A/N: WOW thanks so much for all the new favs and the reviews to the last chapter. Even to the one that was written in Portugese – thank god google translate exists! :D
Also thanks to the ones who congratulated me yesterday on twitter, fb, per pm, etc!
Now there is another birthday to celebrate today! My cookie Totorsg turns… let's just say she's getting old hehehe ;) Because it's your birthday, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to you, my February birthday sister
Oki Have lots of fun reading guys, this chapter is going to be a bit calmer, but action will follow soon!
(12)
Jane stared puzzled at the chocolate covered woman lying on the table in front of him. Erica raised an eyebrow, before she seductively popped a strawberry into her mouth and licked her finger afterwards.
He shook his head as if trying to rip his gaze away from the image. What the hell was going on? How did Erica get here and why the heck was she naked? Oh God, Teresa must think the worst of him. He hadn't told her about Erica at all, because for him, they broke up the moment he left New York and went to LA to fix Mashburn's deal. This woman didn't take no for an answer.
The moment the elevator doors pinged, Jane suddenly realized that Teresa was gone. Damn it!
"Teresa, wait!" he called and turned around, running towards the elevators, but he was too late. The doors closed right in front of him and the last thing he saw was Teresa's teary eyes.
"Fuck!" Jane shouted, hammering his fist against the doors. They'd just started getting somewhere and now she was gone! He had to go after her, but he couldn't let things with Erica unfixed. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, walking inside of the suite and closing the door behind him.
Erica shot him a sly grin, before she dipped her finger into a chocolate fountain that was placed right next to her and smeared it over her collarbone. "Now that your little doll is gone, how about you get started on playing with the big girls?"
The blond man really had a hard time to keep his mind together – not because he was attracted to Erica, but because his anger and madness were about to take him over.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he finally spilled out, not being able to hide the disgust in his voice.
"I wanted to surprise you, Patrick. I knew you weren't serious when you broke up with me a few days ago. You just needed some time to get your head cleared. Honestly, I didn't expect you to grab the next best girl that comes your way, but hey I hurt you and you hurt me – I think we're even now. Why don't you come here and we have a little make up sex. You can be as rough as you want with me." To emphasize her invitation, she squeezed a chocolate covered breast of hers.
"What is wrong with you Erica?! I told you to leave me alone, I don't want to ever see you again, so stop your ridiculous business here and get the hell out."
Jane could see the anger bubbling up in her eyes, mixed with disappointment. For Erica, sex was the solution to everything. She was a seductress, always looking for her own advantage – he despised himself for ever starting something with her, but he needed that at that time.
"I'm not being ridiculous, Patrick. You love me, I know you do…"
"Don't talk about love if you don't even know what it is! I'm going to say this once – get up and get dressed and by the time I come back, I never want to see you again!" He went into his bedroom, leaving the door open.
"You can't just leave me like that! I'm not going to leave just because you picked up that little slut. You know she can't compete with me! I helped you to get over your family's death, I was there to pick up the pieces, so I deserve some of your respect!"
Jane came back with a bathrobe, throwing it at her, so it covered parts of her body he didn't want to see. "You did nothing but betray me, Erica. Now leave or I'm going to call security to escort you out!"
"Don't you dare, Patrick!" She hopped off the table and wrapped the bathrobe around her body, stepping closer to him.
"Leave!" He watched her stepping closer to him, some fake tears shimmering in her eyes. Oh she was a damn good actress, he had to admit, but she couldn't fool the con. He'd seen her do this a thousand times. However, he stood still, waited until she was standing in front of him, giving her a hard look.
Before he could react though, Erica pressed her lips on his so violently, he accidentally bit her lower lip to make her back off.
"Ouch! How dare you!" she screamed, trying to slap his cheek, but Jane was quick enough to catch her hand, before it could do any further damage.
A loud knock on the door distracted them both. "Mr. Jane?" someone asked outside, "You were asking for security?" Jane gave Erica, who seemed furious with him a look, before he turned around and opened the door, letting two tall men enter the room.
"Well that was fast. Would you please escort the lady here outside and tell Mr. Bosco how she invaded my personal space without my knowledge? Oh and please send someone to clean up this mess."
Both men nodded, leading Erica out, who still refused to go, babbling crazy stuff and shooting him deathly glared over her shoulder.
