"You're ditching me? We were supposed to go to Brooklyn."
Jade rolled her eyes and grabbed her hair tie which she then out in her mouth. She turned to Tori, who had her arms crossed over her body and a pout on her lips. "Yeah, I know, but after you left me to my own devices last night, I made new plans." She twisted her hair on top of her head and tied it in a neat ballerina-esque bun.
"What?"
"Yeah. It sucks when you make plans but someone canceled them."
Tori frowned, "Sorry for ditching you last night."
"Apology accepted. I'm glad at least one of us is having sex."
Tori shoved Jade but didn't try to argue the claim, "Care to tell me what you are going to do today?"
"Yeah. I'm going to a wedding."
"Who's getting married?" Tori asked.
Jade thought about that. Who were the people that were getting married? She didn't even ask Beck that question.
She shrugged, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean exactly that. I don't know."
"So you're just going to crash a wedding? That's a bit wild, even for you."
"No, I was invited to the wedding."
"Who invited you?"
"Beck."
"Beck? Beck's in New York, too?"
"Yeah. He's directly below my." Jade stomped her foot. "He probably heard that on his ceiling." She took in Tori's shocked face. "Oh, did I not mention that to you?" She asked, feigning surprise.
"No, you didn't."
Jade shrugged, "Yeah, I didn't tell you that because you'd probably accuse me of trying to screw him in my shower."
"I would not!" Tori argued.
"Yes, you would. I love you Tori, but you have your judgmental and self-righteous moments more times than you don't."
"That's not true."
Jade rolled her eyes, "It's true."
"I'm just trying to-"
"Trying to what?"
"Look out for you. And make sure you don't do anything you don't regret." Tori replied, huffing. How was her friend not getting this?
"Last time I checked, I was an adult. I don't need you to look out for me because I can look out for myself. And what Beck and I decide to do, as friends, shouldn't really be your concern."
"Are you guys still acting like you're just friends?" Tori almost felt insulted that Jade would think for one second that she believed that story. What if Jade actually convinced herself that she and Beck were just friends.
"We are."
"Okay Jade. You guys are friends."
Jade took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down before she and Tori had an argument. "I don't want to talk about Beck, and I don't have to explain or justify anything to you." Jade waved her hand dismissively. "He's the married one, go talk to him."
"You know what? I think I will."
"Good. He might actually care about what you're saying more than I do."
Tori didn't reply. She spun on her feel and walked out if the suite.
"Diana, you do know that I'm coming home tomorrow night?"
"I know."
"And you're where?"
"I'm in Houston." Diana replied.
"Oh you're in Houston. Why the hell are you in Houston?"
"Because I want to be out here. It's a great city."
"Are you there alone?"
"No, I decided to bring my parents. I thought they deserved to enjoy their vacation, you know since their son-in-law isn't in Los Angeles."
"Diana, people who have jobs have to do stuff."
"Why must you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Belittle me. So what, I'm not working. That's not what I signed up for when we got married."
"What did you sign up for? To spend my money, and spend as little time with me as possible?"
"Oh, it's your money?"
"Yeah, it is. You don't make any of it."
"You know what, Beck, screw you. You aren't the best prize either. You are cynical, and mean, and you take every opportunity out there to ridicule me."
"Well you're the most self-absorbed person on the planet. You're the only person I know who forgets their husband's birthday."
Diana groaned, "Oh my gosh, we're still on this?"
Beck heard a loud stomp on his ceiling. He looked up. What the hell was Jade doing up there? "Yes, we are. And the fact that you are so nonchalant about it, is cold. I mean, God forbid I forget anything about you, we'd be in World War Three."
"I apologized. What more do you want from me?"
"I want to you care. I know caring and compassion is probably foreign to you, but I'm your husband. I think I deserve it."
"It is, especially when you insult me."
"It's always about you. Don't you ever get tired of being a narcissist?
