"Fucking hell, Lex. You're gonna rip my shirt off!"
"Like you'd complain any other time," I snark, fisting the back of Jace's shirt like my life depends on it.
Turns out tipsy Lexi doesn't listen very well. The second Jace opened the bedroom door to inspect the shouting, I grabbed his shirt.
I panicked. Sue me!
Now he's stuck with one foot out the door. Sure, he could free himself easily. It's not like I have enough strength to actually keep him here, but even vocally complaining, I think he's enjoying it. I'm almost positive I saw him smirk before he started yelling about his t-shirt.
Like he can't go buy another ten-pack of plain black t's at the store!
"You gotta let me go if you wanna know what's going on." He slightly tugs, testing my grip.
"What if I don't wanna know?"
"Lexi!"
"Fine!" I let go. "But I swear to fucking God, Jace, if you leave me up here to die, I will haunt your ass for the rest of your days!"
Looking back at me, his eyebrows pinch together like he's staring at a puzzle that's too difficult for him to figure out. He opens his mouth to say something but quickly shuts it and shakes his head as another high pitch scream rings through the house.
"I'll be back. Just stay here!" He doesn't give me a chance to reply before running out the door.
Who made him the boss?
My drunken stubbornness knows no bounds tonight. Instead of shutting the door and waiting in the room like a good girl, I poke my head out and watch Jace run down the hall. As he reaches the corner that heads towards the stairs, he stops. With growing eyes, he starts to backpedal my way before breaking out into a full sprint.
He pins me with a stare mid stride. "Open a window! It's a fire!"
What the fuck!
I duck back into the room and run to the nearest window, unlatching it before pushing it open.
This can't be happening. How the hell does a fire start at a part? What, did some idiot try to make smores over the gas stove while drunk? Did a horny couple light some candles while they screwed in the basement and knocked them onto a pile of laundry?
Shit like this doesn't just happen.
Okay, I'm sure there are firefighters that would love to debate that thought, but it just feels so unreal.
The bedroom door slams behind me and I look over in time to see Jace rushing towards me.
"I didn't smell anything burning." I'm trying to rationalize.
If something burns, it smells. No smell, no burn, no fire.
He grabs the window, looking down at me with a steel resolve. "Doesn't change the fact the entire first floor is filled with fucking smoke."
Second theory then.
"Could it just be a bunch of potheads?"
"Lex, no one's gonna run in fear of some potheads. Most everyone's already left the house." He nods towards the open window. "Just look!"
Sure enough, looking out the window, I can see people running down the street. They look back at the house like they're being chased, each one with a look of complete terror written on their faces.
It's real.
Shit!
Fear grips my throat, sending my voice rising to a pitch that could make dogs howl. "So what do we do?"
Without hesitation, he climbs out the window onto the roof of the two-car garage that stretches out from the house. Crouching down, he extends a hand to me.
"We jump down." He calmly answers.
The color drains from my face. "What?!"
Jace drank the crazy juice!
"It's our best option. Come on, Alexis, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
"But it's not our only option, right?" I nod hopefully.
His deadpan stare is all the answer I need.
Right, option two; crawl through the smoke filled house and hope we don't die.
"Lexi, if you don't get your ass out here right now, I will come back in and get you my fucking self."
I'm tempted to see him try but the look in his eyes is clear; I'm going out that window one way or another.
With a deep breath and a small mental pep talk- you can do this- I grab his hand and climb out the window. The night air hits me, sending a chill through my body as a siren blares somewhere in the distance. From out here, I can smell the faint hint of smoke.
Guess he was right. Something is definitely smoking, but with a house fire, I would've thought it'd be stronger than this.
I follow Jace carefully across the garage roof. "Could you tell where the fire was coming from?"
"No," he shakes his head. "And I don't plan on sticking around to find out. Come on."
He stands at the edge, looking down at the grass below us. The street lights barely reach this far, making the jump seem so much higher in the dark.
It's the blackhole of doom.
