First Crush (Dark Falkon #1)

by J. O Mantel

  Jake raised his eyebrows, he tried to hide his jealousy by turning away, and Sienna kept talking.

  “I know what you're thinking, “he's a celebrity, he's famous, and it’ll never work.” And you know what? That thought was going through my mind the whole time, but why can't it work? We're both adults and in the end, he is a real person, just like you and I. As I was leaving, he kissed me.”

  Jake had been silent during her little speech, he didn't know what to say, it seemed as though she had everything figured out.

  “He what?” Jake asked, horrified.

  “He kissed me. It was just a kiss on the cheek, but it meant something.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? He kissed you?”

  “Yes! Why are you mad?”

  “Sienna, do you realize what you're getting yourself into?”

  “Um...nothing?”

  He was furious, he stood up and paced the room, frantically.

  “Jake, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?”

  “Because, Sienna! This is wrong on so many levels.

  She put down her coffee and she too stood up and stared at Jake.

  “You know, Ivy reacted the same way you did, but at least she came around. Honestly, Jake, I don't know what your problem is.”

  “You've known the guy five minutes and what, all of a sudden you're dating?”

  She was really starting to lose her patience, this wasn't the first time she and Jake had disagreed on her choice of boyfriends. And frankly, she was getting rather tired of it all.

  “I've already told you this before, Jake, you’re my roommate, not my father. I don't need to ask your permission about who I can and can't date.” The conversation suddenly started to get very heated between the two of them.

  Jake could feel the anger building inside. Now for the first time in a long time, he was actually furious with her.

  “I honestly can't believe you at times, Sienna. Seriously, I just can't keep up. Everyday it's a new boyfriend, or something else. I get home late from practice and instead of cleaning up or doing shit around here, you're fucking some random guy that you just met. I'm always left to clean up everything. You think that just because I don't work that I have the time to do everything around here. I'm sorry that I'm a struggling recording artist and I don't make the kind of money that you do, or that my career isn't as successful as yours, but I'm trying. I'm just getting pretty friggin tired of it all.”

  Sienna was speechless. The only time she had ever heard Jake speak to her like this was when she was screwing Jesse, and even then, it was nothing compared to this. She couldn't understand why he was feeling like this. Jake had never agreed on her taste in men, but this was something much deeper.

  “Jake! What the fuck is your problem? Where the hell did all this come from, all of a sudden?”

  “Sienna, how do you even know that it's really Lukas you’re-?”

  “I've been over this shit with Ivy already. Please give me some credit, I'm not fucking stupid,” she interrupted.

  “How? How can you be absolutely sure that it's him?”

  “I know it's him, alright? He told me something about the meet and greet that only he would have known. Even Ivy wasn't there when it happened, so I know she couldn't have told anyone.”

  Jake paused, he was fuming. There were a million thoughts going through his head and he wanted to tell her every single one of them. He wanted to tell her why this was wrong on so many levels. Then he would wonder to himself, why? Why was this so wrong?

  Because he was in love with her, that was why.

  He had always been in love with her.

  He had to hold back his feelings, this was exactly what Ivy and his parents had warned him would happen. They told him that his feelings would come to the surface in a spur of the moment and he would react exactly as he is right now.

  “Jake?” Sienna called.

  He turned and headed for his bedroom, not saying a word.

  “Jake! I'm talking to you.”

  He stopped and turned to face her, his face was red and he really wanted this conversation to be over. He was tired of fighting with her.

  “What's the point Sienna? It appears that your mind is made up. Like you said, you don't need my approval on who you can and can't date.”

  “That's right, I don't! Maybe you need to remember that the next time you try and give me relationship advice. So instead of telling me who I can and can't date, maybe you should concentrate on your own sex life, no matter how-” she stopped, short. She hadn't meant for the last part to come out.

  “No matter how what, Sienna?”

  “Nothing!” Now she was the one who started walking to her room.

  “No matter how what, Sienna?” Jake repeated a little louder.

  She turned and faced him, “No matter how pathetic it may be. You act like this with all the guys I bring home Jake. And this whole jealousy thing that you have going on because I'm with someone and you're not, it's getting kind of old. First you get all weird whenever I mention Lukas Dark, like you have some personal vendetta against the guy. Then you embarrass me in front of Jesse, and now you're reacting like this because maybe for the first time in my life, there is actually a man out there who respects me. A man who doesn't want to use me for just sex!”

  “Sienna, can you hear yourself right now? Lukas is a rock star. The two of you will hook up and in about a week or two it'll all be over when something better turns up. I know how that sounds, but it's true.” He suddenly wanted to take back what he said, and not just the last part, the whole conversation. He wished it never happened.

  “Seriously, Jake, you really need to go out and get yourself a good fuck. I don't like when you get in these moods of yours.”

  “Mood? Is that what this is to you, just a mood? We've been living together now for some time, and lately, things have just turned to shit. You're right, I do get weird whenever you mention his name. And yes, maybe I am jealous of everything that he has, but is it so wrong when maybe I want all those things too?”

