by Ashlyn Kane
Ari wanted to follow him into sleep, but he forced himself to get out of the bed to clean up. Jax was snoring by the time he brought back a washcloth. Thankfully he was still spread out on his back. Ari cleaned him up, disposed of the dirty laundry, then climbed back into bed and cocooned them both under the covers.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I LIKE him,” Christine said over her cup of coffee.
She had checked into a hotel not far from Ari’s, and after Jax finally responded to her text that morning, she suggested he meet her for a coffee. She couldn’t stay long, she reminded him, as she needed to get back to her own teaching. So Jax tore himself away from Ari’s very nice hotel bed and headed out into the wild.
“Hm?” Jax eyed her over his hot chocolate.
“Ari. I like him. I wasn’t sure that I would after I saw you crying into your cereal over him, but he’s a good man. And it’s clear that he adores you.”
Jax blushed and tried to hide his face in his drink. “Good. Because I’m pretty sure he’s sticking around.”
“Good,” Christine parroted. Silence stretched between them. Hopefully that would do it for Christine’s awkward-mom conversation. “You’re looking good today, settled. I don’t think I’ve seen you so comfortable in your own skin in, God, years. Maybe not since you hit your teens.”
Jax refused to think about how painful those early years had been. Thirteen, skinny, too smart for his own good or for his peers, younger than everyone in his classes, and newly discovered pansexual. Not Jax’s best years. “Gee, thanks.”
Christine laughed. “I’m trying to say that you look happy in a way I’ve never seen. This is a good thing.”
“Yeah, well. I feel like I know me and what I want for the first time in a long time.”
“Oh?” She sipped her coffee. “Care to share any of your revelations with the class?”
“Well, for one, I’m done with academia. Maybe one day I’ll go back, but right now, I know it’s not what I want. Or what I will want in the near future.” He lifted his chin and looked her in the eye. He needed her to know he was serious.
She nodded slowly. “Okay. I can’t say that I’m surprised.”
“Good.” He swallowed. “I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing more long-term, but right now, for the immediate future, I just want to be with Ari, figure us out. It’s been a weird few months.” Between getting together, breaking up, reuniting, and Jax’s PhD, they hadn’t had a post-honeymoon domestic period to test out their relationship. “So I’m thinking I might just follow him around on his tour for a while.” He grinned cheekily. “Be a groupie.”
Christine snorted. “Well, if that’s what you want, dear, then I support your decision to be a full-time groupie.”
The tacit approval—finally—to make his life his own unwound something in Jax’s spine that had been ratcheting for years. He let the lassitude seep into his posture and spread to his extremities, and he breathed unencumbered for the first time in ages. Maybe groupie wasn’t exactly right—but then, bartender-slash-musician hadn’t been either, and he didn’t regret that choice.
He had time.
“ARI? MAMAN?”
Ari looked up from the mirror in his parents’ foyer, where he’d been adjusting his shirt, and turned around to see his sister behind him. “Afra. Hi.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” And if that didn’t set off alarm bells.
“You think you’re so funny.” She huffed, but he could tell it was put on—she looked… happy, but nervous underneath that. “I was hoping to talk to you and Maman and Baba before we leave.”
That would probably make them late instead, but considering what the atmosphere at the bar was likely to be on the event of Jax’s PhD celebration, he doubted that even the guest of honor would notice. Besides, this seemed serious. “They’re upstairs. Do you want me to—”
But before he could finish, their parents appeared at the top of the stairs. Unlike Ari, they seemed to have expected Afra’s presence. “There you are.” His mother smiled. She had been doing more of that in the past week now that her radiation therapy had finished. “Right on time.”
Was Ari the only one who thought that was spooky instead of something to smile about?
“Let’s go into the study,” Baba suggested, including Ari with a gesture of his hand.
“Now.” Ari’s mother settled in her desk chair this time, because there were only four chairs total. “What did you want to talk about, Afra? It sounded important.”
She looked down. “It is. I—” Finally she met their gazes, each in turn. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking….”
By the end of the impromptu family meeting, Ari felt shell-shocked and Afra and their mother were both dabbing away happy tears.
“You’re sure this is what you want?” he asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
He almost died of shock when his mother echoed his concern. “This is a big decision. You’ve always been my independent daughter….”
Afra laughed and nodded as she wiped away a tear. “I’m sure, Maman, Ari. I hope… I know it’s a big change.”
And Ari didn’t always take well to change. Yes, he understood the subtext. He took his sister’s hands in his. “I could not be happier for you. If this is what you want, you should do it.”
Baba slapped his hands on his thighs and stood as though this closed the issue. “Well! It seems as though we have one more reason to celebrate tonight.”
“Maybe two more reasons.” Their mother beamed as she stood, less smoothly than she used to but already looking stronger than she had a week before. “But let’s not forget that tonight is about Jax.”
And speaking of Jax— “We’d better get going,” Ari said, noting the time. Good thing Ben had volunteered to pick up the cake on his way over from work.
Murph had offered the Rock for the afternoon for their private party, with all Jax’s friends and family and former coworkers in attendance. When they went in, Jax was center stage, banging away at “School’s Out,” hamming it up in a velvet top hat that kept falling down over his eyes. Kayla was barely keeping it together.