"Don't you ever get tired of putting me down?"
"It's the truth. You are all about you. Our marriage is completely one-sided."
"It is not. You're completely overreacting."
Beck moved from his spot near the big bay window and wandered to the couch. "I'm not."
"You are."
"Diana, the simple fact is, between all of the parties you go to, and all the places you travel to, via the company's private jet or first class tickets, you just can't schedule time to care about me and act like a normal wife."
"And what is a normal wife?"
"You'd cook me a meal, you'd call me on my lunch break, you'd ask me
how my day went, you'd want to spend time with me. You sure as hell wouldn't treat me as if I'm your personal ATM."
There was silence on the line for a moment. After a minute, Diana inhaled deeply. "Well I'm sorry I haven't been a perfect wife."
"It's okay. I don't know why I thought you would change when we got married. You were the same way while we were dating. I was the foolish one for playing the same game and expecting a different outcome."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm tired. Aren't you tired of this?"
There was more silence. Beck didn't know if Diana was thinking of a reply, or if she just didn't want to talk to him.
"No. I am perfectly fine." Diana sighed. "I have to go now. I'll see you when I get home."
"Diana-"
"Goodbye, darling."
"Diana!"
The line went dead. Diana hung up. Great. Beck tiredly put his head back on the arm of the couch.
There was a knock at the door. "Go away." The knocking continued. "I said go away."
The knocking stopped for a few seconds, then resumed. Beck stood up and walked over to the door. He unlocked it and opened it. "I said-Tori?"
"Hi." Tori greeted.
"What are you doing here?" Beck asked, scratching the back of his neck.
"I want to see you."
"Why?"
"May I come in?" Beck nodded and moved over. Tori entered the suite. "Thanks."
"What'd you want to talk about?" Beck asked, sitting back down.
Tori sat across from Beck and looked at him. He looked exhausted, and stressed out. Normally this wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knew Beck, but this seemed different.
"Are you okay?"
"Why do you ask?"
"There is something about you. You seem melancholy."
"I just got off the phone with Diana. We had an argument."
"Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?"
"This isn't paradise. Not by a long shot."
"What happened?"
"When was the last time you saw Diana and me, together?" And not just together, but enjoying each other's company?"
"Where is this coming from, Beck."
"Just answer me. Please."
Tori shrugged, "I don't know."
"Exactly. I cannot remember the last time either."
"You and Diana shouldn't be having this conversation thousands of miles away from each other, over the phone. Marriage conversations should be had face-to-face."
"I don't know when I'll see Diana next."
"What?"
"She's with her parents in Houston."
"I thought Diana was from Chicago."
"She is. But her parents came to visit. Since I wasn't there to be a gracious host, they're in Houston."
"Oh."
Beck pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. I'm just...I don't know. I'm thirty-two and I don't know. As Diana and I are getting older, we're becoming two different people."
"What are you saying, Beck?" Tori gently prodded.
"I'm saying that I need to do something and soon." Beck answered.
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure."
"Does this have anything to do with Jade?"
Beck's eyebrows furrowed, "No. What does Jade have to do with anything?"
Tori shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me."
"Jade has nothing to do with this. Diana and I have problems because of who we are, not due to any outside forces."
"I was just wondering-"
"Well don't." Beck snapped. "I don't need you insinuating anything."
"Sorry." Tori muttered, looking down so she wouldn't have to meet Beck's gaze. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"Can you leave?" Beck asked, choosing to ignore the apology. "Please. I have a wedding to get ready for."
Tori stood. She walked over to Beck and affectionately squeezed his shoulder. "You're a smart guy. I know that whatever you have going on with Diana is tough. But I also know that if you listen to your heart, you'll never make the wrong decision."
"Thank you."
"Why are you so quiet and brooding?" Jade asked, snapping Beck out of his daze.
Beck moved his gaze from the window of the car and looked at Jade. "Excuse me?"
