AN: This AU story's been banging around in my head for a while - first influenced by my favorite Julia Quinn novel and then randomly hearing that oldie, but goody "My Best Friend's Girl" by the Cars. Well now here it is…it'll be longer than my usual one shots but much shorter than TRD/TRD2.

All belongs to Sutter except my brain & the chapter titles (which belong to Ric Ocasek)

The Real Surprise

The first time Jax ever heard about Tara Knowles, she pissed him off…and she wasn't even there. He'd been fifteen and excited as hell that his best friend was finally back in town for a weekend visit - Opie's first trip back to Charming since his parents split, and his mom dragged him away to live with her in Rio Vista. But to Jax's surprise and teeth-gritting annoyance, Ope didn't seem to give a fuck about Harleys or SAMCRO any more - all he could talk about was his new girlfriend, who apparently was the most beautiful girl in the universe. Jax had rolled his eyes and called bullshit; there was no way some fifteen-year-old high school girl - especially one on the fucking honor roll - could remotely compare to the superhot croweaters they had at the Clubhouse. No fucking way.

Listening to Opie yammer on about Tara this and Tara that every time he came to visit that summer had not only bored Jax shitless, it'd had scared him too. Opie's always been the guy who'd fall hard for a girl…for about a month, then he'd move on. But not this time; Jax's never seen his best friend this batshit crazy about anyone - and that could be bad fucking news. Before leaving town with his mom, Opie had promised that he'd keep harping on Mary to let him move back to Charming when he turned sixteen so that he and Jax could Prospect together and patch-in at the same time. What if Opie decided to bail on their plan and stay in Rio Vista with Little Miss Straight A's? Could Jax be ruthless enough to break them up so that Opie would come home and earn his patch and seat at the reaper table where they both belonged?

Fortunately, Jax didn't have to unleash his diabolical plans (which he really didn't have); Opie's brotherhood ties ran deep - as promised, he moved back in with Piney days before his sixteenth birthday so that the Club could vote him in as a Prospect. As expected, the vote was unanimous - just like Jax's was last month - and the Club's throwing them both a big party tomorrow night.

Everything should be fucking peachy except that his best friend's been moping around like a sulky bitch because Tara can't make it to the party; apparently she's going to some crazy-ass science camp in Berkeley instead. Seriously, what the fuck…Opie must've been really hard up in Rio Vista to think that shit's sexy.

Talk about sexy, holy fuck…Jax slides out from under the car he'd been working on to fixate on the most mouthwatering ass he's ever seen - attached to a pair of long, slim legs that would look fucking amazing wrapped around his waist. Quickly jumping to his feet, he wipes his hands on a rag then strides eagerly towards her - a grin lighting his face as he admires all that glossy dark brown hair spilling down her back. He can't wait to feel the silky strands brush against him as he fills his hands with those perfect, perky ass cheeks. Shit his dick's twitching, and he hasn't even seen her face yet.

Lightly tapping her on the shoulder, he summons his most helpful Boy Scout voice - relieved as hell that no one's around to laugh in his face at that bullshit. "Can I help you?"

She whirls around and flashes him a grateful smile…or slugs him in the head with a goddamn baseball bat - it's the same stunning, catastrophic effect on his senses. Sonofabitch. Since discovering the difference between a dick and a pussy, Jax's been all about the latter - he's seen and fucked more than his fair share of smoking hot babes who've practically lined up to service SAMCRO's heir apparent. But none of that action's ever prepared him for this…Standing in front of him now is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen - creamy skin that makes his fingers itch to touch her, plump rosy lips that sends his dick pressing hard against his fly, gorgeous mossy green eyes framed by thick black lashes that blasts his pulse into fucking overdrive…Christ.

"Thanks! I'm looking for…" Damn, she's even got the sexiest voice he's ever heard - clear, sweet, almost musical; not the deep, throaty smoker's rasp he's used to hearing from pretty much every chick he's met. Jax can't fucking wait to hear her gasp and scream and chant his name while he buries himself deep inside of her again and again for the rest of their lives. Oh fuck yeah, he'll be hanging on to this one for a while.

The microscopic part of his brain that's still functional barks at him to stop gawking at her like a dipshit - especially when he realizes that she's looking at him expectantly, apparently waiting for an answer to the question he didn't hear her ask because he'd been too caught up in his heart-pounding, happily-ever-after fuck fantasy.

Snapping out of this first-time-ever-crazy-as-shit mute fascination, Jax desperately scours his empty brain for something, anything to say and prove that he's not a complete fucking idiot - only to get struck dumb all over again by the blinding smile that spreads across her face. But before he can gather his scattered brain cells, she turns and sprints away from him...and into the arms of his best friend.

Jax knows he's got a short fuse, it's as much of a family flaw as CHD - but while he'd been spared the extreme heart problems that had plagued his mom and killed his little brother, Jax got a double dose of the hot Teller temper. Fortunately, he's gotten pretty good at keeping it in check - something he's had to master since he got his Prospect cut; otherwise he'd be fucking dead or in jail for beating the shit out one of his Brothers (likely Tig) when the hazing got to be more than he could handle.

But there's nothing, fucking nothing that could control the searing rage that explodes inside of him while he watches his girl (he mentally claimed her as his) laugh in delight as Opie spins her around.

"What are you doing here?" Jax hears Opie ask once he finally sets her down. "I thought you were headed to Berkeley."

Smiling, she wraps her arms around his waist. "I am…but I thought I'd stop by and see you on the way."

Opie chuckles before tapping her on the nose. "Wrong direction, sweetheart; Berkeley is west. But since I get to see you, I'm sure as hell not complaining."

Seething, Jax balls his hands into tight fists as Opie cups her face and kisses her soundly. It takes every ounce of control he's got not to race over there, knock out his best friend in the world, throw her over his shoulder and take off on his Harley. He knows it's fucking insane to react this way over a total stranger, but…

"Jax!" Opie finally notices him standing there and motions to him excitedly. "Come over here, I want you to meet someone."

He briefly considers pretending he didn't hear Opie yelling for him from a few feet away and disappearing into the garage. Surely there's a bottle of Jack in there somewhere. Instead he grits his teeth and stalks over to the happy couple, pasting a fake-as-hell friendly smile on his face.

After greeting his friend with a stiffer-than-usual man hug, Jax turns his attention to her, only to feel all the air rush out of his lungs as those green eyes twinkle up at him. Goddamn it, he's never had a hard time talking to girls - never - but something about this one turns him into a fucking shit-for-brains dork.

Opie doesn't seem to notice the bad-tempered shittyness rolling off Jax in waves. Instead he grins happily, tugging the most beautiful girl in the universe closer to him. "Jax, this is Tara…Tara Knowles, my girlfriend."