“Are you trying to tell me that you think she’ll revoke that offer of friendship?”
“Affirmative, babes. But that’s okay because you’ve displayed that you can handle yourself. No matter what is thrown at you.” He hooked his index finger under my chin and tilted my face up as he lowered his lips to mine. The contact was electric, lighting my entire body on fire. We hadn’t gone any further physically beyond kissing and it was about time that we progressed this thing; my body was demanding it. I was only human—V-card intact or not. A plan began to form in my head. At Ryan’s party I was going to wear the sexiest little dress I could find and he was going to be putty in my hands—or at least I hoped.
We spent the early part of the evening at the park. It was a nice relaxing evening that helped me mellow out from the chaos of the day. Even though Jaxson had brought a lot of chaos into my life, I’ll admit that being with him made me happy and I didn’t want that happiness to end. I’d tried to sneak in a question about how he’d gotten those bruises on his body, but he was onto me and sidestepped the questions with expert ease. I didn’t like that. If we were going to try to have a real relationship, then there shouldn’t be secrets…. Should there? I wasn’t wrong, was I?”
Chapter 17
“I have the most amazing, cool, exciting idea of all time for you, Mom!” I’d been waiting for my mother to arrive home since Jaxson dropped my off from our evening at the park and she’d finally arrived from her shift at work. I pounced on her like she’d done on numerous occasions to me in the past week, before she could even get her jacket off.
She gave me a peculiar look. “Who did you beat up this time?”
Placing my hands on my hips, I hit her with a pout. “Come on, Mom. Have some faith in me.”
“I did. Now I never know what’s going to happen.” She shrugged her jacket off her shoulders and hung it up, then kicked off her sneakers.
“Okay, full disclosure: I kinda think I may have broken someone’s nose at volleyball tryouts. But it was a total accident and I didn’t get into any trouble so that’s proof it was an accident.”
“Broke someone’s nose. Jesus, Keira. How did you manage that?”
I toyed with the idea of fibbing, but she’d see through that in an instant. I was a horrible liar and she knew me way too well. “It was Trina and she was on the other team and they were taunting me so I spiked the ball over the net. It’s not my fault that she can’t handle a good spike. How’s she going to handle it in a game if she can’t handle it in a tryout?”
“Don’t even try to sell me on the argument that you did it to help her.” She walked past me and to the elevator, pressing the call button.
“Okay. No. I didn’t. It was to prove a point. That I didn’t suck.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I stepped inside behind her and pressed the number four. “She was being a massive bitch to me.”
“It was a busy day and I’m tired. I just don’t have it in me to process this right now.”
I frowned, not liking how tired she was. I wanted to blame her working more than she’d promised she would; she’d worked five days straight now. But I knew that was a lie; me and my antics were stressing her out. “Okay. Let’s drop it. I have better news anyhow. It’s going to be great.”
She cocked a brow at me, folding her arms over her chest. “With you lately I don’t think I could even begin to guess what it could be.”
We reached our destination and the doors slid open to my mother’s floor. To the direct left was her room. “So get this. I know you want to work and I started thinking, why in the hell would you work for someone else when you could work for yourself?”
We entered her room and she sat down on the bed. Looking up at me she frowned.
What are you talking about?”
“I think we need to either buy a restaurant or a space and set up our own restaurant. That way you can work whenever you want and do it the way you want. We could do it together.” I flopped down onto the bed beside her, giving her a hug from the side. “It’ll be great for us and for you.”
Something lit up in her expression, and then died just as quickly. “I don’t know nothing about running restaurants.”
“What? Are you kidding, Mom? You’ve been working in the restaurant business all your life. If anyone knows how to run a restaurant, it’s you.”
“It’s a lot harder than you imagine, Keira. You need to decide if it’s going to be a franchise, or are you going off on your own. Or maybe buy a failing restaurant and try to give it a facelift and make a go of it. If you’re going on your own, then who are your suppliers? There’s a lot. Don’t even get me started on the New York City laws and regulations governing food-service establishments.”
My eyes narrowed at her. She’d thought about it before. She was just scared she’d fail. “I think that can be easily figured out. If not, we get an advisor for the opening.”
Looking deep into her blue eyes, I could practically see the wheels turning in her head, deciding if she could actually pull it off. How did I push her over the edge? “How about this: after school tomorrow we start looking at restaurants for sale. If we don’t like any we look for a space to open our own.” I put my arm over her shoulder. “Picture this: A beautiful, classy storefront and the name of the restaurant is simply Felicia’s. It’s perfect.”
I could see that she was processing what I was saying. She was almost there.
“And this could be something we do together. You know, me and you against the world.” Okay, perhaps saying our catchphrase was a little bit of a low blow, but this was for her own good, and could just very well repair our bond. “You’ve worked for other people long enough, Mom. It’s time to be the master of your life.”
The silence that overtook the room was driving me insane. When she finally spoke, I exhaled the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding.
“All right. I know I’ve always said that you can’t work and you must focus one hundred percent of your studies, but I think this time I’ll make an exception. If we do this, you’ll be helping. Maybe it’ll keep you out of trouble a little bit if we keep you occupied on something.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about her take on this, but whatever. We were on the right track and I was getting what I wanted. She needed something like this, I was sure of it. If she was going to work herself to the bone, then it might as well be for something that was hers.
