Lust (The Stripped Bare Series Book 1) (23 page)

“What?” I ask, innocently. She doesn’t answer; instead she smiles and shakes her head.

“I’m going to lie down, if you need me let me know.” She removes her jacket and slips off her jeans, leaving just her t-shirt and panties on. I want to climb in with her but I know I have shit to sort out first. I need to just do it, just tell him and get it over with. Shutting the door behind me, I head to the kitchen to make a drink. I make Dex a cup of coffee to take through, I just hope that he’s alone. It’ll be quicker and easier to do this with no other distractions. Although, when I think about it, maybe him having some other bird here could be an advantage. It would prove that he’s over Jasmine.

I knock quietly on the door, I know it won’t wake him but I’m hoping that it’ll wake any potential guests. Sticking my head through the door, I can only make out one figure. His leg’s hanging over the side of the bed and he’s star fished sideways. He’s always been a strange sleeper. I remember one time when we went away with school. We went to this place in the country with a big castle on the hill. I can’t remember now what it was called, but we all had to share bunk beds. I remember we fought over who was going to have the top. Eventually, he won and I agreed to let him get the top bunk. Anyway, that first night he tossed and turned so much in his sleep that he fell out of the bunk. As he came down he managed to kick me in the face and give me a black eye. He broke his wrist when he fell and had to go home, so for four days on the trip I ended up sleeping in with the teachers so I didn’t have to sleep alone. That was the suckiest school trip ever.

“Yo, Dex, you awake?” He doesn’t answer. I give him a nudge, but still he doesn’t wake. “Oi, Dex, wake the fuck up,” I shout down his ear. Pulling the blanket off his body. His eyes shoot open and he sits up suddenly.

“What, where, what happened?” he asks, disorientated.

“Dex, I need to talk to ya. Throw some clothes on and come into the living room. I’ve made you a coffee.” I point to the bedside table where I placed the coffee down. He looks at me, then at the coffee, stumped.

“What’s up, man?” His voice it croaky from sleep. I feel bad waking him up, but I need to get this over with.

“Just come out when you’re ready and we’ll talk.” I head back out to the living room and sit down on the sofa. A few minutes pass and I can’t sit still any longer, I stand up and pace the room, waiting for him to come out. Eventually, the door opens and Dex appears stretching on a yawn.

“This better be good, d’ya know what time it is?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s important. There’s something I need to tell ya and I want you to listen to me before you fly off the handle.” He looks at me cautiously before sitting down and taking a gulp from his mug.              

“What ya mean? Why ’m I gonna fly off the handle?”

I sit down again, bending forward with my hands together. I don’t even know where I’m gonna start.

“You know I love ya, you’re my best mate, and I’d never do anything to upset ya or hurt ya, right?”

“Yeah, man. I know. What’s up?” Spit it out, goddamn it.

“I’m in love with someone, Dex. I’ve loved her from the very first moment I saw her. I couldn’t get her out of my head. I tried to stay away from her, I really tried but I couldn’t. We were drawn to each other.” He’s trying to think who I’m talking about, I can see the cogs turning in his brain. The moment he realises, I stand up. “Now listen, I didn’t want to do anything because I knew how much you liked her. I was following the bro code. But I love her man, I can’t help my feelings.” I hold my hands up in defence.

“You love Michele?” He looks rattled.

“What? No, man, what the fuck? No, Dex, I love Jasmine.” The penny finally drops and he stands up so that he’s level with me. He turns around and runs his hands through his messy black hair. I watch him walk into the kitchen but I don’t follow because I don’t know what to say to him, so I wait, I wait and let him come back to me. I hear a bang coming from my bedroom and, instinctively, I run as quickly as I can to the door. Flinging it open, my heart beats fast in my chest. Jasmine sits on the bed, a cup lays on the floor.
“I’m sorry, I must have knocked it off while I was asleep.” She says huskily. Dexter appears behind me and Jasmine gives him a small smile and wave.

“Well, I see you didn’t waste much fucking time did ya. You could have at least told me before bringing her back here to screw her.”

“Dex, it’s not like that. Let me explain.” He slams his bedroom door behind him. I lean my head against the door, hoping that he’s listening. I say, “Listen, she had no where else to go. Something’s going on and she isn’t safe at home. I had to bring her here to protect her. Dex, man, I love you, you’re my brother, but I couldn’t leave her there. I love her, man.” I feel her hand run up the ridges of my back and I sigh deeply.

