Just Pretend

Chapter Forty-One

Gwen
I’m so out of it that I don’t realise that during the time I'm semi-conscious; my mom and Jason are spending quality time together.
The thought is supposed to make me nervous but my body and mind is too tired to even begin to comprehend the thought and the consequences.
I fall asleep for a while and wake up to the sound of Jason’s footsteps walking down the hallway and I force myself to wake up.
‘Shower, smoke, sleep?’ he asks softly, kneeling next to the bed and I nod, forcing my body to sit up and he helps me off the bed and to the bathroom with his arm wound tightly around my waist.
He starts drawing the bath as I lean heavily against the sink, trying to stay upright.  I fade for a bit until I feel Jason’s hands on the hem of my shirt.  He helps me undress slowly; lifting the shirt off my arms and supporting me when I get out of my sweats.
The bathroom air feels cool against my skin and goosebumps rise up on my skin and I start shivering while Jason climbs into the tub before helping me inside.  He sinks down behind me and I lean back against him, resting my head on his chest and my hands on his thighs; catching my breath.
I feel like death warmed over and I sigh softly when Jason starts running his hands over my body; scooping warm water onto my chest and arms. 
He washes me thoroughly; lifting my limp limbs and scrubbing gently with the loofah, leaning forward to wash my legs and feet but letting me wash my face.  The water succeeds in waking me up slightly.
Enough to feel desire start smouldering in my core.
I push it to the side, though, not even letting the thought of having sex with Jason with my mom under the same roof.
I feel him shift and he stands as I hold my upper body upright, out of the water, while he gets out before standing slowly and keeping my hand against the wall for balance.
He wraps a towel around his waist, hiding the semi-hard erection between his legs, and I chuckle softly. 
‘What?’ he asks, amused, as he helps me out of the tub and wrapping a towel tightly around my shoulders.
‘Nothing,’ I say coyly and he raises an eyebrow as he rubs his hands over my towel-covered arms; drying me carefully.
‘Oh, yeah?’ he says and tugs me against him gently, wrapping an arm around my waist.  I wind mine around his and lean my head against his chest.
‘Seems we both want the same thing but there are two things stopping us,’ I say quietly and he chuckles and kisses the top of my head while I close my eyes at the action.
‘Let’s get downstairs,’ he says softly and I nod, allowing him to lead me into the bedroom, sitting me down on the bed to get a pair of sweats from my wardrobe and a long-sleeved shirt from his, putting them in my lap and telling me to get dressed and I make slow work of it while watching him dry off and turn his back on me to pull his own pajamas from his wardrobe.
I get distracted by the sight of Jason getting dressed and when he turns around, I hurriedly pull the shirt down over my head, and he raises his eyebrows; clearly amused by what he just witnessed.  I stand up slowly and pull on the pair of sweats, acting innocent, and Jason good-naturedly lets it go for now as he wraps his arm around my waist and we start heading downstairs.
I call Carrie to come with us and she jogs down the stairs behind us, following me and Jason outside, where he sits down on one of the chairs and pulls me down into his lap as I cough and sniff softly, and hands me an inch of his leftover joint.
‘How was your day?’ I ask him softly before inhaling, leaning my head against his and he holds me close.  The smoke burns my throat and sends me into a coughing fit that has tears running down my cheeks, and Jason takes the joint from me so that I don’t drop it, rubbing my back gently.
I sit back when the coughing ceases and he tucks me back against him, handing me the joint again.
‘Long.  My dad's decided to retire next year,’ he says and I raise my eyebrows as I inhale slowly.  He fills me in on his dad informing him of the decision to let Jason take over the billion-euro company.
I take a few more tokes before handing it to Jason, my throat feeling like it’s on fire for a minute or two after before the burning subsides and my throat feels nothing but relief.
He puts the roach out in the ashtray before the three of us head inside while the business side of my brain switches on.
Jason helps me upstairs while Carrie walks at my side.  The spare bedroom door is shut but I can hear my mom moving around on the other side.  We walk to the bedroom and Carrie makes herself comfortable on the bed while Jason helps me undress for bed before undressing himself and we get into bed.
‘You seem a bit better,’ he says as he wraps his arm around my body, pulling me into him as he lays on his back and I put my head on his chest; cuddling into him with my arm on his stomach and my hand on his chest
‘The bath helped immensely,’ I respond and he runs his hand idly up and down my side; starting at my hip and moving up to my arm.
‘I'm glad it helped,’ he says softly and I can hear the tiredness creep into his voice.
‘Hey, Jace?’ I ask into the silence of the room and he stirs slightly at the sound of my voice.
‘Hmm?’ he responds sleepily and I smile before kissing his chest softly.
‘I hope my mom treated you alright,’ I say quietly and he chuckles, hugging me close and telling me that everything is fine; turning on his side and burying his face in my hair.

