5. Chapter 5 #2
But those remedies weren’t for Jax because if he’d learned one thing from his attempts and failures to heal, it was that backs were individual, and right now Jax was too tired from changing his life to try another round of “ getting better.”
At this point, he wondered if there was a better for him.
“Do you have a pain specialist?”
“I do.” Jax had tried three of them, and they’d all wanted to shoot him full of cortisone or give him narcotics, but those options sucked. There were others, but a lot of them cost money he didn’t have or were too close to quackery for his liking.
“Well, if he’s not working, try this guy. He has a good bedside manner.” Tristan dug through his wallet, holding out a business card.
“Thanks.” Jax took it, trying not to jolt again when their fingers brushed, especially when he looked up and saw that Tristan’s cheekbones were tinted pink. Was Tristan not heterosexual? Interesting…
But he was with somebody, so Jax should stop flirting. Besides, dating him wasn’t a good idea; not only did they work together, but Tristan was Rain’s stepdad, and he shouldn’t be hunting too close to home.
“It was good seeing you again.” Jax backed up toward the kitchen.
“Same here.” Tristan gave him a blinding smile, and Jax almost tripped over his own feet when he turned to catch up with the others.
Dazed, Jax had to keep reminding himself to pay attention as his training began in earnest. He had big responsibilities now, and he needed to learn the ins and outs of this place.
Thankfully, his years of experience in kitchens had him naturally sliding into place, and as the weeks passed, he learned a lot from Angelo, Carson, and Winter. Of course, he made mistakes, but his life had been going suspiciously well, so he was less irritated all around, taking things in stride.
It helped that his back continued to behave, leaving him in minimal pain, and it also helped that he got to see Tristan every day.
Jax had no issues communicating with him in the kitchen, because keeping things running was more important than a crush.
However, outside of that, when Tristan seemed to go out of his way to give Jax a greeting in the mornings or a nod in the hallway, Jax would have to spend a few minutes getting his blush under control.
And Tristan wasn’t the only familiar face at The Pointe.
Rain was still serving part-time between photography shoots, and Jax was glad that he’d been keeping his distance from Tristan, because it had truly sunk in that Rain was his stepson.
According to Ollie, Tristan had been with Rain’s mom for too long but they’d never gotten married, and Rain considered Tristan to be the better parent by far.
That only made Tristan hotter. Too bad he was unavailable.
Was he, though? Jax had eavesdropped on one side of a phone conversation months ago. Things might have changed since then.
Ollie probably had all the information, but Jax would expose himself the minute he asked, and he certainly couldn’t find out at work.
Marci had just stopped giving him knowing looks over Tristan, and he’d managed to stay out of the daily kitchen drama.
Being front-page news would only annoy him, so it wasn’t a good idea to date someone from work.
It didn’t matter that Tristan’s presence made Jax’s pulse race, his cheeks flush, and his mind spin, telling him to risk it.
The ripples it would cause kept Jax at bay, and he managed to stay strong until right before the hall reopened.
Stumbling out to his car after a long day of prep and meetings, Jax could still hear Angelo’s voice saying the Golden Rule over and over - no more flaming desserts, not after that fire.
Too tired to remember where he parked, Jax pressed the button on his key fob, walking toward the beep and almost colliding with someone as he reached his car.
Not wanting to be bumped too hard or fall down, he stopped and so did his heart, because Tristan was standing right in front of him. All Jax could smell was pine; was that Tristan’s body wash or his natural scent?
“Sorry.” Tristan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, so gorgeous that it made Jax a little angry. Who had snatched up this man and did they know how to fight?
“No, it’s on me,” Jax bit his lip, trying to calm down. “I forgot where I parked.”
“Me too.” Tristan chuckled, deep and throaty, and Jax wanted to climb him right now, but his back wouldn’t allow it. Instead, he glanced at the Subaru beside them. Its rear window was dotted with outdoor stickers. “Is this your car? Are you an athlete?”
