by J. Lea
“Doesn’t Camilla need help? I feel weird sitting here while she’s cooking for us. I’d like to help.” Jake shakes his head, smiling. “What?” I look at him sideways.
“You’re so cute. Don’t worry. Camilla enjoys cooking. We’d only be in her way.” I nod reluctantly. The next moment, Camilla rushes out of the kitchen, carrying two plates in her hands. It smells so delicious my tummy starts rumbling.
“Thank you,” I say, as she sets a plate in front of me, and I grab my fork and knife. Jake whispers something in her ear. She nods and bids us goodbye. I take a bite of beef tenderloin with marinated walnut sauce. It tastes so good I close my eyes in ecstasy. It practically melts in my mouth. As I open them again, I see Jake staring at me with his blue grey eyes. “I’ve never tasted anything so delicious in my life. It’s heavenly,” I say, my mouth full.
“Do you have any plans for your birthday?” he asks, and takes a sip of his wine.
“No, I’m working in the morning, and then I don’t know. I never celebrate my birthday,” I shrug indifferently.
“Well, you have plans now. You’re going to spend the day with me.”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly.
When we finish eating and I lick my plate clean, we go to the living room and plop down on the sofa. “Where’s Camilla?” I didn’t even notice that I haven’t seen her in a while.
“I sent her home,” Jake says, and opens the can of beer he grabbed from the fridge on the way to the living room.
“How long has she been working for you? She seems like a very nice lady.”
“I don’t know, three years maybe? She’s great, she does all the shopping, and cooks and cleans. I love her to death.”
As we lounge on the sofa, I notice three big boxes in the corner, full of letters and packages. Jake sees me looking at them and answers my silent question. “Fan mail,” he says. Wow, that’s a lot of letters. I had no clue one person could get so much mail.
“And you haven’t opened anything yet?” I ask because everything seems intact.
“Um, no,” he shifts uncomfortably, and scratches his head.
“Can I take a peek?” I want to know what the fans write to him about. I never had a famous idol, so I’m curious to see what his fans wish to tell him. He slowly nods.
“I have to warn you, some letters might be… Um, racy,” he mumbles. I have no idea what he’s trying to say. He has peaked my curiosity even more, and I want to know what could be so racy in the letters. I grab one from the top of the pile. Nothing special. Some woman wants him to know she is his biggest fan and is asking for an autograph. I open the next one, which is similar. This woman is also a big fan of his. She wants to know if Jake is single because she has a daughter who would be his perfect match. A picture of a girl in her twenties with short brown hair is enclosed. I glance at Jake, and I can tell he’s uncomfortable.
“Do you write them back?” I point to the boxes. He shakes his head.
“My people take care of it, I just receive this stuff. In the beginning, I was excited to get so many letters from fans and I responded to each and every one, but now there’s too many of them, I just don’t have the time.” I completely understand him, with his packed schedule and everything. I grab a neatly wrapped package next and tear it open. I gently shake it. Panties and a bra fall out of it. My cheeks heat, Jake’s eyes are still watching me intently, but I continue as I’m too curious what else is hiding in the boxes. I open a thick envelope, which has about ten pictures and a letter inside. I gape in bewilderment when I realize they are nude pictures of a young girl, posing for the camera. My mouth wide open, I put them down and reach for the letter she wrote. Like I imagined, she’s offering herself to Jake, even for one night, just so she can be with him. She even wrote down her address and phone number. I look at Jake, whose eyes still haven’t left my face. Now I know what he meant by racy.
“And you get letters like that every day?” He nods. “That must be nice, huh? Beautiful girls who want you. Every man’s dream,” I say quietly, shaking my head. I find more similar offers and pictures in the pile, and get even more uncomfortable. Women in these pictures are all beautiful like models, with gorgeous bodies and big breasts. I can’t compare to them. Jake notices my mood has changed, so he takes the pictures out of my hands and throws them back into a box. He turns to me, and looks into my eyes.
“You okay?”
I quickly nod, but I’m actually feeling quite nauseous. I start wondering if he ever took one of these girls up on her offer. There are certainly many opportunities, considering the amount of the fan mail. How many girls can brag about sleeping with Jake?
“Ella, look at me,” Jake says and snaps me out of my thoughts. I raise my gaze to his and he moves closer to me so our knees are touching. “What is going on in that head of yours?” he asks softly. I drop my head to my lap, but he tilts it back up again so I cannot avoid his eyes.