Jane waited a few more minutes, where he tried to calm down and think about his next steps. He had to find Teresa and apologize for every misunderstanding Erica could have caused. Damn it, he thought they were on a good way! She'd kissed him in the parking lot and he knew what this must have meant to her. They were getting so close to something but Erica had destroyed it.
Taking a deep breath, he rode the elevator down to the lobby, finding Bosco behind the reception desk. The moment the manager saw him, his facial expression hardened a little. He must have seen Teresa leave the hotel, crying and blamed Jane now, but the blond didn't care. All he wanted was to have Teresa back.
"Have you seen Teresa?" he asked right away, his fingers drumming nervously on the wooden desk.
"I just saw her leaving the hotel a few minutes ago. She seemed a little upset," Bosco answered in a slightly accusing tone.
"Yeah well next time you better check who you give a key card to my suite." Both men found themselves in a glaring competition, before Jane gave it up. He didn't care about the manager, all he wanted to do was find Teresa before she would do something stupid.
"Please, do you have any idea where she might have gone? She doesn't know Hollywood that well and it's late…" The worry in his voice was sincere, so Bosco pointed towards the exit: "She went out, but I can't tell you which direction I'm afraid. Maybe Thomas can help you out."
They walked over to the man who was standing outside the hotel, waiting to open the doors for the guests that went in or came out. He told them about a very upset seeming petite brunette, who was hurrying towards Rodeo Drive. That was all Jane needed to know. He quickly tipped the man off and ran down the street towards the direction he'd pointed.
Teresa was running as fast as she could, her only wish was to get as far away from the hotel as possible. She pushed the people who didn't step aside quickly enough out of her way, earning deathly glares and curses coming her way, but she didn't care. Her vision was blurred from all the tears streaming out of her eyes and her silent sobs made her body shake from time to time.
Why was her life such a mess? What did she do to deserve it? The moment she'd seen this woman laying on the table, showing off her naked, chocolate covered body, she'd wanted to throw up, asking what the hell was going on. But her mind went on auto pilot and the only thing she could think about in this moment was to run.
Jane had lied to her, she'd asked him if there was someone in his life just this morning, when he'd asked her to be honest with him. She'd told him everything, her whole messed up story and he… He'd lied to her! The way this woman was waiting for him didn't look like it was nothing.
She'd treated her… like she wasn't even there by his side! A sweet welcome gift from your girlfriend, pah!
Teresa knew it was none of her business what was going on in Jane's private life. He paid her for staying with him this week, nothing more and nothing less.
Oh god who the hell are you kidding, Teresa?! She asked herself, Of course there is more between the two of you than that stupid agreement! He saved you, he listened to you, he comforted you… you had a very, very nice evening together and he wouldn't throw all of this away if he'd know about that woman waiting for him.
The brunette stopped, catching a breath. Yeah, he hadn't known about Erica, he'd been as surprised as her, maybe even more but who knew? Apart from the story about his family, she knew nothing about him!
Maybe she should have given him the chance to explain himself before running, but he hadn't even realized she was gone until the elevator doors closed. Had the shock been too big? Her mind was a blur of different thoughts.
Teresa walked and walked, turned left and right into streets she didn't knew, finding less and less pedestrians crossing her way. For the moment she didn't care. She didn't want people to look at her, see her tear streamed face, she just wanted to be alone and debate what to do.
He'd said he loved her this morning. "… makes me love you even more" were his exact words. Maybe it'd been just a stupid slip, something he'd said and not thought about, like you said it to a friend, but… They'd known each other for less than a week now. She wasn't sure if this was friendship between them, let alone more.
Groaning, Teresa wiped her eyes to prevent more tears from streaming down her cheeks. Her life was a mess! First he saved her from Vegas, then this thing with Lorelei and Haffner, breaking up old wounds, they had sex, this big talk this morning, the game, the kiss…
The Kiss. They'd kissed for god's sake, the only thing she'd sworn herself never to do. Lola had been right; kissing just got you emotionally attached and… addicted. Hell if he hadn't put a stop to things, who knew what would have happened?
She pressed a hand to her lips, remembering the sweetness of Jane's lips on hers. Reliving the moment in her mind made her shiver in pleasure. She'd kissed guys before her time as a hooker, but never, not even once were they able to awake this particular feeling inside her.
