CHAPTER 242: MISCHIEF

After the phone call with Abigail and Emily which had not gone exactly how she wanted it, Mari dialed Jax’s number.

"Mari?" Jax asked the moment he received the call.

"Who else would be calling you from my phone?" She asked with a smile in her voice, "by the way, do you know this is our first phone conversation?"

Jax raised a brow, wondering why she went from being worried to sounding like her usual self. "Yeah. I know that. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah. I just spoke with Jamal. Come home and I’ll tell you what he said," she said, not wanting to tell him about her parents wellbeing over the phone since she wasn’t sure she could trust his line if her parents didn’t.

For them to have only told their family about their plans to lie low and not reach out to either of them, Mari figured it was because they weren’t sure Jax’s line or theirs could be trusted.

Hearing how she sounded normal, he figured her parents were fine. "Alright. I’ll be back shortly," he said before hanging up.

Immediately the call ended Mari hurried into the bathroom to shower and dress up since she had not done that all morning because she was worried.

As she showered, she sighed lustfully when she remembered what he had done to her the night before. That had been totally unexpected, and it had taken her a long time to get over it and finally go to sleep.

She smiled and felt warm all over as she replayed how she had woken up to Jax cuddling her. If not for her concern about her parents and her conversation with Emily, she wouldn’t have let him get out of the bed so easily. She couldn’t wait for him to get home so they could spend all day together.

She quickly dressed up in a pair of shorts and tank top, and hurried out of the room to the kitchen, wanting to make him breakfast for a change.

As she made pancakes, she heard the front door opened and she hurried to meet Jax, "You’re back..." she trailed off when she saw Venita and Diva instead.

"Good to see you, Diva," Mari greeted pleasantly, then smiled at Venita, "Hello, Venita."

Venita eyed her with displeasure, "Where are my brothers?" She asked without responding to her greeting.

"Jax stepped out, and I’ve not seen Chad all morning. I assume he’s still sleeping," Mari said, and both ladies exchanged a look.

"So you’re alone right now?" Venita asked without a smirk.

Sensing that they were up to no good, Mari smiled, "Yes, I am. But if I were you I wouldn’t try anything stupid. Do not let my glasses confuse you. I’ll beat you both to a pulp and there’s nothing anyone can do about it."

"Is that so?" Venita asked with a sweet smile.

"Why would you think we want to do anything to you? We are just here to chill. I have no energy for any of that. My doctor said I have to take things easy," Diva said, walking past Mari to the kitchen. "I smell pancakes. Can I have some?" She asked over her shoulders.

"Sure," Mari called back as she followed Diva while Venita took their bags upstairs.

"So, how are things going between you and Jax? Have you been able to get him in bed?" Diva asked conversationally as bit from a piece of pancake.

Mari looked at Diva, trying to figure out the intention behind the question. Without responding she shrugged.

"I guess you haven’t," Diva said with a mocking smile. "After bragging so much you weren’t even able to get him to have sex with you. Tsk tsk tsk."

Mari gave a self deprecating laugh. "I suppose I misjudged him. I failed," Mari lied, still wanting to know what Diva was up to.

Diva sighed heavily. "Did Jax ever tell you about us? How we started?"

Mari shook her head. "No."

"I guess he can’t. Jax chased me for a really long time before I finally agreed to be with him. He was so hopelessly in love with me it hurt to watch him. He’d wait outside my lecture halls to see me, and...."

"Jax loved you that much?" Mari asked, surprised to hear that.

"Yeah. I suppose he couldn’t tell you that. You see the way he treats me now, right? Jax is one of those types that loses interest in a lady after getting what he wants. He told me he wanted to be my boyfriend but after we had sex he withdrew and decided he wanted us to be friends with benefits instead. By then I’d fallen foolishly in love with him. We’ve been breaking up on and off for the past three years," Diva sighed dramatically.

Mari said nothing as she looked at Diva, wondering how much of the story she could believe and how much was crap.

"You realize I’m the one chasing Jax right now, not the other way around, right?" Mari asked, and Diva shrugged.

"I just wanted you to know about us, that’s all. If he hasn’t fallen it’s probably because he loves the idea of being chased. Friendly advice, girl to girl; be careful with your heart around him, else you’re going to fall hard and you will get hurt. Don’t be surprised if we make up again soon. He might just be using you to make me jealous. He’s done it before," Diva said as she rose to leave.

