I grab her arm before she falls. She looks up at me with glossy eyes. “You know, you’re still fucking hot as hell, Clay Gibbs.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nods. “Yep!” She pulls away from me and starts walking for my bedroom, stripping her clothes as she goes.
She spins around once she gets to the door, bracing herself on both sides of the door frame and I see her in all of her naked glory. “You coming? Because I’d like to be coming real soon.”
I shake my head. “Get in bed, Firecracker. I’ll be there in a second.” I go to the bathroom and take care of this situation, because as bad as I want to fuck her right now, I’m not going to. The next time I have her, she’ll be sober. I know she’ll pass out as soon as she gets in the bed and then she’s going to do some explaining in the morning.
A few minutes later, I walk into the bedroom and to my surprise, she’s still awake. “Thought you were coming right in here?”
“I had some business to take care of first. As gorgeous as your naked body is and as bad as I want you, you’re drunk and I’m not going to.”
“Oh,” she says quietly. “I could’ve done that for you. You know?”
I try to ignore the fact that my dick is already starting to get hard again. Lying back on the bed beside her, I ask, “Firecracker, how did you get here? If you tell me you drove, I’m going to spank your ass.”
“As much as I’d like for you to spank my ass, I took a cab after my sister dropped me off at home,” she mumbles.
“Good girl.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a dog. He always did that.”
“Who?”
“Brett.” I hate the mention of that guy’s name. “You know Tampa Bay signed him, right? He’s going to be in my backyard playing fucking baseball.”
“Okay, I promise not to say that again. But you know Tampa Bay isn’t really your backyard, babe. Besides, I doubt he has the balls to come here.” I love lying here talking to her in the dark. Although I would rather be talking about something different.
She sighs, “Maybe you’re right.” She rolls on her side, facing me. “Can we have sex now?”
“No, you’re drunk. Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Nope. I gotta go by the college to drop off my very last paper,” she snaps. “Then I finish school in a month, take my state boards and I’m a full-fledged pharmacist.” She giggles. “I deal drugs legally.”
I shake my head, laughing at drunk Jade. I roll to face her now. “I’ll tell you what. You wake up sober in the morning and still want me, you’ve got me. Deal?”
She kisses me softly. “Deal.” She touches my shoulder. “But Clay, the problem has never been me not wanting you. Just thought you should know.”
Rolling onto my back, I know as soon as she passes out, I’ll be taking a fucking cold ass shower since jacking off obviously didn’t work for long.
As my alarm starts blaring, I roll over and feel for Jade but she’s not there. Her side of the bed is cold, so I know she’s been gone a while.
I shut my alarm off, cussing the little angel on my shoulder who kept me from taking her up on her offer last night. Going to the bathroom, I take a piss and see a note taped to the mirror.
Clay,
Sorry I showed up like I did last night. I was really drunk. That’s not really an excuse, but thanks for letting me sleep it off.
Jade
Fuck! That girl confuses me more than fucking trigonometry.
CHAPTER 8
JADE
Waking up naked in Clay’s bed isn’t exactly what I had planned last night. I’m pretty sure we didn’t have sex, judging by the fact that I don’t feel sore in all of the delicious places, which I normally would be after an encounter with Clay.
I hated sneaking out on him like some two dollar whore, but I couldn’t face him. I don’t know what all exactly I said to him last night but I’m pretty sure I’d be embarrassed.
The worst part is I’m so conflicted. Part of me wishes we would have had sex last night. The rest of me knows that would be a huge fucking catastrophe.
Sex…I haven’t had sex with anyone other than B.O.B. in so damn long. I long to feel someone’s touch, the caress of their hands on my body. I miss the intimacy that goes with sex.
I hear my ringtone for my sister. Grabbing my phone from my bag, I swipe the screen to answer. “Hey, sister.”
“Hey,” she says, sounding out of breath.
“Are you okay? You sound winded.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Krista just decided to run through the house naked. I chased her for like a second, but now I’m wiped out. She can just run around nude until her daddy gets home. This pregnancy crap sucks.”
