Avery left me smiling. I wasn’t expecting her to show up, but I’m glad she did. Once things wrap up with work, I call Ashton on my way home.
“Hey, how are things going?” he answers.
“They’re going. We had lunch together; she recreated our first date. Things felt good for a bit.”
“Good.”
“Well, believe it or not, I didn’t call to talk about me. How are things with you and Lexie? I’m about to send Reed another package soon, by the way.”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “We’re good, Jax. Real good. Reed’ll be excited. He’s probably going to call you tonight. He told Brooke this morning that he missed his Uncle Jax. Poor kid doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
I laugh. “I’ll definitely have to send him something extra then. Maybe he wants to switch from the piano to the drums? Brooke will love that.” Brooke is Reed’s mom and one of my good friends as well. One very drunken night between those two gave them Reed. They’ve always been friends, and they didn’t hesitate to find a way to raise their boy together.
Ashton laughs. “Don’t do that. She’ll blame it on me somehow, I’m sure.”
“I’ll think about it. All right, I’m at the house. I’m going to go relax for the rest of the evening.”
We hang up, and I wonder where Avery is. Her car isn’t in the driveway. She’s probably running errands or gone to see her sister or maybe Jasmine. I ignore the nagging thought in the back of my mind that she could be out with someone else. Maybe I should just take a nap. I could possibly get one in before Avery gets back from wherever she is doing God knows what. The temptation of my own bed, not the one in the guest bedroom, has me debating where I should sleep for the next hour.
I push open the door to our bedroom, my eyes on the bed like it’s chocolate I really crave, but shouldn’t have before dinner. Fuck it. It’s my bed in my room in my house. I can sleep wherever the hell I want. No one ever really uses the guest bedrooms, so the beds aren’t that great. My bed, however, feels amazing. There’s just something about your own bed that makes life a little sweeter.
Laying on my side, I adjust my pillow and close my eyes, inhaling deeply before releasing it. My eyes flash back open. My pillow smells like Avery. Has she been sleeping on my side of the bed? It seems like such a silly thought. Part of me wants to get up and go to the guest bedroom while another part just wants to enjoy this little piece of normalcy.
My eyes drift closed, choosing for me.
~ ~ ~
“Jax? Where are–” My eyes open as her words stop. “You?” she finishes weakly, almost stunned to see me in my own bed. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were sleeping.”
“It’s okay,” I answer, getting out of bed. “I needed to wake up anyway. Did you need something?”
“No, I saw you were home, but you were nowhere to be found at first.”
Right. She wasn’t here. “Where were you?” I glance at the clock. It’s been an hour and a half since I came home.
“Jasmine called, wanting to go for coffee, so I went to see her. She misses having me at work and wanted to rant.” She gives me a small smile. “I left a note on the kitchen counter,” she adds.
I didn’t check the kitchen for a note. For one single moment, I pause to see if I believe that she was out with Jasmine. My body deflates at the thought. I don’t want to wonder that every time she leaves the house without me or if I come home and she’s not here. “Oh, okay,” I finally say. Avery notices the change because I see it reflected in her. Before I can change my mind, I continue, “I’m going shopping for another package for Reed. Do you want to go with me?”
She doesn’t normally go with me, but I won’t worry about her cheating if she’s is with me. I hate I even think that. At the same time, for one night, my wife wanted another man because I wasn’t doing my part. I’m still not. I can’t. Not yet. Who’s to say that Avery won’t wait until I can? God, I hate this.
“Yeah,” she nods. “I haven’t done that with you in a while. How is he, anyway?”
We start out the bedroom and out the house as I answer her. “Good. Ashton said he’ll probably call soon because he misses his favorite player.” I smile at the thought.
Avery laughs. “That doesn’t surprise me. You’ve always been a kid-magnet. They all love you.” She pauses before changing the subject. “What do you plan on buying him this time?”
Reed is a safe topic, one I don’t mind talking about. “Well, I was running out of ideas. The kid pretty much has everything he wants already, but I was talking to Ashton today and you know, Reed likes to play the piano, so I thought about drums. Ashton said no, and Brooke will probably say no, which makes it perfect for Uncle Jax to give him.”
That giggle escapes her once again and fills my car. “You aren’t really going to send him drums, are you? After his parents said no?”
“Oh, I think I am. Technically, Ashton said no because of Brooke. I haven’t asked her. I didn’t ask Ashton, come to think of it. So, yes, drums. And I’ll need to find Sadie something, too.”
“Sadie?”
I glance at her. “Yeah, Ashton’s girlfriend’s daughter and Reed’s best friend. I’ve sent her something a few times as well after meeting them at the cabin that weekend. Didn’t I tell you?”
Avery shakes her head. “I mean, you told me they would be there, but I don’t think you ever said her name and you never said much about the trip once you came home.”