-A week later
A DARK STORM was brewing on the horizon as Jason stood in front of his father’s grave with his mom to his left and Brandon and Victor to his right. With the strong but warm wind picking up and tossing their hair around, they stood in pure and utter silence as Jason read the tombstone over and over again.
“Here lies Steven Jamie Mills
An honest, loving and hardworking husband and father
DOB: Dec. 14, 1954 – DOD: July 23, 2009
You’ll be missed”
Two years. Today made it two years since his father’s death and it still brought a stinging pain to his stomach and clenched his heart.
He missed his father like hell.
Jason’s lips twitched up into a wry smile. If Steven was still alive, he and Drake would’ve probably made up by now. He would never let his two sons fight for too long. He would’ve given his famous “you two are brothers” speech while smoking a cigar and stabbing a stubby index finger onto their chest as he towered over them with his deep green eyes daring them to go against his words.
Jason and Drake were really their father’s sons. They matched his features almost from head to toe. Their height, their dark brooding green eyes –though different shades—were similar, their shapely square jaws, their Greek styled nose and their heart stopping smile.
The only thing that wasn’t inherited from their father was their dark hair; that was a gift from their mother, Julian. While their father had a head full of chestnut brown hair, their mother had dark brown, almost black silky tresses that flowed down her back.
Her light brown eyes that used to shine so brightly had dimed since finding out that her husband was plagued with lung cancer. She emitted a ghost of depression now and Jason worried about her. No doubt that she was still a beautiful woman but the crows feet beside her eyes and the red bags underneath them were a tell tale sign of her still fighting to come to terms with her husband being gone.
Turning his head to his left, Jason slipped his hands into his mother’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He watched her forced a smile onto her face and squeezed his hand back before bringing it up to her chest and encasing it with her other hand. Her demeanor sent his senses onto high alert. She looked as if she would crumble right at the spot that she was occupying.
“Mom… ” Jason softly said.
“I’m alright Jace.”
He helplessly smiled down at his mom as she called him by the childhood nickname that his parents gave him. He knew that she was trying to be strong in front of him but her face told him a whole other story. “Are you sure?”
“Yes sweetie, I’m sure. But are you boys going to tell me why Drake isn’t here?”
“Uhh...”
“Umm…” Victor and Brandon uttered as they turned their eyes on Jason who brows suddenly creased at the mention of his devious brother.
“Maybe we should leave.” Victor commented.
“No, stay.” Julian said in her no nonsense voice. “Where’s Drake?”
Nobody answered.
“I will not ask again.” She snapped.
Jason shrugged. “He’s probably out getting high or something. I don’t know and I don’t care.” Jason quipped acidly.
Julian’s brows creased into a frown as she gave her present son an accusing look. “What did you two fight about?”
Brandon whistled. “Dang, she’s good.”
Jason turned to his best friend. “Shut up!” He growled. Turning back to his mother, he mouthed off a soft “nothing”.
“I’m your mother. You can’t lie to me. You two are always together till something bad happens. Now you tell me right this instant what you boys fought about this time.”
Like a child being denied his pleasure, Jason pouted then after a while he huffed. “It was over a girl.” Though it wasn’t a lie, it also wasn’t the complete truth about what really made him want to use Drake’s face as a punching bag.
Julian brows shot up in surprise. Her sons were unfortunately for her, non-committal. Neither have ever dated a girl long enough to even call her a girlfriend no matter how much she complained about her disappointment in them for never having a girlfriend. They were all flings that lasted less than a month and then the Mills brothers would be back at it again.
Who was this woman to have her boys fighting each other over her? “Who is she?” She asked him a bit puzzled.
“Hmm?”
“You heard me.” His mother retorted. “Who is she?”
Jason bit his upper lip nervously. He didn’t want his mom knowing about his sexual conquest in high school. She obviously knew about his dating habits now that he’s an adult but not in high school. She openly said that she liked him better when he was younger because he was “her innocent little boy”, he did not want to taint that image for her.
‘Too bad.’
“Do you remember my friend Tabitha Richardson from high school?” He asked.
It took a few seconds of pondering for Julian to remember who he was referring to but when she did a wide smile broke out on her face. “That lovely girl that used to come around the house? I knew you two would end up together somehow. It was so obvious that you both had something for each other. I remember when I used to tell Steven that…” She trailed off after saying her dead husband’s name and looked down at his grave.
She felt a bit of guilt gnawing at her for forgetting where she was and why she was there to begin with. Sighing she removed the loose strands of hair that was flying onto her face as the wind picked up speed and crouched down to where she had laid the white lily flower bouquet in front of his tombstone. “I miss you so much Steven.” She whispered as a lone tear rolled down her face.
