“Rock star? What, is she finally showing off that little tattoo on her inner thigh?” I mutter to myself as I take a drink of beer.
When the guys choke on their drinks, I immediately realize my rookie mistake that I wasn’t quiet enough. Fuck. I am an idiot. Why did that slip off my tongue so easily?
Probably because the thought of her body with curves in all the right places and under me is imprinted in my head for life. Because of that one night when we finally combusted.
“What do you mean tattoo on her inner thigh?” Max’s face raises with a puzzled expression, and it comes on strong like I just entered a Law & Order interrogation.
“Leo, how do you know about her inner thigh?” Lucas quickly adds on with his voice going high, and he shares a look with Max.
They’re thinking something, but I have no clue what. Before I can answer or even figure out what the hell is going on in their heads, Max rubs his hands through his hair as if he’s adjusting to the news that I nailed his business partner.
“Huh, looks like that theory is right.” Max tilts his head to the side in contemplation.
Hmm, strange, Jess was adamant that we shouldn’t share our evening with anyone. So now I’m wondering how the guys suspected.
“What do you mean theory?” I ask, amused.
Max and Lucas look at each other. Lucas shakes his head as if to warn Max not to do something. I am really at a loss now at how this conversation derailed so quickly.
“Well, this night just got interesting,” Lucas admits as he motions with his head to the ladies sitting at the bar.
I follow my sight in the direction of where he’s looking. In my plain view I can see Jess laughing with Abby as they drink some wine. She looks just as good as that night with smokey eyes, dark slim blue jeans, and a black top. Her long dark auburn hair falling behind her shoulders in waves, her thick hair that sprawls out on my chest to perfection.
She most certainly left a mark in my head. But truthfully, she always had a fucking spot in my head. And I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a twinge in my middle begging to see Jess.
Deciding to make my move, I head over. I owe the guys a round anyway. Then we can all chill out.
I begin to walk over to the bar through the crowd and loud music. Abby looks up and nervously smiles at me. She gently nudges Jess’s arm and whispers something in her ear. Jess turns her head to see what Abby is looking at. Immediately, Jess’s face of laughter and fun fades to disbelief.
Her mouth slightly falls open, as if someone just stole all her breath.
I know I can have that effect on people.
Jess’s blue eyes lock with mine instantly. Our held gaze is tense, and I’m not sure why. It seems my journey to the bar required Lucas and Max to speed line it in front of me.
Before Jess or I can say something, Max is already next to her and gently nudging her arm.
“Look, Jess. Guess who’s back. Crazy. My guess is you two have a lot to catch up on,” Max has a cunning look thrown across his face as he cracks the sentence out as if he’s trying to make a point to her.
One I really don’t understand. And Jess seems unfazed by it too. She is too focused on me.
My eyes remain locked on Jess who slowly is able to close her mouth. That sexy mouth with dark lipstick on her lips that I once devoured and have been thinking about how to get her to agree to let me devour it again. Something tells me that I shouldn’t think about that right now. And that’s a damn shame.
Abby seems lost and looks at Jess then me. I’m now confused and hoping anyone can give me a clue to this situation occurring in front of me.
Jess seems to notice the whispering around us and something in her switches. As if she was snapped back to reality as her mind was somewhere else—hopefully a flashback of what we did. She breaks our gaze and firmly grabs my arm.
“We need to talk,” she tells me seriously. “Alone,” she barks, looking at everyone as she drags me with her outside to the patio of Matchbox.
Part of me can’t believe that within two minutes of seeing each other, she already wants to argue with me, because she seems like she’s on a warpath. But I’ve always liked her all hyped up. Challenge accepted.
There are a few people drinking outside, but for the most part we’re alone. It’s dark out, but the white fairy lights give some light. The music is now more in the background.
She lets my arm go with her eyes blazing. Wild animal Jess is clearly gearing up. Proving the fact, her palm lands against my chest and she pushes me just enough to make me flinch.
“You are finally back.” She’s a little snarky still, I see.
This makes me lick my lips with a smirk forming. “What do you mean finally? Missed having me deep inside you or the fact you loved being wrapped tightly in my arms?” I cock my head to the side.
Her face flares as our eyes intensely gaze into one another’s. She is about to rage, but instead she almost bitterly laughs to herself. “So, this is how we’re going to do this,” she mumbles to herself and looks up towards the sky with her hands on her hips. She then returns her eyes to me. “Missed…right. Well, Leo, you have indeed missed something,” she speaks with that tone that tells me I should be bracing myself up.
But as I study her and try to figure out what I could have possibly done to have her already in such a state, I can see something is different with her. She is struggling to continue her sentence. That isn’t her. No, she is a feisty spitfire that could bring me to my knees, and she doesn’t even realize.
I feel the need to help the conversation along.
“Okay then, Jess, you wanted to ta—”
“I have a baby—”
We both speak at the same time. It doesn’t matter as I heard the word baby loud and clear. She looks up from the ground to focus her eyes on me.
Okay, so Jess is a mom? To a baby.
"We need to talk." She’s looking at me and studying my face.
There is a pause, and in that pause, my brain makes a connection. Whoa. Something tells me I am part of this baby equation. She is about to walk off, but I instantly grab her arm.
"Baby?" I’m able to get out of my mouth as if someone punched the air out of me.
I want to say more, but I am really struggling here. She responds simply with a nod yes.
"We… have a baby.”
She emphasizes that we, that I am sure of. I am too stunned to muster the strength to keep her in my hold. Instead, she pats my shoulder to encourage me to take in the news, before walking away.
Well. Didn't see this coming.
