by Kay, Amanda
She lay there trying to go back to sleep, but she couldn’t. Before she could second guess herself, she was knocking on Jordan’s door. “Come in, beautiful,” he called.
“Hi,” she said meekly.
Jordan
She was there. In his room. She looked beautifully sad. “Hi,” he returned.
“Am I disturbing you?” she questioned, still in the doorway.
“No, beautiful,” he answered, getting up and walking towards her.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned pulling her into the room.
“I can’t talk about it yet, bad dream though.” He nodded at her answer walking her towards the bed.
“Lay down, I’ll take care of you. I’ll chase the nightmares away,” he whispered his mouth at her neck. He couldn’t stop himself. He had to have a taste. He licked her skin and she fell back against his chest.
“We can’t, Jordan,” she rasped.
“One kiss, Bethany. Just one,” he replied spinning her to face him. He didn’t give her the option to reply. He pressed his mouth against hers. He didn’t move he just stayed liked that. Her tongue started caressing his lips and they parted. His tongue locked with hers and he was gone.
He pushed her onto the bed breaking their kiss. She was breathing heavy, her eyes filled with many emotions, but the one that rang out to him, fear. “I’m sorry, beautiful,” he whispered caressing her cheek, holding his body above hers.
“I wasn’t any good?” she said draping her arm over her eyes.
“Beautiful,” he said taking hold of her arm to remove it from her face. “That was the best kiss of my life.” He kissed her cheeks and then stared at her lips again.
“Really?” she questioned. He smiled pressing his lips against hers again. He let some of his weight fall onto her.
He raised hers arms above her head holding them in one hand. His other hand began traveling down the side of her body. She squirmed under his touch. Jordan was gone, she owned him. He broke their kiss again, staring deep into her eyes.
“Wow,” she panted. He smiled, wow was right.
“Jordan, I can’t, not yet” she choked out.
“I know, beautiful,” he answered rolling off her. “I hope I didn’t push you too hard.” He knew they shouldn’t, not yet. Her mind hadn’t caught up with her heart.
She shook her head. “Can I stay tonight?”
“Of course you can.” She crawled under the covers and Jordan followed.
“I’ll take care of you,” he whispered. Pulling her back against his chest, he kissed her head. “I’m not going anywhere, no matter what.” He thought he heard her sigh, but her arm draped around his and her breathing evened out. He held her for a bit and watched her sleep. Just as he was about to doze his phone vibrated, he glanced at it on the nightstand. ‘Meredith Calling’. He sighed in frustration and gently slipped away from Bethany to answer it.
Bethany
She didn’t know how long she had been asleep, but when she woke she knew she was alone. “Leave me alone! Call your damn daughter!” She heard his voice boom. She got up and cautiously pushed her way out of the bedroom. “No, of course not.” His voice quieted down. The second she entered the living room he turned towards her giving her a sad smile. “I’m looking for my heart, Meredith.” he said before hanging up.
“I woke up, you were gone,” she said softly.
“Sorry about that, beautiful, she called right after you fell asleep,” he answered walking towards her.
“You didn’t ignore it.” He shook his head.
“I couldn’t anymore, Tai is.” She nodded.
“You told her you were looking for your heart.” He nodded taking her face in his hands.
“Not looking anymore, but she doesn’t need to know that. She wants me with Tai for now.” Bethany frowned. “Don’t frown, beautiful, when Tai’s ready to talk with her, she’ll understand.”
“Why isn’t Tai talking to her?” Jordan pursed his lips, and his brows furrowed.
“Mistakes, beautiful.” he whispered before placing a light kiss against her mouth. It didn’t go further. He pulled back and she couldn’t help but smile at him. He smiled back.
“Come on back to bed,” he said pulling her behind him.
“I can go back to my room now.” He shook his head.
“No. I want you near me.” She nodded and let him lead her back into his bedroom.