"Alright, I'm gonna jump down and then when I say so, you jump and I'll catch you. Deal?"
I stare at the ground, my stomach sinking like a free-falling elevator. I'm gonna die.
"Alexis." He lifts the tip of my chin with his finger, making me look into his deep blue pools of confidence. "I'll catch you. I fucking swear."
I swallow and nod.
Still holding my chin, he licks his lips, his gaze zeroing in on my mouth. Suddenly, the idea of jumping doesn't sound so scary. There are much more terrifying things to worry about. Like how hard it is to breathe when he looks at me like that.
"Jace..."
His hand falls away. "Right."
He doesn't step back, or take a deep breath, or prepare in any way. Once second he's next to me and the next, he's leaping from the room. Both his feet plant firmly on the ground. It seems like such a simple thing to do, yet I'm sure if I tried to jump without a safety net, I'd break a bone.
"You alright?" I call down.
He turns and smiles. "This isn't my first time jumping off a roof, sweetheart. Now come on."
Walking closer he readies his arms.
Holy hell.
"I got you, Lexi! Just jump!"
Yeah, there's no "just" anything. This is a huge deal. I've never been scared of heights before, but I've also never jumped off a roof before either.
"Lexi!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming!" I wave him off.
Do it. Get it over with. It's just like ripping off a bandaid.
Unlike Jace, I take a deep breath...a couple deep breaths.
Then...I jump.
I scream the entire two seconds, nearly positive he's either gonna miss, drop me ,or fall forward from the force.
Instead, I land bridal style in a sturdy cradle of tight muscles. With heavy adrenaline filled breaths, I look up, my face only inches from his.
"Told you I'd catch you." His voice comes out as breathless as I feel.
"T-Thanks."
We're frozen, trapped in a little bubble of...I don't even know what. All I know is it's impossible to tear my eyes away from his. I try to speak, say something, anything, but I'm lost for words.
But we don't need words, not when the melodic voice of Camilia Cabello begins to sing from my tits.
My hand shoots for my chest. "Shit, my phone."
Just like that, our little confused bubble pops. With an irritated beath, Jace quickly places me on my feet and turns away, his hands diving for hair.
I slip my phone from my bra and look at the screen.
Caleb.
Tapping the answer button, I place the phone to my ear. "Hey."
Jace turns back around and looks at me expectantly.
"Lex, are you okay? Everyones going crazy and I couldn't find you!"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I nod like he can see me. "What about you and everyone else? Have you seen Ava or Marcel?"
"Caleb." Jace mutters, answering his own question as he nods and rolls his eyes.
I'd like to say I don't understand him. That I have no idea why he's so frustrated but it's hard to ignore the tension that was between us just seconds ago. Maybe it'll be easier to pretend it didn't happen in the morning, when my memories are fuzzy from alcohol, but not now. Not when I can still feel his arms around me.
"We're all fine," Caleb answers. "Ava was already gone; texted me that she left with some guy, and Marcel got pushed out by the crowd. I'd tried to look for you but the smoke got so thick, I couldn't see a damn thing. I'm so sorry, Lex."
"It's fine. I...." I bite my lip feeling Jace's eyes on me. "I went to the bathroom, but I'm out now. Everything's fine."
Jace's eyes harden and his jaw twitches.
My skin tingles, feeling him watch me so closely. It's distracting and making it hard for me to pay attention to Caleb. I turn around, hoping to get some privacy and escape Jace's judgey glare.
Good luck with that.
Caleb sighs with relief on the other end. "Great! Where are you at? I'll come meet you."
"Um..."
Why is it so hard to tell him? We could meet up and he could give me a ride home since Ava took off. But he'll also see Jace and know I was with him before the fire, 'cause there's no way in hell Jace is gonna let me walk off on my own. I don't even have to ask, I know without a doubt he'll say no or more like, hell no.
That leaves asking Jace for a ride, which right now, doesn't seem so bad.
I glance over my shoulder and meet Jace's curious gaze.
"Uh...I-I already have a ride."