“Nothing,” I lie.
“Bullshit. I can see the wheels in your head turning. Tell me.”
“What are your intentions with me, Jake?” I ask him seriously. He raises his eyebrow in surprise. He opens his mouth to reply, but I interrupt him. “Seriously, I don’t understand you. What do you want from me? I’m nothing like the girls in these pictures and I never will be. I mean, look at them. Why are you trying so hard with me? I’m nothing special.” As I want to stand up, his hands on my shoulders stop me.
“I’m looking at you right now, and I can honestly tell you I like what I see. I like that you’re not like other girls. I like you the way you are, with little make up and your hair down. You’re so natural and beautiful. You are gorgeous. I don’t understand how you can’t see that. I want you by my side, every day, every minute, and every second. I only want you.”
My eyes start tearing up. “I can’t be with you.” I move away from him. I need room to breathe.
“Why not?” he asks, hurt in his voice.
“Damn it, Jake…” I exclaim loudly, and stand up. I take a few steps toward the dining room, then stop and turn back, hand on my forehead. “I like you, I really do. I haven’t felt this way in more than two years…” I shake my head helplessly. “I’m afraid of motorcycles, Jake. I’m terrified of what you do professionally, every day. And I’m not the kind of girl for one night stands.” Jake jumps up from the couch, and closes the distance between us. He bends a little so he’s looking me in the eyes.
“Ella, who was saying anything about one night stands? I want you today, tomorrow and for all eternity.” I swallow loudly. “Why are you so conflicted about this? Who hurt you? What happened two years ago? You can trust me, you know.” I turn away, taking a deep breath, hand over my eyes, while I shake my head. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he says in a pleading voice.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“Yes, I know what I’m talking about! Damn it…” he sighs, raising his arms in desperation. “Fuck, Ella. I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re not only in my thoughts during the day, I dream about you at night. I will not leave you.”
I snort loudly at his last words. “He said the same thing.”
“Who?” Jake gives me a questioning look. “Please, just tell me what’s going on in your head.”
“Josh,” I breathe.
“Who is he? What the hell did he do to you to hurt you so deeply?”
“He died.” I collapse onto the sofa and let my tears fall freely. Jake joins me on the sofa, silent, but I suddenly get up and head toward the entrance door. “I can’t do this,” I say out loud and search for my coat. His strong hand on my shoulder stops me. He spins me around and wraps me in a tight hug.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I should have known better than to upset you again like that. Please, don’t leave.” I slowly nod, because I already feel better in his soothing embrace. He leads me to the living room, and brings me a glass of water. I take a few sips, and put the glass on the coffee table. Jake gently
pulls me into his lap, so my head is resting on his knee, and strokes my hair. I feel ridiculous for acting so crazy earlier; he must think I’m insane. I dare not to look him in his eyes so I’m staring into nothing.
“Josh was my boyfriend,” I start, but Jake cuts me off.
“You don’t need to tell me anything.” Nodding, I raise my hand to his face to stop him.
“I know. I think it’s time to explain why I’ve been acting so weird.” I take a deep breath and press my body further into his. “I loved him with all my heart. I still do. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving him. We were together for four years when he lost his life in an accident. My world crumbled to pieces that day. I never thought I would be able to live without him in my life. He was my life, and he loved me with all his heart. He showed me that every day. But unfortunately, he was also in love with motorcycles. He owned one before we met. We actually met at a car fair where he was selling it, and he never bought a new one, because he knew I didn’t like motorcycles. But he loved watching motorcycle races, you were his favorite racer,” I smile as I think back to the day I laid next to Josh, listening to him cheer for Jake. I look up to see Jake’s reaction, but his face is void of emotions, and he doesn’t stop stroking my hair. He encourages me to continue with a nod. “He’d like you. I’m sure of that.” Jake smiles, and presses a kiss to my forehead. “He bugged me for months to let him buy a new bike, but I was so against it. Until I gave in.” Snorting, I shake my head. “If I had just stayed strong and kept telling him no, nothing would have happened to him.” A tear slides down my cheek, and I shut my eyes because I’m afraid more would follow. I don’t want to cry in front of him. I feel him wipe away the tear with his thumb, and I open my eyes. His hand is still on my cheek.
“Go on,” he says softly.