I have to laugh at my sister’s words. This isn’t what she was like when she was pregnant with Krista. “I think you’re just tired. You drove my drunk ass home last night. I’m finished here at school, just turned in my last paper. Why don’t I come get her and you can get some rest?” I feel like I owe my sister a lot. She practically helped Mom raise me and she was there when I needed her the most.
“That’s not what I was calling for, but that sounds great.” She chuckles.
Unlocking her car, I smile. “So what did you call me for?” I say, sitting down in the seat. I’m so glad she was able to let me borrow her car until mine is fixed.
“I just wanted to say it was great hanging out with you last night. I saw some of that old spark in you.” She giggles. “And you facing off with Gia for a hot minute was priceless. You could tell she thought the soulless ginger was about to take her ass out.”
“Please stop calling me a soulless ginger. Krista called me Ginger the other day.”
I hear my sister cackling. I sigh. “Glad my pain amuses you. I’m on my way. Do you need me to bring you anything?”
“Yes. Can you stop at Winn-Dixie and pick up some bananas, chunky monkey ice cream, a big jar of pickles and some caffeine free Coke?”
I laugh at my sister rattling off a grocery list. “Okay, anything else, ma’am?”
“No, that should do it.” She sighs.
“See you soon.” I end the call, laughing at her.
An hour later, I finally arrive at my sister’s. The grocery store was a madhouse since it’s the first of the month and she text me with another list. Her damn pregnancy cravings, I’ll never understand.
Letting myself in her house, I laugh at my niece still running around nude. “Krista bug, you need to go find some clothes or I’m not taking you to the park with me. They don’t let people bring naked little girls to the park.”
She squats down and giggles, covering her face like she’s embarrassed. I set all of the bags on the table.
Kara comes from the bathroom. “Hey.” She gives me a hug. “Thank you. This baby is really taking everything out of me. Krista wasn’t like this.”
“I’d blame Sly personally. That’s the biggest difference, you know,” I whisper. When my sister was knocked up by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Sly didn’t care. He loved her anyway and as far as the world is concerned, Krista is his. Those who are close to our family know the truth. Kara and Sly know that one day they’ll have to explain it to Krista but for now, though, she’s her daddy’s princess.
Kara laughs and pops me on the arm. “Good point.” She props herself on the counter as she starts devouring one of the ice cream sandwiches she had me pick up for her. “So, school’s almost over.”
I nod. “Yep. I’m ready.”
She moans as she licks the wrapper of the ice cream sandwich. “Are you going to get back out in the world now or are you just going to waste away in a hospital pharmacy hiding your feelings?”
“Wow, be blunt, sis.”
She shrugs as she puts the wrapper in the trash can. “Only way to be.” She grabs my hand from where I’m unpacking the groceries and pulls me to the table. “Jade, that light I saw last night in you made me so happy. I haven’t seen that light in a long time. That light bu
rned out when you the lost the baby, I think. I’m so proud of you for finishing school and following your dreams, please don’t think I’m bashing that. I just want you to move forward.”
I hold my head in my hands, running my fingers over my scalp. “I know. Yesterday was so shitty. Then Clay had to be the one to come pick me up from the wreck. The shit with Gia at the bar.” I bury my face, knowing what I say next is going to get a reaction. “I woke up naked in Clay’s bed this morning.”
Her hand slaps the table. “How? I dropped you off at home last night.”
Shaking my head, I wish I could crawl under the table. “I don’t know what came over me. When I got home, I couldn’t just go to sleep. I had so much shit running through my mind. So I called a cab and showed up at his door.”
“Did you guys have sex?” she whispers.
“No!” I sigh, “Or at least I don’t think we did. I don’t feel like I did. Normally, after a night with him…I can feel it.”
She snorts. “Crap, you just made me pee a little.”
I roll my eyes. “You aren’t far enough along to be peeing yourself.”
