Angel Series Books #1-2.5

by Tracy Lorraine

  When I round the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I see two bags that I must have forgotten to bring up after I went shopping this afternoon, both full of different varieties of crisps. I smile to myself when I hear laughter coming from my old room where Abbi, Liv and Beth are getting ready for tonight. I’m just about to head up again when the doorbell rings.

  “Hey, come on in,” I say to Jax when I open the door. I’m actually amazed that he agreed to come. It took some serious convincing on my part, as he was adamant that he didn’t want to see Abbi, but I was more adamant that he wasn’t spending New Year’s Eve alone and miserable in his flat because he refused to celebrate. I thought I might have to send Ryan and a couple of his mates around to manhandle him here.

  “Hey mate,” Ryan says, greeting Jax once we get upstairs, “I’m glad our begging didn’t go unheard.” Since the incident at Jax’s place not so long ago, Ryan and Jax have actually started spending time together. It started when Jax asked if he could tag along to the gym to give himself something to focus on besides work, and they have actually become fast friends, so thankfully gone are the days of these two bickering. I love seeing them laughing together. I always knew they’d get on well, and if it wasn’t for Ryan’s jealous streak, maybe it would have happened sooner. Having said that, I have no idea how he will feel if Jax ever does manage to get Abbi back, like he still wants more than anything.

  I quickly continue with setting out the food while Ryan starts arranging the drinks in the kitchen.

  “Jax, do you want a beer, mate?”

  “Please,” he calls, before turning his attention back to me. “You look amazing, Molly, that dress really suits you.”

  “Thank you. You know, you don’t scrub up too bad either.”

  “Here you go,” Ryan says, handing over his drink before standing behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “She does look gorgeous, and please tell her not fat at all.”

  “Ryan,” I chide, slapping his arm gently. He doesn’t need to go around telling everyone about my insecurity. I have eaten way too much this Christmas and am feeling totally bloated. I’m so glad I chose a maxi dress for this evening, as it is loose and flowing. Ryan insists that I don’t look bloated, but I feel huge compare to normal. Bring on Friday, so Megan and I can get back to our pole dancing lessons. I am in desperate need of some exercise.

  “Is she here?” Jax whispers to me after Ryan has gone back to bartending duties.

  “Yes, she’s downstairs getting ready. It will be fine, Jax, there will be loads of people here to distract you, and if you need to get away just use our room. But please stay.”

  “Okay I’ll tr-”

  Jax gets interrupted as Caleb starts walking over to us. “You must be Jax. I’m Caleb,” he says, sticking his hand out. “You look just as Abbi described. It’s good to meet you at last.”

  I watch as the two shake hands and the confusion that washes over Jax’s face as he thinks about what Caleb just said to him. “You too. She…uh…talks about me?”

  “Yeah, all the time. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Right, I’m going to go and see if they are ready yet. They’ve been down there hours,” he announces, before striding back out the way he came in. He is right - they have been a long time, but then I did insist on a formal dress code tonight, much to Ryan’s displeasure. Women must be in dresses, and men in suits. I have to say I’m very pleased with my suggestion, because Ryan is smoking hot in his black suit and white shirt that has the top few buttons undone, because he point blank refused to wear a tie. I cannot wait to peel the fabric from his body later. It made me smile when I let Jax in earlier to see he had also forgone the tie. Caleb, on the other hand, looks like he’s just fallen out of work with his perfect cut slim fit grey suit with a skinny red tie. His mousy brown hair has been gelled within an inch of its life and he is clean shaven, unlike Ryan, who has recently been forgoing his daily shave after I showed my appreciation on Christmas day. I love the feel of it under my fingers, and in other parts of my body. Caleb’s appearance does nothing to alleviate the suspicion I have about him.

  “So that’s Caleb, huh?” Jax still looks completely confused. “I’m sorry to ask, but how does she go from me to him?” He asks pointing in the direction he just left. “I mean, we are like day and night opposites.”

