The Rebel

This is my adaptation of "Rebel With A Cause" by Kim Nelson.

Chpater 3

Brenda glanced at her watch. It was nine-thirty. She sighed and looked around the room
filled with elegantly dressed people who were all smiling, talking or eating their way
around the huge room that her mother fondly termed “The Hall.”

She nodded politely to another of her parent’s guest’s and moved quietly toward one of
the windows overlooking the drive, passing a corporate magnate, an investment whiz, a
stock guru and their assorted companions on the way.

The magnate was a longtime business ally of her father’s and had a willowy blonde
hanging on his arm. She had a clingy silver slip dress, and Brenda had yet to hear the
woman speak. She seemed satisfied to only be seen and not heard...something not true of
the whiz’s companion.

The whiz was a woman and had an accountant with her. He fit the mousy-with-glasses
stereotype and he had a lot to say...to anyone who would listen.

The guru had his hair in a ponytail, as did his date. Each looked to the other for approval
every time the spoke. Neither one of them seemed to mind the accountant’s domination
of the conversation.

Brenda’s polite smile faded as she turned her back on them all to stare at the empty
driveway. For none of them were as interesting as the man she’d met hours before and
who had yet to appear as promised.

She sighed and glanced at the porch the was brightly lit and carefully guarded by
uniformed “butlers” whose sole job was to insure no one entered the house without an
invitation.

That rarely stopped those determined few who were persuasive enough in speech and
manner from gaining admittance. She frowned. Never having crashed a party, she didn’t
know what it was like to enter where she wasn’t wanted, but Jax probably had. More
than once. He wasn’t a man who would let much stand in the way...at least, she didn’t
think he was.

She pursed her lips and considered. It was strange that she could have formed such
strong opinions about someone she hardly knew, but Jax had made a lasting impression.
And just from their brief time together, he didn’t seem to be a man who let opinions or
restrictions stop him. He looked at things and people and saw them as they were, and his
direct approach to her said he wasn’t a man to waffle when making up his mind. She
thought he’d would be quick to act and react, but she doubted she’d ever have the
opportunity to be sure that what she believe was true.

Again she scanned the driveway, but she really didn’t think he was coming. And she
couldn’t blame him. And she should be glad, not disappointed.

Jax didn’t belong in a San Marino manor filled to the roof with the rich, the famous and
the infamous. And, looking back, she couldn’t believe she’d actually asked him to come
and meet those who dwelled in the world of money and megapower and who were
regularly featured in print or on a movie screen.

Stepping through the ajar floor-to-ceiling windows and out onto the porch set off to the
side of the house, she wondered. What was it about him that had appealed to her?
Encouraged her to abandon common sense and give in to an impulse that had seen her
gallivant through the hills above Los Angeles on a motorcycle with a complete stranger?
She must have been out of her mind.

A crooked grin curved her lips. Scared senseless was more like it. On a dark and gloomy
street, alone and without a dime, she probably been susceptible to suggestion. But with
those aquamarine eyes, blond hair and black leather jacket, he’d proven to be disarming,
charming and alarming.

Silently she shook her head in rueful amazement. But, right or wrong, wise or foolish,
she really couldn’t regret the unexpected night of adventure...even if the evening had
proven to be an expensive experience considering Jax had disappeared with a pocketful
of diamonds.

She smothered a soft sigh of disappointment. She didn’t want to believe it, but in his
position with nothing but a motorcycle to his name and a nomadic life-style that
apparently saw him drift from place to place at will, she couldn’t blame him for taking
her earrings and running. She bit her lip. Or maybe he wasn’t gone.

Jax had said he’d just gotten into town. Not *back* in town. That would mean that he
didn’t live in Los Angeles but just arriving, perhaps for the first time, and he was in no
hurry to be on his way. She could hardly call the police because she’d let him carry a
pair of her earrings and failed to ask for them back. Yet it was hard to accept the “Theft”
as purposeful. He hadn’t asked her to give him the earrings. He’d only warned her to
remove them, rather than taking the chances of losing them during the ride.

She had to smile at herself. No, she couldn’t think ill of Jax. If he’d taken the diamonds,
it hadn’t been intentional, and besides, he had rescued her. If he hadn’t given her a ride,
she shuddered to think where she might have ended up. Her surroundings had been far
from friendly, and the shadows had been wide and deep. But they hadn’t bothered him.

