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His brother had a tendency to get like this and Noah usually ended up giving him a pep talk to cheer him up. “It was more than okay. Your name was mentioned the most in every game and you know it. And didn’t you just sign an endorsement deal?”
“Yeah, but…” He sighed loudly. “I’m bored, Noah. Like…I know I can keep playing. I’ve got a lot of years left in me, but…I just don’t know if it’s what I want.”
This was brand new information.
“O-kay…then this is why we need to get together. We can talk about this and maybe come up with a plan for you that doesn’t involve football. Do you know what you want to do?”
“I’ve got some ideas, but…it’s nothing I can really flesh out just yet.”
“Um…”
“Anyway, enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
Noah told him about the extra work he took on while Mac, Jason, and Lucas were away and how they entrusted him with their top clients.
“That’s awesome, bro!” Jax said, and Noah could hear the pride in his voice. “I honestly don’t know how you do it. Working with numbers all day would literally be like torture for me. I mean…I barely passed every math class I ever took with a D. You clearly got all the brains in the family.”
“That’s not even a little true,” he replied with a laugh. “We each got a talent that the others didn’t. I got the business gene, you got the athletic gene, and Simon got the musical one.”
“Tell me about it. Did you see him onThe Tonight Showlast week?”
“I did, and I can’t believe he told the story about us building him that pillow fort so we wouldn’t have to listen to him sing all the damn time!”
Jax laughed. “I know! But luckily he didn’t tell the story of how we heckled him in the middle school talent show.”
“Yeah. That totally would have made us look like dicks, so…we should probably thank him for not sharing that.”
“Nuh-uh. Maybe he’s forgotten about it and if we say anything, then we’re just reminding him. I say just let it go and hope it never comes up.”
“Good call,” Noah agreed. “So? When am I seeing you?”
“It sounds like your work schedule’s keeping you busy. I don’t want to be in the way. When do your bosses get back?”
“Three weeks.”
“Damn. I was hoping to be there in two,” Jax told him. “And am I staying with you? You only have the one bedroom. I can totally stay at a hotel.”
“I hate for you to do that. The couch is a pull-out and the mattress is the thickest you can get. I actually tried it and it’s really comfortable. Plus, my complex has a pool and a gym, so you could use them as much as you want.”
“We’ll make it work. I have to stay in a lot of hotels when the team travels and I’m kind of over them. It might be nice to just rough it a bit,” he teased.
“Great. Thanks. I appreciate you being willing to slum it by staying with me,” he murmured.
“Don’t pout. It’ll be fun. You know I’m just poking at you. But it’s a shame you can’t take some time off and come here. You’d have your own space, a private indoor pool, and a golf course. If you want to wait until your bosses get back…”
But Noah was shaking his head. “I don’t have any time to spare right now. I’m taking a day when Simon’s tour comes here next month and other than that, I’m using the rest of my PTO for the holidays. We all promised Mom we’d do Christmas at home this year.”
“Ugh…don’t remind me. Any chance we can convince her to come here or find out where Simon’s going to be touring and go there?”
Chuckling, he shook his head again, even though Jax couldn’t see him. “I’ll let you bring that up to her and you can tell me how it goes.”
“Oh, come on! You’re her favorite! You should ask her.”
“What? Since when am I the favorite? You’re the baby of the family, Jax. Trust me. You’re the favored son.”
“Are you kidding? I remind her too much of Dad. Simon could be the favorite, but he travels too much and she doesn’t agree with his rock and roll lifestyle.” Then he laughed. Hard. “Simon’s the least rock and roll guy in the business!”
“That’s the truth…”
