Right There with You

by R. J. Sable

  I woke up before Jason and took the opportunity to watch him in his sleep. He was so peaceful. His face was relaxed and his breathing low and steady. I noticed some small scars on his face, which I hadn't seen before. Sharp lines around his eyebrows and cheekbones. A few of them had smaller scars at the sides, which I assumed were from stitches. They looked similar to the small scars Craig and the others had from fighting. I ran my fingers across his stubble gently, freezing as he stirred in his sleep.

  “What you doing?” He grumbled sleepily as his eyes flickered open.

  “Nothing,” I said guiltily.

  “I think you're up to no good,” he said turning on his side and eyeing me suspiciously.

  “You'll never know,” I grinned mischievously.

  “Oh, really?” He grinned back, rolling over so he was on top of me, supporting his weight on his elbows. “I bet I could force it out of you.”

  “And how would you do that?” I asked, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine.

  He leant closer and kissed me passionately, his lips pressed against me, his tongue dancing rhythmically with mine.

  “I could withhold these,” he said breathing heavily as he pulled away. His leg was between mine and I could feel him pressed hard against my hip. I blushed furiously as he ground against me slightly.

  “I don't think I could live without those,” I panted at him.

  “Good,” he grinned. “Then you'll have to be honest with me.”

  He hopped off of me and I pouted, missing his warmth.

  “Much as I'd like to, we can't stay in bed all day, baby,” he grinned, noticing my expression.

  He went into the bathroom and I heard him turn the shower on. I leant back into the bed and grinned. It's so nice waking up with him. Forcing myself out of bed, I started packing my bag ready for classes but found myself easily distracted by the knowledge that Jason was naked on the other side of my bathroom door. He came out a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around his hips, the light dancing off his wet muscles. I watched as he bent down and grabbed a pair of boxers out of his bag. He dropped his towel, revealing a set of perfectly toned buttocks that had my jaw dropping and my heart rate increasing rapidly. He pulled on his boxers and glanced at me over his shoulder. He grinned when he caught me staring. I blushed furiously.

  “The shower's all yours,” he cocked his head at me.

  ***

  Friday, 12th October 2012

  I smiled a truly carefree smile as Jason kissed me on the cheek after he walked me to my lecture.

  “I'll see you at training later,” he grinned.

  “See you,” I beamed back at him.

  We'd spent every night together since Monday. We seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement that we would sleep either at his or at mine. He had respected my boundaries, all we had done was kiss. It had been some mind-blowing kissing. I'd had no idea it could stir up such powerful feelings until I'd met Jason. True to his word, he hadn't tried to pressure me into anything.

  I was starting to worry that it wasn't enough for him. I remembered what Jenks had said after the first training session. Jason had been with around a hundred women. It wasn't a pleasant thought. It was definitely not one I cared to dwell on. Jason must have a pretty massive sex drive and there was no way our make-out sessions were doing anything to help abet that.

  I spotted Jason already on the track as I jogged towards the group. I made my way over to him. To my disappointment, he was stood with Lottie and a few other girls.

  “Hey, baby,” he smiled as I came to a stop at his side.

  “Hi,” I smiled shyly as I felt the group's eyes on me.

  Jason cupped my chin in his hand and kissed me gently. The kiss lasted a few seconds too long to be acceptable in public and I blushed profusely as he pulled away. I kept my eyes on my feet but I knew he was grinning.

  “I can't believe you finally got a girlfriend, Reed,” one of the girls said with an edge to her voice.

  “Yeah, I never had you down as the girlfriend type,” Lottie chimed in.

  It'd never occurred to me that I was Jason's girlfriend. I glanced up at Jason to see if he would correct them. My heart swelled when he didn't but my joy was cut short when I realised what the girl was saying.

  “I thought you were more of a bag 'em and tag 'em sort,” a red-headed girl sneered at Jason.

  I blushed furiously. This was why I found it much easier to be around guys. Girls could be so bitchy. They were obviously saying this just to get at me.

  “Just never found a girl who was worth it before,” Jason shrugged simply.