Jordan
He was in love just a couple months in Aishan and he was certain of it. He was getting ready for work when she tapped on his door. He smiled, “Come in, beautiful.”
She pushed through the door and stopped when she saw he was shirtless and in the process of zipping up his jeans.
“Oh damn, I’m sorry.” She blushed and Jordan laughed.
“Beautiful, if I didn’t want you to see, I wouldn’t have invited you in,” he said crossing his arms as her mouth dropped open.
“So you wanted to torture me?” she chuckled moving towards him.
“Whatever helps, beautiful,” he said grabbing her hand tugging her forward.
She rolled her eyes, “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re beautiful,” he breathed against her mouth. He could feel the shiver run through her body.
She stepped away, “I’ll let you get ready.”
“Wait, beautiful,” he called before she got too far from him. “You got plans with Tai?” She nodded.
“Giving her more information on the Lukas family,” she sighed.
“Why isn’t Raiden doing that?” he questioned.
“Because he wants to protect her.” Jordan nodded. He could appreciate that it was something he should’ve done. It was something he wanted to do for Bethany.
“Who’s protecting you, beautiful?” he asked, she looked down to the floor and sighed.
“I hope one day you will,” she whispered and he barely caught it.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed settling her on his lap. “That day is today. Anything Bethany, anything you need, anytime you’re scared, anytime you need a hug you come to me.” She rested against him and nodded.
“I’m trying not to fall, but I’m failing,” she whispered.
“Well keep falling, beautiful. I’ll catch you.” He kissed her cheek. “Well I need to get ready. Tell Tai and Raiden hello from me.”
She nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek. It was something she had been doing the last several weeks and Jordan was taking it. She still needed time, but she was progressing.
Bethany
She sighed. Jordan had left an hour ago. Her plans with Tai weren’t till tonight. Raiden would be working with Lee tonight in the capital so they had made dinner plans. She felt lucky to have Tai as a friend. She had never had a girlfriend like that. Her mom and Raiden’s mom really had been it. She had closed herself off to anything that could lead her astray from her duty, except Kai and that had been a mistake. Her phone rang. ‘Raiden Calling.’
“Hello,” she answered.
“I have news,” he spit out bubbling over with excitement.
“Okay and that is?” she asked intrigued.
“I asked dad for mom’s ring last night.” The words hit Bethany at full force. This was it. She was going to be free. She could fall and not get crushed.
“That’s great, Raiden.” She smiled. “Tai is great.” She meant that Tai was perfect for Raiden. She wouldn’t probably ever know why she was, just that she was.
“I want to make it special. She deserves special,” he sighed.
“Raiden, it’ll be perfect no matter what.”
“I’m afraid she might say no,” he said quietly.
“Why would she say no?” Bethany couldn’t imagine Tai saying no to Raiden’s proposal.
“It’s complicated, Beth.” he replied.
“Well for the record, I think she’ll say yes.”
“Thanks, got to go.” With that he hung up. She thought about calling Jordan bu
t instead decided to tell him face to face. She had to tell him their time was coming. She raced out of the apartment and towards the diner.
Jordan
He had just finished wiping down a table when she barreled through the door and into his arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he chuckled.
“I’m sorry, but I have news,” she panted out in joy.
“What is it, beautiful?” He was curious for sure.
“Raiden called...” she paused and he cocked an eyebrow urging her to continue.
“Okay...?” he prompted.
“He asked his dad for his mom’s ring.” At her words his eyes widened.
“He’s going to propose to Tai.” The words came out harsh mostly because he processing what that meant from him, for Bethany, for their future.
She took a step back. “This is good, right?” She stumbled over her words, and it snapped Jordan back to the here and now.
“It’s great news. Does it mean what I think though, for us?” It was his turn to hesitate.
She bit her lip, damn that was sexy. “I want it to, but can we still take things slow?” she questioned. He nodded and replied pulling her back into his arms.