“Why don’t you let me try?” What harm can it do? It’s not like it can make the situation any worse. I nod and move away from the door. She knocks lightly and then tries the handle, it opens and she sticks her head through.

“Hey, Dex. Can I come in, please?” I hear him on the other side of the door, moving around.

“I guess I don’t got a choice.” His voice is laced with sarcasm. She opens the door and goes inside, shutting it behind her. All I can do now is wait. Wait to see if my girlfriend can get my best friend to talk to me again. How did my life get like this?

Jasmine

Looking around the room, it’s a typical bloke’s bedroom. There’s shit lying everywhere, all his clothes are stacked on a chair in the corner of the room instead of neatly put away in the wardrobe. He has wet towels lying on the floor and it stinks like it hasn’t had a good clean in months. It certainly needs a woman’s touch around here. Dexter sits on the bed scrolling through his phone. He isn’t actually reading anything; he’s only doing it to avoid looking at me. Carefully positioning myself onto the edge of the bed, I tuck one leg underneath me and get comfy. I could be here a while.

“Hey, Dex, can we talk?”

“I don’t know what you wanna say, Jazz. You’ve lied to me for weeks.” He pauses before looking at me as realisation hits him. “You said you couldn’t date me ‘cause your main focus was ya son. That was all bullshit wasn’t it? You were fucking him then, werenS’t ya?” He looks so incensed and guilt overwhelms me. We shouldn’t have lied to him. We should have come clean from the start. This is entirely my fault.

“Don’t blame Max for all of this. I was the one who told him not to tell you. I said it would be best to wait and see how the relationship played out first.” I remember the conversation we had when he wanted to tell him. It was my suggestion to keep quiet. Shit! I feel so bad now.

“Oh, so, why tell me now? Why are ya here in his bed now if this has been going on for ages?” Do I tell him and involve him in everything that is going on in my life? I don’t want him to be caught in the middle but if I’m going to be staying here then he really needs to know.

“I didn’t come here to have sex with him, Dex. I came here because I can’t stay at my parents
’
house. Mum and Dad have taken Austen to Scotland, and I’m going to be staying here for a few days.” He looks puzzled and I think to myself ‘he really is cute when he’s docile’. “I saw something in London, something I wasn’t supposed to see. There’s some men after me. I’m terrified, Dex. I don’t want to drag you and Max into this. I don’t want to put anyone else in danger but Max won’t let me out of his sight.
”
He looks shocked at my confession. He’s silent for a long time, like he’s thinking about what he wants to say.

“Are ya okay?” He looks sympathetic.

“I’m okay as long as everyone else in my life is okay. Dex, I’ve come to love you as a friend. You’re kind and caring and funny. You have the biggest heart, but this thing with Max, it’s different. He’s my other half.”

“I know I can be a bit full on at times and I know that I’ve been with a lot of women but I really liked you, Jazz. I could see myself in your future. I act the fool, and I’m a player, but all I truly want is someone to love me. Why him and not me?” My heart aches for him. He’s a good man. How do I answer this without making him feel bad? I don’t want to hurt him more than I already have. I know he feels resentful of the fact that I lied to him and let him down for the wrong reasons, but I can’t help my feelings.

“From the moment I met him there was this fire inside me. It burned me deep from within, growing and growing every time I saw him, until it exploded into a raging inferno and I could no longer dampen the flames. I needed him, like a fire needs air. I’m sorry this has hurt you so much and I’m sorry that we lied to you but we had no control over our emotions. Once you start a fire, the only way to destroy it is to let it burn out.” The passion I have for Max pours out of me through my words. I look in Dexter’s eyes and he smiles.

“I get it. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“You never have to apologise to me. You’ve done nothing wrong. Max has been wracked with guilt over this. He fought it for so long because of you. He loves you. You’re his best friend. He would be destroyed if he lost you.” He leans over holding his arms open. Shifting myself on the bed, I submerge myself in his embrace. He gives great cuddles, I have to give him that. We sit in silence for so long with his arms around me. It’s a nice feeling, but it’s strictly platonic.

“I have to admit, I really like Michele,” he breaks the silence with his admission. Leaning back to look at him, I smile.

