Chapter 1
The intercom buzzes just as Jaxon is putting snacks and sodas out on his kitchen island. On the way to answer the intercom, he clicks the tv on and turns it to the correct channel. He has his “Walking Horde “watch party system down pat. His all-timefavorite zombie show is on tonight. About fucking time, I have been waiting all week, he thinks to himself. What makes it better is that in the last few years, a group naturally hangs at his apartment to watch it with him.
He holds down the button of the intercom with a roll of the eyes and askes “Cutting it a little close this week, guys?”
“I’m sorry, Bro!” A frantic Greg exclaims. “I brought pizza!”
As if that makes it ok to be late, Jaxon thinks to himself.Ok, I did spend a lot of time at the gym earlier so I can afford to carb load.
“Ok, you’re forgiven.” Jaxon says as he buzzes them in.Greg has been his best friend since middle school. The friendship blossomed due to their shared interests and character. For example, they both care about their own image, they love sports, and gory tv shows. They are both also very undriven and neither went to college. The most effort they put in is taking care of their bodies; they practically sleep at the gym. Jaxon and Greg always had a system when it came to being each other’s wing men. In their minds, no women can withstand their charm.
A couple of minutes later, at least a half a dozen people piled in with Greg bringing up the rear with a stack of pizzas in his hands. When he plops them on the kitchen island, he wipes a bead of sweat off his forehead with his shirt sleeve.
Jaxon notices the action and says with a smirk, “Getting out of shape, Bro? Carrying pizzas up the stairs too much for you? If you spent more time at the gym with me, I could whip you into shape.”
That earned Jaxon a glare from Greg who rebuttals, “Carrying anything up five flights of stairs is a workout, and these guys are piping hot! Besides, when is the landlord FINALLY going to fix that elevator?”
“He is probably never going to. He doesn’t even care. You know how many things around here I requested repairs on? He just says he ‘will get around to it.’” As Jaxon finishes his air quotes, Chloe grabs one of his hands and leads him to the couch.Greg notices the action and rolls his eyes. Then he grabs a drink and sits in the adjacent recliner facing the tv.
“Either you two get a room so that the rest of us aren’t uncomfortable or sit down and watch. It’s about to start! Right?” She bats her long eyelashes at Jaxon as she pulls him down next to her on his old corduroy couch. Chloe is a very beautiful girl. She has a petite figure with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Jaxon has noticed. He just doesn’t see her that way. They have been friends since she started at the store a couple of years ago. He just sees her as a close friend, but romantically speaking, she’s completely friend zoned. But he can’t fault her for trying and he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t like the attention. He’s just not interested in her that way. Even if he may want a “onetime thing” with her, Jaxon and Greg have a strict rule about dating in the workplace: “You don’t shit where you eat.”
“I have a question for you, Jax,” Chloe leans in and whispers conspiratorially in his ear. Jaxon is biting into a slice of pizza while watching the opening scene of the show, only half listening to her.
“Mmhmm?” He hums still not breaking eye contact with the screen.
“You know that local band that you and I like? They are playing at this place next week-”
“Yeah! Send me the info! If you don’t mind, it’s starting.”
Greg practically squirts his beer out of his nose as he tries to hold in his laughter. Chloe glares at him and asked, “What? Why is that funny?!”
“I’m sorry, Chlo,” Greg says as he tries to get his composure while wiping his eyes and beer off his face. “You know how grandpa gets when you interrupt his stories.”
“First, I am only a few months older than you,” Jaxon says while still watching the screen. “Second, I can’t exactly record this. It’s on basic cable! Hard enough to hear over your bickering.”
“Jax, it’s just rehashing last week’s episode,” Clark says lounging on the recliner opposite Greg. “I think we all remember what happened.”
“Clark, maybe we do, but you fall asleep halfway through the show each week,” Greg jabs at him.
“Hey, I have to start work at 5:30 in the FUCKING morning every day! The fish department won’t open itself,” Clark has made this argument almost every week.
Noah, another coworker yells from the kitchen. “Speaking of which, Clark did you even take a shower before coming here? Or Jax, did you stick a salmon down the garbage disposal a week ago?”
Clark throws an empty can at him and yells, “Shut the fuck up!”
“Ok, boys, it’s time to focus,” Chloe scolds. She turns and rubs Jax’ arm up and down sensually. “It will upset Jax if we don’t watch the show.” Jaxon looks down at where she’s rubbing his bicep, looks at her, then looks back at the screen. Did not even spare a word.
Clark leans forward with his hands on his knees and studies them with a smirk on his face. Greg is leaning back casually with one ankle draped over his other knee. He pouts back at Chloe and says, “Oh, we wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”
The guys around the room hysterically laugh at the comment, except for Jax of course. Chloe sticks her tongue out at Greg and turns to the tv. They settle in and focus on the show as they delve into the drinks and food. It was a particularly graphic episode and a major character died. When the credits roll, the tension is broken by Clark’s snoring.
Jaxon stands up abruptly and yells, “How could they make such a fucking stupid mistake?!” His exclamation jolts Clarkfrom his slumber, and his chair tips backward. The giant thudsound from Clark’s large frame hitting the floor, and low groan right after, didn’t even break Jaxon’s focus. “That character died because they were too weak to put down someone with a bite on their arm. They weren’t going to make it anyway! Now that decision cost more lives!”
Laughing, Noah runs over to Clark and pulls him off the ground. Both amused by Jaxon’s ranting and raving. Chloe is still sitting on the couch, but she is watching Jaxon talk as if he was the next prophet.
“Mmhmm, it’s basic biology,” She dutifully agrees while her eyes trail down his body from his face down to his waist. The tone of her voice comes out a little breathy. “They all know that once bitten, there’s no saving them, so what’s the motivation?”
Greg snorts and rolls his eyes after watching her body language, which earned him another glare from Chloe. Jaxon just nods along with her words. Shortly after, mostly everyone left except for Greg, who stayed to help clean up.
“Dude, she really likes you. Don’t you see it?”
Jaxon sweeps the garbage off the coffee table into a giant trash bag in one fluid motion and then looks over his shoulderwith a self-centered smirk at a frustrated Greg. “Well, what’s not to like?”
“I’m serious. She’s practically throwing herself at you.”
“I’m aware. But I’m not planning on pursuing anything with her. We are just hanging out, just friends. Rules are rules, right?”
“But does she know you are just friends?” Greg asks while cleaning the counter. “You seem to be enjoying her constant babying so you’re not exactly denying her the possibility. Is that even fair to her? Just be honest. For all our sakes! It’s kind of hard to watch.”
Oh Greg, forever the white angel on my shoulder. “Is it really that hard to be around us when we are like that?”
“A little. We should just be a friends’ group hanging out. That behavior is…. complicating things.”
“Wouldn’t turning her down also complicate things?”
“Well, maybe a little, but you’re just being stagnate. You’re not openly hitting on her, but you’re not exactly declining her advances either. It’s just…vague, which leaves you open to interpretation. You’re gonna’ have to rip the band aid off at some point. The sooner the better.” That got Jaxon thinking. The reason why we have this rule is to avoid awkwardness in the workplace and if I don’t do anything, she’s going to be hurt. He doesn’t want to hurt Chloe nor more than he wants to waste her time. She could move on to someone else that can make her happy. Who is he to get in the way of that? How could I be so selfish? He thought to himself. It made him toss and turn until Midnight that night before sleep finally took him.
