Locke. Chapter Twenty: In a Text

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Chapter Twenty: In a Text

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Only a few days passed before I got Jasper’s next text that he was going to be in town unexpectedly for a meeting. But instead of being excited about it, I was totally disappointed. I knew it was bound to happen at some point, but I had lucked out. My period started the night before. My cycle was never terrible, but it was enough to make me uncomfortable.  

"Hey, would you like to play tonight?" The message blinked. I read it three times in a row, wishing he would magically add, ‘in a couple of days’. But I knew that wasn't really going to come. And neither was I. 

I bit my lip, trying to figure out if there was anything we could do. But I wasn't comfortable enough for that. Blood wasn't either one of our things, and honestly, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I had already taken painkillers twice in the morning.  

"I would love to, but I can't," I replied, pouting. Even if I wasn't up to having sex, the idea of cuddling with him, in bed with cake preferably, sounded terrific. I knew I wasn't going to get that though, even if I wanted it desperately.  

“Oh. That sucks. I was really looking forward to seeing you again. Got plans for tonight already?” He asked instantly. I felt terrible for disappointing him. I wasn’t sure he could know how bummed I was.  

I considered not telling him, but I decided I should be honest. I hadn't ever lied to him before, and I wasn't about to start over something silly. It's not like he wasn't a doctor. He literally dealt with blood every single day. If my menstrual cycle scared him off, he was less of a man than I thought.  

“Actually, no. I’m on my period. Sorry. :/.” I answered finally. I hugged the heating pad to my stomach, frowning down at it. It was half shoved into my sweat pants. I was lying on my bed in the dark, dropping the temperature as low in the apartment as Tanya could stand.

“Oh, well, that does suck. I’m sorry,” he said right away. 

I wasn't sure he could understand how much of an understatement that was. But I wasn't going to whine about my condition because I knew it didn't help. "It's okay. It could be worse. On the plus side… hey, not pregnant!" I concluded sarcastically. At least we both knew the Plan B had been effective before. I hadn't been worried about it at all, though.  

“lol, oh god. I didn’t even think about that. I guess that is the plus side. Well, I didn’t have anything else going on tonight. We don’t have to play. Do you just want to hang out?” He asked before swiftly adding, “or would you rather suffer in peace?”
“I’d rather not be alone. It’s not that bad.”

My phone flashed once more. “My sister was a beast on hers when we were kids. She’d just scream at us to leave her alone for a week. If we wanted to talk to her, we had to bring offerings. Chocolate usually worked. Sometimes cash.”

“Those work on me at any given time,” I joked. “I could seriously shank someone for chocolate cake, though.” 

“Please don’t, lol. I don’t want to work your case.”

I laughed out loud to myself. “Fine. If you insist.” I sent several eye-roll emojis. “There goes my plans for the evening.”

“Well, since you’re not busy now, do you want to just hang out?” He asked again. 

I hadn’t really answered him before. I bit my lip again for a moment, considering it. “What would you want to do?”

"Idk, what do normal people do?" He questioned teasingly. I giggled as I imagined his voice. I wanted it in my ear as he laid behind me, his warm body pressed to mine.  

He asked a good question that I wasn’t sure I knew the answer to precisely. If I was ever going out, it was almost always either to see him or to spend time with Alice. I was a very introverted person, and I knew that. Planning usually stumped me, especially when it didn't involve sex.  

“Um, idk. They go to the movies, maybe? I do that occasionally when I’m trying to blend in with the vanillas.” 

“I want you to know that I just snorted my coffee in front of my superior.”

“lol, careful there. Definitely can’t explain what’s so funny, huh?”

“Omg, no. He’s definitely one of the vanillas lol. He’s a million years old and probably thinks I’m insane for giggling at my phone. He might have actually worked with Hoover.”

Talking to him made me feel better. I could envisage his cheerful voice in my head as we chatted and I just let it wash over me. “Well, you know better than to text in front of your boss lol.”

