Part 21 (2/2)

'Keep your f.u.c.king hands to yourself.' Jesse snarls at a poor, startled c.o.c.kney. He doesn't know what's. .h.i.t him. I feel bad; he was only trying his luck. I would have dealt with it. Where did he come from? This is all I need on my night out, supposedly free from arrogant men. Or not so, it would appear. He's left me for four days wondering what happened, and now he's turned up, out of the blue, raging like a wild bull. Has he even calmed down from Tuesday?

'I'm sorry mate. I didn't mean any offence. Your girlfriend and I were just chatting about s.h.i.+t, ya know.' c.o.c.kney explains, completely panicked.

Girlfriend? Oh! I want to advise poor c.o.c.kney that I'm not even the girlfriend of the maniac pinning him up by his throat, but judging by Jesse's obvious mood, I'll decline at the risk of p.i.s.sing him off further.

'Jesse, let go of him, he wasn't doing anything.'

c.o.c.kney looks at me gratefully. He knows I'm stretching the truth. A few more seconds, and I'm pretty sure I would have been throwing a drink over him. I gently stroke Jesse's arm in an attempt to calm him down, ignoring his warm firmness. He looks like he could explode with anger. I'm p.i.s.sed. How dare he turn up and trample all over my recovery night.

'What's going on?' Kate arrives next to me.

'Nothing,' I snap. 'Jesse, let him go.'

He doesn't appear to be listening. What am I supposed to do with this? I don't want to see him. I'm feeling derailed already, and he hasn't even looked at me yet. I can hardly walk away and leave poor c.o.c.kney to bear the brunt of Jesse's unjustified rage. Where the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l has he been for four days?

I'm beyond relieved when Sam turns up on the scene. 'Sam, please sort your t.w.a.t of a friend out,' I turn towards Kate. 'Come on.'

Kate's eyes light up like The Blackpool Illuminations at Sam's unexpected arrival. I hear Sam calmly coaxing Jesse from c.o.c.kneys throat as I drag Kate away, heading for the dance floor.

'What was all that about?' she asks.

'Don't. What happened to Greg?'

'He was a total d.i.c.k. Come on, let's dance.'

Tom and Victoria welcome us with waving arms as we join them on the dance floor. I've been thrown off guard by Jesse turning up. Is this a coincidence, or did he know I would be here? How could he know? I was having a great night, not having thought about him for at least an hour. That's a record for the last four days. d.a.m.n it!

I push Jesse out of my mind and soon let The Source & Candi Staton take me to a better place. I love this track.

After half an hour and a string of some great tracks, I haven't seen or heard from Jesse. Sam must have ejected him, or maybe the doormen did. Either way, I'm free to resume the great night it had been up until Jesse crashed in. I signal to Kate that I'm going to the toilet, smiling when she acknowledges with a s.h.i.+mmy and a laugh.

As I exit the cubicle, I fish my nude lipstick out of my bag to re-apply, and check my phone to find ten missed calls from Jesse. What? Oh, he's angry all right. But what on earth has he got to be mad about? Any pangs of Jesse withdrawal have been extinguished by his unreasonable behaviour. Who does he think he is? I don't dwell on it, though. I clear the missed calls, making my way back to the dance floor, only to find the others making their way to the bar.

'Drink!' Tom clenches his throat in an exaggerated signal of thirst.

It's Victoria's round. As I wait for her to get served, a wave of unease washes over me. He's still here. I know it.

She hands me my drink, her mouth gaping open. 'Oh...my...G.o.d!'

I take my wine. 'What?'

'That guy, the one in Starbucks I was telling you about,' she explains, nodding over my shoulder. 'There he is. I told you he was yummy.'

I turn in the direction of Victoria's stare and find her looking at Sam. But that's not what catches my attention. Every fine air on the back of my neck p.r.i.c.kles when I see Jesse leaning against the very pillar he had poor c.o.c.kney pinned up against, not an hour ago. His severe stare is piercing me, while Sam and the other guy from The Manor, Drew, are busy chatting and drinking. Jesse's not engaging in the conversation, though. No, he's stood there looking as angry as he did earlier, drilling holes right into me. Victoria's information suddenly filters into my brain.

I turn back to her. 'What happened?'

She looks vague as she hands drinks to Kate and Tom. They accept, swiftly returning to the floor. 'What happened where?' she asks on a frown.

