Just a Little Faith (22 page)

****

Riding the elevator
with Seb
in silence, Pax smiled.
Imagine after all this time, meeting Jake again. I've always wondered what happened to him.

“Pax? Pax? It's our floor.”

Startled, she
looked to see the
elevator open
with
Seb
straddling the crevice
to keep the
doors
from closing.

“Oh
,
thanks.”

She
walked down the hall toward her room
, Seb not far behind. Reaching her
door,
she turned toward him. “I'm going to freshen up a bit so
I'll meet you downstairs in
a couple of
hour
s
?”

“How
‘
bout I just come knock on your door
,
and we can go together?”

“
If you would rather, t
hat will work too. I'll see you then.” She slipped into her room and shut the door behind her
.

Throwing her purse on the bed, her mind still focused on seeing Jake
.
“I need to call Jessica. I can't believe he's here.”

She grabbed
her cell phone from her purse, crossed the room and opened the doors leading to the balcony. A coolness in the air
raised
goosebumps on her arms
.
S
he grabbed the comforter off the bed to wrap up in while she sat on the lounge chair outside.

Jessica's excited voice pierced her thoughts.
“Hey! I wondered if you were going to call. Are you having a blast?”

“I am. Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk much last night, everyone here celebrated
until
pretty late
in the
the evening. Thankfully, things didn't get too wild.”

“I'm jealous you got to go, but
I'm
glad I could turn off the TV and go to bed when it ended.”

“Yeah.”

“Pax. You okay? You sound distracted?”

“Jess,
you'll
never believe who I just ran into in the hotel lobby. Jake.”

“Jake?
Jake Temple?
Wow
, I haven't thought about him in years.
What's he doing there?
How did he act?”

“
He's here for a conference. He
acted
s
urprised to see me for sure, but he seemed happy
about it
too.”

“How did Seb react?”

“Seb? He reacted fine. Why do you ask?”

“Pax. You had a crush on Jake for over a year. You don't think Seb
might be somewhat jealous?
”

“No. I never
actually
told Seb about it. Like you said, it's been at least three
or four
years since all that went down. I'm a different person now.”

“But how did you feel when you saw Jake?”

“I admit
,
a part of me got nervous and excited. But, Jake… he always had that effect on me. You know that.”

“Yep. I do. And Seb's a pretty smart guy. I can bet he picked up on it
,
too.”

Pax sighed into the phone. “
Oh
,
I doubt it.
We're supposed to meet Jake for dinner tonight. It will be interesting to find out what's been going on in his life
.
I'm anxious to tell him what's happening with me.”

“You know Pax
,
when Jake didn't reciprocate your affections, you were heartbroken. Just check your feelings to make sure you know what your true motivations are for meeting him, okay?”

Not liking the turn of the conversation, Pax decided to end the call. “If you say so
,
Jess.
Listen,
I better get ready. I'll talk to you soon.”
As she hung
up the phone, Pax looked out over the city lights. Surely she didn't want Jake again
, b
ut what could explain her
sudden nervousness over seeing him after all these years
?

****

Seb paused before rapping three times
on
the dark hotel room door.
H
e s
tepp
ed
back
and
waited for Pax to come out. Sensing unresolved feelings between Pax and Jake, Seb didn't look forward to dinner.
For the first time since he met Pax,
he
didn't like the emotions brewing in his heart. Not since Melissa met Rick
had
he
felt
like another man might be infringing on his territory.
He
wouldn't let it happen again.

The door opened and Pax waved him inside. “Hey Bash! Let me grab my purse and I'll be ready to go. Did you rest some?”

“Um. Not really. I guess I wasn't really tired.”
Seeing her wearing the red dress she
'd
wor
n
for
him at
Christmas
sent
his stomach twist
ing
in knots
. “You look nice.”

“Oh.
Thanks. I thought I might dress up a little for the evening
.” Grabbing her purse off the bed, she
then
looped her arm through his
and smiled
. “Okay. I'm ready to go.”

When they entered the lobby, Seb grimaced
upon
seeing
Jake already there. Anxious to get dinner over with, he forced a smile on his face when Jake greeted them across the room.

“Hey. I took the liberty of getting us a table. They said it would be just a minute.
” When they reached him, Jake took Pax's hands
in his
. “Pax, you look stunning.”

Seb didn't think his gut could twist any
more, but it did.
He looked longingly at the bar. A stiff drink sounded great at the moment.

“Thanks
,
Jake. I appreciate it. You look nice
,
yourself.” Seb had to admit
,
Jake
did look nice in his suit and tie. Suddenly,
he
felt underdressed wearing khakis and a Polo shirt.

Their table ready, the hostess led them down the front section of the
restaurant to the back corner. Seb started to pull the chair out for Pax
,
but Jake beat him to the punch. Internally he seethed seeing Pax lightly rest her hand on Jake's
.
That
looked like more than
a token of gratitude.

“So
,
Jake. I take it you've been here before. What do you recommend?”

“Let's see if I remember correctly
.
Pax
, y
ou love a good salmon right? Theirs is excellent. And Seb, if you like a good piece of steak, I suggest the filet.”

“That's right Bash, you do like an excellent steak.”

Looking over the menu, Seb almost felt the urge to order chicken
out of
spite. He knew his feelings were
probably
unfounded, but he didn't care. The way Jake looked at Pax… Seb wanted to pick Pax up, throw her over his shoulder and leave.
Somehow, h
e didn't think Pax would appreciate the gesture.

“Thanks for the recommendation
. I'll consider it.” There, that didn't seem too harsh.

