Page 47 of Thrown Off Balance
He’s dealt with a wide variety of clients over the years, but I don’t think any of them could’ve prepared him for Jax. Jax has a way of making people lose their cool pretty quickly.
“Dude! What am I supposed to eat?”
“A protein shake, just like you drink every morning when we have practice or a game.” I toss him the cup we use for the blender and grab my own. I pour milk in until it’s halfway full. Several scoops of various powders go in next before I add a frozen banana and a scoop of peanut butter. I top it off with a handful of ice cubes and screw the lid on.
“What about Sloan? I'm sure she doesn’t want a protein shake!” Jax plants his hands on his hips and glares at me.
“Sloan doesn’t eat breakfast. She never has.”
“High school Sloan didn’t eat breakfast. Maybe adult Sloan does!”
“Adult Sloan doesn’t.” Sloan slips her arms around my waist from behind and rests her cheek against my bare back. “I'm fairly certain the only difference between high school Sloan and adult Sloan is fifteen pounds.”
“Yeah, you were a little chunky in high school.” Jax nods his head as my eyes widen.
“Excuse me!” Sloan releases me and tries to go after Jax. I snag her around the waist and pull her against my chest. Her arms and legs are moving, trying her hardest to get to my brother.
“What? You had more of a baby face in high school. If you’re saying you weigh more now, then those pounds went to good areas. You look great.” Jax waves off her concerns and begins scooping powders into his shake.
Sloan stops fighting and trying to get away from me. I gently place her feet on the ground, but I don’t let go of her.
“Stop flirting with my girlfriend,” I growl as I press my cup into the blender and wait for it to mix.
Jax waits patiently. When the blender stops, he opens his mouth to stop, but I press it back down with a smirk. As long as it’s blending, he won't talk.
“Very mature, Cody.” Jax rolls his eyes. “And I don’t have a girlfriend so who am I supposed to flirt with?”
“Your stalker?” Sloan smirks.
“That’s not funny! You’re dating an identical twin, you’re basically dating me too.”
“Not true. You look the same but you’re not the same.” Sloan shakes a finger in Jax’s direction.
“We have identical DNA!”
“I don’t care what you have identical, your personalities couldn’t be more different!”
“That’s not true,” Jax scoffs.
“That’s a thousand percent true,” Pauly chimes in. “I could deal with a hundred Codys over one of you.”
“Oh, who asked you? You don’t even know how percentages work, no one cares about your opinion.” Jax turns on the blender and makes it impossible for anyone to talk. He folds his arms over his chest and leans back against the counter.
I chuckle and shake my head. I have no doubt he’ll leave that thing blending until it’s time to leave. He’s stubborn enough to ruin his breakfast just so no one can give him a hard time the rest of the morning.
“Give me the keys.” Pauly holds out his hand and Jax scowls.
“No, it’s my car. I want to drive.”
“Jax, you hate driving. Why are you fighting with Pauly?” I run a hand through my hair in frustration.
“Because I don’t like him bossing me around.” Jax holds the keys out of Pauly’s reach.
“I'm better at defensive driving. If Jude starts following us, will you even notice? What if he crashes into your car to get you to stop? What if he pulls out in front of you?”
Jax’s phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and glares at the screen as he lifts it to his ear.
“Hello… Uncle Mason!... Fine!... I said fine, but I'm not happy about it… I hope Aunt Kelsey makes you sleep on the couch when she finds out how you’re treating your favorite nephew,” he grumbles under his breath. “Oh, crap! I thought you already hung up… I got it, Pauly’s my daddy now and I have to listen to every little thing he says… No! I'm calling him Daddy Pauly… I don’t care if he quits. Why can’t Peck be my bodyguard? He’s a cop, he should be able to do it… Well, that’s true. I’d much rather get Pauly shot than Peck, I actually like Peck… Goodbye.”