“Okay.” I gave her a hug and stood. “I’m off to bed now. I’ve got school tomorrow.”
“Sleep well, sweetheart.”
I smiled. Thank goodness. This was one of the first nights in the past week where I felt we were on the right footing. Maybe things were on an upward swing.
~*~ TT ~*~
“Are you going to Ryan’s party next Saturday night?” I asked Damien. I’d rushed to get to chemistry class early so I could chat with him. Damien and I hadn’t had much time to chat the past couple of days and we’d come to be close enough that I was missing his company.
He laughed. “You think I’d be invited to that party? That is one of those best-of-the-best parties. Not sure if you noticed, but I’m not part of the in-crowd.”
Tapping the tip of my pen onto the lab desk that we shared, I stared at him. I may not have had enough pull to get him an invite, but Jaxson sure as hell did. “How about this? I get Jaxson to invite you and your sister. Olivia, right? I want to meet her.”
He grimaced. “Girl, I don’t know.”
Taking his hand, I gave him the best puppy-dog look I could muster. “Come on, please. I need some friends of my own. And I hear it’s going to be awesome. Besides it’s a masquerade party, you can go crazy.”
“I’m not sure you can handle my crazy, honey.”
“And you never know. You might get to see me get my ass kicked by a bunch of trust-fund bitches, do you really want to miss out on that?”
“If they kick your ass I’m not jumping in to save you.” He motioned to his f
ace. “To much beauty here that could get messed up. Unlike your friend Trina, my nose is perfect just how it is.”
Laughing, I couldn’t resist leaning forward and giving him a hug. I was really blessed to have met Damien. “Okay. I promise. I won’t expect you to save my ass.”
“You know, you’ll have to ditch your boy toy in order to go shopping with me to find something to wear. Maybe check out Versace, their fall line is amazing.” An excited gleam began to shine in his eyes. Maybe he wasn’t so against the school royalty as he claimed to be. It’s easy to say you don’t want to be part of that “in” crowd when you’re on the outside looking in.
“I can certainly do that.”
He nodded, eyeing me up and down. “Well, look at you.”
“What about me?”
“You really have made a name for yourself in just a week.”
“What do you mean?”
“Getting the outsider an invite to one of the most sought-after parties of the year. Wow.” He lowered his voice. “And don’t think I didn’t notice how people are beginning to look at you now.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s unprecedented for someone to come into this school and rise up in the hierarchy so quickly. And for someone to knock the queen off her proverbial throne and get the respect of the students, crazy.”
Straightening up, I gave it some thought. There hadn’t been any whispers. Trina wasn’t in school right now and from what I heard from the grapevine she’d be out for a couple of weeks.
“It’s your time. Right now. If you want to solidify yourself in this school, then you need to step up before she comes back.”
“And are you going to be my right-hand man when I get to the top?” I said in jest. Me being the new queen bee? Nah, thanks. It really wasn’t my style. I just wanted to fit in. Having some friends would be nice. The idea of running for student council had only been a joke with myself. I saw the way people flocked to Trina and fell over themselves to be around her and be liked by her. It was sad.
“Definitely girl. Walking down the hallways of the school and having students part way as if you were parting the red sea. Hellz yeah. How cool would that be.”
“You’re too funny. I’m happy being me. And I’m just happy spending time with Jaxson and getting to know him. Some friends perhaps. I don’t think I’m cutthroat enough to come in here and take Trina’s place. And let’s not forget, she’ll be back and she’s not just going to step aside and welcome me in.”
“We’ll see. Now let’s get to the juicy stuff.”
I raised a brow at him. “What do you mean by juicy stuff?” I had a pretty good idea of what he meant.
“Jaxson. What’s he like in the sack?”
I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks and I looked away just as Mr. Morzetti entered the room.
“Sorry. Can’t talk now. Class is starting,” I whispered, amused when I saw Damien’s smile fade and disappointment appear in his eyes.
Chapter 18
Over the next week I came to know that one fact rang very true, Damien had been right. With Trina gone I was beginning to get a sense of anticipation from the rest of the students. And when I walked down the hallway with Jaxson’s arm around me, I could see the envy and admiration in the other girls’ eyes. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before and to a certain extent it was starting to go to my head.
But I tried to keep my feet on the ground and stay grounded. My mother quit her job and over the following week we looked for places to set up a restaurant. She was still determining what she wanted for a theme, but she kept saying she’d know it when she saw it.
Friday night came around, the night before the big party, and I was just arriving home from my shopping spree with Damien, my hands filled with bags from various stores when my phone beeped. Why did it always have to go off when I was busy?
Setting the bags on the floor, I pulled my phone from my purse and looked down at the display. It was Jaxson. The front door was still opened, so I peek out and across the street. Sure enough, Jaxson was in the window of his room watching me.
Grinning, I looked down at the display and opened his message.
Hey babes. Is your mother home and would you like some company?
My grin widened as I typed out a reply.
