by Jenna Payne
“Something like what?”
“I don’t know, just, something seems off,” Rachel said as she fell back on the bed and stretched her arms to the ceiling.
“You care so much about Nadia being with Jackson, so maybe you have feelings—”
“Can we just leave it?” Michelle interrupted as she stood up suddenly and she headed towards the bathroom. “We should get ready for dinner.”
Rachel watched as her friend headed to the bathroom. There was something going on with her friend and she couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. All she knew was that when it came to Jackson, Michelle turned into someone that Rachel didn’t recognize.
*****
Michelle and Rachel stepped out their rooms in their knock-em-dead dresses for dinner. Rachel looked at Michelle and gave her a playful wink.
“Looking to get lucky?”
Michelle laughed at the comment and shook her head. That statement seemed to be the running theme for this trip.
“In that dress it looks like you’re the one trying to get lucky,” Michelle responded.
The two began to walk down the hallway to meet everyone at the front of the house. Jackson had rented a limo so everyone could ride together to the restaurant that he’d reserved.
“Maybe if I’m lucky I will, it’s becoming painfully clear to me that I haven’t had sex in…jeez I can’t even remember.”
Michelle placed her hand over her mouth trying not to burst out laughing.
“You haven’t had some in a while either missy so you shouldn’t be laughing,” Rachel said playfully waving her finger at her friend.
Michelle in fact couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex; great, mind blowing sex. She had been so wrapped up with work and taking care of her mom on the side that she didn't think much about relationships.
“Ah you’re right, that’s pretty sad.”
At that moment Michelle thought about Jackson, she imagined what kind of lover he was. He was probably attentive, wild, rough in the right way and passionate. The thought of it all aroused Michelle. She hoped could find out for herself.
When they had reached the front of the house everyone was dressed to impress, excited and ready to go. Michelle’s eyes instantly went to look for Jackson; she spotted him with Nadia hanging on his arm while he took a call.
Michelle decided she wasn’t going to let jealousy rule her this weekend and made her presence known in the room. She began greeting everyone, except Jackson. He wiggled his way from Nadia’s grip to go and see Michelle.
“Chelle,” Jackson called out to her as she busied herself in a conversation with another gentleman in their group. She continued her pettiness and proceeded to ignore him until the last possible second.
Jackson took her arm gently, turning her around to face him. Michelle excused herself from the conversation she was in and turned to look at Jackson with an innocent look on her face.
“You called?”
Jackson sighed and shook his head realizing her little game.
“You’re still angry with me,” he said as he pulled her away from the group. At the corner of her eye, Michelle could see Nadia fuming for losing Jackson’s attention.
“Michelle, are you going to be like this all night?” he asked her with a stern look on his face. He rarely used her correct name and when he did it was because he was truly annoyed. Michelle’s shoulders dropped as she instantly felt bad for her behavior; it was his birthday weekend after all. At the same time he made things so complicated, especially after that kiss he’d planted on her.
“No,” Michelle simply replied as she looked away feeling a bit hurt that he was making her seem like the bad guy. He must have sensed this because his face instantly softened and his hands planted on her shoulders to bring her body to his. He embraced her and placed a small kiss on her forehead. She felt protected and loved in his embrace and wished to stay in that position as long as possible. Even if Nadia was burning holes in the back of her head, she wanted to stay in his arms.
“You’re the best,” Jackson said softly as he released her and flashed a toothy smile. She couldn’t stay mad at him, even if she had really tried. She returned his smile and nudged him playfully.
“Let’s go eat.”
*****
The limo pulled up in front of a brightly lit restaurant in downtown San Diego. One by one, they stepped out of the long vehicle and walked in and found that they were the only ones in the small, homey building. They all looked at each other before looking to Jackson prompting someone to ask the obvious.
“Jackson, you rented the place out?”
“Nothing but the best for my friends,” he said with a grin as he led everyone inside.
There was a long table set in the middle of the place with chairs on both sides for everyone to sit. The host herded everyone to the table and allowed them to sit wherever they wanted, with the exception of Jackson who had to sit at the head of the table. Michelle found herself sitting to Jackson’s right while Nadia sat to his left. The two women eyed each other at that moment and it was as intense as a showdown.
Jackson shifted nervously as he felt the invisible sparks fly between the two women. To break the tension, he called over the waiter to begin the large order for drinks.
Michelle scanned the menu; she was finding it hard to be civilized with Nadia sending her death glares every five seconds.
“Well this is fun,” Rachel whispered sarcastically as she watched the invisible daggers fly between Michelle and Nadia.
“Truly it is,” Michelle responded as she held the menu to her face. At this point she already wanted dinner to be over so she could escape the awkward situation.
The drinks eventually came and everyone continued to enjoy themselves ordering food not long after.
As Jackson became increasingly inebriated, Nadia saw her chance to strike. She leaned over placing kisses on his cheek and wrapping her fingers into his. Michelle watched as Nadia began some sort of emotional warfare by making Michelle watch her throw herself all over Jackson.
