This is my adaptation of “Rebel With A Cause” by Kim Hansen.
By the time Jax returned home from Brenda’s, he was in a very bad mood.
The fast car ride home had done nothing to soothe the tension racing
through his body, and he stomped over to the answering machine hoping
somebody wanted him to call them. He was ready to shout at someone,
but the red light wasn’t blinking.
Jax swore and walked over to the bar at the side of the room. He splashed
some Tequila into a glass and drank. Courtship had seemed a bright
option, a wonderful idea when he’d first thought of it. The perfect
solution to an imperfect situation. He drank again. It still was, even
though he wanted things to move more quickly. He was used to moving
fast, and he wanted Brenda in his bed. Soon.
Putting the glass down with a sigh, he walked over to stand beside the
empty fireplace. She wasn’t ready for speed. She wasn’t ready for
confession. Neither was he. It was beginning to get on his nerves, the
constant pretending, but with the complication heating up at the office, he
was ready and wanted to stay by Brenda’s side She might not need his
advice. She was smart enough to handle the problems that came up on her
own, but she would need his support. Because Sonny was going to come
at her swinging. That meant that he couldn’t desert her. He couldn’t quit.
And confessing...
Jax scowled and walked down the hall to his bedroom without turning on
any lights.
If he told her who he really was, he wasn’t sure how’d she’d react. Would
she think he’d been patronizing her? Playing a game? He had a
reputation for getting into people’s lives. Not always the popular way, and
she was bound to know about that. She’d recognize who he was and what
he did for a living as soon as the truth came out. How would she react?
Instant hate? Or would she give him a chance? Would he be able or
allowed to explain that he hadn’t infiltrated enemy ranks by using her for
a cover? That while his ruse had begun as a game, it’d developed into
something more?
Shrugging out of his jacket and shirt, Jax sat on the bed to remove his
shoes and socks.
When he’d first accepted the job from Brenda, it had appeared to be little
more than a challenge. He had been certain he could simply go into the
company, give her a boost and back out. Confessing who he was hadn’t
even entered in the picture. He’d figured she’d never need or have to
know...unless, of course, the happened to bump into each other one day.
But somehow, good intentions had evolved into something else like
personal interest, and personal interest was making him worry.
Had he and Brenda met somewhere else, their very identities would put
them at odds. They might both belong in that same class, but they came
from opposite ends of that class. He didn’t play social or political games.
She did. Or, at least, her family did. That meant any introduction might
not have gotten any further than a polite how do you do. Still, they would
have a chance. Because she was open to change, the two of them could
have carried a relation ship a step or two further, and from there, who
knew?
But because of his subterfuge, she might not trust him. She already didn’t.
Not entirely. That was why he was courting her, to persuade her to let
him into her life and to soften the blow when the truth finally came out. If
he could somehow slowly let her get to know him as a man before she
discovered who he was as a businessman, she might forgive the deception,
understand it and give them a chance to go on as a man and woman
interested and attracted to one another. He hoped she would. More than
he wanted to examine.
Suddenly anxious, afraid of failure and alarmed at the possibility, he
grabbed the phone and dialed. A call later, another line was ringing, and
he smiled when Brenda answered the phone. “You forgot to give me your
phone number.”
She laughed, and he lay back on the bed to let the music of the sound
wash over him.
“That doesn’t appear to have stopped you from getting it,” she told him.
“I can be very resourceful if I have to.”
“I’d noticed that about you.”
“What else have you noticed?”
In her own bedroom, Brenda curled up on her bed and sighed as she
contemplated a response. “That you can be annoying determined,
single-minded and argumentative.”
“You forgot to mention stubborn.”
“You just like to get your own way.”
“Don’t you.”
“Absolutely. That’s why I enjoy arguing with you.”
“See, we have something else in common. We’re both argumentative.”
She grinned. “You’re also charming, persuasive and not as cold-hearted, I
think, as you’d like others to believe.”
His eyebrows collided. “Where’d that come from?”
“Your attitude.”
“That again.”
She laughed at his sigh. “When your working, you have this approach...”
“Cutthroat.”
“Direct. You don’t pretend.”
Jax suddenly became very serious. “And if I did?”
“I’d know that you did it for a good reason.”
His smile returned. “Thank you.”
“Your welcome.” She glanced at the bedside clock. “Are you home
now?”
“Why?”
“I was just thinking if it took this long to get back to you apartment or
house or whatever you live in, you must live close by.”
He grinned. “By freeway, you never know.”
“But...”
“And I might not have called right away. What if I got home, took a
shower and then decided to call wearing nothing more than a towel?”
The image was vivid. It made it difficult to think, much less talk. His
golden blond hair wet, the water glistening on his chest. She licked her
lips. “I...ouch.”
Jax jumped, pulled the phone from his ear and grinned. The kittens were
proving to be great mood breakers. He put the phone back to his ear.
“Peter?”
“No, Wendy.”
“Those baby teeth are sharp, aren’t they?”
“Don’t sound so happy about it,” she grumbled, but quickly received a
purr and then a kiss from the offender.”
“I’m not too happy. I just understand. I’d like to nibble on your toes,
too.”
When her throat suddenly went shut again, she found it impossible to
speak.
“They’ll probably even share your bed with you tonight.”
But she was thinking more of him sharing her bed instead. His body
laying next to hers. Suddenly getting warm, her teeth found her lower lip.
“Is this the part where you breathe heavily in my ear?”
“Its not midnight yet.”
“Maybe I should leave the phone off the hook.”
“And miss the experience of a lifetime?”
She burst out laughing. “You are outrageous.”
“Another adjective.”
“There’s not enough of them to describe you.”
“Is that good or bad?” he asked.
“It depends on what mood I’m in.”
“How about now?”
She hesitated. “It’s good.”
“I’m glad, now I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
“You couldn’t sleep before?”
“Not when I was thinking of you.”
Her difficulty in catching her breath had nothing to do with the little
black-and-white kitten that came to rest on her chest.
“Having the same problem?”
“I have a clear conscience.”
Sometimes it’s not your conscience that keeps you up at night.”
She bit her lip. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Sweet dreams.”
He hung up, and she sighed and wondered how it would be possible to
dream at all, or sleep, when she’d sent him away for the night.