“You know,” Ari’s mother said at his elbow, “I was wrong about him.”
He offered her his arm out of habit, even though she hadn’t needed it for support for weeks now. She took it anyway. “I know, Maman. I’m glad you figured it out.”
“Laughter is its own kind of medicine.” She sighed happily as Ari deposited her at a table far enough away from the stage not to be overwhelmed by the sound from the speakers. Then she looked up, her eyes full of a mischief Ari couldn’t ever recall seeing in her, though her expression was smug. “And it looks like I’ll have you married off to a doctor after all.”
“Maman,” Ari protested, his face heating.
He was saved from further embarrassment by Ben’s arrival with the cake, which prompted Murph to hop up on the bar and call for everyone’s attention. Jax was one of the last to give in, possibly because he couldn’t see anything with the enormous hat over his eyes or hear over his own repeated refrains that school was out forever.
“All right, shut yer pie holes,” Murph shouted. “We’re here today to celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. Jax Hall—one of the finest bartenders ever to pull a beer. Even though he left us for two months to freeze his arse off in Boston.” He hefted an enormous bottle of champagne. “So!”
The cork hit the disco ball when he popped it, then somehow managed to land in the tip jar on top of the piano.
“Come and grab a glass and we’ll have a toast!”
Even a giant bottle of champagne wasn’t actually enough for everyone, though of course there was more behind the bar. As Murph, Bruce, and Naomi poured, Ari maneuvered through the crowd until he found Jax.
“Has it sunk in yet?”
Jax shook his head ruefully. “It’s starting to, but I think I’m still about twenty hours of sleep under par. Hard to say.”
“I understand.” Ari oft
en felt that way at the tail end of writing an album.
Naomi and Calvin found them then, with an extra glass of champagne each. Calvin handed his to Jax, while Naomi gave hers to Ari.
“Everybody got a glass?” Calvin shouted.
It seemed that everyone did.
“All right, then.” He was beaming as he raised his glass. “To Jax!”
HALFWAY THROUGH the party, it finally started to feel real. Jax was done.
It felt great.
“So, not to spoil the party,” Hobbes said, promptly spoiling the party as he sidled up to Jax in a rare moment without Ari, who had volunteered to play the piano, “but there’s something we should talk about.”
Jax stared at him. “Oh my God, Naomi’s pregnant?”
“What? No. Did you see the way she’s putting away the champagne?” Hobbes huffed, his cheeks red. “Way to take the wind out of my sails.”
Jax gave him a flat look. “I haven’t slept properly in, like, three months. I couldn’t pass a blood test right now. Just spit it out.”
“I’m selling the house.”
No wonder he was worried Jax might panic. Fortunately it wasn’t as though Jax had long-term plans for living there anyway. “Yeah?” He glanced at Naomi, who was at the bar doing shots with Theo—that was going to end badly. “Shacking up?”
“Yeah.” He was still blushing, but now he had a helpless smile too. Aww. Adorable. “Naomi doesn’t want to sell a house that’s been in her family for three generations, so….”
“Good. Maybe she can get you to stop working so much.”
Hobbes furrowed his brow. “Did I forget to tell you, or did I tell you and you forgot?”
Oh great—now what? “Forget what?” Jax asked, alarmed. Hobbes hadn’t proposed and decided to ask Jax to be his best man or something, had he?
“I left the hospital in January. I’m doing family practice at a clinic on Wonderland Road.”
Well, shit. “No wonder you look so well-rested,” Jax quipped, then easily dodged Hobbes’s halfhearted swipe. “Come to think of it, no wonder Naomi’s looking so smug—”
“Jax—”
He grinned. “Congratulations, though, really. Let me know when I need to move my stuff.”
They talked a little about the details—Hobbes wasn’t in a hurry to get the house on the market, so there was no rush for Jax to make a decision before the tour started up in April—and then Afra came over with a couple plates of cake, and Hobbes retreated to the bar to get fresh with Naomi.
“So,” Afra said, handing him a plate, “I talked to Ari.”
And there it was: the first piece of the new chapter of Jax’s life falling into place. Or maybe not.
Jax cleared his throat, trying not to let on how fast his heart was beating. He forked off a big chunk of vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream. “And?”
“And I told him Ben and I have a foster placement coming up and I’m officially retiring from going on tour.”
Jax nodded and licked frosting from the corner of his mouth. He and Afra had been over this by email. “And you really think it’s a good idea for me to take over?”
“Well, you won’t really be taking over,” she pointed out. “Most of the organizing is still going to happen on my end. You’d be more of a deputy. But as for whether it’s a good idea… you’d have to ask Ari.”
“Ask me what?”
Jax almost dropped his cake. He hadn’t noticed the music tapering off. Afra made a quiet exit as he turned around. “Do these pants make my ass look big?”
“Absolutely not,” Ari answered immediately. “It looks perfect.”
Flatterer. Jax took a deep breath. “Actually I wanted to ask you… what would you think about me coming along on tour with you?”
Ari smiled, gently took Jax’s cake plate and set it on a table, and curled his hands around Jax’s. “I think nothing would make me happier.”
