As they continued their conversation, suddenly a group of guys walked into the diner. They were loud and they smelled like beer. They sat at the counter. One of them, a guy in a dirty baseball cap, turned around and looked at Isabella. He whistled.
"Hey, pretty girl!" the guy yelled. "Why are you sitting with that loser? Come over here and sit with some real men."
Isabella froze. she didn't like conflict. She looked at Jaxson.
Jaxson's face changed. He didn't look handsome anymore; he looked scary. His jaw was very tight and his eyes were like ice. He stood up slowly. He was so tall that he hovered over the table.
"What did you say?" Jaxson asked. His voice was very low and dangerous.
The guy in the cap laughed. He stood up too, but he was much shorter than Jaxson. "I said she should be with us. You got a problem with that, tough guy?"
Jaxson didn't say anything. He just walked over to the guy. He grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up so his feet were dangling off the floor.
"If you ever look at her again," Jaxson growled, "I will break every bone in your body. Do you understand me?"
The guy's friends didn't move. They looked scared. The guy in the cap nodded quickly. "Okay! Okay! Put me down!"
Jaxson dropped him. The guy fell onto the floor. He scrambled up and ran out of the diner with his friends. The whole diner was quiet. Everyone was staring at Jaxson.
Jaxson walked back to the booth and sat down. He took a sip of his coffee like nothing had happened. His hands weren't even shaking.
"Jaxson," Isabella whispered. "That was... intense."
"No one talks to you like that," he said. He reached out and touched her face. His hand was steady. "I protect what is mine, Isabella. You need to remember that."
Isabella felt a mix of fear and excitement. She had never had a man defend her like that before. It made her feel special. It made her feel like she was in a movie.
The burgers came out and they ate in silence for a while. The food was greasy and delicious. When they were finished, Jaxson paid the bill with a hundred-dollar bill and told Patty to keep the change.
"Let's go," he said. "I want to show you my apartment."