“The day of the accident he wanted me to come with him.” Jake shudders under me and exhales deeply. “But I had my massage exams that day. I probably wouldn’t want to go with him anyway because I gave motorcycles a wide berth. I hate them, period. So, instead of being one of the happiest days because I passed my exams, it turned into a nightmare.” I can’t hold in my emotions anymore, so I sit up and cover my face with my hands as I sob quietly. “Now you know why I kept rejecting you. I’m afraid to let someone new in my heart. I don’t want to lose anyone else. Josh took a big piece of my heart with him. I haven’t had a boyfriend since his death. I pushed everybody away.”
“Ella,” Jake says softly, and tilts my chin up with his hand. I look at him and wipe at my tears. “I’m truly sorry for everything you’ve been through. I can’t imagine how horrible you must have felt, but I’m glad you didn’t sit on the bike that day. I’m sure Josh was a good man, and I’m honored you let me in.” He hugs me again, and then lays us both down on the sofa.
When I open my eyes the next time, I’m surrounded by darkness. It’s already dark outside. I move around in bed. The bedding is so soft, I’d want to stay in bed whole day, wrapped in it. When I realize I’m not in my own bed, I quickly sit up. Where the hell am I? I remember I was at Jake’s house earlier. I obviously fell asleep on his sofa, but this isn’t the sofa. I look around the room, jump out of bed, and look for a light switch. I realize I’m in one of the guest rooms. Still dressed in my clothes, I scan the room for my cell phone, but I don’t see it. I quickly use the toilet, and open the door of the room. As I step outside, a wonderful smell hits me. Someone’s in the kitchen, so that’s where I’m headed. I don’t know where my shoes are so I skip down the stairs barefoot. I poke my head into the kitchen and see Jake standing by the stove, making pancakes. I smile softly; I didn’t think he knew how to cook. He’s wearing only sweats, showing off his perfectly sculptured body, and the ends of his hair are still wet. I gulp and discreetly wipe the drool out of my mouth. I’m salivating, but not because of the food he’s making. Clearing my throat to announce my presence, I enter the kitchen.
“Hey.” Leaning against the kitchen counter, I smile gently at him. “Need any help?”
He’s trying to make a new batch of pancakes, but there’s more flour on the floor than in the bowl. He nods, sighing, and turns to me, flashing me his signature grin. The air gets sucked out of my lungs when he starts walking toward me. The result of his hard work in the gym is impressive. There’s not an ounce of fat on his stomach, and I could swear every muscle on his body has a muscle. I’ve never seen a body as magnificent as Jake’s in my life. I openly admire the tattoo on the side on his ribs that disappears into the waistband of his sweats.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his palm. “I wanted to surprise you with a dinner, but as you can see I’m not a very skilled chef. You like pancakes, right?” I chuckle and nod. I don’t care if it’s pancakes or a sandwich; it means a lot to me he made an effort.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this. I don’t want to be in your way if you have somewhere else to be.” Jake waves his hand, and sets a plate on the table with the other one.
“On the contrary, I’m exactly where I want to be.”
I smile brightly. I take a few deep breaths and then inspect the damage. I stir the pancake batter, which it’s way too runny.
“Pass the flour, please,” I tell him. I add some into the bowl. Closing the flour bag, I hand it back to Jake. I stir the batter again. Much better. I move the stray strand of hair off my face with two fingers and move to the stove. The pan is already hot and oily, so I pour some pancake batter onto it. Jake is watching me intently the whole time, so I turn to him as I put the baked pancake on the plate.
“You’re all covered in flour,” he says and I quickly look down at my clothes.
“Where? I don’t see anything.”
I see him drop a fistful of flour onto my head. I squeal and run away from him. “Ooh, you’re so going to pay for this, Mister,” I threaten him, giggling, while I try to dust the flour off my hair and clothes. “I’m gonna get you!”
Jake’s laughter echoes through the kitchen. “I’m so ready for you.”
I run to the counter to grab some flour and throw it at him. My aiming sucks, it only lands on his sweats. Jake uses this opportunity to spill some more flour over my head, so I run back to the bag of flour to return the favor. As I’m opening the bag, Jake reaches me, snatches it out of my hand, and throws it on the floor. Putting his hands on each side of the counter, and leaning into my back, he has me trapped between the counter and his hard body. I slowly turn around. He doesn’t know I managed to hold onto some of the flour. He’s grinning like a cat that got the cream and unlike me, he doesn’t have any flour on him.
