Jayden

by J J Loraine

  Jayden

  The Cage Family’s Fortune Book 3

  An Alpha Man and Curvy Woman Romance

  J.J. Loraine

  Copyright © 2019 J.J. Loraine

  All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Jayden

  Chapter Two: Annie

  Chapter Three: Jayden

  Chapter Four: Annie

  Chapter Five: Jayden

  Chapter Six: Annie

  Chapter Seven: Jayden

  Chapter Eight: Annie

  Chapter Nine: Jayden

  Chapter Ten: Annie

  Chapter Eleven: Jayden

  Chapter Twelve: Annie

  Chapter Thirteen: Jayden

  Other Titles by J.J. Loraine

  1

  Jayden

  Why’d she have to show up?

  I haven’t seen her since high school -- her big blue eyes, her soft, cheery face; her rocking, voluptuous body – and now, suddenly, here she is again, on the biggest day of my life so far... and I can’t take my eyes off her.

  That’s Annie Rose, my first crush; my biggest disappointment; the breaker of my fragile heart. I’ve worked so hard – poured myself into football – just to forget about her, but she always finds a way back into my mind.

  She’s working the busy banquet hall where my family is throwing me a draft day party. I’m at a table with my older brother Hunter and my younger sister Lily. My agent’s been in my ear all night, but I’ve hardly heard him.

  I’ve played football games in front of a hundred-thousand people and never been nervous – I know I’m good – I’ve been on dates with older celebrities and heiresses that are just as rich as I am and I’ve never broken a sweat; but I have goosebumps right now. My mouth is dry; I only want to march right on over to Annie and take her hand and lead her into some backroom. I want to confess to her that I’ve had feelings for her since we first met, way back when we were teenagers. I want to tell her that I’ve loved her forever and I want to have her forever more, but I don’t know if I can handle her rejection on this momentous day.

  I wonder if she even remembers me?

  I shake my head.

  Of course, she remembers you. You’ve been a minor celebrity since you first stepped onto the gridiron and your celebrity has only grown since then.

  Why did she never accept my advances, then? Was I too subtle? Was she too shy?

  I don’t know... but I want to find out.

  I search desperately for a way in. I need to at least say hello. If I don’t speak to her, it won’t matter how high up I go in the draft, today will have been a failure. I don’t like to fail.

  I scan the room and notice my older brother, Hunter, has his eyes fixed on another waitress.

  Does he know her?

  The object of Hunter’s focus seems to be friends with Annie. If he can serve as a bridge between us, I can take it from there.

  Before I can ask my brother for advice, though, he disappears, without a word, into the crowd. He seems so distracted. It’s so unlike him. He’s always been one of the few people I can always count on. I threw passes to him for hours on end in our backyard to help practice. I owe him so much... but now, I just need a little bit more.

  Where did he go?

  My agent, Xander, is still talking in my ear. I just nod, politely. I like the guy, probably almost as much as my sister, Lily, does – he’s helped me on my path to NFL more than anyone other than my brother – but I need to lose him right now.

  I need to talk to Annie and get this weight off my heart. This should be a joyous day, but it won’t be joyous if I don’t end up with her.

  2

  Annie

  Don’t panic, he won’t remember you.

  All of my shyness and insecurities are bubbling inside of me like a scolding cauldron of anxiety and doubt.

  The banquet I’m working at is for Jayden Cage, my old high school crush and one of the top football players in the country. He’s tall and handsome and ripped out of his mind. Half the country treats him like some sports god. Oh yeah, and he’s also from one of the richest families in North America.

  I remember him walking around the halls of our old school like a Greek deity. Everybody has always fawned over him, except me.

  Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve definitely fawned over him. I still do. I’m just too shy to show it.

  I’ve followed his career from a distance, though, ever since we graduated. I haven’t been able to help myself. He went off to one of the top schools in the country and played on national TV almost every weekend, while I went to a small community college – the only one I could afford with my small inheritance – and worked my butt off to graduate early, only to end up as a waitress and my friend Lucy’s family’s catering service.

  I’m not complaining about my job, so much – I love working with my friend and her sister Grace – but I have so much more hope and ambition than this. I’m a smart cookie. My shyness is always holding me back, though. I could have graduated top of my class, easily, and gotten into some amazing internship if only I had the courage to go to tutorials and speak up when I had the chance.

  It’s my biggest weakness, and I fear it’s going to ruin my life. Even today, I’m sweating at just the thought of Jayden recognizing me. I want to talk to him so bad, but I could never build up the courage to do something so brazen. He’s surrounded by the rich and powerful. Every woman here looks like a supermodel, except for me and my friend Lucy and her sister Grace.

  Even if he does recognize me, I doubt he wants to talk to me. He probably gets old classmates calling him up all the time, asking for favors. He got plenty of girls in high school, and I’m sure he did in college too -- the last thing he probably wants is some plus-sized girl making flirty eyes at him.

  I busy myself and avoid his table the best I can.