My cell beeped again. “I should, but I still do it. Anyway, I wouldn’t mind going to the movies. Anything that you want to see?”

“I’m not sure that I even know what’s playing right now,” I admitted. “Why don’t you pick?”

“Dinner, too?” He really mustn’t have been busy, even if he was with his boss. 

“That would be great.”

“Hm… well, if I can’t eat you, what should we have?” 

My cheeks flushed, and I grinned to myself. Even if I felt terrible, desire washed over me. "Surprise me. Whatever you're in the mood for," I answered quickly, pushing the outline that I was writing to the side. My brain wasn't going to work anymore after that comment anyway.  

“Sounds good. How about I pick you up? Six work for you?”

“That’s perfect. I’ll see you then.”

I instantly became a million times more nervous than I was the first time we were together for some reason that I couldn’t understand. The idea of going to dinner and movies should have seemed tame, especially when compared to what we did just days before. But we had known each other for months and hadn’t gone anywhere. We were either at his hotel or my apartment. I didn’t know how to act when we were out. Was he for or against PDA? I wasn’t sure I wanted to try, just to be disappointed. He knew that he wasn’t getting laid, though. All I could do was let him lead the way, as always.  

When I got dressed for the evening, I wore a pair of blue jeans and a comfortable blue cable knit sweater that was way too big. It fell over my shoulder, exposing the strap of my tank top underneath. My heeled boots went to my knees, making me a couple of inches taller. I was hoping that they would give me some extra confidence. 

Tanya and I were getting ready in the bathroom at the same time. Her hair was done up high in piles of curls, but she was still in her robe. She passed me a beautiful dark mauve lipstick wordlessly.

“You look pretty,” she complimented when I didn’t take it right away. “I think this color will like nice on you.”

I gazed at it for a long second. It was a nicer brand. She had a ton of makeup. "Aw, thank you!" After applying it quickly, I tried to hand it back, but she shook her head.  

“Keep it. Just in case you need reapplications…” She wiggled her eyebrows. I laughed, shaking my head. 

“Hopefully. Thank you.”

Edward was sitting on the couch, waiting for Tanya to finish getting ready. They were going to some fancy social-function with his family, and he was wearing a tux. He looked delicious, and I still wanted to hit him.  

He came to his feet when he saw me. “Hi.”

“Oh, sit down,” I mumbled automatically. I was still royally pissed. He made a little face at himself, embarrassed. Clearing his throat, Edward sat on the edge of the couch with his hands clasped between spread knees. 

“You look lovely this evening,” he said quietly. “Plans?”

“Yes,” I replied as I went back to my bedroom to get my phone. It was five minutes until six. 

"Going out with Alice?" He inquired curiously. Slowly, he had been trying to ask me questions, but I was still at the single word answer stage.  

“No,” I responded just as there was a knock at the front door. I literally pranced to it. 

Jasper grinned when I opened it just a crack. “Hey!”

“Hi!” I opened the door a little more. On the other side, he was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, his heavy work boots, and a tight black shirt underneath a well-worn blue jean jacket. “Oh, wow!”

“What?” Jasper asked, confused by my greeting. He actually looked behind him absently. It made me giggle.  

“Well, how are you doing, cowboy?” I said flirtatiously as I wiggled my shoulders, tugging on the edge of his jacket. He laughed, putting his hand on my hip as he pulled me in close. “How was your meeting?” I continued as he hugged me tightly, my arms encircling his neck.

He didn’t let go, squeezing my hips as he buried his face in my hair. “You know, usually I get pissed when I have to go to these things that could have been handled in an email, but today, I don’t mind it so much.” I giggled again, relishing in his warmth and attention. His hand went to my ass, squeezing it gently.

My fear of being rejected instantly went away as he kissed my forehead. He was only looking at my face, his fingers running just under my chin so as not to mess up my makeup. And for a minute, I forgot everything.