Jace's eyes widen, a smug smirk hinting at the corners of his mouth.
I bite my lip and quickly look away.
What the hell am I doing? Getting a ride from Jace isn't so bad? Who am I trying to kid right now?
Oh, that's right, Lexi plus alcohol equals bad decisions. I may have sobered up some from the adrenaline of jumping off a roof, but I can still feel the buzz running through my veins.
Suuure. Blame the alcohol.
Ignoring my own thoughts, I hear Caleb's voice turn harsh. "You're with Derek?"
"N..yeah. That's it." A pit of guilt forms in my stomach.
I hate lying to Caleb, but I can't bear to hear the disappointment in his voice right now. I'd rather him be irritated thinking I left with Derek, ditching them like Ava did, then know the truth. I'm fraternizing with the enemy, and I can't even say I'm having a bad time. Not yet at least.
"Fine. I'll catch up with you later then."
"Okay. Thanks..." The line dies.
I look down at my phone and sigh. Sorry, Caleb.
Turning back around, I'm ready to face whatever cocky shit Jace wants to dish out.
He raises an eyebrow at me and steps closer. "So I'm giving you a ride?"
There it is.
"If you don't mind...or I can catch an Uber." I can't look him in the eyes. Staring at my boots, I fidget with my phone.
"Come on, Lex."
I look up but instead of seeing his cocky, smug, irritatingly attractive smirk, I find a genuine smile on his face. The shock hits me in the chest, knocking the air from my lunges.
After everything he put me through, and despite all the anger I've had, I kept a picture of the two of us from years ago. We're sitting on the beach, his arm draped over my shoulders with that smile on his face. The one that said he was happy, that we were happy. It was the smile he reserved for me. At least, that's how it seemed. Everyone got his usual arrogant little smirks or grins but not me. No, I got the bonafide Jace Hall heart melting smile that lit up his eyes, making them appear bluer.
I haven't looked at that picture in a long time, keeping it in a shoebox under my bed, but now I know one thing for sure; the picture is nothing compared to the real thing.
"You gonna stand there all night?" He asks, slowly starting to walk towards the street.
He has to know what that smile does to me.
I shake my head, regain control over my ability to breathe, and follow after him.
In front of the house is parked a large fire truck. It's red lights shine bright, casting an eerie feeling over the neighborhood as kids watch in large groups from the road. When we pass them, I try to look for Caleb or Marcel but don't see any sign of them.
Guess they left already.
Further down the road, I look around for any sign of Jace's car when I realize, I have no idea what it looks like.
"Where's your car?"
He scoffs. "What car?"
How the hell is he supposed to give me a ride without a vehicle?
Then I see it, parked on the side of the road, and I just know it's his.
"You can't be serious!" I pull from his grasp. "A motorcycle?!"
He shrugs so fucking calmly. "What'd you expect? Did you not see all the bikes at Caleb's yesterday?"
"Yes, but those belonged to your friends. Just because they ride doesn't mean my brain immediately jumps to you having one too!"
"Sorry, sweetheart." He chuckles as he approaches the jet black bike. "You could try calling Caleb for a ride, but he might be gone already."
That smug attitude has returned. It makes me wanna slap him. He knows I didn't tell Caleb I was with him, and if I call him now, he's gonna know I left with Jace.
Damn it!
He opens a black case attached on the tail and pulls out a full face helmet. Holding it out to me, he tilts his head with a smile yet the look in his eyes is anything but joking. He's daring me. Those challenging eyes narrow and I can practically hear his voice in my head. "Come on, sweetheart."
Jerk.
I huff but snatch the helmet from his hand. "If I die on this thing..."
"You'll haunt my sexy ass for the rest of my days. Got it." He nods and rolls his eyes.
Crossing my arms I tip my head to the side. "I never said sexy."
He shrugs as another lopsided grin taunts me. "You didn't have to."
I look down at the helmet in my hands, refusing to respond to his ridiculous assumption. I've never worn one of these but it looks simple. Slip it on and go.