As they were hugging, he looked towards the door and swore he saw Tai. She was just standing there not really looking at them, but in their direction. Then out the door she went. Jordan pulled back and Bethany stared back at him with concern.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Perfect, beautiful, but I thought I just saw Tai at the door.” She held onto his arm and turned her head that direction.
“You don’t think she heard us?” she asked facing him again.
He shrugged, “I can’t answer that.” Her head dropped against his chest. He placed his hands around her again and rubbed her back. His chin resting on her head.
“I’m ready to finish the fall, beautiful,” he whispered. He felt her heavy sigh. It was all he needed. She wanted a relationship, but something was still holding her back. He had demons too, ones he wasn’t ready to share; so slow it was.
Bethany
She had just pulled up to Raiden’s house for dinner with Tai, and was thinking about the day’s events. That’s how she spent most of the day, thinking about really starting something with Jordan. Could she really do that again? Was falling possible? Was she really free? She didn’t have a clue to those questions.
“Hey Beth.” She looked up as she was climbing out of her car to see Raiden walking towards her.
“Thought you were leaving,” she fired.
“We are, but I wanted to talk to you.” Great he hung around longer to talk with her.
“Don’t talk to Tai about Kai.” She sighed. The truth was they had been talking about Kai, because in Raiden’s efforts to keep her safe he was leaving out things she should know.
“What we talk about isn’t your business,” she resolved pushing past him and into the house and out towards the back porch.
“Did he lecture you?” She smiled.
“Look, I don’t care. If you want to talk about Kai, I’ll tell you.” Bethany returned Tai’s smile.
“Not tonight. I have something else I wanted to know and I know he won’t tell me if I ask.” Bethany took a sip of her drink.
“Ask then,” she replied setting down her drink.
“Tell me about the night you learned about the arrangement.” Bethany swallowed. This was most certainly an off limits topic with Raiden. He was livid that night, and while he had accepted it, he wouldn’t want to relive that first night.
“Good choice asking me,” Bethany chuckled putting some food in her mouth. She chewed her bite of food and thought of where to begin.
“Well...” Tai pressed. Bethany chuckled as she swallowed.
“Well, I’ve mentioned before we sometimes were a little wild.” Tai nodded when Bethany paused. “Okay, so when I was told I needed to go to Raiden’s house, I thought I was in trouble. I thought we were in trouble. For whatever reason, our dads scolded together, but then our moms got a hold of us after. My mom always waited till I got home and Melanie always waited till Lee was cooped up in his office again.”
“Sounds amusing.” Bethany laughed and shrugged at the understatement.
“Could say that. I knew though, when I walked into Lee’s office and saw my mom and Melanie as well that this was different. Raiden was already sitting down. I looked at him and he shrugged. We had partied hard the night before celebrating my sixteenth birthday, but we hadn’t done much.”
“Whoa!” Tai spit out and Bethany nodded. “Right after your sixteenth?”
“Yep, the day after,” Bethany deadpanned.
“Shit,” Tai mumbled.
“When I sat down it was clear that our moms didn’t agree with our dads,” she paused again.
“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Tai laughed lightening the mood again. Bethany realized she was a little tense this was actually the first time she really talked about that night.
“Needless to say when Lee told us, I was shocked and Raiden went so far off the handle. I’d never seen him like that and I haven’t since then. Not that bad, anyway,” Tai sighed.
“I don’t want to ever see him that mad. I’ve seen him mad and that’s been enough.”
“Don’t worry about it, Tai, he gets mad for sure, but thermonuclear takes a lot.” She nodded at Bethany’s answer.
“Really, Beth?” A voice boomed.
“She asked and you weren’t going to tell her,” Bethany fired back at her lifelong best friend.
“Fucking hell, there’s a reason for that!” he boomed again.
“Playboy, calm down. I asked her to tell me.” Bethany watched as his eyes shifted to Tai.
“Why?” he asked, working to calm himself.
“I wanted to know, playboy.” He sighed and looked back to Bethany.