“You look great,” he whispered, hugging me close to him again.
 
“Mm, thanks,” I mumbled as I hid my face in his chest for a moment. 

Then I felt Jasper stiffen, and I glanced up at his face. It was severe, angry. His jaw was tight. Following his eyes, I looked over my shoulder. Edward was standing up again and peering back at us.  

He cleared his throat, shoving both of his hands in his pocket before rocking on his heels for a second. “So, sorry about the-”

“You’re a prick,” Jasper interrupted him. 

His no-nonsense tone left nothing to the imagination. I grinned to myself. It was stupidly hot for some reason. 

“Don’t worry,” I patted his chest gently to get his attention. Smiling innocently, I batted my eyelashes. Jasper seemed genuinely confused, tilting back slightly to take me in. “He already knows what he’ll be fed if he bothers me again. So, he won’t.” I looked at Edward, cocking my head to the side as my tone became dangerous. “Will you?”

“No, I won’t,” he insisted with a small smirk on his lips. His cheeks were faintly pink. 

Tanya came out of her bedroom finally, fully dressed in what could be described as no less than a ball gown. She smiled when she saw Jasper and me together. “Oh, hi! Nice to see you again!”

He lifted his hand, one arm still around my waist. “It’s nice to see you as well. You look quite elegant tonight,” Jasper complimented smoothly. She beamed at him, melting a bit with his easy southern charm. Edward rolled his eyes a little, looking away from us. She wasn’t paying attention to him, though. 

“Thank you,” she giggled before turning her focus back to me. “I’m staying at Edward’s. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Nodding, I smiled back. “Okay.” It felt like my relationship with her was somehow back to normal. I quickly grabbed my purse off the hook, along with my jacket. “Have fun!” I called to her, finally pulling Jasper towards his rental car. 

He was still rigid as he opened the door for me. It appeared as if he was chewing on something tough, his hands in fists at his side. When he slammed my door, I jumped. 

“What’s wrong?” I pushed when he sat. 

Surprised that I was asking, Jasper quickly shook his head. “What? Oh. Nothing.”

I snorted. “Bullshit. What’s bothering you?” I reached over and gently squeezed his thigh.

His fingers wrapped around the steering wheel tightly, looking straight ahead. “You turned him on. Just now,” he grumbled, his voice low. 

I laughed a little meanly. "I know. Good. I hope he dies of blue balls." 

He laughed in shock. “You’re a little cruel, darlin.” 

Shaking my head, I picked at my sweater before glancing at him. “That pretty boy needs to learn that he’s not impressive. He’ll be fine. He’ll figure it out eventually. Until then, it’s kind of fun for my ego,” I admitted with a smirk. “He’ll get bored quickly when he realizes that I’m not that easy.” 

Jasper hummed quietly, making a face. “Or it’ll make you more interesting to him. You don’t know the guy like I do.”

I turned to look at him curiously. “Do you think that I’m in any danger?” He would be an expert in the field of dangerous and deadly douchebags. 

He leaned his head to one side then the other before sighing. “Only of having the shit annoyed out of you. I just don’t want you to go through that.” 

I patted his leg gently. “I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. I can handle him.”

“That’s what he’s hoping for,” he mumbled under his breath, making me giggle softly. “Anyway, so there’s a mall not that far from here with a theater playing a movie that I want to see.”

He didn't even say a title, and I didn't mind one bit. "Sounds good." 

Jasper nodded his head, grinning. “And there’s a fish place that I wouldn’t mind going to. Is that alright with you? Or would you like something different? I’m not picky.”

“Fish sounds great. I don’t care what we do,” I told him honestly.

“No question at all?” I shook my head. Jasper finally started the car. “You’re trusting,” he said coyly.  

I shrugged, rubbing my hand over his leg again. I let my nails drag over the denim. “Sometimes it’s just fun to go along for the ride and see what happens.” 

Glancing at me before he began to back out, he replied. “Yes, it is.”

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