  Jax is dead right there. He is all tattooed bad boy, and Caleb is pretty boy office worker. To say I was a little surprised when I met him for the first time a few days ago would be an understatement. “I know, right. I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear this, but I’ve got to say it…”

  “Ugh…go on,”

  “Abbi doesn’t look at him like she does you. Her eyes don’t light up when she’s with him. And to be honest, they are making out like they are together, but I’ve not seen any evidence of it. They act kinda like me and you, really. Plus,” I drop my voice down to a whisper because Ryan got a little mad when I made this suggestion to him, “I get some serious gay vibes off him. I don’t know what it is exactly, but something is telling me he is.”

  Jax goes to reply, but is stopped by the appearance of Liv and Beth. They come straight over and Liv introduces him to Beth. They both look amazing. Liv is wearing a turquoise prom dress with cute little peep toe black heels and Beth has on a red cocktail dress with glittery heels.

  Once Jax has said his hellos, his eyes immediately go to the door, waiting for the last two people to appear from downstairs. He doesn’t have to wait long, because in a matter of seconds, Caleb walks through the door with Abbi’s hand in his. I hear Jax groan next to me as his eyes run up and down her body that is clad in a red fitted floor length dress. It shows off all her sexy curves to perfection. Her blonde hair has been curled, then piled on top of her head. Her eye makeup is dark and her lips as red as her dress.

  “Sweet mother of Jesus. Is she trying to torture me?” Jax mutters. I can’t help but agree with him - she looks like she could have just come off a red carpet. She looks amazing. I feel really bad for the poor guy standing next to me.

  Her eyes latch on to his the instant she walks in the room, as if she knew exactly where he was standing. She gives him the once over before nodding slightly and walking over to talk to her sister and Beth in the corner of the room, where they are stood with drinks for them.

  I turn to Jax and take in his deer-caught-in-headlights look. “Are you okay?” I ask tentatively.

  “Umm…I…uh…need something stronger than his beer!”

  “Coming right up,” Ryan says from behind us, making us both jump. He must have been watching the show as well.

  Thankfully, it’s not long until the others start arriving, making the atmosphere less tense. Chris and Shane are the next to arrive, and immediately distract Jax with their stupid stories, which I’m grateful for.

  “How’s he doing?” Ryan asks once I’ve managed to get away from Jax.

  “I think he’s pretty much in hell. I mean, you’ve seen your sister, right?”

  “Yeah. When exactly did my little sister turn in to…well…that?!”

  “I’m sorry, Ry, but your sister is hot. Just be grateful we are not going out tonight, because she’d have guys lining up for her.” I feel a little bad for saying it when he groans as if in pain. “Sorry,” I wince. I’m only telling the truth, though.

  “Angel, you look beautiful. Did you both have a good time in Liverpool?” Susan asks as she passes me a huge bunch of flowers and a bottle of champagne to celebrate the New Year, followed by hugs from Pete and Emma.

  “It was brilliant, thank you. You look lovely as well. Drink?” I ask.

  “Don’t be silly, I’ll sort us out. You enjoy yourself.” With that, I’m shoed out of the way and Susan takes over the kitchen. She just can’t help herself.

  Behind Susan and Pete are Lilly and her roommate Taylor. They met at uni and now live together in the flat Susan and Pete organised for them. Taylor is lovely; he’s also hilarious and as gay as they come. He
can have an entire room laughing in seconds with his stories.

  Half an hour later and all our guest are here. Our living area is packed and the level of noise from everyone’s chatter fills the entire house. My nieces and Oscar are playing on the Wii and getting in everyone’s way, but no one seems to mind. Everyone is enjoying themselves too much to pay much attention to them. Well, that is, everyone apart from Jax, who looks like he could claw his eyes out at any minute. I’ve been keeping an eye on him and Abbi and so far, the only interaction between them was the head nod she gave him when she arrived.

  Everyone is getting on really well. It seems like Daniel has taken a shine to Beth and has her pinned in a corner - not that she looks like she wants to escape, mind you. Shane and Chris have been laughing with Taylor and Lilly very loudly, but what has caught my attention most is the looks I have seen pass between Taylor and Caleb. If I’m not mistaken, I would say there is some chemistry there. I am now surer than ever that Caleb is gay.

