He sends me a note telling me he’s booked us a ‘car’...and that car turns out to be a fucking taxi!! What the hell?! Still laughing, we jumped in the taxi and the driver shuffled nervously before saying...
“Uh, this taxi is booked and paid for, for a few hours, did you wanna go somewhere special or just drive around for a while?” We all glanced at each other before burst out laughing all over again! Who books and pays for a taxi to drive around the city they live in for a few hours?! Did I say he was crazy? We just told the taxi driver to take us straight to Blaze. It wasn’t our fault Jax had wasted his money.
We must have looked a picture, walking from the taxi to the club, I had my arm linked with Harp, who had her arm linked with Jase and we were giggling like hyenas. I knew it; I could feel it in my bones that it was going to a good night. No...it was going to be a great night. I was carrying all of our VIP passes so we walked past everyone waiting in the queue, ignored the scathing looks from people still waiting and strolled up the steps in front of the doormen. The same doorman who was staring at my ID the week before was on the door and he smiled as we got closer to him. Instead of asking for our VIP passes, he just opened the door and stepped aside.
I felt like freaking royalty! He only made this better by bowing dramatically as we strode in, we giggled even more at his antics before I stopped in the threshold, pinched the material of my shorts and curtsied right next to him. He guffawed and the sound shot straight through me, I didn’t think it was all that funny, but apparently, he did! I tilted my head to study him and asked...
“What’s your name?”
“Mike.”
“Well Mike, sorry about apparently falling into you last week. I’m sure Jax filled you in on what happened, but still...sorry!” I shot him a blinding smile and followed my friends to the bar.
We’d been dancing for about an hour, I wasn’t drunk, I wasn’t even tipsy but I was letting go, enjoying myself and I was not, no I was certainly not checking around every few minutes to see if I could see Jax anywhere. No, I wasn’t doing that. But it just so happened, that I glanced at the door at the exact time Jax strolled through. Looking so damn tempting in black trousers, a grey button down shirt and from what I could see from my place on the dance-floor, some sort of walkie-talkie in his hand?
It took me all of a second to realise just how thirsty I was, so, regardless of the fact that my bottle was still more than half full, I HAD to walk to the bar. It was necessary wasn’t it Taylor? Hmm? LIAR. I could feel his eyes on me as I forced my way to the front of the bar but my eyes avoided his. I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him if we locked eyes so I started up a random conversation with a girl next to me. At some point during our conversation, her eyes became fixated on something over my right shoulder and she shouted over the music...
“Holy shit! That’s Jackson Brent. He’s the owner of this place and he is...fine! I wonder if he’s got a girl for tonight.” I stiffened at her words and asked what she meant. She wasted no time in explaining herself.
“Haven’t you heard? He’s like...A GOD! He can click his fingers and the girls flock! They say he’s known for taking like three or more AT A TIME!! He can have who he wants and he does. Like, it might sound bad, and with anyone else I’d probably say it does...but it’s him ya know? Beautiful, unattainable and complex. He’s a challenge. Girl’s like a challenge just as much as guys do right right? He’s not like, an asshole or anything, he’s honest. Says it like it is. My friend Becca was with him the second night he moved to town and she said he the best she’s ever had, that’s a seriously glowing report considering she’s like...” she leant even further in and whispered...”slutty.” She wiggled her eye-brows as if she’d just told me something sexy, which she had not and then turned and stalked away.
I was frozen to the spot. Jax? MY Jax, who wasn’t my Jax and never would be, but still...he...he was a fucking slut!!! Whilst I was silently fuming over this new information, I failed to notice that the barman had asked what I wanted until I heard a voice behind me say...
“She’ll have a vodka, lemon and lime and cherry bomb. Free. And I’ll take a whisky.” The barman looked momentarily stunned before he scuttled away murmuring ‘of course, sir.’
