by K. B. Webb
“Not at all. I swear. I should have told her weeks ago, I know, but I have been trying to find the perfect way to do it. She is protective of me Jasmine, and I know that in no way excuses her actions last night, but she thinks she knows what’s best for me. She doesn’t have any family, so she becomes very protective of her friends.”
“That’s no excuse for her to treat me like shit or for you to allow it.” I regretted the words as they left my mouth. Yes, Jasmine has Jason, but that’s really the only family she has. “I know what it feels like to not have family and be protective of your friends. Dani is everything to me, but I still wouldn’t have let her berate you for any reason at all. It was fucked up. Period.”
“You’re right, you are so right and I am so so sorry Jasmine, really.”
“Do you want this Ryan? Me and you, do you want this to work?”
I look up from my coffee cup and stare at her. I can tell she is exhausted, mentally and physically, but she is still the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. It’s not just her looks that are beautiful though, no, Jasmine is just a beautiful person inside and out. I never thought about settling down. I didn’t think a relationship was something I needed, or wanted, in my life right now, but Jasmine Slade has this amamzing way of making me rethink everything. There is no part of our relationship that I feel is lacking. We’re comfortable together in every way. We laugh together constantly and just have this way of getting each other in a way I have never had with another person. And our sexual chemistry tops any experience I ever had. I have fucked up a lot of things in my life, but I will not fuck this up.
“Yes. Yes I do Jasmine, so damn much. You just tell me what I need to do to prove that to you.”
“I want to tell Jason. I don’t know what that will mean for your job, but I don’t think it can be anything good.”
I don’t want to lose my job. I fucking love my job, but I also won’t let it stand in between Jasmine and I any longer. All of the shit we have been through in the last 24 hours could have been avoided if we had just told everyone, including Jason, about us weeks ago.
“I can handle whatever happens Jasmine. What else?”
“I want you to tell Molly.”
“I have every intention of going to see her today and tell her. I also plan to figure out why the hell she thinks it’s OK to be such a bitch to you, because it’s not OK at all and I’m going to tell her that.”
“I don’t want to cause tension between y’all. I just don’t get what her problem is.”
“I don’t either, but like I said, I will find out. And, you’re not causing tension. If anything, Molly’s shitty attitude is causing tension between you and I, and I don’t like that shit. I’m going to put a stop to it.”
“Anything else?”
“Um… yea, you may want to call Dani. She stood up for you initially last night but after she saw my crying, she changed her mind. If you don’t talk to her you are going to have a crazy red head trying to kick your ass.”
I laugh, “I think I could take her, but I’ll call her anyway. She needs to know that I have no intention of making her best friend cry ever again.”
She looks up at me with hope in her eyes, “Promise?”
“Promise.” I pat my legs and she stands, walking around the table and sitting down in my lap. I use both hands to push her hair out of her eyes and grip her face in mine, pulling her down so that her mouth is just inches from mine. “I am so sorry Jasmine.”
“I’m sorry too. I won’t run from you anymore when I get upset or shit gets hard.”
“Good. If this is going to work, we’re going to have to work on it together, and I really want this to work.”
“I do too.” I kiss her, pulling her body against mine. Job be damned, I will not lose this girl. I have never been a sappy, feelings kind of guy when it comes to relationships, but Jasmine brings out that side of me.
“How about I cook you pancakes?”
“Mmmm, those do sounds good right now. I think I need to make a phone call so that works.”
She kisses me again, this time with a smile on her face the whole time. We grab our coffee cups and both walk inside. She heads for the kitchen and I head to my room grabbing my cell phone. I glance at the clock and see it’s just after 6.
“Hey baby, do you think Dani’s up right now?”
She sticks her head around the corn of the kitchen so I can see her, “Um, not sure. She’s usually an obnoxiously early riser, but she was up late last night. I guess you won’t know unless you call and find out.”
I laugh and nod at her before walking outside. God, I pray she’s awake. She’s already pist at me, the last thing I need is for her to have another reason to chew my ass out.
Her phone rings a few times before an obviously still sleeping Lucas answers.
“What?”
“Damn dude, sorry, I was just calling to talk to Dani.”
“You work everything out with Jasmine?”
“Yep, that’s why I need to talk to Dani. From what I can gather she’s pretty pist at me.”
“That’s a fucking understatement. Hold on,” I hear him telling Dani the phone is for her, but he comes back on the line before he hands it to her. “I’m glad y’all worked it all out. I really didn’t want to kick your ass.” I laugh but don’t get to respond before he hands the phone to Dani.
“Ryan, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up.”
“Shit Dani, I’m sorry. Jasmine said you might be awake.”
“Well, seeing as I was up talking to a crying Jasmine, I didn’t go to sleep until like an hour ago.”
“That’s the reason I’m calling.”
“I figured that, so I’m going to say some things before you do, K?”
I don’t speak. I hear her tell Lucas she will be right back and then there’s a long pause before I hear the flick of a lighter and her taking a drag from her cigarette.
