“And what do I get if you lose?”
This better be good.
“I’ll let you drive my car for a month,” he offers.
Oh, crap! He’s good.
“How about, if you lose, I get to drive your car for a week, and you have to stop sleeping around for a month.”
“Deal,” he says without hesitation, reaching out to shake my hand.
“And if you win, I still get to drink,” I propose.
“Deal!” he shouts.
I shake his outstretched hand to bind our pact. This should be good. When I get his car for a week, I’ll make him let me race it. He’s going to flip! I'm overcome with giddiness.
“Why would you want me to come stay with you anyways? I could stay home, and you could still help me.”
“Because I’m not who you think I am, and there's so much more you're capable of without it. I want a chance to prove that to you,” he claims.
“I think I’ve got you pinned down to a T,” I mock in retort.
Jack hooks an arm around my shoulders and leads me back into the living room. “You have no idea.”
Alice and Eric are lounging on the couch together as we pass through the columns into the living room. Her legs are across his lap as he relaxes with one arm behind her, the other on her thigh. She jumps up as she notes our entry. “Hey! Are you coming with us tonight?” she asks with her hands clasped together under her chin in prayer and bites her bottom lip.
I observe how nimble and light she is on her feet, and I presume it's why she's profoundly captivating on stage. “Uh… yeah. You can go ahead. I’ll meet you there. I’ve got to change.” I look to Jack and nod my head to assure him I’ll be there to see him lose. After they leave, I strip off my dress and stand with my hands on my hips, staring at my wardrobe in my black lace underwear and bra.
What can I wear that will distract Jack? If I distract him enough, maybe he’ll slip up on the starting line. I smile at the perfect diversion hanging in the back of my walk-in. Perfect.
Arriving at Willow Creek, I park next to Eric’s red Charger. It's pure muscle from the seventies and built like him. I find Alice standing with Eric close to the starting line. She does a double take upon noticing me. “Whoa, Ivy! You look hot!” Alice admires.
Eric turns to see me, and his eyes widen. “Jack’s gonna flip shit if he sees you here like that,” he warns.
“So. It’s kind of the point. I need him to lose,” I declare with an impassive shrug.
“What?” they ask in unison with quizzical expressions.
“We made a deal. If he loses, I get to drive his car for a week.” I give them a devious smile. “He’s gonna regret it.” I laugh.
Eric's flabbergasted. “He said if he loses, you get to drive his car for a week?” I nod my head. “And what if he wins? Because you know he will.” I dig my toe in the ground and push my hands into my back pockets without looking or answering him.
“What did you do, Ivy? What happens if he wins?” Alice pushes my shoulders throwing me off balance.
“Hey!” I shove her hands off of me and back up a step. She's stronger than she looks. “It’s not that big of a deal. If he loses, I get to drive his car for a week, and he has to stop sleeping around.” I continue with haste, avoiding their interrogation. “If he wins, I have to go stay with him for a month, and stop smoking pot.” I wince at my statement. Eric's laugh booms as Alice gapes at me. “It’ll be fine,” I assure her.
“Yeah, right. Well, better get ready. He’s pulling up now.” She points behind me, and I see Jack park his car at the line. He gets out of his car and shakes hands with the flagman who handles the money. As he spots me with our friends, his eyes widen, then furrow together. His stride is purposeful as he marches towards me.
Yup. Perfect outfit for the occasion, if I do say so myself.
I'm wearing my black leather pants with a hot rod red, belly shirt that has a deep ‘V’ cut, and my black Doc Martin boots. I curled my hair before brushing it out to give it body with natural looking waves and refreshed my makeup with black eyeshadow and red lipstick to match my halter. I ignore his anger as he approaches, then hug him around the neck. “Hey! Are you ready to lose?” I chide, smiling wide.
His husky tone sends butterflies swarming in my core as his breath caresses my neck and his chest rumbles. “I know what you’re doing. It’s not going to work, Sunshine.” He tries to calm himself and gives me a charming smile when I pull back from our embrace.
I giggle. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh. I’ve got to get ready. Are you ready to lose?” he counters.
“We’ll see,” I tell him with a playful push, and he jogs back to his car. I spot the flagman talking to a group of guys exchanging money, and his hood falls back to reveal his face.