"Why are you in such a funk?"
"Personal stuff."
"Ooh secrets." Jade raised an eyebrow. "Care to share?"
"Not really."
Jade nodded understandingly. "Deal. We're all entitled to our secrets. Are you going to be in a mood throughout this entire wedding? It's kind of impossible to be sad at a wedding."
It is if you're own marriage is in the crapper, Beck thought. "You're right. I'll snap out of it before we get out of the car."
"I'm holding you to that." Beck didn't say anything back. Jade frowned. This wasn't how their relationship worked. One of them always had to have some witty retort on deck. She looked at him closely. His jaw looked clenched and he was tapping his fingers along his dress pants. And he looked at his cell phone every few seconds. Whatever was bugging him had to be pretty big.
Jade grabbed Beck's hand to stop him from tapping. "Hey, don't let whatever is on your mind stop you from enjoying yourself. We are supposed to be having fun. Tonight is going to magical."
"Magical? Interesting word choice."
"Yeah. So stick with me, Mr. Oliver because I can feel it in my bones."
Beck sighed. Jade was right. It was his good friend's wedding and he wasn't about to be a party pooper. "Okay."
The car stopped in front of The St. Regis. The driver got out and made his way to the back so he could let Beck and Jade out.
Jade stepped out of the car and smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles on her blue dress.
Once Beck was next to her, she held on to his arm. "Besides, for three thousand dollars, this dress needs to be seen."
"Yeah, that's-" Beck stopped himself. "You spent three thousand dollars on that dress! What?"
"Yeah. It wasn't like I was paying with my own money. And you can't get a new dress without new shoes." Jade pointed to her gold Christian Louboutins. "Don't even get me started on the cost of these bad boys. You're lucky I have nice jewelry and I didn't need to buy any."
"You're never allowed to touch my credit card ever again."
"We'll see about that."
The two walked into the hotel, and Beck instantly noticed people he knew, one of those people being the groom's mother. "Come on. There's someone I want you to meet."
Beck walked over to where the groom's mother was greeting guests. She felt his presence and looked up at Beck. She smiled and opened her arms to hug him. "Beck! Oh it's so nice to see you."
"Angela." Beck greeted, hugging the older woman. "Likewise. What has it been? A year?"
"Too long! I wish you would come out to New York more."
"I wish, but you know how work is."
"How's the job?"
"Extremely busy." Beck pointed to Jade. "Angela, this is my friend, Jade. Jade, this is Angela, the groom's mother."
Jade extended her hand, "Nice to meet you."
"You too, sweetie."
Beck put his hand around Jade's waist. "Well, we have to go get seats. See you in there."
"See you!"
Angela watched as the couple walked off. This was a problem. Last time she checked, Beck was married. And the young woman he was with, was not Diana Oliver.
"Beck Oliver, what are you doing?"
A few hours later, the reception was in full swing. People were dancing, drinks were flowing, and everyone was chatting excitedly. But all the talk wasn't about the bride and groom. It was about two of the guests.
Everyone knew who Beck Oliver was, and what he did. They also knew his wife was a petite blonde. So who was the blue eyed brunette he was with?
"I hear she's a prostitute." One guest whispered to her sister.
"No. I can tell by the way she's holding herself that she was a bit more class than the average street walker. And prostitutes don't wear Christian Louboutins."
"They do when the man they're keeping company has a multi-billion dollar company."
/
"He and Diana have an open marriage." Another guest told his wife. "They're all the rage in Los Angeles."
"How would you know?" The wife shot back. "You've never been to California."
The husband shrugged, "Yeah, but I hear things about those Californians."
"Well that may be the case out on the other side of the country, but you're never getting an open marriage out of me."
/
"Oh it's simple. That girl and Diana are sister wives." Said one of the bridesmaids.
"Polygamy is illegal, doofus."
"Not if those two aren't legally married. It's a spiritual marriage. I saw it on that show Sister Wives."