Michelle, who was trying to take the higher road, counted to three and drank her wine as quickly as possible. Rachel gave her a reassuring pat on the back and offered her glass of wine to her friend.
As the night progressed and Jackson’s jokes became cornier and his words slurred, it was unanimously agreed he wasn’t allowed to drink anymore. Michelle helped him sip a glass of water in attempt to sober him up. She was glad that at least he was having a good time. Jackson eventually stood excusing himself as he stumbled to the bathroom.
The festivities continued for a while and Michelle and Rachel spoke about work and how they both hoped she got the position they each wanted. It wasn’t until 30 minutes had passed that Michelle realized Jackson wasn’t back. She looked across from her as well and also noticed that Nadia was missing as well.
“Did you see where Nadia went?”
Rachel looked around and looked back to Michelle shaking her head.
“I don’t even remember seeing her leave,” Rachel admitted as she looked around the restaurant. Michelle felt a tightness in her chest as the worst came to mind.
Michelle stood up and excused herself. She made her way to the bathroom area. She stood in front of the men’s bathroom and gave it a light knock. It was a one-stall bathroom so she assumed Jackson would still be in there. After a few knocks and not receiving a response, Michelle bravely grasped the door knob and opened the door slowly. She peeked in and found that Jackson was not anywhere in the bathroom.
She continued to look around the small restaurant and could not see Jackson anywhere in sight. She crossed her arms and thought about where else he could have gone. In his drunken state who knew where he could be? He could have very well left the restaurant itself.
“Excuse me,” Michelle called out to a waiter that was passing her, “have you seen Jackson?”
“I think I saw him go to the balcony area.”
Michelle thanked the waiter and m
oved out his way quickly making her way to the balcony area. She opened the double glass doors and didn’t see him immediately. Stepping out further, she took in the cool night breeze before looking around for the missing billionaire.
It was a noise that brought her attention to the far side of the balcony. There, she saw Jackson with his back turned to her.
“Jackson,” she said, but she soon noticed that he was lip locked with another woman. The woman’s arms snaked around him pulling him closer to her deepening the kiss.
Upon hearing his name, Jackson turned to find Michelle staring at him, blank faced. He quickly released the woman and turned to Michelle, suddenly realizing the gravity of what he had just done.
She looked over slightly and found that the woman was Nadia. She wasn’t surprised that it was her considering how she had been trying to one-up Michelle since she arrived. Michelle looked back at Jackson.
“Wait, Chelle,” Jackson said, trying to overcome the drunkenness and stepped towards her. Michelle shook her head and fought the tears that were stinging her eyes. She quickly turned away and hurriedly walked into the restaurant. She went to Rachel unable to stop the tears that were falling down her cheeks.
“Rachel,” Michelle whispered unable to convey what was wrong.
Rachel looked at her wide-eyed and worried, but without missing a beat took Michelle’s hand and stormed out of the restaurant.
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked softly as she embraced her crying friend.
“I just need to get out of here,” Michelle clung to her friend who began calling for a taxi. The image of Jackson kissing Nadia played over and over again in her head.
*****
The taxi had gotten the two women to the mansion safely. Since she had left, Jackson had been calling her nonstop. Eventually she simply turned off her phone.
“I think I need to go back home,” Michelle said as she sunk to the floor and began to pack her things.
“You still haven’t told me what happened,” Rachel said softly sitting next to her teary-eyed friend.
“And Jackson’s birthday is tomorrow Michelle, do you really want to leave?”
“Yes,” Michelle said calmly as she wiped the remaining tears from her face and continued throwing clothes into her suitcase.
Rachel let out a frustrated noise and grabbed Michelle’s hand forcing her to stop what she was doing.
“Michelle, tell me what the hell happened.”
Michelle looked over to her stern face friend and released a breath before fully facing her.
“I saw Jackson and Nadia together. They were kissing,” Michelle said. There was a pause and Rachel couldn’t conceal the confused look on her face.
“I thought you knew they were a thing or something,” Rachel probed further. “Why does it bother you so much?”
Michelle looked down at her hands; she wasn’t prepared to tell Rachel despite the fact that she was her best friend. Maybe she was scared that Rachel would judge her, or not approve.
“Oh, I get it,” Rachel said slowly after the quietness deafened, she then took Michelle’s hands into hers. “I’m so stupid I didn’t even realize it,” she said gently tapping her forehead in sudden realization of what was going on. “You’re in love with him,” Rachel said with a small smile.
Michelle felt the tears flow free as she sniffled and nodded.
“I just, I didn’t realize how much until I saw him like that,” Michelle revealed to Rachel. Rachel leaned over and embraced her friend in a hug, soothing her.
“So much for getting lucky,” Rachel said with a sigh, still rubbing her friend’s back. Michelle let out a laugh and pulled away wiping the tears from her eyes grateful for Rachel being there with her.
A small knock on the door caused both women to turn their heads to the source of the noise.
“Chelle?” the familiar voice called from the other side of the wooden door.
“What do you want to do?”
