Page 16 of Furious
“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.Butthey 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 exactlynotflirting. “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 toRainon 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 withanyoneright 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 ofMason’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 gropedhim.”