/
"Beck!" Beck turned around and noticed the groom, Noah waving him over. "Come here!"
Beck walked over to the bar where Noah was standing. "What's up?"
"You are so bold."
"Bold? What did I do?"
"You bringing your mistress to my wedding? It's crazy. I like it."
"My what?"
"Jade. Your mistress. That's what Jade is, right?"
"She's my assistant." Beck corrected.
"Ooh, a workplace affair." Noah wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Again, I like it."
Beck shoved Noah and rolled his eyes. "She works for me. Nothing more."
"I don't know about you, but I don't bring my incredibly gorgeous co-workers to another state with me, to go to not work related events. While I'm married."
"Jade's out here with her friends. I didn't fly her out here to be with me."
"Does Diana know?"
"Know about what?"
"That you are here with Jade."
"Nope."
Noah shook his head, "You my dear friend, are asking for World War Three."
"Relax."
"How is Diana anyway?"
"Diana is," Beck sighed, "still Diana."
"So she's still vapid, self-absorbed, and vain?"
"Diana is still Diana." Beck repeated.
"Does she still hate me?"
"Yeah."
Noah smirked, "Yes! Mission accomplished."
Beck leaned against the bar, "Why do you enjoy getting under her skin?"
"It's fun. Don't tell me you don't enjoy seeing her all riled up."
"Yeah, it is pretty fun." Beck admitted.
"What's fun?" The guys turned around and saw Jade standing there, a champagne flute in her hand.
"Nothing." Beck answered.
"Okay." Jade finished the rest of her champagne and put the flute down on the bar. She pointed to Noah. "I have a surprise in store for you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Well, you and the bride. Since I don't have a physical gift to give you, I had to get a little crafty."
"You don't have to do anything." Noah said. "And we have enough gifts."
Jade shook her head, "Nonsense. It's rude to come to wedding empty handed."
"Well what do you have planned?"
Jade smirked, "You'll see. I hope someone is recording your wedding." She grabbed another flute from a tray a server was carrying. "I'll see you guys in a bit." She walked off and disappeared into the crowd of people.
"This won't be good." Beck remarked.
Noah shrugged, "She seems harmless."
"Trust me when I say that nothing about Jade West is harmless."
About half an hour later, everyone was sitting at their tables, eating and chatting amongst themselves. That was when took long strides to the stage. A man extended his hand to help her up, seeing as her dress as incredibly long, and her heels were incredibly high. She flashed him a quick smile. "Thanks handsome."
Beck noticed Jade get up on the stage. His eyes got wide. "Oh no." He whispered. "What the hell is she doing?"
Across the reception hall, another guest noticed Jade. "I thought mistresses were supposed to stay hidden and quiet. She's the boldest one I've ever encountered."
"What do you expect? Beck brought her out in public. She's feeling a little special today."
Jade tapped on the microphone in front of her a few times, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"Hell everyone." Jade greeted, making sure to make eye contact and smile at the people in the room, hoping to win everyone over with her charm. It was work. "First and foremost, I would like to say that this is a lovely wedding and I honored to have witnessed it."
Beck got out of his seat and started towards Jade. "Jade!" He hissed. "Jade!"
"After talking to the bride's sister, I found out that her favorite song is Lovesong by The Cure." Jade continued. "That happens to be a favorite song of mine, as well. So this is to Noah and Audrey."
"Jade!"
The music started playing. Jade grabbed the mic and started singing.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am home again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am whole again.Beck stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of Jade's voice. Where did that come from and where had she been hiding it?
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am fun again.However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
Jade searched the crowd and spotted Beck. She locked eyes with him and smiled. He gave her an encouraging thumbs up. His reassurance calmed her down a bit. But the long gaze didn't go unnoticed by a few people.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am free again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
You make me feel like I am clean again.However far away,
I will always love you.
However long I stay,
I will always love you.
