Saving jay, p.27
Saving Jay, page 27
part #3 of Breaking Free Series
“I need to tell you something, and I need you to hear me out. That means, keep your mouth shut until I’m done. Got it?”
I smiled.
Jade narrowed her eyes at me. “Got it.”
She watched as she put my hand in her lap before looking up at me. “I’m sorry for what I said at the park the other day. It’s not my place to tell you how to handle your relationship with your father.”
I started to respond, but she held up her finger, and I stopped myself.
She looked down at our hands and continued, “You’re such an amazing person, Jay. You’re so thoughtful and generous, and you make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.”
Jade peered up at me, and I glanced at her mouth as my heart started pounding in my chest.
“I thought I was in love with Damon, but when I saw him today…I realized I was wrong. I’ve only ever loved one man…and it’s you. I love you, Jason Clarke.”
Jade
I watched Jay as a smile slowly spread across his face, and it was the best gift he could have given me. I had been so scared to tell him how I really felt, but now that I’d done it, I could say it a million more times.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
Reaching up, Jay stroked my cheek with his thumb, his deep blue eyes staring into mine when he said, “I love you, too, Jade Holliday—more than you’ll ever know.”
The sun was rising outside, the room bathed in its soft glow. We hadn’t slept all night. We had been making up for lost time.
Jay held my wrists above my head as he kissed me on his bed. His narrow hips were between my legs, and I arched my back, trying to get closer.
Breaking our kiss, Jay lifted his head and looked down at me with his heated gaze.
“Say you’re mine,” he whispered as he began pressing himself against my opening, teasing me.
“I’m yours,” I gasped as I tried to lift my hips and bring him closer.
“Tell me you love me,” he whispered again, his eyes still on mine.
“I love you.”
Just as the last word left my lips, Jay’s mouth was on mine again. His tongue swept into my mouth as he inched his hips closer, and he began to enter me. I moaned as he stayed there, unmoving, and his hands on my wrists tightened. His lips left me, and he pressed his forehead against mine, both of us panting, as he closed his eyes.
“I love you, too,” he whispered before he punched his hips forward and filled me.
Oh God.
“Yes! Oh God, yes,” I hissed.
“I don’t ever want to lose you,” he said, as he pulled out and pushed himself back in.
“You won’t.”
“You promise?” he asked as he buried himself deeper.
I moaned and circled my hips against him. “Yes. I promise.”
Jay dropped his head, his forehead in the crook of my neck, as he started moving faster. He let go of my wrists and grabbed my hands where he laced his fingers through mine. I felt my heart filling and expanding in my chest as his love spread through me, healing my soul. This was more than sex. It was more than lovemaking. It was like reuniting with a part of myself that I’d never known was missing.
“I love you,” he whispered again.
I felt myself tightening around him. Jay started moving faster, and I squeezed his hands in mine as I began coming.
“That’s right, baby. Come all over me,” he said.
He started pumping his hips harder and faster, and I did come. Jay lifted his head and kissed me again. My body was overcome by ecstasy as his dick grew harder inside me. I wrapped my legs around him, and he groaned into my mouth as his muscles tightened. Pulling away, I watched as Jay hovered over me. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes closed. He came inside me and took a part of me with him—forever.
Jay
I’d never known love could feel like this. I’d never thought I could give myself so freely to someone the way I had with Jade, but now that I had, I felt closer to peace than ever before.
It was May fifteenth, the day after Jade had told me she loved me, and I was on my stomach with my eyes closed as Jade finished the work of art she’d created on my skin. Just like her ink, she’d marked me forever.
“What are you thinking about?” Jade asked as she wiped my back with a paper towel.
“How much I love you.”
Jade laughed as she dipped her needles in more ink. “Oh. Well, in that case, don’t let me interrupt.”
I smiled and peeked my eyes open just as Trix appeared at the door. He had a look of panic on his face.
“If Dustin asks, I’ve been here all morning,” he said between breaths. He was breathing hard like he’d just finished running.
Jade looked up at him, confused. “What? Why?”
“Just help me out, J. I’ll explain later.”
As I lay there, watching him, I noticed bright pink lipstick on his neck. “You might want to get that lipstick off your neck first.”
Trix’s eyes widened as he quickly covered his neck with his tattooed hand and started rubbing at it.
“Other side,” I muttered.
“Shit,” he clipped as he started rubbing the other side of his neck.
“Oh my God, Trix. Please tell me that you and Cee Cee didn’t—”
Jade stopped talking and froze as we heard the front door to the shop open, the bell ringing. Trix took off running to the restroom down the hall, and a few seconds later, Dustin took his place. He had a black baseball cap on his head and a murderous look on his face.
“Hey, Dustin. What’s up?” Jade asked, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Where is he?”
I looked up at Dustin as he looked between Jade and me.
“Who?” Jade asked.
“Trix,” Dustin growled before he turned to look down the hallway. He started walking away.
“Fuck,” Jade bit out as she put her machine down on her tray. She began pulling off her gloves.
I sat up and held my hand out in front of her. “Stay here,” I said. I got up from the table.