“Yes to both.” Tristan tapped a decal on his trunk that looked like a black arrow pointing up on a green background. “I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.”
“I don’t know what that means," Jax said with a laugh, and Tristan joined in.
“Not a lot of people do.” Tristan’s eyes filled with excitement. “There are three major long-distance hiking trails in this country: The Appalachian Trail, The Pacific Crest Trail, and The Continental Divide.”
“How long are you talking?” Jax tilted his head, strangely invested, the cadence of Tristan’s voice lulling him.
“The AT is twenty-two hundred miles. The PCT is around twenty-six fifty, and the CDT is thirty-one hundred.”
“Wait,” Jax blinked. “You walked two thousand miles?”
Tristan nodded. “Up the east coast.”
“How does that even work? Like, how do you do that?” Mind blown, Jax forgot that he wasn’t supposed to be flirting, because Tristan was not only gorgeous, he was also interesting as fuck.
“You have to save up and plan,” Tristan continued. “Then you need to buy and test gear, and decide which way to go - south to north, north to south, or you can flip-flop, which is going either south or north to the halfway point and then flying to the end and hiking back to the middle.”
Actively listening, Jax tried not to fall even harder for Tristan and failed miserably. He always found it hot when a person was into something; the subject rarely mattered, just being passionate was enough for him. And Tristan was definitely passionate about hiking.
“Once you have a plan, the gear, and the funds, you get dropped off at your starting point. I went south to north, from Georgia to Maine. It was late winter when I started at Amicalola Falls, and I walked through the seasons until it was early fall on the summit of Mount Katahdin, the finish line.” No wonder Tristan had an ass that wouldn’t quit; he’d hiked up the side of the country.
“How long did it take you?” Still in disbelief, Jax took a step closer.
“Six months, but I had days where I didn’t do miles because I had to rest or resupply.
I met so many amazing people and some of them became my tramily, my trail family, and you know what?
I went out there for the experience and I’m glad I didn’t rush it.
I savored every moment.” There was a look of serenity on Tristan’s face that Jax had never seen in the mirror.
“Did you camp at night? How did you get food?” Jax couldn’t help himself; he had so many questions .
“Yes, you can camp with a tent or a hammock, or you can use the shelters, which are spaced about eight to fifteen miles apart. But they are open on one side, and sometimes there are mice. In the Smokies, you have to use the shelters, and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, thru-hikers can stay in huts in exchange for working the next morning. I did that, it was fun!” Tristan beamed.
“And there are a lot of small towns along the trail that you can hitch a ride to and resupply, dollar stores really came through for me.”
“You hitched rides? What about stranger danger?” Elementary school had drilled into Jax’s head that hitchhiking was bad.
“It’s perfectly safe,” Tristan chuckled again in that alluring way, and Jax almost had to adjust himself. “All the locals are used to hikers and a lot of towns depend on their income.”
“That’s fucking incredible.” Jax wasn’t flirting, but he wasn’t exactly not flirting. “You did a crazy athletic feat. Is that why you were in PT?”
“Yeah,” Tristan turned bashful again. “I came back with patellar tendinitis. But it’s gone now.”
“Good.” Jax wished he had an easy fix. “And don’t let me keep you, I know you have to get home to your…” He trailed off in a leading tone, needing confirmation about this man because he was losing his mind here.
“My…” Tristan raised an eyebrow, cutely confused.
“Wife? Husband? Partner? Cat?” Jax ventured, leaning into the risk.
“Don’t say cat.” Tristan drooped a bit. “I used to live with Rain and his kitty Mouse, but he moved back in with Mason last month. I miss the cat so much.”
A lot of information hit Jax at once. While he’d processed the fact that Rain was Tristan’s stepson, he hadn’t thought it all the way through. Once Jax reran the conversation he’d overheard, he realized that Tristan had been talking to Rain on the phone in physical therapy.
