Chapter 6: Just A Little Taste of Pink
Walking through all the machinery, I reach my hand out to playfully clap Nik as he grabs his lunch. He openly cringes at my cheeriness, but I just grin and nearly skip to the staff refrigerator.
I'd been on cloud nine all week and a bastard like Nik was not going to dull my sparkle.
Ever since that fateful night that I was told I was a father, I'd considered myself pretty unlucky as far as girls went. Of course I didn't resent Mini in any way, but it wasn't easy to flip the switch and go from single and wild to father and responsible. I missed women. I missed the way they felt, the way they spoke and how they touched. I missed every aspect of being with them and it fucking sucked. My hiatus from any sexual encounters was killing me slowly every day. My hand wasn't good enough anymore, especially when I had Elena Gilbert lurking around every corner of my life. The woman was Satan, God, and sunshine wrapped into one girl of absolute fuckery. She was everything I hated and everything that I loved. She was a walking contradiction, a ticking landmine, that I could not and would not get enough of.
She does everything a woman could possibly do for me. We're like a well-oiled machine of sexual tension. She cooks, I do laundry. She watches Mini, I bring home pizza. I tease her about her ass, she hits me. But the one scary and exciting thing that Elena had done for me that surpasses any prior prowess of past women, was that she took away any and all urges or nostalgia of my past ways. She was the whole fucking package and she hadn't even touched my package. That was a turn-on and made me want to kiss her until I couldn't stop. I could no longer deny that every inch of my body craved her. I don't know what that means, or what I could even do about it, but it was a fact now.
As if that realization wasn't enough to have me smiling more, hearing Elena and The Dark Haired Douche argue over the phone was. I don't know what they were talking about, but it was pretty heated.
Elena kept murmuring the name 'Jeremy' and at first I thought that was his name. They were arguing about placement, and Elena was talking about how 'Jeremy' was her obligation, and I swear it sounded like she was going to cry.
And if that prick would have made her cry, I would've made him cry.
But if Elena is anything, she's strong as hell. She didn't cry, from what I could hear, and instead she just got angrier and more defiant. Whatever she was talking about, she didn't appreciate his input because she hung up on him and the phone kept ringing all through dinner.
Because of that argument, I did have a little more bounce in my step. So fucking what. I walk toward our staff table, and see that almost all of the staff took their break twenty minutes early.
Bonnie gives me a cautious glance. "I'm a little worried, Jacob." I shrug but they don't let it go. Of course, Matt has to open his spaced out ass's mouth and laughs obnoxiously as he chews on a sandwich, lettuce falling from his mouth.
He wraps a beefy arm around Katherine and grins. "Our boy has finally settled down." Nik snickers at that and I scowl.
Picking up one of Bonnie's peanuts, I launch it toward his head. My hand eye coordination is admittedly, shitty, so instead it falls into Katherine's hair. She shrieks, stands up, and runs her hand through it like it's a bomb. Bonnie giggles and I try to look as apologetic as possible. I turn to Matt and continue my glare. "Hey asshat, instead of being worried about me and my relationship, why don't you worry about yours on TV." He blanches and the rest of the table watches us, bemused. "Accidentally flipped to the CW last week. Saw the main chick getting laid sans her ex. That ship has sailed."
Matt looks horrified, and then pissed as hell. "You don't know." He picks up his nearly empty cup of water and tosses it back like a shot. "Man," he sputters, "Fuck you."
I laugh as he storms off to refill his cup and plop down next to Bonnie. "Hasn't this week just been fucking fantastic?"
She slowly turns her head and furrows her eyebrows. "It's only Monday."
"I know." I tell her, "It's been a fantastic Monday. Marvelous Monday." Bonnie shakes her head at me and ignores my fuckawesome alliteration.
"I heard you spoke to Damon." My smile falters but doesn't fade.
I clench my teeth at the reminder of the conversation that now seems so long ago. It'd been in my best interest to ignore it and him at all costs. I know they say you shouldn't ignore your problems, but 'they' probably consists of assholes who never had any.