I whirled to face him and scowled in his face before I hissed...”What if I didn’t want that fucking drink? I’m perfectly capable of ordering my own.” He appeared to be bemused by my outburst before he pulled out his trademark cocky smirk and shot back...”Of course you can, but seeing as my bartender had been waiting thirty seconds for you to answer him and there’s about fifty people waiting to be fuckin’ served...thought I’d get the job done for you.”
“Did you enjoy your car?!” I could hear the amusement in his voice and since what he’d done was actually funny, I was momentarily distracted from the fact that he was a full-on whore and I laughed before nodding and saying...
“Yes thank you, we always forget who’s turn it is to pay for the taxi, so it made our trip easier.” I shot him a smug smile but this seemed to bounce of him seeing as he threw his head back and laughed. LOUD. When he stopped, he asked...
“Did you smile?” Ahh fuck. He’d asked that before so I knew what he would ask next.
“Did you laugh?” Damn him! I still didn’t answer him, so he finished with...
“Then my job is done.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
I pressed my lips together and glared at him. I hated that he was right but I didn’t have a comeback so I downed my cherry bomb, grabbed my drink with my free hand and was preparing to storm away when he caught my wrist and swung me back towards him. I lost my footing and collided with his chest, sloshing my drink over the side of the glass and all down the front of his shirt. I couldn’t prevent the giggle that bubbled out of me so I laughed right in his face.
People around us were brazenly staring at us with their mouths hanging open and I didn’t care. Well...I didn’t care until Jax, the big jerk, thought it acceptable to hoist me over his shoulder and stroll, casual as anything, right through the middle of the club, back towards the front entrance and up the stairs that led to the office.
I was practically vibrating I was that pissed, though I was also truly grateful that I’d been wearing shorts, thus preventing the entire fucking mass of people in the main bar from watching my ass float across the room. I lifted his shirt and clawed at his back in an attempt to make him put me down. He assured me that my efforts were both futile and also apparently...mildly seductive being as the fucking freak was getting turned on by it.
He walked straight through office door and plonked me abruptly in his office chair. He turned on his heel, reached into a cupboard in the corner and pulled out another grey shirt, exactly the same as the one he was already wearing. He glanced at me before slowly unbuttoning the wet shirt he had on. I tried to look away...I really did!...I swear! But my eyes betrayed me; they were fixated as his fingers made easy work of his buttons and he slid his shirt off his shoulders. Ahh crap. Fuck. Me. I could feel his eyes scorching my skin but my gaze followed the shirt as he moved it first off one arm, then closely followed by the other. He was temptation personified, my mouth watered at the display.
He was a vision of masculinity; he was smooth, sexy and looked so so silky. There was a slight sheen of sweat covering his abs, well it may have covered all of him, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the muscles decorating his abdomen. He wasn’t covered in hair, in fact he didn’t have a single strand on his chest but he did have a thin, almost groomed trail leading down the middle of the ‘V’ of sculpted muscle above his groin...HOT! I had to twist my hands together in my lap to stop myself from reaching out and stroking his stomach with my finger tips.
I ran my tongue along my bottom lip and then I had to bite down on it so I wouldn’t groan out loud when he brushed a hand across the shaved hair on his head but when I caught his eyes I noticed they were dancing. OH MY GOD, HE’S BEEN WATCHING ME....WATCHING HIM!!!!!!
“What?!” I snapped? His mouth curved up at the corners and he replied on a smile.
“Babe...” he laugh softly and he blinked slowly...”if you really want me to believe that you don’t want me, you probably shouldn’t be staring at me like you haven’t eaten in a week and I’m the fucking Sunday roast!!”
“I was NOT staring!! I was...I was um...trying to work out what the hell you brought me up here for?!” He raised an eyebrow in demonstration of just how much he didn’t believe a word I said – then again, in all honestly, I probably wouldn’t have either!
He picked me up again and placed me on the desk, far more tenderly than he had on the chair, pushed my thighs apart which made my breath hitch and he stepped between them so that I didn’t have a choice but to either gawk at his chest a little more or tilt my head back to look in his eyes. I chose the latter because it seemed like the safer option to calm the stifling sexual tension surrounding us.
