by Fiona Palmer
After they had finished their coffees and eaten all the chips, they made a move.
‘Jaz, you need a ride home?’ Taylor asked.
She glanced at Marcus and he shook his head. ‘Na, I’ve got one. Just make sure Anna gets home safe,’ she said with a wink.
Taylor frowned and she remembered that he didn’t know that she knew he liked Anna. Whoops.
Marcus reached for her hand as they left the coffee shop.
‘I like your friends,’ he said, pulling her close as they stood on the path while her friends walked off to where Taylor had parked the Mustang. ‘But I can’t wait to have you to myself on Saturday.’ He smiled at her, his green eyes swimming with suggestion.
‘I’m looking forward to it too.’
He lent across and gently brushed her lips in a fleeting kiss. It was sweet and it held a promise of what was to come.
‘Let’s go before I lose my control on a busy street,’ he said with a cheeky grin.
‘That I’d like to see,’ she teased.
He groaned as he pulled her towards his car. ‘Get in.’
All the way to her house, the car was filled with an emotional energy, the kind that spoke of his anticipation for their date and the guarantee of something more. Even though they had yet to define their relationship verbally. Jaz felt the excitement herself but was unsure which part was greater, being with Marcus or meeting his parents, as per her job.
Outside her house, he walked her to her door. ‘I’d get you to meet everyone, but no one is home. Do you want to come in anyway?’
He shook his head but pulled her close to him so their bodies touched. ‘No, I’d better not. I have to go pick up Kaino from his place to meet up with the other guys. I’m already late.’ He made no move to leave, even after his declaration. Instead he tightened his arms around her and smiled. ‘But there is one thing.’
‘Yes?’
‘Can I call you my girlfriend?’ he asked softly. His cheeks slightly flushed pink.
She could tell he was holding his breath as he waited for her answer. ‘You may.’
His smile was large and catching. Marcus brought his hands up and gently caressed her face as he kissed her lips. This time it was longer. This time he parted his lips and the pressure was more urgent. This time Jaz felt herself torn between a terrible guilt and the enjoyment of being wanted.
Marcus pulled away. ‘I so have to go. Talk to you soon.’
Jaz waved as he jogged back to his car. But her thoughts were still on that kiss as she tried to decipher her feelings towards it. And the kicker was, she had no one to talk it over with. No one to help her through the emotional rollercoaster of what she was doing. She felt like she was cheating on Ryan when they weren’t even anything and she felt like she was deceiving Marcus even though she found herself enjoying his attention. With a frustrated breath, she spun on her heel and headed inside.
Chapter 11
She was burning in anger and frustration. A whole week and still no word from Ryan.
A pain burst from her chest as Tick connected a hit. She doubled over, catching her breath against the pain. But it was good pain, the sort that rendered her mind blank from her thoughts. This fight with Tick was exactly what she needed.
Jaz glanced up at her opponent. His Asian eyes were watching her carefully, his body, covered in tattoos, was still primed.
‘You okay?’ He never said sorry. They had a rule that you never apologised for connecting.
‘Yep,’ she said, trying to stand up as her breath came back. ‘Don’t bruise me too much, I have a dress to wear tonight and purple and green is not a great colour combination.’
Tick laughed and flipped his dark fringe back with his hand. ‘Well, you just better move your arse a bit quicker if you don’t want bruises,’ he teased. He reached out and gripped her shoulder, his brown eyes hinting concern. ‘Nothing broken?’
‘Na, I’m okay. Just needed to get my breath back.’ Tick was the best, he treated her like another fighter: even though he cared for her, he still didn’t take it easy on her. And that’s what Jaz loved. She wanted to be pushed, she wanted to be treated like the others and she loved a fair, hard-worked fight. Tick gave her one every time.
‘Ready?’ he asked.