"Need help?"
I shake my head. "No, I think I got it."
Lifting my arms, I'm seconds away from ruining my already semi-fucked curls when a guitar riff rumbles from Jace's pants. He slips his phone from his pocket and answers.
"Aye...Yeah, I'm good. How 'bout y'all?" He nods as he simultaneously starts unhooking his own helmet from a strap attached to his bike.
With each second that ticks by Jace's body slowly stiffens, the muscles in his back and arms bunching and bulging. His face constricts, creating deep worry lines in his forehead.
I run my hands over the smooth surface of the spare helmet in an effort not to look worried. But I am. The tension rolling off of him in dense waves is freaking me out, making my stomach full of fruity drinks constrict and swirl.
I think I'm gonna puke.
Figures. I get through climbing out a window, jumping off a roof, and running from a fire without feeling the need to throw up, but intense pissed off vibes from Jace is what's gonna do me in. Not fair evil fruity drinks.
"What the fuck?" Jace snaps, his eyes flicking to me as he listens to the person on the phone. Watching me like a hawk, his face turns hard as stone. "Y'all sure?...Alright, Wild. Be safe, I'll see you guys in the morning."
He hangs up his phone and shoves it back into his jean pocket. Closing the small gap between us with just two strides, he takes the helmet from my hands.
"W-what's going on?"
His grip on the helmet tightens. "We need to get out of here right now. You're coming to my place tonight."
I step back, sure I heard him wrong. "Excuse me?"
"Don't fucking argue with my, Alexis."
"I thought you were gonna take me home? I don't live far from here, you can just drop me off and go."
"Alexis!" He growls. "It's not safe here, and I'm not gonna take you back to your place until I know it is. Now put the damn helmet on so we can go!"
When he steps forward I don't move, just glare at him as he slips the helmet over my head and secures it. He puts his on too and throws his leg over the bike, turning his head to me expectantly. I roll my eyes even though I know he can't see and climb on behind him. My already short skirt bunches up around my thighs and I instantly regret my wardrobe choice.
Don't blame yourself, Lex. You had no idea you'd be straddling a motorcycle or your ex tonight.
"Wrap your arms around me," Jace's voice fills my helmet.
I jump from the sudden intrusion. "What the hell?"
His chuckle booms in my ears. "It's called a blue-tooth helmet. Now hold on tight."
Great, a helmet that makes him sound like God is speaking directly into my ears. Just what I need.
He starts the bike, making the engine roar to life. I immediately wrap my arms around his waist and tighten my thighs around him. I don't hear him chuckle like before but I can feel his body shake with laughter just before we take off.
At first, he goes slow while we pass the mass of people out front of Brandy White's house. Only this time, there's no smoke. The firefighters are climbing back into their truck while Brandy stomps her foot on the sidewalk, yelling at people like a mad woman. But they're not just any people.
Standing in front of the pissed off brunette is Jace's cousins Kade and his friend Wilder. They lift their heads as we pass, ignoring Brandy's tantrum, and nod at us. Jace does the same and once we're past the crowd, he revs his bike and speeds away.
I've never been an adrenaline junky. Roller coasters are as close as I get to feeling a rush of adventure. I have no desire to skydive, streak through a public place, drive more than five miles over the speed limit, or ride a motorcycle.
At least, not until tonight.
As Jace drives us through town, my body hums to life with a thrilling sense of euphoria. The wind whips past us, the scenery blurring into a spectacle of color and lights. My arms loosen the death grip I have around Jace while my hands splay across his abdomen in a lighter, more trusting hold.
Every vibration and lean of the bike sends a jolt of hysterical energy straight to my core. When we stop at red lights, I buzz with anticipation and when we speed off, I laugh and holler, throwing my head back with the freedom of flying across the ground.
I've never felt anything like. Even that small voice of doubt in the back of my head roars with pleasure.
Now I know why people risk their lives on these things, because what's the point of being alive if you're not living.
