Breathe with Me (With Me in Seattle 7)

“Well you’re no fun.” I giggle again and collapse back on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m painting the downstairs bathroom.”

“So, you work construction all day and then go home and keep working?”

“If you were here, I’d be working on something far more exciting.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, it’s almost ten, so you’d be well on your way to your third orgasm by now.”

“Damn Jax,” I murmur, making Mark laugh.

“I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night.”

“Yay me!”

“I thought this was super secret gay girl time. What are you up to?” I can hear clanking in the background, and I picture him pouring more paint into a plastic pan.

“Jax got a call from the guy he’s seeing, so I decided to take advantage of it and call you. I kind of miss you.”

“Kind of?”

“Just a little bit.”

He chuckles and then I can hear him swallowing something. “I can come over later.”

“It’s okay.” I sigh. “Jax and I are going to snuggle up in my bed and go to sleep.”

The line gets quiet and I think I’ve lost him there for a minute.

“M?”

“You and Jax are going to snuggle up in your bed? All night?”

“Um, yeah?” I phrase it as a question because I’m not entirely sure why he sounds suddenly jealous.

“You’re sleeping in your bed with another man?”

“With Jax,” I clarify. “Clothed. I was just kidding about the whole being naked thing. Sleeping. He snores. I’ll probably kick him out at some point.”

“Now would be good.”

I frown and bite my lip. “Jax and I have slept together—just slept—for ten years, M. It’s nothing new.”

“It’s new to me.” He sighs and I can picture him rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

“If it makes you this uncomfortable, we won’t.”

“Why does my caveman come out full blast with you?” His voice is gritty and I grin. It’s sexy as hell.

“I love you,” I whisper. “I will sleep alone tonight.”

“This is my own issue, baby. Do what you’ve always done. I’m fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Are you sure?”

“I want to say no. I want to say the only man who will ever share your bed again is me. But that’s irrational. If Jax was a woman, I wouldn’t care.”

“Let’s snuggle,” Jax announces as he barges into my bedroom. “But I’m not staying. Logan says he’s staking a claim on sleeping privileges.”

I blink at Jax, who is smiling smugly, as he climbs into my bed and opens his arms. “Come on. Bring Mark with you. It’ll be a Chunky Monkey sammich.”

“What is he talking about?” Mark asks with a laugh. “Who is Logan?”

“His boyfriend,” I reply and crawl under the covers to snuggle up to Jax. “And apparently, you and Logan just laid down the law that we can cuddle, but there will be no more sleeping together.”

“I like Logan,” Mark replies.

“I like Logan too,” Jax says. “Say goodnight, Meredith.”

“Goodnight, Meredith,” Mark says with a laugh.

“Goodnight, Meredith,” I reply and giggle again. “Love you, handsome.”

“Love you too,” they both say at the same time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, baby.” Mark hangs up and I toss my phone to the foot of the bed.

“So, if Logan is staking a claim on sleeping privileges, he’s definitely your boyfriend.”

“He wants to invite you and Mark out to dinner with us this weekend.”

“Wow! Okay! How fun!” I grin and kiss Jax’s cheek. “We’ve never been on a double date before. Show me the picture.”

He finds a photo on his phone and shows it to me. A smiling, brown-haired man is staring back at me. He has a scruffy face, but it suits him. His teeth are just a bit crooked on the bottom, and his eyes are green and kind. He’s wearing a red beanie and black thick-rimmed glasses.

“Hello, Mr. Hottie Lovey Pants.”

“Right?” He takes the phone back and stares at Logan’s photo for a long minute before shutting it down and setting it aside. “He’s seriously hot.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s an architect.” His eyes light up with pride as he thinks about Logan. “You should see some of the buildings he’s designed.”

“He and Mark will have something to talk about.”

Jax nods and yawns. “I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Why?”

“Come on, Mer. You know my history with men. It’s not exactly what romance novels are made of.”

“Me neither,” I reply with a shrug. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve that. You deserve to be happy with a hot guy who’s kind and loves you.”

“No one said anything about love,” he replies quickly.

“Whatever. You know what I mean.”

He grows quiet, lost in his own thoughts and I leave him be, enjoying this quiet time with him. I admit, I’ve missed him too. I’ve spent every night this week with Mark, and while it’s been pure bliss every night, I can’t forget that my relationship with Jax is important too.

“I think I’m just going to take things with Logan day by day and see what happens,” Jax finally murmurs.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

He nods. It’s hard for Jax to trust, so the fact that he’s willing to try with Logan means the man must be very special.

“I’m sleepy,” I whisper.

“I’ll go to bed.” He slips out from under me and kisses my cheek. “I love you, moon pie.”

“I love you too, best friend.”

***

“You’re trying to kill me.” My chest is heaving as I try to drag air into my lungs, glaring up at Jax from the floor. I’m on my ass after falling during rehearsal.

“You’re sloppy today,” he replies, his voice hard.

“I am not. Starla can’t do moves like this, Jax. She’s a singer, not a dancer.”

“She’ll do it.”

“I’m telling you, she can’t. I haven’t landed that throw once and we’ve done it two dozen times.”