As soon as we started walking away, I immediately started licking at mine, savoring its coldness and enjoying its sweet flavor. I couldn't help but notice that Jax was holding his cone in front of him and watching it intently.

"If you don't eat it soon, it's going to melt all over your hand," I teased him.

"I'm appreciating it," he said still staring at it. "It's not every day you get a chance to appreciate a perfectly shaped ice cream cone."

"Shouldn't you be appreciating it with your mouth instead of your eyes?"

He finally looked up and turned to me with soft eyes. "Ice cream's a lot like childhood. It goes by so fast that before you get a chance to appreciate it, it's gone forever. All that remains is dirty hands and fleeting memories of lost innocence."

I grinned, savoring the cold sweetness of the ice cream in my mouth. "I'm having a hard time imagining you as anything close to innocent."

"We were all kids once," Jax said quietly. He paused for a moment before he returned my smile with a little smirk and took a lick of his ice cream.

A cold trail of melted liquid crept down my hand, so I returned to enjoying my treat before it was all lost to a fleeting memory too.

We walked back to where the rest of the band was relaxing. Sky was still tanning on a lounge chair by the pool while Chewie and Kev ran around squirting each other with their water guns. I was amazed at how much energy Kev and Chewie still had to run around like little kids.

Chewie chased after Kev, who jumped over Sky reclining on a lounge chair. "What the hell?" Sky yelled. "Can't you two go play your games on the jungle-gym with the other kiddies?"

Kev stopped in front of Jax, and then Kev turned to face Sky. "Sorry, just trying to get away from the Abominable Chewman."

While Kev was standing there apologizing to Sky, Chewie took aim and fired away. Kev ducked. Chewie's watergun stream sailed over Kev's head and hit Jax's ice cream, knocking it off the cone and splattering it across his bare chest.

The look of childish innocence on Jax's face immediately vanished. His nostrils flared and his chest heaved as the melted ice cream dripped from his pecs to his abs.

Kev stood up, looked at the mess on Jax's chest, and his face scrunched up. "Whoa, Jax, sorry about that. Who would've thought Chewie's aim would be that good?"

"What the f**k, man?" Jax tossed the empty cone at Kev. "I just got that ice cream and you ruined it—you f**king ruined it."

"Jax!" I cried, but before I could stop him, he grunted and angrily shoved Kev.

Kev stumbled back a few steps. His arms came up to balance himself, but his foot hit the edge of the pool and he tumbled backwards into the water, sending up a splash in his wake.

My jaw dropped. Sky ripped off her sunglasses, and even Chewie looked shocked as they rushed over to help Kev. Sky shook her head and turned to Jax. "What's wrong with you? It's just some ice cream."

Kev pulled himself out of the pool, refusing anyone's help. "What a dickbag. Jeez."

Jax blinked his eyes repeatedly, as if awakening from a daze. "It's—fuck it, I need to get out of here." He turned and headed toward the exit, leaving me with my mouth hanging open in shock.

I felt compelled to apologize on behalf of Jax. "Sorry, Kev," I said, putting my hand on his wet shoulder and smiling apologetically. "Are you okay?"

"Thanks, I'm fine," he grunted, his pride still sore. As far as I could see, the only part of him that was hurt. "It's not your fault. I don't know what the hell got into that ass**le."

"Has he ever done anything like this before?" I asked as Chewie handed Kev a towel.

Kev wrapped it around himself and Chewie shook his head. "No—I mean he's always been moody, but all of us got along pretty well."

Sky nodded in agreement. "This is the first time I've seen him this upset over something so stupid. I don't know what's gotten into him."

I sucked in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was deeply concerned about Jax and the way he acted. It just didn't make any sense that a guy like Jax would get so upset over something as trivial as spilled ice cream when we were having so much fun just a little while ago.

I decided to go after him. Whatever was on Jax's mind, maybe I could cheer him up, or at the very least, calm him down.

"You guys should enjoy the rest of the waterpark. I'll see if I can talk to Jax," I called over my shoulder as I headed out to look for Jax.

Chapter Twenty-Three

TALK

When I finally spotted him, he was walking fast through the parking lot, a couple hundred yards ahead of me. No matter how hard I picked up my pace, it seemed like he was always going faster. I saw him vanish into the bus when I was still only halfway through the huge lot.

When I finally got to the triple-decker at the far edge of the parking lot, I wasted no time in heading for the stairs.

I tiptoed up to Jax’s room, then stood near the door, trying to figure out what was going on inside.

Silence greeted me.

I wondered if he was napping—or fuming. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, I thought as my hand lifted to knock.

Just as my knuckles were about to rap against the door, it opened, and Jax emerged. Still dressed in his waterpark clothes, he had a shirt and pants draped over one arm and a towel over the other.

"Jax—" I started.

"Not right now," he said, his voice gruff. "I need a shower."

I sniffed at the air and realized we both still smelled like chlorine. Before I could even answer him, he had already turned away and was walking down the stairs.

My brows furrowed. Well, that wasn’t great. With a sigh, I opened the door to Jax’s room and then gasped at what I saw inside. Torn sheets of paper lay all over the bed, and everything on his shelf had been knocked down onto the floor.

Whatever was wrong with Jax, I knew I couldn’t leave the room the way it was. I started picking up the pieces of paper and setting them in a box on the shelf. I grabbed his guitar, put it back where it belonged, and smoothed the sheets across the bed.

I sat on his bed, waiting for him to finish his shower and come back, hoping a little cool-down time was all he needed to be himself again. When the handle twisted and he pushed the door open, I looked up to see Jax step into the room. He was wearing a fresh set of jeans and a t-shirt. One of his eyes twitched as he saw that the room had been cleaned up.

I wanted to talk but I had no idea what to say. "Did you have a good shower?" I heard the words coming from my mouth, but I felt like I was far away.

"Yeah," Jax said, his face barely moving. "Not enough hot water. But close enough."

We sat in silence, each of us looking at the wall.

Outside the bus, faint cheery music from the water park played. My hands fidgeted on my knees. Jax stared toward the door, looking like he wished he could leave.

"So how are you feel—" I started.

Jax’s voice broke in. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

I turned my head toward him curiously. A movie? "I . . . sure. What movie?"

His hand had moved to a binder full of Blu-Rays before I’d even finished talking. He thumbed through the discs, then pulled one out. I leaned to see if I could read any text on its surface, but he popped it into the player before I could make anything out.