After the Before (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Alex

Jasmine’s moan against my lips is almost my undoing. Her words
are spoken a whisper away from my skin, tickling me, telling me what I do to her, are almost enough to drive me over the edge. I’m proud of myself for controlling my hormones. Instead, I ask if she wants lunch.

I know she wants me. Hell, I want her more than anything I’ve ever
wanted, except, all I can think about is our upcoming expiration date and how I will not take advantage of her. Having sex with her, knowing we’re not going to be together in less than a week, is taking advantage of her, whether she wants to think it is or not.

I back away from Jasmine
. Without taking my eyes off her, I trail my fingers down her arm, to the tips of her fingers, not breaking our connection until our arms are out of reach of one another.

I pick up the phone next to the nightstand and dial zero for the front desk. “Front desk.”
A female voice chimes.

“Yes, hi
. I’m wondering if you can help me out. I’m looking for a secluded place for lunch to take a lady friend of mine to.” I smile at Jasmine, enticing one from her.

The lady giggles
, as if she’s in high school again. “That’s very sweet of you.” She coos. “I think I know just the place.” She says, and describes where to go.

I hang up the phone and turn back to Jasmine. “Out of the way.” I wiggle the piece of paper
with the directions on it at her. “Let’s go.” I take her hand and pull her along with me.

We separated in the hall
, thinking it will be better to walk out alone and then meet up on the next street over. I have to admit, this new game is somewhat sexy, the secrets, the hiding, the daringness of our relationship.
We have a relationship.
I’m in a relationship with Jasmine. The reminder repeats with every beat my heart takes, whispering through my mind. It’s a dysfunctional relationship, but it’s ours, even if it’s only for the rest of the week.

I kiss her one last time before I send her on her way, watching her cute
ass as she goes. Her bare legs, that I wish I still had wrapped around me in bed, are hanging out of another pair of frayed jean shorts. She’s wearing a white tank top today, with a light see through, silk shawl to wrap around her shoulders. Cream, with little flowers sporadically spread across the material. She’s still wearing her hair down, and I can see where the sun has bleached more strands, making her sparkling blue eyes pop. She astounds me each time I catch sight of her.

On my way to meet back up with
her, I encounter Carlos. He’s next to the pool, talking to some girls, and I see a black and blue face sitting next to him... Mario. I really did a number on him. His left eye is swollen shut; he has cuts over his eyebrows and across his nose. His lip is busted and swollen, and just about every inch of his face is a different color. Hard to believe my hand barely bruised.

“Que pasa?” I ask Carlos when I’m close enough. The girls
’ he’s with immediately turn their attention to me.

“Nada.” He says, and then looks at the girls. “Alex, this is Madison, April, Ebony, and Jade.
Ladies, this is Alex.”

Each one of their body languages change, informing me
that Carlos has ran his mouth about me. Their eyes read lust. Their body language tells me I can pick one and have her in my room right now if I wanted to, and the thought repulses me. The only thing I can think of is getting to Jasmine. She’s probably already there and waiting for me. The last thing I want is her running into anyone, especially Andrew, and having to deal with him alone if he decides to ignore my warning.

“Ladies.” I say to them and dip my head. “I’m out Carlos.” He slaps me five.

“Where are you off to in such a rush?” His knowing eyes are boring into me. He knows exactly who I’m rushing off with, and why I wouldn’t give these girls the time of day.

“Wouldn’t you like to know
?” I smile at him, a silent thanks for not saying anything about her.

He nods, understanding my gesture. “Catch you on the flip side.” He says, and turns back to the girl he’s
wooing.

I catch a glimpse of Mario looking at me, but when I turn to him his eyes hit the floor.
Regret knots in my stomach. He shouldn’t have taken it that far, so maybe now he‘d think twice before putting his hands on a women.

Jogging the remaining distance, I meet up with Jasmine at a gift shop. The store holds silly things like lays, fake coconuts, and shot glasses that read Hawaii.

I walk up behind her, reaching over her shoulder, and grab one of the shot glasses. “I think this is the perfect keepsake for you to take home.” My tone is light and playful.

She takes the glass from me, so I drape my arm over her, my first act of public affection. I can tell it’s making us both nervous
, but elated at the same time. I pull away and she turns to me. “I already have a flask.” She smiles, putting the glass back on the shelf. “What took you so long?” Her eyes are curious.