It’s Trey!
“Hey, guys. I’ll be right back,” I mumble to Alice and Eric over my shoulder. I bustle over to meet Trey and hold out a thousand dollars to him. “Put me in for a ‘K’ on Jack.”
“Whoa, Ivy. That’s a lot of money. Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” his wolfish countenance sours my mood, but I push past it.
“I’m sure. I’ve got money. I’m not worried.” I give him a coy smile.
I might as well get something out of it if I lose.
Trey takes the money out of my hand, and I step closer to him. Our faces are an inch apart. I know Jack's watching me, and I need to throw him off of his game. “So what happened earlier?”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Sorry, I had to cancel. My boss had some questions about my shift and made me go in to talk to him. You're still coming to the party tomorrow, though, right?”
“Yeah. I'll be there.” I lean in and kiss him on the cheek—more to get back at Jack than to lead Trey on. Goosebumps cover my body in an instant as a surge of energy flows between us with a buzzing vibration. My chest tightens, and I feel faint.
Am I getting low blood sugar or what?
My hands clutch at Trey’s hoodie to keep me upright, and I have to fight for breath when I pull away. I give him a flirtatious smile. “See you tomorrow.”
“Most definitely.” He's stunned at my approach, but it had the effect I wanted on Jack.
I glance over at Jack's car and wave my fingers. He's seething and has never looked as pissed off before. His hands grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turn white. He revs his engine in anger, and I imagine he's going to blow a gasket. He looks away from me to refocus on the straight-a-way ahead of him, and Trey jogs between the cars to start them off, pointing at Jack first. Jack doesn’t respond with a head nod as usual. Instead, he revs his engine again to signal he's ready. Trey points to a decked out, white BMW and nods back to the eager driver. He lifts his hands in the air to pause for a few grueling seconds. As his hands come down, to my surprise, Jack's primed and ready.
Jack takes off faster than the previous race I watched him win.
Damn.
The race doesn’t last but a few seconds. The BMW never had a chance. It was at least five yards behind Jack. At the finish line, Jack never stops driving. He drifts a hundred and eighty degrees and races back to the starting line, sliding to a stop in front of me. He jumps out of his car, leaving his door wide open, storms around the front of the Skyline, and grabs my arm firmly. His face is close to my own, and I feel his breath kiss my lips. It scares the crap out of me, but I refuse to show him any weakness.
“Get in the car,” he growls through gritted teeth. I let him put me in the passenger seat and buckle up as he slams the door. He drops into the driver's seat and peals out of Willow Creek.
Jack pushes the pedal to the floor as we hit the highway. It's deathly silent for fifteen minutes with only the strident sound of the Skyline’s roar, and I fear I've ruined our relationship. “Jack.” He doesn’t respond. “Jack. Please slow down,” I plead. He doesn’t speak, but he slows down and turns onto a dirt road I hadn't noticed. He navigates th
e uphill dirt road like a professional that most people would have bottomed out on. Slowing down again, we come to a peak of a mountain.
It's a cliff overlooking downtown Red Meadow. Jack gets out of the car, lighting a cigarette as he reaches the cliff's edge. I wait for him to take a few drags, then get out of the car to smoke as well. Leaning against the passenger door, I take a long drag of my cigarette and take in the view. I know he's irked at me for dressing like this, but I didn’t know kissing Trey would set him off like this. I only thought it would throw him off his game. I wasn’t clear on how he felt about me. I guess I had to test him to know for sure... Well, Ivy, your plan worked really well, didn’t it?
I flick my cigarette and pace to the edge of the cliff to stand next to Jack with my arms crossed tight over my chest. “Jack.” He doesn’t look at me. “I’m sorry, Jack.”
He lets out a long breath and turns towards me. Under the shadow of the brim of his hat, I have a hard time discerning his expression. His voice is soft, “No. I’m sorry, Ivy. I overreacted.”
I don't understand why he's apologizing when I'm the one who should be groveling. “It’s my fault. I thought if I could distract you that you would stall at the line. When you said it wasn’t going to work, I panicked. I thought if I could distract you with Trey I could win our bet.”