Did it work? Nope.
He placed his hands on either side of me at the desk so that his arms were holding me in place and I had to arch my back to look at him. He licked along my bottom lip and groaned whilst I was rooted in place. I couldn’t remember what I was doing there, I couldn’t remember why I was pissed off... fuck, I couldn’t even remember my own name!
He looked into my eyes for a few beats and started to lower his head again when my phone vibrated in my pocket and I was instantly mortified at the situation I was in. How the fuck does he do this to me?! I exaggerated my movements, trying to get my phone out from my back pocket hoping he’d take the hint and step back but seeing as I was already aware that he did exactly what he wanted and when he wanted to do it, I was neither surprised nor pleased when he ignored me and stayed exactly where he was. I could feel him hard against me and my voice broke when I answered the phone.
“He...” I cleared my throat and tried again...”Hello?” I could barely hear the person on the other end of the phone speaking over the noise of the club downstairs but I vaguely registered Harper screeching...
“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?! YOU’VE BEEN GONE AGES AND WE’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!! I SWEAR TO GOD GIRL...AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU LAST WEEK, THIS IS NOT COOL.”
“Where are you now?” She told me what room she was in and I told her I’d meet them there in five minutes but Jax still didn’t move.
“Move.” His body turned to stone against mine but he didn’t move so I repeated my demand.
“Move...please.” He frowned down and me and asked me why and I laid it all out for him.
“Why? Well, let’s see shall we? I was innocently waiting for a drink downstairs when I struck up a conversation with the girl next to me who proceeded to inform me about just how hot you are, and exactly how easy, and how regularly you get girls. They ‘flock to you’ apparently. I won’t be a pawn in your stupid games Jax. Go downstairs, pick a girl...hell...pick a few and let them entertain you for a while ok? Just back the fuck off away from me yeah? I’m not one of those girls.” Since I didn’t have anything else to say to him, I shoved him away from me and strutted out of the room. It’s safe to say that I didn’t stay much longer after that!
Jackson
What the fuck?! She was primed, she was panting and she was hot as fuck, then the phone rings and I get a mouthful of abuse about how many girls I’ve been with.
I’m not a saint, far from it in many ways, but the fuckin’ rumours are ridiculous! Everywhere I’ve lived before, be it Manchester, Birmingham, Norwich and now London, the rumours always start. Yeah ok, so if a girl wants it, and I want her, I’ll fuck her. Big deal! But a few at one time? Nah, not my style. I like to take my time, work them up, make them ache for it. Not get tangled up in a mass of limbs, whereby nobody has a clue what fuckin’ part they’re supposed to be doing!
I assumed that there was probably at least fifty girls downstairs who’ve claimed to have slept with me and haven’t. I don’t get it, why lie?! Once, in Manchester, there was a cat-fight that broke out between FOUR different girls, over me! The worst part? I hadn’t been with a single one of them!
Do I care that they make these things up? Not usually.
But when it causes issues between me and the girl I actually do want? No, not happening.
I worked for another two hours, wondering how I should fix what went wrong with Taylor. I knew I’d need some help getting things back on track so I swallowed my pride...briefly...grabbed my phone and text Harper.
Tay heard some shit tonight that
is NOT true. What u reckon I should do?
Nothing. I got nothing. She didn’t respond. I think that was worse than bitchin’ at me considering I didn’t know what she was thinking, if she was planning, if she was with Taylor...nothing.
I was pissed off, but then, I didn’t think I really had the right to be considering I’ve never, not once, corrected people’s opinions and lies about it. I never cared enough, it’s all stupid games and frankly, let them think what they want. Everyone can...everyone except Taylor.
By the time I fell asleep that night, I still hadn’t received a text from Harper, I had no clue how to change things by myself because Taylor was just so damn complicated, and I was more frustrated than ever.
Waking up early the next morning, I frowned thinking I could really have done with an extra few hours sleep but once I’m awake...I’m awake! I grabbed my phone to check the time but noticed I had two missed calls and two texts, all from Harper. I panicked thinking something had happened, but then I read her texts and cursed out loud.