“I ran into some of the boys.”

“Oh.” She says and continues to browse.

“Are you ready to get further away from here? Go have a late lunch?” I want to touch her again, pull her to
me, and kiss her in front of everyone. Claim her as mine.
Mine.

Instead, I turn us in the direction of the restaurant.

“Yes. I’m so hungry.” She leaves the shop without purchasing anything.

We walk a few more blocks until every senior drops off the island,
and then I slip my fingers into hers and hold on tight. She glances at me out of the corner of her eye, a small smile twitching at her lips, and squeezes my hand in return. We round the corner to the restaurant and Jasmine stops, sucking in a deep breath.

“What?” I ask. Does she see someone from school?

It takes her a moment to gather herself before she speaks. “This is the place Andrew took me for dinner last night.” Her voice is quiet, remembering last night’s events. “I didn’t realize it was this far out.”

“You want to go somewhere else?” I offer.

She looks at me with sad eyes. “No. I liked this place. I want to make a new memory, a better memory. I don’t want this place tarnished by Andrew.” The last sentence is powerful. She really dislikes him now. Good.

“That’s alright with me.” I gesture for her to continue walking to a table.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jasmine

An overweight woman s
eats us today, only this time, there are no derogatory statements made about her weight. In fact, she couldn’t make it through two chairs and Alex rushed ahead of us and moved them apart so she could move through the isle. His actions melt my heart and the last of my resistance. He owns me, if he would just take me.

He reaches back and grabs my hand
, leading me to our table. When we reach the chairs, he pulls mine out for me to sit in, and then slides me in when I do. Looking at him like this makes it hard to believe that so many people are terrified of him. He would never admit it, but he’s so sweet and kind. I watch as his eyes devour me, tracing my face, my body, and they see right through me, to the real me… not the fake me that everyone else sees, but the real one; the one that’s broken and hurt, the one that loves him unconditionally.

We’ve made a compromise
, one that will free us from one another once we return home. No strings attached. How am I going to give him up? Just the thought of leaving him hurts, and the thought of him leaving me is heart breaking.

“What are you thinking?” He asks, breaking my train of thought.

“Hmm?”

“Are you thinking about Andrew?” A jealous twitch follows Andrew’s name.

I laugh, trying to let go of my worries and enjoy the now. “No. Not even close.”

His smile stretches. “Good.” He picks up his menu. “What do you feel like eating?” He asks.

I scan the menu, unsure of what I’m hungry for, when a pita wrap catches my eye.

“I think I’m going to have this.” I point to my menu and Alex finds it on his.

“That sounds good.” Unlike Andrew, he actually takes the time to see what I like, instead of ignoring me.

“What are you going to have?” My eyes twinkle at him. I lean over, sharing his menu, even though I have my own right in front of me.

“I’m going to go with the flame thrower burger.”

“Flame thrower, huh?” I smile at him.

“You know I like my food spicy.” Somehow, he manages to turn a sentence about his lunch into something erotic, which makes me hot. Warmth creeps up my neck and into my face. The smile on his lips lets me know that he’s achieved exactly what he meant to accomplish.

The server flips open her tablet to take our order. Alex orders for me first
, and then orders his own. This is when the server announces that they have a restaurant challenge.

“Challenge you say?” His voice going all superhero
, giving off a high-pitched tone that has me grinning.

I roll my eyes, knowing I’m getting a glance of the goofy Alex I knew before the accident. “What’s it about?” I ask her, trying to avoid that voice again.

“We have a record of seven flaming burgers. If you can beat that, you’ll get your name and photo hung over there.” She points to a board by the register with a handful of pictures on it. “And you get to eat here free for life.” She smiles at us, challenging Alex.

“What do you think?” He looks at me for the answer.

“We don’t have anywhere we need to be, so I say go for it.” He smiles, a look of pride in his eyes.

He sits back in his chair and rubs his hands together, like an evil cartoon character. “Let’s do this.”

The server brings out our food about fifteen minutes later. I have one plate, next to Alex’s three, all filled with gigantic flaming burgers.

“Can I have everyone’s attention please?” The server says loudly. Everyone in the restaurant turns to look at us
, so much for low key. “We have a flaming burger challenge. He has to eat eight flaming burgers to beat the record, and has only three hours to do it in.” She turns back to Alex. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Go.” She says and looks at the clock. It’s 2:15 pm on the dot.

