The Corruption of Mila by J.F. Jenkins Page A

lot.
    I nodded, hoping that his nerves would pass and he'd take a chill pill soon. “That's me, and you're Jax.”
    “Y-yeah.”
    I'm pretty sure my smile twitched a little when he said it. “Nice to meet you.” Nice was not the kind of meeting I wanted to have.

Chapter Two
     
    “So how do you know Morgan?” Jax asked as he looked over the drink menu. I did the same, taking in the list of jazzy alcoholic beverages, and more importantly, their prices. Let me just say, I've seen meals cost less than those drinks, and I'm not talking about fast food.
    I glanced at him and saw how furrowed his brow was, like he was having a hard time reading the thing. “We've been best friends since, like, birth? People thought we were twins for a while. Morgan and Mila, three days apart and everything.”
    “I can see why people would think that. You even look a little alike.”
    He gave me a small smile and then shook his head. “I should have remembered that. She mentioned it to me.” The frown he wore on his face after he said it suggested this was a big deal. It wasn't, not by a long shot.
    “And what about you?” I asked. “Morgan mentioned you worked with her, but she didn't tell me if you were close or acquaintances.”
    Jax's face softened. “We go to church together too. Actually, that was how we met before working together. During college, I joined her church and we clicked. I got her the job over at Gizmo Help. She's amazing at it, and I knew it would be a perfect fit for her. We hang out about once a week.”
    “So… you're pretty close,” I said.
    For whatever reason, that information shocked me more than I expected. Morgan had never mentioned him to me before. Of course, we don't talk about the church side of her life all too much. Why? Because I'm not the religious type, and most of it isn't anything I care to hear. All it does is remind me about the different planets Morgan and I live on sometimes. In the past, it's caused a great deal of drama in our relationship. Once upon a time, Morgan tried to convert me to her pure elitist ways. I call them elitist because any time I do anything she doesn't approve of she gives me a look that reminds me all too much of my mother. Don't get me wrong, we respect each other enough where she no longer is trying to push me toward “the light” and I'm no longer telling her she's part of a cult, but we still have a lot of differences. Where I think she needs to get out and live more, she thinks I need to settle down. Jax being a church boy was red flag number two for the night. If he and Morgan went to church together, chances were he would do a lot of the same things she had – primarily push.
    He shrugged and when the waitress came to take our drinks, he ordered a soda. Another flag went up for me. The guy wasn't drinking. Maybe it meant nothing, but maybe it meant a lot too. His blue eyes were fixed on me as I struggled with what to order.
    “Martini,” I finally said. He smiled, so that was some comfort for me.
    “I'm a root beer aficionado,” he said with a small shrug.
    “Cool,” I said with a nod and discreetly pulled my phone from out of my purse and sent a text to Morgan.
    'You didn't tell me he was a total nerd.'
    Jax looked around the restaurant. “Have you ever been here before?”
    I shook my head. “Can't say I have. When do we order our food or whatever?”
    “You don't. The food comes to you.” He held up a small cardboard token. One side was green and the other was red. I had one as well, come to think of it. “When you're ready to eat, you put it on the green side. Then people come from all over offering everything under the sun. Unless you want to go to the salad bar.”
    “Can't say I've ever been a fan of salad. It's not all too filling,” I said, running the token through my fingers as I inspected it. My phone had a reply from Morgan on it. I carefully clicked it open.
    'He's not a nerd. He's sweet. Something you could use. And cute!'
    Jax