By the time we got back to Jack’s place it was around midnight. I sent a text to my dad to remind him that I was staying at Jack’s place. I was stunned when he rang me immediately after I sent it.
“Your phone has been off all evening, Lily. I’ve been trying to contact you,” my dad pointed out. I reminded him that we had been at the theatre. My dad told me I’d had a visitor call to see me.
I was puzzled. I didn’t know who would be coming to see me, as all of our friends knew we were going to see Elle. “It was an American chap; he said he’d be back tomorrow at ten am, and he said his name was Alfie.” My heart stopped for a second and I froze. Alfie’s here?
“Hello? Hello? Are you still there, Lily? Damn, the connection must have gone… click.” My dad hung up. Jack had started his shower and was coming out to the closet to get fresh towels but stopped dead in his tracks.
“Jesus, Lily, what’s wrong? Come and sit down.” He ushered me to the couch, and my cell began to ring again. I waved it at Jack.
“Tell him I’m in the shower,” I whispered to him.
Jack answered the phone and chatted with my dad, then smirked. “Course not…she’s sleeping in the spare room, that’s a gross thought Charlie it would be wrong on so many levels. Lily’s like my sister.” He chuckled and hung up.
“Your dad just officially warned me off of you, Lily.” He grinned wolfishly. “And I’m to make sure you’re home by ten am, you want to tell me why? Whatever it is, I think that’s what’s floored you.”
He handed me back my cell as he sat down beside me, draping his arm around my shoulder. He leaned back into the couch, taking me back with him. I swallowed hard. “Alfie… he’s here. It was him I saw today.”
Jack pushed me away a tad, so that he could see me properly. “No shit, what’s he doing here?” I shrugged and could feel my eyes begin to well up. I began blinking back tears, but it was too late, they ran freely down my face anyway.
Jack exhaled heavily, dipping his head to kiss the top of my mine. “Come on, shower, then to bed. We can talk there.” He grabbed my hand and led me through to his bathroom. The room was filled with steam because he’d turned the shower on and had been in the process of getting a towel.
He leaned across and wiped the mirror clear with the sleeve of his long t-shirt. “Shower and brush your teeth, then get yourself into bed, honey. I’m going to get you a drink and some tissues.” He left me standing in the bathroom, and I went through the motions of getting ready for bed.
Jack reappeared a few minutes later, when he heard me brushing my teeth, and guided me into bed, pulling the duvet around me. “I’ll be in when I’ve showered.” He gave me a half smile.
“The shower is even more important now. I definitely won’t be able to trust myself without it, now that I’m going to have to hold you,” he teased, trying to cheer me up.
I gave him a watery smile and rolled away from him as the tears came again. Just when I was beginning to feel stronger about my decision to stay away from Alfie, he was here, in my territory, hounding me again.
Sometime after, I felt the duvet shift. A waft of cold air hit me. The mattress dipped as Jack slid his shorts-clad body in beside me. He pulled me over, sliding his arm under my neck and rolling me into his chest.
He rubbed my arm. “I’m coming with you tomorrow. You need me there.” It was a statement. I nodded but didn’t look at him. We didn’t talk anymore, just lay silently, and I eventually fell asleep.
I woke with my palm resting against Jack’s morning glory tenting in his shorts and almost freaked. Jumping away, I inadvertently wafted cold air under the duvet.
It rushed down our bodies, and Jack chuckled. I realized he must have been awake when my hand was resting against him and instantly felt mortified.
He started laughing loudly, and I was horrified that he hadn’t shifted away from where my hand rested. Jack smirked, peering down at me, peeking through one eye. “You were totally checking out my package, Lily.”
I swallowed twice before I replied. “I can’t help what I do in my sleep,” I said deadpan.
He chuckled again. “Hmm… I’ll need to remember that one. Jesus, Lily, will you quit stealing my lines, didn’t you go to the female line school?” His teasing made me smile, and although I was blushing, it was only Jack.
Anyone else, I might have had issues being around them again after that, but hell, we had danced, and he had ground himself against me hundreds of times before, and it hadn’t equated to anything. So I figured the crease of my ass and my palm were kinda the same thing, for purposes of excusing this incident.