I roll my eyes. She's so dim sometimes. 'Starbucks, what happened?'

'Oh.' She's back in the game. 'She just walked in, started screaming and shouting, and lobbed a coffee over the poor bloke.'

'What did she say?'

'Oh, I can't remember. She called him a selfish, cheating something or other.' she flips casually. Sam has a girlfriend? I'll have to warn Kate, she seems to like him. 'Hey, he's with the guy who hoofed you out of the office.'

'Yeah, listen, keep that to yourself, okay?'

She frowns at me. 'What?'

'I mean the flying coffee. And while we're at it, not a word to Patrick about the hoofing either.'

She shrugs. 'Whatever. Oh, I love this song. Ava, come on.'

I watch as Victoria dances her way back through the crowd, but I can't move. I can feel his eyes burning into my back. I know I should just walk away, but the magnet affect he has on me sets me turning towards him instead. He has his phone in his hand, and he waves it in the air in a kind of look gesture. I don't know why I do, but I do. I get my phone from my bag, and not so much to my surprise, Jesse's name is illuminating my screen. I glance back up, seeing him put his phone to his ear. He wants me to answer it.

The loud music around me fades out into a dull base, pulsing in my ears, and the hum of laughing and chatting diminishes into a low mumble of sound around me. I'm being swallowed up by his eyes. I'm completely immobilised. My senses are a.s.saulted by the presence of Jesse Ward, the sight of him triggering all the memories of his voice, his smell, his touch. The unforgiving power he holds over me is playing the Devil's advocate with my intelligence, and my heart is hammering a wild, uneven beat in my ears.

I watch as he lowers his phone from his ear, shaking his head. He starts towards me. I see Sam look in my direction as Jesse leaves their group, Drew flipping his eyes up too. They both look uneasy at Jesse's obvious target.

I momentarily recapture my senses when Sam grabs Jesse's arm to pull him back, but gets shoved out of the way. The music and activity crashes back into my brain. I plead with my legs to listen to the sensible side of my brain and take me away from here before my stupid side allows me to fall victim to his physical magnetism again. I abandon my drink on the bar and kick my legs into action, bolting through the crowd, knocking people out of the way, as my retreat becomes fraught with the need to make it to the safety of the toilets. No contact and no derailment. Hazardous doesn't quite cover it. He's proved tonight exactly why I need to avoid him like the plague.

I throw the cubicle door shut, fighting to secure the latch as he pushes against the other side, hindering my attempts to keep him away. My adrenalin is pumping. For the briefest of moments, I think I've managed to block his access because the resistance on the other side eases, but not enough to for me to get the lock engaged.

'Ava, I'm coming in or you're coming out. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop fighting me, I'll break the f.u.c.king door down.' His breathing is heavy.

Resting my back against the door, I try to get some air into my lungs. I look up around me. I'm cornered. You would think I would be safe in the ladies. I can't look at him, I'll cave if he gets is hands on me. I need not to be in this f.u.c.king position! How did I get myself in the situation? I jump when the bang of a fist on the door resonates through me.

'G.o.d d.a.m.n it, Ava!' Bang! 'Ava, please.'

I repeatedly jolt forward under the thumps of Jesse's fist. I'm screwed. 'Go away, please!' I shout.

His fist collides with the door again. 'No, f.u.c.k. Ava!'

I just have to leave. He won't restrain me in such a public place. I need to walk away. Block it out...block him out. There's silence. I hold my breath. Has he gone? I stand quietly for a few minutes, my eyes darting around the small cubicle, constantly looking up to check he's not coming over the top. He's gone. I stupidly relax against the door.

Within in two seconds flat, I'm thrust forward and he's in. When I turn around, there's less than a foot between us, and the first thing I notice is his rapid breathing, his black s.h.i.+rt lifting with the rise and fall of his chest. I stare at his jeans. If I look up at his handsome face, I'm at an instant disadvantage.

'Ava, look at me.' he demands harshly. I clap my hands over my ears, lowering myself to the toilet seat. I need to block it all out. 'Ava, why are you doing this?' he asks.

Oh, how long have I got to sit here and block it all out? I start humming in my head as I stare down at the floor. I feel his hands clap around my wrists, pulling my hands away from my ears. His touch heats my skin. Why does he think I'm doing this?

'I don't want to do this in the toilets of a bar, Ava.'

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