1 Chapter 1
The beep sound of an incoming call caused Jacob to groan under his breath. He flung his phone rather carelessly on the empty side seat and ran a hand through his chestnut brown hair. His waves got a little messy for a man in a classic black American tux and expensive suit pants.
He rolled the glass of his car window down and reached for his pack of cigars in the compartment. Pulling out a stick, he exhaled to ease his chaotic mind, and retrieved a lighter from the breast pocket of his tux. Jacob went nowhere without a lighter.
He hung the stick to his lips and lit its end. Puffing out one, two, three thick plumes into the air, his shoulders eased the tension they didn't know they had been carrying. He pushed back the lighter to its place again and inhaled another smoke, trapping it for a few seconds before puffing them out again.
He brought the cigar from his lips and fixed his eyes outside the window, towards the direction of Club A1 where Ryker was throwing a party for him. It was a surprise party that Ryker had literally dragged him to with a petty lie. He had said he only wanted them to stop for a drink before driving to Grant's place.
It turned out to be a gathering organized to welcome him back home. Sure, Grant was there and a few old friends he'd missed as well.
But so was she.
Emerald green eyes that seemed to peer into your soul, deep and powerful. A pale skin and a freckled face. Tawny brown hair curled and cascaded down her back. Her breath-taking sight was enough to ruin his night even before it started. Why was she even here? Why had they invited her?
His nostrils flared, and his jaw tightened. It pissed him off, but he would not succumb to playing immature or pathetic. He would ignore her for the rest of the night and act like she didn't exist.
He did just that. He let himself engage with the guys and their women, even though he had felt out of place in their midst. Grant was with his wife, Kenzie. Even Ryker was with a girl he had never heard of, probably girl number two for the week. She was Asian, and she had her dyed grey hair in a bob. She was also slim-fit and five-feet-four. The girl had a wide smile that could melt anyone's heart with its sheer innocence.
When Ryker introduced her as his girlfriend, Jacob had almost raised the corner of his lip in scorn. Another of Ryker's victims. He had camouflaged his reaction and took her hands in a brief handshake.
"It's nice to meet you, Kim," he said.
She flashed him another warm smile.
Good lord. This girl was undeserving of whatever Ryker had in store for her, he thought.
"Same here, Jacob. It's great having you back home."
When the group conversation continued with everyone joking about old times and high school memories, he could not stop himself from stealing glances at the woman that had let him wander in the shallow for years.
She was still as beautiful as ever. Maybe more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. As she flung her hair back while laughing at a joke a friend made, his Adam's apple bobbed. He imagined himself running a hand through her long silky hair and bringing her face to his for a passionate kiss till they were both out of breath, like old times.
Her hair used to smell of lilacs and cinnamon. Would it still smell that way, or had everything changed the minute everything changed?
He couldn't take it anymore; the tension caused by her presence, the sadness and loneliness that gnawed away at his insides, the realization that he would never be the reason behind those smiles again. Jacob excused himself from the group. He wanted to go use the restroom, and after that, he never came back.
Jacob left the club and found his way back to his car. He was going to call Ryker and tell him to come meet him outside. The dude needed to explain why Nicole, of all people, was standing there at his welcome party after six whole years of bitterness.
Ryker wasn't answering. Perhaps the deafening noise from the club had blocked out the ring. It was frustrating. Jacob refused to let the toxicity swirling in the air break him again. He was over her. Yesterday, today, and forever...
He jerked in surprise at the sudden pull of the passenger door. A familiar figure entered uninvited into his car, relaxing herself on the front seat beside him.
"Why do you act like a child?"
He scowled at the question. Her guts never seemed to baffle him, even after all these years.
"The fuck?" he said.
She shook her head and sighed, frustrated by his not-so-friendly response. Her cherry red lips pursed for a moment and he backpedalled to those moments where he would run his thumb across those luscious lips and consume them as his and his alone.
But not anymore. Things had changed and the woman sitting beside him was a territory forbidden to touch.
"Drive." She peered at him, unnerved by his shocked and dangerous expression.
It wasn't a request. It was a command.
They stared hard at each other.
