Sweet Cheeks (17 page)

The lights are not on downstairs, so I figure Tanning must have left with his cousin, or went out somewhere else, and I’m relieved.

I go into the kitchen and take a swig from my water bottle, then grab an apple off the counter. I’m not really hungry, but need to keep eating for Treasure Pot. I grab my keys and bag off the counter top, then lock the door behind me.

I drive into town and pull up outside the Brew. There are a heap of cars here. The dance nights are gathering momentum with the solid tourist trade, and it’s becoming a hotspot on a Friday night. I’ve already text Candy to let her know I’ve had a change of plan and will be joining her and the girls. I rub over my large bump and get out of my car, making my way into the bar. The music is so loud. Louder than I’m used to, that, or I’ve aged a decade since coming here last month.

The bar is pumping with people grinding on the dance floor. Guess Friday night has that appeal. And once I was all up in that action. Not so much now, but I can pretend. I spy my girls at a table in the corner. It’s only eight thirty but they already look like they’re half way to being drunken messes. Candy is standing clinking her glass around the table and swaying to the music.

I’m just about to go over and say hi, when I’m grabbed from behind and pulled into a dark corner of the dance floor. Two hands are holding my hips tight, and I wrangle to get myself free.

“Not so fast, little Jen, Jen. I was hoping you’d show up tonight.”

Jesus, its Jason. God I forgot he was in town. I shiver at his voice and the way his hands are gripping me in a possessive hold.

“You’re looking smoking hot, babe.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh, you know what I want. Been wanting it for a very long time. The wet dreams I used to have about you, sweetheart...”

Ew ... he is so gross. I was only thirteen.

“Let me go.”

“Nah, I don’t think so. Been wanting to have a little chat with you.”

This day just keeps going from bad to worse.

“I don’t want to chat, let me go,” I bite out through clenched teeth.

Then he’s breathing in my ear, and I nearly hurl. “Oh, but you will, when you find out what I have to tell you.”

I close my eyes. “I’m sure I have no interest in anything you have to say.”

He grinds into me from behind and leans over my shoulder, holding my hips even firmer. To anyone else, it must look like we’re dancing along with all these other hot bodies.

“You interested in your baby, and keeping it.”

What the hell!

I spin around so fast, I nearly trip over. “What did you just say?”

“Oh, now the mama cat has claws. Settle down, kitten.”

I am so close to slapping his face right now, that or ripping his throat out. He pats my head and I shirk away from him.

“Stop that. I am not your kitten.”

“You wanted to be once, do you remember little Jen, Jen.”

God, I do, and my face flames with embarrassment.
How does this guy still get to me after all these years?

“I was a stupid kid. One that you had no trouble taking advantage of, and tormenting the shit out of.”

“You asked for it, I just gave it to you.”

I clench my fists, there is no point dredging up old history with this loser. I can’t go back there.

“Tell me what you meant about my baby. Tell me now.”

He tilts his head. “Give me a kiss first, and then I might.”

“I’d rather kiss a dead rat.”

He laughs. “Oh, baby girl, you’ve gotten all hot and feisty. I am so going to enjoy you.”

“You won’t get near me, now tell me, or I’m going to ring the sheriff, and tell him what you were
playing
with the other day.”

At that, his face loses the smug grin. His eyes darken, the playful look has gone and he looks downright dangerous. “Now that would be a mistake.”

I can't help but cringe. “Okay, just tell me what you want and we can keep that our secret.”

He yanks on my arm and pulls me closer, his black eyes are locked on mine, and I can see the red lines and dark circles underneath.

“I heard about your little trick on Travis.”

What? How the hell does he know Travis?

I frown.

He grins. “Yeah, seems like you pulled a prank on my best customer.”

“Customer?”

“Travis, is a bit high strung these days. The thought of being a new daddy is taking its toll. He needs a bit of help to stay
calm
.”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Daddy, puhleeease ... he’s not daddy material.”

“You sure saw to that. Only problem is, I happen to know you can’t draw up paperwork without either party consulting a lawyer, your little scam would be chucked out of court. That bit of paper means absolutely nothing.”

I bite my lip, wondering how this drug head, has any idea about the law.

