7. Chapter 7 #2
Unlocking the screen, he squinted at it, wondering if he should call Ollie and Finn, but he decided to try a shower first. Eventually getting out of bed, he grunted and groaned as he shuffled to the bathroom, trying not to think about how bad his back would be in twenty years.
Burning himself thoroughly, Jax felt somewhat better, and he washed his acetaminophen and ibuprofen mix down with the strongest tea he had, chasing it with a THC gummy. It wouldn’t kick in for at least an hour; it would only take the edge off, and it would be gone by the time he had to drive home.
Maybe he should stop hovering in limbo and try another doctor. But they weren’t wizards, they couldn’t cast a Heal Back spell on him no matter how much he wished they could.
Carefully getting dressed, he pulled out the pain specialist’s card that Tristan had given him, flipping it over in his hand. If he wanted another doctor, then this was probably the best place to start.
The beep of Jax’s phone alarm told him that he was officially late, and he put the card back in his wallet, grabbing a thermos of tea and a muffin for the road.
Thankfully, his pain stayed where it was as he drove in and limped through The Pointe, but there was no guarantee it would remain there. Keeping his head down and his jaw locked until lunchtime, Jax decided to call the doctor.
Once he got a break, he put on his coat and slowly walked around the building until he was out of sight.
Dialing the number on the card, he leaned against The Pointe’s white facade, letting out a long breath that clouded the air.
“Doctor’s office.” The voice that greeted him couldn’t be more bored. Wow, off to a great start.
“Hello, I would like to make an appointment to see Doctor Harris.” He tried smiling to make his voice more polite, glad she couldn’t see him in person because he probably looked like a psychopath.
“Name.”
“Jaxon Fiorelli.”
“Have you seen the doctor before?” The wall of disinterest was taking the wind out of Jax’s sails.
It cost him a ton of mental energy to make this call while in pain, and even though he was only halfway through the day, he felt beaten down and exhausted.
He didn’t need this unfriendly receptionist to make things more difficult.
“No, I haven’t, but-”
“He’s not taking new patients,” she barked before hanging up on him.
He stared at his phone for a few seconds, rage bubbling up inside of him. He wanted to get in his car, drive down there, and give her a piece of his mind.
Instead, he let out a growl, turned, and punched the wall. Sure, he’d done that before, indoors on drywall, but the exterior of The Pointe bit back.
“ Fuck ,” he cried out, shaking his hand, glad that nobody else had seen that.
“Jax?” Tristan’s voice came out of nowhere and Jax jumped, cringing as his back replied in kind. Before he could form words, his fist was enveloped by two warm hands, and Tristan’s face appeared, lined with concern. “Let me get some ice!” A second later, he was gone.
Jax blinked. If he hadn’t felt the heat of Tristan’s touch, he would have thought he’d imagined it, and when Tristan came back a minute later, holding a cloth napkin full of ice, Jax’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
After seeing his anger, people usually ran from him for good, but his sweet, gorgeous man just wanted to help.
“Here.” Tristan cradled Jax’s bruised knuckles, gently placing the cold bundle over them, and Jax let out a hiss. “Can you wiggle your fingers?”
Jax gave it a go. It hurt, but not in a broken-bone kind of way, and his post-anger recrimination arrived right on schedule. What the hell was he thinking, smashing his dominant hand into a wall? It could cost him his career.
That was the problem; he wasn’t thinking. He was losing control, and he’d be lucky if he only got bruises and scrapes out of this.
“They’re good. Thanks for the ice.” Having Tristan so close was doing a number on Jax’s heart rate. It seemed like the avoidance was over for now. All Jax had to do was almost break his hand. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was going to make a phone call when I saw you. Why were you beating up the wall?” The way he asked it, with a soft smile and no judgment, had Jax replying without a second thought.
“It’s better than beating up someone else. ”
“You want to hurt people?” Doubt in his gaze, Tristan tilted his head, as if he couldn’t believe that Jax wanted to hurt anyone.
