Loving Her (3 page)

“I just need to go to the
restroom.”  I smiled.  “I’ll be back in a minute.”  Like hell, I would.

“Oh, okay.  I think it is over in
that corner.”  Jack was pointing to the far left.  I hadn’t even seen where Em
and Cale had gone.  They found a few friends when we walked in and took off. 
My suspicion was that they were trying to give Jack and me a little time alone
and were probably skulking around watching us.

I gave a half smile and walked
off.  I thought he was about to follow me, but when I looked back he just kind
of nodded his head like he understood that I didn’t need a chaperone. 

I needed to get the hell out of
there.  I’d only know this guy for a few hours and I was getting a weird about
him….needing him, to be exact.  Time to go. 

I went into the bathroom and
contemplated my escape.  The bathrooms were down a skinny hall and there was a
door at the end of the hall that led somewhere out of the building.  I just
hoped it wasn’t like a fire door with a friggin’ alarm.  That’d be just my
luck.

I peeked out and didn’t see Jack,
Em or Cale anywhere.  I crept to the door and search for any bright red warning
signs on it, but didn’t see any.  I slowly opened it and was met with the cool
outside air in the back of the club.  I sighed in relief.  Step one down. 

Now, I needed to get a cab before
the search party started.  I would text Emily once I was inbound to chateaux
Bailey. 

I walked around the front of the
building and by the grace of God, there were about five or six cabbies sitting on
the street, obviously waiting for all the drunks.  I knocked on the first guy’s
window and he motioned for me to get in.

I couldn’t move fast enough.  I
shut the door and spouted off my address as I looked over my shoulder toward
the club. I gasped for a second….was that Rylan I just saw?  No way.  There was
no way that stuffed shirt prick would be at a club.  I was totally paranoid. 
That’s what happens when you do stupid shit like I do.

I shook my head and faced
forward, sliding down in the seat a bit.  Step two down.

I pulled out my phone and texted
Emily.  I needed to make this good.

Jen:

Hey.  I’m headed home.  Not feeling well.

I’ll call you tomorrow.  Thanks for tonight.

Tell Jack it was nice to meet
him.

I gave myself a mental pat on the
back.  Nicely done, Jen.  I really was so full of myself.

I got all the way home and still
hadn’t heard from Emily.  I started thinking she was either super pissed at me
and was on her way to my house to kick my ass or she hadn’t seen her text yet. 

I chose the latter.  I felt bad
leaving Jack there alone, but I needed to…that’s all there was.  I guess I
could have said good bye, but he would have seen the look in my eyes that
screamed disappointment, hurt, fear and just about any other emotion that comes
with years of crappy relationships.  Best to cut and run.

I changed out of my clothes and
took a hot bath.  I made sure to secure my front door so that even Emily and
Cale couldn’t get in.  I was afraid they might show up here with Jack and I’d
get an ass chewing from all three.

They both had keys to my place,
but I had an extra security lock put in last year that had no key hole on the
opposite side.  Best two hundred bucks I’d ever spent.

After a long soak, I got my
jammies on and crawled into bed.   I just wanted to forget the evening….well
most of it.  I enjoyed dinner and our conversation.  I should have left after
that like I’d planned.  Then, I wouldn’t be feeling so yucky right now.  I
would have a nice memory to hang on to. 

As I lay there staring at the
ceiling, I heard my phone buzz.  Well, here we go….

Emily:

You should have found me and

told me what happened that

made you run.  You know I would

have understood.  Jack
doesn’t. 

She was right.  Jack doesn’t know
me at all and I should have at least attempted to say good bye. 

Jen:

I’m sorry for upsetting him.

It wasn’t a good match.  I should

have said good bye.  You’re right.

I’m sorry.  I appreciate you trying

to play matchmaker, but I’m done

okay?

Emily:

I’m not sure who you are trying to convince,

me or you, but you are full of crap and

you know it.  You two were great tonight.

What happened?

Jen:

Nothing.  He’s a really nice guy.

I’m not sure he was that in to me,

Em.  Let it go.  I have.

Night.  Love ya.

Emily:

You are so full of shit, girl.

But, I’ll let it go….for now.

Night.  Love you, too.

I sat there staring at my phone
for a long time, just thinking.  Things were great for a while tonight.  But, I
felt myself getting pulled in and he wasn’t exactly responding the same way. 
I’ve been down that road too many times to think this would be any different. 
As shitty as I was feeling right now about upsetting my best friends and Jack,
it was for the best ….for everyone.

I put my phone on my bedside
table, turned out the light and crawled deeper under the covers.  I wasn’t
sleepy, but tried to force myself to relax and get some rest. 