The smile on her lips grew. What had he been doing tinkering with a motorcycle in the
middle of a deserted street in the dead of night? The idea was crazy, really. Like his
lifestyle.

What would it be like to live like him? Riding across the country on a motorcycle?
Going where, when and with whom you wanted? Having no one criticizing, expecting
more, expressing their disappointment, or otherwise dishing out disapproval for acts
unbecoming?

Her sigh was long and heavy. No commitments, no restrictions, no expectations. It was
a dream she’d never experience, but it was a fantasy she could enjoy. Especially she
could have it fulfilled with him.

Her heartbeat quickened as she remembered the delicious sensations he could encourage
with just one look. Then she remembered his taunting manner when he asked about the
balcony. She smiled as she wondered what it would be like to be in his arms, her body
pressed against the hard length of his.

Reaching out, she caressed a vine that was climbing the wall besides the porch.
Fortunately and unfortunately, Jax was another fantasy that she would never truly
experience, but if he was gone, his inspiration was not.

Brenda had been trying to convince her father to give her more involvement with the
family business. She had gone to school. She knew what she was doing, but he
continued to resist giving her a chance with more than the less-challenging accounts.
Maybe it was time for her to make her own opportunity rather than waiting for it. She
could take on her competitor...the man that held her father’s ear. Her lips now twisted
into a satisfied smile. She actually already taken steps to prepare for the first battle.

The secretary who’d been so efficient but too pretty to be ignored by Sonny Corrinthos
was coming back. Though she would have to make changes, at least temporarily, and
Brenda was helping her...

A distance hum broke through Brenda’s determined contemplation, and she listened to
the sound that was suddenly very familiar. A motorcycle! But the smile that touched her
lips was cautiously disbelieving...until a lone headlight bobbed into the driveway. He
had come!

A gleeful laugh followed her as Brenda hurried back inside, through the guests and into
the foyer. She was oblivious to the looks, the stares and the frowns of disapproval.
Uncharacteristically, she didn’t care about anything or anyone but the man who had come
when she was sure he wouldn’t...and shouldn’t.

Reaching the porch in a breathless rush, she was in time to see Jax hand over his bike to
one of the valets, who was obviously uncertain if he should ride or roll the machine into
the parking spot, but Jax was unconcerned with which option the boy chose. He turned
towards the porch, straightening the cuffs of his shirt beneath the battered, black leather
jacket, and immediately stopped. She was waiting for him.

Jax wasn’t used to having woman take his breath away. He’d seen and been with too
many pretty woman to allow beauty influence him, but good sense seemed to be
overridden with aching need whenever Brenda Barrett was anywhere near.

He smiled and started forward, letting his gaze sweep over her in greedy light. The
elegant green gown she wore was simply cut. Its flowing lines accentuated every curve
of a body that would never be termed well-rounded yet was female in each intimate
detail. He was a little disappointed to see the dress was floor-length. The lovely legs he
had enjoyed the night before was covered, but the arms were bare. The straps that held
the dress in place were tied behind her neck and left both her arms and shoulders
exposed.

He reached the first step and shoved his hands in his pockets to resist the urge to reach
out and touch her, and watched her gaze drop from his face to his chest. He smiled as he
stopped in front of her and shrugged. “Sorry, but my tux was out being cleaned.”

The careless expression brought Brenda’s eyes back to his, but unbelievably, knowing
she should be shocked rather than amused, certain she should send him away rather then
let him inside, she found herself trying not to smile. “Really”

Jax nodded. “Afraid so.”

Brenda pursed her lips in apparent contemplation and stepped forward to circle and
inspect him slowly, but if she was looking for imperfections, there were none to be
found. And if she should have been considering what words to send him on his way,
instead she found herself wondering why she hadn’t noticed the night before how good
looking he was. Lost and alone, she had just accepted him as a whole, an enigmatic man
she had met on a darken street. Now she noticed the cleft in his chin, his amazing
blue/green eyes and his height.

Stopping in front of him once more and crossing her arms across her chest, she let her
gaze drop in cool appraisal to take in the clean white shirt and tie hidden beneath the
leather jacket and shook her head. “That’s really too bad,” she sighed, “but I suppose
you will do. This is California, after all.”

