Stronger with You (With You Trilogy) (29 page)

“Tell me you understand, Jamie,” Jason pleaded.

I nodded.

“Good,” he breathed a sigh of relief.

“But why didn’t you want me to wear the skirt?” I asked, puzzled.

“Christ, is that where you got the stupid idea that you were fat?” He asked incredulously.

I nodded in embarrassment, feeling my cheeks burning again.

“Jesus, I’m so sorry, Jamie,” he sighed with a pained expression. “I’m an ass.”

I frowned again. “You’re not an ass,” I shook my head.

“I am,” he said, sitting down on the side of the bed and running his hands through his hair again. “I never want you to feel that way, Jamie.”

I crawled onto his lap and pulled his hands away from his hair, feeling sorry for it.
If he keeps seeing me, he’ll be bald by the time he’s thirty
.

“Why didn’t you want me to wear it then?” I asked, placing his hands on my hips and wrapping my own around his neck.

He sighed and looked a little awkward. “I was just being an ass, Jamie. Forget about it,” he shook his head solemnly.

“Jason, please,” I pouted. “Just tell me or I’ll spend all night worrying about it.”

He sighed again and looked a little conflicted. “I thought it was a little… revealing,” he winced guiltily.

“Really?” I asked, my eyebrows rising. “But you’ve never said anything before.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I just didn’t like the idea of everyone else seeing you in it. You’re mine. You’re so beautiful that it blinded me for second and all I could think about was that every other man who sees you will be thinking the same. I feel like a jealous idiot now.” He smiled sheepishly, an apology in his eyes.

“Jason,” I sighed, unsure how I should feel about his little revelation. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you,” he said seriously. “It’s all the assholes that’ll be there tonight that I don’t trust.” He looked so serious I almost giggled at him.

“I’m not interested in anyone else, Jason,” I said, kissing the tip of his nose because he looked adorably worried. “And if any of them get any ideas, I’m pretty good at kicking people in the balls. Ask Craig.”

My joking seemed to placate him a bit and he pulled me closer into him and gave me a deep sensual kiss, which I’d know as an apology-kiss from then on.

We walked out into the lounge together, Jason’s arm around my waist. Craig was lounging on the sofa with Josh and Grayson. He looked up when he heard us enter and frowned, looking me up and down.

“Jelly-” he started but Jason cut him off.

“Don’t even think about it, Carter. She can wear whatever the hell she wants,” he warned.

Craig’s eyes hovered on my bare legs a few seconds longer but he didn’t respond immediately. Jason had insisted that I wear the skirt, but I’d put on a pair of sheer tights in an attempt to placate his jealous streak.

“It’s a bit short, Jellybean,” Craig frowned, standing up and walking over to us.

I saw Josh and Grayson looking at us curiously from behind him. Craig continued to study me and looked like he was having an internal battle with himself. We both knew that if he told me to go back to Jason’s bedroom and get changed then I would. We’d been having such a nice day and I didn’t want to ruin it. For some reason he didn’t though.

“Jelly,” he started eventually, his eyes on me, not Jason. “If I do fight tonight, I’m not going to be able to concentrate if I’m worried about you.” His body language was relaxed and his expression gentle. He wasn’t making demands, he was asking tactfully. “Would you mind putting on something else? Just for tonight.”

I grinned up at him happily. Being asked if I would do something was totally different to not being given any choice. I couldn’t say no to him now.

“Sure,” I smiled, turning back towards the bedroom to get changed.

I figured Jason wouldn’t really mind me getting changed since he hadn’t wanted me wearing a skirt for similar reasons. I didn’t wear the baggy jeans, because they would forever be my ‘fat pants’. I opted for a pair of skinny jeans instead.

“Better?” I smiled, coming back into the lounge.

“Much better,” Craig smiled. “Thanks, sis,” he whispered, pulling me into a tight hug. “Wanna wear my hoody?” He grinned, holding up his club jumper with his team name and sponsors on the back. The twins’ gym logo was on there and it made me smile. I accepted it gladly; I was proud of Craig and the twins.