A hand was suddenly placed on her shoulders. She expected it to be Jason but when she turned, her eyes landed on her eldest son and the tears multiplied. Steven always went out of his ways to bring their son together no matter what. Even after his death, he still had that power. “You two are brothers…” He would say while smoking a cigar before he gave them his famous speech.
Him and those damn cigars. For years she watched him poison himself and didn’t do a damn thing to stop him. “Don’t smoke that thing in the house.” She would say to him. The guilt that she’s been carrying since they discovered his cancer came back full throttle. She might as well had given him given him a gun to shoot himself because that’s how she felt. She helped kill her husband.
“Come on mom. It’ll be alright.” Drake crouched down next to her and enveloped her in his strong arms where she continued to sob while her youngest son also crouched down and held onto one of her hands tightly. Maybe if she shed enough tears, the guilt and loneliness in her heart would shed along with them.
Jason knew that Drake wouldn’t have missed their new found tradition with their mother to lay flowers at their father’s grave. His brother was a lot of things but one thing he wasn’t was a liar. He always kept his word no matter what the circumstances were and for that he was respected by many no matter how much of an asshole he was to those same people who showed him that respect.
But for the first time, Jason was questioning his brother’s loyalty.
“You have to speak to the man at some point.” Victor commented in the back seat of Jason’s Lexus.
Jason eyes left the wet rain filled road for a moment as he gave Victor a quick glance through the rear view mirror and said nothing. He had just dropped his mother off to her home after finally getting her to calm down at the cemetery and was now on his way to the garage with Brandon and Victor. Drake on the other hand went his separate way after giving his mother a kiss on the cheeks and giving them a swift nod before walking away right when the rain started to drizzle.
Noticing the tension eradicating from Jason, Brandon decided to change the subject. “Heard your crew’s gonna make an appearance on US-27 tonight. You’re racing?”
Jason simply nodded and turned into the parking space to the garage. “Most likely.”
They stepped out of the car and headed into the garage where Brandon and Jason sat and racked up their monthly spending and –let’s face it, wins and losses due to the races— for the month of July in the office. Meanwhile Victor was busy double checking the works that they’ve done on their customer’s cars to make sure that the problems were actually fixed before returning them to their rightful owners. After all, if they were going to run their own business, they had to be professional about it when the time came.
They each took part in running their business without any hassle. Jason and Brandon took care of the numbers, the policies, contracts and all the business end of the company while Victor was literally more hands on with the cars since he actually had a degree of some sort in car technician. He always double checked everything that came into the shop before he approved their work.
As they worked, the garage held a calm silence as the rain pelted onto the roof of the shop. That was just the way the three liked to work. In some ways, it gave them an escape from whatever problem that they had and in others it gave them hope that everything might turn out alright after all.
*
Machayla sighed as she listened to her future mother-in-law blabber on about wedding favors, wedding cakes, wedding this and wedding that. She has never been more annoyed! The woman was unbearable, bossy and judgmental. Not to mention, controlling. Machayla understood who Mason inherited that part of himself from.
‘I wonder what she would do if she found out about her who her so called perfect son really was.’ Machayla thought begrudged.
“On Monday we’re meeting the wedding planner for lunch so make sure you call me an hour before you take your break. I’ll notify her and set up the time and place. Make sure you take a set of presentable attire with you. You will not meet Ms. Lauren Dubois in mere scrubs.” She rattled on. Machayla wanted to strangle the old bat but instead she plastered a fictitious smile on her face and simply nodded at everything Eliza had to say.
By the time the wicked witch of the East left, Machayla was wiped out. The woman could spend hours talking and not break a sweat. “I need some fresh air.” She mumbled. Though the weather was hinting a big storm on the horizon she still decided to head out hoping to beat the rain home before it started.
Snatching her keys and purse off a hook out of the walk in closet in the bedroom that she and Mason unfortunately shared, she decided to head out to the mall where teenagers who were on their summer vacation were probably running amuck and disturbing the peace but she didn’t mind. It took her back to when she use to be one of those brats herself.
“Are you interested in this necklace ma’me?”
Machayla looked up and a cute blond woman with the whitest teeth she’d ever seen was smiling at her with a wide ear to ear grin. She looked down at the heart shaped silver necklace with an encrusted emerald in the middle of it and sighed before looking back up to the clerk in the jewelry store and answered. “No.”
The only reason why she was staring at it so intently was because it reminded her of Jason’s green eyes and how they changed to different shades of green depending on the light and his emotions. It’s been a while since she’s seen him and honestly and crazily, she kind of missed his presence even though she was really pissed at him.