  I swear I catch him looking at me through the crowd. I pull my gaze away from him as soon as our eyes meet, though. I don’t have the courage to hold eye contact. I can’t help but look back at him. His rugged beauty holds my gaze like a shiny pearl. All I want is him. His bulging muscles nearly rip out of his tight, crisp shirt. I catch myself drooling.

  Oh, what I’d give to see what’s underneath.

  Suddenly, I feel a pinch on my thick ass and I’m broken out of my lustful daze. I whip around to see my sassy best friend, Lucy, giggling behind me.

  “Looking good, girl!” she teases.

  I blush. She’s so outgoing and fun, I wish I could have an ounce of her self-confidence.

  “Let’s take our break now. I’m just going to drop my tray in the kitchen then I’ll meet you in the break room.”

  I smile and nod and Lucy skips away.

  When I look back at Jayden’s table, he’s gone.

  I sigh and shuffle towards the ‘employees only’ door. I push my way inside the little room and take a deep breath, trying to relax. There’s a door at the back that leads to the kitchen. I’m expecting Lucy to come through it any second. Instead, I hear the door behind me open.

  I turn around with a big smile on my face, ready to greet my friend. “I thought you liked that backdoor stuff...” I tease before I see who just walked in behind me. It’s not Lucy.

  I freeze, completely in shock.

  Standing in the doorway, as tall and handsome as any god, is Jayden Cage... and his sexy eyes are fixed on me.

  3

  Jayden

  Her sweet voice and infectious smile lighten up my dark mood.

  She was clearly expecting someone else. Her cute little, plump mouth drops in shock as she stares at me with wide eyes.

  I feel breathless in her beauty. The way her catering uniform hugs her curvy body makes my pants tight. I just want to rip of
f her clothes and push her against the back wall.

  There’s a tense silence between us, as I gather the courage to say something.

  “Hey, Annie. I don’t know if you remember me... we went to high school together. I’m Jayden,” I finally say, as I reach out to shake her hand.

  She stays frozen, like a porcelain doll. Her big chest starts to heave, as though she’s having a panic attack.

  “Hey – Hey, are you alright?” I ask, worried. I step towards her and she instinctively backs up.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I... I should leave.”

  Before I can turn around, though, Annie’s friend bursts in through the back door.

  Her eyebrows raise at my presence. She slaps Annie on the butt and my crush is shaken out of whatever panic she had gotten herself into.

  “Hey, you’re the birthday boy, right?” teases her friend.

  I can’t help but chuckle.

  “Yeah, sort of, I guess. This is my draft party.”

  “Well, thank you for your service,” says Annie’s plump friend. She pushes her feet together and strands up straight and raises her hand to her forehead in an exaggerated salute.

  I laugh and wave her off.

  “No – No. I’m getting drafted to the NFL, not the army!” I clarify.

  She just shrugs. “All the same to me,” she jokes.

  Annie has stepped behind her boisterous friend for cover.

  I step forward and reach my hand out in greeting.

  “I’m Jayden,” I say.

  The girl gives Annie a salacious side-eyed glance and then looks back at me, licking her lips. She takes my hand and fondles my fingers like a predator. Her gaze is like that of a jungle cat’s, ready to pounce. I pull away. I know her type. She knows who I am. She’s just playing dumb. She wants a piece of my pie. I’ve had to deal with girls like her all my life. They’re gold-diggers. I have to be wary of this one.

  “You can call me Queenie,” she says, sarcastically, while giving me a cute little curtsy.

  I just roll my eyes and grunt. I can’t help but feel colder to her now that I feel like I know her true intentions. She’s probably been looking for a way to talk to me all night.

  I hope she hasn’t been bothering Annie about introducing us. The poor girl doesn’t deserve the hassle.

  “You and Annie went to school together, right?” asks the girl.

  I nod.

  “Mhmm,” she says, through pursed lips. “She talks about you all the time... or she does as much as she talks about anything, which still isn’t much. She’s a quiet one, this girl.”

  Annie talks about me!? Does that mean I have a chance!?

  The girl giggles. Her squinted eyes stay fixed on me.

  I back up, put off by her directness.

  If only Annie could be this direct... no, it’s alright. I like her shy nature. I have to work for her. She’ll be mine, anyways; I swear it.

  Her friend does a little twirl and gives Annie a naughty look before she steps forward, after me.

  “Where are you going, big boy,” she says, in a breathy voice.

  Before I can answer she pounces forward, with her lips pursed for a kiss. She falls into my arms and I have to swivel my head quickly to the side, just to avoid the unwanted advance.

  I gently push the woman away.

  I look at Annie, who’s still frozen in quiet shock at the back of the room. Her eyes haven’t left me this entire time. I try to silently communicate my desire for her, but she doesn’t budge.

  Finally, I just shake my head and accept defeat... for the time being.

  “I... I should go,” I grumble. I give Annie one last look before I push my way back into the noisy banquet hall.

  This isn’t how I thought my big day would go.

  4

  Annie

  I’m so embarrassed.

  “Why’d you do that!?” I shout at Lucy, when the door finally closes behind Jayden.