“So....What are you going to do now? You can’t run,” he flashes his satisfied grin and wiggles his eyebrows, his piercing catching the light. He glides his nose down my cheek. Before he can say anything else, I smear the flour all over his face, and down his firm stomach. Catching him by surprise, I manage to get out of his hold and run away, bending over in laughter.
“Who’s laughing now, huh?” I smirk at him. Jake is trying to brush the flour off his face, his back to me, so I don’t see the expression on his face. All of a sudden, he spins around, eyes heavy with desire. He puts his hands on my cheeks and fiercely crushes his lips to mine, shutting me up. He kisses me passionately, and my lips part, so our tongues could melt into each other. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, our tongues are dancing together, we’re panting and kissing like our lives depends on it. Flour from our hair and clothes is falling to the ground but we don’t even notice. Jake presses his strong, firm body against mine, and I can feel his bulge against my stomach. After what seems like an eternity, we finally manage to slow down, kissing in between deep, panting breaths. Our kisses become gentler, softer, slower, and Jake gives me one last peck, before he presses his forehead against mine. We are breathing like we’ve just run a marathon, and then burst in laughter.
“You’re all dirty,” I say, breathless, running my finger across his che
st.
“And you’re sexy,” he responds, and runs his hands over my hair. “So damn sexy.” I drop my gaze to my clothes, now white from the flour, and shake my head.
“I need a shower.”
“Let’s eat first, we’ll shower later,” he says, and pours the batter onto the pan. We finish making the pancakes together, and sit by the table. “What toppings do you like on the pancakes?”
I blink a few times to concentrate on his question instead of feasting my eyes on his gloriously naked chest. “Um, doesn’t matter.” I’m still recovering from our amazing kiss. He walks to the fridge; the distance between us helps me breathe normally again. I put some maple syrup on my pancakes, as we eat in silence. After we’re finished, we put the dishes into the dishwasher.
“I’m sorry for earlier, I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I did my training while you slept. It’s not that difficult if you have a gym at home.” He winks at me. No wonder he looks like he does, he works out all the time. And the results are very impressive—his stomach is a work of art. “Do you want me to take you home?” Jake asks behind me, as I put the last plate in the dishwasher. I straighten up and turn to him. I slowly shake my head no. “Good,” he says enthusiastically, and shows me to the bathroom where I can clean myself up.
Jake
“Come here,” I tap the space between my legs on the sofa. Ella looks at me sideways, and then plops down. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I start kneading gently.
“What are you doing?” she asks, surprised, a moan of pleasure escapes her lips. “That feels amazing. Don’t stop. My shoulders are killing me.” Good, because I don’t want to stop. I take a deep breath and lean forward.
“Do you trust me?” I ask her, and place my hands on her hips. Her gaze falls on my hands, and then she looks up to me, nodding. I give her a peck on the lips. “Lie down.” I move her hair from her back and sit on her butt, with my weight on my legs. It’s a good thing the sofa is spacious enough to accommodate us nicely. I can already feel my cock getting harder with every touch of her body. Christ, she’s so beautiful. Her hair is spread on the couch and her eyes are closed. I put my hands on her back and start kneading gently. I wish she wasn’t wearing a shirt, so I could be touching her naked skin. A satisfied moan leaves her lips. I know a thing or two about massaging - where to apply pressure and where to apply a gentler touch. I’m overwhelmed by desire, I can barely keep my hands only on her back. “You’re so beautiful it hurts,” I breathe, and lean down to kiss her shoulder blade. “Damn it, I can barely keep my hands to myself. What have you done to me?” I give another kiss to her shoulder. “I knew I was in trouble from the very first kiss.” I slide my hand under her shirt as I massage her. Her shirt is getting higher by the second, with my hands on her silky soft skin. She leans a tiny bit to the side. I wait for her to protest, but she just pulls her shirt over her head. I stare at her, speechless, while I feast my eyes on her body, but that’s not enough. I need more, much more. I lower my head and start trailing kisses down her spine. When she feels my lips on her skin, she flinches slightly, but doesn’t stop me, so I continue the path of kisses from her shoulder blades to the small of her back, and back up toward her shoulders. I move the strap of her bra down so I can press a wet kiss on her shoulder and up her neck. I hear her deep and uneven breathing. “I want you so bad,” I whisper in her ear, and gently bite her earlobe. Ella opens her eyes, and her answer surprises me.