Jaz didn’t reply. Instead she spun around, lifting her leg to hit him high. She’d caught him a little off guard, but not enough, as her foot brushed past him. He grinned, bright white teeth standing out against his tinted skin. Tick threw a punch, which she deflected. He tried two more consecutively, which she blocked before throwing her own. The hits came and went before the pain could register and Jaz thrived in the release it gave her. Arriving at The Ring this morning to find Tick keen for a fight was God sent. Pax had been away for the week on another mission, the details of which he wouldn’t share with her, so she had been literally on her own waiting for Ryan to reply to her message. And because he hadn’t got back to her she was imagining all sorts of horrible things. Was his mission dangerous? Was he captured? Was he hurt? Jaz was at the point where she thought maybe she should go to James with her information and request a meeting with him sometime soon. But her gut instinct was to go to Ryan. She trusted him and, maybe, if she was true to herself, she was using this information to get to see him.
Tick’s foot brushed through her hair, narrowly missing her head. Jaz laughed. ‘Hey, no high stuff. I have a ball on tonight, remember. The swollen face look is not currently in fashion,’ she puffed, before aiming a punch to his abs, which connected. ‘And on that note, I think we should finish up.’ She shot Tick a winning smile while he rubbed his gut.
‘God I love fighting with you, Jaz. Let’s do it again soon,’ he said, pulling her into a sweaty hug.
Even though Tick was covered with tattoos and scars from his time in his old street gang, they didn’t define him. When his mother had got sick with cancer and died, leaving him to raise his sister, his whole world had changed. He got a serious job, moved his sister to a better area and left the gang. He regretted his life as a young teenager; the things he’d seen and done, and the turf wars they’d had, all seemed so trivial after losing his mum.
‘Yes, soon. What are you doing this arvo?’ she asked as they stood in the gym alone.
‘I’ve gotta take Annaliese to her netball game. Just so you know for later, don’t have girls. All the drama that comes with turning thirteen is nightmarish.’
Jaz laughed. At twenty-five Tick seemed like any normal parent, except he was much too young to have a teenager. One had to admire his love and devotion to his sister. ‘I’m going to have a shower and hang around here for a bit.’
Tick nodded as he headed for the door. His house was only a block away so he never used the showers here. ‘Righto. Have fun tonight, Jaz.’
Jaz followed him out, locked the front door and then went for her shower. She opened the door to her cubicle and started to undress. She turned to throw her clothes over the door and nearly dropped them. Jaz had been so preoccupied with Tick and their fight she had forgotten about Ryan. But here he was. His handwriting was familiar and she felt as if he was standing in the shower cubicle with her. Jaz reached for the note. This time he hadn’t bothered with a code. It simply said ‘my place. 7.30pm’. Her heart was racing. Finally he’d contacted her. Finally she’d get to see him. Finally she felt the relief wash over her as the week’s tension eased out of her limbs.
She felt like shouting with joy. The note clutched in her hand felt so precious, as if she was touching Ryan. She resisted the urge to hold the note against her heart in case she ruined it with her sweat from the fight. Reluctantly she put the note in her bag, after reading it again another three times. While she showered she couldn’t control the tingling in her skin and the nervous buzz like a million bees circling her body. He was finally home. Back at his house.
But his timing sucked as she realised she had to be at Marcus’s at eight. She’d have to go to Ryan’s on her way to the ball. It wasn’t id
eal. She wanted more time with him, not a rushed half hour. But it was better than nothing, she reassured herself. Any amount of time was better than nothing.
Later in the day, as Jaz was getting dressed for Marcus’s ball, she kept looking at Ryan’s note. Only three words, but they kept her on edge all day as if she was about to take flight with nervous energy. She had it stuck on her mirror after she got sick of pulling it out of her bag to look at every five minutes.
Jaz pulled her sage dress from her robe and hung it on the door.
Anna was with Ricky but had requested a photo of her in her dress. Taylor had got bored at home, more like didn’t want to be there, and had insisted on helping her get ready. Luckily she knew he wasn’t serious and he was actually downstairs playing games with Simon. But Jaz much preferred Taylor at her house than thinking of him alone at his home. She felt that he wasn’t safe, that the man was still out there, lurking in the shadows waiting to come back and finish the job. That’s why seeing Ryan tonight was important. She was hoping he could help.
