“Nobody,” I say quickly. “My apologies.”
“Nobody?”Jax demands, walking up to the table and staring down at me as if she’s going to kill me. “Who the fuck is this bimbo?” she snaps, as I rise from the table, putting a hand out to stop the waiter who is advancing on Jax as if he is about to kick her out.
“Jacqueline, please, let’s not?—”
She picks up my wine and flings it at me. The liquid splashes across my chin and down onto my pristine white shirt, and there is an audible gasp from the onlookers.
Sarah’s eyes are bugging out of her head as she sits, dumbfounded, staring at Jax as if she’s an alien.
“Oh my god, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter, grabbing Jax’s arm, hoping my erection isn’t noticeable, and drag her away from the table. I deliberately pick up my jacket so I don’t have to come back to pick it up.
I march her through the restaurant, every eye in the room staring at me as I try to hold it together. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.
We reach the reception desk, and I hand the man my credit card.
“Please put the meal on my card. I have to deal with this,” I say, shoving Jax forward as we walk swiftly out of the restaurant.
As the doors close behind us, I step onto the sidewalk and curse at the bitterly freezing air that whisks through me. It’s only then that I remember that my coat is inside in the cloakroom, until Jax unzips her bag and drags two coats out of it, including mine.
The triumph in her eyes is palpable, and I can’t help but laugh as she hands it to me.
“Good enough?” she asks.
“Oh my god, you saved my fucking life,” I mutter, dragging on my coat as she snorts.
“She was pretty.”
“Trust me, she wasn’t.”
There’s movement behind us, and Jax glances back, looking concerned.
“Uh, I think your date is coming to find you.”
“Fuck me, let’s go,” I say, and without hesitation, she starts sprinting away along the sidewalk. I would never have thought that she could move so fast, and the sight of her speeding off, her heels clicking as she balances expertly over the concrete, gives me a thrill I’ve never felt in my life.
I pursue her through the streets, passing dozens of other pedestrians bundled up against the cold, but after a few seconds, I don’t feel the chill at all.
I watch that impossibly long ponytail moving through the crowd, her lithe figure eating up the distance ahead of me as my lungs scream in protest at the pace I have to sustain, just to keep up with her.
I’m marveling at how stable she is on those gigantic heels, but the sprint doesn’t last for long. Soon she’s slowing down, breathing heavily, her breath billowing in clouds around her as she bends over.
“Well, that was fun,” she says.
She has never looked more beautiful. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes shining in the dark, and just like that, I have to have her again.
“My apartment is close by. Come back with me,” I say before I can overthink it. I wonder if she’s going to ask how much I’ll pay her for the privilege, but she just meets my gaze, her lips parting as if to protest. Then she gives a sharp nod.
“Okay,” she says, and on impulse, I grab her hand and tug her through the streets. The little laugh she gives is music to my ears.
As we approach my apartment, I feel a strange disappointment come over me.
I wish I had been on a real date with Jax, instead of Sarah. But that’s never going to happen.
We get to my apartment building, and I drag her across the lobby. I’m struggling to think about anything other than getting her into my bed.
She laughs as I pull her into the elevator, and as soon as the doors close, I push her against the wall.
“Whoa, someone’s handsy,” she mutters. “You do know you’re covered in wine, right?”
