Page 38 of Furious
Tristan didn’t miss how Owen and Marci glanced at Liam, who kept his face placid.
“I just have to l-lay here for a while, until the spasms stop. I-Is that okay?” Jax’s limbs twitched, as if his pain was overloading him, and Tristan’s heart continued to ache.
“We can stay here all night if we have to,” Finn flicked his eyes to Tristan, who loomed like a lover, but Tristan didn’t care. Jax was important to him, and he put that into his gaze, leaning on his budding fortitude. A second later, Finn nodded once and moved back, closer to Ollie.
“A-And I don’t take meds,” Jax continued, his voice jumpy and weak, his eyes still full of shamed-soaked fury. “Narcotics make me spinny and sick.”
“Yeah, after a while, they did that to me too,” Liam stated conversationally as everyone, including Jax, stopped to listen. “I was addicted to Vicodin for a while. And I used to take it here, at work. That’s why I don’t want to hear about you being embarrassed, okay?” It sounded harsh, but Liam delivered it in a perfectly soft tone that held nothing but care and concern for a new friend, and it seemed to work.
“Okay.” Some of the shame drained from Jax’s eyes. “Did you feel like a garbage pile when you stopped? I had to take them for a while, and once I stopped, I thought I had the flu. It was like the muscles in my legs were turning inside out.”
“Yeah.” Liam knelt beside Jax, still speaking easily, as if they were talking about the weather. “I didn’t leave Owen’s bathroom for a few days, but he held me most of the time.” His hazel eyes flicked to Owen, who blew him a kiss.
“Aww, true love!” Marci declared to laughter.
“Does that mean you don’t take anything?” Tristan asked, looking down at their hands, which had somehow become glued together, the fingers interlaced.
“I use a mix of Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen to take the edge off, but nothing I’ve tried getsridof the pain.” Jax’s face was still pale, but at least his eyes were calmer. “And I take pot gummies to sleep.”
“Oh snap, I have edibles!” Dylan pulled three candy bars out of his jacket pocket. “Will this help?”
“Actually, it will.” Jax’s eyebrows rose. “Do you use it for pain too?”
“Naw, just lovin’ life.” Handing one to Jax, Dylan rubbed the back of his neck, bashful.
“Thanks, man.” Jax’s eyes went wide as he checked the dosage. “Holy shit, I’m going to float home. You need to meet my friend Mae.”
“I shouldn’t be seeing this. Angel, how about you and I go downstairs and check on the bride and groom?” Owen headed toward the door. “Feel better, Jax. I can’t wait for your comeback.”
Owen seemed to feed off the groans, while Liam good-naturedly rolled his eyes, patting Jax on the shoulder.
“Stay as long as you need to.” Giving Tristan a quick smile, he left with Owen.
Tristan took the chocolate bar, releasing Jax’s hand to open it for him. “How many squares?”
“Three?” Jax scrunched up his face.
“It looks like you’ve got this handled,” Marci also moved toward the door, Dylan in her wake. “I’ll head downstairs too and finish up. Ollie? Finn? I think the bride and groom want a final video and then a shuttle back to the hotel.” Her eyes flicked between them and the door, and three seconds later, Finn got the message.
“That’s right.” Getting up, he helped Ollie to his feet as Jax began to eat. “Jax, I can drive you home whenever you’re ready. Ollie will take our car.”
“Thanks. It’s going to be a while, though.” Finishing the chocolate quickly, Jax wiped his lips. “I have to wait for this to kick in.”
“We’ll be done with cleanup in ninety minutes. Rest, hun,” Marci ordered, ushering the three men out. Once they were out of earshot, she turned back with a wink. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Tristan shook his head with a chuckle, and when the door closed behind her, Jax let out a long breath.
“Thank you for everything, Tristan.” He reached for Tristan’s handagain, and Tristan eagerly obliged, pressing their warm palms together as if they’d done so a thousand times before. “You were a real superhero. Hot Bearded Guy to the rescue!”
“It was nothing.” Tristan couldn’t help but laugh, loving the nickname. It was certainly ten times better thanTris. “Hot Bearded Guy?”
“That’s what I called you in my head until I knew your name,” Jax admitted, giving him a weak smile, and at that moment, Tristan fell for him even more.
“Well, since we’re admitting things, I was listening for your name.”
“We should’ve just talked to each other.” Jax looked up at the ceiling. “I heard you on the phone with Rain and I thought you were taken.”
“And I thought you were too young for me.” Stretching out beside Jax, Tristan bent his elbow, propping up his head in his free hand. “We were both wrong.”