He had no idea what it meant to her, what he meant to her. Kissing him had been a huge mistake, because she felt like it had triggered something inside her.
Who knew what he was doing with that woman right now? Were they having an argument? Or was he following her? Teresa's heart made a leap and she turned around, looking down the way she came to see if he was looking for her, but he wasn't. How could he anyways she didn't even know where she was herself. Perhaps he just didn't care that she ran off and had his way with Erica now, just like he had his way with her last night.
This thought made her cry again. Stop crying like a baby! she told herself, swallowing hard.
She didn't even see the black car that was driving by her and suddenly stopped just to do a u-turn and slowly approached her from behind.
"Teresa, is that you?" a familiar voice asked.
She flinched and stopped, looking towards the black car on her right, surprised to find no one else but Grace staring at her out of the window.
"Grace?" the brunette stated perplexed. She wiped her face, as if this would help hiding the fact she'd been crying.
The redhead smiled at her: "You look like you could need a ride and someone to talk to. Come on, get in. Was the game so bad?" Although Grace was just teasing, Teresa couldn't bring herself to give her friend a smile.
"What are you doing in this part of the city all alone? I was just on my way back from the hospital, it's right down the street when I saw you walking on the sidewalk. Do you want my driver to drop you off at your hotel? Where's Mr. Jane?"
The mentioning of the blond businessman made Teresa shake so vehemently, she hid her face in her hands, praying the tears wouldn't come, but they did. Grace comforted her by wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"Oh sweetie I'm so sorry… Did you have fight? How… how about you stay with me tonight?" She took Teresa's turning into her embrace as a yes. "I'm living in the Hollywood Hills, it's not that far. Martin, bring us home please."
The chauffeur nodded silently, before he turned the car once again and drove towards their final destination. They didn't speak during the ride, just when they drove through the huge iron gate towards a modern white house with tall windows and a pretty fountain in the middle of the driveway, Teresa let out a whistle.
"Mr. Minelli gave us the house as a pre-wedding gift," the redhead explained, "He said he wanted his grandchildren to grow up with more space than our apartment in the city could give them." She blushed a little by the mention of grandchildren.
For the first time, Teresa smiled a little: "It's beautiful. I love the garden."
"Oh you haven't seen the best of it. Wait until we go inside and I show you the back yard. It's bigger than a football field! I'm so glad I don't have to mow the lawn. When we first moved in I suggested asking my uncle to send us some of his sheep so they could eat all the grass, but Wayne didn't want to be the one to step in sheep poop." She laughed, clearly imagining her fiancé in her head.
After she opened the door, she led Teresa inside the house, giving her a short tour through the first floor, before she stopped in front of a huge white leather couch. "All right, you sit down here and make yourself comfortable, while I get some ice cream and action movies. That's the best band aid for heartache."
"I don't…" Teresa started, but was silenced with a look immediately. Instead, she took off the football jersey she'd been wearing and kicked the shoes under the table, still taking in the beauty of the house. She'd thought their suite in the hotel was fancy, but it was nothing in comparison to this place.
It didn't take long for Grace to come back with a big container of the finest chocolate ice-cream and two spoons. She popped down next to Teresa, giving her a spoon and opened the container.
"This is the best ice cream in the world – it's imported directly from Italy and usually I have to hide it all from Wayne, because food is not safe from him. So, I have this little box in the freezer, where I hide the ice-cream and put all the frozen vegetables in front of it. He hasn't been able to find it yet and since he's not into eating more vegetables any time soon, I think it'll be safe."
Both women dug their spoons into the sweet sin, savouring the taste. Grace let her become comfortable with the situation and eat a little more ice-cream, before she approached the subject.
"I know it's none of my business, but I need to ask, Teresa. What happened between you and Mr. Jane? Why were you all the way down in Beverly Hills? Did you walk there?"
The brunette sighed heavily: "No we didn't fight, we… Do you know he had a girlfriend?"
"You mean Erica Flynn?" Grace asked surprised.
"Yeah, Erica… that's her. We… we came back from the game and just when we stepped inside the suite, she was lying on the table. Naked, covered in chocolate and fruits!"
"Oh my god that sounds like a scene from a bad movie!" the redhead exclaimed, "That's so gross, why would she do that?"
"I have no idea."
