jasper
Still in the god damn friend zone.
Unbelievable.
I was falling head over heels for the woman, and she was convinced she just wanted to be my friend.
There was no way I was buying what she was selling. She undressed me with her eyes every five seconds and her heart raced so often I was worried she was going to go into some kind of cardiac arrest.
She flirted with me over the phone and via text, every single day… but that didn’t change the current situation.
I was still friend-zoned as hell and it was killing me.
Apart from kissing her in the restaurant, I hadn’t touched her since that night.
It had been five days, twelve hours and about thirty-six minutes since I’d touched her the way I wanted to.
I’d been inside that woman for hours on end and here I was, about to spend the afternoon with her and I wasn’t even allowed to hold her hand.
I didn’t even know where the hell we were going. She’d come up with the ridiculous idea that we should take turns planning something ‘fun’ for us to do together… ‘friends hang out’ she’d said.
Today was her turn.
Fuck my life.
I was essentially dating the woman now, but I couldn’t lay a finger on her.
I wasn’t so much of an unreasonable bastard that I couldn’t be happy about spending time with her, because I was, I was fucking ecstatic to be getting the chance to be in her company. But I was a guy, and she was the sexiest damn woman I’d ever laid eyes on – so naturally, it was a struggle.
I constantly had to remind myself to be patient, to bide my time.
I was getting her alone, and while she was with me, she wasn’t with anyone else.
That was a win, albeit a small one, but still a win in my book.
I knew this dance couldn’t go on forever – eventually I’d make her see that we were too good together to be apart.
I leant against the wall and waited for her to pick me up.
I wasn’t thrilled with this part of the deal either, but she’d insisted, and if there was one thing I was quickly learning about Hannah, it was that you didn’t often win an argument against her.
Woman was mad as hell.
My hands shook thinking about the effect she had on me. This wasn’t something I was familiar with. Plenty of women had had an effect on me over the years, but it was nothing more than physical.
I craved Hannah’s body like an addict did hard drugs, but judging by the fact that I was here, and had agreed to her stupid ‘friend’ bullshit, I was even more hooked on the kooky mind inside that pretty head of hers than I was with her bangin’ body.
I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out the pack of cigarettes I kept in there for emergencies.
This was a motherfucking emergency if I ever had one.
I was freaking the hell out over this girl.
I was full of advice when it came to Park and his constant stream of fuck-ups with Charlotte, but I couldn’t even ask him to return the favour. He thought Hannah and I were a one-night stand with no feelings involved – that’s what we’d told both him and Charlotte.
Her idea – not mine.
My blood boiled as I thought about her as nothing more than a random fuck.
There’s no god damn way.
If I’d known the words ‘one-time thing’ were going to come out of her mouth, I never would have brought her into my bed so soon.
I would have waited.
Courted her like a gentleman should.
I would have done us both the favour and done things the right way.
Now, one whiff of her perfume and it took every ounce of my self control not to rip her clothes off and take her hard and fast.
Fuck my life.
I lit the cigarette and took a drag.
I only allowed myself three puffs on the death stick before throwing it to the ground and stubbing it out with the heel of my boot.
I didn’t get emotional often, but when I did, my calm mask always threatened to slip right off. Relaxed was a part of who I was – I was the composed one, Parker was the hot head.
I needed to get my shit under wraps.
A sure fire way to get my game face back was to stick a smoke between my lips. I was just a bad ass, little teenage punk without a care in the world when I had one of those things burning away into my lungs.
I was a pack-a-day kinda guy back in the day. I’d given it up when my sister had bet me I couldn’t, but every now and then I just needed the feel of one.
I had a feeling that I was going to smoke more of these fucking things than I had in the past eight years if this woman was going to be in my life.
Which she is.
And it’ll be worth every damn one of them.
A loud honk startled me.
I looked up and muttered a string of curse words under my breath.
Oh hell no.
You have got to be kidding me.
I shook my head at her.
There’s no fucking way.
She wound down her passenger window. “Jasper, what are you doing? Get in.”
“Hell fuckin’ no, woman.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You look like a god damn Barbie doll in there.”
She rolled her eyes from where she sat in her hot-pink VW beetle.
She has got to be shittin’ me.
“Get in, douche bag.”
“That looks like something a kid gets in a happy meal.”
“What’s the matter, Jones? Worried someone will take the piss out of you?” she taunted me.
I sized the thing up. “I’m worried about a lot of things… I won’t even fit in that car.”
“Only one way to find out. C’mon, in you come...” She patted the passenger seat encouragingly.