Jax exhaled a laugh that was part relief and part sheer joy. “Good, because Afra thinks I should be your handler—carry out her orders, charm hotel and venue staff, keep you from losing your cool when you’re playing for twenty thousand people… sell a bunch of T-shirts with your face on them—”
Ari cut him off with a chaste kiss. Jax, surprised at the public display even though they were among friends, found himself blushing.
God, he hoped no one saw him. He’d never live down a blush from something so innocent.
“You’re perfect for the job,” Ari said. “But is it what you want? You’re somewhat overqualified.”
Jax shrugged. “It’s not like I’m going to be your PA. And honestly, I don’t really know anymore what I want to be when I grow up, but I know I want to be with you. That’s more than good enough for now.” He allowed himself a moment to speculate. “You know, I bet I can come up with a way to optimize scheduling, accounting for travel time, airfare, important festivals….”
Ari laughed and squeezed Jax’s hands. “You haven’t been Afra’s deputy for five minutes and you’re already planning to usurp her.”
“Not usurp—”
Ari cut off Jax’s weak protest with another kiss. “So. What shall we do to celebrate?”
Jax did not swoon. He did come up with several ideas, but most of them were best saved for later.
Then he smiled. When in Rome…. “Wanna go play a duet?”
More from Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James
Gabe Martin has a simple life plan: get into the NHL and win the Stanley Cup. It doesn’t include being the first out hockey player or, worse, getting involved with one of his teammates. But things change.
Dante Baltierra is Gabe’s polar opposite—careless, reckless… shameless. But his dedication to the sport is impressive, and Gabe can overlook a lot of young-and-stupid in the name of great hockey. And Dante has a superlative ass in a sport filled with superlative asses.
Before Gabe can figure out how to deal, a tabloid throws him out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world. Amid the emotional turmoil of invasive questions, nasty speculation, and on- and off-ice homophobia, his game suffers.
Surprisingly, it’s Dante who drags him out of it—and then drags him into something else. Nothing good can come of secretly sleeping with a teammate, especially one Gabe has feelings for. But with their captain out with an injury, a rookie in perpetual need of a hug, and the race to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995, Gabe has a lot on his plate.
He can’t be blamed for forgetting that nothing stays secret forever.
Rylan Williams hates conferences: too many people, not enough routine, and way too much interaction with strangers. When he gets stuck in a broken elevator with Miller Jones, the kid who fell asleep in his lecture, he figures things can’t get worse. Then Rylan realizes he’s the same guy he just spent an hour perving over from afar.
Rylan wants to await rescue in silence, but Miller insists on conversation, or at least banter. But just because they don’t get along doesn’t mean they don’t have chemistry, and Rylan breaks all his rules about intimacy for a one-time-only conference hookup. He’ll probably never see Miller again anyway. So of course, two months later Miller shows up at Rylan’s office, having just been hired to work on a new computer program—with Rylan.
And Rylan thought being stuck in an elevator with him was bad.
Soon Rylan and Miller learn that they get along best when they take out their frustrations in the bedroom. Their arrangement goes against everything Rylan believes in, but the rules are simple: Don’t stay overnight. Don’t tell anyone. And don’t fall in love.
This is probably a bad idea.
It’s nine o’clock the morning after his father’s funeral, and Ezra Jones already knows it’s going to be a bad day. He wakes up hungover, sore, and covered in blood. Then it gets worse: the handsome and compelling Callum Dawson shows up on his doorstep claiming Ezra’s been turned into a werewolf. Ezra wants to be skeptical, but the evidence is hard to ignore.
E
zra doesn’t have a lot of time to get used to the rules Alpha Callum imposes—or the way his body responds to Callum’s dominance—as he’s busily working for the CDC to help uncover the origins of a lycan epidemic. When the sexual tension finally breaks, Ezra barely has time to enjoy it, because a new danger threatens. Someone wants Ezra for their own unscrupulous purposes and will do anything to get him.
Emerson Blackburn really screwed up this time. He’s finally pissed off Jonah, the sweet, patient, funny boyfriend he’s loved as long as he can remember, to the point that Jonah isn’t even speaking to him. Emerson hasn’t felt this awful since the summer after graduation when Jonah ruined their college plans by running off on a cross-country trip without even saying goodbye.
Jonah isn’t just angry. He’s furious and hurt. Devastated, even, because he’s completely in love with Emerson, but although they’ve been together for a year, Emerson still doesn’t trust him.
The full weight of their past mistakes drags Jonah and Emerson into memories of happier—and lonelier—times, but wallowing in their guilt isn’t solving the problems. The only way to move forward is to learn from the past… but someone still has to be the first to apologize.
Readers love Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James
Winging It
“I loved this sweet and sexy story. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy Winging It and I encourage readers to give it a try.”
—Carly’s Book Reviews
“This story was a lot of fun. Great characters. Steamy romance. I highly recommend it if you like any type of sports books.”
—It’s About The Book
“Take all the elements at play here, the crowds, the teamwork, the plays, and the opposition and media, throw in romance and love. Stir vigorously and out flows Winging It, one of my highly recommended reads.”