Geez, my mom isn’t home this weekend. I think you know that. But I’m not sure if I should have boys over at this hour.
I pressed send and awaited his reply.
Then I definitely think I need to come over and we can take a dip in UR pool. Maybe the hot tub.
Looking up from the phone, I lifted my gaze to his window. He was gone, no doubt on his way over. Leaving the front door open, I pulled my boots off and set them into the closet. Going back to the open door, I watched him zig-zag between the cars and up my front steps. Rushing through the threshold, he pulled me into his arms and lowered his lips to mine.
I moaned as our lips met, sliding my hands up his chest to lace my fingers behind his neck. “Mmm.” With great reluctance, I pulled out of his embrace a smile so wide on my lips it hurt. This was one of the most amazing weeks of my life, if not the most amazing.
How the day could get any better was beyond me.
“First things first. Would you like the good news or the bad news first?” he asked, taking a step back from me.
“Umm.” I tapped my newly manicured fingernail against my bottom teeth. “Hit me with the bad. If it’s super bad then maybe the good will be good enough to make me forget. Kinda like a news sandwich.”
His brow creased and he chuckled. “What in the hell is a news sandwich?”
“Well, you’re feeling good. You get hit with the bad. But then it’s followed by good again, which makes the entire experience good overall.”
“Sounds like a crock of shit to me, but whatever.”
I shrugged. “It works for me. So hit me with it, what’s the news? I need to get suited up for our swim.”
Jaxson gave me the side-eye. “Suited up? We’re not swimming naked?”
Laughing, I gave my head a shake, giving him a gentle push against his shoulder, giving him a blatant look up and down. “You had better be wearing a suit under those jeans.”
He stepped to me and twirled a lock of my hair around his index finger. The gentle tug on my scalp made me inhale sharply and fueled the need within me for the man standing so tall and powerful before me.
“If you think you’re getting into my pants tonight you’ve got another thing coming, mister.”
“I’d never dream of it.” Despite his words, I could see the passion in his eyes.
Biting down on my lower lip, I attempted to push down the feelings that were swirling around inside of me. “Tell me the news. Let’s get it over with.”
The flirty look in his eyes faded and he let the remaining strands of hair fall from his fingertips. “The bad news is that Trina is going to be coming tomorrow night to the party.”
I nodded. It wasn’t information that shocked me. Rumors had been flying through school like crazy. Nose job. No nose job. She was coming back next week, or was she staying out of school and being home-schooled for the rest of the year. I grabbed threads of all rumors and weaved them together to determine that she’d be coming back as early as next week and she looked amazing now. So I guess that meant she’d gone ahead with the nose job. I guess we’d know for sure tomorrow.
“How do you know?”
“Ryan called earlier and told me.”
“Okay and what’s the good news?”
“The good news is that I got Damien and Olivia on the guest list.”
“Oh thank God!” I squealed and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
A wave of relief washed over me. I’d fibbed to Damien and told him that he was on the guest list and in actuality I hadn’t known for sure. I was just hoping that Jaxson could pull it off. If he couldn’t I honestly wasn’t sure what I was
going to do to get myself out of the fib.
. “Oh, I can think of a way you can repay me.” He flashed me a wickedly sexy smile when I pulled back from him.
“How about you tell me your ideas when I get back down. Head down to the pool and I’ll be right there.” I didn’t wait for a reply, sprinting up the stairs, taking them two at a time and completely forgetting to bring the bags up with me, or close the front door for that matter. Jaxson would take care of the door.
Entering my room, I kicked the door closed with my foot as I pulled my shirt up and over my head, tossing it onto the king-sized bed. Stripping out of the rest of my clothing, I went to my dresser and grabbed a blue bikini, with a frilly fringe along the waistband of the bottoms. Stepping up to the full-length mirror, I gave myself a once-over to endure I looked good enough to go down and join him. The blue of the bathing suit matched my eyes to perfection.
Satisfied, I left my bedroom and took the elevator down to the bottom floor. The doors swished open to reveal the pool, and further down, the hot tub. There was a rack of white bath towels to the left of me as I exited the elevator; next to it was a pool chair with Jaxson’s clothing piled in a crumpled pile. But the towels weren’t where my eyes were drawn to. Jaxson was doing laps in the pool, his tall muscular body gliding through the water as if he were part fish.
Walking to the end of the in-ground pool, but not getting in, I waited for him to reach me. Reaching the end of the pool he surfaced, grabbing the end of the platform and pulling himself up and out of the water in one swift movement. Water cascaded down the lines of hard muscle. Backing away from the edge, I couldn’t help but stare as the droplets caressed his body. His swim trunks hung low on his hips, drawing my eyes to the defined abdominal muscles.
Damn. Just looking at him made my heart rate accelerate and my mouth go dry.
“Liking something you see, babes?” he asked, pulling me from my trancelike state and making me meet his wickedly sexy stare. Perhaps having him here like this was a bad idea. A very bad idea. As much as my body craved his touch, I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to give him my V-card yet. We hadn’t even established whether we’d graduated from a fake relationship to a real one.
Outsider: Upper East Side (Greisbach Academy #1) Page 12