CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

 

He’d never been near the university before. In fact, he hadn’t been anywhere near the area, so it took him a few wrong turns before he found the street where The Gifted Crow was situated. Since Jake had left his place, there had been a few times he’d almost turned around and ridden back home again. What possessed him to accept Charlie’s invitation, he didn’t know. But he was here, standing a few yards away from the front entrance where two bouncers chatted and greeted those who had arrived as late as him. There were people coming in and out all the time, a few hanging around outside smoking. Jake wasn’t exactly dressed for any kind of night out. Unlike the clientele in this place, with their trendy, stylish clothes, he knew the minute he went inside he’d stand out like red dye in a swimming pool in his bike gear.

Best get it over with before he changed his mind then.

Giving his bike another once over, for no other reason than to delay a little longer, Jake headed to the door, waiting behind a couple of girls who had to present their IDs. Then it was his turn. One of the doormen, the taller of the two, looked him up and down and nodded to his helmet. “You can’t take that inside.”

Ridiculous. Pretty sure if anyone was going to start trouble they wouldn’t bother wearing a motorbike helmet to do it. “Do you have a cloakroom?”

The guy looked at him for a second. “Right inside. Make sure you check it.” he warned as he opened the door.

“Will do.” Jake checked his jacket in as well, and felt much better in his T-shirt. For some reason, he felt the need to straighten his hair, trying to ignore the most likely explanation for it. As if it mattered anyway. Like she hadn’t seen him in a worse state, all oiled up and in his work scruffs.

What the hell was he doing?

He’d be leaving soon anyway, so what difference did it make? Just as soon as he found another place he’d be gone. Hopefully somewhere further south and as far away as he could afford to get from here.

There was a band in full swing when he got inside. They were pretty loud; it took a minute for his ears to adjust. The place was packed, and he felt uncomfortable straight away, the urge to leave riding him again as his eyes darted around the place. He couldn’t see the band. The room he was in was just a bar area with a pool table that was covered over and had some people sitting on the edge of it. Following the music, he squeezed through the bodies until he entered another room. This one was pretty big and he clocked the stage at the far end. Most people were standing. Only a few sat at tables he could see around where he was, and he wondered if he was ever going to spot Charlie. Maybe she hadn’t come after all, which would be better for him in the end.

Jake squeezed himself on the end of the bar, figuring he might as well get a coke. The band was pretty good actually; only three musicians; a drummer, bassist, and guitar vocalist. The music was a little heavy for his taste, but they could certainly play. After he’d listened to another song, he went walkabout again, hoping to catch a glimpse of Charlie before he gave up and left. Just as he was squeezing past a group of lads who were obviously fans of the band, singing along loudly to every word, he thought he heard his name. Looking around through the sea of heads, he couldn’t see anyone. Probably wasn’t even him they were calling. There could be any number of Jakes in the pub tonight. He started forward again then felt a tug on his arm.

When he turned around, Charlie was beaming at him, and for a crazy moment, Jake found himself smiling back at her just as wide.

“You came,” she said, stating the obvious. Her blonde hair was tied back from her face at the top, the rest hanging down just past her shoulders in shaggy waves, the lights overhead shining off her highlights. She had dark makeup around her eyes, far more than he’d seen her wear before. He watched her mouth move, her muted brown lipstick enhancing her full lips as she spoke to him, and he found himself transfixed on them. But he couldn’t hear a damn thing as the guitar on stage went crazy, belting out a crunching solo that tore at his ears.

He pointed to his ear and shook his head. Then Charlie gestured for him to follow. He took that moment to give her a quick once-over as she went off a little in front of him. She wore the tightest grey jeans that made her slim legs look like they went on for days, and a light pink, strappy top tucked into the waistband. Jake looked up, not happy with how much he appreciated the view. Instead, he kept his eyes on the back of her head as she moved away from the main thick of the crowd into a smaller room just off to the side.

It was still loud, but was much more bearable.

She stopped at a high table that had three other people around it. Jake recognised the man. He remembered the look the guy had given him outside Charlie’s flat last week. There were two women, one of which—the one with the brightest coloured bandana holding her hair up—he’d seen in the hallway that night too. The blonde one he wasn’t sure about.

Charlie leaned into him and he got a strong waft of her perfume, all fruity and fresh. He did not inhale deeply. Only he did; he liked it. Really liked it. “These are my friends, Jason, his girlfriend Selena, and this is Cara.”