  I kept looking at my trainers but I couldn't help but smile. He wrapped his arm around me and guided me away from the vultures.

  “You okay?” He asked me. He looked nervous.

  “Yeah, why?” I looked at him quizzically.

  He looked guilty and nodded his head towards the girls.

  “I have six brothers, Jason. I'm not completely naïve,” I shook my head at him.

  “You're not mad?”

  “Jason, I know you're not a saint. I'm not going to hold your past against you,” I smiled at him. “As long as your past stays the past.”

  “You're something else, you know that?” He grinned at me. “It's all in the past, Jamie. I'm not proud of it and I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that right?”

  “I hope not,” I smiled, hugging him. “But if you did.... I needn't remind you that I have six brothers,” I winked at him and jogged away towards the start line.

  I saw him grinning and shaking his head as he went to address the group.

  “Want to have dinner in town before we pick your brother up?” Jason asked as we rounded the corner to my building.”

  “Before I pick him up,” I reminded him. “If he saw us together it would raise too many questions, Jason.”

  “Fine,” he sighed. “Yay or neigh to dinner, though?”

  “Sure, that'd be nice,” I smiled up at him.

  “Other guys might think you were ashamed of your boyfriend, you know, Jamie,” Jason said, frowning.

  “You know that's not true,” I frowned at him. “I love being with you, and I love hearing you say you're my boyfriend,” I grinned.

  “And I love being your boyfriend,” he grinned back. “I just don't know what I'm gonna do without you this weekend. It's going to be hell being able to see you tomorrow night but not being able to hold you in my arms,” he said sadly.

  “I know,” I frowned. “I'm not looking forward to that either.”

  “Alright,” he sighed. “I'll run home and shower and be back here in twenty-five minutes.”

  He kissed me quickly on the lips then turned and sprinted down the road towards his flat. Twenty minutes later, I was showered and waiting outside in my skinny jeans and hoody. I looked at my watch, it was quarter past six. We could be in the city centre by just after half past. Jake's train would arrive an hour after that. The timing should be about right. I felt my phone vibrate.

  Jelly, text me your address.

  Jake x

  I rolled my eyes at his bossiness and text him back with my address. I wondered vaguely why he wanted it since he told me to meet him at the train station. I'd just sent the message when I saw Jason pulling up on his bicycle. He locked it up with the other bikes outside my building and came over to kiss me.

  “You smell yummy,” I said as I caught a whiff of his newly washed scent, like the perfect mixture of shampoo and Jason.

  “You look yummy,” he grinned at me, pulling me into another kiss.

  We walked to town at a moderately brisk pace. We were relatively quiet, contented to walk in comfortable silence. It gave me time to get my thoughts in order and work up the courage to ask him about what was bugging me.

  “Jason?” I said quietly as we waited for our food.

  “Yeah?” He replied, looking down at me.

  “I need to ask you about something.”

  “Y
ou can ask me anything, you know that,” he said kindly.

  “I'm worried,” I started.

  “What are you worried about, baby?” He said, concern obvious on his brow.

  “That me and you, what we do, that it's not enough for you.”

  He looked confused, he raised his eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean...” I blushed, not sure how I could explain myself better. “That you need more from me, you know... sex,” I blushed furiously and looked down at my feet.

  “Jamie,” he said, sounding exasperated. “Have I given you any reason to believe that you are not enough for me?”

  I shook my head.

  “It's true, I can't get enough of you. You're like my drug. But that doesn't mean that I need more than what you're willing to give,” he said, pulling my chin up gently so he could look into my eyes. “I enjoy every second with you, just because I'm with you. I don't need anything more than that.”

  “What if you get bored, what if you need more before I'm ready to... to do more?” I asked, voicing my fears.

  “Baby, that's never going to happen,” he shook his head emphatically. “I'm never going to get bored of you, I promise.”

  He leant over the table and planted a gentle kiss on my lips. I smiled up at him gratefully. I wanted to believe him, and I didn't think he was lying, but nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. The food arrived and effectively ended our discussion.