Whatever words I say,
I will always love you;
I will always love you.
When the song over and the music stopped, everything was silent for a moment. Some finally started clapping, and they were soon joined by everything.
Jade let out a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding in. She hadn't sang in years and she didn't really know how she would sound, especially since she hadn't sang in years. The applause instantly calmed her, and within moments, Jade was back to her old, extremely confident self.
Beck stayed still in his position. He was rendered speechless, which was nearly impossible. His eyes were glued on Jade, his eyes moving where she moved.
He didn't even notice Noah come up behind him until he felt a hand slap him on the back.
"Why didn't you tell me that the girl could sing? And sing like that?"
"Noah, I had no idea she could sing."
"Really? Someone with that much talent doesn't usually keep quiet about it."
"Yeah, but she's not the average person." Beck said, his attention still fixed solely on Jade, who was walking towards him.
Noah raised his hand in front of Beck's face, hoping to break him out of the trance. It worked because Beck blinked and turned to his friend.
Noah chuckled, "Earth to Beck. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Beck replied, running a hand over his mouth.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
Jade walked over to them and smiled nervously. "So? How'd I do?"
"You were amazing." Noah answered.
"Really? I don't know what came over me. I don't think my plans through and my brain sometimes just runs on autopilot before I can even stop and think. I just got up there and-" Noah stopped Jade's rambling by gently shaking her shoulders.
"Calm down. You did fine. Thank you."
"I'm sorry. I still have so much anxious energy."
"I'm gonna leave you two, I have to go find the missus."
Noah walked off, and that left Jade and Beck standing in the middle of the dance floor.
Beck looked around and saw a few people dancing. He held out his hand for Jade to take. "Dance with me."
Jade took his hand and was instantly pulled closer to Beck. Her hand found his shoulder and his slipped behind her back.
"You never told me you could sing."
Jade smiled slyly, "I'm just a big bag of secrets."
"And you sounded professional. Perfect pitch, control, range. Everything."
"I was born with it the ability to sing, but I took voice lessons all throughout high school. I haven't sang since then. I never wanted to do it professionally, I just wanted to do it for fun."
"You never stop amazing me, Jade." Beck said, softly swaying to the music.
"Yeah, I know."
"Any more secrets you'd like to divulge?"
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"I would."
"A girl has to keep some things to herself." Jade said. "I'm not an open book."
"That shocks me. You seem pretty open to me."
Jade leaned in a bit closer to Beck. He inhaled the scent of her perfume. "If you're lucky, you'll find out a few more."
"Here's to hoping I'm lucky."
Another song started, this one much slower than the last one. Jade took her hand out of Beck's and threw them around his neck.
"Whenever I see people do this, I always think of some high school dance."
Beck thought about that statement for a moment. He nodded. "I can see that."
"And if this were middle school," Jade took a step back so she and Beck were barely touching, "we'd be doing this."
Beck chuckled and pulled Jade back into him, "I never actually listened to those stuffy old chaperones."
"You were such a little rebel."
"I had my moments."
Jade cackled, "You're such a dork."
Beck shrugged, "I'd like to say I made out pretty well. I'm rich, I'm not horribly ugly, and I happen to have a very pretty lady dancing with me right now."
"You're doing all right, I guess."
"That's all I get? All right?"
The song ended and Jade pulled away from the embrace, but she still held on to Beck's hand. "Come on."
"You didn't answer me."
"Let's go get drunk." Jade said.
"That sounds really tempting."
"I know. The alcohol is free and that's the best kind. Plus, I just thought of the best drinking game. We take a shot every time Noah brother hits on the bridesmaids."
"We'll be drunk in five minutes." Beck pointed out.
"Exactly."
"Let's do it."
It was about one in the morning when Beck and Jade made it back to their hotel. Jade was drunk, giggling, and stumbling around the hallway of her floor. And Beck wasn't any better.
