Author's note: This chapter runs alongside @__highflying's chapter 19.
"Please be civil."
Tully sighed and rolled her eyes as she got out of the car and followed her brother into the cathedral, "I'll be nothing but a delight."
"Mmh..." Heikki wasn't convinced.
It was the day of the Red Bull memorial. An event to honour their fallen teammates, teammates which Tully had no recollection of and as such, she was struggling to grasp a sense of empathy.
Tully eyed her brother warily. He hadn't mentioned Sebastian whatsoever since the day back in Finland where he'd arranged to visit and she'd promptly disappeared with Jacob. Not that they knew that's who she'd been with. Surely Sebastian would be there today, waiting inside. She sighed in resignation at the prospect.
As they walked into the ancient dwelling, Tully couldn't help but gaze up at the architecture in amazement. It was beautiful. Beyond beautiful.
It wasn't until someone sashayed past her, bumping into her shoulder that she realised she'd fallen behind and was currently blocking the aisle.
She glanced around, immediately noticing the curious stares from the countless unfamiliar faces filling up the pews. A queasy feeling took over in the pit of her stomach and she quickly looked around for Heikki. She spotted him almost instantly, in the third row... standing next to Sebastian. Yep. As expected, there he was.
The queasy feeling immediately intensified.
The two boys were talking together, with Heikki not so subtly glancing over at her after every few words. Sebastian had his back to her, and made no move to look over his shoulder even though Heikki's eyes were clearly following her every move. It looked like Sebastian was asking questions, to which Heikki seemed to start answering each one with a hesitant shrug.
The last thing Tully wanted to do on the entire planet was walk over there and join that conversation. As tempting as a tense, depressive conversation with Sebastian was, piling that on top of a tense, depressive memorial seemed like volunteering herself to the seventh circle of hell.
She scanned the other side of the aisle, desperate for another option. It wasn't easy, not knowing who one was supposed to know pre-incinerated-memories. Some people shot her sympathetic smiles, others looked away quickly, until she landed on a pale, beautiful face with bright green eyes, framed by a too-long, chocolate-brown fringe. His eyes were already locked on her as he smiled subtlety.
"Jake." she breathed, feeling the corners of her lips pull upwards. She found herself staring at him longingly, wishing she could walk over to him and bury her face against his neck. The only thing stopping her was knowing that doing that could put Jacob in harm's way. His job was on the line. As was his beautiful face if anyone decided he deserved physical retribution. Nope. She would keep their secret, and his face, safe.
"Tully!" a loud voice carried across the room and she reluctantly tore her gaze off Jacob to instead look at the blonde beside him. She glanced back at Jacob with a raised eyebrow and watched him mouth the word "Evan" to her. Oh. This was Evan.
She quickly diverted her attention back to the blonde who was walking towards her quickly.
"Good to see you conscious again." he shot her a sympathetic, lopsided grin.
"Well I aim to please." she replied, raising an eyebrow as Evan swooped her into an unexpected hug.
She stood there awkwardly, giving Jacob a weird look over Evan's shoulder until she was released from the embrace. Jacob smirked and shook his head in amusement.
"Aim to please, huh? Well that's new." Evan replied with a mischievous grin, "Come and see Jake, he saved your ass like three times."
"He did?" Tully's expression became puzzled as she allowed Evan to link their arms together before dragging her towards an increasingly anxious-looking Jacob.
"Look who it is." Evan announced as they reached the brunette.
"I hear I owe you some thanks." Tully mused, pulling away from Evan to thread her arms around Jacob's neck in what she hoped looked like a casual, friendly hug. As far as anyone in the room knew, except Jacob and Tully themselves, this was their first encounter since the crash. It had to look like it.
The feeling between them was electric as their bodies pressed together and his familiar scent filled Tully's head. It was so weird, holding him so close and yet being unable to behave naturally.
"You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad to see you're alright." he replied stiffly, pulling away from her and shooting her a tight smile. Tully could see his eyes darting across the room nervously, undoubtedly checking to see if Heikki and Seb were watching.
"Are they looking this way?" she whispered to Jacob under her breath as Evan became mercifully distracted by the arrival of another teammate.
"Uhh, yeah." Jacob smiled nervously.
"I don't want to go over there." Tully muttered, suddenly crumbling under the stress of Sebastian's uncomfortable proximity. She didn't know what it was that made her react so badly towards him, but she hated the feeling. She frowned and rubbed her forehead tiredly, "I shouldn't have agreed to this."
By the time Jacob looked back at her face again, a rare tear was slipping down her cheek for just a second before she swiped it away.
"Hey, hey..." he whispered, taking another weary glance at Seb and Heikki before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Tully's mind was racing. Her focus was slipping away from her as well as her breathing at the thought of facing Sebastian again. Why did he have this effect on her? Why was it so hard to face him?
"I can't go over there..." she gasped, suddenly feeling flustered and too hot, "I can't be in here. I have to go."
Jacob watched in shock as Tully spun away from him and made a hasty beeline for the exit. Across the room, Heikki sprang to life after her, pushing his way through the growing crowd milling throughout the church. Tully was quicker though.
"Fuck." Jacob whispered to himself, watching her blonde hair disappear through the door. He felt Evan come to a stop at his side and thrust his hands in his pockets.
"That didn't look like it ended well." the blonde observed, watching Heikki finally reach the door and push his way out in a hurry.