They all said their hellos. Jason the most reserved, giving him the side-eye while the other two smiled and introduced themselves. Charlie dragged a stool over from the next table and put it in front of him. Jake wasn’t all that pleased about meeting her friends. In fact, part of him thought she might have come on her own; it was the main reason he’d forced himself to come at all. He should have known, though. It was sensible not to come to such a busy place alone, especially after what had happened the other week. Although why he was so concerned, he didn’t want to think about too deeply.

Jason got up. “Gotta take a piss. Anyone want anything from the bar?”

Orders were called out to him, and Charlie looked at Jake. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No, I’m good thanks,” he held up his half-empty pint of coke.

“Make sure you wash your hands before you handle my drink,” Cara shouted across the table as Jason left. “So, Jake?” She leaned towards him, her chin resting on her hand. “Are you from around here?”

“Cara.” Charlie rolled her eyes and looked at him as if to say “sorry”.

“What?” her friend asked all innocent. “It’s just a normal question you ask someone when you first meet them.”

“No,” he replied, not elaborating any further and he saw Cara’s eyes narrow, her overly long lashes almost meeting.

“Ooh, the mysterious type.” And then she gave him a playful wink.

“Ignore her.” Charlie smiled at him. “I promise she isn’t this bad when she hasn’t got alcohol inside her.”

“You lie,” Cara said, and laughed along with the other woman who seemed more timid.

The night went by quite quickly and wasn’t too painful even though Jake was on soft drinks and he got the sense Jason wasn’t all that eager for him to be there. They watched two male solo singers, and a male/female acoustic duo, and when the MC came on and thanked the artists, it looked like it wasn’t only Jake’s cue to leave.

“We should get out of here before the god-awful dance music starts,” Charlie said close to him, filling his head with that scent again, making him dizzy from it. Jason and his girlfriend got up at the same time, and Jake and the others joined them, grabbing coats off stools and belongings from the table.

After getting his jacket and helmet from the cloakroom on the way out, he went outside where they were all waiting for him by the front entrance.

“No. It’ll cost way too much,” Charlie was saying as he joined them. “I’ll get a separate one.”

“It’s no problem. We’ll all chip in,” her friend Jason said.

Jake was curious. “What’s going on?”

“They want to share a taxi so they can drop me off first, but it’s right out of their way.”

Cara put her hand on Charlie’s arm. “It doesn’t matter, Char. There are three of us so once we split the fare it’ll be hardly any different.”

“I can give you a ride.” Hmm. For some reason he couldn’t surmise, Jake hadn’t even had to think about it. Why not? It made sense seeing as they were going to the same place.

No one spoke for a minute. Instead they all looked at him. Jason’s face was like a thunder cloud. Jake was starting to wonder if there’d been anything between him and Charlie with how territorial the guy seemed to be over her. Then he noticed Cara move her gaze to Charlie as she tried to bite away a smile. Yeah, he wasn’t too happy her friend was already close to marrying them off. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea after all.

“On your bike?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah. You okay with that?” he asked, curious as to why she’d started biting the edge of her lip. “You’ never been on the back of a bike before?”

Her eyebrows went up. “No. But I’m more concerned about these heels.” She lifted her foot slightly and gestured to the ankle boots that had maybe a three inch heel. “Shouldn’t be an issue. They’ll hook the pegs. Makes sense seeing as we’re going to the same place.”

“Umm, yeah, okay. Thanks.” Turning to her friends who were still far too quiet, and Jason was looking at the floor, definitely unimpressed. “I’ll see you all tomorrow then.”

Cara was first to hug Charlie and Jake was sure she whispered something in her ear, especially when he saw Charlie’s jaw tighten a little before she gently nudged her friend away. “Goodbye, Cara.” Her friend giggled.

“Bye Jake. Nice to meet you,” Cara said with a narrow-eyed smile.

After the goodbyes were done, and her friends had gone, Charlie looked at him briefly, her hands in the pockets of her waist-length leather jacket. Then she gave him a tight-lipped smile and looked down the street. “Where’s your bike?”

So this was just as awkward for her.

He started walking. “Just down here.”

As they approached where he’d parked, Jake heard her footsteps slowing behind him and he turned back to her. Going by her blank expression, he could tell she was nervous, made more obvious by the way she swallowed as if her throat had gone dry. Without thought, Jake reached for her hand. It was too late when he realised what he’d done, so he made out like it was a natural thing to do, no big deal at all. Ignoring how he really felt. Gently, he squeezed her fingers in reassurance, just like he would if it was anyone. Yeah right.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he said with a slight smile before letting go of her hand.