Alex digs in, not in any rush. The first bite of my pita melts in my mouth.

“Mmm. This is so good.” I say.

“So is this.” He smiles with his own
mouthful of food. “I’d give you a bite, but that would be cheating.” He chuckles.

Two and a half hours
, and seven burgers later, Alex looks sick. He did fairly well with the first four, starting to have trouble with number five, toughing it out through number six, and just barely choking down number seven. Now, he was working his way through number eight.

“Are you alright?
You know that you don’t have to finish.” I feel bad for him, but can’t seem to wipe the smile off my face. He’s doing it to himself, and it’s pretty funny to watch.

“No.” He moans. “I don’t quit things I start.” He takes the first bite of burger number eight, receiving a few claps in the crowd.

I’m sipping on my third water; I was finished eating a long time ago. I couldn’t imagine eating as much as Alex is… I would have thrown up after burger number two, three at the most. How can he possibly be on his eighth burger?

Down to the last two bites, I’m clapping and chanting, “Go Alex!” repeatedly
, as the server, and half the restaurant, cheer along with me. Alex smiles, cheeks full as he takes the last bite, followed with a sip of water.

Everyone cheers and claps louder. “Oh my
God, Alex! I cannot believe you ate that much. I would hug you, but I’m afraid you’ll puke on me.” I laugh.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.” He says in his best Elvis voice.

The server comes over right away. “Oh, wow. I’ve never personally seen anyone beat the challenge before. Congratulations! Would you come over here please, so we can take your picture?” She’s already leading him across the restaurant.

“Can my date be in the picture with me?” He looks over at me.

“Oh, no, Alex…” Rummaging for the words to get me out of taking a picture gets me nowhere; I come up empty.

“I don’t think so.” Grabbing my hand, he drags me with him to the photo area.

“Alright, stand up against the wood panel.” She says.

Alex pulls me close to him, putting our cheeks together for the photo
, “Say flaming burger,” he whispers to me.

His words draw a smile on my face and more laughter through my lips. The server takes the picture and the light almost blinds me, but
I still cannot stop laughing. The last time I had this much fun, Jace was alive. I feel light, carefree, and completely head over heels for Alex.

“How are you doing?” I ask him as we walk back toward town. He has an arm around my shoulder
to help hold himself up.

“Not to
o well, Captain.” His nice tan skin has turned pale green and sickish, like a seasick rookie on a boat.

“Do you want to sit down?”
I ask, motioning to the bench in front of a convenient store. The store reminds me of a house, only the entire front wall is made of windows.

“Yeah, I think I better.” I help him to the bench and excuse myself to go inside the store.

I walk to the coolers and grab two waters, then down the
Oh-crap-I-forgot-something-isle
, and pick up a toothbrush and toothpaste. After paying for everything, I walk back out to the bench where I left Alex.

It
’s empty.

At first
I panic, thinking he might have left me here alone, but then I remember why I visited the store in the first place; toothpaste, toothbrush, and bottled water. I walk around the side of the building where the restrooms are located and knock on the men’s door.

“Alex?
Are you in there?”

There’s no answer at first, making me wonder
if he is even in there; maybe he did leave me here, but then his voice reassures me.

“Yeah, I’m on my way to feeling better.” Translation
; he’s throwing up.

“I bought something for you. If you
can open the door, I’ll give it to you.” My voice is babying him.

“Can it wait?”

I smile again. “No.” I feel a little tormenting is in order.

It’s silent, but I can almost hear him moaning on the other side of the door. I hear the lock click
, and the door opens a few inches. He still looks green, but slightly better.

“Here.” I hand him the sack
of toiletries, keeping the water for when he finishes.

He looks inside
, then back up to me. “How did you know?”

“Eight burgers
… that’s how I know. I would have hurled after two. So, you feel any better?”

“Yeah, but I’m not done.” He looks embarrassed.

“Oh no, I’m sorry. I’ll wait out front.” Spinning on my heels, I turn to walk away when he calls out to me.

“Jasmine?” He’s looking down, more vulnerable than
I have seen him in a long time.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.” He flicks the hand holding the sack toward me.

“
You’re welcome.” I say and finish walking out front to wait.