Craig sat back down on the sofa with Josh. Grayson was sat on the chair next to the sofa. We’d all spent the day together and Craig seemed to get on pretty well with them.

When the time came, we walked together to the fight. Craig carried me on his shoulders half the way there and I felt like my face had frozen in a permanent silly grin. I couldn’t remember having this much fun with any of my brothers for a long time. Craig was being fun and playful all the time. It usually only came in bouts. I realised he hadn’t truly scared or intimidated me the whole time he’d been here. It was brilliant.

“Wait!” I cried when I spotted a small corner shop. “I need to buy something, put me down.”

Craig obliged and stopped so that Jason could lift me down to the pavement.

“What do you need?” Jason asked.

I blushed and tried to give him a look that said, “don’t ask me that!” but for once he didn’t seem able to read my mind.

“Stuff,” I answered, nipping into the shop before he could ask me what I meant.

I heard the door open behind me and panicked for a second that all of them had followed me in but it was just Jason.

“Stuff?” He grinned at me.

I nodded, searching the aisles for the hygiene section.

“If you’re after some lube or sex toys we might want to try a different shop,” he winked at me.

“Perv,” I grumbled, standing on tiptoes to sneak a kiss.

“Wishful thinking I guess,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “Seriously though, what stuff?”

“I just got my period,” I pouted.

“Oh,” Jason frowned, wrinkling his nose. “Er… is there, I mean… do I…”

“What?” I asked, finding a packet of tampons and moving towards the till.

Jason caught my arm, his eyes pleading with me to wait a second. “I erm… Is there something I need to do, or not do?” He asked.

“Are you serious?” I laughed, before I scanned his face and realised he was very serious. “Well, we won’t be having sex if that’s what you mean,” I teased.

“Well I figured that much out,” he grinned, relaxing a little. “I just… it’s not a problem I’ve had before.”

I frowned, not sure what he meant. He seemed to understand my confusion and looked at me guiltily.

“I don’t have any sisters, baby. I never really knew that side of my mum. Periods aren’t really a problem with one night stands.”

Oh. Gross
. But he had a point.

“It’s not a disease, Jason,” I grinned, revelling in his innocence. It wasn’t very often that I knew more about something than Jason did. “You don’t have to
do
anything.”

He squirmed a little awkwardly and began rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. I took pity on him and wrapped my arms around his waist for a hug.

“Honestly though, I haven’t had a period for almost a year so I can’t tell you what to expect,” I shrugged.

“You haven’t had a period for a year?” Craig said from behind me.

I span around to glare at him for interrupting our private conversation and saw him looking mortified behind me.

“Craig!” I frowned. “That’s none of your business.” I continued glaring at him, feeling my cheeks burn.

“Jelly, that’s
really
not normal. You know that, right?” He frowned, looking very serious.

“It’s
really
none of your business,” I repeated, taking my packet of tampons and paying.

“Jelly, I’m serious,” Craig said, grabbing my shoulder and stopping me as I went to leave the shop. “It’s probably because you’re so underweight.”

“Craig, I am not talking to you about this!” I blushed. “The doctor already gave me this lecture. I don’t need it again from you.”

“Are you trying to put some weight on at least?” He sighed.

“Can’t you tell?” I scowled.

“Honestly?” He raised his eyebrows at me as he followed me out of the shop. “No, I can’t. You’re like one of those creepy anorexic models.”

“Dude, no wonder you’re single. That is not how you talk to a woman,” Grayson laughed as we re-joined him and Josh.

“Meh,” Craig shrugged, his playful grin returning. “It’s only Jelly.”

I watched Jason slap the back of Craig’s head with a frown.

“She’s fucking beautiful and you’d do well to remember it,” he warned Craig. “But you’re right, she is a little thin.”

“I am here you know,” I frowned at the two of them. “And stop hitting each other,” I warned, pointing my finger at each of them in turn.

Craig and Jason exchanged a look and both apologised sheepishly. I grinned a little because it was nice being the bossy one for a change.

Simon was waiting for us at the back door of the building where the fights were held. It was the same building as usual and I grinned at how different things were from the first time I’d been there.

