*hands over chapter*

very sorry for the wait! I lost my notebook with info for all stories in it, and last night at like 3am, I woke up with inspiration for this story, so I decided to forge a bit of a different end then I had planned. But this is pretty similar to what I had in the notebook, I hope.

Please enjoy! I hope it's worth the wait.

21.

Utaki Sushi

7:01 PM

July 19th, Thursday

Massie gritted her teeth, trying hard to block out the routine clink of Jacob's fork as it hit his plate. The protégé director had never gotten the knack of using chopsticks, and considered using his hand dirty and taste-less. The annoying sounds only intensified the awkward silence at the table.

It was different on the other side of the table: the one nearest to the kitchen. There sat Dylan and Chris, Claire and Cam, Alicia and Josh, and Kristen and Kemp. Joyful laughter and bits of stories drifted over to the left side of the table, where two couples sat rather stoically.

The energy was bad, to say the least. Two-way (although Massie was only aware of one) tension filled the air, leaving both couples to uneasily eat their sushi in silence.

Jacob was on pins and needles as he watched Derrick, Massie and Tawny out of the corner of his eye. Derrick and Tawny weren't interacting. The former wasn't looking at anything but his iPhone as he tapped away an email (or at least pretended to). Massie was grinding her teeth audibly. Tawny kept trying to catch his eye. After twenty minutes of the same reticence, Jacob was about to go out of his mind with anxiety.

You're over-reading this. Derrick and Tawny are a strange couple anyway, and Tawny probably prefers you to him- who wouldn't? Derrick's pissed because he saw, but he's too much of a pussy to tell Massie anyways. Massie… who knows? Why not ask? It'll set your –my- mind at ease.

"Mass, everything alright?" Jacob whispered, setting down his fork.

"Yup." Massie spit. Jacob barely caught the malicious glare she sent at the other side of the table.

Panic caused Jacob to clench every muscle in his body. She knows!

In the few seconds of vision-blurring dread that followed, Jacob was too unfocused to notice Massie leaning closer to him. He jumped as she started to whisper into his ear, her breath tickling.

"They could really be more sociable couldn't they?" Massie's voice was wry with annoyance. Almost immediately, Jacob felt relief course through his veins. He began relaxing, one muscle at a time. Arms. Legs. Abs. Neck.

"I agree." With that he felt Massie relax into him, her mouth parting to call a question out to Kristen, who sat next to Tawny. The conversation swelled to include Jacob, and although she tried, Tawny couldn't quite break into it and Derrick didn't even attempt to. In an instant, all was better.

Later that night, Jacob pulled his rental Porsche in front of Massie's house, next to the dark yellow hummer. The rest of the dinner had continued to be great, and Massie had relaxed enough to have several glasses of wine (something she rarely did). At this rate, he was sure that she would do at least something tonight with him.

As he helped her up the stairs, he smiled inwardly as Derrick's convertible pulled into Josh's house. He was right in time to see them together. Feeling bold, Jacob halted on the top deck as Massie disappeared into the house. He waited until Derrick's gaze flicked up to him on the deck to raise both hands in a rude gesture implying that yes, he was going to get some tonight. Unlike Derrick, whose girlfriend had already been dropped off at home.

Derrick's eyes, even from this distance, looked stormy as he disappeared behind the bank of bushes leading to Josh's front door.

"How'd you like that Derrick?" Jacob whispered to himself, happily noticing that Massie had slipped into the bathroom ahead of him. He skirted the bed and went to the windows, decisively lowering the shades halfway. After a moment of searching, Jacob found the remote that controlled the light and the stereo. He lowered the former into a sensual glow, and cranked the latter to a classic sexy song. Now all he needed was Massie. About ten seconds later, he got his wish. His brunette bombshell of a girlfriend lightly stepped out onto the white carpet, dressed in a short-sleeved white silk nightgown.

As soon as she sat down on the bed, Jacob clambered up next to her, watching as she swallowed some vitamins and slid her blue eye mask on her head. At last, she turned towards him. Jacob jumped at the opportunity, practically leaping towards her as he stroked her sides. He had just begun to push her down when she shook her head.

"Mmm-mmm." She scolded. "Not tonight. I have a migraine."

Jacob paused, irrational fury lighting up his features. For a second, he thought about pushing her down and continuing no matter what, but then she might dump him, and the press would have a field day with that. He could see the headlines now; Jacob Marley so desperate he overpowers own girlfriend.

So he relaxed and leaned off of her, kissing her cheek and murmuring what sounded like a reassurance.

"Of course babe. I understand."

Like hell I do.

A little short, especially since it's forty-some days in the making! Sorry about that, but I am pleased to mention that there will be a 22nd chapter (obviously) instead of 22 being epilogue like I said previously.

If you can still remember this story at ALL, please leave a review below! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon but with 5-hr/day dance days it can get difficult.

splendeur