Jaz slipped the dress on. Her hair she’d tied back into a lose knot at the nape of her neck. Her make-up she’d left light, with a hint of green eye shadow, but thickened her long eyelashes with mascara. The dress said it all, really.
Sinking her feet into her silver heels, she grabbed her silver clutch purse. Before leaving her room, she took Ryan’s note and hid it in her book on the desk.
‘What do you think?’ she asked Simon and Taylor.
Simon stared at her for a bit, then shrugged and went back to his game. Taylor, on the other hand, let his controller drop as he went to her.
‘Wow.’
Jaz smiled. She hoped she would get the same reaction from Ryan. The dress was a soft sage green with a wide V-neck that went out to the edge of her shoulders, where short soft sleeves draped towards her elbows. Just under her bust was a soft wraparound belt in the same material, which knotted at the front and fell with the rest of the soft flowing material. The dress was almost backless, showing off her smooth skin.
‘Thanks. I’m just going to call a taxi and then I’m off. You gonna stay with Simon?’ Jaz pulled out her phone from her clutch.
‘Hey, no. I’ll drive you.’
‘No, don’t do that. I can take a cab.’
‘And sit in something sticky or smell of some incense or bad body odour, I don’t think so. The ‘Stang chariot awaits,’ he said, with that stern look in his eye.
Damn it. Taylor wasn’t going to let this go. She didn’t want Taylor to see she was going to Ryan’s. How could she get out of this?
‘Whatever you are about to say, I don’t care. I’m still driving you.’
Shit. ‘Fine, but I need to go somewhere else first if that’s okay.’ Now she just had to figure out a story. Taylor already knew that Marcus lived in Cottesloe, so she couldn’t pass Ryan’s house off as his.
‘Let’s go,’ he said as he pulled the car keys from his pocket. ‘Si, I’ll see you soon. I’ll be back for another game.’ Simon nodded but didn’t turn away from his game.
‘Your folks won’t mind if I hang around here with Simon, will they?’ he asked as he held the car door open for her.
The sun had gone down; the night was pushing the last of the dying light with it. The air also had a cool crispness to it, making Jaz shiver. But most of that was from the turmoil of emotions raging inside her. She was about to see Ryan again.
Jaz tucked the soft material of her dress inside the Mustang so it wouldn’t get caught in the door. It was full-length, all the way to the floor, and she didn’t want it torn. ‘Not at all, Tay,’ she said when he got back in the driver’s side. ‘You can stay the night too, then I have someone to talk to when I get back,’ she offered.
He pulled a face as he started the motor. The large engine rumbling into the quiet night. ‘Jaz, I think you have me mixed up with Anna. I don’t do intimate details,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Where did you have to go first?’
Jaz gave him Ryan’s address as they pulled out onto the road.
‘Why are we going here? Who’s place is it?’
‘Ryan’s,’ she said quietly.
Taylor glanced across the car. The only light came from the street lamps, but it was enough to see he was a little confused.
She didn’t reply. Hell, she hadn’t really worked out what to say.
‘Jaz?’
‘I just found out he’s back.’
‘And what? You thought you’d drop by while looking fabulous in this dress and see if you could make him jealous?’
Great. Taylor had come up with his own explanation. It was better than any she could think of. ‘Something like that,’ she said, running with it. ‘I just need to see him and see what is going on. You know. Sort some stuff out.’
They rode the rest of the way in silence. Both preoccupied with their thoughts. Jaz made every effort not to start chewing her nails, but began chewing her lip instead. And then her foot wouldn’t stop jiggling. Before long Taylor had pulled up outside Ryan’s place and Jaz felt faint. She looked down, but the low cut V of the dress made her more nervous.
‘Are you sure about this? Do you want me to wait?’
Jaz shook her head. She wasn’t sure about either one. But she didn’t think Taylor’s Mustang sitting outside Ryan’s house would be a good thing. Too easy to recognise and it always drew attention. She could easily call a taxi from here.
‘No, you go back to Si. I’ll be fine. Thanks, Tay.’ Jaz made for the door but Taylor stopped her.
‘You are going to the ball with Marcus, aren’t you? Afterwards I mean?’
