Cars, Anger, and a Bit of Sexual Tension
Jordana, still angry from her
conversation with Tahira, marched her way into the garage, ignoring
the occasional cat call from other workers. She found Anakin still
working under the same speeder he had been while talking to Dax.
"We
have a problem." she said, slamming her hand on the roof.
"Yeah,"
his voice echoed from under it, "Who ever owns this piece of shit
really totaled it. The window is shattered inside the door. Two of
the doors can't even be opened because the the side is bashed in,
along with the hood. There is a huge slice along the other side, and
the insides are completely trashed. It's going to take us forever
to fix this."
"This problem is bigger than the fucking
speeder Anakin."
Immediately, he rolled out from under it, and
she nearly had to keep her jaw from slamming to the floor. His
shirtless form revealed a well sculpted chest, strong arms, and
defined abs. Sweat, oil and dirt mixed and trickled down his chest
and along his abs. She had never seen Anakin like this before, and
heat immediately flooded her cheeks. For a second, she almost forgot
why she was even mad.
"Jordie what is it?" he asked, placing
his mechanical hand on her arm, "You've been crying."
"I
just got done talking with Tahira."
"And?"
"She and
Obi-Wan are together now. I don't know if or when she's leaving.
She claims she still is but I just don't know."
Anakin was
silent for a moment, trying to process what was just told to him.
Tahira, the woman who had saved him and Jordana from certain death,
Jordana's own master, was now sleeping with Obi-Wan. How could she?
Obi-Wan had agreed to their execution.
"Does he know we're
alive?" he growled.
"Not yet. She's going to tell him when
they both leave the Order."
"That'll never happen, he loves
his precious Council too much."
"Not from what she said. He
wishes he never would have agreed with the Council."
But Anakin
was too lost in his own anger to hear the last statement. He didn't
even realized that he'd tightened his grip on Jordana's arm. He
heard her faint whimper and immediately snapped back to reality. Her
emerald eyes were turned away from him, but they still conveyed a
deep sense of hurt and betrayal. He let go of her arm. If anyone had
the right to be upset, it was her. After all, Tahira was her master.
He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She
rested her hands lightly on his hips and leaned her head onto his
dirty chest.
"Don't worry Jordie. When, or if, they leave
we'll tell them where we are. I'll just have to punch Obi-Wan
once, twice, or perhaps several times for pay back."
He felt her
body jerk slightly as she giggled, and she pulled back to look at
him. Her light smile lit up her entire face, and her once sad eyes
now shimmered as they gazed into his.
Gods, she's beautiful
when she smiles. he caught himself thinking.
"Now come on, I
need your help with this thing." he motioned to the mangled speeder
behind them.
Her eyes bulged in shock and apprehension, "You
have got to be kidding me. Anakin, I may know a few things about
fixing speeders but I don't even know where to begin with that hunk
of junk."
"Just rip the hood and all the doors off for now.
You can handle that can't you?"
"Sure, I guess."
She
walked over to twisted piece of metal posing as the hood. To her
surprise, it lifted easier than expected and with one strong yank,
the hood completely tore off. She stared in amazement at the jumbled
mess of wires, machinery, and plugs.
"What the fuck?" she
shrieked.
"That's what I said when I saw it."
"Let me
guess, somebody did something really stupid with this?"
"Oh
yeah."
That night, Anakin was with another woman in his
dreams, his ex-wife Padme. Outside was the noisy traffic of Corellia,
but inside his mind he was back at the Lake Retreat. The moons and
stars radiated into their room, and the cool air crept over their
bodies as they lay across her bed. He leaned in and met her lips in a
deep, passionate kiss. However, when she broke the kiss, a strong
breeze burst through the window. The light gale washed over Padme,
and she began to disappear. Like grains of sand, she vanished into
the wind and it carried her out the window, through the gardens, and
into the night sky.
"Padme." he whispered sadly and he watched
her float away. He couldn't hold on to her, couldn't keep her
with him. As he prepared to face a lonely bed, he saw Jordana lying
exactly where Padme had been.
"Jordie?"
"Hello there."
she replied, smiling up at him.
Without hesitation or thought, he
leaned down and kissed her deeply. She responded to his kiss, gliding
her smooth tongue along his lower lip.
Anakin gasped as he sat
up abruptly in his bed. He breathing was ragged, and beads of sweat
rolled down his forehead.
What in the hell just happened?
One
moment, he was lying in bed with Padme, and the next he was kissing
Jordana. His mind raced and ached as he attempted to make sense of
his dream. He then remembered his conversation with Dax from
earlier.
"Dax." he groaned.
Dax had put all these, ideas,
about him and Jordana in his head, it was Dax's fault he was going
to have a hard time getting to sleep that night. As he lay back down
against the pillows, he could still feel his heart hammering against
his chest. Sleep would not come easy tonight. More images of him and
Jordana flooded his mind, though he fought to keep them out. She was
his best friend, he'd known her since they were both ten. Besides,
how could he have moved on completely from Padme after only a little
over a week? Anakin managed to convince himself that he was just
rebounding from his failed marriage to Padme enough to drift into
sleep. But he was going to talk to Dax the next day.