  “How do you want to handle tomorrow night?” Jason asked in-between mouthfuls.

  “At the fight, you mean?” I asked

  He nodded and took a large bite of his sandwich.

  “Well, I have to stay with my brothers all the time. It was one of Craig's rules so that I can come. Are you sure you want to meet them?” I asked, hoping he'd changed his mind.

  “Yeah, I want to get an idea of what I'm up against,” he chuckled.

  “It's not funny!” I pouted.

  “Come on, Jamie. They can't be as bad as you make out,” he sighed.

  “If you're sure,” I said quietly. “Just come over and I'll introduce you as a friend from uni.” He'll be able to see for himself what my brothers are like.

  “You're sure you don't want to introduce me as your boyfriend?” He asked, looking up at me hopefully.

  “Jason, I really want to be able to do that. But I want you alive and breathing much more. You said you'd give me a month.”

  Jason scowled and sat back in his chair. “Baby, I'd said we should take a month to see if there was something between us. It's only been a week and it's pretty obvious to me we've got something beyond description.”

  “I know, Jason, but the moment my brothers find out, we're both screwed. Just give me some time to handle the situation with them, please?” I begged.

  “Fine,” he sighed. “But only because you look cute when you pout,” he grinned at me.

  I smiled back at him. I knew he wasn't entirely pleased with the situation, but I appreciated him giving me some breathing room. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't imagine a single scenario where my brothers accepted, let alone embraced, a relationship with Jason.

  He walked me to the train station after dinner, holding my hand and caressing its back with his thumb.

  “Can I please come in and wait with you?” He asked as we arrived.

  I didn't think it was a good idea but I knew I'd hurt Jason by wanting to keep our relationship a secret from my family.

  “You sure you'll be okay pretending we're just friends in front of him?” I asked cautiously.

  “I promise to keep my hands off you in front of your brothers,” he grinned, giving me a boy scout's salute. “But you'll owe me when we get back to Leeds.”

  “Oh?” I asked, curious to know what he was after. “How do I have to pay you back?”

  “You have to ditch the PJs starting Sunday night,” he grinned.

  “You want me to sleep naked?” I choked, caught totally off guard.

  “Well, naked would be nice too, but you can keep your underwear on if that would make it easier on you.”

  I considered what he was asking of me. I couldn't understand why he wanted this.

  “Why?” I asked, confused.

  “I have to go two days and nights without touching you. I want to make up for it by touching every inch of you that I'm allowed to on Sunday night.”

  “You're crazy,” I laughed.

  “About you,” he grinned. “We have a deal?”

  I wasn't sure about how I'd feel about sleeping next to him, practically naked. He'd seen me in my knickers, I reasoned, and he'd seen my stomach. He'd seen everything he would be able to see with me wearing just underwear. It was only like wearing a bikini.

  “Okay,” I agreed, blushing once more.

  “Awesome, now I have something to look forward to all weekend,” he grinned and pulled me into another mind-blowing kiss.

  “Let's go find your brother,” he said pulling me by my hand towards the entrance to the station.

  “Jason,” I complained as he dragged me. “You can't hold my hand until we're back in Leeds and free from the Carter males.”

  “Fine,” he sighed with exasperation.

  He pulled me close to him and squeezed me tightly against him. I put my hands round his back and ran my fingers over his strong muscles. I felt the soft cotton of his shirt against my cheek and smelt the crispness of his washing powder and the familiar calming scent of Jason. I'll miss this. I sighed contentedly. I love being in his arms.

  We walked into the waiting area and waited for Jake's train to arrive. We couldn't get onto the platforms without a ticket so I text Jake and told him where we were waiting.

  Eventually, I spotted him. Jake's hair was pretty much the same colour as mine, but his was shaved really short. He was wearing jeans, a red Foo Fighters t-shirt and his favourite grey zip-up hoody. He had a large duffle bag hanging off his shoulder and his iPod headset hung from his shoulders and down into his pocket. As he spotted me, his blue eyes lit up and he smiled.