“No, I’m just…I’m just angry. But I only take it out on things.” And he had a box of broken items on a shelf in his closet to prove it. “And sometimes myself.”
Tristan leaned in a bit closer. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t avoiding Jax anymore. “What made you so angry?”
“Do you have a couple of hours?” Jax chuckled but it dissolved, leaving behind a somber expression. “I’m hurting a lot today. So, I tried to call the pain specialist you recommended, but he’s not taking any more new patients, and the receptionist was a jerk about it.”
“It always amazes me how many people lack empathy in positions that require it,” Tristan murmured, removing the ice pack, studying Jax’s fingers, and carefully putting it back. To be honest, Jax thought it was helping; his knuckles weren’t throbbing anymore, which was probably good.
“Trust me, I’ve thought the same thing.” Jax sighed, relieved that his fingers ached less with every passing minute. “It’s not easy being in pain all the time, and sometimes the anger builds and builds until I have to get it out.”
“By giving yourself more pain?” If anyone else had asked that, Jax would be snapping back or walking away in a rage, but Tristan radiated a serenity that was contagious; plus, he was far too lovely to argue with.
“I know, it’s stupid. But-”
“How you feel isn’t stupid,” Tristan interrupted, his sandy gaze making Jax’s heart race at top speed. “It’s understandable.”
They’d never been this close before, and the energy between them became too intense to ignore. Tristan would have to be headless not to feel it too, but Jax tested him anyway, wetting his lips with his tongue. Tristan’s eyes flicked down, the pupils dilating, and Jax tried not to grin.
Looking up through his lashes, Jax stood on his toes, taking the risk and pressing his lips to Tristan’s. As expected, Tristan went stock-still, but Jax didn’t pull away, knowing that they both wanted this.
A few seconds later, his persistence was rewarded as the ice pack fell to the ground and Tristan curled his hand around the back of Jax’s neck, returning the kiss .
That neatly trimmed beard was lush and soft against Jax’s face, and he immediately stroked it with his good hand, wishing he could curl up in it. Licking the seam of Tristan’s lips, Jax requested entry, wanting to raise the temperature, and Tristan allowed it with a gasp.
Their passion ignited into a raging fire as their kisses became deeper, wetter, their tongues sliding against each other.
To Jax, kissing Tristan was like drinking cool, clean water; it cleansed him, draining all his fury.
And for someone as soft and sweet as Tristan, he kissed like a villain, swallowing Jax’s moans while prodding at the tongue piercing.
Jax couldn’t help but be a little smug. If Tristan thought the barbell was cool, he was going to love how it felt against his cock.
Suddenly, Tristan pulled back, chest heaving and cheeks pink.
“We probably shouldn’t do this,” he mumbled through kiss-swollen lips, but neither of them believed that.
They’d been pulled toward each other like magnets for a while now, so that kiss was inevitable, but Jax never thought it would be so good .
Tristan’s gentle lips and tongue had taken him to a different planet, and his brain was still there, replaying the last minute over and over, so it took him a moment to reply.
“Why?” was the best he could come up with.
“Well…” Tristan stammered, touching his lips. “We work together-”
Jax grinned, going for broke as he stared into Tristan’s pretty eyes. Despite all his reservations, this man was perfect for him, and he’d take the social hits; besides, he had the ability to separate work from relationships.
“It’s a restaurant. Everyone hooks up in restaurants.”
“This is a catering hall.”
“So, it’s a large restaurant.”
Tristan sighed, and for a moment, he looked tired. “I just got out of a ten-year relationship with the wrong person.”
“The person I saw in the parking lot?” Jax asked, deciding to sit on the elephant in the room.
“Yes,” Tristan said after processing. “And I also just found this job, which I love, so I’ve been starting over.”
