Living With Him

by J. L. Ostle

  “You are stubborn too.”

  “We are the perfect match.” He winks and heads to the couch when Kendra and Jayce walk in and from the look on Jayce’s face, he is much happier.

  “Hey, guys, what’s up?” Kendra sits on the couch, with Jayce following suit and she lifts her legs and places them on his.

  “I am going to a club,” I say calmly and Kendra soon stands and walks up to me.

  “Please don’t tease me.”

  “Devon invited me.”

  Kendra screams. “That’s the second guy who has asked you out. You are on a roll, girl.”

  “It’s a group thing,” Jackson interrupts, taking a seat.

  “Who cares? I am so going.”

  “But, babe, we would have the place to ourselves.” Jayce waggles his eyebrows.

  “You just got some, we are going,”

  “Joys of having a girlfriend,” Jayce grumbles.

  Jackson nudges Jayce.

  “I get it more times than you.” He defends.

  “Wanna bet?”

  “You two are so childish.” Kendra rolls her eyes. “Guys, order Chinese while me and Riley go over what we are wearing tonight.”

  I groan.

  “Stop groaning, now come on.”

  “Joys of having a best friend,” I grumble and the guys laugh.

  “I heard that.”

  “You were meant to.”

  She sticks her tongue out at me and we head upstairs and go through her clothes.

  “You need to wear a tight dress. If you’re going to a club, you need to get dressier.” She forces me to try on so many dresses that I wonder how women do this all the time. When she and I are happy with what we are going to wear, we head downstairs and chill until the food arrives.

  After we eat, we all take turns grabbing a shower and I put on the dress we picked out and Kendra gets to work doing my hair and makeup. When I look in the mirror my mouth hangs open when I see myself. I look older, more sophisticated. The black dress hugs me in all the right places and my breasts look bigger if that’s possible. The black heels that Kendra says are fuck-me heels, even though I wouldn’t be doing that, make my legs look longer.

  “You need to dress like this more often.” Kendra eyes me up and down.

  “I couldn’t go through this every day,” I chuckle.

  “You look so hot.”

  I look at her and she is wearing a red dress that looks like it’s a second skin. “Look at you. Jayce is going to flip when he sees you.”

  “I know.” She smiles. “Now let’s go give the guys a heart attack.”

  I quickly grab her arm, stopping her, though. “No guy is going to grab me again like last time, right?” I bite my lip.

  “No, that was just bad timing. You have us and the band. If any guy touches you, at least you know Jackson will kick their ass.” She tries to make me laugh but I start to second guess about going. “You will never be on your own.”

  I nod. “Okay, sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. I get it, you know I do. That asshole did so much towards you, it’s going to take time to trust the world a little bit, but you will always have us by your side. You’re family.” She hugs me.

  “I just wish I was more like you.”

  “What, hot, sexy, and irresistible?” We laugh.

  “Yes, but you are so confident and so sure of yourself.”

  “You will be like that too. You just need to trust yourself and the people you are with.”

  We head down the stairs and when we get to the bottom, the guys stand and Jayce literally drools over Kendra. I walk up to Jackson and his eyes are glued to me. His eyes wander slowly over my body.

  “You are beyond words,” Jackson says and his eyes trail my body again.

  I check him out also and he is wearing black jeans that sit nicely on his hips with a black shirt that hugs his body, showing off his big arms and toned stomach. “You look good too.”

  “You sure you want to go?” he asks me.

  “I’m all dressed up now, so I think it’s a little late. Plus Kendra will kick your ass.”

  “Yeah, I will,” Kendra shouts over.

  “Okay, let’s get this over with.” He holds my hand and when we get outside I see a cab. “Jayce and I are going to have a couple. But don’t worry, we aren’t going to drink too much,” he reassures me.

  I love that he isn’t going to drink too much because of me. I like knowing he doesn’t have that need to drink. “Thank you.”

  He kisses the side of my head.

  Chapter Eleven

  The cab pulls up to Club Nero and we all jump out, with Jackson giving me his hand to hold onto. I look at the building with the name of the club twinkling. There is already a line to get in and I can hear the music blaring from inside.

  We walk to the doors and the bouncer shakes Jackson’s hand and we all walk in without having to queue up, but I do hear a few complaints from the people outside as we walk in.

  Once inside, my eyes zoom everywhere. The huge dance floor takes most of the space on the far end of the room and a long bar takes up one wall. We head there first and I smile when I see Jackson’s band.

  “Glad you could make it,” Devon teases and he comes to my side and kisses the top of my head.

  Jackson quickly pulls me to his side, giving him a look. “Don’t think about it, Dev.”

  Devon smirks at him and walks back to the bar, grabbing his drink.

  “That boy is starting to annoy me,” Jackson moans.

  “I think he is all man.” Kendra looks at Devon and Jayce pulls her to his side.

  “You are with me remember.”

  Kendra kisses his lips quickly. “I know, babe, I was just stating he isn’t a boy and I think he has a crush on our girl here.” I look at the floor as I feel all their eyes on me. “Riles, can I have a word?” She grabs my hand and pulls me to her, away from everyone. “Are you going to drink tonight?”