In the next second, Dustin was banging on the restroom door. “Trix! Get your fuckin’ ass out here! Now!”
I walked out into the hallway just as Trix flushed the toilet and opened the door, acting surprised to see Dustin standing there.
“What?”
Dustin didn’t answer. Instead, his hands came out and wrapped around Trix’s throat. “If you ever touch her again, I swear to God, I will fuck you up!” he shouted in Trix’s face.
I ran over to them and tried pulling Dustin back.
“Dustin, stop!” Jade shouted from behind me.
I was finally able to separate them, and I started dragging Dustin backward as he fought to get out of my grasp.
“She’s my little sister, you fuckin’ bastard!” he shouted.
“Dustin, stop! Leave him alone!”
We all turned to see Cee Cee standing at the end of the hall. Her shirt was on backward, and her hair was a mess.
While I was distracted, Dustin got away from me and ran back toward Trix before punching him in the jaw. Cee Cee screamed, and I took off after him again. Trix ended up tackling Dustin to the floor, and they wrestled with each other as I struggled to get a good grip on one of them. I was finally able to pull Dustin off again, and this time, I dragged him out into the lobby.
Dustin had a bloody nose, and he finally stopped fighting me once Trix was no longer in sight.
“Okay. Okay,” he said, panting.
I let him go, dropping him onto the couch.
Jade came up behind me and started yelling at him, “What the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t fight in here!”
Dustin glared up at her, and I decided to defuse the situation before it got worse.
“Jade, baby, why don’t you go check on Trix? I’ve got this.”
Jade stopped scowling at Dustin long enough to glance up at me.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll take him outside.”
“Okay. Be careful with your back,” she muttered, frowning.
I grinned and leaned down to peck her on the lips. “I will.”
Jade made her way back down the hallway, and I turned to look at Dustin.
Tilting my head toward the door, I said, “Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.”
Dustin sighed before getting off the couch and walking toward the door. I followed him outside where he leaned against the brick wall, his eyes squinting against the harsh sunlight since his hat was no longer on his head. Grabbing his T-shirt, he lifted it toward his face before using it to wipe the blood from his nose.
“Motherfucker,” he muttered under his breath.
“You want a smoke?”
He peered up at me, and I held his gaze.
He finally replied, “Yeah.”
Walking over to my car, I opened the passenger door and pulled out the pack of cigarettes I kept in the glove box. I used to smoke when I was in college, and although I’d technically quit years ago, I still always had a pack in my car. I wasn’t sure why, but knowing I could always have one made it easier. They also came in handy at times like this.
Pulling out two from the pack and then grabbing a lighter, I walked back toward Dustin and gave him one. He took it from me and lifted his chin before putting it in his mouth. I licked my lips before holding the cigarette in my mouth and lighting the end. I passed the lighter to him as I took a drag. Dustin lit his before handing it back to me.
We stood there in silence for a while, smoking, when Jade walked out with Cee Cee behind her. Jade looked at me, her eyes flicking to my cigarette. She lifted her eyebrows in surprise, but she didn’t say anything. She glanced over at Dustin, and I saw her mouth twitch.
“Dustin, I’m sorry,” Cee Cee said as she went to stand in front of him.
He turned away, refusing to look at her.
She sighed. “You have to start treating me like an adult. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
Dustin’s jaw clenched, and he took another drag from his cigarette.
“Ugh,” Cee Cee groaned. “You’re such a fucking hypocrite! I’m twenty years old, Dustin! Stop treating me like a fucking baby!”
Dustin tossed his cigarette on the ground before getting in her face. “Stop acting like one then.”
Her eyes widened. “What? I’m more mature than you are!” she shouted.
The people in the parking lot next to us started to stare. Jade groaned and covered her face with her hands.
“That’s enough. Both of you need to chill the fuck out,” I said in a warning tone.
I straightened my back as I exhaled smoke, looking each of them in the eyes.
“Standing out here, yelling at each other, won’t resolve anything. The shop opens in one hour, and Jade needs you.”
Dustin and Cee Cee both looked at Jade, who was standing there with her arms crossed in front of her.
“Why don’t you two go get cleaned up and come back ready to work?”
They glanced at each other before going back inside like reprimanded teenagers.
Jade stood there, watching me, as I took one last drag from my cigarette, and I dropped it onto the ground before stepping on it.
“God, that was so fuckin’ sexy.”
I smirked at her before reaching down and smacking her ass. “Get back to work.”
Jackson came to work about thirty minutes later while Jade was finishing up my tattoo.
“What’s going on with The Three Stooges out there?” he asked as he walked into the back room.
My eyes were closed and Jade began pouring green soap all over my back. I stiffened from the cold.
“Dustin walked in on Trix and Cee Cee…messing around, and Trix jumped out of her window and ran here. They got into a fight over by the bathroom,” Jade said.
Jade started wiping my back with paper towels, and she and Jackson both grew quiet. I opened my eyes to see what they were doing.
“Damn, kid. That’s a real piece of art right there,” Jackson said as he leaned in closer, taking in all the details of my tattoo.