Thankfully, there were no lasting effects of this morning’s mishap with my absentminded hand. Jack was his usual self, chatting easily, and taking care of me. I was nervous about seeing Alfie though. I’d been completely honest with Jack about Alfie, and Jack’s opinion of him was low to say the least.
“Glad you’re letting me come with you today, Lily. You’re not meeting him on your own after the shit he’s pulled on you in the past. Anything he has to say to you, he can say to me, unless you feel otherwise.” I held Jack’s gaze and nodded. To be honest, I felt relieved that I wouldn’t be at my parent’s house on my own with him.
We arrived at my house at 9:15am. My mom and dad were both getting ready to head to my aunt’s house for the day. Jack chatted with my mom for a few minutes. She had made a lasagne for lunch for Maddie and me.
Maddie was supposed to be coming over for lunch, but I canceled because of Alfie. Jack smirked and inhaled the smell. “Roslyn, if you ever decide to leave Charlie, and fancy a boy toy, give me a call.” He winked. My mother giggled and looked chuffed with herself.
When my parents left, I alternated between feeling paralyzed with nerves and pacing around until Jack scooted me off to get changed. “Lily, go do what you do. Dress to impress and give yourself some confidence. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Get on it! Show this fucker what he’s missed out on.” He swept his finger in the direction of my bedroom door.
I smiled, even though I felt that nothing could give me enough confidence to deal with Alfie. I opened my wardrobe half-heartedly. I didn’t want to play games with him.
Reaching in, I pulled out a hanger with a garment in clear plastic from the back of my wardrobe. I had almost forgotten about this. It must have been at the dry cleaners when I was packing, because I would have certainly taken it with me to Florida.
It was my ruby red, figure hugging, calf length dress. It had a slit on one side that went all the way to my thigh. I had only worn it twice, when I had been performing.
Both times I wore it, I had been told by men I looked irresistible in it, and my female friends said I looked very sexy. It had a very flattering neckline, which showed off my perfect cleavage. If there was one part of my body I did like, it was that.
I wondered if I could pull off wearing something so hot in the daytime, but I was lucky that it fit in with the festive season, so I figured that gave me an excuse.
I brushed my long dark hair out, and used product to leave it curly, flowing over my shoulders and cascading down my back.
In my jewelery box I had an antique necklace that had belonged to my grandmother. It was a heavy chain with a large locket, encrusted with tiny diamonds and a hexagon ruby stone at the centre.
It set the dress off beautifully, and hinted at my family wealth, although, I had always felt a little uncomfortable about the money my grandparents had left to me. I was proud that I hadn’t touched a penny of it.
I quickly applied some mascara and lip gloss, and put on some ridiculously high black patent stiletto shoes to set off my polished look. At 9:50am I went back to find Jack, who was lying on the couch, perfectly relaxed, watching an old movie.
He had found a tub of olives and some cheese in the fridge. He stopped mid mouthful, an olive almost escaping, and he jumped to his feet.
“Fuck, me!” Jack’s eyes were wide, and he swallowed noisily. H
is Adam’s apple bobbed in his neck as he stared at me. His mouth was now empty and gaping open. Jack closed his eyes briefly pursing his lips inward.
His eyes sprung open again, and he walked slowly towards me, dipping slightly when he reached for my hands and took them in his.
“You, look absolutely perfect, Angel. I’ve never seen you in that dress, it’s fucking incredible.” He reached up and touched my locket, his fingers trembled as the tips smoothed over it.
“Lily, you deserve the world, don’t settle for less, promise me?” I felt a little embarrassed at his reaction. This was Jack, my best friend since I was knee high.
“Why do people do that? Put me on a pedestal because of how I look?”
Jack sighed. “Lily, you’re beautiful inside and out, talented and compassionate. You have no idea, honey. You’re perfection… the whole package.” I was stunned at that phrase being used in reference to me. That’s exactly what I’d called Alfie, and how wrong I was.
