Breathe with Me

“I know. I’d kind of like having you there.”

“I have to work too. It’s only a few days.” He rolls us on our sides so he can see my face. “I’ll pick you up from the airport on Wednesday.”

I nod and cup his face in my palm. “I’ll call you whenever I can.”

“Do your work, enjoy Starla and Jax for a couple days, then come back home to me.”

I smile widely and lean in to kiss him. I know he’s nervous about me leaving. I’ve felt it from him every time we’ve made love this weekend, in moments when I’ve caught him watching me quietly. I don’t know how to assure him that there is nothing to worry about.

“Want me to bring you back something?” I grin and sit up, letting the sheet pool in my lap and scrub my hands over my face. “A T-shirt? Coffee mug? Post card?”

“Just my woman, thanks,” he says as he climbs from the bed and walks naked to the bathroom. Good God it’s not a hardship to watch him walk away in the least. That ass is just… delicious.

I could bounce a quarter off that ass.

I blink when I hear the toilet flush and then feel my face heat when he walks back in the room.

“What were you thinking?”

“That I could bounce a quarter off your ass.”

“I thought you liked my arms?”

“Your ass isn’t half-bad either.” I shrug and climb from the bed, searching for my clothes, avoiding eye contact. For God’s sake, I had the man’s penis in my mouth ten minutes ago, but telling him that I think he has a nice ass makes me shy?

What the fuck?

“Come here.” It’s not a request. I drop the shirt and leggings I plan to wear on the plane to the bed and cross to him. He loops his arms around me and hugs me tight, gently rocking back and forth and plants his lips on my head. He takes a deep breath when I press my palms to his back and hold on tight.

“I like looking at you,” I whisper.

“Good. I like looking at you too.” He chuckles and kisses my hair then rubs my back soothingly. “Is Jax here?”

“I don’t know. I never heard him come home.” I cross to the bed and check my phone. “There aren’t any messages from him.”

Mark and I have just finished pulling on our clothes when I hear the front door burst open.

“My bags are ready!” Jax calls out on his way past my bedroom to his.

“He’s home now,” I say and laugh as I jog out into the hallway. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Logan and I… uh… overslept.”

“Right.”

“Shut up.”

“I like him.” I lean my shoulder on his doorjam and cross my arms over my chest as he gathers his toiletries and throws them in a bag. “He’s nice. And he’s hot.”

“I heard that!” Mark calls from my bedroom, making me laugh.

“He’s not as hot as you!” I call back.

“We’re gonna be late,” Jax mumbles and stops in the middle of the room, looking stressed and rushed, with his hair standing on end, stubble still on his cheeks and the clothes that I’m sure he was wearing yesterday.

“No we’re not. You have time to at least change your clothes. You’re in a relationship with the man, Jax, no need to be doing the whole walk of shame thing.”

“I’ll shower and change when we get to the hotel.”

I roll my eyes and walk back to my room. “Thank God it’s only a two hour flight!”

“I don’t smell!” I hear him loudly sniff his armpit and then mumble under his breath about finding a clean T-shirt.

Mark is sitting on the edge of my bed checking his phone. He’s also wearing the same clothes from yesterday.

“Looks like Jax isn’t the only one doing the walk of shame today,” I say with a chuckle. “You should just bring some extra things here for when you stay with me.”

“You should just move in with me and we won’t have this issue,” he says, still staring down at his phone.

“I’ll make room for you in my closet,” I reply without acknowledging his suggestion because frankly, I don’t know how in the hell to respond to that.

“I’ll make room for you in my closet,” he says, still typing furiously on his phone.

“I’m ready!” Jax says as he hustles past my room, then backtracks and pokes his head around the doorjam. “Hello? Flight? LA? Job? Are you coming?”

“Yes. Ready, babe?”

“I’m ready.”

The drive to the airport is quiet as all three of us are lost in our own thoughts. It’s early enough that traffic isn’t too thick yet and we make it to the airport with plenty of time.

“You don’t have to pay to park, M. Just pull up at the drop off area.”

“I’ll go in with you,” he says.

“It’s a waste of money,” I insist, but he takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles gently, making me go all gooey inside.

“No it’s not. I’m not going to be able to touch you for more than forty-eight hours, Meredith. I’ll take every minute I can now.”

“Damn, you have it bad, man,” Jax says with a laugh from the back seat earning a grin from Mark.

“And you don’t?” Mark challenges him.

Jax shrugs. “I said all my mushy stuff in private this morning.”

“Aww, you’re mushy?” I squeal and bounce in my seat. “I’ve never seen you be mushy before.”

“And you won’t see it now,” he replies dryly. Mark parks the Jeep and the guys pull our suitcases out of the back and pull them behind us as we walk into the terminal.

We print our boarding passes, check our bags, and Jax shakes Mark’s hand. “Thanks for the ride, man. I’ll meet you at the gate, tootsie roll. I don’t want to witness any more of the mush.” He winks and walks away, leaving Mark and me alone.

“I’ll text you when we get in.”

“Good. I’ll worry.” He links our fingers on both hands and loops them around my back then leans in and kisses me, not giving a shit who might be watching. Finally he releases one of my hands and cups my neck, his thumb making little circles on my cheek as his lips nibble and make me forget where I am.

With one kiss, he can completely disarm me.

“Be safe,” he whispers against my lips.

“You too,” I reply and brush my fingers through his hair. “I’ll see you soon.”