  “I don’t know if I should.” I bite my lip, looking at the bar and watching people drink their drinks.

  “I’m just saying if you are, it’s okay. You know the guys will look out for you.”

  I am twenty-two years old and like Kendra says, not everyone who drinks turns into an alcoholic. “Okay, you only live once, right?”

  She smiles at me. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

  “It's fine. I want to enjoy myself and you drink and you aren’t anything like my dad, so I want to know what the big deal is and let loose.”

  “Just not too loose.” She winks at me and we walk to the bar where the guys are.

  “What are you girls having?” Jayce asks.

  “Can I have something like what I had at that fraternity party?” I enjoyed that as it didn’t taste like alcohol. He nods and Kendra asks for the same, and soon I am sipping from a straw of my fancy looking cocktail.

  We all grab a booth near the dance floor, and once seated, I look around the room again and it seems to be fuller than what it was before. Jackson and Kendra sit on either side of me as the bandmates sit opposite us.

  Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” starts to play and Kendra stands and squeals, grabbing my hand and pulling me onto the dance floor. I know all of her songs as Kendra loves her and I have to admit I do quite like this song as it’s catchy.

  I watch Kendra sway her hips, so I copy her moves. I copy her until I feel my body relax and I just start to go with it. Kendra smiles at me and I smile back as I lift my hands in the air as I move my body to the beat and when the chorus hits, I close my eyes and just flow with the music.

  “All the guys are watching,” Kendra whispers in my ear and I open my eyes and look at our table and they are all watching. “Just ignore them and keep going.” She must have noticed my reluctance to continue to move but once the chorus hits again the music is too strong for me to deny so I turn and put my hands in my hair as I move my hips.

  Kendra and I dance slowly, seductively ev
en. I walk slowly backward and Kendra walks slowly towards me as we both smile at one another, and when the music kicks in once again, I twirl with my arms in the air. I keep twirling, smiling so big that my cheeks start to hurt.

  I start moving my hips again as the song slows and when the song ends I want to scream to play the song again as listening to it this loud feels so much different. You can feel it through your very core.

  A woman wearing black tight shorts and a black top that shows her midriff walks by holding a tray of shots and stops to ask if we want one. I look at them wondering what they taste like.

  “What are they?” I ask and she smiles.

  “Jell-O shots. You use your pinkie around the edge and then swallow it whole.”

  “Do you want to try it?” Kendra asks me.

  “Tell you what, have one on me.” She hands us both one and I do as she said, using my pinkie around the rim and suck my pinkie from the juices and throw my head back to take the shot and it wasn’t bad. Just like jelly.

  “What did you think?” the girl asks me.

  “That wasn’t that bad.” I give her my empty glass and she smiles.

  “If you want another I will be around.” She winks at me. “You are a good dancer, by the way.” She smiles, checking me up and down and walks away. I look at the girl, shocked.

  “Holy shit, that girl was hitting on you,” Kendra laughs. “You really are starting to grab people’s attention.”

  “I’m not a lesbian, though.”

  “These days, you don’t have to be. Straight girls kiss other girls these days, especially on nights out. You get girls who only do it for attention but you get girls who just like kissing girls without it going further.”

  I scrunch up my face. I haven’t even kissed a boy and I definitely can’t imagine kissing a girl.

  “Want a kiss?” She puckers up her lips and I push her, causing her to laugh.

  “I love you but I am not kissing you.” We both laugh and continue to dance. At one point, I look over at the table and see some blonde sitting on Jackson’s lap and a few other girls pawing all over the band members.

  “You can’t go anywhere without women throwing themselves at someone.” Kendra rolls her eyes.

  “Get used to it, babe, it’s probably going to be like this for the rest of the night, but don’t worry, they keep looking over at you both, including myself, to make sure you’re okay.” Jayce comes up behind us and passes us both a drink.

  “Thank you, Jayce.” He bows his head and I laugh.

  “Think those girls over there are waiting for one of the girls to leave so they can make their move.” Jayce nods to a table and another group of girls are eyeing up our table.

  “Desperate or what?” Kendra looks away and I shrug. I look at Jackson and he is holding the girl's neck as he teases his lips against hers. We head back to the table for a moment and a different waitress comes over with a tray of drinks and I notice a few Jell-O shots. The girl on his knee smiles and she lifts up a shot glass but he takes it off her.

  “This isn’t for you.” He hands me and Kendra the shot glasses and Kendra smiles devilishly and takes her shot as I do the same and the girl huffs and stands, walking away.

  “Thank you, Jackson.” He smiles at me and I lean over and kiss his cheek and he smiles shyly at me. Then Rhianna’s “Drive” plays and I feel Kendra’s hand in mine and I am being pulled back to the dance floor.

  Girl after girl tries to grab Jackson’s attention but they don’t seem to like when he buys me and Kendra drinks and not them. They definitely don’t like it when he dances with us and ignores them. I don’t feel bad for them anymore as I saw him do the nice route but they have too many expectations from him. They shouldn’t throw themselves at a guy, no matter how good looking he is.

  I feel the alcohol take effect as my body is relaxed and I am having a blast. I never want this night to end. Jackson comes to the dance floor and hands me a glass of water and I look at him questioningly.