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been
laying there when I heard my phone buzz again.  I almost didn’t look at it, not
prepared for another guilt trip from Em.  But, curiosity got the better of me
and I looked.  I didn’t recognize the number, but I immediately knew who sent
it.

I hated the weekends.  I’d much
rather be working and staying busy.  I especially hated Saturday nights, but
decided I’d go out with friends to hear a local band they were friends with. 
It was a decent club, but not exactly my ‘thing’ anymore. 

I’d gone for a long run after I
woke up and then spent half the day cleaning up around my house and doing a
little work.  It had been a pretty productive day, but I needed to get out and
have a little fun. 

I happened to be up at the bar
when I saw her walk in.  I couldn’t believe it.  The one person in the entire
city that I couldn’t seem to get out of my mind, was walking through the doors
of the club I happened to be in. 

Jen Bailey looked just as
beautiful as she did at dinner last night, but instead of a fancy dress, she
was in jeans….’sexy as hell’ jeans.  I let my eyes roam her body since she had
no idea I was looking at her.  Her long blonde hair was not as smooth as it was
last night.  It was a little messy and looked good.  She was curvy where it
mattered and not too thin.  Pretty damn perfect, actually.

I leaned against the bar and
sipped my drink.  I hadn’t really noticed anyone but her until I saw none other
than Jack Woods walking right behind her with his hand on her back.  Damn.

He was a nice enough guy and smart
as hell, but just didn’t strike me as her type.  Well, not that I know her
type, but I didn’t think it would be Jack.   He was more of a slick, smooth
talkin’ salesman and she didn’t seem like the type to buy into that bullshit. 
Guess that’s how much I know…..I didn’t have a clue about her or any other
woman for that matter.

Still, I couldn’t help but to
just watch her and judging by her body language, they didn’t know each other
all that well.  Maybe a first or second date?  I saw her flinch a few times at
his touch and you just don’t do that when you really know someone.

I really should’ve gone back to
my friends and stopped being a total creeper, but I was completely fascinated
and I hadn’t been fascinated by anyone since Kristen.  Oh God, I could feel my
whole face fall….the thought of her felt like cold water was poured over my
head. 

I turned to go back to my friends
when I saw it happen and I froze in place.  He kissed her, but it was weird for
her, I think.  I saw her face when he turned her around and could see she was
upset and trying to pull away, but he wasn’t having it. 

I felt my feet moving toward her
to help, but then she stiffened a bit, said something to Jack and was released
from his grip.  He smiled and I watched as she took off toward the bathrooms,
but she didn’t look right. 

I glanced back at Jack, who was
just watching as she walked away and decided I would at least go see that she
was okay. 

I saw her slip into the bathroom
so I moved to the wall nearest the hallway and waited for a few minutes.  I was
sipping on my beer and nearly choked on it when I saw her stick her head out of
the bathroom door, look around and then make a beeline for the exit.  I
couldn’t help but to start chuckling at this girl.  She was running….running
from Jack, in fact. 

What the hell? 

I sat my beer down, waited till
she was several steps ahead of me and then I followed.  I laughed at myself. 
Shit, I was a damn stalker now, but I couldn’t help it!  I had to see what she
was up to. 

As I skirted the corner of the
club, I saw her jump in a cab and take off.  She turned to look back toward the
club and I was afraid she had seen me so I ducked back into a shadow.  Fuck! 
Now I was lurking in shadows, too.  I really needed to get out more.

I shook my head and smiled, then
walked back around to the front of the club and through the door.  As I passed
by the bar, I saw Jack still standing in the same spot.  Sucker!  He had no
idea Jen just bailed on him.  My night was getting better and better. 

I made my way back up to my group
of friends who just slapped me on the back as I walked up.  They were happy to
have me out of the house.  I appreciated how much effort they put into me, but
it was a bit annoying sometimes.  They still looked at me with such sad
expressions and it made me want to punch each and every one of them.

I gave a slight nod of my head
and sat back at the table to enjoy the music.  I couldn’t help that the grin on
my face had to do with Jen’s ‘great escape’ and not the company of my friends
or the great music.  She was pretty fucking entertaining.

I wondered how long it would take
Jack to realize she’d left.  I glanced over my shoulder, only to see him moving
through the crowd, rather rapidly, to a couple standing one table over.  He
whispered something to the cute brunette and she jumped up and sprinted toward
the bathroom.

Within a minute she was back and
whispering to what appeared to be her husband, judging by the wedding rings
they were both sporting.  He rolled his eyes then leaned in to Jack, clapping
him on the shoulder as he mouthed words into Jack’s ear.