“You’re a mother fucker Ryan Davis.” Well, she’s definitely not going to hold anything back. “I defended you when Jasmine came to me upset about that blond chick being all over you. I told her that she needed to give you the benefit of the doubt, but then you had to go and be a major fucking jack ass.”
“Dani, look, Jasmine just spent the last hour talking about everything, I know I messed up but I had no intentions of doing anything with Casey.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that you even, for a second, let that girl think she had a chance with you. When you did that you made Jasmine question everything about whatever the hell it is y’all are doing. You should have manned the fuck up and told her that you weren’t interested from the very start and this would have never happened.”
“I know that, but I felt kind of pushed in a corner by Molly, and well, I handled everything badly.”
“That’s another thing. I don’t know what Molly’s fucking problem is. Lucas told me about the shit she said to Jasmine last night and I have witnessed her first hand blatantly ignoring her. I know she’s your friend, hell she’s mine too, but I will be damned if someone is going to talk down to Jasmine. You bitched out when she started running her mouth to Jasmine, and I’m really fucking pist about that.” She pauses and I can hear an audible deep breath on her end of the line. “I swear on everything that I love Ryan, if Molly ever, and I mean fucking ever, talks shit like that to Jasmine again and I find out you just let that shit slide, I will let out a Texas sized can of whoop ass on you and Molly. I don’t give a fuck how big and bad you or Molly think y’all are, I will fuck your world up.”
“You would have every right to do that.”
“Jasmine is fucking amazing. She is selfless and when she loves, she loves with everything she has. And even though I know she hasn’t said it to you, she fucking loves you, and she deserves for you to feel the same way about her. If you can’t do that Ryan, if you can’t whole heartedly love her and stand up for her when she needs it, then you need to end things with her right now.
That girl has been through enough heartache in her life, the last thing she needs is for you to fuck her over because you aren’t man enough to handle everything that comes with being with her.”
“I completely agree, but I am ready to deal with everything.”
“Even Jason? I love Jason, I really do, but he is way too hard on Jasmine sometimes, and when he finds out y’all are together, it’s going to be bad. Are you willing to not only stand up for her, but pick up the pieces when he crushes her? Because he will Ryan. I know you’ve seen him blow up at her once, but that was nothing. I have seen him tear Jasmine down in 2 minutes flat, and when that happens she’s not strong, confident, 22 year old Jasmine anymore. She turns into a broken little girl and she needs someone to be there for her. She needs someone to protect her, and if you’re going to be with her you need to be that person.”
I take a deep breath and think about what Dani just said. I have had my ass chewed by Jason Slade and I know that shit ain’t pretty. I can only imagine how bad it is for Jasmine though. Jason is really the only family she has left that she is actually close with, and despite how she likes to act sometimes, she values his opinion. I know that he isn’t going to approve of she and I being together, but I just pray that he isn’t too hard on her. I really don’t want to kick Jason’s ass, but I will if he hurts Jasmine.
“I want to be that person, I really do. I can deal with whatever shit Jason throws at me, and I’m not afraid to go to bat for Jasmine if he starts shit with her.”
“Good, that’s what I want to hear. Now, I’m going to go try to sleep a little because I gotta work tonight.”
“Alright. Sorry for calling so early.”
“It’s cool. Just don’t make it a habit of having to call me to apologize for breaking my friend’s heart, because I swear if you do that shit again, I will kick you balls so hard you will never have children.”
I laugh, but I know she’s serious. Dani may be more than a foot shorter than I am, but she’s feisty, and protective of Jasmine, as she should be.
“I don’t ever plan to have to do this again, so I think my balls are safe.”
“Well for their sake you better pray you’re right. Now, go make my best friend happy because she deserves it.”
“She does, and I plan to. Call me if someone needs a ride later, alright.”
“You got it Superman.” She hangs up before I have a chance to respond.
If Dani was that harsh with me and she actually likes me, I can only imagine how Molly will take it. I almost call her and ask her what the hell her problem is, but I decide I need to have that conversation in person. Since I can’t talk to Molly though, I call the one person I always go to for advice, my mom.
“Hey sweetie. You’re up early. Everything alright?”
“Hey mom. Yea, I haven’t slept much, but besides that everything is good. Well, it’s kind of good.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate on what that means.”
“Well, I am likely going to get fired today or tomorrow, but I met a fantastic girl who I can’t wait for you to meet.”
“You’re getting fired!” It’s a statement, not a question. My mom knows I have never been fired from anything in my life, so I’m sure this a shock for her.
“Yea, the girl and the job kind of tie in together. Ya see, I’m dating my boss, well one of my bosses. Her name is Jasmine and she and her brother, Jason, co-own Slade Fitness. Jason had told me that I wasn’t allowed to date Jasmine, and if I did, I would be fired, and well, I’m dating her now so you can figure out that rest.”
“Oh son, what have you gotten yourself into?”
“I know it sounds bad mom, but it’s not as bad as you think. Jasmine is an amazing girl. We’ve actually been together for about a month, but we’ve been keeping it a secret so that her brother didn’t find out. She doesn’t want to be the reason I lose my job.”
“Well if they co-own the company doesn’t she have just as much say in things as he does?”
