𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭 (𝟏𝟖+) 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃 ✓

Chapter 23

"I wasn't expecting to find a guest this morning," my brother says as he stops in the kitchen observing us, specifically Jax.

"Lay off Cody, I invited him to stay over," Cleo says as she goes to greet them. 

"How's Chris doing?" I ask as Cleo fusses over him.

"The doctor wants him resting for the next day or two and drinking a lot of fluids. If his fever comes back again, we take him to the hospital again," Cody replies as he adjusts his hold on Chris.

"We'll have to keep an eye on that. Are you going to work?" Cleo questions.

"No, I called in sick and told them what was happening so I've got the day off. I'm going to spend the next couple of hours sleeping," Cody says as he walks out the kitchen and straight upstairs. Cleo and I glance at each other as we chuckle.

"I bet you he'll pass out in the kid's room, won't even make it out of there," I say still laughing.

"I'm not going to rise to the bait since I know for sure you're right. You should get going right?" she questions as she takes the kid's dishes, handing them to Jax since he's decided to take care of washing them.

"Yeah, we should get going. You have to leave now to make it for work, right?" I ask looking over at Jax. He nods his head as he turns off the water, drying his hands on a hand towel.

"I have thirty minutes before my shift starts and I have to stop by the house to change," he replies as he puts on his jacket.

"Let me walk you out," I say as I put on a sweater following him out the kitchen. "Kids, finish getting ready. I'll drop you off at school instead of your mom today." They start cheering as we walk down the hall. Jax slips on his shoes and I open the door, stepping outside with him in the crisp winter air. 

"Hey, be careful alright," I say, crossing my arms over my chest from the cold. Jax steps up to me, toe to toe and he places both hands on my semi-cold cheeks. Jax's lips fall onto mine and move against mine softly for a couple of seconds before pulling back. I can feel my cheeks heating up from this intimate moment and although I'm pretty sure he'd kiss me more, we're still at my brother's home. His eyes hold mine for a couple of seconds before his lips turn up into a smirk.

"I'm always careful, I should be telling you to be careful," he tells me.

"What are you talking about, I'm always careful," I say, throwing his words back at him. His hands fall from my face and he walks over to the car in the driveway. "Where did you get the car?" I question as he unlocks the doors.

"I forgot to tell you I got my license back the other day, it was a lot of paperwork to get through. I was just waiting for my card to be mailed and my boss sold the car to me. He's taking the payments from my paycheck. It's not brand new but it's a car so that's all I really care about," he replies.

"You have a good boss, I'll see you later," I say to him. He nods his head and I watch him back out of the driveway, driving down the street until I can't see the car anymore. I open the front door, walk back inside and I'm immediately met with a grinning Cleo. I sigh while rolling my eyes as I close the door. Why am I not surprised?

"You were watching weren't you, you creep," I say, walking up to her and plucking Alexa out of her arms. 

"Char, you two are my one true pairing, I'm shipping you two so hard," she gushes.

"Cleo, do you know what you sound like?" I ask facing her.

"What?" she asks perplexed.

"You sound like a  high schooler, what are you sixteen?" I ask laughing and Alexa smiles when she hears me laughing. "See, your daughter agrees," I say holding her up.