"I don't know why my key is." Jade said, aimlessly digging around in her clutch. "We're locked out."
"No we aren't." Beck argued. He grabbed the clutch out of Jade hand and instantly spotted the key. He slid it into the slot on the door and opened it. "Ta-da!"
Jade quickly entered the suite, Beck following behind her. "Gosh, what would I do without you?"
"I don't know."
Jade sat down and groaned. "Gosh, I am really going to pay for all of the drinking and dancing that I did tonight."
"It was worth it."
"It was." Jade held up the bouquet of white roses in her hand. She had actually caught the bouquet. "And I'm going to be the next one to get married."
Beck laughed, "And who's going to be the lucky groom?"
"I don't know." Jade hiccuped and winced. Drunk hiccups were the worst. She tossed the bouquet on the table in front of her. She kicked off her shoes and started working on all of the pins and clips in her hair. "I've been in those shoes for hours. When you count your blessings, make sure being a man is one of them. You don't have to suffer as much as we do for beauty."
"We suffer."
"Oh yeah? How?"
"We have to wait for you guys to get all dolled up." Beck explained. "I believe that counts as cruel and unusual punishment."
"Don't be such a big baby." Jade teased. She stood up. "I really do love this dress, though. It's gorgeous."
Beck had to agree. The dress was gorgeous. And it only made Jade look even more gorgeous. The deep navy color made her bright eyes sparkle even more than they usually did. It wasn't as revealing as some of the other things Jade wore, but in his opinion, she was the most beautiful woman at the wedding.
"I'm glad you like it. It cost me three grand."
"You should have known that I was going to find the most expensive dress in the store. I have expensive taste, you know."
"If I didn't know before, I definitely know now."
"But as amazing as this dress is, I cannot sleep in it." Jade tapped her back, where there was a neatly tied bow. "Undo my bow please."
Beck stood and reached out for the bow. He gently tugged at the tie and watched the bow come undone. Now that the huge bow wasn't covering the back of Jade's neck, he noticed something. "You have a tattoo?"
"Yeah. I got it a year ago."
The tattoo was of a simple black rose, right below the back of Jade's neck. Without even thinking, Beck touched the ink. His fingers seared at the contact. Either Jade's skin was on fire, or his fingers were. Or he was drunker than he thought.
"I like it."
Jade didn't seem to mind the touching. She wasn't protesting or doing anything. Maybe she just didn't notice.
Beck took his hand away before she did notice, though.
"Thanks." Jade grabbed the straps to keep them from falling.
"What's the story?"
"Roses are my favorite flower."
"Boring story."
"Not every tattoo story has to be deep and full of symbolic meaning."
"Fair point."
"Now I'm gonna put on something that's less formal." She said. She headed to the bedroom. "Watch TV, order room service, make yourself at home."
"Okay."
Beck sat down grabbed the remote control for the television. He doubted anything good would be on at one in the morning, in a hotel, but it was worth a shot.
He aimlessly flipped through the channels. Hotels never had anything good on television. News. News. New. Random telenovela. Infomercial. Infomercial. Another random novela. He finally landed on a channel that was showing reruns of a sitcom from the 90s. That would suffice.
Jade walked back into the room, now wearing a simple red t-shirt and yoga pants. "Oh, I used to love this show when I was a kid."
"Me too."
Jade made her way to the couch and sat down next to Beck and tucked her feet under her. She reached forward and picked up her flowers. "Want to know another secret about me?"
"Yeah."
"I love weddings."
"So does every other female on this planet."
"I'm serious. I adore weddings. Something about being in the presence of a couple who is very much in love, always gives people a feeling of optimism."
"You aren't going to find a couple who is more perfect for each other than Audrey and Noah. It's almost scary. They're soul mates."
"Soul mates? You believe in all of that stuff?"
Beck shrugged, "I don't know. Couples like that, who have been together since grad school make the whole concept seem amazing, but I'm not sure if I'm sold on the idea for everyone. What about you?"
