Chapter Twenty-Two
Maya
The three men make their way over to the dance floor. One in particular is unable to take his eyes off of me, not that I can take mine off him either. Our focus is solely on the other.
I struggle to comprehend the feelings coursing through my body, I don’t ever remember feeling this way.
There is something familiar about him, like I’ve seen his face before in a crowd somewhere.
This familiarity makes my head ache as my mind tries to place him, it’s like the memory of him is fighting it’s way to the forefront of my brain and his name is on the tip of my tongue.
It gets worse the closer he gets to me. He is striking.
Tall, with the most handsome face I have ever seen, but it’s his eyes I can’t look away from.
Those piercing green eyes are hypnotic, putting me under a trance.
This can’t be a normal reaction to a stranger.
“Hey you two! I didn’t realise you were out tonight,” Fallon says as she bounds over to give them both a hug, alcohol clearly running through her blood stream as she almost topples over. Or maybe it’s just the ridiculously high heels she’s wearing.
“Sis, you knew we’d be jealous if you all went out without us. Don’t be mean and invite us properly next time.” The other newcomer says. “So, you won’t remember me, but I’m your favourite Jackson sibling. Max.” he leans in to hug me.
Hmm, he also seems familiar but not as much as the other guy. They’re so alike, he must be Fallon’s other brother.
I turn towards green eyes, he looks almost pained. My eyebrows drop in confusion, have I done something wrong? He must realise as he shakes it off and steps towards me.
“Hi, I’m Tommy.”
That voice.
I’m so stunned, I’m struggling to form words to reply. Tommy. The bells are ringing but nothing is coming through.
“Er, hi,” I say awkwardly. “I guess I knew you too?”
“You could say that,” He smiles, then takes another step closer, leaning forward.
Electricity shoots through every part of my body as his lips graze my cheek, and yes, I mean every part.
“Have I seen you since…” I want to ask but I trail off, it’s not exactly the sexiest first thing I could have asked him.
“Briefly, once or twice.”
“There’s something about you that I can’t put my finger on.” I say in a daze. Who is he to me?
“Dance with me whilst you figure it out?” He asks, giving me the sexiest smirk imaginable.
He reaches out his hand, offering it to me.
As soon as we touch, that feeling is there, like a current running under my skin.
Making me feel alive. I follow him further into the crowded dance floor, out of sight from the prying eyes of our friends.
As strange as it is, I feel safe with him. Like I know he’d never do me any harm.
His large hand glides to the dip of my back and we start to dance. Slowly compared to the music that’s playing, but it feels right.
“Is this okay?” he asks, gesturing with his head to where he’s holding me. Wow, a gentleman too.
“Yes,” I breathe out. What is this man doing to me.
I hope he doesn’t think I’m some strange creeper with the way I can’t keep my eyes off him, everything about him entices me in.
The music has changed to one with more bass, making me swing my hips from side to side.
I give him a flirty smirk encouraging him to join me.
He doesn’t disappoint, his confidence shining through as he swings me around the dance floor.
I can’t help the laugh that comes out at how much I’m enjoying this.
Tommy is beaming too, clearly loving it as much as I am.
Being with him like this, feels almost like DeJa’Vu, we must have danced like this before.
For his next dance move he swings me out, almost knocking into other party goers, before rolling me back in to him. Leaving us nose to nose, my hands flat on his chest.
Holy hell, he smells fucking divine.
His chest is like steel under my palms. Does he live in the gym? The suit he is wearing is tailored to him perfectly, with a crisp white shirt open at the top. The butterflies I was feeling earlier have travelled much further south now.
It’s like a battle of wills to who will look away first. He raises one hand and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his touch making me even more breathless than I already was.
“Have you thought anymore on what it is about me that has your brain turning?” he asks, his eyes searching mine.
“Nothing is coming to me, but… I want to find out,” I admit, biting my bottom lip. His eyes track to movement, want flaring inside of them.
“Let me take you to dinner tomorrow? Then we can find out all about each other.”
Hell to the fucking yes. My body seems to know him already, I just need my mind to follow.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I say calmly, even though I feel anything but calm. My insides are ready to explode.
“I’ll get your number off Fallon,” He states. The way he speaks in such a matter-of-fact way, turns me on even more.