Charlie just looked at him, and he saw her take in a breath through her nose right before she nodded.

Taking his gloves out of the helmet, he held it out to her. “Here, put this on. Might be a little loose but at least it’s something.”

She held it in both hands and looked up at him. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll stick to the back roads.”

Shame really; the night was clear—perfect conditions for a blast out down the motorway. He’d have liked to take Charlie for a real spin, show her how exhilarating being on a bike could be. Shit. Now he was thinking of things he’d like to do with her? Good job there was only one helmet then. He wouldn’t risk getting pulled so it was out of the question anyway.

Maybe another time, he thought, and then quickly dismissed it.

As he mounted the bike, he did worry she might not be warm enough. With the weather getting milder, she was in a waist-length jacket and it wasn’t very thick. When he looked up to give her the gloves to at least keep her hands warm, he couldn’t help the smile that graced his usually deadpan face. The helmet almost covered her eyes and she was struggling to tighten the strap under her chin.

He reached up and crooked his finger. “Here. Let me help.”

Charlie moved closer and he tightened the strap, careful to avoid trapping her skin. When his eyes moved up to hers she was looking at him in a way he didn’t want to take any notice of. But of course he did, swallowing at the sudden warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. Blinking, he held out the gloves to her. “You should put these on too. Your hands are going to be exposed to the wind at the front of me.”

Without a word, she took them and put them on.

“The only thing I need to ask you is, don’t try and fight me when I lean into a bend. Just hold on and go with me, okay? I promise you won’t go anywhere.”

He watched her head move up and down, and could still see the uncertainty in her eyes.

“Trust me.” Jake climbed on and powered up the engine, the twin exhausts growling into life. He twisted his wrist on the throttle and gave it a rev or two, then scooted as far forward as he could. The seat wasn’t really equipped for a pillion passenger, but she was small enough to fit back there and luckily he had a short back rest so she wouldn’t fall off.

When he felt her hand grip his shoulder, Jake braced himself as Charlie mounted the bike, trying to force his thoughts away from the warmth of her body against his. It didn’t work. Then she made things worse when she wriggled a little as she made herself comfortable, placing her feet on the back pins. When he felt her hesitantly move her arms around his waist, he closed his eyes for a second. Last thing he wanted was to like the feel of them there, but, yeah. . . his body was on a different page with that. Ignoring it as best he could, he realised she was only holding on lightly.

He turned to speak to her above the roar of the sawn pipes. “Put your body right up against me,” which wasn’t going to help him at all, “and hold on as tight as you can. Lock one hand over the other.”

As soon as he felt her press up against him, and after giving himself a minute to compose his damn self, he said, “You ready?”

When she nodded, he touched her hands briefly to check they were tight, and moved off slowly to give her a chance to get used to it. When he’d gone a short distance, he turned his head to the side and shouted, “You okay?”

He felt her squeeze his waist in reply. Then he pushed his body back into hers just a little for some extra security, and sped up.

The ride went without a hitch.

They didn’t see any police, and thankfully, Charlie was still there on the back when he pulled into their street. Jake purposefully slowed a little, wanting to postpone their arrival just a little longer, and cursing himself for the fact. He took it easy as he approached the building where they lived. Then he pulled into his dedicated space close to the front door. When he kicked the stand down and switched off the engine, he felt Charlie rest her head on his back. She hadn’t removed her arms from around him yet either and he paused, taking advantage of the moment, his shoulders relaxing for what felt like the first time in a decade.

No. Stop.

What are you thinking, you idiot?

Covering her hands with his he squeezed a little. “You okay?”

When she sat back and removed her arms, he felt both relieved and bereft.

“Yeah. Oh wow. Yes I’m fine.” Jake stayed where he was so she could use him to get off the bike. “Um, well. I actually enjoyed it for the most part,” she said in a muted, breathy voice as she dismounted.

So had he, except he enjoyed the whole of it.

Jake got off the bike. “I’ll be right back.” He quickly went inside to his letter box and got the chain lock out. Back outside he secured it to the ground anchor he’d put down after he’d first moved in. When he stood, Charlie had removed the gloves and was, again, struggling with the chin strap on his helmet.

“This bloody thing,” she huffed, sounding frustrated with herself.

Sighing internally, he went to assist her, this time making quicker work of it. Not wanting to fall into the entrapment of her greeny-blue eyes again.

“Thanks,” she said as she removed it and handed it back to him.

