Page 31 of Nightmare

Jax sighs dramatically, sitting further back into the cushions of the sofa before looking at Travis, embarrassment clouding his eyes.

“I passed out.”

Travis laughs lightly and looks over to me before turning back to Jax. “Yeah. You did.”

Jax groans, taking a drag off of his cigarette then blows out the smoke before eyeing me, “Is your friend still here?”

Travis speaks up before me, “Don’t be a dick, you know her name.”

A smile creeps onto my face as I scoot closer to Travis to lay my head down on his shoulder before addressing Jax.

“She’s in the guest room.”

His eyes light up and Travis shakes his head then clears his throat, “Mac is in there too.”

For how confident Jax was being last night, he sure is showing his sensitive side to me when his face breaks into a frown. I can’t help but feel sorry for the little puppy sitting in front of me.

I perk my eyebrows up at him, “Why don’t you just go in there, sweetheart?”

Jax’s eyes light up again and his gaze darts between Travis and me before he hops onto his feet, stubs out his cigarette and runs back inside. Once the door to the balcony slams closed, Travis and I both bust out into laughter.

Travis shakes his head, passing off the last half of his cigarette to me, which I accept. His eyes watch me as I pop the filter into my mouth, suck at it then blow the smoke back out.

“What?”

He gives me one of his panty-dropping smiles and sighs, “I like you.”

I grin at him, “Mmm, I like you too.”

He squints his eyes at me, letting the moment pass between us, the air becoming thick with tension and something else I can’t quite pinpoint.

“So,” He blinks at me, “You gonna let me take you on a real date, pretty girl?”

I look at him, really look at him, and scan my eyes over his face and his bare chest before I trace my eyes back up to his and sigh, stubbing my cigarette out in the ashtray before I answer. “I don’t really do the wholeboyfriend-girlfriendthing.”

His eyebrows lift a little, and he moves closer to slip his hands around my waist, then effortlessly lifts me onto his lap – my legs falling on either side of him.

“I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend. I’m asking you to have dinner with me. Maybe a movie.”

I roll my eyes, threading my hands into his hair, humming through my closed lips.

He mimics me, throwing his eyebrows up questioningly, his eyes searching my face.

“I don’t want to get attached.” I say to him, eyes searching his face.

He doesn’t say anything, so a few heartbeats later I continue, “I just don’t want to get emotionally involved with anyone. It’s just not a good idea for me.”

He licks along his top row of teeth while he thinks over my words, then leans forward and presses his lips against mine.

I melt into him, because I can’t help it, and kiss him back like I’m starved for him. His mouth opens, my tongue finding his on instinct, then I feel him thickening underneath me through his sweatpants.

I move my hips, rubbing against him so he knows where my head is at.

He pulls his mouth from mine, leaving me breathless. His eyes are clear and bright as he stares at me, and I pull back a little more to focus more on his beautiful face.

He points from himself to me, “This isgood, Olivia. I know you can feel it too.”

I sigh, then fall silent. I just look at him – admire him. He’s a work of art; dark, dirty and perfect. I wish I had met him before my heart turned to stone.

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