“I told you, Ivy. I don’t lose. And, yes, you did a fucking good job of pissing me off by kissing Trey, but I have no room to judge. We’re just friends, right?” Guilt pours over me with his woeful tone, and I nod my head, finding myself hopeful for more than friendship between us. “He’s not who you think he is, though. You can do better than that,” Jack adds with a tilted grin.
“Thanks, Jack. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Jack places his hands on the sides of my face, regarding me affectionately before he places a kiss on my forehead with his soft, warm lips. Longing for him to kiss me, I grasp his wrists to keep his hands on my face as he tries to pull away. We speak through our gaze before I pull his hands down to lead him back to the car. I parade backward and give him a coy smile, “Come on. I’ve got some packing to do.” All anger is wiped from his face and replaced with egotistical pride.
Chapter 5
Alice meets me in the foyer as I come through the door with Jack. “Are you ok?” she questions, worry creasing her forehead.
I smile at her with reassurance. “Yeah. I’m good. I’ve got to pack, though,” I explain and look over my shoulder to Jack. He's got that shit-eating grin plastered across his face again—beautifully irritating.
“Oh. Are you sure?” she eyes Jack as if he's dangerous.
“It’s fine, Alice. I’m a big girl. You can go to bed now. I’ll be at practice tomorrow, I promise.”
Momma bird's scared for me. I smile at her again, and she nods to me with acceptance. I close my bedroom door to pack and hear angry mumbling from Alice as she lays into Jack about taking care of me. My chest lifts in adoration of her protective instincts.
I emerge from my room with my bags and guitar, noting Alice has retreated to her bedroom. “Help me load my car?” I request. He obliges and carries everything out to my car to load it into the trunk. I close the trunk, taking into account I've never been to Jack’s house. “I’ll follow you?” I suggest.
“If you can keep up,” he challenges with his famous cheeky grin.
“Oh, you're on!” We race to our driver seats and rip the engines in unison. I follow Jack close until we get to the highway. He cuts over into the right lane and slows down to drive parallel to me. I look over at his mischievous grin as he swirls his index finger in the air to signal he wants to race. I rocket ahead of him, cutting him off before he can gain the lead again. After fifteen miles of staying in front of Jack, he swerves into the opposite lane to drive parallel to me again. I wiggle my eyebrows at him and let him pass to lead the rest of the way.
Jack turns down a winding dirt road, and I slow down with careful steering. I'm unfamiliar with the untamed road and don't want to bottom out. Maneuvering around random pot holes for what I imagine to be ten minutes, Jack pulls in front of a ten-foot tall iron gate that takes my breath away. The intricate design of filigree vines is gorgeous. Where are we? Is this his house? Jack leans out of his window and taps a code into a silver security box. The gates open without a sound, and he creeps forward as I follow him onto a blacktop driveway. I'm so focused on following Jack, it takes me a moment to realize my surroundings.
Jack rounds a cul-de-sac as a huge estate comes up in front of me. Oh, wow! I park next to Jack, and I can’t take my eyes off of the mansion beside me. The Tudor style country house glows in the night with spotlights on its exterior red brick. The bricks are irregularly framed with timber, and groups of tall narrow windows line the second and third story. It's fairytale vines of ivy stretch up the frame of the house in a welcoming way.
Jack knocks on my window, startling me, and I roll it down with wide eyes, afraid to enter the estate. Jack gives me an unsure smile. “Are you getting out, Sunshine?" he inquires and opens my door before I can respond. He holds out his hand to help me exit—ever the gentleman.
“Jack,” I whisper, releasing a heavy breath as I blink at the estate over my shoulder and back to him. “Tell me this isn't your house.”
Jack shrugs, “This isn't my house.” His tone is inscrutable. “It’s my mother’s.”
What?
“You live with your mother?”
“Yeah. It’s complicated, and I’m all she’s got to take care of the grounds right now,” he clarifies, but it doesn't ease the discomfort I feel about staying with him.
“Are you sure she’s ok with me being here?” I urge.
“It’s fine. I swear." He points to the top right corner of the estate, "Your room will be next to mine on the third floor over there. Pop the trunk, and I’ll show you up.” I chuckle once with discomfort as I bend down to lift the trunk release. Jack retrieves my bags, and I pull out my guitar from the back seat. He leads the way to the tall wooden door and opens it for me to follow him inside.
