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Alex groans to herself as she pulls a denim skirt up her long legs, tightening a black leather belt around her waist. She tucks a black Ozzy Osbourne into her waistband, adding a few pieces of jewelry with her sneakers, putting her hair in a lazy shoulder braid. She's decided to go to this Taste of Charming thing.

She huffs as she grabs her purse and slings it over her shoulder then heads down to her truck.

"What're you doing here?" Opie says as he hops out of his own truck.

"Bitin' the bullet. Takin' the high road. Bein' the bigger person."

"With who?"

"Uh, Gemma, I think." He laughs as he drapes his arm around her shoulders, his leather cut crinkling at the motion. "Just makin' an appearance." He leans down and kisses her temple as she reaches up and twists her fingers with his. "Donna!"

"Alex? Is that you?" The petite brunette laughs as she hugs her best friend from high school. "How long has it been?"

"Too long." Alex ducks out from under Opie to walk around with Donna.

"So how's it been?"

"It's been somethin." She laughs. "I just got back like a month ago and it's been very eventful."

The two sit at a picnic table. "Tell me everything." Alex tells her pieces of the truth. "Are you and Ope back together?"

"I don't know." Her eyes flicker to the tall outlaw and bites her lip, her sight shifting to the blonde next to him. "Jax has made a reappearance in my life."

"No way." Her jaw drops. "You're not doing them both are you?" The look on Alex's face says it all. "I thought you said you felt so guilty that you couldn't look at either of them again."

"Yeah." She snorts. "I also said I wasn't gonna get arrested again." She shakes her head. "What do I do, Donna?"

"Choose one. The one that made you second guess yourself less. The one that made you laugh and smile the most. The one that makes you feel pretty..." Alex zones out as she watches Jax joke around with the Prospect and Ope. "Are you listening?"

"Huh?" She blushes hard as she pulls out her Camel Blue 99's from her purse and lights up. "They're both great guys."

"Do they know about each other?"

"Jax does but I dunno 'bout Ope. God I feel so..." she scrunches her face up trying to think of the right adjective.

"Icky? Slimy? Creepy?"

"Sycophantic." She exhales her smoke. "And with the way things ended all those years ago I can't deal with that again-"

"But you are right now. Running away to Alabama won't help."

"That's where you're wrong. When I was livin' in 'Bama, I wasn't even thinkin about Charmin'."

"You sound ridiculous!" Donna teases her, covering her mouth as she laughs.

"What's so funny?" Jax asks as he joins them.

"She sounds so goofy with a hillbilly accent."

"It's endearin'." Jax snickers under his breath earning a smack to the chest. "Y'all missed me, admit it."

"No no, we missed Alexandrea, not this yee haw imposter." Donna pokes her in the arm. "I'm gonna grab something to drink." She excuses herself from the table.

"You do sound funny." Jax mumbles, fiddling with the rings on his fingers. "But it's kinda sexy. Say more southern things." He breathes into her ear capturing it between his lips.

"Oh, shut up." Alex elbows him away with a small smile before standing. "Where's your momma? I gotta show her I'm here."

"No you don't. Just enjoy-"

"Jax, that woman thinks so lowly of me." Alex fiddles with the chunky chain around her neck, her lit cigarette hanging from her lips. "She shits on me every chance she gets."

"Why do you care what she thinks? You've never cared before." He squeezes her shoulder.

"Because Jax!" She stands and flicks her cigarette away. "I don't know. I don't care what people think of be but this woman- this woman just gets so far under my skin I just-" He wraps his arms around her to calm her down.

It surprisingly works.

Alex swallows hard as she sits back down. "I should go. I need to go."

"Oh, you don't know what you're talking about." He puts his arm around her shoulders. "Just hang out with us for a few hours. Donna obviously missed talking to you." He nods to the small woman talking to Ope. "They look nice together."

"People said that about us and look at what happened." She rolls her eyes as they start walking toward the police booth.

"What can I get you two love birds?" Unser asks with an apron tied about his waist. "We've got chili and hot dogs-"

"A hot dog sounds great." She gives Jax a look that has him biting his lip. "Make that two."

"So, Miss Miller, are you staying out of trouble?" Unser asks as he hands them their dogs.