By the look on Jack’s face, he
was completely taken aback.  He looked over at the brunette who mouthed ‘I’m so
sorry.’  She was pulling out her phone and texting as fast as she could.  I had
no doubt who she was about to chat with. 

Poor Jen Bailey.  She was about
to get an ass chewing.  Wonder what exactly made her run? 

I watched as the trio left the
club and wanted so badly to follow them, but didn’t.  Damn…my entertainment was
over for the evening so, I had to go back to focusing on the band.

I finished off my beer, said my
good byes to the group and left to go home.  I was still thinking about Jen
Bailey, wondering what was happening with her and that she was okay.  I
shouldn’t be thinking about her at all since she was obviously
someone
to
Jack and we had to work together.

I stepped into my dark house and
was met by my favorite wet nose in the world. “Hey, boy!  Miss me tonight?” 
Butch was just about the best dog and friend a man could have.  He didn’t ask
questions or tiptoe around me.  He just loved me for me.  I was grateful to
still have him with me after Kristen was gone.  He slept in the bed with me for
months afterward.  He missed her too.

I made my way upstairs, showered
and laid on top of the bed to watch a little TV.  I didn’t sleep much anymore. 
The dreams were too much for me most nights. 

Butch jumped up on the bed and
curled up beside me.  “You know, ole boy?  If we ever find us a girl again, you
won’t be able to sleep up here with me.”  I grinned and rubbed his ears,
letting out a sort of rough laugh. “Who am I kidding….I can’t see anyone
replacing
our
girl, right boy?”

Butch just looked up at me and
slowly closed his eyes as I continued to rub his head.  I laid my head back and
let my mind drift to better days and eventually to a certain blonde runaway
that I met last night. 

Jack:

Hi.  It’s Jack.  Emily gave

me your number.

I’m sorry if I did something to

upset you.  I had a really nice time

tonight and I wish things would

have ended differently.

I especially wish you would have let

me take you home and tell you good

night.  Sorry, again.

Well, now what.  I felt even
worse.  I didn’t know whether to text him back or not.  He would obviously know
I had gotten the text since Emily had given him the number. 

I could wait till morning…pretend
I was asleep and didn’t get it yet.  Yeah, that sounded like a plan.  I started
to lean over and turn off my lamp when my phone buzzed again.

Jack:

Are you awake?

Your light is still on. 

May I come up, Jen?

Please.  I won’t stay.

Oh, shit!  Now what?  He was
outside and could see my light still on.  Was that creepy or some sincere
effort to make the night end better?  Hell, I didn’t know.

Jen:

I don’t think that is a good idea.

I’m sorry for bailing on you

at the club.  I had a nice time

tonight, but I think it’s best

we not see each other again.

Jack:

Why?

Yeah, why Jen?!?

Jen:

Jack, I don’t think I’m

good for you.  You seem like a

great guy, but I tend to run out

on people when I feel any kind

of strange feelings or vibes. 
I’m sorry.

Okay, there….it’s done.  Now
scurry on home there Jackie Boy and leave me to wallow in my aloneness.

Jack:

Strange feelings?  Explain.

Good Lord, dude.  Give up on me. 
I’m not worth this effort after one date.

Jen:

Jack.  I don’t want to explain.

Please, just let it go.  Good
night.

Jack:

No.  I felt something and so did

you.  Please tell me the
truth.

Oh, man.  This guy was either
desperate or a freakin’ mind reader.  I wanted to let him in so badly, but that
would have been a huge mistake. 

Jack:

Please?!?

Jen:

Jack.  I can’t.

Jack:

I’m not who you think I am.

I just want to know you.

I want to spend some time

with you. 

I gave up after that.  I put on
some sweats and a jacket, slipped on my shoes and walked outside.  Jack was
standing there, looking down at his phone as he leaned against a car I was
assuming was his.

He looked up at me and smiled a
shy, slight smile.  “Hi.”

“Hi.” I replied.

He started slowly moving toward
me and when he was right in front of me, he said, “You came down to me?”

“Yeah, well….I can’t have men I
barely know in my house at this hour of night.”  I was smiling and had one
eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, good thinking.” 

“Look, Jen….” He started.

“NO, Jack.” I interrupted,
holding my hand up to his chest. “This is my fault.  I’m sorry I ran out on
you.  It was a shitty thing to do, but I’m not in a place for…
this
right
now.”  I waved my hand back and forth between us.

He stepped closer, closing the
gap between us and wrapped his arms around me.  “I don’t believe you.  I felt
you against me tonight and
this
was most certainly mutual.  Please don’t
try to tell me it wasn’t.”

