Claudia had been rushed off her feet all day, but now it was paying off. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she continued to comb through her thick hair. She wore a simple white knee length, strappy dress. She was never one to obsess about herself, but knew she would knock all of the men dead tonight. She disregarded the comb and began to apply a little clear lip gloss, she decided that was all she was going to wear, taking a natural look for the evening.
She thought about pleasing Jack; she prayed he would think about her once he saw her. The two hadn't really talked since that evening; that evening! She blushed as she thought of that night she had spent with Jack, a real night of joy and ecstasy; how she longed for another one of those!
She knew Jack would be attending despite his discomfort at social events. Hector had informed her he would be there, on alert. Whether he was on alert or not meant nothing to Claudia; as long as she could see him, even just a glimpse, she would be satisfied. She realised she had been craving him since they last spoke, she needed him, longed for him, and tonight; she would satisfy a small part of herself, which was all she could ask for.
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Jack rubbed the towel fiercely through his hair, drying it off from his cool shower. Hi was still slightly hung over, an wasn't looking forward to the evening. He really did not enjoy social events, especially parties. He had already decided he would have a few drinks and keep watch, keep his distance from everybody.
Everyone, he thought, even Claudia. He needed to stay away from her, he thought. If he stayed away he would stop thinking about her. At least that was the plan. All day he had found his thoughts stuck on Claudia. He was mesmerised by her, she was like an old legend. He though of her in awe and wonder, yet wondered if she was real, or just a figment of his imagination. She couldn't be that perfect, could she? he asked himself.
H realised that he had to stop obsessing about her; yet took delight in the thought that he may see her tonight. He wondered if she was thinking of him, if she wanted to see him tonight. He hoped like hell she did, he needed to see her, to feel her touch, to smell her scent. He realised, for the fist time, that he needed her love.
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The party had been going well; Ramon had noticed. Everyone came out to celebrate Hectors return, and their were no problems. This was one in only a few events where Ramon had allowed himself to get drunk. When he did this, he could still never fully relax, he could never let his guard down. But this was different tonight, as he knew Jack was on the lookout. As long as Jack was their, Ramon couldn't have a care in the world, everything would be fine, and if anything did occur, Ramon was confident Jack could handle the situation drunk, better than he himself could sober.
He walked through the crowds of men to his beloved brother, who was in a deep drunken conversation with Claudia. He approached the couple and slung a heavy arm around Hector;
"And how are you my little brother?" He laughed.
Hector was drinking deeply from a bottle, and pulled it back to reply, "I am fine Ramon, in fact, I think I am the luckiest man in the world." He paused to take another deep pull form the bottle, before pointing to his left where Claudia sat next to him on one of the white plastic chairs, "With the most beautiful angel on one side, and my brother on the other. What more could I ask for?" He slurred, before finishing the bottle off.
Ramon laughed and Claudia blushed. Inside she was uncomfortable, she had been keeping an eye out for Jack all night. She caught a glimpse of him earlier talking to some of the men, but he obviously hadn't seen her. Not realising what she was doing she sighed aloud. Both brothers picked up on this and Ramon asked,
"What's wrong? Aren't you enjoying the party?" He asked concerned. She knew how much both men wanted to make her happy. She thought it was ironic, the one person who could truly make her happy was nowhere to be seen, yet there were these two men, both in love with her in different ways, and she still wasn't satisfied. Instead she had fallen for the man that she was having second thoughts about; did he even care about her, or was it just a one night stand for him?
Realising she hadn't yet answered their queries she flashed them both a fake smile, and said,
"Of course I am enjoying myself, I am just a little tired. It's been a long day."
The two nodded in agreement, as her curious mind decided to ask questions. "Ramon, you don't normally drink at these occasions, is it such a celebration?!" She said laughing.
" Ha! Jack is taking care of things tonight, so I though it would be okay, as a one off." At the mention of Jack she immediately perked up.
"Why what's he doing?" She asked, not thinking of the possibility of the two becoming suspicious of her sudden interest in Jack over the past few days.
"He's on call, is all. Not that there's anything to be on lookout for, you know how it is, we need to be on top of our game at all times to prevent accidents from happening."
"Yeah..." She said, looking over Hectors shoulder, no longer interested in either of the two. Over at the plastic bar area she had helped set up earlier was Jack, talking to the man who was opening up a new bottle for him with a large bottle opener. She noticed she was going red, and was shaking slightly. He looks hot, she thought. Wearing plain black trousers and a white T-shirt, that sat just right on his biceps, showing off peeks of his tattoos. She realised she had caught her breath and was staring. She quickly turned her attention back to Hector, Ramon had already sauntered off somewhere, to talk to someone else in his drunken state.
The two engaged in conversation once more, until Hector wanted to venture off to see everyone else he had missed whilst away on his trip. Claudia kissed him goodbye on the cheek and sat alone at the table.
She sat alone twirling the glass of alcohol in her hands in a rhythm. Her mind travelled back to Jack, she couldn't get the image of him at the bar out of her head, he looked so good, she thought. Her attention was pulled away when she herd somebody pull out the chair next to her from beneath the table.
She looked up expecting to see Hector, but again caught her breath when she saw it was Jack who was now seated next to her.
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yes, there's more to come, I just need to get off my lazy but and write it, and that goes for all of my fics!!