We dance for a while longer before our friends join us again, Jenson and Blair suspiciously missing. I lift an eyebrow at the girls, not even needing to explain my thoughts before Fallon states, “They’ve gone for a quicky.”
We all collectively laugh at that.
“How do you know?” I ask, still laughing away.
“They were eye fucking for that long, it doesn’t take a genius to guess what they’re up to,” She says as she rolls her eyes.
We spend the rest of the night as a group, laughing, drinking and chatting. The boys are hilarious together. Max acts like a teen stuck in an adult’s body, resembling an excitable puppy.
Me and Gracie are the last ones standing on the dance floor, even though we both keep complaining about how much our feet hurt.
The others have headed to the bar for one last drink and I’m thinking of calling it a night myself when a body slams into me from the side, sending me stumbling forwards into Gracie and dropping my bag.
What the hell?
Scrambling to right myself, I turn around to see who could have done it, but there’s no one looking in our direction. I bend down to pick up my bag and notice there’s a piece of paper lying next to it covered in large, scribbled letters.
Stay the fuck away from him.
You’re mine.
My blood turns to ice, freezing me into place. Is this meant for me? Who would leave me something like this?
Then it hits me.
Jake.
Gracie drops down next to me on the sticky dance floor, about to speak before I hold the note up for her to see. The colour drains from her face, her eyes watering as they bounce between mine and the note. She snatches it and my bag before hauling me across the room to the others.
“We need to leave, now!” she orders.
I’m still frozen, stuck in a daze.
“Why? What’s happened?” Tommy growls. The muscles in his jaw clenching as he attempts to control his anger.
“Someone has just knocked into Maya and left this behind,” She hands the note over to Tommy, the others looking over his shoulder to see. If it wasn’t such a bad situation, I’d laugh at the position they’re all in.
“I’ll go and check the cameras now. You take her home and call the police on the way. They might need that as evidence,” Jenson barks out the orders, a complete contrast to the happy flirt I had seen earlier. “Stick together.”
Tommy nods, taking my hand and pulling me to the exit.
“We’re all going back to my place tonight,” He issues out like we have no other option.
“Wait, no. I’m not being intimidated out of my own home. I won’t let him take anymore from me,” I say, tears threatening to spill over my eyelids.
“Please, just for tonight. We’re all drunk, and if he is out there my place has better protection.
Also, I have enough room for all of us, we’ll stick together.
” How can I say no to that? He’s got a point, because up until I had seen the note, I could barely stand straight.
It’s funny how it only takes one bad thing to happen and you instantly feel sober.
“He’s right Maymay, I’m not risking losing you again,” Fallon’s voice shakes as she speaks.
“Okay, let’s just get out of here.”
Tommy still has my hand in his as he guides me to towards the empty taxi rank. Luckily, it’s still quiet so we manage to get two and all head off to his apartment. It doesn’t take long to get there, it would have been quicker to walk but I wasn’t about to argue. My feet are killing me.
By the time we make it to his building we are all back together. Tommy is messaging someone next to me with one hand, not letting go of mine with the other.
It’s strange. I’ve only met him tonight, but being close to him like this puts me at ease. Maybe it’s time I start to find out more about my past, more about him.
“Fuck. Jenson has found the footage. Whoever it was knew what they were doing, they have angled their face away from every camera,” Tommy tells us, rage simmering from him.
“The police are on their way over for a statement, I called them on the way here,” Max announces. “You’ll be fine with us Maymay.”
They speak to me in a way that’s so familiar. I must have been a lot closer to them all than I realised. The bond that everyone has in this room is so tight knit, what I would give to feel that way with them.
Me and Tommy are the first to walk into his apartment, I freeze into place after the first step. The size of the place is staggering, I have never seen such a luxurious home. The clean white walls gives the place an airy and modern feel and it is filled with expensive looking furnishings.
I don’t know what I expected, as I haven’t exactly known him all that long. I guess something smaller? Or maybe more homely. This place seems out of odds for the man I’ve just met.
“Hey, you okay?” Gracie asks as she walks next to me.
“Yeah. This place is amazing, isn’t it?”
“Hell yeah, I could live here,” Blair says as she breezes past us, heading straight for the couch and making herself at home.