  “Hey, Jelly,” he grinned as he pulled me into a big hug. Jake was 6ft and he towered over me, my head only came up to his shoulders.

  “Hi, Jake,” I grinned back at him. “Ow!” I cried out as he squeezed me a little too tight before letting me go. How was the trip?” I asked him, rubbing my ribs.

  “Boring,” he complained. “You eaten?”

  “Yeah, haven't you?”

  “No, I'm starving,” he grumbled, rubbing his stomach with one hand.

  I noticed Jason stand up and walk over to us.

  “Jake, this is my friend Jason from uni,” I motioned to Jason. “Jason, my youngest brother Jake.”

  “Alright,” Jason nodded towards Jake, offering his hand.

  “Alright,” Jake replied, taking Jason's hand and eyeing him suspiciously. “Jelly, I'm gonna take a leak. Grab me a sandwich and some crisps. I'll meet you back here,” Jake said, before turning and heading towards the bathrooms.

  I nodded and sighed as I walked towards Smiths to get Jake some food.

  “Please and thank you,” Jason mumbled, frowning. He was clearly unimpressed with Jake's manners, or lack thereof.

  “He's just tired from the trip,” I shrugged.

  “Here you go,” I said, handing Jake the bag of food as he met back up with us.

  “Let's head back to yours then,” Jake nodded as he took the bag from me. “Ugh, diet cola? Really, Jelly?” He groaned as he looked into the bag.

  “I thought you weren't allowed fat cola?” I asked, confused.

  “Craig doesn't have to know,” he frowned.

  “I don't think your blood sugar cares whether or not Craig knows, Jake,” I sighed.

  “Watch it, smartarse,” Jake grunted, elbowing me in the ribs. I saw Jason scowl at Jake and shook my head emphatically at him whilst Jake's head was turned.

  “You diabetic?” Jason asked as we waited for the lig
hts to turn green.

  Jake ignored Jason and focussed on his sandwich.

  “Type one,” I nodded to Jason.

  I knew Jake would be curious about Jason but hoped he would be too focussed on food to pose too many questions. My brothers were all easily distracted by food. They did not do hunger well.

  “What time will we get to yours?” Jake asked as he finished off his sandwich and started on his crisps.

  “About eight,” I answered. “How come?”

  “I told Mark and Duff to meet us at yours around eight,” Jake shrugged.

  Great. I sighed inwardly. I didn't really like the idea of having Duff inside my flat. He was not the sort of person I'd want to force upon my flatmates. Mark was okay, he was kind of quiet, and he’d never been that bad with me. Not like Duff.

  We arrived at halls and Jason disappeared to unlock his bike. My heart sank as I realised there'd be no good-bye hugs or kisses. He came back with his bike and nodded to Jake as he threw his leg over his bike and sat back onto the saddle.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said firmly to Jake. “I'll see you tomorrow, Jamie,” he grinned as he stood up and started pedalling away.

  “Tomorrow?” Jake scowled.

  “He's going to Craig's fight with a few guys from the MMA team,” I explained.

  Jake grunted in reply as we walked round the side of the building to the front doors. Mark and Duff were stood waiting by the entrance. I couldn’t help but scowl as I took in Duff from a distance. He looked almost exactly the same, even though it had been a year since I last saw him. He still kept his straight black hair gelled out at all angles as if he’d just been dragged through a bush. He was wearing skater jeans, which hung low on his hips, and a long armed grey shirt. His dark eyes still had that horrible gleam that he got when he was planning on making me miserable.

  “Carter!” Duff exclaimed as he came forwards and gave Jake a one armed hug and slapped him on the back. “Good to see you, mate.”

  “And you, man. It's been a while.”

  Jake bumped fists with Mark and gave him the same greeting. I felt Duff's eyes on me but I kept my gaze on the tarmac beneath his feet,

  “Jelly!” he grinned, pulling me into a hug. He held me against him with one hand whilst his other travelled down my back and dipped into the back of my jeans. I struggled against him and tried to push him off me.