Page 4 of Heartbreaker

“I see you’re out with your friends,” she says and motions to the guys waving at me.

“Yeah,” I say and turn to look at the guys. I turn back to her and catch a funny look on her face, which she instantly wipes away.

The club is loud, so we are kind of shouting, leaning into each other. Her body is to die for. She has curves in all the right places.

I lean closer. “Nice tits,” I say, as I move closer to her ear.

“Excuse me?” she says and leans back aghast.

Oh, my God, I say it out loud. I fucking said nice tits out loud.

“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry, I meant nice tattoos, nice tattoos, not nice tits, I don’t think that at all. I mean well I do but, I mean oh fuck I wasn’t looking at them until now. Not that I’m looking now. I’m just gonna shut the fuck up,” I say, and look to see her nearly crying with laughter.

“You're adorable,” she says and laughs.

“Yeah that’s what they all say.” I laugh as well. My drink is served, but before I turn to join the boys, I put out my hand. “Jackson,” I say.

“Ashley. Nice to meet you, Jackson.” She slips her velvet soft hand into mine. Again, I feel that frisson of electricity shoot, through my body.

“I best get over there,” I say and let go of her hand to grab my drink.

“Yeah, catch you later, Jackson,” she says with a smile.

I reach my friends at the end of the bar, and luckily they are none the wiser to my little moment of idiocy.

I receive claps on the back from Alastair and Chris. We haven’t been out for ages between work and life in general. It’s good to see them. My brother slings his arm around my neck.

“Bro!” he shouts as he ruffles my hair as if I was still fifteen. He is always overly affectionate when he has had a few and it’s clear I’m on catch up.

“Hey, Jake,” I say with a laugh. “What’s got you so happy?”

“Celebrating bro,” he says with a slight slur. God he must have had a shit ton to drink already.

“Yeah, what we celebrating?” I ask.

“Gonna be a dad again, Jacky,” he says using my boyhood name. I beam at the news. He and Sadie are wonderful parents.

I turn more fully to him. “Really?” I ask, and he nods, his grin is as big as the moon.

I throw my arms around him, hugging him properly, giving him several slaps on the back.

“Man, I’m so happy for you guys, that is the best news ever. Have you told mum?” I ask. Mum would hate it if she was not the first to know about this.

“Yeah, we went to see her this afternoon.”

“Right, we need to get some more drinks in,” I say and turn back to the bar. I catch Tinkerbell watching me across the club and I smile at her. The distance has given me some of my mojo back.

I return to our table with a tray of Jaeger Bombs and spend the next two hours pretending not to watch Tinkerbell. This is what I’ve christened her in my head and it suits her. She is the life and soul, flitting from one person to the next spreading her fairy magic.

Around half eleven I see her go to the bar, and before I know it, I find myself walking to the bar. Standing next to her with my back to her, I watch her in the mirrored glass above the optics. I remain with my back to her, so she doesn’t think I’m a weird nutter, also so I don’t start going on like a fourteen-year-old boy who has never spoken to a beautiful woman before. Somehow, she renders me stupid.

The thought is hilarious, considering what I do for a job. Nobody would believe it was me. Cool, suave Jackson Byrne who can charm the underwear from a nun, can’t even speak to a rainbow-haired minx at the bar.

She is chatting with her friend, laughing like a loon and I can’t help but smile. She goes to pay the barman putting her phone on the bar. Without rhyme or reason, I slip the phone towards me, quickly sliding it open. Luck is on my side, there’s no pin. I quickly enter her number into my phone. Before she has the chance to notice, I slide it back watching as she puts it back in her bag.

I watch as she leaves the bar and goes back to her seat near the dance floor. I pull up my contacts on my phone and bring up a text thread for Tinkerbell.

Jackson: Hey Tinkerbell, can I confess something?