"I'd like to think so. I want to think that there is one person out there that was born to be with me and only me. And then we'd run off and get married and have thousands of children and live happily ever after in a castle."
Beck gripped his tie and loosened it. He slipped it off and tossed it beside him on the couch, "That sounds like a wonderful fantasy, Cinderella."
Jade picked up the tie and slipped it around her own neck. "I'm too outspoken to ever be a Cinderella and too self sufficient."
"I agree."
Jade pulled at her hair and removed it from the hair tie that was holding it together. She pulled it back together and tried to put it into a neater ponytail. Beck reached out and pulled on a strand of her hair. "You're hair is really pretty."
"Thanks. I need to get my ends trimmed, though. They're pretty disastrous."
"You're really pretty." Beck added.
Jade felt her cheeks heat up and she quickly lowered her head. Was she seriously blushing? Jade West did not blush. "You're really nice when you're drunk."
"I'm serious. You're gorgeous."
Jade wasn't one of those women who were beautiful and either to blind to see it, or just ignore it. She knew how she looked, but it was always nice to hear someone else say it, especially someone of the opposite sex.
"Thank you."
Beck's hand moved from Jade's hair to her face. His finger moved from her temple, to her jaw line. Jade inhaled slowly and tried not to break out into a million goosebumps.
Beck took his hand off of Jade, and it fell to his side. "You're welcome."
Jade snapped out of her trance and looked away from Beck. "I should call my brother and say goodnight. We don't go to bed without calling each other."
"You and your brother are close?"
"Extremely." Jade reached for her cell phone and dialed her brother's number. "He's my best friend. He's the only person in my family besides my mother who I adore unconditionally." She waited a few seconds before frowning. "He's not answering."
"California may be three hours behind, but it's still pretty late out there."
"Yeah, but he always answer my phone calls." Jade's lip turned up in a pout. "He's probably working on school stuff. I'll call him in the morning."
Beck thought it was sweet how much love Jade loved her brother. Her face lit up when she talked about him, her voice was always laden with enthusiasm when she talked about how proud she was of him for doing so well in med school.
He liked how she was permanently enthused. She was fun, lively, and as she proved earlier today, talented. She was also a lot more business savvy than she let on. She had helped him with his job, a lot, even though the help was unsolicited. Jade had everything Beck's life was lacking.
Jade turned and noticed Beck staring at her. "What? Do I have smeared makeup or something?"
"No."
"Really? Because you're staring at me."
Beck decided that if he was going to do this, he'd have to do it before he lost his nerve. "You're fine."
"Okay then-"
Jade couldn't finish her sentence because Beck pressed his lips against hers, stopping her from talking.
This kiss, in Jade's opinion, was much more...confident than the first one they shared. Like Beck was more sure about what he was doing.
Beck was still waiting for Jade to pull away. In the back of his mind, he was anticipating for Jade to pull away, slap him, kick him out of her room, and threaten to press sexual harassment charges.
But she didn't. She actually kissed him back.
Jade grabbed his face and moved in closer to deepen the kiss, trying to level the playing field. She hooked her leg over Beck's thigh so she was on his lap. If Beck thought he was going to be the more dominant one in this situation, he thought wrong.
Beck's lips traveled down Jade's neck, trying to leave a mark. Jade's hands moved from the spot of on Beck's face to his chest. Her fingers hurriedly tried to undo the buttons of his shirt, but it wasn't going as smoothly as she hoped. Were buttons always this hard to get undone? Or was the universe just screwing with her?
The entire thing was becoming a chess game to them, now a battle of wits and dominance. Who could have the upper hand for the longest amount of time before the other person came to their senses and pushed back?
Beck's left hand traveled under Jade's shirt and slid across her back. She froze at the contact, feeling the cool silver of Beck's wedding band. Wedding. Married. Oh crap.
