Page 28 of A Love So Wrong
"Felix? What are you doing? " Toby said the man's name in an angry question, much like a parent questioning their child. "Jade," Toby looked back to her, and his eyes seemed to double-take on her as if he had to make sure he was seeing her correctly. Snatching his eyes up from her exposed legs, where they also lingered a bit too long, Toby gave her a worried look. "Are you ok?"
Blinking in confusion, Felix looked back and forth from them both. "You know her?"
Fully angry now, Toby gave the man a scorching look. "Hell, yes, I know her and…oh shit."
Both she and Felix followed Toby's line of sight to the tall figure running at full speed in their direction.
Jade's stomach bottomed out.
"Oh no," she breathed, her voice layered in dread. "Gideon, don't," she called out, but it made no difference.
Sensing that the approaching danger was meant for him, Felix began to back up as Gideon got into range. "Hey man, hold up—I thought she was—"
Walking right past Toby, who tried to hold his arms out to stop him, Gideon maneuvered right around him and directly into Felix's face. Standing a good eight inches taller than Felix, Gideon invaded the man's space backing him right up to the chain-link fence of the property. Having watched the ongoing scene, the few trucks that were parked in the waiting line within eyesight of the scene honked and rolled down their windows to egg on the impending brawl.
"Yeah, I heard just what the fuck you thought," Gideon growled, ignoring the audience and pointing savagely at the forgotten phone in Jade's hand. "Let me ask you this, do you fucking work here?" Gideon's voice thundered, making everyone around him feel small.
"No," Felix answered defensively, his back still pressed into the fence. "I'm…I'm waiting on my load, and I'm buddies with Jason, who told me to watch his post."
Gideon gave the man a contemptuous smile and nodded. "Yeah, so like I thought—you're no one."
Pride flared up in the man as Gideon stepped away from him, and for a moment, Jade worried Felix would try something stupid, instead, he just said something stupid. "Hey man, give me a fucking break," he yelled angrily before gesturing towards her. "Look at what she is wearing! How was I supposed to know-"
"Hey!" she shouted. How in the world was it somehow her fault that he thought she was aworkinggirl? "What do you meanwhat I'm wearing?!" she repeated indigently. "I'm not even-"
Turning around on his heel, Jade caught a glance at Gideon's annoyed darkening expression before he squatted down and put his shoulder into her waist and lifted her high into the air.
"Gideon!" she shouted amidst the sudden uproar of laughing and booming truck honking at the scene. "Put me down!" she commanded, but he ignored her. "This is so embarrassing. Put me down!"
Ignoring her, Gideon carried her much like a father would carry a child during a firework show and walked with her straight to the truck. Opening the door, he placed her inside before following her up with a slam of the door. Both standing in the little bit of open space, her by the bunks and him in between the driver and passenger seat, they both were breathing hard in anger.
"Gideon, will you just-"
"Look goddammit," Gideon raised his hands, not wanting to hear what she had to say. "I need you to listen to me, and I need you to understand something. You cannot go around these truckstops and distribution centers or anywhere where there are shit tons of men, dressed like that," he motioned towards her clothes as if he were pointing to a bug.
Righteous anger filled her, warming her whole body. "Are you serious?! I didn't do anything wrong," she yelled, tossing her bag and groceries angrily on the bed. "If anything, this is the most homely pair of clothes I own, Gideon. When the heck did I get transported back in time?"
"Jade sweetheart, love of my life, apple of my fucking eye," his voice rasped thickly, "we can't play games anymore. We can't do this whole ‘you don't realize how beautiful you are’game anymore," he said, waving a hand up and down at her. His tone and his expression were tired as if they had been arguing this for hours and not just for the past minute.
Highly confused, she shook her head. "Wha…"
Annoyed, he put his fists on his hips and stared out the front window of the cab before looking back to her. "You’re beautiful, ok," he admitted, frustration coating his words. "And to guys, it doesn't matter if your outfit doesn't match or if you necessarily don'tfeelbeautiful in it, the fact of the matter is that your amazing legs are exposed, and your nipples are pressing against the fabric of that thin ass windbreaker. So please, consider the fact that if you drive regular guys insane, just what the fuck are you doing to these lonely truckers when they see you traipsing around dressed likethat. It's like throwing a steak to a bunch of starving wolves," he pointed a finger towards the window to the constant activity of trucks beyond.
If he was waiting for an answer, he would not get one from her. His shocking words were still ringing through her head. It felt as if she had been momentarily electrified.
Reaching for the driver's door handle, he paused with his back to her. "I need you to be a little bit more self-aware, Jade, if not for your sake, then mine. I swear, you're going to get me sent to fucking prison," he muttered before pushing open the heavy door. "Now wait here while I go put the fear of God in our pal Felix."
Standing there, frozen in place, Jade could feel the minutes tick by as her mind finally allowed his words to sink in. Heramazing legs, hernipples—she couldn’t believe Gideon said those things. Feeling overly flushed, she turned and rummaged through their shared clothing closet and found a pair of his sweats and a shirt. Pulling them both on, over her clothes, and grabbing her thicker jacket, she tried to ignore the giddy smile that tugged at the corners of her lips.
Changed, she exited the truck and stomped back to the front gate. Gideon, Toby, Felix, and now Jason stood at the front, rehashing the situation. She could tell immediately the previous volatile hostility was no longer there, but Felix was also standing out to the side looking like a kicked dog while Gideon stood with his arms crossed speaking angrily to the other two men, occasionally giving Felix furious looks.
Gideon spotted her first, and his slow forming smile only made that annoying giddy feeling within her surge higher. Dressed like a vagabond, the oversized pants she had to cinch tight around her waist practically melted down her legs and folded over her sneakers while the purloined t-shirt swallowed her frame and billowed in the wind like a sail from beneath her jacket.
Trudging past the group, she shot Gideon a narrowed eyed glare. "Happy now?" she growled.
With an evil smile, Gideon lifted his head in triumph. "Thank you, was that too much to ask?"
~*~