Nuh uh.
I didn’t move an inch.
There was no way in hell I was getting into that car.
I might have been the most laid-back bastard I knew, but even I had my limits.
“Nope.”
She sighed and climbed out of the car.
Oh shit.
I backed up, as though having a foot more space was going to protect me from her charms.
The woman was cunning. She knew exactly the kind of power she was wielding.
“Jasper,” she cooed as she rounded the hood of the ‘car’. “Please?”
Shit, shit, shit.
She was standing in front of me now and I didn’t know where the fuck we were going, but I would have followed her just about anywhere in those skin-tight black jeans.
I groaned.
Literally.
Out loud.
They were the same jeans she was wearing that night and I couldn’t help the visual I had of me peeling them from her body.
She looked me up and down like I was a lollipop she wanted a taste of, and I realised I was fighting a losing battle.
“I need you to get in the car, Jasper.” Her soft pink lips caressed my name and I just about gave in right there and then.
Stay tough, man, you’re stronger than this.
“That seat’s saved for Ken,” I murmured as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
Now I could see her bare neck and, Jesus… the things I wanted to do to that neck.
Kiss that sweet spot below her jaw…
Nibble on her ear…
“You’re going to get in the car, J… you know it…” She took another step towards me. “I know it… we all know it, Jasper Jones.”
She was right in front of me now. She slowly slipped her hand around mine and leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “I want you in my car, Jasper.”
Shit.
* * *
She looked over at me and laughed as she weaved through traffic.
“Oh c’mon, it’s not that bad.”
“If you say so, barbie.”
I chuckled at the evil eye she gave me. That was the only positive to come from this little excursion so far. Hannah had earnt herself a new nickname.
She was putting on a show of hating it, but if I had to bet, I’d say she liked the idea of a pet name.
She was my barbie now.
“So, where we headed, BG?”
She looked at me out the corner of her eye.
Ask… c’mon… you know you want to…
I waited for it.
“Alright, I’ll bite… what’s ‘BG’ mean?” she finally asked.
I smirked at her and let her stew for a few moments.
She raised her brows.
“Barbie girl.” I chuckled.
She flipped me the bird, but I didn’t miss the smile curving up the corners of her mouth.
I glanced out the window again. “Seriously though, where are you taking me?”
She’d driven us right out of town; we were on the very outskirts now.
I’d been out here to play paintball with a few mates a while back, there were all kinds of BMX tracks and a few swimming holes in the river, but I couldn’t think of anything out here that Hannah would deem a good time.
“We’re just going for a ride,” she answered vaguely.
“Alright then.” I attempted to sit my feet up on her dash but failed miserably, because, as predicted, a guy my height just didn’t fit in a car like this.
I look like a freakin’ clown.
Her laugh rang out through the enclosed space and the magical sound took my mind off our mystery destination for long enough that I didn’t notice we’d finally pulled over.
She pointed out the windscreen at a motocross track. “You see that?” A bike flew over a jump and down into a valley as she asked.
Excitement thrummed through my veins. I was an adrenaline junkie. I’d seen magazines publish articles stating that it was Parker that had petrol in his veins, but in reality, he was just along for the ride ninety percent of the time.
I was the real addict.
I sat forward in anticipation. “Yeah, I see that alright.”
Surely we’re not here for this?
She grinned like a loon. “Well then, let’s go for a little ride, Ken.”
* * *
“I’m running the risk of sounding like a real prick right now, but do you know how to handle one of those things?” I gestured to the bike that came flying into the open area in front of us before screeching to a stop.
“Oh, sweet, innocent, little Jasper.” She shook her head with a grin. “You’re in for a treat, my friend.”
She strolled away from me, her walk all sass and attitude… those friggin’ jeans clinging to her ass like a second skin.
God damn.
Might have to upgrade that ass to a twelve.
The dude on the bike pulled off his helmet when he saw Hannah approaching him and grinned at her like she was his favourite person in the world.
She probably was.
The woman was like a magnet.
“Vin!” she yelled out as her walk sped up to a run.
He leapt off his bike and flicked down the stand – I had to give props to the guy, he looked like a total badass doing it.
I glanced around, I looked like a loser standing here on my own – so I followed.
“Where the hell have you been, girl?” He held his arms out and Hannah threw herself into them and squeezed him tight.
“Ugh, you stink,” she complained as she let go of him. “How long you been out here?”
“Lost count after the first couple of hours.” He grinned.
Hannah turned and smiled at me as I came to stand next to her.
