Page 71 of Counting the Stars

Gabby

“We’re going to be eating leftovers for days,” Jax says, staring at the enormous spread of food. Every flat surface has some type of dish or dessert on it.

“I wish Travis had taken us up on the offer to join us.” Aly passes a basket of dinner rolls over to Michelle.

“He’s still not comfortable in some social settings.” Jax scoops some mashed potatoes on his plate. “I’ll bring him some food tomorrow.”

“Maybe he’ll be with us next year.” I try to look on the bright side. Up until a year ago, Travis was only used to hanging out with Jax, Carter, and sometimes Alex. Then Aly moved in and changed the dynamic…for the better, of course. But still, I’m sure it’s been a lot for him.

“Speaking of next year…” Aly reaches for the cranberry sauce. “I thought it would be fun to host Friendsgiving at our place.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Michelle perks up. “Maybe we can take turns hosting at different places every year.”

“Like you’ll be around much longer?” Carter grumbles.

“I’ll still be here next year and possibly the year after. It’s not like I’m just breezing through my classes,” she hisses at him, making everyone around the table tense.

That’s when it hits me. Everyone else is a permanent resident of Starboard Beach, but Michelle is only here until she finishes law school. Once she graduates, she’s slated to work for her family’s firm back in Northern California. My heart sinks at the thought of losing what we have. Alex reaches under the table to squeeze my hand. When I look up at him, he winks as if silently telling me that everything will be all right.

“Speaking of your new house…” Michelle blatantly changes the subject. “How are the renovations coming?”

“Great.” Relief washes over Aly’s face at the new topic. “Everything is move-in ready. Well, except Jax’s office.”

“Is that the room that had all the mirrors in it?” Michelle asks.

“Yup.” Jax looks at me. “Your doctor friend really did a number on that one. We spent so much time trying to salvage it, but ended up ripping it down to the studs.” Alex gladly did the honors of telling the guys all about my date from hell and us dropping Josh off at his house and discovering the similar mirrored decorations in his bedroom. We still don’t really know whether the home Jax and Aly are moving into had ever been Josh’s, but they like to tease the heck out of me anyway.

“He was not my friend,” I deadpan.

“Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?” Carter asks.

“There was a rumor going around the hospital that he was let go. No one has seen or heard from him. It’s almost like he just vanished.”

“He skipped town.” Alex pours some gravy over his turkey. “Not only was he a shitty doctor—pun intended—but he’s wanted for tax evasion.”

Everyone stops eating and stares at Alex. I’m dumbfounded that he never thought to mention this before. Then again, I’d asked him to never breathe Josh’s name again.

“What?” He looks at all of us. “I’m friendly with some of the cops. In related news, the house he was living in is going on the market soon.”

“Pass.” Jax puts his hands up, earning a laugh from everyone, then looks at Alex. “Unless you want to volunteer to remove all those mirrors again.”

“No, thanks,” Alex replies. “Once was enough.”

“I might be interested in it…or something like that,” Carter nonchalantly says while buttering a dinner roll.

“What? Why?” Alex is completely taken aback. “Are you looking to leave me?”

“Uh, yeah, with you and Gabby together, I’m kind of like a third wheel.”

“Oh, Carter.” A pang of guilt hits me. I’ve been unofficially staying with Alex for a while now. We all get along so well, it didn’t occur to me that he was feeling left out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel unwelcome in your own home.”

“It’s fine, Gabby. It’s just kind of the natural order of things. It’s time for me to get my own place.”

“I’ve already told you…” Michelle glares at Carter. “I have plenty of space here and I have no intentions of taking on any new roommates.”

“And I told you that I don’t want any handouts,” Carter practically spits out.

“I have a solution.” Everyone swings their head to look at Jax. “We haven’t decided whether to sell or sublet our condo, so if you want to rent it out for the timebeing, you can.”

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