Jade smiled brightly as she continued wiping the soap off my back. “Thanks.” She rolled her chair away when she was done and looked at me. “You ready?”
I pushed myself up and sat on the edge of the table. Jade handed me a mirror, and I smiled at her as I stood up. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like now that it was finished. Turning around so that my back was facing the large mirror on her wall, I held the hand mirror up and looked at its reflection. My jaw went slack as my eyes roamed over the masterpiece on my back. Everything was so detailed—the cracks on the stone walls, the creases in the man’s suit, the ray of sunlight coming in through the window. It was gorgeous and the most badass tattoo I’d ever seen.
“Wow. This is fucking amazing,” I said, glancing down at Jade.
She was watching me with a bright and cheesy smile on her face, and I leaned down to kiss her before looking in the mirror again.
“Well, let me see if I can sort this shit out between Dustin and Trix,” Jackson mumbled as he turned to leave.
“Thanks, Jacks!” Jade shouted after him.
Jackson grunted.
I stood there, staring at the man on the throne. Jade had done a perfect job of making him resemble me, but she’d kept his features simple enough to avoid making it look like a self-portrait on my back. Half of his face was covered in shadow, and his eyes looked penetrating as he stared straight ahead. He looked strong, authoritative, and resolute. I wondered if that was how Jade saw me, if that was how everyone saw me.
I looked at the angel kneeling beside his right arm, her face lifted, as she gazed at him with a look of devotion and love. She reminded me of Jade and the angel she had on her back. I felt Jade’s warmth as she moved in closer to my side and held on to my arm, both of us staring at the art she’d created.
“It’s perfect, Jade. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Jade
After a long day at the shop, I came home to find Jay in his office. He was sitting at his desk with his shirt off, his lamp providing the only light in the room. I’d finished his tattoo that morning, and I loved the way it had turned out. Now that I knew him, I realized it was the perfect representation of him. He was a man with two sides, and I loved them both.
As I walked into the room, Jay turned to look at me.
I smiled. “Hey.”
“Come here,” he said, pushing his chair back and holding his arms out for me.
I went over to him and sat on his lap.
He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder as he looked at me. “Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Jackson helped them work everything out. Thanks for your help this morning. It’s a good thing you were there.”
“I’ll always be here,” he said before placing a soft kiss on my neck.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I looked down at the stacks of papers on his desk.
“Just trying to catch up on some work. I’ve fallen a little behind lately.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
“You can kiss me,” he murmured against my neck.
I laughed because it tickled. Jay pulled away from me and smiled. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“Behave yourself, Mr. Clarke.”
“Kiss me, Ms. Holliday.”
Standing up, Jay watched me as I turned to face him. I straddled his lap, and he tilted his head back as I looked down at him.
“Yes, sir,” I said with a smirk before leaning down and brushing my lips against his.
Jay’s hands moved to my hips, and I ran my tongue along the seam of his lips until he opened them and let me in. Sliding my hands up his bare chest, I let my fingers slide behind his neck and into his hair as I deepened our kiss. Jay groaned as I started grinding my hips on top of him, feeling his arousal between my legs. His rough hands slid under my shirt and up my back just as his phone started ringing. Jay ignored it and unclasped my bra, but I pulled back, breaking our kiss.
“Shouldn’t you answer that?” I asked breathlessly.
Jay put his forehead down on my shoulder and growled before reaching behind me and picking up the receiver. He hit a button and answered, “Jason Clarke.”
The joy slipped from Jay’s face, and I could hear a woman’s frantic voice on the line. Getting off of his lap, I watched as Jay’s eyebrows furrowed, and he tried to listen to the person on the phone.
“Mom, calm down. What happened?”
I could feel my heart beating faster as Jay tried to understand what was going on.
His dad. Oh God, please let him be okay.
I lifted my hand and ran my fingers over my swollen lips as I listened to Jay talk to his mom.
“Where is he now? Is he okay?”
I clasped my bra and looked around the room for Jay’s shirt. I found it lying on the chair behind me. I picked it up and handed it to him as he stood.
“Just stay right there, okay? I’ll get there as fast as I can.”
Hanging up, Jay pulled his T-shirt over his head.
“Is everything all right?”
He glanced at me before picking up his wallet and keys from the desk. “I don’t know. My mom said he was having trouble breathing, and the nurses made her call an ambulance. They think he might have pneumonia.”
“Here, let me drive,” I said, extending my hand for his keys.
“I’m fine.”
“Please?”
Jay looked at me and dropped them into my hand.
He was trying to stay strong, but I could see the worry in his eyes.
“I love you,” I whispered, taking his hand in mine.
“I love you, too.”
Jay
When we got to the hospital, I could feel the finality of my father’s life beginning to sink in. The smell of antiseptic mixed with the sight of sick people and the sound of crying babies made my stomach turn. I wasn’t ready to lose him.
Going to the front desk, Jade asked a nurse about my father, and I watched as the woman glanced at me before pointing down the hall. Jade took my hand in hers, and I followed her, my mind still trying to comprehend everything that was happening.
