When he quirks a brow at me, I realize I’ve been silently ogling him instead of greeting him back. Clearing my throat, I murmur, “Hi. How was the flight?”
“It was good. How’s it going holding down the fort by yourself?”
I have to bite my lip from blurting out how much I miss him. Instead, I go with, “Good, though I think we should discuss getting a pet to keep me company while you’re on the road.”
Jax’s eyebrows lift in surprise and he sits forward. “Yeah? What kinda pet are we talking about?”
“I’ve always wanted a cat.”
He chuckles at that. “I know. But I feel like you’re the kinda gal who wouldn’t stop at just one cat so before you know it you’d turn into the crazy cat lady and we’d have four or five of them.”
“You’re right. I would so do that. Besides, if memory serves, you’re allergic.”
“Yup, probably my biggest flaw.”
I chuckle at that.
“Is Walker still planning on coming over tonight to watch the game with you?” he asks.
I stretch my arms wide and stifle back a yawn.
“Yeah, she’s going to bring Chinese food over for dinner. I haven’t really had much of an appetite lately, but I’ve never been one to turn down a takeout container of chicken fried rice.”
“Dubs knows everyone’s favorites. She has the uncanny ability to remember the smallest details about everyone.”
“She does,” I agree, biting my lip in hesitation before I decide to ask him something that’s been on my mind lately. “Have you noticed anything different about your sister?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It just seems like she’s . . . lonely. Even when we’re hanging out together, I catch her staring off into the distance with this forlorn expression. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel like she’s been sad ever since she moved here and I wasn’t sure if you knew anything.”
“I mean, she did decide to abruptly quit her dance career and move home to attend college as a twenty-one-year-old freshman. I’m sure she’s having a harder time making new friends and transitioning into a new routine when she’s had the same one for nearly four years.”
My eyes widen as I process what he’s just said. “Wait, she was only seventeen when she moved to LA?”
He nods his head. “Crazy, right? I was so shocked my parents let her move out there on her own while she was still a minor. But she got a once in a lifetime opportunity with a ballet company out there and my mom didn’t have the heart to tell her no.”
“I’m still having a hard time separating her now as a grown woman from the shy, horse-loving eleven-year-old she was when we started dating.”
Jax smiles fondly before tossing himself back on his pillows.
“So, where is everyone? Who’s your roommate?”
“Carson is pretty much my permanent roommate by now. Which is good for me because he doesn’t snore and he can take a hint—kinda like right now.”
“Is that so? What does that mean?” I humor him by asking, though I have a pretty good idea of where he’s going with this.
“It means Carse went to Griff’s room to play some video games. He picked up on the fact that I was going to call you and wanted a little privacy.” His voice is lower now, raspier than it was only moments ago.
“And why would you need privacy?” I ask, standing up and letting the blankets that were covering me fall to the floor as I trek across the cool floors to our bedroom.
I tuck myself beneath the covers just as Jax lets out a pained groan, and I startle from the noise.
“What?” I question, searching the screen for any sign of danger or injury.
“You’re wearing my jersey when I’m not there to witness you in it?”
I look down as realization sinks in. I’m wearing his black and lime green Wolverines jersey, and he’s right, while it’s not the first time I’ve worn it—quite the opposite, in fact—it is the first time he’s seen me wearing his name and number.