I was about to tell Jack this when the doorbell chimed. My anxiety levels skyrocketed. “Sit, I’m getting this,” Jack commanded. He strode along the hallway to the large stained glass door, and I imagined Alfie’s silhouette on the other side of the window.
I heard a muffled conversation before Jack appeared in the doorway. “Lily, there’s some guy from college here for you.” He stated as if he didn’t know anything about him. I was sitting curled up on the couch pretending to read something on my tablet.
I glanced up and was hit by an overwhelming feeling of desire at the sight of him standing in my parent’s sitting room in the flesh. He was every bit as hypnotizing and insanely gorgeous as I’d always found him. I began to stand, and Jack didn’t miss a beat. He immediately closed the space between us and slid his hand around my waist, ignoring Alfie. Jack dipped to kiss my temple.
“You want me to go and see what dirt I can dig up in your dresser drawers, Lily or do you want me here?” He smiled, giving me confidence that he would still be the same Jack no matter who was here. I smiled back, avoiding eye contact with Alfie, and focusing on Jack to draw strength from him.
“Can you give us some time, please Jack. We’ll go to the kitchen, stay, watch your movie.” I walked past Alfie and was immediately affected by the trail of his usual scent. He smelled of his particular brand of bodywash and the unique smell that was him.
I tried not to inhale too deeply, my senses were already heightened just by the sight of him. I felt completely off center, and unable to think coherently. Just seeing Alfie made my resolve weaken.
I made my way to the kitchen and heard his soft footsteps follow me on the hardwood floor behind me. I took a deep breath. “Take a seat.” We looked at each other eye to eye for the first time since he arrived, and my heart almost stopped.
The intensity of our gaze reached inside of me. I felt a jolt of electricity cascade throughout my body to my core from the connection.
Any resistance I thought I had began to ebb away as soon as our eyes locked, and he looked at me with his seductive stare.
His lopsided smile made me forget everything for a second. “Surprise.”
Alfie’s eyes twinkled at me as they appraised me. It seemed like he was devouring me with them. “You look absolutely amazing, Lily. The mental image I carry of you does you no justice. You just look more fantastic by the day.” How could he say these things, yet not want to be with me? This situation between us was crazy.
I felt lightheaded and realized I’d been holding my breath yet again around him. It came out in a rushed huffing sound. “No shit, Alfie, really? What are you doing here?” He shifted in his seat.
“I came to see you. I thought you would be pleased I was here. Our band is set to play here on New Year’s Eve. Cobham Street’s support band had issues, their lead singer’s in rehab, so they asked us to step up.” I knew of Cobham Street, they were massive international headliners and after seeing Alfie’s band playing in Miami, I knew Alfie’s band, Crakt Soundzz, was on their way to being famous in the near future as well. Especially when they were being asked to support a band of that magnitude.
“My turn,” Alfie said. “Who’s the guy?”
I smiled genuinely. “Jack?” I wasn’t going to quantify him for Alfie. That would be making it seem like I was open to his advances. “Jack isn’t going anywhere Alfie, if that’s what you’re asking.” Jack appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Everything okay, honey?” he asked, looking over at me. Alfie’s head snapped around. “Could you give us a bit of privacy, dude?” Jack gave me a quick glance, and seeing that I was nervous decided that this wasn’t something he was prepared to do right then.
“I think anything you have to say to her can be said in front of me. Isn’t that right, Lily?” I nodded, and Jack snaked his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close.
Alfie’s jaw twitched. “I just thought it would be good to catch up with you on your home ground and talk about everything that has happened over the past couple of months, without the pressure of college and other commitments.”
Jack looked down at me and raised his eyebrows at me, waiting to hear my response. “I really don’t see what else we have to say to each other.”
I shrugged, finding it difficult to keep eye contact with him because each glimpse was diminishing my resolve to stay strong and not throw myself at his fabulous body.
Alfie looked unsure and like he was struggling to control his anger, his eyes darting between Jack and me. The vein in his temple twitching was another visible sign of stress in him.