Granted, I'll probably never go skydiving or strip off my clothes in front of a football game, but there's no way I can go the rest of my life without doing this again. Denying myself this experience would be a great tragedy.
I don't even realize we've slowed down until Jace pulls into a parking spot outside an apartment building. One end of the building faces the road while the front faces the parking lot and large field behind it. Three stories of brick and glass loom over us, the staircases leading to each individual apartment clearly seen through floor to ceiling windows. The windows of the private living spaces are much smaller, giving privacy to its occupants. Based on the size of the building and the two separate stairwells, each with their own main entrance, there has to be at least twelve apartments.
I've been here in the past, the West Garden's Apartment Complex, but looking at it now, I don't feel the stab of painful memories like I expected. I'm in too good of a mood from the ride over for that right now.
Jace cuts off the engine and nudges the kickstand down with the toe of his boot. Peeling my arms from his body, I climb off and free myself from the helmet. He slips his off as well and quickly uses his hands to comb his messy chestnut hair.
Looking at me, a smile stretches across his face, his eyes lighting up like the stars above us. "Had fun?"
"Oh my god!" I bounce up and down, unable to hold back my own insanely wide smile. "That was so much fun!"
Soft laughter rumbles from his chest as he hooks his helmet to his bike and gets off. "And to think you were so terrified before."
"Shut up." I tease and playfully slap his arm.
His eyes lock on me with an intensity that halts my happy-go-lucky bouncing. "Guess you'll want another ride one day."
Oh, shit.
There's no question I want another ride, but that also means riding with him. Am I really past everything enough to do that? Would that make us...friends?
I chew on the inside of my cheek and shrug. "Maybe."
I'm not ready to say yes or no. I'm not sure I'm even ready to think about us being friends right now. Tonights been fine, besides the almost burning alive part, but we're only together right now because of the circumstances. Without everything that happened, I doubt I'd be standing here right now.
I hand him the helmet and shiver, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold air seeps into my bones. On the bike I wasn't cold, I was having too much fun to feel the wind nipping at my exposed skin, but without the thrill, the cold autumn air is finally hitting me.
"You're shaking." Jace's eyes scan my trembling body. "Let's get you inside and warm you up."
I should remind him what I need is a warm blanket and not his warm body but a hard shudder rushes through me, taking away any idea of correcting him. He notices and wraps his arm around me, pulling me against him. His warmth seeps through his clothes but it's not nearly enough.
We need to get inside.
With me glued to his side, we walk through the stairwell doors and climb to the top floor. Reaching the third-floor landing, there's two doors, one on the right and one on the left, leading into two separate apartments. It's a basic set up, but what's not basic is the blonde girl sitting on the floor with her head leaning against the left door.
She looks up at us, or at Jace, as a sad smile just barely curves her mouth. "Hey."
"Hey." Jace's eyes widen. "What's going on?"
The girl gets up from the floor, her perfectly straight platinum locks falling down to the middle of her back. Her big blue eyes are bloodshot, red splotches pattern her porcelain face and her lips tremble from the effort of trying to smile.
She shakily wipes at her eyes. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."
Jace's arm drops from my shoulders as he steps towards her. "Is everything alright?"
Her false smile drops and she shakes her head. "No."
With a hiccup, a lone tear slides down her cheek. Jace pulls her against him. Wrapping his arms around her, he crushes the girl to his chest.
What did I get myself into?
My voice of self-doubt shakes off the excitement from earlier and turns into a little green monster. Interrupting someone else's booty call, that's what.
💋____________________________________💋
Well, that was a fun chapter. 😁
I can't wait to hear from all of you.
What do you think of this fire? Do you think Lexi will survive a night at Jace's? And who the hell is that blonde girl?
Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you liked what you read, please hit that star button.
In the meantime, I've created some character aesthetic boards and have posted them in a separate chapter titled ((Graphics)) I'd love to hear what you guys think of them.
And, as usual, I will post a teaser of chapter 9 on my Instagram in the next couple days, so keep an eye out!