They faced each other for a minute and Jake suddenly didn’t know what to say, but he knew he wanted to retreat and get up to his flat as soon as possible. He’d already been around the woman for too long tonight, and that ride back, with her body moulded to his as she’d clung to him, had only made things worse. He was intrigued by her—couldn’t deny that he fancied her; it was the reason he’d gone to the pub tonight. Charlie was getting under his skin and it was dangerous. There was no way he could stick around after what had happened the other day. After tonight, he was even more determined to leave behind another complication. Even if she did make him feel things he hadn’t expected.

“Best get inside then.” The shiver in her voice brought him out of his head.

“Shit. Yeah you’re freezing,” he said, noticing her teeth were almost chattering as she hugged her small jacket tightly closed.

They made their way inside and even though Charlie was trying to hide it, he could see she was still shivering.

“I was okay for the first half of the trip.”

He let her go up the stairs first, and made sure he kept his eyes downward of her body. Choosing to admire the grey linoleum-covered steps. “Yeah, the wind doesn’t half get you on a bike. I thought my body might shield you a bit more.”

Once they got to the first floor, they were quiet for the rest of the short walk down the hall. When they both stopped outside his door, Charlie faced him, her cheeks a little pink, and didn’t that make her look even more attractive.

“I’m really glad you came tonight.”

Although he shouldn’t have gone, Jake didn’t want to lie to her. “Me too. The music was great. It was busier than I expected.”

“The open mic nights have really taken off.” Those unusually coloured eyes widened and lit up her whole face. “Hey, you should perform.”

He took a step back. “Oh, no. I’m not—”

“Jake.” When she stepped closer to him, her hand landing on his forearm, he looked down at it, wanting to pull it away. This was too close for his comfort, “You have a brilliant voice, and the way you play is. . . you should let people hear it.”

“It’s not my thing. But thanks for the compliment.” Turning away from her, needing to break the contact, he stuck his key in the lock and opened the door. When he glanced back she was moving away with a crestfallen look. Jake wished he could tell her yes. Not for any other reason than the fact he actually liked her and didn’t want her to look at him like that.

For a moment, he found himself biting back words he couldn’t say. You can’t do this, Jake. As much as he’d love to play for an audience again, it wasn’t his life anymore. He couldn’t get any more involved with Charlie or her friends. Never mind think of living a regular life. There was a brief moment when he thought he could move on. Now, though, the only moving on he could possibly do was from this place. If that prick was back, Jake couldn’t risk staying here. He had someone else to think about, and now Charlie too. The darkness had started to creep back in. At least he’d had a brief respite from it. He hated the way his life had turned out, even more so now because he had to turn away from Charlie. In a strange turn of events Jake found himself not wanting to.

“Okay. Well, thanks again for the ride.” Her voice cut through Jake’s unease and he realised he’d missed his chance to say something as she walked away. He watched as she reached her apartment, unable to accept what should be a simple invitation to perform at the fucking pub, which is what he’d like to do.

Looking back down the hall at him, Charlie gave him a slight smile as she paused at her door. “Goodnight Jake.”

“Night Charlie.”

Still he stayed there, wondering how the hell he’d allowed himself to get here.

Inside his flat, when he was stripped of his clothes, Jake sat up leaning against the headboard of his bed with a coffee on the bedside table, reading the same line of the John Grisham book over and over again whilst trying to rid his thoughts of his neighbour. Except, all he kept thinking about was her arms gripping his torso tightly, her thighs either side of his arse. He put his head back and when he closed his eyes she was there, the image of her smiling at him when he’d turned around in the pub. And again, the way she’d looked at him as he’d tightened the helmet’s neck strap, her eyes unmoving. He’d been trapped by the intensity of them in that moment, and he’d felt like she was letting him know she was interested too.

Dangerously, Jake imagined what it would be like to kiss her. He knew her lips would be soft; he could tell by the fullness of them. And, of course, he already knew in a way what her body felt like wrapped around him.

Shit.

He lifted his head, expanding his lungs as he tried, again, to push her from his mind, but it was too late. His cock had enjoyed the brief fantasy and he wanted to punch the fucking thing. Punishing it for betraying him, Jake ignored the hard-on and put his book on the side. When he was under the quilt, he reached over and turned the lamp out.

Sleep needed to happen straight away.

If it was the only thing that would stop his mind, or his hand for that matter, from wondering to things it shouldn’t. Fuck. He’d sleep his whole damn life if he had to.

“Goodnight Jake.”

Shit.

It was going to be a long night.