see where things go between us, Cori, but whether we end up together or not, I don't want Tara anymore."
Cori stared at Jax for a moment, not sure what to say. Of course, she was thrilled because she had wanted him for so long, but she was shocked that he actually felt the same way about her. She finally blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"But, Jax, we don't even know if we're compatible... ya know, physically."
Jax smirked and shook his head. "Darlin, I was your first kiss, remember? But... " He suddenly yanked on her hand that was still in his and pulled her into his lap. "If you want to find out, kiss me. We'll know pretty quick."
Before she could talk herself out of it, Cori leaned in and laid her lips on his, immediately feeling the spark just from that small touch. She couldn't help the moan that escaped as he brought a hand up to tangle in her hair, holding her head even closer, as the other arm wrapped around her waist. The sensation of his facial hair rubbing against her skin was something she couldn't get enough of, and she practically growled in aggravation as he lifted his head, ending the kiss. He cleared his throat and grinned at her. "I think we're pretty compatible, but we'll have to find out just how much later, babe. We need to get you to bed."