He chuckles. “Yeah, I'm not the dumbass you think I am. I did a law major before dropping out of college. And my aunt is a lawyer, so I checked it all out.”

“Why would you do that? Why are you even interested?”

He leans closer and I can smell the sweet, sickly scent of pot on his breath. “Because, sweetheart, I want you. I never forgot about you. And I always vowed that if I ever came back, I’d find you. And I’d have you.”

He trails his finger over my arm and I shiver, but not from lust. His touch makes me want to scream. This is my worst nightmare. He still scares the crap out of me. My heart is racing and my palms are sweating. I am so out of my league here. I have no idea what I’m going to do.

I can’t risk Travis finding out I've screwed with him. He’s not going to forgive easily, whether he wants Treasure Pot or not. And now that he’s all caught up with drugs, he could potentially keep asking me for money. Money I don’t have.

This is a colossal mess of epic proportions. My options are getting less and less. I have no one to help me. Cam or Tanning didn’t ask to be caught up in my problems, and I have no intention of letting them get involved with a drug dealer like Jason.

Shit, shit and more shit.

“I’m waiting, baby,” Jason says in my ear and bites my earlobe, sucking it into his disgusting mouth.

Oh holy Christ!

“O... Okaaay,” I stutter.

He pulls me into his arms. “Say that again.”

“Okay, okay ... we can , we can ... hook up. But..”

“No, buts baby...”

I’m shaking all over. “Can, we wait until I have the baby. I’m not exactly hot stuff right now, and it wouldn’t be that good. And  ... and I want to make it good for you.” I nearly throw up at those last words.

He slips his hand up under my top and rubs over my belly, and I nearly lose it. I don’t want him anywhere near me, or my baby. I can’t stand it. I feel like ants are crawling all over my skin. My stomach clenches and I swallow down the bile.

“You feel so good. We could do other stuff. Oh, I’ve dreamed of doing so much stuff to you ...”

Oh god. My legs are going to give way, I can feel it.

Then I’m yanked out of his arms, into other arms. And I can feel the tears streaming down my face. Thank god. I know another second and I would have passed out.

“What the hell are you doing with my girlfriend?” I hear a voice say, and it’s the sweetest sound.

I bite down hard on my trembling lips. I’m really going to lose it. I can feel the sobs and I’m trying to hold them back, but I’m so scared and I’m so lost. I can’t take much more.

Beautiful hands are stroking my hair, and I choke out a sob.

“It's okay Jen, it's okay,” Tanning says into my hair and kisses my head.

Now I really lose it, and I’m crying and sobbing. I have no idea where Jason has gone but my guess is, he’s taken one look at Tanning and run away, like the coward he is. He may be built like a bouncer, but he’s the biggest pussy.

Tanning is moving me out of the bar, my face is muffled into his chest and my eyes are closed, the tears spilling onto his shirt. Then he’s opening a door and the chilled night air hits me and I snuggle closer to his warmth. God, I need to be in his arms. I need him so much.

“Jen, I’m going to put you in the car, you need to let me go for a minute.”

I didn’t realise how tight I was clinging to his shirt, I’ve got him in a death grip. How pathetic am I? I manage to loosen my hold and I’m still shaking all over. Tanning helps me into the warmth of the leather seats, clicks my seatbelt in place and shuts the door.

I’m so cold. I can’t remember being this cold, and my teeth won’t stop chattering.

I hear Tanning’s door open and he reaches across and puts his jacket over me. I’m instantly surrounded by his scent and warmth and the shaking starts to subside.

He turns on the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot in record speed.

I have no idea, what questions he’s going to ask, and I have no idea what answers I’m going to give, but I have a feeling there’s no turning back, or trying to hide after tonight.

NiNeTeeN

_________________________

Tanning hasn’t spoken to me the whole trip home, and I’m grateful. I needed the time to gather my thoughts and pull myself together. Boy, did I lose it big time.

We park in the drive and Tanning shuts off the engine. He doesn’t say anything and gets out. I give a sigh, wipe my eyes ready to yank on my door handle, when my door opens and Tanning wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me down. I love his arms around me and I don’t want him to let go. My knees still feel weak and I’m really tired. Knowing I have to stop leaning on him, I try to pry free, but he grips me tighter and continues to carry me into the house.