He ran his hand through his hair. As he did this, my mind conjured up a reminder of how it felt when I did that to him. It struck me that I missed doing that to his hair, it was so silky soft.
“Please, Lily, I don’t know what this guy is to you, but could you at least give me a couple of hours to talk to you?” His eyes darted to Jack then back to me again.
I sighed again, trying to meet his gaze, but he was too handsome for me to hide my feelings if I did that, so I focused on Jack, who was giving me a half smile as encouragement.
“Alfie, I seem to remember giving you the opportunity to talk to me on more than one occasion. Nothing you said made me feel any better about you. You made the situation between us clear to me. You don’t want to be in a relationship. We’ve established we can’t be ‘just friends’, and I have no way to include you in my life in a platonic capacity. My feelings for you are too strong.”
Alfie looked visibly shaken by my determined stance. Jack moved forward and slipped his hand into mine. Alfie’s eyes dropped, and his jaw twitched.
“Don’t make me beg, Lily. Just two hours. We can go somewhere public, get some food, just let me talk. I know I’ve behaved badly. I just want a chance, right here, right now, to try to redeem myself with you.” He swallowed hard and gave me his sexy lopsided smile.
He definitely wasn’t behaving like the confident, self-assured guy I’d been dealing with for the past few months. I held his serious gaze, and it was intense and unnerving. I broke the contact and turned my head to Jack.
“Can I have a word in the sitting room, Jack?”
Jack’s eyes flicked to Alfie. “Sit down and stay here,” he barked at Alfie, and led me past him to the sitting room.
As I was passing, he made the smallest movement and brushed my hand as I was leaving the kitchen. I glanced at him, and he gave me a sad smile. There was nothing sinister in his movement other than the need to connect with me in some way.
Jack and I were barely in the sitting room, when he turned and closed the door. I didn’t move. “Are you serious, Lily? You’re going to give this guy airtime, again? After everything you told me?” I shrugged and put my hand up to brush away a single tear that rolled down my face.
Jack bent forward and kissed my forehead. “C’mere.” He hugged me and rubbed my arm, and I blinked rapidly, not wanting to give in to the overwhelming need to cry. I couldn’t allow Alfie to see how much he was
affecting me again.
“You know I am, Jack. That’s why you’re giving me the pep talk, right?” He smiled at me and shook his head, and I dropped my eyes to the floor.
“Damn, I should have moved on you years ago to protect you from fuckers like him.” I pulled his loose shirt tail.
“Ack! That would have been like incest, Jack.”
He smirked at me. “Yeah, but still, I hate that he’s had you and didn’t realize how fucking lucky he was.” I leaned forward and reached up, putting my arms around his neck.
“You’re too precious to me. Nothing will ever change our relationship Jack, it goes way beyond sex.”
We agreed between us, Jack would stay at the house, and Alfie and I would walk to the local pub. I wanted somewhere that was safe for us to speak but where I wasn’t going to be placed in a position where he could play his mind games on me like he had in the past.
We left the house walking side by side. Jack was standing at the door, still not completely convinced that I would be okay. I had agreed to ring his phone once if I needed him, and he’d be with me within five minutes.
“Is he someone I need to worry about?”
I looked at Alfie incredulous, stunned that he thought he could comment on anyone I was with. “Why would you worry? I’m nothing to you, Alfie, but since you asked, Jack is extremely important to me. He’s probably the most important man in my life after my father.”
“Can I hold your hand?”
I shook my head and smiled, even though I didn’t feel like smiling. “No, Alfie, no hand holding today.” He bit his lip and nodded.
“Sorry.” He looked it too, probably for the first time since I’ve known him. He really wasn’t in charge of his feelings. This was different, but I wasn’t sure how it was different.
CHAPTER 7 – DIFFERENT VIBE
The pub wasn’t busy. It was late morning and as such, only a few hardened regulars were sitting at the bar. I asked for a sparkling water, and Alfie ordered himself a large Jack Daniels and Coke. We sat at a quiet table by the log fire. “You never told me that night that you were leaving,” he said softly, his eyes searched my face.
Everything She Needs (The Everything Trilogy) Page 5