Was he worried she wouldn’t turn up? Marcus must have made an impression when they met at Molly’s. ‘Yeah, of course. I promised Marcus. I’m looking forward to it.’ But the truth was she hadn’t thought about it. She couldn’t get past seeing Ryan. Her mind refused to think past this big event.
Jaz got out and thanked Taylor again, before shutting the door and watching him drive off. She was alone in the night with just the streetlights. Jaz turned and looked at the fence around Ryan’s house. Her chest was rattling with a million bouncy balls. Her skin was prickling with anticipation and her breath was barely normal. She sucked in the night air and headed to the gate. Reaching over, she found the release button Ryan had told her about after she’d climbed over the fence and fell into his daisy bush. Walking towards his house was familiar yet scary. Each step to his door seemed to match the pounding of blood in her ears. Her hand gripped at her purse so hard she was afraid she’d draw blood and stain her pretty dress.
With a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked. Then stood back and tried to smooth her dress and make sure it was sitting on her shoulders right.
‘Come in,’ she heard him yell. His voice, she had missed it; it was just how she remembered it. Deep and alluring.
Jaz turned the handle and entered his house. It was bright inside and she felt self-conscious out of the dark.
‘I’m in the kitchen, hang on.’
She followed his voice as her mouth went dry. He stepped out, drying his hands on a tea towel, but paused when he saw her.
‘Jaz.’
Chapter 12
Her name on his lips sent tingles down her back as her eyes feasted on him. His hair was still clipped short and the shadow of stubble along his chin was neat but gave him that sexy rustic look she’d missed so much. She stumbled over his lips; feeling her pulse race, she moved upwards to his deep dark eyes. Still so mysterious and full of strength, but she saw something tender pass through them also.
‘Hey, Ryan,’ she replied.
He cleared his throat. ‘You look nice. Going somewhere?’
Heat touched her skin as his eyes trailed paths over every inch of her dress, setting a fire alight deep in her belly. ‘Yeah, I’m off to a ball. But I got your note.’
The mention of the note broke something as he cleared his throat again and threw the tea towel into the kitchen. ‘Come,’ he
said gesturing to her. ‘We’ll go sit in the lounge and talk.’
Jaz walked down the passageway; as she went past Ryan, she heard a noise, almost a groan from deep in his throat. It was faint but she’d caught it. A smile grew as she remembered the backless part of her dress. Jaz went to the couch, sat carefully, and watched as Ryan paused between the couch and the single chair. Was he wondering which one was safer?
‘I don’t bite,’ she said with a smile.
Ryan clenched his fists but Jaz was more taken with the way his grey trackpants clung to his hips. His shirt was white with a circular print in the middle, but it was the way it snuggled against his chest and the muscles in his arms that had Jaz swallowing hard.
He scratched at his chin. ‘Can I get you anything? A drink?’
‘No, I’m fine thanks. But I do need to talk.’
‘Right. Yes. I did get your text message.’ The thought of work spurred Ryan on. He stepped towards the couch and sat beside her. ‘I’m guessing you really needed to talk. Is it your mission? Has something gone wrong?’
The concern that sparked through the dark depths of his eyes warmed her heart. How was she going to be with Marcus tonight when her whole body and mind wanted to stay by Ryan’s side?
‘No, the mission is going fine. Marcus is great.’ Ryan frowned, not what Jaz was expecting. Would he be jealous of Marcus? Jaz doubted it. Ryan probably didn’t suffer those emotions. ‘But it’s Taylor. He was held at gunpoint.’ Jaz went on to explain the events of that day; how she was hit, and the guy in the balaclava with the gun.
‘Jesus, Jaz. Trouble seems to follow you,’ he said, but he wasn’t laughing. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I am, but I’m worried about Taylor. I don’t think he feels safe at home any more. The thing that I really wanted to tell you about, Ryan, was this guy’s tattoo. I only saw a part of it but it seemed familiar. I contacted you when I finally worked out what it was. Actually, I’d drawn you the picture of it once.’ Jaz waited to see if Ryan remembered the time he’d asked her to spy on some guys at the club he was working in and she’d spotted the tattoo on one of them.