His smile made her toes curl in her shoes, and she found herself rejoicing at his
appearance. She wasn’t going to tell him to go even though, without a doubt in her mind,
she knew she should.

“Stylishly late?” she asked instead.

He shrugged again. “Car trouble.”

The ironic twist to his lips had her laughing even as one of the attendants held out a
disapproving hand for the invitation Jax was supposed to have. She slipped her arm
around Jax’s with a cool look of dismissal and defense. “He is with me.”

“Yes,” Jax agreed, liking the ring of possession in her grip and her gaze, and drew her
closer to walk with him, hip-to-hip, through the door. The scent of her perfume that had
taunted him back to his apartment in the light of dawn reached out to tease his sense
anew. “Nice house,” he commented, glancing around the foyer that was filled with
subtle displays of wealth. A table with a crystal vase backed by an antique mirror, a
modestly sized chandelier overhead and a floor that shone to the point of reflection.

“Thank you.” She accepted the compliment and watched him study his surroundings.
Doubts were forming again about letting him in the door. Not everyone lived in...or
regularly visited...mansions, and not everyone knew how to behave in one. She bit her
lip. If anyone asked, she didn’t even know his last name! Yet, if she expected him to
feel or act out of place, to display intimidation or nerves, he didn’t. Quite the
contrary...he appeared calm, cool and confident. Just as he had on an empty street.
Intrigued in spite of herself and the room filled with guests it wouldn’t do to annoy, she
smothered a smile. She had been right abut him. He would dare anything “Yes, it’s
rather small for three people, but we make do.”

Jax’s gaze flew to hers at the tone of her voice, but her laugh at his astonished expression
took away any doubts. Being rich hadn’t made her a complete snob. She was simply
poised, polished and deceivingly cool. he grinned and looked up to meet the startled
gazes of those who had heard her laugh and turned to find its source. “We’ve aroused
some interest. Shall we go introduce ourselves?”

“By all means,” she murmured, keeping her hold on his arm and nodding to a rising
movie star who was starting their way. “Where would you like to start?”

“I think the man over there in the corner. I simply have to find out where he got that
purple tux.”

Only years of practice allowed Brenda to swallow her laughter and get through the
introductions without a hitch, but amusement was quickly pushed aside as she
determined not to let him out of her sight. Her diamonds were still missing after all. Yet
he seemed in no hurry to break away. In fact, he made no effort to leave her side but was
happy to follow her lead...or that of the guests who came forward to greet the
leather-wearing gate-crasher who was holding on to their host’s daughter’s arm.

Fielding questions and pondering glances, Brenda faced her attackers without batting an
eye, but Jax did not allow her to go to the fights alone. He swung a few verbal punches
that had her gritting her teeth, but none of the guests went into a free-fall. If Jax rocked
on his heels, he caught them before they went down for the count...and had them
laughing before they moved on.

Soon Brenda found she didn’t need to defend him. The more they circulated, the more
Jax was accepted, and the more he fascinated. She watched with rapt attention as he
charmed with a smile, countered with constructive argument or evaded with easy grace.
He was simply amazing, and within the hour she was speculating that he had to be much
more than he appeared.

No nomad knew what was happening on Wall Street. Someone who lived on the lam
didn’t care which stocks were up or down. And anyone who roamed from state to state
wouldn’t have cared less who was running for political office...much less what their
positions were on various issues.

Frowning she watched Jax go toe-to-toe with the guru’s accountant and listened for tips
in his words that would give her a clue as to who he really was. A diplomat who’d come
to town incognito? A politician in disguise? She didn’t know anyone in any other
occupation who could field questions or sidestep as well as he did. That kind of
expertise only came with practice. But where on earth would he have gotten it?

And she wasn’t the only one who was wondering. Personal queries came from others
about Jax and his background, but he managed to never give a direct answer. Somehow
he always turned the conversation back to the questioner. And when someone pulled her
aside to ask more of the man she was with, Brenda wasn’t in a position to fill in the
blanks. To any and everyone, Jax was simply a friend...a word that defined a million
different types of relationship, especially in California.

When a cute redhead stole him away for a dance Jax went with a wink, and Brenda was
finally caught by her father, Harlan, whom she had seen circulating at a discreet distance,
waiting for the perfect opportunity to get her to himself.

“Who is he?” he asked.

Ann Marie

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my adaptation of "Rebel with a Cause" by Kim Hansen