He was right, but I wasn’t sure I
was ready for him.  “Jack….” His name came out as a whisper.

His face was as close as it could
get without touching mine. “Kiss me, please.  I need to finish what we
started.  I wasn’t near done, but you left me before I could do it properly.” 
Smooth ass talker.

“You didn’t seem to want more.” I
admitted it out loud.

He pulled back slightly with a
jerk of his head, “You’ve got to be kidding!  It took everything in me not to
just completely consume you standing right there in the middle of that crowd.” 
He leaned in until our noses were touching and whispered, “You do things to me
that I can’t explain.”

I smiled and closed the gap, placing
my lips on his.  That was all it took.  He gripped the back of my head and took
over.  His tongue swept across my lips and I opened for him.  He slowly and
carefully caressed my mouth with his and it felt really nice.  Oh how I’ve
missed a good kiss….and that was definitely a good kiss.

Jack kept his hands tight around
my back, never seeking out any forbidden areas.  He was trying to be a
gentleman and I appreciated that, but I was starting to get annoyed that he
hadn’t even tried.

“Jen?” He said against my mouth. 

“Yeah?”

“I really need to leave or I won’t
be able to leave.” I smiled.

“Okay,” was all I could say as I
leaned my body into his and kiss him again, taking the lead.

He moaned and pulled me closer. 
“Ah, I
really
need to go.  You are too damn sexy and we’ve only just
met.  I don’t think I can control myself if I don’t leave.”

I could feel his arousal against
me as we stood leaning against that car, out where everyone could see us.  “I
know.”  God, what was wrong with me? 

“Jen, please don’t get mad at me
again if I stop this.  I’m doing it for you because if I had my way, we’d be
going inside your place and making out for the rest of the night….I don’t even
care about the sex thing.  I just want to hold you like this, with you against
me and kiss you.”

Ooh, that sounded nice.  “Okay.” 
Wait, what did I just say? 

“What?”  Yep, he heard it too. 
Shit.  “Jen?”

“Jack, that sounds really nice to
me, it does.  But, I may be the one who can’t stay in control if you come up. 
I want you to come up, but I’m not sure I can be trusted.”  I smiled a crooked
smile at him and he laughed.

“Yeah, I can see that.  You keep
pushing closer to me and it feels pretty damned amazing.”  Jack kissed down the
side of my neck and my knees nearly gave out on me.  “How about this……go out
with me tomorrow night, just the two of us.  Then, let’s just see how it goes.”

That sounded pretty nice,
actually.  “Okay, Jack.  I think I’d like that very much.”  I pulled away to
walk back inside, but he grabbed my arm and pulled be back to him so that I was
fully flushed against his body. 

I gasped as my core hit his
arousal when we crashed together.  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he said as he
ravaged my mouth again.  “You feel it too.”  He said as we came up for air.

I moaned and gave a very
incoherent ‘yeah, I do’ as he continued our kiss.

After a few more intense moments,
Jack started moving us away from the car and to my front door where he stopped
and let me take myself inside.

Right before I shut the door, he
leaned in and said, “Dream about me tonight, okay?”  Then, he winked, turned
and walked away.

Well, crap! I leaned my back
against my locked front door and tried to catch my breath.

After several minutes of standing
there completely stupefied, I walked to my room and climbed back in bed.  I
most definitely would be dreaming about Jack Woods. 

I suddenly had a flash of a
certain face that I think I saw as I escaped from the club tonight.  Was that
really Rylan?  Surely not.  But if it was and he saw me, what would he say if
he found out I was there with Jack?  Would he say something embarrassing to
Jack about seeing me leave? 

Nah…that couldn’t have been him,
just someone that looked similar.  I laid there in the dark thinking about the
two wonderfully mysterious men I’d met in the last two days.  I had lots to
dream about.  Too bad Rylan was so uptight.  He had a sexy look about him that
I couldn’t stop picturing, but he definitely needed a procedure to remove the
stick from his ass. 

I laugh to myself as I started to
drift off.  Men….such glorious creatures. 

Sundays were my days to do
absolutely nothing, except tonight I had a date with Jack.  I was actually
nervous about it.  As I sipped my coffee out on my balcony, I heard my phone
buzz.  I certainly was not in the mood for Emily’s bitching this morning, so I
ignored it for a while. 

When I walked back inside for a
second cup of joe, I looked at the phone and saw a message from Jack.  I smiled
as I opened it.

Jack:

Good morning.  Tonight

I have a date with the most

gorgeous girl.  Suggestions on

where I should take her?

