A couple of minutes later, my headphones were ripped out of my ears and J stood in my bedroom, staring down at me. I couldn’t pick his mood. He seemed mildly annoyed but at the same time, he had a soft look in his eyes.
I moved off the bed so I was face to face with him. “What are you doing here, J?”
“Came to say happy birthday.” His voice was soft. It did things to me and I mentally cursed him; it wasn’t fair that he could make me feel this way when I was so upset with him.
“Thanks.”
His eyes scanned my face. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for but I figured he hadn’t found it when he muttered, “Fuck. This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
Good God, he confused the shit out of me. “What isn’t going to be easy?”
His chest rose and fell in a heavy movement. “Us.”
“What, our friendship?” I really wished we were doing this on any other day than today. Today I wasn’t feeling the best so I was struggling to keep up with him.
A look crossed his face and then he appeared to settle something in his mind. He grabbed my hand and began walking us out of the bedroom.
“Where are we going?” I asked while trying to slow him down by pulling back.
It was futile though; he just kept powering through the house and out the front door. He let go of my hand once we were outside so that he could lock the front door.
“Where did you get a key for my house?” I had no clue that he had that key.
“Scott gave it to me. We’ve both got one in case you ever needed us.”
He said that like it was the most normal thing in the world. As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t. “I want that key back. And Scott’s too. You guys don’t need to worry about me.”
His amused eyes landed on mine and he shook his head. “Not going to happen, babe.”
Before I could say anything else, he grabbed my hand again and directed us to his bike. He handed me a helmet and indicated for me to put it on.
Again, I argued. “Tell me where we’re going.”
“Got a place I want to show you.” He pointed at the helmet and then the bike. “Put it on and get on the bike.”
I assessed the situation and decided it was just going to be easier to do what he said so I did. Moments later his bike roared to life and we took off. I held onto him tightly and eventually relaxed. Having grown up around bikes my whole life, I loved being on the back of one. And being on the back of J’s, with my arms wrapped around him, felt amazing. Exhilarating. It felt like I was home, and I had no idea where that thought came from, but it was what was swirling around my mind.
Just under an hour later, he pulled the bike off the road and killed the engine. We were at Mt Glorious. It was beautiful but I was curious as to why he’d brought me here. He led me along a path until we eventually came to a small clearing. I’d been to Mt Glorious before; it was a great ride on a bike. But I’d never been to this particular part of it. The view was stunning. We could see out across the valley and it was just beautiful. There was no-one else around and the sounds of any cars were muted by the bush. There really was only one word to describe what my senses were getting from all of this; peace. It was peaceful here and it calmed me.
J was watching me quietly while I took all of this in. Finally, I looked at him and asked, “Why are we here, J?”
He nodded slowly. “This is where I come when I need to clear the shit out of my head.”
“Okay,” I said, waiting for him to go on.
“I’ve been coming here a lot over the last six months.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Had a lot of shit to clear out, I take it.”
His mouth curved up slightly in a small grin. “Yeah, you could say that, babe.”
“Okay, so tell me. What’s this got to do with me?”
“Everything.” He was watching me intently. It looked like he had a lot to say but he was holding back for some reason.
“Goodness, J. You need to get to the point. I don’t have the patience today to -“
He cut me off. “This is where I decided to make you mine.” His words were rough but tender if that was even possible.
Whoosh. The butterflies took hold of my stomach at those words. I was speechless.
He continued. “Been thinking about you for the past six months, Madison. Can’t get you out of my fucking mind. So, I’ve been coming here to think. Last night, after I screwed the fuck up with you, I came here. And I decided you’d be mine before today was over.”
He was so bossy. I’d never had a guy like J before, but standing there, listening to him claim me like a caveman, I knew that I was ruined for all men. J was going to ruin me and consume me, and I was going to let him.
I moved into him at the same time that he reached his hand out and wrapped it around my neck to pull me closer. Our lips found each other and he began to ruin me. Our bodies were pressed together, our hands were on each other and I came alive under his touch. Desire spread through me as I fought to get even closer to him, as I gave myself over to this kiss.