Bubbling beneath the anger of my conversation with him was even surer fury. I swear it's like everyone wants me to be moody today. The fact that one of my best friends still spoke to my brother pissed me off to no end. I was a possessive little fucker, but that wasn't the reason why. Bonnie Bennett, no matter how amazing she is, will forever be hung up on Damon fucking Salvatore. True shit. She could deny it, but she'd been in love with him since she met him. I'd like to say Damon loved her too, but he had such a shitty way of showing love and my Bonnie became a victim to that. She supported him, cared about him, defended him, and saved him from himself time after time. She'd been the connector between the two of us, pushing us together to savor a lost brothership that will never be again. I'm not bitter enough to put my own feelings before hers, but the bottom line is that she deserves to be happy. With or without Damon. Considering that Damon's in a relationship right now, I'd prefer without.
I clear my throat. "Yeah, we had a very enlightening conversation."
She nods and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "He said you were pretty damn hostile." She murmurs jokingly. I don't laugh. She grimaces and leans toward me. "Look," she whispers, "Jacob, I get it. I really, really, do. But this has gone on for too long and you know that."
Intent on not talking about it, I ignore her and open up a container of pasta that Elena packed for me. Instantly, I'm smiling again and pulling out my plastic fork. I feel Bonnie's stare on me before she relents and sighs. "So, what's that?"
I fork the pasta and shove a piece in my mouth. Chewing happily, I grin. "Elena made it for me."
Nik pulls his head away from his phone he'd been texting on auspiciously. He looks dubiously at us both before he snorts. "Elena?" I nod. He laughs. "The same Elena who had you search her house for a guinea pig? Be sure she didn't poison it."
I roll my eyes even though I know that that is actually a good theory and not beyond her capabilities at all. Poisoned or not, the pasta is fucking amazing. Orgasmic.
Hm...Orgasms. Orgasms and Elena. Orgasms with Elena. Orgasms with Elena and...Pasta?
Nothing sexual about that lastone.
"I can't believe your devil child actually stays quiet for her."
"Mini is pretty good at telling who's an asshole and who's not. She's got you spot on, dick."
Nik snickers and shoves my shoulder, cursing at me. "You're right about one thing. The ass on her, Jake."
I stop smiling. "What? When did you see Elena?"
Nik is not just my best friend, he's my brother. More of a brother than Damon will ever be. This sack of shit has had my back for years. He's seen me at my worst, my best, and my...worse. He's seen me take home girls and do body shots in tattoo parlors. He has everything on me and knows me like the back of his hand.
The fact that he's seen Elena worries me. I'm not sure why, but all I know is that I hope he didn't say anything too incriminating.
"I saw her last week. What a girl like that is doing with a bastard like you, is beyond me." He pulls out a cigarette and offers me one. I shake my head and he pulls out a lighter, unaffected. Bonnie stands up, crinkling her nose at the cigarette, and leaves us with a wave following the rest of the staff out. Good thing that Nik and I take our break at the same time, because no one else could bother to smell him smoke.
He lights it up and takes a swift drag. "Tight ass, long brown hair, right?"
My ass. "Back off, asshole."
He grins, and I know he's saying that shit to rile me up more than anything. I pull out a plastic bag that Elena made full of fruit. I slowly start to smile, ignoring Nik's gaze on me. "Looks like the lunches my mom used to pack me." he laughs, nearly dropping his cigarette.
I pop a strawberry into my mouth and grin. "She takes good care of me."
We sit in silence for a bit, me poking at my food and him inhaling his cigarette like it's his lifeline. I can tell something is on his mind, but I don't bother him about it. A couple more tense minutes pass and he takes another drag from his cigarette and then smiles, "I've got some good news, Jake."
Leaning backwards on my chair, I toss my head back away from the smoke and continue munching on my snack. "What?"
"I talked to Elijah the other day, right?" He leans forward, wiping his hand on his jeans, which he usually does when he's excited.
"And?"
"And," he looks down at his jeans with a hidden smile, "he says we can take out a loan."
Fuck.
