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c h a p t e r t w e n t y t h r e e
{We meet again}
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Skylar's POV
I promised myself I'd ask Jayden about Olivia the next time I slept over. Which is tonight after the fun plans we have with Raven, Wyatt, Anaya and her boyfriend. I'm thankful I didn't betray his trust last Friday and read the letter. But ever since then, all I've thought about was what it could possibly say. It probably answers most of my questions about Ellie, Olivia, and her and Jayden's relationship.
I open my laptop and type Olivia's full name into the search engine. Instantly, a beautiful, young, blonde-haired woman's face appears on my screen with the exact name and location as Olivia. I stare at her photo as if she is going to speak to me, and answer all of my questions, but she doesn't. I shake my head, snapping out of my weird daze, and scroll through her information.
Her obituary appears a couple rows down, and I hesitantly click. She went to college in California for medicine, but I assume never ended up getting her masters because she passed away. She was at the top of her high school class, had many scholarships, played sports... No wonder Jayden was infatuated with her. She seems amazing.
It also puts her parents into perspective. Who knows if she wanted that life or if it's what they wanted for her. If they were reasonable, she and Jayden would've had a life together and Ellie wouldn't be floating around in the system.
My phone illuminates with a text from Raven that says she is on her way up. I slam my computer shut and rush to my closet. My hair is still damp from my shower and I'm not even dressed yet. Raven lets herself in while I dig for an outfit.
"Hey," I peek up from my dresser when she walks in my room. "You look hot."
She tosses her limp body on my bed and laughs. "Thanks, so do you. You're wearing that towel to the club?"
"Oh definitely," I mock, holding a black strapless top up to my torso. Raven nods her head in satisfaction, and without thinking twice, I drop my towel and slip on the shirt and shimmy into my skinny jeans.
I finish getting ready in no time, and we take a cab to the club where we're meeting everyone else. The group is already in a booth with drinks when we arrive. Jayden doesn't hesitate in standing to greet me with a kiss. His lips linger slightly too long and I feel heat creep into my cheeks.
We've never been out in public with friends blatantly showing affection. I can see Raven smirking in my peripheral.
"Nice to see you Sky. You look amazing."
"You look handsome yourself."
I greet Wyatt, Anaya, and introduce myself to her boyfriend, Owen, who is nice. The entire time we talk, Jayden's hand teasingly moves up and down my leg. I try to stifle my reaction, but I'm not doing a very good job. By the look on his face, he is satisfied with the way he is making me feel. It pisses me off, but excites me at the same time.
I abruptly stand. His hands fall to his sides. "Why don't we go dance? Or play pool?" I grab a shot of tequila off the table and down it. Everyone watches me wide-eyed, especially Jayden, but there is a grin lingering on his lips.
"That sounds like a great idea, we play winners?" Raven stands. "Let's grab more drinks, it looks like Sky needs another." I cock my eyebrow, wondering what she means by that. What do I look like right now? Am I notably flustered? I reach up to touch my cheeks and Jayden snakes his arm around my waist.
"You all right?" He grins deviously.
"Oh yeah, I'm great." I smile, playing dumb. "But I'm extremely hot right now, hold on." I stop him from walking with the group toward the bar and shrug off my jacket. A breeze tickles my back and I fix my top. The cleavage is extreme in this shirt, and I already see Jayden's adam-apple bobbing from him swallowing.
"You sure you don't wanna keep that on?" He looks at the men littered around the room. I run my fingers down his forearm then interlace our hands.
"I'm sure. Let's go get drinks."
I drag him to the bar, excited that I've won this round. He's going to have a severe case of blue-balls tonight while I'm playing a game of hard to get.
After ordering a series of drinks, we head to an empty billiards table. I pick my cue, over analyzing it like this one is better than any other. I rub the blue chalk on the tip while Jayden sets up the table. We play against Anaya and Owen and end up losing, which is fine by me. The entire time I was too busy leaning over the table, and shoving my ass into Jayden's crotch.
"We were on the same team, you don't play fair." He pouts while we watch our friends play.
I belly laugh at his pouty face. "Are you really upset?"
He stares off into the distance, a stern look covering his face as if he is thinking hard about an answer. Just as he is about to speak, he's cut off by his name being called. "Jayden? What a surprise!"
Our heads turn toward the sound of the voice, and I freeze when I see Blake engulfing Jayden into a hug. I was not expecting to see him. I walk toward my friends hoping he doesn't notice me, but I'm a second too late.
"Skylar?" He shouts over the music. I take a deep breath and put a smile on my face, even though I'd rather pretend I didn't hear him. We left things in a very awkward place the last time we talked. And now I'm with the very person who caused those problems.
"Blake, hi." I take my place beside Jayden. We make small talk, and as if this isn't awkward enough, he looks back and forth between Jayden and me.
Here we go.
"Are you two here together?"
Jayden, for the second time tonight, slides his arm around my waist and pulls me into his body. I want to wiggle out of his grasp. This is going to make things even more awkward, but something washes over me and I relax. Why should I care what Blake thinks?
"Yes, we are here with some friends." I answer before Jayden can.
