Page 51 of When Our Stars Aligned

“Babysit him?”

“Yeah, I went over his discharge papers. It looks like the ER doctor misjudged his tolerance for pain meds.”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning he thought with Jax’s history and injury in the military, he would need a higher dosage of pain meds compared to civilian patients. But apparently, he didn’t and, well, he’s really loopy.”

“Loopy,” I parrot back. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. To me, Jax seems like an invincible giant. Okay, yes, he did have that incident with the nail gun the other day, but even with a bandaged hand, he was doing just fine.

“Yeah, it’s kind of like he’s drunk and high at the same time,” Gabby says informatively then starts giggling.

“Gabby! This isn’t funny!”

“It’s freaking hilarious!” Her giggles turn into full-on belly laughter. “Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody is as high as a kite right now.” She grabs onto the doorframe, trying to compose herself.

“Gabby! You’re supposed to be the professional here!” I hiss.

“This is not my hospital, and he is not my patient.” She straightens. “I’m just helping a neighbor. The pain meds should wear off by tomorrow morning. He has ibuprofen to take forthe pain and swelling. If he gets frisky with you, just kick him in the bad ankle. He’ll go down like a sack of potatoes…or if he gets frisky and you like it, just go with it. I’m all about consent, but I’m pretty sure he won’t mind. He’s been staring at you like he just got out of a ten-year prison sentence and you’re the first woman he’s laid eyes on.”

I look over at Jax, and yup, I’ve never seen a man who just came out of a ten-year prison sentence, but if I had to guess, it would look like the guy currently ogling me from the couch.

“Gabby, you can’t leave me with him like this.” I snap my head back to look at her.

“I have to go to work. Trust me, you’ll be fine. It’s not like you haven’t been staying here with him anyway.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Gotta go!” She pushes me back through the threshold and shuts the door. Hysterical laughter comes from the other side.

I walk over to Jax and sit on the coffee table across from him. “Hi,” I say. What do I say in this situation? “So, you fell off a roof today?”

“Mm-hmm,” he answers.

“Are you in any pain?”

“Nope,” he says with an emphasis on theP.

“Do you…umm…need anything?”

“I can think of a few things.” A devious smile spreads across his face. He leans forward so we are facing each other nose to nose. My heart accelerates. We continue to just stare at each other until he places his finger on my forehead with a “boop.” Well, his hand-eye coordination leaves something to be desired, but at least he didn’t poke me in the eye or stick a finger up my nose.

The sound of the door opening has me jumping to my feet. Alex and Carter barrel through the doorway carrying bags of what looks like takeout food.

“I thought you were coming over later,” I say to both.

“We were supposed to, but when Gabby told me how drugged this guy was, I had to take advantage of it,” Alex says with a mischievous grin.

“Alex! That’s terrible!” I get up to help Carter in the kitchen. It looks like the guys picked up Chinese for dinner and I relax a bit knowing they are both here.

Alex sits on the coffee table in front of Jax, much like I was sitting just a few moments ago.

“Jax! Jax!” He gently pats him on the face a few times. “Don’t fall asleep on me, man. We need to talk.”

“Alex! Hey! When’d you get here?” Jax slurs.

“Dude! I gotta know if you were in Intelligence,” Alex says.

“Mmm…no,” he responds.

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