When You Least Expect It

We ran again and again, Jade loved being in the passenger side as we raced down the track. She hollered and hooted every time, laughing boisterously. My heart swelled ten times its original size. I didn't care about the times I was making or who was winning. I cared about hearing her laugh and making her smile. I kept going until my gas got too low to continue on.

Not that I want to compare the two women because Jade is so much more than Melissa ever was but not once did my ex give me anything close to what Jade just did. Melissa never cared to sit inside the car with me, she never cared to hear about my run times, and would hate it when I bought a new car part.

When we parked and exited my car, Jade hands V her helmet with an apology. "Oh my gosh, it's fine." V waves her hand, "You seemed to be having so much fun."

"I loved it. It was so freeing."

"It's really incredible, maybe one day you'll be the one behind the wheel."

Jade laughs, "I'll definitely need a lot more practice before I can do that."

V nudges my side, "I bet my big bro here will gladly take you out to practice more."

"I don't know..." I tease, "I don't want to replace my transmission after just buying her."

Jade glares at me, "Hey! I'm not that bad!"

I cringe, "I don't know, there was a lot of grinding gears."

"There was not!" Jade says defiantly, placing her hands upon her hips. "You said I did good!"

I laugh, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her into me, she seems to melt into my side. "You did, I'm kidding. I'll gladly let you practice. Plus, newer cars are easier to learn on."

V nods, "He's right."

Jade pinches my side, making me jump but we don't break apart. In fact we remain side by side, my arm around her shoulder, her body pressed into mine for the rest of the night. This has been one of the best nights I've had in a really long time. The night seemed to whizz by and before I know it, the announcer is telling us all to go home.

"Alright, be at our place by eight!" Vance announces to everyone, reminding us about tomorrow. We all say goodbyes and head our separate ways.

"I gotta stop for gas then I won't have to worry about getting it in the morning." I tell Jade.

"Do you mind stopping at my place so I can grab some things for tomorrow?"

"Not at all."

"Perfect, thanks. I wanna check in with Mike too."

Our drive is full of chatter and singing, Jade still riding on a high. She's excited to eventually race on her own, and I promise her that I'll be with her on her first run. The forty five minute drive back to town seems to take mere minutes. I pull into Slider's parking lot and park at the back entrance. We head inside but instead of going straight up to Jade's apartment we stroll through the door that leads back into the hall by the kitchen. Jade greets the kitchen staff and I follow her out into the main bar area. Music is playing, there's a full room of customers having a good time. Mike is busy at the other end, a woman closest to us notices Jade and moves toward us, "Hey Jade, whatcha doin' here?"

"Hey Angela, just checking in, how's it going?"

"All is good. Um, some lady was in here looking for you?"

I move closer to Jade, wanting to hear this conversation.

"What did she want?"

"Not sure, she wouldn't say. She asked when you worked next and I told her I didn't know."

"What did she look like?" I ask.

"Definitely didn't seem to fit in here. Short copper hair."

"When was this?"

"A few hours ago."

"Fuckin' hell." I mutter and pull my phone from my pocket, pulling up Melissa's number and shooting off a text warning her to leave Jade alone. A response comes within minutes.

I just wanted to have a woman to woman chat.

Jade places her hand on my arm, "Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about her."

"It's not fine." I huff, "She's harassing you."

"She doesn't bother me, don't let her get to you, that's exactly what she wants."

"I fucking hate that I ever met her."

"I hate that for you too. C'mon..."

Jade leads me out of the bar and we head up to her apartment. Emmy greets us as soon as the door opens and Jade scoops her up. "Hi my baby." Jade coos to the black cat and carries her back into her room. I take a seat on the couch and wait for Jade to get what she needs. I stare at Melissa's message, debating if I should say anything back but Jade is right. Giving her any of my attention is more than she deserves. I delete the entire thread and block her.

Jade comes out with Emmy and a small bag, placing her cat down beside me who looks at me meows then butts her head against my thigh. "Hello, you." I reach out to scratch her head. "Marlin is gonna smell her and get so jealous." Jade chides.

"I wonder if they'd get along." I think out loud.

"Hmm maybe. I don't know. Emmy's been the only cat for years." Jade comes over and kisses the top of her cat's head. "Okay mommy will be home tomorrow."

I dwell on that thought, it'll be officially Jade's last night with me, it makes my stomach sink.

"You good?" Jade asks, I look up at her face, not that far from me since she just kissed Emmy's head. Jade is one beautiful woman, and at this moment I want to kiss her so badly.

"Vic..." Jade whispers seeming to interrupt my stupid thoughts.

"Yeah," I clear my throat, "I'm good." I stand up and move towards the door, ready to leave. I need to get home, away from Jade before I do something stupid and completely tarnish what we have.

Two chapters down!! I honestly have no idea how many more to go! I'm off to bed but tomorrow will be filled with a full day of writing and more planning. My original ideas for this story have shifted and they're definitely much better and I'm super excited to get these parts. 

Again, what you are reading are rough drafts! Hope you enjoyed..

xoxo