“Um, after you have one kid and they sit on your bladder for a long time, C-section or not, your bladder is weaker. So is your control over it.”
I shake my head. “You’re crazy.”
“I WEADY!” Krista announces, running in the kitchen.
I look at my niece who is dressed in her Marco’s T-shirt, a red tulle tutu style skirt and red cowboy boots. Kara and I both laugh.
I smile at her. “You sure are.”
Kara laughs. “Wow, that’s some outfit you have on, Princess.”
Krista spins around and opens her arms up. “Tadah!”
I stand up from the table. “All right. We’re going to the park, are you sure you don’t want shorts on?”
She shakes her head. “Dot showts on.” She lifts her skirt and I see it has shorts attached under it.
I grab her hand and we start for the door. “Well, let’s not be lifting our skirt up for everyone.” I laugh lightly.
Kara comes and gives us both a hug. “Krista, you listen to Aunt Jade. No running off. Okay?”
She smiles and nods. I smile at my sister. “Why don’t you go get a nap while we’re gone?”
She stretches, yawning. “Yeah, I think I will.”
“Bye, Momma!” Krista yells as we go out the door.
CHAPTER 9
GIBBS
“All right, kids. What is one of the key factors in good self-defense?”
“Be aware of your surroundings,” they say as a group.
I nod. “Okay, what’s another good tip?”
“Safety in numbers,” they answer.
“What if a stranger tries to talk to you?”
“Don’t speak back.” “Tell them to go away.”
Nodding, I laugh. “Yes, all of those are great answers.” I look amongst the group and see a shy girl. “Carrie?” She nods. “Come up here with me for a minute.”
She steps in front of me, looking at the floor.
I lift her chin up. “Always look up. Don’t look down at the ground. Be aware of everything going on around you.”
She lifts her head.
I lift my hands up. “I want you to put your hands up like this.” Once she does, I say, “Okay, now bring your fingers down and close your thumb around like this.” I show her as I’m doing it. She copies me. “Now bring your left foot back a little. Like a fighting stance.” She does. “Now yell, ‘GET BACK!’” I motion to her. “Now you try.”
She mimics me. “GET BACK!” Her face blushes.
I pat her on the shoulder. “Good job, girl. Now take your fists like you’re beating a drum.” I show her. “Okay, now it doesn’t matter how they try to reach in and grab you, you can use this to beat their arms away. Now I want you to act like you’re stomping a bug, but stomp my foot.” She does. “Good, another key is your attacker may be bigger than you, but you can get in smaller places. That stomping and punching is to give you the opportunity to run. Once you run, put anything in between you that you can. A garbage can, a clothing rack, a bench, anything you can until you can get to someone else.” I look back at her then to the rest of the class. “Okay, I’m gonna try that with each of you, so line up and let’s get started.”
Working with these kids is great. I even like working with the old ladies. Huck’s talked to me about taking on some more classes, maybe even training some young fighters. It would be a great career move for me. I mean I have plenty of money, so the work really isn’t what I worry about. Well, I’ve had money since I emancipated myself from my bloodsucking aunt and uncle who tried to spend every dime of my parent’s life insurance. For the first time since my parents died, I’m starting to feel whole. I feel like I’m part of something important.
Once I do a run through with the kids a couple of times, I clap my hands. “You guys have done great today. Now, Ms. Sloan has set out some juice and cookies for you guys while your moms are finishing up their class with Sly, Lox and Liz. Grab some of those cookies because I know for a fact that she makes awesome cookies.”
They all start toward the table and I see Carrie still acting shy. “Carrie girl, come here.”
She looks up at me with her adorable freckles and bright red hair. “Y-yes?”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “You did great today, beautiful girl.”
“Thank you,” she says quietly.
“Hey, none of that shy stuff with me. I know for a fact that you could beat me up,” I say, acting silly.
She giggles. “Come on, Mr. Gibbs, I know that’s not true.”
