Page 41 of When Our Stars Aligned

Michelle shakes her head in disgust. “I can’t believe you, Jax. She needs help.”

“Hello! Right here. Don’t need help. I can take care of myself, and, Gabby, I can sleep on the couch, no problem-o,” Aly yells from her room. I look over at the couch that is now littered with items from the girls’ bedrooms. It’s awfully small.

I let out a breath. How will I handle her sleeping in the room next to me? Then again, the thought of her alone in a hotel room or in Alex’s bed makes my skin crawl.

“Aly, it’s fine. You can stay with me. I was just caught off guard by everything.” God, I feel like a selfish ass, but the girls can’t know what my real problem is; I’d never live it down.

“Seriously, Jax, I don’t need your pity. I’m a big girl; I can take care of myself. I’ll find a hotel. No big deal. The one Jacob and I stayed in was pretty nice. Granted, he had a suite, but I’m sure the other rooms will be fine,” she says, carrying a lamp out of her room.

I grab the lamp from her hand and lower my head towards her. “It’s fine. The room is just sitting there not being used.”

“I don’t know.” She bounces back and forth on her feet.

“Aly, please just stay with Jax. It would make me feel better knowing that you’re right across the hall instead of at some hotel on the other side of town,” Michelle says.

“Ugh, fine,” she huffs. “But who’s to say that Jax’s place is any better than a sleazy hotel?”

“You’re going to drive me insane, aren’t you?” I groan.

A mischievous smile slowly spreads across her face. Yup, I’m screwed.

26

Aly

“Okay, so this is basically it.” Jax waves his hand nonchalantly around his condo. “The kitchen and living room are obviously where we are standing.”

“Huh, for some reason, I pictured something different,” I say, looking around. Jax’s place is an open concept, similar to Michelle’s with a bar-height island that separates the kitchen from the living room. It’s masculine but not as caveman-ish as I expected. It’s clean with a hint of fresh bleach or cleaner. It’s a bit impersonal, with no pictures or decorations on the plain white walls. There is a black leather sectional in his living room and a matching overstuffed leather chair near a large picture window. The sun has already set and I’m curious about what the view from his side of the building looks like in the morning.

“What were you expecting?” he asks while I continue to scan my temporary new home.

“I always figured you lived in some sort of dark cave.” I place my hand on the back of the sectional. “It’s not made of concrete. I’m impressed.”

He rolls his eyes then grabs my hand to lead me down the short hallway. “This is my guest room,” he says, opening the door to a small room that holds one dark wooden nightstand, a roll-top desk, and a full-sized bed with a plain blue comforter on it. It’s simplistic, much like the rest of his place, but I like it. It makes me feel safe.

“Technically, my place is only a one-bedroom, one-bath deal,” Jax says, bringing me out of my thoughts. “This room is supposed to be an office, but I keep a bed in here for when my family comes to visit.”

Still holding my hand, he leads me towards the next door. “Here is the bathroom. Since I only have one, we will have to share it.”

“Not a problem.” I shrug. “I’m used to sharing a bathroom with Gabby. I will have to run back over to my place to grab my bodywash and hair stuff.”

“You can use my stuff; that’s not a big deal.”

I pick up his shampoo and pretend to read the bottle. “Hmm…all-in-one bodywash, face wash, shampoo, furniture polish, and oven degreaser. That’s not gonna cut it for me.”

“Smart-ass.” He smirks. “Go ahead and grab your coconut-vanilla stuff.”

“How do you know what I use?” I cross my arms over my chest and raise an eyebrow. Does he really pay that much attention to me?

“Lucky guess.” He drops my hand and heads towards what presumably is his bedroom. I try to look over his shoulder to get a glimpse, but his large frame blocks any view. I wonder if it’ssimilar to the rest of his place. “Go get your stuff. I’m going to bed.” He closes the door without another word.

“Good night!” I say to the closed door, utterly confused that he just dismissed me like that. But I shake it off and go back across the hall to grab some items I’ll need from Michelle’s.

The next morning, I wake up before Jax and quietly walk to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. I slept great last night. The bed in his guest room is much more comfortable than my own and I feel so much more refreshed. I take my coffee and place it on the small side table next to the overstuffed chair near the large picture window. Behind the chair is a built-in bookshelf that I didn’t notice last night. I scan the books to see what he likes to read. It’s mainly architecture and military history books. It’s easy to see that his books are organized by subject. I decide to take a book from each genre and switch them with each other. I wonder how long it will take him to notice.

I sit down in the chair with my coffee and become entranced by the view. The condos on Jax’s side overlook a forested area, whereas Michelle, Gabby, and I have a view of the courtyard. I could easily wake up to this scene every morning. I get lost in my thoughts, watching a doe and young fawn walking amongst the trees, when I hear a noise from the hallway. Jax walks out and heads straight to the coffee maker, oblivious to my presence and also completely naked.

Speechless and not quite sure how to handle the situation, I choose to watch him as he opens the fridge and grabs some milk while waiting for his coffee to brew. I try to open my mouth to say something, but the view makes me temporarily speechless. I see Jax in his bathing suit every day but seeing the rest of him entirely bare is a whole different experience.

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