“Jake, what's been going on with you? Still working at the architecture firm?”

“Well, yes and no. I'm still doing architecture, but for a different firm now. About two years ago, my
current
company made me an offer I couldn't refuse. What about you? Where are you now
?
”
H
e eyed Seb
.
“
A
nd how did you two meet?”

“At work
,
actually. I don't live in Alabama anymore. I live outside of St. Louis and work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Seb came in to talk about doing some work for LLS and here we are.”

“What? Wow. That's quite a change. Good for you. And you Seb, you've got a great girl here.”

Laying his arm across the back of Pax's chair,
S
e
b
lightly ran his hand down her arm. “I know. She's been a real life saver the past few weeks.”

Jake's face registered a brief tint of red.
“That's right. My apologies for not saying something before
. It
was horrible what happened to your family. Please accept my sympathy.”

Knowing he meant well, Seb nodded. “Yeah. It's
been a rough couple of months.”

A
n air of sadness came over the table.

Trying to lighten the mood and find out more about their past, Seb decided to investigate. “So
,
Jake, how did you and Pax meet? Being as
you're
from Arizona and she from the South.”

“Actually, we met through a mutual friend at a party. There were
,
what forty or fifty people there, but we were seated across the table from each other. After only a few minutes, we realized we had a few things in common.”

Pax interjected. “Yes. When he started talking about how he was at the World Series
when
the
Yankees
were crushed in
the seventh and deciding game
, I knew we would be friends.”

Laughing, Jake agreed. “And don't forget how we both ordered the exact same food at the restaurant.”

“That's right! I forgot about that.”

Feeling more information could be gathered,
Seb
posed more questions. “So, you met at the dinner and what? Became friends from there
?
”

“Pretty much. We emailed quite a bit
,
and visited each other a few times.
We even took a trip together with some friends.
Then
,
you know
how
things
go…
we just drifted apart.
”

The tone of the conversation turned. Seb sensed something
wasn't being said
.
Pax wouldn't look up from the table
,
and Jake fiddled with his napkin too much.
“Yeah. I guess that can happen to the best of us.”

Clearing his throat, Jake leaned on the table.
“Pax, I've got to ask about this name you've been calling Seb all night, Bash is it?”

She giggled.
“Oh that. It's silly
,
actually
.
”

Seb bristled at her comment
but held his tongue.

“
B
ut it's something that came up on our first date
, a
nd it stuck. Now I don't even think to call him anything else.”
She r
each
ed
over to pat Seb on the hand,
and
he tried his hardest to smile in return.

They made small talk over dinner until Pax sat up straight in her chair.
“Do you still go to the church in the valley
,
Jake? That's where
I'm
planning to attend Sunday before we fly out that evening.”

“I do, but I'll actually be on another business trip by then. A firm in Las Vegas is looking over some of my designs. I'm sorry I won't get to see you
there
.
What are your plans until then?
”

“Bash
i
s taking me to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. I haven't been there since I was twelve or thirteen
,
I think. I'm anxious to see it again.”

“It is breathtaking. One can never see it enough. God sure knew how to make some
thing
indescribable. If I didn't have this conference
,
I'd love to join you.
”

Silentl
y cheering, Seb whispered sarcastically to no one in general
,
“Oh yeah, Jake. That's too bad.”

“Well, I have an early morning full of meetings
,
so I think I better get back home.” Getting up from their chairs, they walked toward the lobby. Pulling Pax into his arms, Jake hugged her for a full minute before releasing her. “It's been a real pleasure to be with you again
,
Pax. We can't let so many years pass without seeing each other
again
.”

“I know
,
Jake. Seeing your face brought back a lot of happy memories for me.”
Her eyes seemed to linger on Jake's face a little too much for Seb's liking.

Extending his hand to Seb, Jake patted him on the back. “And it was great to meet you
,
Bash.
”

Stiffening at the use of his nickname, Seb
barely
nodded in reply.

W
a
t
ch
ing until Jake left the hotel, Seb turned quickly on his heel and headed for the elevators.

He heard the clicking of Pax's heels on the tile behind him
,
but he ignored her calls.

“Bash! Bash! Wait!”

Frustrated, he pounded the button for the elevator
over and over
, muttering curses under his
breath when
t
he doors
didn't open immediately. He sensed her presence be
hind
him without looking to confirm it.

“I don't know what just happened,
Bash
, but what
'
s come over you?”

“Only you get to call me Bash. No one else
.” He gritted his teeth. “Unless you think it's silly.
”

“
Sebastian. Really.
I'm sure J
ake didn't mean anything by it
, b
ut
with the way
you're
acting I
think it's more than that.”
He felt her hand on his shoulder attempting to pull him around to face her
,
but he shook it off.

“Why did you never tell me about Jake? We've been with each other almost daily for what
,
two months now
?
A
nd this is the first I've ever heard of this guy.”

He heard her step back, the air awash with tension.
“
Whoa.
I haven't seen Jake in four years
,
at least. I guess I didn't think he mattered anymore.”

Swiveling in her direction,
Seb
towered over her. “From the looks you two gave each other, I'd
say
something mattered between you
,
and maybe still does
.”

The elevator dinged its arrival and
,
when the doors opened
,
Seb stepped inside, crossing his arms across his chest. “When you've figured it out
,
you let me know.”

Pax's face
as it crumbled
in sorrow
was
the last image Seb saw before the elevator doors
shut
. Closing his eyes,
he
pounded the wall with his fist in frustration.