“No, I get it.” Flexing his fingers, Jax grinned. Good, almost no pain. “You don’t find me cute. ”
“No! I…” Tristan stroked his beard nervously. “I feel like I’m too old for you.”
“You’re what, thirty-five?” Jax squinted, and Tristan let out a disbelieving bark of a laugh.
“I’ll be thirty-nine soon.”
“Really? That only makes you hotter, you know.” Jax wanted to climb him and make out some more, but they really needed to get back to work. Also, he knew that if he pulled back, Tristan would follow. “Thank you for the ice pack. And when you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He walked away without looking back, wishing he could put a sway in his step. But he didn’t need to, because that kiss had been enough to change things between them.
As the days passed, Tristan paid more attention to Jax, sheepishly greeting him in the mornings again and hanging around the kitchen to check on his hand even after it healed, and Jax had to admit that he loved it.
He hadn’t been into someone for so long that he’d forgotten how it felt.
It put color back into his life, gave him extra energy, and he still couldn’t believe that the punch hadn’t scared Tristan off.
But it was only a matter of time.
Wrapped up in his thoughts, Jax’s knife slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor.
He stared at it for a moment, tapping his tongue piercing against his teeth. He’d been feeling better lately, but if he bent down the wrong way, then that could all go out the window.
Tristan was there before Jax could even flex a knee, easily scooping up the knife and turning it handle-first toward Jax.
“Thank you.” Jax took it, checking it for damage. Satisfied, he put it aside to clean as Tristan watched silently. They hadn’t spoken about the kiss because Jax could see everything in Tristan’s eyes.
But today his gaze didn’t have as much shine, and Jax could immediately tell that something was wrong. “Is everything okay?”
Tristan’s eyebrows flew up, as if he were surprised that Jax could read him. “It’s nothing. This event is a little difficult to handle.”
“Is someone giving you a problem?” Jax asked, trying not to sound like he was in the mafia. Anger rose in his veins, but this felt sweeter because it was on Tristan’s behalf.
“No, no. I’m fine.” That was definitely a lie, but Jax didn’t want to call it out.
It was too bad that Marci was still on her honeymoon because she’d have everything settled in under three seconds; however, Tristan had certainly risen to the challenge over these past few weeks.
The brides, bridesmaids, and mothers all loved him, and he exuded enough calm to keep the groomsmen in check, but someone seemed to be testing his breezy limits.
Crossing his arms, Jax looked Tristan up and down. “Okay, you’re an adult. But if you need my help, or somewhere to hide the bodies, I’m here.”
Tristan smiled at Jax’s clear protectiveness, a little bit of his sparkle returning.
“Thank you, Jax.” He listened on his headset. “I have to go, but I’ll be back to check on your hand.”
Jax snorted at their little inside joke, returning to work. Almost an hour later, he passed Winter by the ovens, noticing the annoyance on their face. Raising an eyebrow in question, he looked down at the plate in their hand.
“This is the fourth time the groom’s cousin has sent his steak back,” Winter sneered. “He says he wants it cooked more.”
“But it’s probably as tough as a boot by now.” He glanced over to where some of the cooks rolled their eyes, because who wanted a burnt filet mignon?
“I hear he’s been beating on Tristan all day,” Winter added quietly, watching Jax with careful eyes. They didn’t say much, but they clearly saw everything. Thankfully, no one else had said a word, which meant the gossip mill hadn’t discovered them yet.
“What?” Jax didn’t mean for it to come out so growly but the beast within was rearing its head. If he didn’t calm down, then he’d put a big spotlight on the two of them.
“He’s not even in the bridal party, but Kate said he’s a total jerk.” Winter started heating up the steak again. “Owen’s trying to help, but his party needs a lot of hand-holding.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Angelo declared, uncharacteristically serious and a bit scary .
“No, I’ll go.” Jax spoke without thinking, his fury already in the driver’s seat. “Does anyone have a jacket and tie I can borrow?”