  “You will thank me tomorrow.” I nod and down it and pass him the empty glass and he smiles. He is about to walk off when I grab his hand.

  “Dance with me, please?” He looks at our joined hands and lifts a finger saying one moment, and he puts the glass down and comes back, taking my hands and putting them around his neck as he holds my waist and we sway from side to side. “This is nice,” I say.

  “Think you had too much to drink,” he teases.

  I release one hand, hitting his chest before linking my hand around his neck again. “I’m being serious. I have never danced with a boy before and I’m glad my first dance is with you. You really are such a good friend. I am happy living with you.”

  He looks at the floor, nodding. “Yeah, good friends.” He looks up, connecting his eyes with mine.

  I look to my side and see Kendra and Jayce dancing, her head tucked into his chest and they do look so happy. I am hoping I find that one day.

  “What are you thinking?” Jackson asks me.

  “That I can’t wait to fall in love. To have what Kendra has. To be loved.” I look at the floor and he lifts my chin up with his forefinger and thumb.

  “You will find love, just make sure they are good enough for you.”

  “If they fall in love with me, I know they will be good enough,” I say softly. We continue to sway slowly. I feel his body push closer to mine. My breathing stops as he still holds my chin and his head bends down a little so that I can feel his breath against my lips.

  “You are so different.”

  “You have no idea.” I smile and he presses his forehead to mine and then stands up straight.

  “Come on, let’s sit for five minutes. You haven’t left this dance floor since we arrived,” he teases and he wraps his arm around my shoulders as we get back to the table.

  Chapter Twelve

  A couple of hours have gone by and Jackson and I have been inseparable again. He holds my hand to the bar when we get rounds of drinks in, he dances with me or he puts his arm around my shoulders when we are talking at the booth. He makes sure he passes me a glass of water to drink every now and then, but with the alcohol in my system, my body just feels light and free.

  Jackson and I are on the dance floor again as we try to do the worst dance moves ever, making us both laugh when a slow song comes on, and once again, he pulls my body against his. We are so close to one another that there is hardly any breathing room but at this moment I don’t care.

  We stay in that position song after song and it’s like he never wants to let me go.

  I don’t want him to.

  I squeeze my body into him and lean my head against his shoulder. Halfway through the song, he lifts my hands so they are once again wrapped around his neck as his hands glide down my arms, down my ribs until he reaches my hips. I feel my whole body heating up. His eyes are solely on me and I don’t want to look away.

  I feel his hand move a little so it touches the bottom of my back, grazing near my ass area. I run my fingers through the back of his hair and I swear I feel him groan and it does something to me. It’s making my whole body electrify with a need I can’t place. I gasp when I feel his erection press against me and a part of me freaks out a little so I pull away, putting some distance between us.

  “Are you okay?” he asks me huskily and I am nodding like a crazy person.

  “I think I need some water.” He looks at me once and heads to the bar as I return to the table and everyone is laughing but my mind is on what happened on the dance floor.

  It must be the drink.

  I know drinking can make people do stupid things and I know Jackson doesn’t see me in that way. I look around and see women smiling seductively, batting their eyelashes and flipping their hair and I know that’s not me. Jackson comes back after a couple of minutes and passes me my water.

  “I need the bathroom.” Kendra stands and takes my hand and we walk to the restroom and after she and I do our business and wash our hands, she t
urns to me. “What is going on between you and Jackson?” Her hand are on her hips.

  “Nothing, we are just friends.”

  She shakes her head at me. “I have been watching you both for the last couple of hours and it doesn’t look like you two are being friends. He hasn’t left your side and he hasn’t even tried to bag a girl.”

  “He doesn’t always need to sleep with someone.” I try to defend him.

  “Yes, he does. This is Jackson McKenzie we are talking about. When he is out, he will eventually fuck someone. It's who he is. The way you two were dancing it seems like he wanted to fuck you.”

  “Kendra, stop it. We are just friends.”

  “Does he know that?”

  “Of course, he knows that. Look at him and look at me. He can have anyone he wants and there is no way he is going to want me. Yes, tonight I may look like this.” I sway my hand up and down my body. “But every other time, I am the girl that wears her best friend’s hand-me-downs that she has to wear over and over as she can’t afford to buy anything new. I am no one and he is going to be a someone one day.”

  She shakes her head at me. “You really are delusional. You could wear a black plastic bag around your body and you will still be beautiful.”

  “Then why don’t men hit on me like they do you?”

  She looks at me like I’m dumb. “You have had Dante, Devon, and even a waitress hit on you.”

  I look at her this time like she is the dumb one. “Dante was just being nice, Devon hits on anyone, and that waitress, well I can’t explain her but there are women out there prettier than me.” I point to the door.

  “Yeah, because they need makeup, fake lashes, and hair extensions to look anywhere near half decent. You are all natural and since you stopped hiding in the shadows, people are starting to see you, including Jackson. You are beautiful inside as well as out, and he is seeing that.”

  I shake my head and open the door. “He is just a friend and I don’t see him like that.” I turn and I see Jackson leaning against the wall and I know he heard part of the conversation.