"What did Mr. Jane say?"
Teresa dropped her head: "He… was stunned. I mean I can't blame him, I would have been too. I don't know what he did afterwards, but I was so shocked and hurt, I just ran. Perhaps I should have stayed, but the situation was so overwhelming for me I couldn't stay and watch that woman talking to him. Not after everything that happened."
"Well, what happened?" Grace asked. She knew she was too curious, but she had good news for Teresa, so she first wanted to know everything before telling her.
"I…", she started but stopped immediately. She couldn't tell Grace what was going on. Jane was the only one who knew and he was already one too many. "My relationship with Jane is a little difficult. I told you at the race yesterday."
Suddenly, the woman in front of her looked down, her cheeks blushing a little. "It's okay, Teresa. I know."
The shock couldn't have been bigger. All the blood drained out of Teresa's face, while her pulse was going amok. "You know?" she whispered.
"Yes. The other day at the restaurant, Wayne told me he recognized your face from somewhere, but he couldn't say where. They, yesterday, when we saw you walking away with that woman, he remembered seeing you waitressing at this bar in Vegas. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Teresa. I waitressed myself before I met Wayne. Not in a strip club, but I waitressed."
The relief that flooded her body was overwhelming. "Waitressing… yeah, yeah that's what I do… I'm afraid I don't remember your fiancé though. What was he doing in a strip club anyways?"
"It was a bachelor party of his friend. I trust him not to do anything stupid, I love him and he loves me… and I know there is something between you and Mr. Jane, too. Wayne always says I'm a hopeless romantic, but… Teresa?"
The brunette shook her head. Grace reminded her of herself two years ago, when she still believed everything was going to be fine. She'd had dreams back then, the dreams of a good successful job, maybe meeting a man and falling desperately in love… Well now she saw that for some people those dreams actually came true, but she was none of them.
"Didn't Mr. Jane tell you about Erica Flynn?" Grace asked.
"No, he didn't. Actually, he lied to me. I asked him if there was someone in his life he loved, but he objected. Then this woman turns up in his suite just after we shared a moment together – what am I supposed to think? I mean he just pays me to accompany him, but I felt like a fool believing there actually was something between the two of us after everything that happened."
She felt her friend taking her hand and waiting for her to look up. "Teresa, Mr. Jane didn't lie to you. As far as gossip goes, he broke up with Mrs. Flynn over a week ago. You must know that woman does not have a very good reputation and I think it was just a manoeuvre to win Mr. Jane back. For all I know she betrayed him more than a few times."
"But why didn't he tell me?" Teresa wanted to know. She couldn't really believe what Grace told her, although deep down, she wanted to.
"Because it was over for him and he thought it wasn't necessary for you to know he'd been together with this excuse of a woman. I'm sure he wants to explain everything to you as soon as possible."
"I feel like an idiot," the small woman groaned and pressed a pillow on her face. She should have known. She should have known Jane wouldn't be the kind of guy to have two women at the same time. Although she wasn't really sure if that applied to her too, but now she knew she should have given him a chance to explain everything.
"You're not an idiot, Teresa. I'd have reacted the same way if I were in your position. You should call him and tell him you're all right. I think he's worried sick by now because he can't find you."
"I can't call him now. There are… things I have to think of. I don't know what to do."
"Then how about I call him and tell him you're going to spend the night here. Martin can drop you off at the hotel when we're going to the hospital."
"I.. I think that would be a good idea," she answered silently. "Tell him I'm sorry."
"You can tell him yourself tomorrow. Our mind does not act rationally when we're in love. We do stupid things, make stupid decisions… But in the end everything will turn out good, I promise." With this, Grace stood up to go and call Jane's hotel room and left the container of ice-cream with Teresa, who was staring at her with big eyes.
Jane opened the door of his suite. His whole body felt numb from running around the city looking for Teresa. He hadn't been able to find her - how in such a big city? She could have gone anywhere and if she didn't want to be found, there was no chance he would find her without contacting the police.
He didn't want to give her more trouble than she already had though. Damn, he hoped she was all right. Although he knew she'd lived here for a little time before, and LA was not as dangerous as New York or Seattle or even Chicago at night, he wanted her to be safe.
Would she come back tonight, or would she sleep on the street? This thought gave him a pang. What if someone found her? Robbed her? What if... what if Red John's men found her by accident and brought her back to Vegas with out him noticing?