Why hadn’t he called or hell, even stop by like he did that one night? She accused him of being just like the people that he hung around with and though she really hoped that she was wrong about that, he was proving her to be right. Why would he do what he did with her at the beach if he was just going to up and disappear?
Men! They obviously couldn’t be trusted so why did she even bother.
“You’re sure?” The woman pushed, obviously trying to make a sell. “After all, I’m pretty sure your husband could spoil you just a bit more judging from the size of that rock on your finger.”
Perplexed, Machayla frowned at the women then looked down to her left hand and realized what she was referring to, her engagement ring. A wave of nausea flowed through her and she quickly corrected the woman. “I’m not married.”
“Oh! So you’re engaged. Congratulations!” She squeaked happily.
Wincing, Machayla gave her a wry smile before replying. “Uh, thanks. I have to go now. Have a nice day.” Without even waiting for the sales clerk to reply, she quickly dashed out of the jewelry store. Deciding to head into the food court for a small lunch, she headed down to the first floor of the huge mall and ordered a chicken salad.
As she was eating, the chair across from her scraped on the ground and was suddenly pulled out as a beautiful girl with layered reddish brown hair and hazel eyes plopped down onto it with a heavy sigh and slammed her phone onto the table which resulted in Machayla jumping in her seat out of habit.
Giving Machayla an apologetic smile, she set her bag on the table. “I’m sorry for scaring you but I’m just a bit agitated right now. Can I sit here? All the other tables are full.”
She looked a bit edgy and irritated and for whatever reason, Machayla’s heart went out to her. “It’s ok.” She answered with a small smile. “We all have our days. I should know. I’ve had plenty.”
“Thanks. It’s nice to know that at least someone is willing to help make my life a bit easier.”
“No problem.” She smiled at the girl who looked to be about the same age as her and went back to her salad. A few minutes passed before the girl once again slammed her phone onto the table with an angry scowl on her face.
“Um, you ok?” Machayla asked cautiously. If the woman was mad then Machayla didn’t want her taking out her frustrations on the first person she saw, which unfortunately happened to be Machayla. She got enough of that from Mason as it was.
“No!” The girl groaned and raked a hand through her hair. “The guy that I’ve been in love with since high school hates me and so does his friends. They’ve been ignoring my calls all week and frankly, it’s getting on my damn nerves. I’m not one of those girls who pines and moped around about a guy but with him, it’s different. With him, I’ve been doing it for years.” She ranted off.
Machayla gave her a weird look. Why was she telling her personal business to a complete stranger? ‘I would never do that.’ She thought. “Oh… ok I’m sure they’ll come around.” She reached out and awkwardly patted the girl’s hand that was resting on top of the table.
“Oh, I know they will." She said with a cocky tone. "I’m just irritated because they’re ignoring me. I’m used to them always giving me their undivided attention so this attitude towards me is new and I don’t like it.”
Machayla cocked a brow. “Sounds like your friends spoil you.”
“You think?” She asked with a frown.
“Well,” Machayla drew out “yeah. The reason why they’re ignoring you must be pretty big for all of them to stop speaking to you for the first time but yet again, aren't you’re being a bit vain about them getting over whatever it was so easily?”
“Vain? I don’t think I’m being vain. I think I’m being hopeful.” The girl said thoughtfully.
“Really?” Machayla asked warily. “That’s what you’re calling it?” The woman sitting across from her was a bit off kilter but then again, who wasn’t? We all had our faults.
She just shrugged, “I just don’t think that their anger towards me is justifiable.” Grabbing her phone and slipping it into her purse, she rose from her chair. “Thanks for the seat and small talk. I appreciate it but I have to get going. I have some car parts to buy.”
Machayla brows creased as a thought creeped into her head but she immediately pushed it out. It would’ve been too much of a coincidence.
The girl was about to walk away when she stopped. “By the way, I’m Tabitha.”
“Machayla.” She answered with a small smile.
“Well I hope I see you around again.” Tabitha answered before walking away.
*
Jason wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone but he was excited and extremely anxious to see Machayla. For the past two weeks, his life had been so hectic with Tabitha un-expectantly coming back into his life and Drake teaming up with her to go behind his back that his focus had been shifted.
After the fight with his brother last week, his demeanor became extremely dark and brooding. Unless he was speaking to a customer or to his mom, he didn’t bother to utter a full sentence to anyone else and his friends understood why so they left him alone about it.
Jason was always the silent type. The way he coped with his problems was by silence; silence to clear his head, process the issue and find a solution for it and do what he had to do. Simple. If any could give him a label, it would be ‘The calm before the storm’. The phrase was self explanatory enough.
