“I’m such an idiot for not seeing what was right in front of me all this time,” he murmurs as we both drift off to sleep.
* * *
It doesn’t occur to me that Jax might be home until we pull up in front of the guys’ house. By the time Tristan turns the car off, I'm practically fidgeting in my seat.
"What if he hates us for not telling him?" I blurt. "What if he hates the idea of us together? I knew I should've told him what was going on. I can't handle Jax being mad at me, it'll kill me."
Tristan chuckles and lightly tugs on my hair. "Stop panicking, he's not going to hate us. Jax doesn't hate anyone. And he might not even be here. You know how he gets at his parents' parties, he probably passed out in their pantry last night."
"I don't think I'm that lucky," I grumble. But then I sigh in defeat and reach for the door handle. "Fine, let's just grab your gym stuff and get this over with."
As we walk down the sidewalk, a quick glance at the stark contrast between what Tristan and I are wearing soothes my nerves enough to force a giggle out of me. He raises an eyebrow at me in question.
"I'm wearing leggings and a sweatshirt, which is totally acceptable for a Sunday morning," I laugh, "and you're wearing a day-old suit, looking all kinds of rumpled and sexy. I'm just enjoying the fact that you're the one doing a walk of shame right now."
Tristan grabs my hand and yanks me against his chest. I gasp in surprise, but automatically settle against his body. He fists his hand in my hair and grins down at me. "How could anyone possibly be ashamed of spending the entire night inside your sweet little body?" he whispers against my mouth, leaning forward to bite my lower lip. Another gasp escapes me, which he immediately swallows with a heated kiss. I cling to his white button-up shirt, wrinkling it even more than it already was. It’s all I can do to hang on as Tristan kisses me so hard that you'd never guess we spent the last twelve hours in bed together.
I'm panting by the time we break apart. "Okay, we should probably go inside before I start fantasizing about dragging you into the alleyway again."
Tristan keeps me pressed tight to his body with the arm he has wrapped around my waist. He cocks an eyebrow, a mischievous sparkle flashing in his eyes. "Again?" he asks with a smirk.
I swallow roughly and I'm sure that I'm blushing right now. "Yeah. That kiss in front of Sabrina gave me all kinds of dirty thoughts."
A grin stretches across his face. "Remind me to dive further into those dirty thoughts later tonight. I can't wait to hear what else you thought about over the past few weeks."
I roll my eyes and push myself away, but I can't stop the edges of my mouth from twitching into a small smile. I turn to continue walking toward the guys' front door. "You need to focus on the fight. Stop thinking about fucking me."
Tristan sighs but lets me go. "Fine. But don't think I'm going to be celibate for the next two weeks. That would make me even crazier." He emphasizes his point by slapping my ass.
I cover myself with my hands and shoot him an angry glare. He just smirks at me and tosses his suit jacket over his shoulder.
I realize as I climb the steps to the house that I've completely forgotten to be nervous about Jax. Until now.
I swallow nervously as I unlock the door. Tristan must feel the shift in me because he places his hand on the small of my back in a comforting gesture. His touch forces me to take a deep breath and push open the door.
Jax is sprawled out on the couch, a blanket covering his half-naked form, and he's scrolling through Netflix with a sleepy gaze.
We all freeze. For a moment, we all just stare at each other, trying to wade through the confusion of the sights before us: Jax sleeping on the couch, and Tristan and I walking in together wearing what are clearly morning-after clothes.
I want to ask the first question, but I can't find the breath when Jax's eyes narrow at us. I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. Even Tristan is tense beside me as we wait for his reaction.
After a few seconds he gives us a stiff nod and then turns back to the TV. "It's about time," he grumbles. "I thought you two would never figure it out."
My mouth opens in shock. I had a feeling Jax guessed what was going on, but I didn't think he knew before even we did. Leave it to him to beat everyone to it.
Something occurs to Jax and he turns to shoot a glare at Tristan. "Although I gotta be honest, dude. Even though I love you like my own brother, I have to warn you that my allegiance lies with Remy. So don't fuck her over. Because I'd hate to have to kill you after everything we've been through."
Tristan lets out a startled laugh. "Fair enough," he concedes.
With that, it feels like the whole room relaxes. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
But then I remember my own confusion, and my frown reappears. "Why are you sleeping on the couch?" I finally ask.
My gaze narrows when Jax looks away quickly and starts fidgeting with the remote in his hands. My friend is a confident, larger-than-life stud, and I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've seen him look self-conscious. This is one of those times.
"I gave Hailey my room last night," he finally answers. "She… got into a thing with Steve and needed a place to crash. I didn't want to put her on the couch."
My frown deepens, and I reach to pull my phone from my pocket. Glancing down at the blank screen, I say, "Why didn't she call me? What kind of thing? What happened?"