The foyer is lit by a dim glow, and I focus on a winding staircase before us as my pupils adjust to the darkness. I'm in awe as I follow him to the second floor which houses a long corridor lined with closed doors to other rooms. Jack continues to the third floor and down another corridor. The third floor has fewer doors along the dark red carpeted hallway. He enters the third and last doorway on our right, and I follow him inside as he turns the lights on to reveal a dark, cherry wood, four-post bed extending from the left wall. Across from the entrance is a set of floor to ceiling French doors with twelve square windows in each, leading to a balcony overlooking the side of the estate. Two large, wooden doors symmetrically frame a fireplace across from the king size bed, partitioned by two black, high back, velvet chairs with a square table between them.
It feels wrong to be in a room of this stature as I've never been acquainted with such luxuries. It mimics sixteenth-century royalty and smells of pine wood, giving it a rustic ambiance. Jack opens the door to the right of the hearth, exposing a walk-in closet the size of my bedroom at home. “This is the closet. There are a few things already in here from when my cousin Jamie stayed with us last summer. Feel free to use anything you want.” He sets my bags in the closet and continues to the opposite door, illuminating the space beyond. “This is your private bathroom. Again, feel free to use anything that's already in here.” I follow him inside, witnessing a gorgeous claw-foot bathtub along the wall, and a three-sided recessed shower without a curtain. The floor of the shower is concave, so the water doesn’t flood the room, and instead of a showerhead, there are three discreet jets set into the ceiling.
“Wow, Jack,” I whisper. “This place is amazing. I don’t want to touch anything!” I laugh in wonderment. “I can’t believe you live here.”
Jack smiles at my astonishment. “Well, I’ll let you get some rest. You only have a few hours till your practice tomorrow. I’ll be right across the hal
l if you need anything.”
I nod my head, and he makes his way to the exit of the bedroom. I stop him before he can close the door, “Jack?” He turns to look at me. I run and jump into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck to hug him. Jack hesitates in surprise, then embraces me around my waist. His muscles are tense with their firm hold, and I imagine he's restraining from crushing me beneath his massive arms. “Thank you. This is amazing. I’ve never stayed in a place this nice.” My chest tightens as if it’ll explode with joy.
Letting me slide back down to the ground, he places both of his hands on the sides of my face to look me in the eyes. “It’s no problem, Sunshine. Now get some rest, and when you get back tomorrow, I’ll give you a tour.” He kisses me on the forehead and turns to leave again. “Goodnight, Sunshine.”
“Goodnight, Jack.”
I find my bags in the walk-in closet and dig out my trusty, oversized Def Leppard shirt and my cotton shorts to change. Once I'm in comfortable clothes, I realize how exhausted I am, but I'm curious to see the balcony. Roaming to the French doors, I pull them open to find a half, stone wall lining the three sides of the open terrace. Stepping past the patio table and chairs to the edge of the balcony, I place my hands on the ledge to lean forward and gaze into the sky. It's bright with countless numbers of stars I didn’t know were there before. The celestial sky above is breathtaking, and I release a breath I wasn’t aware of holding. I can’t believe this place. It’s beyond…too much. I'm at a loss for words. I come back inside, close the balcony behind me, and shut off the lights. Feeling exhaustion clouding my mind, I cross over to the bed and slip between the softest sheets I've ever slept in.
I lie in the dark for what seems to be hours, tossing and turning to get comfortable, but I can’t shut my mind off. I'm in a foreign place I don’t belong, and my nerves are getting the best of me. Flashes of my nightmares keep me from complete relaxation as I never know when ‘the darkness’ will enter my dreams. I sit up and turn on a table lamp beside the bed. I pull the covers back and tiptoe to the door of my new room. Turning the knob without a sound, I peek into the hall. It's dark and barren. I close the door behind me. A whisper of air breathes between the wooden door and the frame, sealing in graceful gentleness. I tiptoe across the hall to Jack’s door and sneak inside, trying not to wake him.
The Helio Trilogy: Volumes 1-3 Page 6