"We don't have any criminal history and shit. I mean, we're pretty much on the clear. I know you've got Mini, but I told him both of our incomes, and in this moment, we can take out a loan right this fucking second."
I want to smile. I want to jump in the air and run and quit this bullshit job. I want to shake the hell out of Nik and tell him we fucking did it. We fucking did it and I didn't need my 'family' to pitch in or I didn't have to rob a bank. Nik and I have wanted to start our own bar for years. We'd had it planned out for the longest time. Bonnie would be our waitress, Matt would be our bouncer, and more importantly, we would not have to work here. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty fucking content man. Sure, I can't splurge and buy all the shit I want, but that didn't mean that I couldn't be a little greedy and want more.
Five years ago, neither of us could get a decent loan out to start it up. We've been saving, hoping to get some good credit and be able to open up. Nik had a degree in business, and I had the experience of making some good ass liquor. The timing was just never right.
But now?
The whole loan process takes a long time. I could hand most of it off to Nik, but ultimately, until it all went through, I wouldn't be at home as much. I'd have the weekends and nights, though, which was a good amount of time. Plus, Elena could watch Mini if I needed it. Could I do it though? It made me nervous as hell already leaving her for the day. Maybe I'm over exaggerating the hours. With Elijah helping us out, he could handle it mostly on his own, and it wouldn't be that much time. And fuck, I'd been a good dad-far better than I imagined. I needed to do something for myself.
No, what I needed to do was talk to Elena. I needed her to sort this shit storm brewing through my skull.
I peer up at him, and slowly smile. "I can talk to Elena about it and try to get some concrete schedule going. Can you give me time to think about it?"
He sighs in relief and grins, "Hell yeah."
"What the hell are you doing?" I ask as I open the door to my apartment. I drink in the site ahead of me leaving me pissed, confused and a little happy. The usual feelings I get when I'm around Elena.
My baby girl was wrapped around in Elena's arms, wearing a bright white onesie. She was smiling like crazy, her hands muddled in royal blue paint, her feet decked out in green. Elena had slabs of paint on her clothes, but she looked the happiest I'd ever seen her. Thank fuck they weren't on the carpet, but instead they were on this large sheet of paper, foot marks and hand marks all over. It was...creative, I guess. Mini garbles and tries to push her hand to Elena's cheek. She spots me and immediately bounces in Elena's arms, bringing an instant smile to my face.
"We're doing arts and crafts." Elena says blandly, pushing a stray piece of hair back. I slip off my shoes and drop my jacket to the floor.
"I can see that, it looks great."
"Stop lying." She stands up and walks over the sheet of paper toward my TV. No man zone.
"Whoa, woman." She chastises me with her eyes. "I don't care how nice your ass is, but get your paint-y little body away from my TV."
With a roll of her eyes she thrusts Mini toward me. I accept her and lay a kiss on her forehead. "Alright Mini, let's clean you up." Elena rolls up the paper on the floor, and folds it into a square. She begins picking up the paint and brushes while I walk into the kitchen.
"So," I start, "How was today?"
I start the faucet and Mini whimpers. I chuckle as I dip her feet in first, the green falling down the drain. She's immediately distracted by the color and forgets all about her fear of water.
"Fine." Elena says a little too innocently. I know her tricks now, and the girl was up to something.
I begin to lower Nellie's feet into the water, "What?"
"Nothing, Jacob. Hey, when you finish could you come here for a second?"
"Sure thing."
I finish cleaning up all of Nellie's skin, but grab a pink onesie out of the baby bag for her clothes. I remove the white one and drop it in the sink, quickly changing her into the pink. I can tell that Elena had already changed her diaper, which I am extremely grateful for.
When she is all clean and Mini again, I give her another kiss and a tight squeeze. Mini giggles and latches on to my index finger, pulling it into her mouth. "I really hope you don't enjoy sucking stuff this much when your older." I mutter to myself. I head off to my room, and over to the playpen set up in the corner. She doesn't object when I place her in the pen next to her favorite toy. I keep the light on and the door open, so she's still in sight of me and I of her. Just cause I'm anal like that.
