Embracing Him

by C. Shell

  Hearing the front door open I walk into the other room just as the mailman is leaving a stack of letters on the desk along with a package. Thanking him I grab the letters and return to my office.

  Sitting back down I shift through the mail throwing most of it into the trash after realizing it is junk and advertisements. "That leaves you Jane. Will you join Hunter and me at the gym tonight?"

  "Sure why not. My butt could use a good workout before the holidays hit and I overeat. God I love sugar cookies and pumpkin pie. You would think by now I would stay away from them knowing pumpkin pie goes straight to my hips but it never stops me." As to emphasize her point she smacks her hips and does a little booty shake.

  "You're delusional. Since the day I met you I have never seen an inch of fat on your hips or any other part of your body for that matter. Your skinny ass is sickening and not fair to the curvy woman of the world," I say sticking my tongue out at her on my way back to the front desk to check out the package that arrived earlier.

  I am surprised to see that the package is addressed to me personally and not our business. Studying the white boxed package I am a bit dumbfounded as to who sent it since it has no return address on it. Using my scissors to break the seal I carefully pull back the top flap. After discarding of all of the tissue paper on the top I am left staring at an old beautifully crafted antique men's pocket watch. I have never seen one like it before. Carefully picking it up out of the box I study it wondering who it might belong to and why it was sent to me.

  Peering back inside the box I spot a small piece of paper stuck to the bottom of the box. There is a handwritten message scribbled on the paper that says:

  "This was your dad's watch and now it is yours."

  ********

  The more I think about the pocket watch and the note the harder I run trying to push out all the thoughts and feelings swirling around my head. I gave up years ago wishing I could grow up like my friends with fathers that came to their school events and ingrained themselves in their lives. I learned how to take care of myself at an early age and did not need a father let alone a mother who chose to forget about me.

  Who would sent me the watch and how did they get it?

  The only person I know to ask about whether the watch was really his would be my mom and there is no way in hell I can do that. Although our relationship is better than it used to be I am pretty sure bringing this to her attention would make her resent me all over again. Not a chance worth taking.

  Turning my ipod up louder I continue to run as though my life depends on it, loving the feel of my muscles burning as I put them through the paces. Hunter motions to me that I have four minutes left before I can move onto to my session of free weights. I am so glad I took him up on his offer to train me. He is easy to work with and contrary to his brooding features he is actually funny. Why couldn't I have fallen in love with someone like him instead of Alex?

  Hunter would be the kind of man that would make a relationship fun and drama free but nope I had to go and fall for Mr. Intense and let's not forget Mr. Married. God I am really bad at picking men.

  Hitting the warm down button on my machine I take a moment to catch my breath and a long drink of water. Jane gives me a smile as she turns up her machine and keeps going.

  "Show off." I say passing her a cold bottle of water.

  "You know it baby," she says giggling as she rips the top off of the bottle and takes a big gulp. "So what are the plans for this weekend?"

  "I don't know. Truthfully I have not given it much thought," I admit as I grab my small towel and water so I can move onto weights. "Any ideas?"

  "Yeah I was thinking we could go and grab some drinks at Daven's Bar. A girl at the Glimmer shoot said they were having a live band this weekend and half-off margaritas. Jax and I have already talked it over and he is game if you are."

  Stopping the treadmill she jumps off and walks with me over to the free weights station where Hunter is already setting up some different size weights for me on the mat.

  "Sounds like a plan to me." I pick up the smallest weight shaking my head at how light it is before setting it down and moving on over the middle size ten pound bar. I might be a weakling but there is no way I am doing less than ten pounds to start off with.

  "What are you two trouble makers planning now?" Hunter asks glancing back and forth between us.

  "We are planning on meeting up at Daven's Bar after work tomorrow night. They have live bands and half price margaritas on Friday nights and we thought it would be fun to check it out. Want to join us?" Jane asks openly ogling his biceps.

  I glance at her out of the corner of my eye wondering where that invitation came from. Not that I have anything against Hunter, he is really nice and all, I just never pictured him to be the type of guy to hang out with our group.

  Hunter moves behind me snapping body weight bands around my ankles before standing back up and eyeing Jane as though he is seeing her for the first time. You can practically feel the hot chemistry shooting between the two of them. Interesting

  "Yeah I would love to join you. What time should I be there?"

  Mimicking my movements with a set of her own weights Jane breathes," Let's make it 8:00. That will give Jess and I enough time to head home after work and freshen up and grab a bite to eat. That work for you?"

  Hunter moves in and corrects her form. I have seen Jane do these exact moves more times than I can remember and she has never needed help getting her form right. If I did not know better I would think my sweet Jane has a thing for my hot trainer.

  We finish several more sets before my body gives up and goes on strike. It will be a miracle if I can move my arms up above my head tomorrow without wincing. We shower and dress in record time declaring tonight a take-out night. I know eating fast food after a work-out is a big no-no but neither one of us has the energy to cook so that leaves us with take-out.