He’s really not making it easy to keep up this whole friend thing.

When we get inside, he turns on the lights and sets me down on the couch, then disappears and I hear him switch on the kettle. I wait until he comes back carrying a large steaming mug.

“Here, drink this. Then we’ll talk,” Tanning says, in a husky voice, handing me the drink.

Raspberry herbal tea, my favorite. He is so sweet.

There is absolutely no way I can get out of this. So I take a sip and lean back into the couch.

I want to close my eyes and forget the whole day happened, but that won’t be possible with Tanning. He’ll want an explanation. Hell, I would too, after my performance tonight. Talk about a drama queen.

“Who was that guy, Jen, he looked a little familiar?” Tanning asks as he takes a seat on the chair opposite me.

I open my eyes. “His, name’s Jason and he was a few years ahead of us at school. He left town when we were in Junior High.”

“And now, he’s back.”

I nod and bite my lip.

“So, what happened tonight? Why did you look so scared of him?”

I bite my lip harder.

“Jen, tell me. Or I’ll find him and ask him myself.”

Shit, I can’t let that happen.

“Um ... he was just a little mean to me in High School, and he started hitting on me tonight and it kind of brought back bad memories.”

“Mean to you? How was he mean to you?”

God, I’ve never told anyone this. I’ve buried all that time dark and deep.

“You know, kid stuff. He was a bit of a bully.”

“He bullied
you
?” There is incredulity to his tone. I get why. Knowing the infamous mean girl, Jennifer Jaimeson, actually had a dose of her own medicine, would blow most people's minds.

I let out a big sigh. “It was a long time ago. I don’t remember much.”

I’m lying. I remember it all, every single day. Every snide, derogatory comment. Every dig at how pathetic I was.

“You’re lying.”

I suck my lower lip into my mouth. “Please, Tanning, can we just drop it, I’m really tired and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No. You and me. We’re gonna talk. No more diversion tactics, Jen. Do you understand?”

Now he goes all alpha male on me. Normally I’d be so turned on by that tone, but not now. Now, I want to stamp my foot and tell him to leave me alone, because I really don’t want to talk about it.

Tears are stinging my eyes again, and my stomach is clenched tight. Tanning moves across the room and settles in next to me, stretching his arm around my back and pulling me close, so that my head is resting on his strong chest. We fit together so well, and I want to stay here wrapped up in him forever.

He kisses the top of my head, and my automatic response is to lift my head to look into his beautiful green eyes. Oh, boy, not the move I should be making, because now his face is so close to mine and I can’t pull away. My eyes trail down to focus on his perfect, soft kissable lips, and I lick my own. Wow, the heat in the room just skyrocketed. But this time Tanning doesn't turn, or look away, instead he lowers his lips to mine and kisses me.

Now my world is spinning out of control, as he cups my face with both his hands and I part my lips to let him deepen the kiss. Oh god, he tastes so sweet and this is so much better than that first kiss, a kiss I thought couldn’t get any better. I wrap my arms around his neck and dig my fingernails into his scalp. He moans into my mouth and I’m so turned on right now, I could literally travel to the stars. He moves me onto his lap and starts to move his hands up and down my back, making my body tingle in all the good places.

I have no idea, where I get the strength, or the stupid idea from, but I pull away. We are both out of breath and Tanning looks at me with smouldering eyes, and I nearly lose my resolve and kiss him again, but I somehow manage to put a bit of distance between us.

“Tanning. We said we wouldn’t do this again,” I say softly, my voice still husky with lust.

He continues to caress my back and wraps his arms tighter around me, then nuzzles his head into my neck whispering, “You’re killing me. I can’t stay away from you. I want you.”

Holy shit!

I’ve longed to hear him whisper words like that. I’ve dreamt about it most nights in fact. So why the next words tumble from my lips, I have no idea.

“You might regret it.”

He pulls away so fast and tips my chin, forcing me to look into his beautiful eyes. “I only regret I waited this long. Seeing you tonight in that Jason guy’s arms nearly did me in. And then seeing how scared you were, all I could think of was protecting you. Jen, you have absolutely no idea, how hard it’s been for me to stay away from you.”