I return to the living room to see Elena bent over. I soak that view in for a second before I make myself known. "Alright, what do you have for me, beautiful?"
Elena straightens up and holds a piece of paper facing her in her hands. Motioning to the couch, she sits down and I follow. "This is probably the greatest masterpiece I've ever conducted." I roll my eyes. "Really, and if it doesn't hit your heartstrings, you don't have any."
She flips the paper over and my heartstrings do tug a little. A lot-tle. Mini's foot prints were green and bright in the middle of the paper, all symmetrical and shit. Then both her tiny blue hand prints were on the side. I'm not going to even question how she got her to stay so still for so long, but fuck. She was so tiny and precious. She was so fucking mini. I'm so touched though, and it's not even because of the picture. I mean, yeah, I do appreciate that shit because the few pictures are not enough and she will be getting bigger soon. It's the fact that she'd even done this shit for me, you know? Or for Mini. Elena just looks so damn proud, and I've never met anyone like that. The person who just does things for people and doesn't expect shit in return. She makes me lunches, she babysits Mini, she fucking makes foot print portraits for me and I give her nothing. It's endearing, sad, and also gives me a good dose of hope I think that I need.
My whole life was spent getting myself out of this emotional debt. I had always considered myself a burden and it was hard for me to let people do things for me, ever. When my father let me go, I know it was because he resented me, and because I was a burden in his life. Even at the adoption center, when shit had gone awry and it wasn't the cause of me, I still thought I was a burden. A waste of space. Then when Damon had come up to me in the center and pointed me out to his parents, all I could think about was how much of a burden I was going to be for them. I fucking was, too. That's why I tried to go to college. I wanted to make them happy and think that adopting me wasn't a mistake. When I dropped out, I gave up on that path of righteousness. What better way to pay them back then to leave them alone? I got a job and my own apartment and my own friends. I'm paying off a debt to the world every fucking day. I needed to do things for myself. I didn't need my parents or my brother to bail me out again. The only burden I'd be to anyone was myself.
A feeling starts to erupt in my chest again when I look at her, and it's the same kind of burn as it was weeks ago. It's an all consuming feeling that is scary as shit but feels fantastic. I really want to kiss her. I think that's what that feeling is. Her lips are so full and red and they're practically begging me like they do every day. Even though it's wrong to even consider, I wonder what they'd feel like against mine. I wonder if they felt as soft as they looked. I wonder what her hair would feel like between my fingers, what her hands would feel like around me. I wonder what she would feel like on top of me, beneath me, beside me, in front of me and all around me. I wonder all of this so fast and my head starts to spin and my body tenses because I fucking need to know. I want to know.
Her eyes darken, and I wonder now if she feels it too. I slide one of my hands from my thigh to the paper. I grasp it, and without looking at it, I place it on the coffee table beside me. Her eyes follow the paper, and then meet mine, a haze of wonder and want. My same hand reaches up until I'm cupping her face, rubbing the apple of her cheek with my thumb. She's so fucking soft and real and just...perfect. I feel her lean into my touch, and close her eyes and then I have to kiss her because she's asking me to. I feel it. My breathing labors and I lean toward her slowly. We're like magnets, and something's pulling me closer and closer. I swallow hard and bite on my lip.
"Can I?..." I croak quietly, my lips almost on hers. She swallows too and I see the tiniest tilt of her head that says I'm driving her as crazy as she's driving me. That's all I need.
Gently but surely, I place my lips against hers, and the ache I feel fades into the most peaceful and euphoric feeling I've ever felt in my life. Her lips are so fucking perfect against mine, and it feels so right. Her hands adjust so they're wrapped around me, and I have never been so turned on and so gone from a kiss before. When she opens her mouth to me, I'm lost and found all at once and I know, deep down, she has me hook, line and sinker. Could this be the girl I spend the rest of my life with? Who fucking knows. Would I mind if she was? If she keeps kissing me like this every day, she could have me. Our tongues tangle and lap at each other and we turn hungry and thirsty for each other. It's almost like I can't get enough, and I can't. She holds me tightly and hitches her leg across mine and I groan because I might just explode. She pushes herself against me, gripping any part of my body she can reach, specifically my hair that she pulls over and over again. As my hand strokes the small of her back, almost grabbing the Holy Grail, the asses of all asses, the remote to the television collapses onto the floor and Elena freezes on top of me.
