Part 22 (1/2)
Gradually, Tegan relaxes and eventually takes my hand again. The longer we sit here, the more on the edge of the guys' lives I feel, like a little kid dismissed by his superiors. I never noticed before; Jem's always been a bit of a douche around me and Bryn has his reasons, but Liam and Dylan don't have the time of day. Maybe they're more up their own backsides than I realised.
”You want to sit somewhere else?” I ask Tegan, helping her finish her chips.
”Aren't Will and Nate coming tonight?”
”Nah. They've been in a bar in Pigalle since lunch time; I doubt they'll move from there now.” I stroke her hair, willing her to say she'll leave with me because all I want to do is discover if my announcement equals bed.
”You didn't go with them?”
”Oh, yeah. For a couple of hours, but word spread we were there, and I couldn't be a.r.s.ed with the attention.”
She stiffens. ”Female attention?”
”Media.” I pause. ”Plus, I wanted to talk to Bryn.”
She glances at the others. ”Come with me, I want to talk to you.”
Tegan leads me to a quiet corner, behind a pillar at the edge of the bar and I carry our drinks over. My experience of figuring out how women's minds work is limited. Who knows if she's happy or not with my decision to announce our hook-up to her brother.
”That was brave of you,” she says quietly. ”Possibly stupid, but brave.”
”Does it change anything?”
Her face softens and she touches my face and I curl my fingers around her hand. ”You know that you didn't only tell Bryn, but the whole of the room.”
”And? I meant what I said this morning, Tegan. I like you and I don't care who knows.” I wrap an arm around her slender waist, eager for her mouth. ”Do you?”
”Are you sure about this?” she whispers.
”Do you really need to ask me that question?” I brush my lips against hers and she parts them slightly. ”I want you.”
In response, Tegan pushes her mouth onto mine, surprising me as she swipes her tongue along my lip. As her curves press into me, the awareness of the rest of the room vanishes. All that exists and matters is the girl in my arms, whose kiss unites me with a part of myself I crave to know better. She tastes of champagne and sweetness, of the girl who's stolen my ability to make rational decisions. Here, with her, is where I want to be. Kissing her wakens the part of me I was killing with random hook-ups, a part of me aching to discover what s.e.x with Tegan would be like.
She gently untangles my fingers from where they're gripping her hair and slides her mouth from mine. The sound around re-enters my awareness, but my focus is on the pink-faced girl looking back at me with darkened eyes.
”We should leave,” she says.
”Good idea.”
”I'll be back in a few minutes.” Her lips briefly meet mine and she weaves her way through the tables, the heat she just ignited growing as I watch her a.s.s in the oh-so-tight jeans of hers.
Bryn approaches and I steel myself. I'm in public; he has to deal with this calmly. I attempt to gauge the thoughts held behind his dark brown eyes as the tall man's physical presence takes up the s.p.a.ce around us.
”How much have you had to drink, Jax?” asks Bryn, indicating my gla.s.s. ”That was quite a move you pulled there.”
”Just a few this afternoon. About the same number as you, I think.”
He pauses long enough for the perspiration to build along my back. ”You and Tegan, huh?”
”Yeah.”
”Okay.” He lowers his voice. ”You do realise that if you hurt Tegan things will be very unpleasant for you.”
I gesture at the people around. ”I shared the fact I'm with a chick, who she is, and that it's exclusive. I wouldn't do that if Tegan wasn't something to me.”
Bryn's mouth tips at one corner. ”I'd be heavier handed with you, but you're about to learn a valuable lesson on your own.”
”What's that supposed to mean?”
”What you just did? You're public property now, man, and I can't wait to see how Tegan deals with that. You should know by now that she doesn't take s.h.i.+t from people. You might be the one getting hurt.”
”We don't care what people think!”
”You say that now. I never had as much s.h.i.+t from the press as them.” He indicates Dylan and Jem. ”Early on, when I did stupid c.r.a.p, yeah, but not recently. I'm never under the spotlight, and never hit the headlines. You, my friend, are deep in it.”
”Yeah, I get it, I'm on their radar.”
Bryn c.o.c.ks a brow. ”You're dating the Blue Phoenix drummer's sister. That's quite a story. You know what's a better story?” I shake my head. ”You getting caught with someone else and the Blue Phoenix drummer ripping your b.a.l.l.s off.”
”I just said -”
He laughs. ”That wasn't a threat. Much. It won't be me you need to persuade, Jax. I call bulls.h.i.+t on half the things printed about people I know, but Tegan may not. Reckon she can deal with you being randomly linked to other chicks? 'Cause I know her and she won't.”
”I appreciate your concern for me, Bryn, but I'm fine.” Tegan appears behind him and crosses to me. She cuddles next to me and winds an arm around my waist, placing her hand in the back pocket of my jeans and squeezing. ”Jax understands: the first hint he's s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g me around and this is over. Besides, we're not b.l.o.o.d.y getting married, just being exclusive.”
”Right.” Bryn's voice is as doubtful as his eyes. ”Good luck 'cause you're going to need it.”
I stare after Bryn as he heads back to his friends. ”That it?”
Tegan smiles and nuzzles my neck. ”He's right though. I hope you know what you're getting into.”
”Well, according to him, I don't.”
”You know what we do, Jax?” Tegan slips her hand into my other pocket and pulls out my phone. ”We control this. Me and you.”
”How?”
”Take a picture of us. Tweet it. Instagram. Everywhere. I'll do the same. That way we'll steal the story before the paparazzi get hold of it. We'll already have given the world pictures they hope to sell. Why should they make money from being bottom feeders?”
”Are you sure you know what you're doing? You're not a PR expert.”
”Despite what Tina thinks, I know a h.e.l.l of a lot about how this c.r.a.p works. My brother's job means I have a special interest in the media and fame. I wrote a paper on it for my A Levels and I'm intending to study media.”
”Oh. Right. I forget you're smart as well as beautiful,” I say and squeeze her a.s.s.
She smiles. ”If I'm dating Jax Lewis, the world's going to know, and they should leave us the h.e.l.l alone.”