  "Chinese or greasy hamburgers?" Jane asks taking an early exit off the freeway that houses one restaurant after another near our condo.

  "Make it Chinese. At least with Chinese food I can find something somewhat healthy that won't make me feel bad and guilt me into running extra laps next week. Plus I like the fortune cookies."

  While Jane runs in the restaurant to order us some sesame chicken and broccoli I pull out my phone and check to see if I missed any calls. I have missed one call from Travis and a text from Alex. Ignoring the fact that Travis has called again I read the text from Alex and smile despite myself. I think I like corny Alex.

  Alex: Roses are red, violets are blue, please forgive me and let me cherish you.

  Damn, he sucks as a poet but I love that he tried.

  Chapter 4

  My feet ache and I swear my arms have decided to divorce my body and seek alimony on the grounds of distress and abuse. Today was a disaster. Jane totally forgot about a commercial downtown that we were set to work. So after rushing through traffic and cursing every slow bitty in the world who dared get in our way we finally showed up fifteen minutes late and found out that they had changed the premise of the commercial and instead of doing make-up for three models we had our hands full with eleven loud screaming girls ages ranging between five to fifteen. It was a nightmare.

  Since most of the girls were shorter than we anticipated we brought the wrong size chairs which caused me to have to squat in heels and hold my arms at weird angles while applying the make-up. This went on for over for four long painstaking hours. Days like this make me second guess my job occupation.

  Sweeping a second layer of mascara over my lashes I check my reflection once again in the mirror making sure my dress doesn't ride up too high when I move around. I borrowed Jane's emerald green satin slip dress tonight and even though it lands right above her knees it is significantly higher up on my legs due to the fact that unlike Jane I actually have hips and an ass.

  Hearing Jane yell out my name once again telling me to hurry up I grab my clutch and throw in my ID, lip glo
ss, money and cell phone into it before joining her and Jax in the living room.

  "Whose car are we taking tonight?" I ask pulling my keys out of the glass bowl perched on our wood antique entry way table. I adore this table. I found it at a garage sale right before we moved here and after painstaking weeks of sanding and polishing the whole thing it turned out beautiful.

  "It is Jax's turn. He is driving tonight," Jane announces while twirling around the living room singing to Adel's new song streaming from her ipod. "I really love this song," she croons.

  Turning off the lights and locking up the door behind us, Jax ushers us towards his car and being the gentleman that he is opens the door for us while we clamber in. Speeding down the freeway with the windows down and music blaring we make good time and arrive at Daven's Bar earlier than anticipated.

  Jane sends a quick text to Hunter letting him know that we are already here and to look for us inside when he arrives. I still find it interesting that she invited him and while I have not said anything find it even more interesting that she took extra time on her make-up and wore a sexy halter dress tonight. She normally does not try and look her best when David is not around. I would not mind seeing Hunter take David's place in her life. Hell, I would love that.

  I follow my friends inside as they wind their way through the crowd towards a large circular booth near the dance floor. I welcome the loud music as it vibrates around us helping me to relax and loosen up enough to enjoy myself. The moment we are seated Jax goes to the bar and orders us all a round of margaritas and shots of tequila. Thankfully I ate earlier or this night would be ending early if he continues to order drinks in this manner.

  Daven's Bar is packed with people sitting around the bar drinking, playing pool and darts in the back corner, and gyrating on the wood dance floor positioned in the middle of the room. This is not my favorite or classiest establishment to frequent but it is a good place for when you want to let your hair down and have some fun without worrying about running into anyone important.

  Noticing poor Jax struggling to carry all of our drinks without spilling then down the front of him Jane runs up to the bar to help him out just as Hunter saunters up to our booth looking relaxed and ruggedly handsome as always. I eye him up and down appreciatively noting he looks just as good in regular clothes as he does sporting his skin tight work out gear.

  I scoot more towards the middle of the booth and motion for him to sit down making sure that there is enough room for Jax to sit on my other side and Jane to sit next to Hunter. If there was ever a time to play cupid now is it.

  Holding up his drink and motioning for us to follow suite Jax makes a bold toast," To working out, sleeping late, getting laid, and breaking hearts. Not all in that order but fun none the less."

  "What the hell was that about?" I ask tossing down a shot. The cool liquid scorches my throat as it goes down warming my insides immediately. Grabbing a lime I suck on it vigorously trying to ease the burn.

  Shrugging Jax just laughs and grabs my hand pulling me behind him towards the dance floor. To my utter delight Jane and Hunter decide to join us. Tonight's band has brought out some interesting couples. Some have brightly colored hair and almost everyone has at least three piercings and several tattoos. The chick beside me actually has a dragon tattoo covering her entire neck. Like I said before this is not our normal hang out. The band Grey and White interrupts one of my favorite songs by Beyonce as they begin checking their instruments and introducing themselves. They are really good and soon have a crowd surrounding their stage which thankfully allows more room for us on the dance floor. On a twirl Jax makes a motion with his head towards Hunter and Jane. Glancing behind me I see them dancing close and eye fucking each other. Finally!