"Thanks for the advice," Mari said with a sweet smile.

"You’re welcome," Diva flashed her a smile before walking away.

If Jax was the kind of person she was trying to paint him to be they’d have had sex by now and be long done with it.

Shortly after Diva disappeared upstairs, the door opened and Jax walked in.

This time Mari didn’t go out to welcome him. He walked into the kitchen, and raised a brow when he saw her by the cooker busy making Omelet.

"I thought you said you couldn’t cook?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him.

"I said I wasn’t a very good cook. I can cook. I just don’t expect my meal to win any awards," Mari said as she watched Jax approach her.

Jax watched her face as he approached. "I saw Diva’s car outside. I guess she’s here with Venita. Did you talk to them?"

Mari nodded. "Yes. I did. And I threatened to beat them both to a pulp if they tried anything silly with me."

Jax’s lips twitched. He didn’t doubt that she could. Venita had never learned to fight because she had two brothers to protect her, and Diva was too busy trying to look pretty to worry about such a thing.

"I guess they believed you and that’s why they left you alone," Jax said and Mari shrugged.

"Sit and I’ll serve breakfast this time. But don’t expect me to do the dishes. I absolutely hate that," she said, making him laugh.

As they both sat to eat, Mari looked at Jax. "You never told me how you and Diva started your relationship...."

Jax groaned. "Oh, Lord! Are we going to talk about her now again? We’ve been doing so well since she left, and now we’re back to that because she’s back?"

"You can either tell me the truth about your relationship with her or I can believe whatever lies she tells me about you. It’s up to you," Mari said with a shrug.

Jax raised a brow. "What did she tell you?"

"That you were very much in love with her and used to wait outside her lecture halls," Mari said, and Jax winced when he remembered doing that.

"Yeah. You could say I simped a lot for her," he admitted.

"You did?" Mari asked, finding it hard to picture that. How could he go from simping to not caring at all and talking to Diva the way he did?

Jax nodded. "Yeah. That was a very long time ago, though."

"Was she the person you said you were in love with?" Mari asked, and he shook his head.

"No. My relationship with Diva was pretty complicated. I tried getting her attention for a long time but she wouldn’t look my way. She was like the most popular girl in high school. Even Venita was flattered when Diva asked her to join their clique. Diva began to show interest in me when I..." he trailed off, realizing he was about to let what he did slip.

"When you what?" Mari asked curiously.

Jax shrugged. "When I started to make lots of money. And even then, she said we should be friends with benefits. She had lots of admirers and I guess she didn’t want to be stuck with just me when she had lots of options."

Mari’s brows pulled together. "She asked to be your fuck buddy? Not the other way round?"

Who was telling the truth between them? She wondered.

"I just told you I loved her. Why would I want her to be my friend with benefits? Was that what she told you? That it was my idea?" Jax asked with a frown.

Mari nodded. "Yes."

Jax massaged his temple. "So, what? You believe her?"

Mari watched him, "I’m not cut out for any drama, Jax..."

Jax let out a resigned sigh and cut in before she could finish, "You always thought I was a jerk anyway, so I’m sure you’d naturally take her word over mine."

"I just want to know two things. Are you using me to get her jealous right now? Do you have plans of getting back together with her?"

"If that were the case would I reject your offer of being your fuck buddy? Would I ask that we get to know each other some more because I want you to be in love with me? Would I risk hurting you when I have such a close relationship with your parents? I’ve only had sex with one person all my life and that’s Diva. But I’m done with that. I wanted something real with her but she didn’t at the time, but after I moved on, her feelings changed. I’m not going back to her. That ship has sailed. I have no reason to want to use you to get her jealous when I’ve not even thought of her for a second since she left here. You’re the one I want.... Why are you grinning?" Jax asked with a frown when he saw her wide smile.

"That’s the longest I’ve heard you speak. You should catch your breath. You look winded. You know I could talk for that long and not even break a sweat."

Jax glared at her. "I thought we were having a serious conversation?"

"Were we? I’ve gotten the response I needed. Let’s move on. We have more important things to talk about than Diva’s mischievous attempt to cause trouble between us."