“Certain topics are off limits,” he hissed before storming away.
“Goodbye, Tai.” Bethany mustered up before leaving. She didn’t give Tai a chance to say anything. She knew Raiden wouldn’t like that topic. Even though he joked with her the last few years about not being a bad husband, he didn’t like the choice being taken away from. Hell, what sixteen year old would.
Jordan
When she walked through the apartment door she looked crushed. He rushed to her, “Beautiful, what happened?”
“Tai asked me to tell her about the night Raiden and I found out about the arranged marriage.” Jordan nodded.
He knew Raiden probably didn’t discuss this with Tai because he didn’t want her to think that he wanted Bethany. “Raiden didn’t take it well?” he questioned. She answered him with a shake of her head.
Bethany’s phone rang and she looked down at it. ‘Tai Calling.’ She answered, “Hi Tai, I hope you don’t mind but you’re on speaker.” Jordan led her to the couch.
“Hi Jordan,” Tai responded.
“Hi Tai.”
“Bethany, are you okay?” she sighed. Jordan rubbed her back.
“I’m going to be. Are you and Raiden okay?”
“We’re fine, Beth. I told him to call you in the morning.” Bethany nodded.
“Tai, I’m going to talk with her now,” Jordan answered.
“Have a goodnight,” Tai responded before hanging up.
“Let’s talk,” Jordan said, she shook her head.
“Thank you, but I just need to get some sleep,” she answered, getting up and leaving him alone in the living room.
Jordan hated to be shut out, but she needed to be alone so he let her be. He went to his bedroom and shut the door. He knew she was just waiting for Raiden to propose. Hell, he was too. He wanted to move forward with her, but she couldn’t do that till Tai had a ring on her finger.
Bethany
Her phone started ringing pretty early in the morning and she knew it was Raiden without looking. “Good morning, Raiden.”
“Morning, Beth. I’m sorry.” She nodded which she knew was dumb. “I
can’t hear you nod,” he laughed.
“I know. I’m sorry, but she asked. You can’t keep her in the dark!” her voice raised.
He sighed, “I know, but I can’t help wanting to protect her.” Bethany understood that. “Jordan really crushed her Beth. Please understand where I am coming from?” he pleaded.
“I do,” she sighed. Raiden ended their call and Bethany stared at the ceiling. She was worried about what happened between Tai and Jordan. Now even more. Jordan wasn’t ready to share it though. He could have a little more time, but then she was asking Tai.
Jordan
She had asked him a few times about Tai and him. He knew she wanted answers, but he just wasn’t ready.
“I’m meeting Tai. Have a good day at work,” she spoke from behind him. He turned around and the look in her eyes told him all he needed. His demons would be revealed today.
He walked towards her taking her hands in his. They were both nervous. Raiden had had the ring for a month and hadn’t proposed and Bethany needed more, but Jordan couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t understand what had happened with Meredith.
“Baby, promise me something,” he pleaded.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“After you talk with Tai you come back here and let me explain.” She nodded and kissed his cheek before walking out of the apartment.
Jordan walked back to his room to get ready for work. He silently prayed this wouldn’t ruin them before they even got started.
Bethany
She arrived at the park where she and Tai were meeting. When she spotted Tai, Kai was there running his hand down her back. Tai was frozen stiff and jealousy from out of nowhere stabbed Bethany. Tai moved out of his reach and Bethany snapped.
“Get the fuck away from her, Kai!” The anger, the jealousy, everything from the past boiled inside Bethany when she spoke.
Both Tai and Kai turned around to look at her. “Oh, I should’ve known she wasn’t out here alone,” he hissed.
Bethany crossed her arms and locked herself in a stare down with Kai Lukas. “Yea Kai, you should’ve, now I won’t say it again. Get the fuck out of here before Raiden finds out and he comes here himself to kick your sorry ass.” Tai smiled at her. Bethany knew she hadn’t shown this side of her. Bethany was rarely like this. She liked it though.