For a second, Jane debated if he should still call the police, but he resisted. Maybe she was already on her way home. He decided, he could deal with her anger towards him, he understood she was shocked to see Erica laying on that table. To be honest, he'd been shocked himself.
Things were going fine between them and Erica had destroyed their happy, blissful moment. Jane was sure Teresa wouldn't have minded, if he'd stolen one or two more sweet kisses from her tonight.
Angrily, Jane pulled a hand through his hair and rubbed his face. If he tried, he could imagine how much that kiss had meant to her, especially since she'd initiated it in the parking lot. When he first invited her to his hotel in Vegas, she'd told him she wouldn't kiss him. Kissing was sacred to her. Teresa had broken it for him, so he must be more for her than just her client. Oh he still wanted to slap himself for taking advantage of her last night, especially since she thought she could trust him. He'd just tried to forget all the pain, not thinking she might need some comfort too. Thinking back, Jane remembered she hadn't come for him. He'd found his release in her, but she hadn't even been close to hers.
It was making him so sad to know sex wasn't more than business for her. He doubted she'd ever felt the real pleasure when she made love. Perhaps that was the crux. They'd had sex, they didn't make love... But well for making love, you have to be in love somehow, right?
Jane remembered his stupid slip form this morning. They couldn't be in love, they knew each other for less than a week! He cared for her, deeply. When he met her, she'd been nothing but a child to him... but also one of the first women in a long time to surprise him. Teresa wasn't the average kind of woman he usually met. She was passionate, fierce and also a little sassy. She didn't buy his crap, didn't fall for his charms - though he knew she liked the attention.
His gaze fell on the blue tea cup that was sitting on the table in front of the couch where she'd told him the story of her life this morning. For every other one, it was just a cup, but for him it was a present from heart.
Jane sat down on the couch, head buried in his hands. He wanted her back. He wanted to apologize to her for making her see this cruel picture with Erica on the table and most important, he wanted to kiss her senseless.
This kiss had stirred something inside him, a feeling that had been locked deep down in a chamber of his heart of which he thought he'd lost it forever. "Please, Teresa," he whispered, "Please come back to me."
Usually, Jane didn't really believe in coincidences, but right after the words left his mouth, the phone on the cabinet at the wall started ringing. He made a mad dash for it, fearing the ringing would stop if he took too long.
His heart pounding heavily, he picked it up after the second ringing: "Teresa?!"
"No, this is Grace," a voice said.
"Oh." His heard dropped down, feeling numb all of a sudden. "I'm sorry, Miss Grace, Teresa is not here."
"I know, she's with me."
Jane gasped surprised. Of course. The only one Teresa knew here in LA was grace. Why hadn't he thought about it? He knew the women had become some kind of friends since the dinner and the race yesterday morning. "Thank God," he answered relieved, "How is she? Is she all right? Can I talk to her?"
"She's fine," grace explained calming, "She'd staying with me and asked me to call you to let you know she's all right. She... fell asleep on the couch though and I don't want to wake her up."
Jane knew a lie when he heard one. So Teresa was so mad she didn't even want to talk to him? Well at least she'd had the decency to let grace call him, so he didn't have to worry about her all night.
"I just wanted to let you know. Don't worry, Mr. Jane, everything is going to be fine. If you're okay with it, I'm going to drop her off at the hotel tomorrow morning."
"That would be nice, thank you," Jane mumbled.
"Fine. It's late, I think I'll go to bed now too. Since my father-in-law is in the hospital, it's been kind of exhausting lately."
"Good night, Miss Grace... Could you... could you tell her that I miss her... and that I'm sorry?"
"Of course. Though I think you should tell her the latter yourself. Good night, Mr. Jane."
She hung up, without waiting for him to give a response. Just then Jane let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Teresa was safe! She was okay, mad at him, but okay.
Slowly, Jane went back to the couch and lay down, popping one of the pillows under his head to get a little more comfortable. She'd be back by tomorrow, until then, he would take the comfort of the darkness, to brood over his feelings for her.
A/N: Thhheeere we go! Seems like neither Jane nor Teresa are sure what they feel about each other, but we know, don't we? ;) hehehe Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I try to finish the next chapter as soon as possible!
Liefs