  We dance for most of the band's first set before going back to our booth and collapsing. Wanting to give Jane some alone time with Hunter so they have a chance to get to know each other better I offer to go get everyone another round of drinks and drag Jax with me in case I need help carrying everything. Sliding onto one of the few empty bar stools available I catch the bartender's attention and yell out our so he can hear me over the loud music.

  "Looking for some company tonight?" Internally cringing I turn to face the man beside me who by the look of his glassy eyes and alcohol infused breath has definitely had one too many drinks tonight.

  "Does that line really work for you?" I ask honestly. "And in case you are still wondering the answer is hell no and then some."

  "It has worked for me once or twice," he breaths leaning closer than necessary for me to hear him. "I might be drunk but I could still rock your world."

  I instantly move back knocking into Jax who is standing behind me hitting on some young blonde in a dress that could easily be confused for a shirt and not a long shirt either.

  "Whoa baby doll," Jax says reaching out to help steady me. His eyes turn from playful to concerned once he gets a look at my wide eyes. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing I can't handle," I say shaking my head. "Just telling this gentleman here beside me that I would prefer to go single the rest of my days than to allow him to rock my world as he so elegantly put it?"

  The scowl on Jax's face makes we wish I had kept my mouth shut. Thankfully our drinks arrive giving me an excuse to pull him away before he starts a fight and gets us all kicked out. That is the last thing we need tonight. Jax starts giving me the standard safety talk about how I need to be careful and that girls don't realize how unsafe they are on their own. I have heard it all before and I am not an idiot. I am always very careful when I go anywhere by myself. I feign interest in his one sided serious discussion until I am distracted by an annoying laugh from a booth not far from our own. This lady's laugh is loud and shrill enough that it could rival that of a hyena. Jax and I turn to each other and start laughing breaking the tense mood building between us immediately.

  "I have to get a look at the creature making that noise," he says sitting down our drinks and easing around the corner.

  Jane and Hunter are practically in each other's laps when I return. As I pass out the drinks they completely ignore me and keep on with their conversation as if I am not even there. They better be glad I am so happy to see them together otherwise I would be pissed right now. Jax returns scooting in beside me looking pale and shaken up.

  "What's wrong with you? I demand. "Did the hyena lady scare you that bad?" I tease wondering if my statement might have some actual truth to it.

  "Umm... No not at all," he stutters refusing to look me in the eye. "Let's go dance or even better yet why don't we call it a night here and head to another bar or we can just go hang out back at your condo and watch a movie." The nervous way he is talking and not looking directly at me has my stomach doing nervous flip flops.

  "What did you see over there?" When he does not answer me I try again needing a straight answer. "Jax what happened when you left that has you so antsy?"

  Something is not right. Jax never out right ignores me. When he continues to not answer my questions I dart around him before he has a chance to stop me. My feet grind to a halt as I round the corner and come face to face with a disturbing display. Seated in a booth in the corner is Alex with a beautiful leggy blonde bombshell. The hyena lady seated at a table near them continues to laugh with her friends and it takes everything in me not to go over and take my frustration out on her and make her shut up.

  He does not notice me right away but as his eyes dart up they connect with mine and it is as if the air is sucked out of the room. His face registers an odd mixture of surprise and disbelief. Reaching out I grip the chair closest to me to keep from falling as my knees have turned to liquid and no longer feel capable of holding me up. I keep telling myself to turn away and run but my feet are planted and refuse to listen to my brain. Bastard!

  I feel Jax's hands on my shoulders coaxing me to turn around. He pulls me into the side of his body as we walk back to our table together. I am in shock. I cannot believe he has already
moved on. It was stupid of me to think that he would wait around for me. With all of his texting and calls I thought that he wanted us to work through this mess as badly as I did. Lexy was right, I am naive.

  "You ok baby doll?"

  "Never better," I answer dryly. My chest hurts as I blink back the tears refusing to cry one more tear for him.

  As we near our booth I mask my feelings not wanting to ruin Jane's night and what could possibly turn out to be something brewing between her and Hunter. "Let's all dance," I say motioning for everyone to finish their drinks and follow me as I make my way back to the dance floor. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. If he wants to move on than fine, screw him and his leggy blonde.

  The band is singing the song Heartbreaker as we dance around singing loudly to the words and making a spectacle of ourselves. If feels like we are in our own drunken bubble of fun as the four of us dance together ignoring everyone on the outside. I chance a look towards Alex's table only to find it empty and the drinks cleared away. Knowing I spoiled his fun is a small token that helps to ease some of the hurt weighing down on my chest.