"So far but the day is young." She smiles at him. "Thank you, sir." She hands him two dollars then walks away.

"Follow me." Jax grips her hand as he practically drags her to the furthest baseball field, directing her into the dugout. He sets their food on the wood shelf bolted to the wall before he captures her lips in a demanding kiss.

"Here?"

"You've never said no to it before." He says as he tugs on her belt. "Unless you actually don't want to-" she puts her hand over his mouth, pushing him to sit on the dusty bench. She pulls her skirt up and his jeans down a little before they end up fucking. They have to keep shushing each other as she rolls her hips on his lap. She comes with a squeaking moan, falling against his chest as she tries to catch her breath. "You're so fucking hot." He pants, gripping her hips.

"You're never a disappointment." She tugs her skirt down, tucking her shirt into her waistband while Jax tightens his belt.

"Is Ope not good?" She bites her lip in response. "He isn't, is he." Jax chuckles putting a cigarette to his lips. "Wow."

"It's not that he's bad it's just..." she pulls at loose threads on her skirt. "He's not you." Her eyes flicker to his, a blush coloring her flushed cheeks.

"You got that right." She rolls her eyes and hits him in the chest. "You should stay with me tonight."

"I don't know if that's a good idea-"

"C'mon. You've been back for a month and haven't let loose."

"I've been arrested. I think that's as loose as I'm lettin it." Jax smiles at her accent.

"Just think about it. You know where I'll be." He seems to be back to normal after that night where he came over close to tears.

She'll probably never know what happened.

"Fine."

"Fine you'll think about it? Or fine you'll go?"

"Fine I'll go." He laughs and pulls her against his side. "You're lucky I'm off tomorrow."

"Yeah like that would've made a difference." He stands and takes her hand.

"You better have alcohol."

"Always do." His arm moves around her shoulders. "And I also have bud."

"I haven't smoked Cali grass since high school."

"What a loser."

"Hey!" She elbows him in the side. "The grass they had in Bama was so shitty but if it wasn't shitty, it was laced." Jax laughs hard, doubling over with his hands on his knees. "What?"

"I can't picture you high off like four different drugs."

"It was no field trip."

He laughs again. "It's not laced, I promise." He kisses her cheek.

"There you are." Gemma says to Jax. "Bobby and Tig have been looking for you." She eyes the marks on her sons neck.

"Shit." Jax pulls away from the two women to find his brothers.

"I didn't think you'd show up." Gemma says, her hands on her hips.

"I'm full of surprises, Emma." She sighs, looking around as she pulls a cigarette from her pack. "Place looks good."

"This is what hard work looks like." Alex rolls her eyes. "Ope's been looking for you."

"Thank god. I thought I'd be stuck here with you forever." Gemma scoffs as she walks away. "Hey Ope."

"Hey." He smiles at her. "What do you think of Donna?"

"I love her. Why?"

"I'm gonna ask her on a date." Alex's face breaks into a grin.

"Y'all'll really hit it off." She nods. "Y'know she had a crush on you in high school."

"Really?" A smile pulls on his lips but it quickly disappears when he looks past her.

"What? You okay?" She turns and looks at the crowd. "Who's that?" She nods at a taller guy talking to Gemma.

"His name is Kyle." Opie huffs, clenching his jaw. "He was bumped from the club a couple months after you left."

There's only been a couple people who've been kicked out; her old man being one of them and Kyle being the other.

Alex's hand rests on his forearm with her other on his back. Kyle glances over at them and immediately looks away. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit." She crosses her arms as she looks up at him. "Go for it with Donna." She leans up and kisses his cheek. "I'm gonna get something to drink."

On her way to a beverage booth, she's stopped by tons of people to say hi to her. She didn't realize her absence would make this big of an impact on the community. Everyone knows her as the girl who's always in trouble, even if she wasn't actually in trouble.

Alex bumps into someone. "Shit, I'm sorry." She turns and sees a familiar man. "Oh my god, David?"

"Uh, yeah." He looks up. "Alex?" They share a laugh and a hug.

Jax comes around the corner of the parking lot and sees the two embracing each other. He feels something in his chest that hurts.

Jealousy?