Fuck.
She pulls herself back and looks me in the eyes, panicked and shocked as hell. I've never seen her so flustered before. She licks her lips and sits up, facing away from me.
"Elena?"
"I should probably go. I've got to work tomorrow." her voice sounds a little off, but I get that she's freaked out even if I don't want her to be. She bends over to grab her jacket and purse and then slips on some moccasins she wore over. I stand up to see her out, but she opens the door on her own and leaves. Just like that.
I groan and toss my head back against the couch, cursing who ever even made remote controls. Though Elena was acting not at all like the woman I'd grown to know and like, she still drove me insane with her rather mixed signals.
And that kiss had definitely not got her out of my system. It made me want her even more.
"Fuck my fucking life." I growl again, picking up the remote as I stand. Heading back to my room, I remove my shirt and toss it on my bed. Mini, still wide awake, stares up at me with wide open cerulean eyes.
"Yeah, I know Mini. I know."
I walk to the bathroom and shut the door, removing my pants and noticing just how bad my erection had gotten.
I guess I need a cold shower.
I turned the shower on and jumped in, letting the warmth settle on me for a moment. I never even got to ask Elena about this whole bar thing with Nik. Or touch her ass. Shoving those thoughts to the back of my mind, I squirt some shampoo in my hair, scrubbing it in like it would scrub away all my thoughts. I continue washing up, spending extra time in when I turn the faucet to cold, which I hiss at in discomfort.
I brush my teeth in the shower to waste some time, and when my erection is officially killed, I grab my towel and step out, practically shivering. This shit should be illegal.
With one hand on my towel and the other on my face, I step in front of the mirror and grab my washcloth.
Then I fucking freeze.
Then I scream.
Then Mini screams from outside.
My fucking hair. My hair is fucking pink. Fucking pink. I breathe heavily and growl.
"Elena."
I flip my hair over a couple times in the mirror, trying to make sure my eyes weren't playing any tricks on me. I scowl in the mirror and my heart starts pounding. My hair is a very particular color. If this is permanent I might throw her off a cliff. Or myself.
My hair was a very obsidious black. It cannot be bought in a fucking can. I refuse to dye my hair jet black after this. It does not and will fucking not suffice. But I also can't just walk around my work looking like this.
Or meet with a loaner like this.
I groan and tighten my towel, leaning back into the shower. I yank the stupid shampoo off the rack, and I immediately know it's been tampered with. I slam it on the shower floor and march over to the bathroom cabinet, yanking it open. Pulling out a shower cap that's usually reserved for my over night deep conditioner, I tighten it on my head and proceed to leave the bathroom.
Not bothering to look at my traitor child who's laughing and bouncing up and down in her pen, I march out of my bedroom and out to the front door.
I will not be made a mockery of. I will not. I won't.
I make sure that my towel is perfectly secured, and swing the front door open, only to meet the eyes of my fifty year old neighbor. I really do not have time for his shit today, too. What happened to my marvelous Monday? He glares at me as he unlocks the door to his apartment and shakes his head.
"Not my fault!" I snap as he slams the door. Fuck him. Fuck this. I shut my door behind me, hoping that no pedophile goes in to steal Mini and sprint down the hallway and up the now familiar set of stairs. I don't even care if someone could get a good view of my ass.
Just wait until I get my hands on her. This has gone too fucking far. I stomp all the way down to her door, and immediately the door swings open like she was waiting for me.
Fuck her for looking so fuckable when I'm angry. She looks me up and down, taking special interest in my abs and I would be smirking if I wasn't so damn pissed. When she sees the shower cap on my head, she loses it, hard giggles racking her body. I clench my hand that's holding my towel together and growl at her.