Michelle wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She was still hurt by what she had seen, and honestly she didn’t see herself handling a talk with Jackson in a calm, composed manner. In any case the knocking continued and probably wouldn’t stop until she replied.
“I don’t know what I want to do,” Michelle said slowly as the two of them stood up. Rachel decided and went to the opening of the door to glare Jackson down. Despite his face and demeanor that showed he was remorseful for what he had done, Rachel refused to let him into the room.
“Chelle, I need to talk to you,” he said looking over Rachel’s small frame.
“There’s nothing to talk about Jackson, I’m leaving on the next flight,” Michelle said slowly as she went back to packing her things.
“Please Chelle, let me just explain,” he said as he tried to make his way past the iron block Rachel.
Michelle looked at him, looked into his eyes and saw that he was hurt by this situation but that didn’t make things any better. She would give him a chance to spew out whatever lame excuse he had thought of then leave in the morning.
“Rachel let him in,” Michelle said slowly watching her friend turn to her with concern on her face.
“It’s okay, I’ll be fine, and ready to leave in the morning,” Michelle said, looking at Jackson as she said the last part.
Rachel nodded and opened the door fully allowing Jackson to walk in. She then exited the room. Jackson stood there and watched Michelle as she finished packing her things.
“You don’t have to go,” he said as he slowly walked to her and sat on the other side of the suitcase. Michelle said nothing and slammed her suitcase closed zipping it up.
“Nadia is gone, I told her to go home, I didn’t realize she would cause so much trouble,” he went to take Michelle’s hand but she didn’t allow it and recoiled.
Jackson sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“Nadia set me up, she fell backwards and I went to catch her, she pulled me and shoved her tongue down my throat,” Jackson said searching for Michelle’s eyes.
It was at that moment Michelle had to decide for herself if she believed the story or not. She was torn between how she felt about him and what she had seen at the restaurant.
“I know it hurt you to see that but it wasn’t my intention, I don’t have feelings like that for Nadia,” he said as he took her chin in his fingers and made her face him.
“My feelings for you, you should know how it is by now. Nadia was never a factor,” he said with a determined look on his face that made Michelle’s heart pound.
Jackson moved the suitcase away from between them and scooted closer to her.
“Look at me Michelle, if you can honestly say to my face that you believe I would intentionally try to hurt you I’ll leave.”
Michelle felt her eyes sting again. The fact was she didn’t believe he would intentionally hurt her and they both knew that.
“Why did you kiss me, you messed things up when you kissed me,” Michelle sniffled as she hit his chest. Jackson took her hand and brought it to his lips placing a kiss on it.
“You know why I kissed you,” he said slowly as he leaned in and placed another kiss on her forehead. His hand went to wipe the dampness from her cheek. The two of them had feelings for each other that lingered throughout all of these years but the two never acted upon them. Michelle felt like maybe the fear of the relationship failing had held her back, and maybe it held him back too.
Right now at this moment Michelle didn’t feel fear of what would happen. All she wanted was for him to kiss her again, despite that she was still angry at him. She just wanted his lips on hers.
*****
Jackson always knew what he wanted, from the time that he was boy to now, he always knew. When Jackson decided what he wanted, there was nothing in the world that would change his mind. And Jackson had decided he wanted Michelle and no one else.
His hand that rested on her check slid down to her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. He loo
ked into her light brown eyes and he knew just then that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Without hesitation she deepened the kiss, asking access to his mouth with her tongue. He granted it access happily and allowed their tongues to dance with one another as his hands began to roam her body. She moaned against his mouth as his large hands engulfed her breasts and lightly pinched her clothed nipples.
He guided her body onto the carpeted floor and nestled himself in between her legs grinding himself against her heated center. His hands continued to explore her body moving all the way down to her thigh before disappearing under her dress.
His warm hands glided against her soft skin as he pulled the dress up to her stomach exposing the area he was seeking. Each touch set her body on fire and she moaned for him not to stop. His hand went to her panties and began to rub the area mercilessly causing her moans to echo loudly throughout the room.
His mouth went to her covered nipple and licked and bit at the sensitive nub as his hand continued its torture. Michelle decided she wasn’t going to take this lightly, and moved her hand to his clothed member. She began to rub the already hardened appendage. He pulled away from her and let out a moan, pleasure written all over his face as she equally tortured him with her hand.
He went and bit her lip lightly with a growl as her hand unbuttoned his pants and slipped inside the hidden area. It took everything in him not to lose it as her petite hand wrapped around his now uncovered dick.
“Okay, no more teasing,” Jackson said breathlessly as he heard her stifle a laugh.
She released his dick and he proceeded to remove her panties slowly never breaking eye contact. Michelle couldn’t deal with how much she wanted him; everything about him was utterly erotic to her. Even just the foreplay would have easily brought her to a climax.
Jackson threw her panties to the side and slid her dress over her head leaving her in just her bra. Michelle in turn unbuttoned Jackson’s shirt and removed it from his muscular body. He leaned down, his large body covering her petite one and placed his lips on the center of her neck. He pulled a condom from his wallet and rolled it onto his dick before rubbing the head of his penis on her already wet opening.