  “Well, Jake you're the one who is always sitting at home at night instead of going out to get laid. You can't throw all this back on me. I'm a woman, I have needs, just like you do. I don't know what happened while you were on tour, but whatever it was, I hope the fuck that it goes away very soon.”

  She stood there, and the two of them stared at one another, neither making a sound for a couple of seconds. Jake couldn't take it anymore, he was done. As far as he was concerned, this conversation was over. He shrugged his shoulders, admitting defeat and headed for his room.

  “That's it, just walk away and go to you room. It's what you always do whenever things get bad instead of staying here and facing shit like a man.”

  He continued walking and slammed the door in her face. Angry, he took off his shirt, accidentally tearing it in the process. He threw it to the floor and placed his hands on his hips. His bedroom door suddenly burst open and Sienna walked inside.

  “Don't you turn and slam a door in my face like a fucking coward. You're pathetic Jake.”

  “Any more insults you want to throw at me?” He said.

  She looked at him, head to toe, “You know what? I'm actually glad that Ivy decided to move on from you. Personally, I think she can do much better. She's better off with Dick.” She turned and started to walk out the door.

  “Well, so much for loyalty!” Jake replied.

  “Loyalty? You seriously want to go there with that one, Jake?” She was ready to say something else, but she stopped herself.

  “You know what, Sienna...” He paused, he also couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. “Just forget it,” he said, grabbing a fresh shirt from the closet.

  “If this is how you're going to act whenever I get a new boyfriend, then maybe you should think about getting your own place.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “Fine!” Sienna yelled.

  “Fine!” Jake grabbed his keys from the k
itchen, he threw on his jacket and opened the front door.

  Sienna sighed, slowly calming herself down.

  “Jake, wait! You're upset, please don’t drive,’ she said.

  “Oh! What? Have you had a sudden lapse of epiphany, Sienna? I’m sorry but it’s a little too late for that. I think you made your point loud and clear.”

  He started the engine and looked at her through the windshield. He changed the gear in frustration and backed out of the drive, knocking the bin over as he went. He skidded off down the street and out of sight. Sienna slammed the door and growled, “Fucking stubborn prick,” she said. Turning out the lights she headed into her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

  Sienna sat nervously at the table outside the café. She wore her black leather boots, a long denim skirt, a grey blouse and her maroon cardigan hung loosely over her shoulders. Her hair was in a neat pony tail, and she looked almost like she had at the meet and greet with Lukas, which seemed so long ago now and a lot had happened since then. She and Lukas had been texting and speaking on the phone almost every night since she had ended her fling with Jesse. The time difference and being on the road with the band, quite often made it difficult, but they managed.

  Lukas and the band had finally finished their world tour. After flying in from Australia he messaged Sienna and told her that he would be heading to New York and he asked if she would join him for a drink. She and Jake hadn’t spoken in almost two weeks since their argument and the tension around the home between the two of them was so thick, you could almost taste it.

  She looked at her watch, just as she had been for the past hour, and she was already onto her third glass of lemon lime and bitters. Lukas did tell her that he would be there by seven p.m., but Sienna was overwhelmed with excitement that she arrived over an hour early. She looked around, trying to get a glimpse of Lukas, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. She started to feel slightly down as the realization swept over her that maybe Jake and Ivy were right all along, maybe it was all just a fantasy and Lukas had officially stood her up and something better had come along.

  Just as she was ready to give up and grab her bag, she felt a firm hand rest on her shoulder.

  “Hello, Sienna,” Lukas said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.

  “Hi!” she replied, blushing slightly.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

  “Um…no, not at all,” she lied. “Sorry, I got a little thirsty and ordered myself a drink.”

  He sat down opposite her and looked at the menu. “Well, I guess I better join you then, after all, it would be rude to let a beautiful lady drink on her own now, wouldn’t it?”

  Sienna blushed again. The waitress returned and took their orders and then left the two of them alone.

  “So, how are you?” Lukas asked.

  “I’m okay, I guess. Just busy with work and a few things on my mind.”

  “Anything I can help you with?”

  ‘No, it’s not fair to get you involved in my personal life. So, how was the tour?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “The tour was awesome. We finished up our last show in Brisbane, Australia, a couple of days ago and the band and I have just been having some time to ourselves, catching up with friends and family. Tell me, what’s on your mind?”

  Sienna didn’t say anything. She didn’t really want to talk to Lukas about her personal problems with Jake, considering the fact that he was partially the reason they had a fight to begin with.

  “Lukas, it’s nothing, honestly, I’m okay.”

  The waitress returned with their drinks, Lukas had a sip of his beer while Sienna finished the lemon lime bitters she had in front of her before starting on the one she had just received.

  “Sienna, I would feel a lot better if you told me what was on your mind. I mean, maybe I can help in some way.”

  Sienna couldn’t help but sit there and admire Lukas. His gorgeous brown eyes staring back at her, his teeth sparkled with every smile and his golden blonde hair evenly spiked.