Jealousy.

He watches the two interact and laugh. His sight shifts to Opie talking to Donna and smiles to himself. Ope's always kind of had a thing for Donna but refused to admit it because of his relationship with Alex.

Jax leans against the cement wall with a lit cigarette between his lips as he watches everyone. He makes his way down to the crowd when Hale and Alex walk away from each other. "What was that about?"

"What was what about?" She asks as she hands the lady behind the table cash.

"You and Hale."

She chuckles quietly. "Just friends catching up, Jax." She watches him step his cigarette out as he exhales a cloud of smoke. "Are you jealous?" She teases.

"I don't care what you do because we're not together." Alex's smile falls slightly.

Ouch.

He's not wrong but that stings.

Alex gives a weak chuckle, walking off to Donna. "What do you think of Ope?" She whispers, leaning back against the wall next to her friend.

"He seems nice, cute." She hides a slight blush behind her plastic cup. "What was going on with you and Jax? He looks pissed."

"Isn't he always." She sighs heavily. "I'm getting outta here." The sight of a bloodied Ope catches her eye. "Dude-"

"It's nothing." Opie cuts her off as he snags her water bottle from her to dampen a paper towel to wipe his face off. She watches Kyle exit the gym next, matching wounds on his face. Alex elbows Donna to grab a first aid kit. "Just catching up."

"You can't hide this forever, Hank." Alex whispers to him, snagging the wet paper towel from him to properly clean up the cuts.

"It's none of your business, Lexa." His voice is low and laced with anger. "He's a fucking idiot." Alex grips his shoulder and shoves him to sit on the ground kneeling next to him. She grabs his jaw and moves his head into the light. "There's something you don't know."

"Here." Donna hands her the small red box.

"Can you get ice, please?" She looks up at her friend who nods and walks away. "Spill."

"When you were gone," he takes in a sharp breath. "I was in prison."

"What!?" He claps a hand over her mouth. "What the hell? Why?" She's now sitting on his lap as she uses an alcohol pad to wipe away any blood and germs before she commits to putting bandages on his face.

"Long story short: he's a bitch who can't handle the cops."

"Gimme the long version." Opie tells her about the time Kyle was supposed to be his getaway when he blew up a building but the bitch had dipped when he heard sirens, leaving Opie at the scene of the crime to take the fall and punishment; five years in prison. "Holy shit."

"He got kicked out."

"Good. That's such an asshole-y thing to do." He rolls his eyes. "Quit moving." Donna hands Opie an ice pack. Alex takes his hand and pushes it up for him to hold the ice against his eye. "You don't need stitches, thank god."

"What the hell happened to you?" Jax asks from behind the trio.

"Just catching up with my man Kyle." Alex chuckles as she stands, tossing her trash into a nearby trash can. "Miss Miller saved my life."

"Oh shut up." She slips her hand into her back pocket. "Just took care of his cuts and shit." Jax leans his elbow on her shoulder. "Hey y'know what would be fun?"

"Huh?" Ope asks as he stands.

"Us four getting together tonight."

"Really?" Donna asks, looking at the trio.

"I'm mean assuming all y'all are free-"

"Hell yeah. We can go back to the clubhouse."

"Or we can just go to my place which is above a bar."

"Whatever, I'm in." Ope says, nodding at Alex. "I just have to set off some fireworks."

"My place then." Alex gives Jax a shit eating grin. "See y'all later."

She excuses herself and heads to her truck, Jax following behind. "What's up?"

"Bud?"

"Bud." She smiles back at him, hopping into her lifted vehicle. "See you later." He waves to her as she speeds off.

There's a sudden pair of hands that hit his chest making him jump and stumble back. "Shit, you scared me. What's up?"

"What's later?"

"We're all hanging out; me, Ope, Drea and Donna."

"I don't like you hanging out with that girl."

"I'm twenty six, mom. I can make my own decisions."

"But I'm your mother and you're my baby. I'm gonna look out for you until I'm dead and cold."

"I'll be fine." He stuffs his hands in his pockets. "I gotta get going anyway." He gives his mom a kiss before he heads to his bike, speeding off to St. Thomas to see his ex-fiancé Wendy Case.