I catch Blake staring at Jayden with the strangest expression before it softens. "Ah, same here." Blake signals behind him. "That's my girl over there, her name is Elise."
His smug smile reveals everything it needs to. He thinks he is getting under my skin. I want to laugh, but I refrain.
Blake suggests we play a round together while we wait for our friends, and I shrug my shoulders. I don't particularly want to hang out with Blake, but what will one round do. We grab our cues, head over to the empty billiard table and introduce ourselves to his girl.
"Wanna break it, Jay? You've always been the best at pool."
A small scoff comes from Jayden. "Sure."
Jayden leans over the baize fabric, aiming his cue at the white ball and breaks the rack. The balls scatter across the table, some solids fall into the pockets, and I can't help but wink at Jayden. "I guess we're solids." I say, taking my shot but only getting one ball in. Blake lets Elise go first, she gets a couple in and so does Blake.
"Nice shot." Jayden takes his place, aiming at red solid.
"Practice." Blake boasts.
He hits the ball directly into the pocket. "You've been practicing?"
"Yeah, you know the guys still go out when you can't. But..." Blake twirls his cue around, staring at me. "Now we know what you've been doing instead."
My eyes grow wide at his remark. I look over at Jayden to make sure he is fine, but the seething look on his face tells me otherwise. Jayden will not take what Blake says lightly. So I walk over and squeeze his arm, trying to silently tell him it's okay.
"You know Blake," I look at him with the sweetest, but fakest smile. "I took your advice. When you love yourself, you can open up and love someone else." I turn to Jayden and rub his arm, making it clear who my someone is. "You just have to find the right person."
Blake's face falls while Jayden's face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Oh, look, our friends are finished, looks like we have to get going. Nice seeing you!" I drag Jayden back toward our friends without looking at Blake's face. Poor Elise just stood there with not one clue what is going on. Only if she knew.
Raven tilts her head confused, wondering what just occurred. I tell her I'll explain later, and down the rest of my vodka tonic. Jayden abruptly takes my empty cup, leans down until his lips brush the top of my ear and whispers, "Let's get out of here."
When my eyes lock with his, I know he is not messing around. I wonder if I should still play hard to get, even though I would like to go back home with him right now. But I don't want to leave yet. The night just began.
I take his hand and we stumble past people into a random closet, giggling like we're the only two in the bar.
"What if we get caught?"
"Then we go back to my place." He showers me with kisses, making sure his lips come in contact with my bare skin. He hovers over my collarbone, then his teeth graze my skin and I buck my hips in response.
Jayden abruptly turns around and locks the door.
"Are we really doing this here?" I ask, quick laughter bubbles out of me. He nods, and without breaking eye-contact, he slips his hands into my jeans. I go still. His free arm loops around my torso, holding me upright. His lips barely leave mine. I'm thankful because they stifle my moans.
"Jayden," I breathe.
"Shhh," he tells me, taking my bottom lip between his teeth.
I grip his blond hair and pull away. "Let's just go back to your place." I say, wanting more than just his hand.
We adjust ourselves and hurry out of the closet hand in hand. I grab my jacket from the booth and we say goodbye to our friends. They don't question where we're going; they have a clue just by our demeanor.
Raven winks as Jayden drags me out of the building. We hail a taxi and make it back to his apartment, stumbling up the stairs and fumbling with his keys. The moment we get inside, my top is coming off and so is his.
And we never make it upstairs.
We lie on the couch, me on top of his warm, bare body tracing his muscles. His fingers dance over my skin.
"Jayden," I catch his attention as guilt from the altercation between Blake and Jayden infiltrates my mind. "I had nothing to do with you moving out of your apartment with Blake, right?"
His eyebrows pull together. "Not at all. Blake and I grew apart. I think I lived with him for so long because I settled. I mean, I didn't really feel like making new friends at twenty-six years old." I nod, continuing to trace his skin. "Blake has always been the jealous type. I always questioned whether he was truly my friend because he has done some questionable things to make me think otherwise.
"But to answer your question again, no you had nothing to do with this, Skylar. Our falling out was long overdue."
I feel slightly at ease, but I know I still caused more problems than there needed to be.
We both are quiet while our heads churn with relentless thoughts until Jayden shifts underneath me. We both sit up and he stares me directly in the eyes.
"You said something tonight..." His voice trails off. "About love?"
My stomach clenches. "Yes?"
"What did you mean?"
"Well," I swallow, gazing out his vast apartment windows. "The day Blake and I ended things, he said, 'You don't even love yourself. You need to learn how to before you love someone else.'" I stare at my folded hands. "It hurt me in different ways, but mainly because I didn't realize other people could see how much I disliked myself."
"Sky," Jayden says sadly, so I cut him off.
"But something about you, I don't know what it is." I press my forehead, trying to put my thoughts into words. "It's like you've understood me from the beginning without actually fully knowing me. You have so much hope when really there is only a sliver to hold on to. I don't know if it was purposely, but you've made me appreciate the little things in life. And I hate that I'm growing dependent on you for happiness, because one day this could all be over in a blur."
"Skylar, no, you will never just leave my life that easily and you're not dependent on me for happiness. I think you've finally just let the happiness in."
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Thanks for reading, xoxo Anna :)