"Really Elena? I confided in you. I trusted you. You knew that I cared about my hair and you fucking ruined it." I stage whisper, so we don't grow an audience. She laughs harder and snorts.
"Yeah right, chill."
"Chill?" I nearly shriek. "My hair is fucking pink!" She bends over, holding her stomach, pointing at my shower cap. "Look, just tell me if it's permanent."
She controls herself for a second and then shrugs. "I don't know if I can do that, Jake."
I clench my teeth together and then decide on another tactic. "Is this because you kissed me?"
Her face drops. "I didn't kiss you, you kissed me."
I smile. "It's okay, I get it. I have a pretty nice body. Here feel." I grab her hand with my free hand and place it on my stomach. Her eyes glaze over for a moment and then she glares, removing her hand.
"I don't care about your body. You couldn't help yourself, and so you kissed me, Jake. No big deal."
"I didn't though." I egg her on, "You leaned forward and put your hand on my crotch. I am a man."
She opens her mouth once and then shuts it just as quickly. "Now you're fucking lying."
God, I liked a woman who could give good F bombs. "I'm not. It's okay, Elena. Feel free to kiss me anytime. These lips are yours."
"Mm." she sarcastically moans, but the sound still goes straight to my dick. "As long as I get to run my hands through your fire fuchsia colored hair."
"Well, you did like running my hand through my hair about 15 minutes ago. Around the same time your were grinding your little body on top of me." She fumes. "That, my dear, was not a lie. You know that."
"Goodbye, Jacob." she says, glaring at me. I step inside so she can't close the door and she sighs, picking at her nails. "Are you leaving?"
"What's the rush?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but my friend Caroline is coming over and she's a little wary of the color pink."
"Ah, I see. That could be easily fixed if you'd just tell me how to fix this shit."
"Where's the fun in that?" I smile at her devious expression and shake my head.
"You're fucking nuts."
"Ditto."
I step out the door, but keep one hand on her waist, that she eyes with a warning look. "Jacob."
I ignore her and lean against her door frame, enamored by how fucking hot she is and almost forgetting why I came down here angry in the first place. "You might be crazy, but you give a good kiss, you know that right?"
"I've been told."
"Good. Talents like that deserve a standing ovation." I remove my hand and give a tip of my head. "Good night Elena."
"Good night Jacob." I turn to walk up the stairs, happy and pink.
What the hell is that ringing noise?
I flip over onto my side and groan, tossing my arm over my face to block that shit out. It doesn't stop. I open my eyes and push myself up, sleep be damned. I peek over in Mini's crib, who's sleeping softly like nothing was happening. Lucky kid. I adjust my shower cap that still resides on my head as I stumble along in the darkness, following the familiar ring to the kitchen. My phone is there, vibrating like crazy on the counter, seemingly never-ending.
I grab my phone off the counter and read the caller I.D, half interested and half pissed. I flick the phone open and sigh.
"Someone better be dead."
"Jacob," Bonnie starts, her voice trembling. I'm immediately alert and fucking scared, because Bonnie fucking Bennett does not tremble. Ever. My heart starts hammering in overtime and I put my head in my hands.
"What's going on?" I say softly, listening to her pant gently. It only occurs to me then that she's been crying, and my blood runs cold. I swear to God if Damon did anything to make her cry I will personally beat the shit out of him. "Did Damon do something?"
Hesitantly, but also pissed at my accusations, she responds. "No, Jacob," she sniffles gently. "He didn't do anything. Damon didn't call you because of your parents, Stefan. He didn't call you to be a dick. You've got this grudge held over him, and you won't even give him a chance to fucking explain, and I feel so helpless because I can't do anything to help."
Figuring she's talking about my brother and I's relationship, I close my eyes as relief spreads my body followed by pure irritation. "It's two in the morning, Bennett. Can we talk about this tomorrow. I'm more interested in getting some sleep." Is she drunk?
It's quiet on the line and I think that she hung up on me until I hear her soft breathing.
"Jacob, something's wrong."
I slam my hand down on the counter, "What's wrong?"
"Damon's in trouble."