Stepping out of the drifter, Jason pocketed the keys and proceeded to walk towards the front door of Mason’s house. It's been a while since he'd race and he was really looking forward to tonight so he could blow some steam off. Without bothering to knock, he threw the door open and his ears was met with a loud smack and a squeal as it hit something or someone behind it. A groan followed.
Jason looked from his left to his right just to make sure that no one else saw what just took place and then slowly stepped over the threshold and looked behind the door.
A look of pure & utter guilt clouded his face as he looked down at his victim and quickly crouched down to where she laid sprawled out on the floor while rubbing her temple. She continued to groan and when her eyes met his, a colorful line of curse words flew out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry.” He quipped with twitching lips as he went to help her up. Honestly, he was sorry but for a reason unknown to him, he wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh so hard that his lungs collapsed from lack of oxygen.
But he didn’t.
Instead Jason wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her up in one fell swoop. When she was finally on her feet, she shoved Jason away from her and glared.
“Who the hell walks into people house without knocking first?” She whispered yelled at him.
He quirked a brow. “I never knock when I come here.”
“Well, start.” She spat and started to walk away but was quickly stopped by his arm that once again, made its way around her waist and hauling her back to him.
With his brows furrowed in sudden worry, he asked her “What’s wrong?” She didn't seem very happy to see him.
“Don’t worry about it.” She said curtly. “I have to go get dressed.”
He looked her up and then down. “What’s wrong with what you have on?” She was clad in tight blue skinny jeans with a simple white cropped top. She looked just fine to him but then she could’ve been in a brown paper bag and still looked good enough to stir his loins.
“Mason doesn’t like it.” She answered with a frown.
“Of course he doesn’t.” Jason mumbled irritably. “But I know that that’s not the reason for your hostile attitude just now. What’s up?”
She heaved an annoyed sigh. “It’s really nothing. Just go do what you’ve been doing for the past two weeks and leave me alone.”
Realization dawned on Jason and the look of guilt etched its way back onto his face. “Oh shit Kayla, I’m sorry.” He should’ve called her or at least tried to see her but he didn’t. He’d been so caught up in his own issues that though he’s thought about her none stop; he never created the time to even check up on her. For all he knew, Mason could’ve started hitting on her again, which from the looks of that bruise on her arm, he did.
“Of course you are.” Her tone was sarcastic. She didn’t believe him, not that he blamed her but that bothered him.
Jason grabbed her hands and locked his gaze with hers. “I really am sorry. The last two weeks have been a bit busy and I got caught up. Forgive me?” He pleaded.
“You’re forgiven. I have to go.” She quipped quickly.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
She shrugged.
He closed in the space between their chests and held onto her hips with both hands. The feeling that radiated through him was magnificent. The places where their body came in contact with one another burned and awoken his libido. God he wanted her so bad!
‘What the hell is she doing to me?’
“Would you believe me if I told you that you’re the first thing on my mind every morning when I wake and the last thing on my mind every night when I go to sleep?” And it was true. He was constantly thinking about her, their moment at the beach, her voice, her sweet smell, her body, her sass, just about everything.
He wasn’t a big fan of sharing “feelings” because he’s never had a reason to actually share anything but a bed with the girls that he dealt with but with Machayla, it didn’t sound as cheesy and uncomfortable as he thought it would. Maybe it was because he was being genuine but regardless, he felt something for this woman and he had all the intentions on making her his.
Unfortunately for Jason, she just shrugged again. “No, I wouldn’t believe you. If you were thinking about me so much then why didn’t you even bother to contact me? Action speaks louder than words Jason and your-”
Jason kissed her.
A long, hot, wet, deep kiss that had him lost in her, completely lost. At the contact, she moaned deep in her throat and it encouraged him to continue, to slip his tongue in her delicious mouth that he’s been craving for and tasting her sweet nectar.
Her hands came up between them. Half-braced for her to shove at his chest again, he nearly melted when she instead wound her arms around his neck and held on. Her scent surrounded him, enticed him as he sank his fingers into her hair, clamping her head between his hands as they deepened the kiss.
After a moment or so, they both broke away and swallowed a lung full of air as their chest bobbed up and down from lack of oxygen. Jason stared down at her as her heavy lidded eyes fluttered open. The tip of her tongue slithered out and licked the remnant of their kiss off of her wet and swollen lips.
He could've exploded in his pants right at that moment but he bit down on his desire and sucked in a deep breath.
Feeling a bit –but not completely—satisfied, Jason smirked. “Was that loud enough for you?”
Machayla opened her mouth to speak but a deep familiar voice shattered their moment and her words visibly trapped in her throat before she swallowed them.
“No, but it sure as hell was something worth seeing.”