That was all slapped to the side for the bigger headline. Rain and Mouse had moved out, which meant that Tristan wasn’t living with anyone right now . But he could still be dating, or in a long-distance relationship, or not looking right now, and Jax should just ask.
But he’d already risked enough, and he decided to pull back.
“Were you at Mason’s exhibition?” Rain had been the subject of Mason’s spectacular photos, so Tristan should’ve been there, but Jax had wandered through the place with Marci, Ollie, and Finn, and he knew that he would’ve noticed Hot Bearded Guy.
“No, I had to work that night, but I caught it later.” He crossed his arms, disappointment flickering through his gaze. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“Ollie and Finn invited me.”
“That’s right, Marci told me you’re Finn’s brother. What a small world, huh?” Grinning, Tristan stroked his beard.
“Yeah, I’m glad I went because I ended up meeting Angelo, and here I am!” Jax swung his hand at the wedding hall, which gleamed white under the moonlit sky.
“How do you like The Pointe?” A lighting bug flickered by Tristan’s head.
“It’s the best place I’ve worked at so far. Like, too good to be true.” Jax raised one of his eyebrows as a few more circled him.
“I feel the same.” There was that throaty chuckle again. “The last restaurant I worked at was terrible, so this is night and day for me.”
“My last place was also a hellscape. What was the problem with yours?”
“Micromanagement.”
“Ew. Mine was your average scumbag who groped the waitresses.” Jax cocked his head to the side. “So, I groped him .”
“That’s amazing.” Tristan’s eyes held nothing but wonder, and Jax flew on that expression and the fact that Tristan might be single all the way home. He still didn’t think it was a good idea to date Tristan, but Jax rarely listened to himself.
In a good mood for once, Jax hummed a tune as he walked up to the second floor, but it cut off abruptly as he found his landlord waiting at his door, arms crossed.
The two-story house Jax had moved into had been divided into four studio apartments, and while they were small, Jax hadn’t had the time or money to be choosy.
But he wished he’d looked further because this was the second time his landlord had come to bug him.
The first was about his balcony; apparently, it needed to be bare, and putting a plant on it to get sunlight was against the lease.
Jax knew that it wasn’t, but lately he’d been trying not to be an asshole, so he hadn’t pushed back.
This time, though? He didn’t know if he was strong enough. He’d only been here a few weeks; Gus needed to chill.
“Fiorelli? Getting home at this hour is unacceptable.” The older man stomped his foot as if he were used to being obeyed.
Jax couldn’t speak for about ten seconds, and by the time he did, the beast within had already taken over. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Language! I’m your landlord , and you can’t disturb this house at all hours. You didn’t tell me you worked nights!” Genuinely upset that all his tenants weren’t snug in bed, his voice cracked with delusional anger.
“I don’t have to tell you what I do. I’m an adult who rents from you, which means I give you money and you shut the fuck up.” Jax got closer, looming over him. This was probably not the best way to handle things, but adrenaline blasted through him, making him painless and daring. “Leave.”
“I’m not afraid of you!” Gus pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops! You can’t be making noise like this!”
“You’re the one makin’ all the noise,” Jax growled, noticing his neighbors peering out of their windows.
Resisting the urge to slap the phone out of Gus’ hand, Jax took a step back, grabbed his own phone, and pressed record.
“We’re live! Hey guys, this is my landlord, Gus Paterson, and he’s shown up to my residence twice now without giving me twenty-four hours’ notice.
” After the plant incident, Jax had read over his lease, and there was nothing about the balcony, but there was definitely something about Gus needing to give a heads-up before he stopped by.
“Put that down!” Gus dropped his phone, moving closer, clearly agitated that his idea had been spun on him.
“I told you.” Exhilarated, Jax smiled dangerously, his rage flying free. “ Leave . I’m allowed to come home after work-”
He wanted to say more, but Gus sprang up, spry for his age, and knocked Jax’s phone to the ground, knocking away his humanity too. The last thing Jax remembered was his vision going red, while the beast within howled.