  My heart is beating out of my chest. I’m so flustered and angry and confused.

  Lucy just giggles and spins in her spot.

  “Just giving you a way in,” she smirks. “He clearly likes you just as much as you like him.”

  “How did doing THAT give me a way in!?” I ask, incredulously.

  “Now you have an opening line,” she says.

  “And what’s my opening line?”

  “I’m sorry about my friend,” Lucy says, barely able to control her budding laughter.

  I just shake my head, but I can’t help but find her hilarious. I start to giggle and soon enough we’re both bursting out in laughter in the tiny break room.

  “I AM sorry about my friend,” I finally say, when the laughter starts dying down. “That was so embarrassing!”

  “Yeah, it was... for ME! I took a bullet for you there, Annie. You owe me one...” Lucy playfully punches my shoulder and struts off back towards the kitchen.

  She has so much confidence that she’s already fully prepared to wade back into the crowd outside after that shameful display.

  If only I had half her confidence...

  I don’t even want to go back outside, and I have nothing to be embarrassed about.

  Well, not nothing. Lucy did tell Jayden that I talk about him all the time. He’s got to have figured out that I have a crush on him. Little does he know that it’s so much more than a crush. I’ve been in love with him since we first passed each other in the halls, way back in high school.

  I sigh and try to gather the courage to get back to my job.

  Lucy always makes things so hard on me. If I didn’t love her so much, I’d also sort of feel bad for her sister, Grace – sometimes she gets the brunt of Lucy’s sassiness. I guess it was my turn, this time.

  I take a little time to myself before I even think about going back outside. I like being alone, that’s why I feel so desperate to find someone I can be alone with. The kind of guy I want is the kind I can sit quietly with on the couch in front of a fireplace while we both read. I don’t know if Jayden’s that guy – his life is so flashy – but I’d like to find out. I’d make sacrifices to be with him. He’d be worth all the attention.

  I finally take a deep breath and head back out into the hall.

  The big crowd in the hall, which was loudly chattering when I started my break, has gone silent. Everybody’s either watching the screen projected on the far end wall or looking at Jayden, who’s on the phone.

  I lean against the wall by the breakroom and watch with bated breath. I know this is his big moment. I hope Lucy and I didn’t ruin it for him.

  I wish I had gathered the courage to respond to him earlier. I really froze up back there. I can only shake my head when I realize I still haven’t said a word to him.

  My self-pity is interrupted when the whole room suddenly erupts.

  Everybody’s jumping up and down like it’s New Year’s Eve and the ball just dropped.

  Jayden must have just been drafted.

  Well, there goes my chance.

  People are swarming around him. His own family is having a hard time getting through the crowd.

  There’s no way I get to him now, and I doubt I’ll ever see him again, except for on TV every Sunday.

  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be...

  5

  Jayden

  “You ready to head out?”

  It’s been a long night, and I’m exhausted and overwhelmed, but I’m not quite ready to go just yet. This night won’t be complete unless I at least get Annie’s number.

  “You guys go ahead; I’ll be right behind you.”

  My posse saunters out of the messy banquet hall along with everyone else until it’s just me and a few other stragglers. Even most of the caterers appear to have gone. I cross my fingers and go looking for Annie. I have no idea if she’s still here. I was so swarmed after the big announcement that I could hardly even see more than 5 feet in front of me. It felt amazing, but there we
re two things bothering me. The first was that Annie’s gold-digging friend seemed to have gotten her hooks in my brother, Hunter. I tried to warn him, but my big call came in before I could go into more detail.

  The second thing is Annie.

  The rush of excitement from being drafted is already starting to wear off, but my worries are still fresh.

  I feel like I’ve sabotaged my own happiness. It wouldn’t be the first time. I have a tendency to ignore the good things in my life in favor of the hard things. It’s part of the reason I chose to even start playing football. I could have easily asked Annie out back in high school; gotten a job working in the family business and then coasted off that money for the rest of our happy lives together, but instead I chose the most violent sport I could pick and then used it as an excuse to seclude myself from the world. Every time I had the choice between a workout and a party, I chose the harder, lonelier route.

  Annie’s the only girl for me; she always has been. I was just too childish to do anything about it. I would have preferred to slave away in the gym than risk being hurt by her rejection.

  Her friend said that she always talks about me...

  I shake my head as I wade through the messy, emptying hall.

  I’m a man now. I’m in control of my own destiny. She will be mine. I’ll make it happen.

  I feel so stupid for not taking my chance when I had it, earlier in the break room. I should have just looked right past her loud, annoying friend and confessed my true intentions.

  I open the door to the break room where we had met earlier. It’s empty. I sigh and push my way into the kitchen.

  There’s a dishwasher and a janitor cleaning up. No sign of Annie, though.

  I walk through the kitchen, feeling defeated. This should be the best day of my life, yet I feel so incomplete. I could have all the success in the world, but if Annie isn’t by my side, it’s meaningless.

  The further I walk into the kitchen, the more silent everything gets.