“Jasper, right? I’m Vin.” He held out his hand to me.
No introduction necessary apparently.
I took his hand in mine and shook it. “Nice bike.”
It was more than a nice bike – it was a dream ride.
Yamaha WR250F.
“Thanks. It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard all about you.” He winked at Hannah.
She blushed.
Interesting.
“Well I’ve heard nothing about you; this little fruit cake here kidnapped me in that ridiculous car of hers and wouldn’t tell me where we were going.”
“You made the man ride in that cupcake on wheels?” he groaned.
I like this guy.
“Took the words out of my mouth.” I glared at her.
Hannah shrugged unapologetically.
He held his hands up in gesture to our surroundings. “So what do you think of the place?”
I smirked. “I gotta tell ya, it’s not what I was expecting, that’s for damn sure.” I looked at Hannah in question, still not entirely sure what we were doing here.
“I think Hannah here gets that exact reaction an awful lot.” He raised his brows at her.
She waved away his comment. “Enough chit-chat, you got my shit ready or what, Vin?”
He turned on his heel and we both followed. “Good to know you’re as demanding as ever,” he drawled as he headed for a big shed along the perimeter.
Hannah looked up at me and smiled the biggest I’d ever seen. “This is going to be so much fun.” She clapped her hands together in excitement.
Vin reached the shed he was after and hoisted up the roller door. “Your noble steed awaits, madam.” He gestured inside the shed.
“Do you ride, man?” I heard him ask me.
I couldn’t even answer; I was too busy staring at the hot-as-fuck bike in front of me.
“Holy shit, is that a KTM EXC 250?” I asked no one in particular. I don’t know why I was even asking, I already knew it was. The orange and black bike stood proudly on its stand in the middle of the space.
“Oh, he rides,” Hannah answered Vin before turning to me. “And yeah, he sure is… best one on the market.”
I glanced over my shoulder at her as she strolled in and ran her hand over the bike lovingly.
I picked my jaw up off the floor long enough to ask, “He?”
“Hell yeah, ‘he’, if I’m going to have a something between my thighs you better believe it’s gonna be a male. And I know, I know, it’s a little big for a girl, but I don’t give a shit. You know I can handle it.”
That’s her bike?
I chuckled loudly at her unexpected innuendo. “It’s yours?” I nodded in the direction of the grunty machine.
This was the first I was hearing about her riding, but it was becoming pretty obvious that she fit in this world one way or another.
“It’s mine,” she confirmed. “So… surprise…”
God damn.
I groaned. “Jesus Christ, woman, you should have come with a warning label.”
She stared at me with smouldering eyes and I knew I was affecting her too.
“Why didn’t you tell me you liked to ride?”
She shrugged. “It’s not something I share with just anyone.”
My lips turned up into a slow grin. I wasn’t just anyone to her. She’d made a slip, a small one, but a slip nonetheless, and judging by the blush covering her cheeks, she knew it.
A throat being cleared broke the moment.
“I hate to break up this little… whatever this is…” Vin chuckled, gesturing between the two of us. “But I gotta go out, you’ll be alright for a couple of hours?”
“Yeah, yeah, you take off,” Hannah called back from where she was now tinkering around with some spare parts on the work bench down the back.
I thought she was attractive beyond belief before this moment, but now… now she was on a whole new level.
A girl that knew engines… knew bikes…
Shit… she might be my dream girl.
“You’re on my ride, Jasper.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.” He nodded. “Don’t break it.”
Oh hell yeah.
A smirk and the toss of his keys into my waiting hands and he was gone.
Hannah grabbed a handful of pink and black motocross gear and a chest protector from a box in the corner of the room.
I swallowed slowly. She was going to put that getup on and I was going to lose my shit big time.
“See if that fits.” She grabbed another jersey from the bench and tossed it to me. “Vin’s got more shit you can borrow in his shed.”
“How’d you know I knew how to ride?” I asked as I slipped it on. It didn’t fit like my old favourite, but it’d do.
“Parker told me. He said, and I quote, that you were a ‘crazy-ass mofo on a bike’, does that sound about right?”
I shrugged. “Well it certainly doesn’t sound wrong.”
She climbed onto the bike and started it up before revving the engine hard. “I really hope you’re not all talk.” She smirked before tearing out of the shed.
I rubbed my hand over my chest where my heart was thumping like crazy.
Hannah was so unexpected, so spontaneous and fun…
Dream girl alright…
I had to have her. That girl was made for me.
She was going to give up this stupid idea of hers; there was no way in hell that her and I were destined to be a one-time thing.