His text made me laugh.  He was
such a frickin’ player.  Damn him!  I was going to have to be extra careful
with this one and pay close attention.  He could totally destroy me.

Jen:

Morning.  Well, let’s see….

If it were me, I’d just surprise her.

I’m sure she just wants to get to

know you.  Good luck!

I continued making my second cup of
coffee as I waited for his reply. 

Jack:

Hmm…..yes, I think I’ll do

just that! 

6:00?

Jen:

K

I cleaned my condo, washed all my
clothes, sat in front of the TV for a few movies and just waited until it was
time for me to get dressed.  It was excruciating. 

By 5:45, I was dressed and
sitting at my kitchen bar having a glass of wine.  I didn’t understand my
nervousness. I wasn’t usually like that.  I chalked it up to all the sexual
tension that was between us last night. 

I wasn’t sure where we were
going, so I just slipped on a cute halter sundress and heels, but stuck a pair
of flip flops in my bag.

I heard the doorbell right at
6:00 and felt my nerves shoot through my body.  I made my way to the door and
peaked out to see Jack standing there.  I opened the door and saw a huge smile
on his handsome face as he looked me up and down. 

I grinned and raised my eyebrows
and said, “Well, hi there.  Like what you see?”

He laughed and stepped closer to
me, wrapping one hand around my waist.  “Sorry.  I didn’t mean to gawk, but
damn, you just look amazing.”

I let out a soft laugh and put
one hand on his shoulder.  “Thank you.  You can gawk anytime as long as you say
I look amazing.  You look pretty great yourself.  I could change into my
sweats, though, if you prefer?”

He leaned in and kissed my cheek,
then brought his other hand around showing me a small bouquet of wild flowers. 
“For you.  You don’t seem like the roses type, so I chose these.”

They were beautiful.  And, he was
right.  I hated roses, but not for a reason anyone would think.

“These are lovely.  Thank you! 
Come in so I can put these in a vase.”  I stepped away back into my condo and
he followed.  As I went to the kitchen to find a vase, I said, “You’re right,
by the way.  I hate roses.”  I turned to see his eyebrows raised a bit and a
curious smile on his face.  He didn’t ask to explain and I was grateful.

After securing the flowers, I
rounded the breakfast bar where Jack was standing, grabbed my bag and asked,
“So, where to, sir?”

He walked close to me, not saying
a word and cupped my face in his hands.  “You are so beautiful, Jen.”  Then, he
planted a soft, slow kiss on my lips and I felt my whole body relax and give
in.

I dropped my bag to the floor and
put my arms around his neck.  His hands moved into my hair so that he could
control the kiss.  I just stood there and let him have his way for several long
minutes.

Finally, he pulled his head back
just enough to break the contact and said, “Sorry about that.  I couldn’t help
myself.  Plus, you looked a little nervous, so I thought I’d get that over with
and show you that you don’t have to be worried.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t think, not
when he was all sweet and sexy like that. 

“Let’s go. I want to take you to
dinner and dancing.  Sound good?”  Jack was looking at me closely.

“Sounds really good.”  I bent
down and picked up my bag and we walked out to his car, the same car we were
making out against the night before.  “Nice car.”

“Thanks.  It’s a weakness. I love
cars.  This is one of my favorites.”  I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it
was black and looked fast. 

Jack opened the door for me and I
climbed in.  It smelled like a man…all leather and yummy cologne.  I inhaled
and closed my eyes for just a second as he shut my door and made his way around
the front of the car.

Jack slid into the driver’s seat
and turned to look at me as he started the engine.  “Ready?’’

“Yep.”  I smiled back and stared
at him.

“Jen, if you keep looking at me
like that, we may not get to the restaurant.”  He had a sexy smirk on his face
and I was a little embarrassed by my lustful glare. 

“Yeah, sorry about that.  Just
checkin’ out my hot date.”  I let out a small laugh.

“Well, in that case…..go right
ahead and keep on staring.”  Jack put the car in drive and sped off down the
street.

We ended up eating at a little
Italian place in Pacific Beach, then going to a small, intimate club that Jack
had heard of.  We were having a wonderful time talking and laughing, trying to
get to know each other better. 

During dinner, Jack sat close to
me and kept finding reasons to touch me.  It sent chills through my body and he
noticed.  I felt a little overwhelmed with what was going on.  I didn’t know
him well, but we were enjoying each other’s company.

We parked at the club and Jack
came around to open my door.  Stepping out, he took my hand and didn’t let go
of it.  I looked down at our fingers and grinned.  He gave me a little squeeze
and leaned into my ear and said, “Is that okay?”