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“I don’t need any weird energy,” Noah countered. “Not all relationships work. I know that. It just sucks that this one didn’t. There’s no reason for me to skip work and go on tour with Simon—no offense. I’m an adult and I need to act like one. So I’m going to go to work tomorrow, see what kind of situation I’m going to be dealing with now that everyone’s back, and then I can decide. I’ve got it all worked out.”
They both stared at him for a solid minute.
“Then why are we even here?” Jax asked.
“Beats me. Ask Mom,” Noah muttered before getting up to get himself a donut. He missed the look his brothers exchanged, but when he faced them, he was smiling. “I’ve dealt with disappointment for most of my life. This is just another one. Next time, I’ll be more cautious.”
“Dude, if you get any more cautious, you’re just going to stand still and never do anything! And enough with being a damn martyr!” Jax said loudly. “We get it! You struggled because you were the oldest. You were the responsible one who had to help raise us. Believe me, we appreciate it, but it’s time you got a freaking life!”
“I have one!”
“Do you?” Simon asked cautiously. “Because it seems like everything—even your dating life this time—was still hyper-focused on your job and your need to stick to your financial plan. Where’s the fun in that?”
“Life’s not only about having fun.”
At least his life wasn’t.
“Okay, that’s fair,” Simon agreed, “but it should include fun. You’re not just your job, Noah. You’re more than that. What’s the worst that would happen if you called in sick to work tomorrow?”
“But I’m not sick.”
Simon, who never got mad, definitely looked annoyed. “Work with me here. For just a minute. What’s the worst that would happen?”
Noah shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“You’re not dealing with life-or-death situations,” Jax said, reaching for another donut. “There are other people in the office who can take a call. The owners should all be back to work tomorrow, so…”
He was already shaking his head. “I’m not a liar and I’m not going to run away from whatever’s going to come. I need to know how to proceed from here and that’s what I’m going to do and that’s final.” Then he looked over at Simon. “But I will take an extra day or two off when you’re here in a few weeks. Will that work?”
“If that’s the most I’m going to get out of you, then yeah,” his brother said with a smile. “You know we’re here because we care about you, right?”
“Oh, Lord…” Jax groaned.
Simon merely groaned back. “Unclench, Jax. I get that you’re not comfortable talking about feelings, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us aren’t. I talk about them all the time.”
“No, yousingabout feelings,” Jax corrected. “Two completely different things.”
“You’re not going to win this, Simon,” Noah told him. “But thank you for what you said. And believe it or not, I really am glad you guys are here. I just hate the reason for it.” He walked back over to the sofa and sat down, and his brothers did the same. He glanced over at Simon. “So…six hours, huh?”
Simon nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“We obviously can’t go anywhere because you’ll get recognized, so how about we order more food, I’ll set up the Xbox, and we just fuck around until it’s time for you to go?”
“Yes!” Jax cheered. “I love that idea!”
And while in a perfect world, he would be spending the day with Lily, he supposed spending a day hanging out with his brothers was a pretty awesome alternative.
It was a few minutes later, when they had a game picked and were getting comfortable, that Noah looked at them both and smiled.
“Thanks, guys. I needed this.”
“We got you, bro,” Jax said. “Always.”
For the next six hours, Noah felt better than he thought possible. They ate pizza, wings, tacos, and an almost obscene amount of chips and cookies. More than once, he laughed so hard that it actually hurt. It was a perfect day.
He was far from being over Lily, but it was nice to know his family was there for him. And maybe, just maybe, he was going to be okay.
SIXTEEN