I squat down on her level and look her in the eyes. “Well, you don’t need to be shy, but I want you to remember what we talked about today. Keep your head up all the time. Know what’s going on around you, pretty girl.”
“Why do you call me pretty girl?” she asks quietly. “I know I’m not.”
I act offended. “I know pretty when I see it. Who says you aren’t pretty?”
“Just boys at school. It’s because of my freckles and red hair.”
“Well that’s just stupid on their part. I’m going to share a secret with you. I like redheads and I think freckles are super cute.” I touch her nose with my finger tip.
“Well that’s good to know,” I hear her voice behind me.
I stand up and turn to face Jade. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
She points to Krista. “I’m dropping her off with her daddy. My sister is a little worn out so the princess and I went to the park.”
“Oh. Did you have fun at the park, Princess?”
“Yes!” she squeals, clapping.
“Oh Jade, Krista, this is my friend Carrie,” I say, pointing to Carrie. “You walked up while I was explaining to her that I think she’s a pretty girl. She says that people pick on her because of her hair and freckles. I told her they’re stupid.”
Jade nods her head at Carrie. “Yes, they are. Trust me, I went through all of the jokes, but I didn’t let it bother me. If you were older, I’d tell you exactly what I told them, but you’re too young.”
Carrie laughs. “Really?”
Jade nods with a bright smile. “Really. How old are you now?”
Carrie grins. “I’m ten.”
“Well, when you’re fifteen I’ll tell you what I told those boys,” she says as she ruffles Carrie’s red hair.
The little girl laughs and we hear Krista squeal. I see her running to the door in her gym shirt, a red tutu and red boots. “DADDY! DADDY!”
Sly picks her up and tosses her up in the air a little as he walks over to us. He gives me a fist bump. “How did the class go, man?”
“Great, this little girl right here was my star pupil of the day,” I say with my hand on top of Carrie’s head.
Sly smiles at her. “Hey, your momma must be Amber.”
She grins and nods. “Yes, sir.”
“Well she should be out soon.”
He turns to Jade. “So Kara is resting?”
She nods “Yeah, I told her to take a nap. She looked exhausted when I dropped off groceries and picked up the princess.”
He shakes his head. “This kid is wearing her out.”
Jade nods. “Yeah, I don’t remember her being this tired last time.”
Sly shakes his head. “All right, Princess, let’s go.”
He stops and looks back at us about to say something but he stops, then turns to Jade. “Serge called, your car should be ready tomorrow afternoon.”
She smiles. “Thanks.”
I motion to her as he walks away. “So that’s good. What are you driving now?”
“I’m using Kara’s ride,” she says, looking all over the place.
I nod. “That’s good.”
“So you like teaching the classes?” she says nervously.
“Yeah, I do.” Enough of this. “Okay, we need to talk about last night. Give me a few minutes to wrap stuff up here and we’ll talk.”
After making sure all of the kids are with their parents and cleaning up the snack mess, I motion for Jade to follow me.
Once we’re in the conference room, I motion for her to sit. “So, what in the hell was last night about?”
She shrugs her shoulders, looking down at the table. “I don’t know...I was just...I was…”
“Firecracker, you’ve never been nervous around me in all the time we’ve known each other. What’s up now?” I say, trying to calm her.
“I got drunk, a little brave, a little horny and a little aggravated with Gia. So when Kara dropped me off, I just decided to go for it. The next thing I knew I was knocking on your front door.”
I reach across the table and grab her hands. “Not that you showing up at my house isn’t welcome, and it’s not that I didn’t want what you were offering, it’s just I want you to be sober when you make that decision.”
She nods, “Yeah, I really realized how stupid it was this morning. I really couldn’t even remember if we had sex, but since I didn’t feel like we’d had sex, I was pretty sure we didn’t.”
I laugh. “Oh really, you didn’t feel like we had? Damn, I didn’t know I could-.” She jumps across the table to try and put her hand over my mouth.
Gaining Gibbs (Marco's MMA Boys #4) Page 4