A New Kind of Beginning

The first thing Grace noticed when she woke up was the warmth. The soft pressure of Jax's arm around her waist, his body curled against hers. She hadn't expected to sleep so soundly, but there they were, tangled up together in the morning light.

Her mind was still hazy from sleep, but something felt... different. Something felt right.

Jax stirred beside her, his breathing still deep and steady. He shifted a little, his hand accidentally brushing against her side, causing her heart to flutter.

She couldn't help but smile, despite the nerves building in her stomach. There was something so comforting about being here, like everything had fallen into place without her even realizing it.

But just as she was starting to relax into the moment, the sound of a doorbell ringing echoed through the apartment. Grace froze, her smile slipping as her eyes darted toward the door.

Jax groaned, clearly not yet awake. "Who the hell is that at this hour?"

Grace sat up a little, trying to untangle herself from the sheets. "Maybe you should check. Could be important."

Jax sighed, rubbing his eyes as he reached for his phone on the nightstand. He checked the screen, then groaned again. "It's my mom."

Grace blinked. "Your mom?"

"Yeah." Jax ran a hand through his messy hair. "She probably wants to talk about business stuff. She doesn't have the best timing."

Before Grace could say anything, Jax was already getting out of bed, looking more than a little frustrated. She stayed sitting there, unsure of what to do. It felt so... strange to be in his space like this. Especially knowing that they were no longer just pretending. It was real.

She heard Jax greet his mom as he opened the door, and seconds later, footsteps echoed toward the bedroom.

"Jax?" came his mother's voice, cheerful as ever. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I wanted to discuss—oh." Her voice faltered when she stepped into the room and saw Grace sitting on the bed.

Grace's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly pulled the covers a little higher up, feeling a strange rush of embarrassment. It was too soon for this. They hadn't even had the chance to talk about what this meant.

Jax, standing awkwardly near the door, cleared his throat. "Mom, we need to talk."

His mother raised an eyebrow, her eyes flicking between the two of them. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know something had changed. "About what?" she asked, her voice turning sharper.

Grace swallowed, trying to remain calm, despite the awkwardness swelling up between them. "About... us."

Jax nodded, slowly walking over to the bed, standing beside Grace. "We're not pretending anymore," he said quietly.

There was a long pause, the room feeling unusually heavy. His mother didn't say anything at first, just staring at them both, a look of surprise—and maybe something else—crossing her face. Then she finally spoke.

"Not pretending?" She took a step forward, still studying them closely. "So, this is... real?"

Grace glanced at Jax, who met her gaze, his eyes filled with uncertainty but also hope. They hadn't really talked about what came next. They hadn't fully defined what this was. But right now, standing there, he looked at her like she was everything.

Grace nodded, her voice steady. "Yeah. It's real."

Jax's mother blinked and then smiled, the shift in her expression almost imperceptible. But there it was—a small, approving smile.

"Alright then," she said, her tone lightening. "I'm glad to see you two figured it out." She looked at Grace with a faint smile. "I've been waiting for this, you know."

Jax groaned. "You knew?"

His mother crossed her arms, smirking. "I'm not blind, Jax. You two had been walking around in denial for weeks. It was obvious."

Grace let out a nervous laugh. "We're still figuring it out."

Jax's mother chuckled softly. "That's all anyone can do. Well... now that you've got that sorted, I'll leave you to it." She gave them both a knowing look before turning to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she paused. "Oh, and Jax?"

He looked up at her.

"Don't keep her waiting too long," she added with a wink, closing the door behind her.

Jax stared at the door for a moment, then slowly turned back to Grace, his expression softening.

"Well... that was unexpected," Grace said, trying to break the silence.

Jax chuckled and sat down next to her, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, that's my mom for you. Always knows what's going on."

Grace looked at him, the nerves slowly fading. "So... what now?"

Jax met her gaze, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Now? I guess we just figure it out... together."

She smiled back, the weight of the uncertainty still there, but the tension easing. There was a lot to sort out, but for the first time in a long time, Grace felt like maybe, just maybe, they could make this work.

Jax stared at the door for a moment, processing his mother's unexpected arrival. Grace, still sitting on the edge of the bed, felt the awkwardness slowly creeping back into the room. But then, as Jax sank down beside her, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"That was... something," he muttered, not really meeting Grace's eyes.

She chuckled lightly, trying to ease the tension. "You didn't expect that, did you?"

"No, not at all." He shook his head, his eyes now meeting hers. "It's just... my mom's never been subtle. And she has this way of knowing everything before anyone else does."

Grace raised an eyebrow. "So, you didn't call her?"

Jax hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, no, but... she's got this sixth sense. She must have figured something out after the other day. She probably came over to 'check in' on me—make sure I wasn't making a mess of things."

Grace blinked. "She came here just to... check on you?"

Jax nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah. She's been trying to play matchmaker for ages. Always thought I was too stubborn to admit when something real was happening."

Grace's mind raced for a moment. "And... you didn't tell her?"

He let out a short laugh. "I didn't know what to say. I thought I could keep it to myself for a little longer, but... she always finds a way to make things her business."

The air felt thick again, but this time, it wasn't as uncomfortable. Grace couldn't help but smile at how his mom had been so blunt, just walking right in with no hesitation. Jax's family dynamic was starting to make more sense now—his mother was involved in his life in a way that seemed more hands-on than Grace had expected.

After a few seconds, she turned to him. "So, now that she knows... what do we do?"

Jax met her gaze, his smile softening. "Now... I guess we just move forward. We figure out what we want—no more pretending."

Before Grace could respond, there was another knock at the door.

Jax groaned. "I swear, she's not done yet."

But when Jax opened the door, it wasn't his mom again. Standing in the doorway was the last person Grace expected to see: Damon.

"Didn't I leave already?" Damon asked, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, well, my mom's a lot to handle," Jax muttered, stepping aside so Damon could come in.

Damon grinned and walked into the room. He took one look at Grace, who was still sitting on the bed, and raised an eyebrow. "So, this is the real deal then?" he asked, his tone teasing.

Jax shot him a glare. "I didn't ask you to come back here."

Damon ignored him, focusing on Grace instead. "Well, congratulations. I guess you've managed to tame Jax after all."

Grace rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon said, grinning as he leaned against the doorframe. "Just remember, I'm the one who called it first."

Jax groaned, clearly over the whole situation. "Can we all just... move past the jokes, please?"

Grace laughed, shaking her head. "Well, at least we're all being honest now, right?"

Damon smirked. "I wouldn't go that far, but yeah. Looks like things are finally out in the open."

Jax exhaled, turning to Grace with a softer expression. "For the record, I wasn't hiding anything from you. I just didn't want to complicate things. But now... well, we don't have to hide."

Grace's heart skipped at his words. "And you're sure about this?"

Jax nodded, his hand reaching out to gently take hers. "Yeah. I'm sure."

It felt like a weight had been lifted from both their shoulders. They didn't have to keep pretending anymore. No more doubts, no more playing games. What had started out as a lie was now something real.

"I'm not gonna mess this up," Jax said softly, his voice steady.

Grace smiled, squeezing his hand. "I know you won't."