That was enough to pull Jade back down to earth. "Stop, stop, stop!" She ordered, pushing Beck off of her.
"What? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Jade gasped. "Why do you even have to ask me such a question?"
"Because five seconds ago, you weren't freaking out."
"I'm freaking out because," Jade reached behind her back to grab Beck's hand, flashing his ring at him, "I realized that I was this close to sleeping my married boss! You're married! You have a wife! And I am not her."
"At this point, I think Diana and I are partial roommates."
"You're a married man. I can't do this."
"If you think my farce of a marriage is even worth having this conversation over-"
Jade shook her head, "That doesn't matter."
"Why not?"
"You may think that you're marriage with Diana is a farce, but I'm sure she feels differently. I watched my mother think she was in a committed marriage for two years before she finally found out that my dad finally had the balls to admit he didn't want to be with her anymore. I don't want to be Tiffany."
"You're not Tiffany."
Jade removed herself from Beck's lap. She recoiled into the opposite corner of the couch, trying to get away from him. "I'm not going to turn into her. And I'm not going to be your whore."
"Jade, you're nobody's whore." Beck argued. "You are smart, and funny, and gorgeous. On the day after we met, I told you that there was something about you and I meant it. I've never met anyone like you before."
"Talk to your wife and tell her that."
"Do you want me to?"
"Yes."
"I'll talk to her." Beck stopped for a moment. Did he really just say that? Without even thinking about it? "Jade, this has gone on long enough. I'm not going to ignore my feelings for you any longer."
"You have to leave." Jade said, standing up and gesturing to the door. "You need to leave now."
"Okay." Beck stood up and walked to the door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Beck nodded, "I understand. But you and I, we're going to revisit this. And soon. I'm not going to let it go."
Jade walked over the door and opened it, letting Beck know the conversation was over and it was time for him to leave. "Have a nice night."
Beck bent forward and planted a kiss on Jade's forehead. He let his lips linger on her head longer than they should have before pulling away. "Sleep well."
Jade closed the door and locked it for good measure. Her brain was moving a mile a minute, but her body was frozen in place. Did that really just happen? Or was this all just some horrible nightmare?
Out of all the stupid things Jade had done in her entire life, this was by far the stupidest. It wasn't just stupid. It was just plain wrong. What would her friends say? What would her parents say? Jade frowned. Her poor mother would surely hate her. She had already lost her husband to someone, she didn't need her daughter following in the depraved woman's footsteps.
Her phone ringing was what brought her back to reality. She dashed to the couch where she left it and checked the screen. Tyler was calling her back. She picked up the phone and answered it.
"Her, Ty."
"Hey, baby sister. Sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in the shower."
"It's okay."
"So how's New York?"
"Umm, New York is eventful."
"Are you doing any tourist activities?"
"No. Hey Ty, I'm really tired, so I'm gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"See me? You're coming home tomorrow?" Tyler asked.
"Yes." Jade anxiously bit down on her thumbnail. "Yeah, I'm gonna book a flight as soon as wake up in the morning. I'll be home by tomorrow night."
"You've only been there for three days. I thought you had a few more to go."
"New York is a little too much for me. I just want to get back to the west coast."
"A social butterfly like you, I thought you would enjoy every second of that New York energy."
"Not this time."
"Are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Your voice is shaking, you're answering too quickly, almost like you're not even listening to me, and I know when something is bothering my sister.
Jade hated that her brother was so smart and perceptive. It was impossible to get anything by him. "I'm just tired." That was technically a lie. Jade was pretty tired. "I need to get some sleep."
"Is that all? Because-"
"Ty, I'm gonna head to bed now. It's been an incredibly long day."
"Okay. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I love you."
"Love you too."
Jade hung up the phone. She stalked of to the bedroom and plopped down on the bed, not bothering to tie her hair up or get under the covers. She didn't have enough energy. She just closed her eyes and prayed that sleep would come quick and easy.
It didn't.
:)