  “It’s Jake.”

  “Jake?” Lukas asked, confused.

  “Jake! My roommate? He was actually the opening act for your tour in Japan with his band Lightning Ridge.”

  Lukas sipped his beer and suddenly remembered.

  “Oh, right! Yes, I remember now. I must admit, his music is very good. Have they considered sending their work to a record producer?”

  “Well, no they haven’t actually. My friends and I have already had this conversation with Jake and at the moment, he and the band are just trying to concentrate on getting some exposure and recording new material. Besides, I think they’re more worried about being rejected, to be honest.”

  “Really? Well maybe I can have my guys take a look at it. Who knows what could happen.”

  Sienna thought about his proposal for a moment, and although it could possibly be the break that Lightning Ridge were looking for, she and Jake still weren’t on speaking terms.

  “Well, that might be a problem,” she said.

  “How so?”

  “Jake and I aren’t exactly on talking terms at the moment.”

  “But, don’t you live together?” Lukas asked, confused once more.

  “Yes! But, we had a pretty big argument recently and I basically told him that if he wasn’t happy, he was free to move out of the apartment. He’s still living there, but we haven’t spoken to one another since.”

  “Wow! That sounds intense. What was the argument about?” he asked, continuing to sip his beer.

  “Funny enough, it was actually about you.”

  “Oh?”

  “You see, Jake tends to speak his mind when it comes to dating and my choice in men.”

  “I don’t really see how it’s any of his business, I mean you're a grown woman, surely you’re free to date whoever you chose?”

  “Exactly! But Jake has other ideas. He’s actually quite jealous of you, you know.”

  “Jealous? Of me? Why?”

  “You’ve got the whole rock star and fame thing already going for you. Jake and his band have been practicing for years and haven’t managed to get a break until recently. Whenever I mention your name, he goes all weird. I swear to you, you could hear a pin drop in the room. I think he just wants what you have too and that’s what he’s jealous of.”

  “Seriously? I mean, I only met the guy briefly, I think I actually signed a shirt for him or something. But in that very short time that I did see him, I didn’t get the slightest impression at all that he was jealous.”

  “He is very good at hiding things, I mean he wouldn’t exactly make it known that he was jealous.”

  Lukas finished his beer, Sienna had also finished her drink and the two of them stared at one another.

  “Would it help if I talked to him? I could tell him that he has nothing to worry about. Maybe I could even give him a few pointers and lead him in the right direction. I could do it completely off the record. It might be good to have a man to man talk, just two ordinary dudes, drinking a beer.”

  Ordinary dudes? Lukas was far from ordinary, and Jake knew it only too well. Sienna was starting to like this guy more and more, he had only been in her life five minutes and already he was showing an interest in her friends.

  “I appreciate the offer, Lukas, really I do, but like I said, Jake and I haven’t spoken for some time now and I think he just needs to calm down. Asking him to have a conversation with you at the moment would be pointless. Besides, that’s not the only problem.”

  “I figured as much.”

  She sighed and continued to stare at Lukas, she couldn’t look away, her eyes transfixed to him and his body the whole time.

  “After I told Jake that you had messaged me after the meet and greet, he went all funny and started saying all these crazy things like, how was I sure that it was really you who was texting me? The fact that you're a rock star and always on tour would mean that we would never see each other,
and it would never work out between us. I don’t know, maybe he’s right, maybe this isn’t going to work between us.”

  It was painful for her to admit, but in some small part, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was setting herself up for disappointment. She put her head down, trying to hide the tear that had started to fall down her right cheek. Lukas noticed, he stood up and walked over to her. Lifting her chin, he leaned forward and kissed her lips. She couldn’t deny the fact that she enjoyed it, and with her eyes closed, she finally gave into her desire and returned his kiss.

  Her first reaction was to pull away, but the force of their lips together prevented it. After they pulled apart, Sienna could still taste his lips on her, she sat there looking at him with a wide smile.

  “That's better, there she is,” he said, wiping the tear from her face. This time it was Sienna who leaned forward and took control. Her lips met his, and then she felt a tingling sensation all through her body as her tongue met his for the first time. She'd kissed guys before, obviously, but there was something about this kiss. Something that made it special. This is what she had wanted, for a very long time.

  They pulled away and Lukas could see the smile on Sienna's face. That same smile swept over his also.

  “So what was all that talk about things not working out?” He said.

  Sienna smiled, with everything that had happened with Jake recently, it was the first time she had been happy in weeks.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “Making me smile again.”

  “Well, I hope it's the first of many,” he sat back down in his seat admiring her.

  “Oh my god! Lukas Dark?” Some random onlooker asked.

  “Yes?”

  “Oh wow! May I please have a photo and an autograph?” She asked quietly, her face blushing.

  “I'm, sorry but at the moment I'm actually enjoying some time out with a very special friend of mine.”

  Sienna smiled, her face lit up as she looked at Lukas, “No, please, go ahead,” she said.

  “Are you sure?”