Promise me it’s not true jax.
I’ll take it that your silence says it all.
Why would I help you with Taylor, when you
treat girls like dogs?!
I rang her three times, go no answer and growled deep in my throat in frustration. However on the fourth attempt, she answered with...
“What?” She snapped.
“Harper, you text me at me at four A.M!! I only stayed at work until one...I wasn’t even awake to defend myself!” She didn’t reply straight away so I assumed she was thinking it through.
“Okay...” She started slowly...”say I believe that these rumours aren’t true, which by the way, you haven’t told me yet. It’s a tricky situation. It won’t be easy any way that you do things.”
“Um, I know that Harper, which is why I text you! I never said I was a saint, but I’ll say, most of it, is not true! And even it was, I don’t chase women. Taylor’s different.”
“Do not make me regret this Jackson...” I told her I wouldn’t and she gave me her idea.
“So right, if you barge over to her place, demand she listen to you, deny everything and do your usual cocky smirk. Likelihood is, she’ll punch you in the face, slam the door on you and never speak to you again. So I’m thinking...ignore it. Just turn up somewhere, take her out, treat her...but don’t go overboard, and literally just do not mention it at all. It’ll throw her off her game.”
Genius. The girl is a genius.
Chapter eleven
Taylor
Since I hadn’t come home drunk the night before and jerk-face ruined my night for me. I was up and ready for my jog at half nine the following morning. I ran for a three miles before stopping at Harper and Jase’s flat so they could make me breakfast! What was meant to be a half an hour drop-in, ended up being an all-day junk-food-fest. We ate shit, we talked shit and we watched shit on TV until I peered out the window to see it was starting to get dark out.
Jase offered to walk me home but since I was still wearing my running gear and I had consumed my body-weight in chocolate I told him I was just gonna run it.
I was looking forward to opening my door, kicking off my shoes and sitting on the sofa with my duvet over me when I got back. But when unlocked my door, I stopped in my tracks and stared at the sight before me. Jax sat on my couch with his feet up on my coffee table watching re-runs of some American show. I just stood there and stared at him until he turned and a be
autiful smile spread across his face when he seen me.
Butterflies.
He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again and looked down at my outfit which consisted of a pair of tight, hip hugging black joggers, a sports vest, skin tight, with the straps crossed at the back, so the front was pulled even tighter across my chest. It really did give me great cleavage! And running trainers.
“Damn baby girl, I swear you look more beautiful every time I see you. I can’t decided which is better, the red dress, or that?! I don’t even know how you make that look half as good as you do! Come sit down, I’ve bought you more wine.” He patted the seat next to him and I walked woodenly over to the sofa. He pulled me down next to him, put his arm around me and rested my head on his shoulder before kissing my hair which felt TOO good and turning back to the TV.
“Can I just ask, what the hell you are doing here?!” I requested
“Baby girl, here’s the thing I been playing the game with you all week and today I sat at home wondering what I should send you next when I figured, I’m twenty-eight. I don’t need to keep pussy-footing around you like a teenage boy and I wanted to give you...me. So I did. The shit you said last night, it’s bullshit, It’s rumours, 99% of most the shit people say about me ain’t true. So yeah, I’m here to give you me!”
“You gave me...you?! That doesn’t even make sense! I don’t want you...And could you please stop breaking into to my home!?” He muted the TV and turned his body so that his face was mere inches from mine before answering.
“No. I won’t stop, because doing that it is the only way I’ve gotten you to talk to me all week and I LIKE talking to you. I’ve decided that you’re gonna be my girl, all in. I wanna walk down the road with your hand in mine, I wanna meet your parents, I wanna wake up in the morning with a smile on my face because I know yours is the first face I’m gonna see, I wanna go to sleep at night holding your body snug against mine and I know deep down you want the same things. So I’m here to make that happen.” I stiffened at the mention of him meeting my parents, he noticed straight away and frowned at me so I whispered...
Surreptitious (London) Page 7