  Before I know it, it’s eleven-thirty. “Ryan, can you come and help me get the champagne glasses down please?” I ask, because they are on the very top shelf.

  “Of course, gorgeous.”

  I stand next to him as he passes me the glasses and I put them on the side. Unfortunately, the little bit of skin that Ryan reveals when he stretches up distracts me, and I miss the worktop entirely. The glass smashes on the tiled floor and shards shoot off in all directions. “Fuck.”

  I bend down to start picking bits up, but I am stopped by Ryan. “Let me do that - you get the dustpan and brush. I don’t want you cutting yourself. Bollocks!” Just has he says this, a drop of blood hits the floor. I quickly grab the kitchen roll for him and wrap it around his finger when he stands up.

  “You idiot! Hold this, I think I’ve got some plasters downstairs. Hang on.” I quickly hurry out of the room, minding the glass that is everywhere. I go charging though my old room and fling the bathroom door open, not thinking anything of it as I head straight for the cabinet, but I am suddenly rooted to the spot when I someone calling my name makes me look up.

  There on the counter is Abbi with her dress around her waist, her legs wrapped around Jax’s waist and her heels digging into his arse. His trousers are pooled at his feet, exposing his very naked arse to me. They both look at me with wide eyes and a look of horror on their faces. “Shit. Sorry I wasn’t…uh…yeah,” I stutter as I head for the door. I’ve regained some of my thoughts by the time I get there. “Jax?” I shout over my shoulder.

  “Uh huh,” is all I get.

  “I never knew your tattoo went all the way down to your thigh. That’s hot.”

  “Fuck. Off.” He grunts.

  I quickly close the door and head back upstairs.

  “Are you okay? You look a little flushed?” Ryan asks.

  “Yeah, fine.” I would tell him the truth, but Susan and Pete are fussing around him, trying to get all the glass. “I couldn’t find them, sorry.”

  “I think I’ve got one in my handbag. I put it on your bed, angel, if you could grab it for me.” Susan calls from her kneeling position on the kitchen floor.

  I just turn the corner at the top of the stairs and am about to open our bedroom door when two figures catch my attention at the other end of the hall. I quickly jump into our bedroom before I’m seen, and close it quietly behind me. “What the fuck is up with people tonight?” I muter quietly to myself. First I catch Jax and Abbi going at it downstairs, and now I’ve just found Caleb and Taylor making out like teenagers, hiding at the end of the hallway. They were so into it that they didn’t hear me coming. I fucking knew he was gay - knew it!

  I make use of our en suite while I’m here before heading back down with Susan’s handbag. The hallway is empty when I open the door, so I hurry back to the party, aware that it is nearly midnight. When I walk in the living area, the first thing I see is Caleb and Abbi laughing with each other with a glass of champagne in their hands like nothing has happened. I search out Jax to find him with Shane and Chris again, and Taylor is whispering in Lilly’s ear. I wonder if he is giving her the details of his little rendezvous.

  “Molly,” Ryan shouts, getting my attention. I hurry over, passing Susan her bag in the process. “Are you okay? He asks again when I’m closer.

  Checking no one is in earshot, I lean into him, “you would not believe what I have seen in the last ten minutes.” I pull back to look at him and he raises his eyebrows in question, so I continue whispering. “Well…first I went downstairs to get you a plaster and came across Jax nailing Abbi on the basin,” I hear him suck in a breath at my announcement. “Chill out, Ry, you’re friends now, remember? Anyway, then I went upstairs to get Susan’s bag and had my suspicions confirmed. Caleb had Taylor pinned up against the wall and they were practically fucking each other’s mouths.” I pull back again and look at Ryan’s stunned face.

  I watch as he looks around the room to the four people I have just mentioned. “Are you sure? They all look pretty normal now.”