"She can't face Seb." Jacob replied, shaking his head sympathetically.
They both turned to look at Seb, now stood alone across the room as he watched Heikki disappear out the front door after his sister. He was completely emotionless, giving nothing away in his expression. He sighed to himself and dropped his gaze to the floor before turning his back to them again.
---
Neither Tully nor Heikki returned throughout the service. About half-way through, Sebastian stood up and disappeared too, talking on his phone in a hushed voice. Not ten minutes later, Jacob felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and reached down to check it. Facebook was notifying him of a new chat message.
Tully Huovinen: Can I meet you later?
Jacob Reed: where, when? are you ok?!
Tully Huovinen: I'm ok. Going to London. Don't call me, my phone will be off anyway. Meet me in the lobby of the Four Seasons at 6pm."
Jacob Reed: Okay, i'll be there.
---
At 6pm sharp, Jacob strode into the Four Seasons, trying to hide his nerves as he glanced around the luxurious lobby. He couldn't see her anywhere. For want of a better plan, he took a seat on one of the couches and pulled his phone out, staring blankly at the screen.
He jumped, startled, as a pair of hands landed on his shoulders lightly and a pair of lips suddenly pressed against his neck.
An involuntary gasp slipped through his lips as Tully grazed her teeth across his neck gently before disappearing again and moving around the couch to stand before him.
"Hi?" Jake offered with an upward inflection and a bemused smile playing across his lips as Tully smirked down at him.
"Nobody knows you're here right?"
"No."
"Good." Tully said softly, offering her hand to him and pulling him to his feet.
"You're not going to tell them where you are? Your family will go insane, Tuls." Jacob tried to reason, failing to sound compelling as Tully's hands slipped around his waist.
"I just need some time." she mumbled vaguely, "They know me. They know I do this."
Jacob, hardly convinced, nodded guiltily as she lead him back out to the street.
"Where are we going?" he asked as she turned to face him again.
"I was thinking your apartment." Tully replied, raising an eyebrow as if challenging him to argue.
"What about Evan?"
"Does he really have to know I'm there?"
Jacob shrugged warily, "I suppose not."
"Good." she smiled innocently before gesturing for him to lead the way.
---
"So where is Evan anyway?"
"I'm not sure to be honest. He could be home anytime." Jacob replied, standing in the middle of a pile of laundry on his bedroom floor and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Do you think he'd tell them if he saw me?" Tully asked, stepping over to Jacob's bed and letting herself fall backwards on to his mattress.
His musky, boyish scent filled her senses as his soft blankets bunched up beneath her. She fleetingly imagined how nice it would be to wake up in that bed, with him asleep at her side. As she zoned back to reality she noticed him watching her with a conflicted expression.
"I really don't know the answer to that." Jacob replied nervously.
"Come here." she whispered, holding out a lazy hand towards him and wiggling her fingers.
Jacob hovered for a few seconds before relenting to her request and taking her hand. She tugged on it until he toppled over her in a heap, laughing quietly as he propped himself up over her.
"Hey." he murmured, stroking her hair off her face.
"I like your bed." she sighed contentedly.
"It does seem like a pretty good place to be right now." he agreed, leaning in to press his lips against hers.
Tully moaned softly as she kissed him back and rested her palms either side of his jaw, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs.
She felt Jacob take one of her hands from his face and lace their fingers together, before pinning her hand on the mattress beside her ear and pushing his tongue between her lips.
Tully felt her stomach flip as he restrained her other hand beside her head too. As badly as she wanted to run her fingers down his chest, this was just as good, if not better. Jacob smiled against her lips as he felt her whole body shudder in anticipation beneath him.
Tully had never been good at enduring teasing. After a few minutes she let out a quiet growl and ripped her wrists away from him, suddenly pushing him over until their positions were reversed. She crawled over him, planting her knees either side of his hips and leaning in to kiss and bite her way down his neck.
Jacob hissed as each short, sharp, delicious sting reverberated through his body and he found himself gazing up at the RB8 canvas hanging on his wall... with Seb at the helm.
Fucking hell. What was he doing?
"Tully stop." he gasped, hardly believing he was actually saying those words.
"Why?" she breathed, frowning down at him worriedly. She cradled his jaw in one hand as her turquoise eyes shimmered with baited excitement.
"I can't do this... to him." he stammered, wondering if she'd slap him before she ran out of the room or not bother.
"This has nothing to do with him." she replied serenely instead, stroking his cheek again, "This is between you and me only."
"But it's not is it?" Jacob replied sadly, "I feel like a monster for letting this get so out of control. You were injured Tully, but you were his. You weren't mine to take. I took advantage of you and I hate myself for it."
"It's my choice." Tully replied softly, pressing a single kiss to his lips, "You're my choice, Jake."
"He's my friend, was my friend. He's a nice guy Tuls, humble and kind and goes out of his way for other people. He would have trusted me not to do exactly what I've gone and done."
"I haven't seen him in weeks. Whatever there used to be between us is gone. Don't I deserve to be happy ever again?"
"Yes but-"
She cut him off with her lips moving against his, soft and slow and intimately affectionate.
Give up, Jacob's mind told him. She wins, she always does.
Author's note: Uhhhhh so yeah I'M ALIVE! SUPRISE! Sorry about the massive delays. I'm trying! I also intend to reply to all your messages, I promise. Thank you for all of them, I love getting them. :)