“Carter,” Simon grinned, giving my brother the compulsory, one-armed, manly hug. “You’re looking a little flabby, too many mince pies?” He asked, poking Craig in the stomach.

I laughed out loud because there wasn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on Craig. He’d weigh less than I did if he didn’t have so much muscle. Craig looked horrified at the accusation and I bent over, clutching my stomach and trying to catch my breath.

“You laughing at me, Jellybean?” Craig raised his eyebrow at me, smirking slightly.

“Only because the notion of you being flabby is hilarious,” I grinned at him.

“See now I knew there was a reason why you’re my favourite sister,” he beamed back, kissing the top of my head as we followed Simon into the building.

“Your only sister,” I reminded him.

“The twins are kind of like girls when they’re hungry,” he shrugged. “All that bitching and whining.”

“I’ll tell them you said that,” I threatened, not bothering to point out that he was almost as bad as they were when deprived of sustenance.

“You wouldn’t,” he eyed me suspiciously.

“It’ll cost you,” I grinned.

“Oh really,” he grinned. “And what will it cost me?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” I retorted, loving how playful he was being.

He laughed and pushed open the door to the back room, holding it open for me. He knew I wouldn’t really tell them. Even if I did, they’d probably just find it funny and smack him on the back of the head. Unless they were in a bad mood, in which case he could just placate them with a mountain of food.

We’d arrived a couple of hours early because Craig had promised to spar with Josh and Grayson, much to their delight. There were only a few people already there so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

I watched as the guys dropped their sports bags and began stripping down to their skivvies. I was about to offer to leave the room when I noticed that Jason was stripping down too.

“What are you doing?” I asked him curiously.

“Getting changed, what does it look like?” He grinned at me, but he seemed a little uncertain.

“Are you going to spar?” I prompted.

He shrugged and turned his back to me whilst he stripped off. I did my best not to get distracted by his almost naked body and the way his muscles rippled underneath his skin with every movement. The way his tattoo moved on his back when he tensed his shoulders. I wasn’t doing a very good job of not getting distracted so I looked over at Craig instead.

I saw him exchange a look with Jason and I looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out what the look meant.

“Jason…” I prompted, hoping he’d tell me what was going on without me having to nag him too much.

He sighed and turned back to look at me, pulling a pair of shorts on. He was still bare-chested and still very distracting. I bit my lip and forced myself to look at his face instead of drooling at him.
God, I’m worse than Shana
, I thought to myself, grinning inwardly because I could look at him as much as I wanted –
he’s mine
.

“Promise you won’t freak out?” Jason said, drawing me away from admiring my sculpted man.

I, of course, immediately started freaking out. Craig came to stand by Jason, already starting to wrap his hands. The other three were listening to the interaction with matching expressions of curious interest and amusement.

“Jason….” I repeated, my freak out escalating because both he and Craig looked cautious.

“I was gonna fight tonight,” Jason shrugged, looking a little awkward. “Ben’s fine with it,” he added quietly, his eyes scanning my face anxiously.

“You’re going to fight?” I asked, still absorbing the information as he nodded. That was fine, we’d already talked about. I knew how much it meant to him. “Who are you going to-” Realisation dawned and I stared wide-eyed at Jason and Craig.
They can’t be serious!

“No!” I yelled. “No way! You can’t do this!” I’d seen them spar and I was fine with that but this was different. This was a fight. A fight meant somebody had to lose. It was way more serious than sparing because they’d both be out to win. I’d seen how competitive they were with each other. I couldn’t see this ending well.

“Jelly, calm down,” Craig frowned, taking a step towards me and putting his hand on my shoulder.

I pulled away from him because I was still having trouble processing this.

“Jamie, please, it’s okay,” Jason tried to assure me.

“I can’t watch you getting hurt again, Jason.” I shook my head emphatically, images of his battered body plaguing my mind.

I felt Jason wrap his arms around me, my wet face pressed against his bare chest. I smelt his delicious scent through my sniffling. It had its usual soothing effect on me and I found myself relaxing as he stroked my hair gently with one hand.

“I don’t want you two to hurt each other,” I whimpered, stepping back a little from Jason but keeping my arms around his waist.