  “Yes, I’m sure…” I go to say more but suddenly the room starts counting down from five, indicating that a new year is about to start. I quickly pull Ryan into the living area with everyone else, just as the Big Ben chimes. I stretch up on my toes and crash my lips to his. He instantly opens his lips and slides his tongue deep into my mouth while pulling my body almost painfully tight again his. Everything and everyone around me disappears, and the only thing I know about is the amazing man in my arms and on my lips. He means everything to me. The past year has been hard, but out of all that pain I have found something that has made me happier than I have ever been in my life. Love, pure and simple.

  Eventually, my senses come back and I realise everyone in the room is cheering. Thinking they are just celebrating the New Year, I continue, until I feel Ryan pull away from me. I open my eyes to see that everyone is actually cheering at us. My face instantly heats and I shove it in Ryan’s chest to hide from everyone.

  “What…we were hoping you’d pick her up and carry her out of the room like the last time we were here,” Shane pipes up.

  “Shut up you dick, and drink your champagne!” Ryan quips back, making everyone laugh and return to their previous conversations, thankfully ignoring us.

  Ryan places his fingers under my chin and forces my head up so I look at him. “This is going to be a good year, Molly, I can feel it. I love you.”

  “I love you to.”

  Ryan

  It’s been just over a week since our New Year’s Eve party. It took us a few days but we eventually got the house back in order after all our drunk guests left looking very worse for wear at some point the next day. It was a brilliant night, and like I said to Molly at midnight, I have a really good feeling about this year.

  Getting back to work was hard after such a brilliant two weeks off. Molly and I hadn’t spent more than a couple of hours apart since my trip to Liverpool on Christmas Eve and it was harder than I imagined, having to go to work without her.

  I am getting more and more worried about her. She is still not feeling herself, so much so she actually cancelled on Megan Friday night for their pole dancing class. She tried to play it off like she didn’t want to leave me, which I know to be true, but she was using it as an excuse. She is refusing to go to the doctors though, saying it will pass and she’s sure she’s just fighting the flu or something. I really wish she would sort it out. I want my bright and bubbly Molly back, not the slightly lethargic version I have at the moment.

  “Mate, I think I’m dying,” Jax says between pants next to me.

  I look over to see him bring his treadmill to a stop and rest his head forward on his arms as he tries to catch his breath. Jax has been coming to the gym with me for a few weeks now. Ever since I punched him we have actually become quite good friends. He was pathetic in the first couple of weeks, but he is starting to build up his stamina now.

  “How many miles?”

  “Three!” he whispers back.
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br />   “Hmm, I’ll let that slide this time as you have spent a lot of time on the weights today!” I say to him like I would one of my students.

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Evans!”

  “I want to do a few more miles. If you want to head off, I’ll meet you in the sauna in a bit, yeah?”

  “Yeah okay, try not to make me look too bad though!”

  I shake my head at him and put my speed back up. I watch Jax walk out and I still can’t help feeling a little sorry for him. I didn’t quite believe what Molly said she saw on New Year’s Eve, but the moment I looked into his eyes that night, I could see a sparkle in them that wasn’t their earlier. He also smiled properly in the first time in forever. Unfortunately, Abbi blew all that to shit when she got up before anyone else the next morning and left with only a note for Jax, saying she was sorry. I know exactly how that feels, and it hurts like a bitch. At least when it was me Molly was still around so I could try to convince her; with Abbi in Manchester, I am seriously worried this might be it for them. The thought of them together still freaks me out, but now I know Jax and can see just how badly she is hurting him, I am rooting for them.

  Half an hour or so later, I also give up and head in the direction of the sauna. When I open the door, I see that Jax is the only one in there. He is sat on the bottom bench with his head tipped back, resting the top one deep in thought.

  “Hey, you okay?” I ask as I hop up onto the top bench. He just lets out a huge sigh and continues staring at the ceiling. “We really are trying to do everything we can to help.”

  “I appreciate you trying, but it just feels like a sinking ship.”

  I couldn’t agree more. That is exactly how I feel, unfortunately. I said we are trying, but currently Abbi is refusing to answer the phone to either me or Molly. She must sense what we want to say to her. I only know she is okay because I’ve had to ask Liv.

  “Anyway, I did eight lengths of the pool after my pathetic attempt on the treadmill.”