“You would think that, but he’s the majority shareholder. He owns 51% and she owns 49%, so he can override her decisions.”
“OK.” She pauses for a few minutes and I know she is trying to get her thoughts together before she responds.
“Are you going to resent her if you do lose your job? I know you really love that job.” I hadn’t even thought of resenting Jasmine for losing my job. This was just as much, if not more, my decision as hers. I can’t fault her for losing my job when I knew that being with her could lead to that.
“I do love my job, but, this girl mom, she’s not like anyone I have ever met. She’s really special, and well, she’s worth it. There will be more jobs, but I don’t think there will be more Jasmine’s.”
“Well then, congratulations son, I’m happy if you’re happy.”
“Do you really mean that mom?”
“I do. Ryan, since you’re brother died,” she takes in a shaky breath and I know she is trying not to cry. She still can’t talk about Colt without tearing up. “Since Colt died, you have put everyone else and their wants and needs ahead of your own. Taking a chance with this girl, Jasmine, is something you’re doing for you. Because of that, I am really happy for you.”
“Well I’m glad you feel that way, but I don’t think everyone agrees with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for some reason, Molly doesn’t seem to really like Jasmine, and she doesn’t even know we’re together. I can only imagine how she will act once she knows. I really don’t get what her problem is mom. Jasmine hasn’t done anything to deserve for Molly to be as rude to her as she is.”
“Well honey, you know Molly, she’s very protective of you. I just can’t imagine her being openly rude without a reason. Maybe you need to go talk to her.”
“I plan on doing that later today. I really want this to work with Jasmine. I don’t want whatever is going on with Molly to mess that up.”
“Ryan, just remember that Molly is family. Give her the benefit of the doubt until you find out what’s going on. Like I said, there has to be a reason for her behavior.” I hope she’s right. Molly may be my best friend, but Jasmine is, well Jasmine is my girlfriend, and I know that Jasmine hasn’t done anything to deserve Molly treating her like shit. I have to put a stop to this before I gets worse.
“So on a happier note, when are you going to bring Jasmine to visit? I have to meet the girl who has stolen my son’s heart.”
I laugh. She sounds happy, really truly happy, for the first time in a long time. “Soon mom, I promise.”
We talk for a few more minutes about random things. She tells me all about the volunteer work she is doing at her church and how my dad has been working constantly. He owns his own landscaping business, so summers are his busiest time of the year. I promise her I will visit soon and bring Jasmine with me. She promises to make strawberry cake whenever we are there.
“I love you mom.”
“I love you too sweetie, and I am so happy for you. It makes my heart happy to know my son has found love.”
“I never said I loved her mom.”
“Ryan,” there’s a smile in her voice, “I’m your mother. You didn’t have to tell me.”
We get off the phone and I sit outside for a few more minutes thinking of what my mom and Dani said. My mom says she knows I love Jasmine and Dani says she knows Jasmine loves me. Are they right? Isn’t it too early for either of us to be in love?
“You all done out here?” Jasmine walks out on the porch holding two large plates full of pancakes covered in syrup.
“I sure am.”
“Good, I didn’t want these to get cold.” She sets the plates down on the balcony table and walks back inside to grab forks and two cups of coffee.
She sits our coffee down and hands me a fork. I look up at her and instantly smile. She is covered in flour, but for the first time today, she looks happy.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
/> “Because you’re beautiful.”
She just laughs and sits down, “just shut up and eat your pancakes.”
An hour later, after Jasmine and I have both cleared our plates and sat outside talking about nothing yet everything, she heads inside to clean the kitchen. She tells me to relax and watch boy TV, aka ESPN. I try to do that for a few minutes but can’t really get into anything they’re talking about, so I decide to join her in the kitchen to help her clean.
She’s standing at the sink washing dishes. Her shorts, if you can even call them that, fit perfectly showing off her ass and long legs. Her tank top is a light color of pink and I can tell she’s not wearing a bra. She’s got her hair tied up in one of those messy knot things on the top of her head, showing off her neck.
I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist before kissing her neck.
She laughs and tries to pull away, “I’m trying to do your dishes.”
I turn the water off and take a step back, turning her around at the same time.
“Fuck the dishes.” I bend down and throw her over my shoulder. She instantly starts laughing and yelling at me to put her down, but I ignore her. I walk straight to my bedroom and once we’re beside my bed, I throw her down on it. She lands with a thud and a bounce, causing her tits to move up and down under her thin shirt.
“Well now that you have me where you want me, what are you going to do?” She has a playful tone to her voice and a bit of a smile on her lips.
I answer her, in all seriousness, “everything.”
I start by lifting her right leg and kissing her ankle, moving my way up. I run my nose along the indention between her thigh and her sweet pussy. I continue kissing as I move upwards. She laughs softly when I kiss her stomach, but her laughter stops when I pull her shirt off, exposing her breasts. I kiss each one, making sure I never actually make contact with her hard nipples. I finally reach her neck, and run my tongue along the base up to her ear before biting down slightly on her earlobe. The deep breaths and moans coming from her mouth are the hottest sounds I have ever heard.