“That’s great. I haven’t met her yet but I bet she’s lovely.” Standing up off the bed I stretch my cramped legs. “C’mon, I’ll let you and Max have some time to yourselves.” Holding out my hand to him, I pull him off the bed. We walk to the door and I open it. Max is standing at the window; he’s showered and changed into jeans and a hoody. He has no top on under the hoody and it’s unzipped, revealing his bare chest. Licking my lips, I can’t resist walking over to him.

“I’m going to go back to bed and let you both talk,” I whisper in his ear. He kisses my forehead before I turn to leave the room.

Sitting on the bed, I pull my phone from my bag and check my calls. I have a text from Austen so I decide to give him a call to see how he’s doing. After the third ring I hear my mum’s voice. I miss her so much. I know it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I last saw her, and I know that I lived far away from her for many years, but she’s been my rock lately, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. I don’t know how Max copes with his mum being poorly. It would kill me if anything happened to her, if anything happened to either of my parents.

“Hey, Mum. How’s everyone?” I try to sound as cheery as possible. I know she will be worrying about me and I don’t want to put more stress on her.

“We’re fine, Jasmine. You’re the one we’re worried about. Are you okay? Have they found him?” The fear in her voice is unmistakable.

“Mum, I’m fine. I’m not at the house. I’m…um…staying with a friend.” Shit, this isn’t the best situation to tell her about Max.
“What friend? Is it Piper? I don’t like you being on your own.”

“No, Mum, it’s a bloke from work. He’s really nice and him and his best friend have a flat. They’re taking good care of me.”
“Jasmine, I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions but I hope you’re not rushing into anything. You have too much stuff going on at the moment. Not to mention Austen.”

“Mum, stop worrying. Everything’s fine. They’re big men and they can protect me.” Maybe that will pacify her; if she knows that they can keep me safe she might get off my back.

“Okay, that’s good then.” I sigh with relief. “Austen has just come back from the beach. Your dad took him to get some ice cream.”

“Mum, it’s not even lunch time yet. I hope you’re not spoiling him?” It’s a stupid question. Of course she’s spoiling him.

“We’ve been trying to mollify him. He’s been asking a lot of questions and he doesn’t understand why you’re not here. He’ll be fine in a few days. Your Aunt Margaret said to say hi.”

“Tell her I said hi back.” I never know what to say when someone says that. It’s a funny thing.

A bang resonates from the other room.

“Mum, I’ve got to go. Tell Austen I love him to the moon and back. Love you, Mum.”

“Jasmine, wait….” I hang up the phone before she can finish her sentence. Fear washes over me as I hear shouting and banging coming from the other room. Moving to the window, I take a look outside. The police aren’t in their car. I panic. What the fuck is happening? I can hear my phone ringing on the bed behind me. Jumping over the bed I grab the phone, hitting the silence button as quickly as possible. What do I do? Shit! Max. What if something’s happened to him? The door bursts open and one of the coppers that was on guard darts into the room shutting the door behind him. It all happens so quickly. My mind is a blur of confusion and fear. He pulls me down, shouting for me to get under the bed. My numb body does as it’s told. More shouting and loud bangs ring out and I cover my ears with my hands as the tears fall down my cheeks. I want to go out there, I want to find out what’s going on. Max is out there, Dex is out there, I need to get to them.

“What’s happening? Please tell me.” I beg the officer. He doesn’t answer, he’s quietly whispering into his radio. He holds his finger up to tell me to remain quiet. It’s me they’re after. I should just go out there and let him take me. My stomach churns and I feel like I want to throw up. What the hell do I do? If anything happens to them I’ll never forgive myself. The officer stands, heaving the metal bed frame up onto its side making sure that the mattress stays upright. He commands me to crouch down behind it to give me some protection. I do as I’m told, begrudgingly. Once he’s satisfied that I’m going to be remaining where I am, he opens the door and disappears through it. My whole body shakes with fear, I feel numb. I want to stand up and walk out of the room, but I can’t. My blood runs cold inside me and my mouth starts to salivate. I can feel my head becoming heavy and my vision starts to blur. My heart pounds inside my chest and my lungs start to close up. I can’t breathe, I can’t feel, I can’t do anything. Instead, I crouch behind that bed and wait to die.