It takes me five days to get over my cold. And by the end of those five days, Jason and my mom are thick as thieves.
Which is good.
I guess.
Considering she hated all of my three boyfriends before him.
She’s flying back home tonight and Jace and I decided to take her out for dinner before driving her to the private airport just outside of the city; knowing that she’s been out of the spotlight for the last twenty years, much the same as I.
I pick out a dark purple medi-dress with long sleeves and an open back; still in love with being able to wear dresses like these again.
I’m shimmying into the dress when Jason comes striding out of the bathroom with a black towel wrapped around his hips; stopping when he sees me halfway into the dress.
‘I’m going love peeling that off of you,’ he growls as he crosses the room to me and presses a hard, rough kiss to my lips as I chuckle softly into him.
He walks over to his wardrobe after letting me go and I pull the dress up over my arms and shoulders in the mirror, shifting my breasts around for a better fit.
The semi-permanent purple I had in my hair has washed out, leaving my hair a deep purple-tinted chestnut, and I watch the strands fall over my shoulders in thick, damp locks as I bend forward slightly and straightening.
Once happy with the way my boobs are encased by the dress, I go over to my vanity and sit down on the vintage style chair and switching on the lights around the mirror.
I can see Jason sit down on the bed in the reflection as he puts a pair of socks on his lap while I rub lotion into my face, keeping my eyes on him.
He slides the socks onto his feet one by one as I start priming my face and he raises his head to search for his shoes, meeting my eyes in the mirror.
‘Do you have to wear make-up?’ he asks as he stands, not finding his shoes, and I nod slowly, pointing to Carrie.
‘She’s laying on them,’ I tell him and he chuckles softly, walking over to Carrie and convincing her to give him his shoes back before turning back to me when he retrieves them.
I continue doing my make-up and when I lean forward to apply my lipstick, Jason comes to stand behind me; resting his hands on the back of the chair and watching me in the mirror.
‘You know, I’ve never been jealous of lipstick until now,’ he says when I meet his eyes briefly.  I laugh softly, pausing to ask him why and pressing my lips together.
He leans down and forwards to hold his lips next to my ear as his hand come to rest on the armrests of the chair.
‘Because I know what those lips can do,’ he whispers in my ear and I meet his eyes in the mirror, seeing the dark cloud of desire in them.  I smile as I slowly put my lipstick down, thanking the cosmetic industry for non-transferable lipstick formulas, turning in the chair slightly to face him.
He walks around to stand in front of me, turning the chair with ease to face him, placing his hands on my thighs while kneeling in front of me.  I lean forward and entwine my fingers behind his neck, pressing my cheek against his to whisper in his ear.
‘If I’m not mistaken, there’s a bathroom in the restaurant, and this lipstick doesn’t transfer,’ I kiss his cheek when I pull away while he groans softly, leaning forward to put his forehead on my knees.  I chuckle as I run a hand through his hair and he sighs heavily after a minute before pushing himself up to stand, and holding his hand out to me.  I take it and he pulls me up from the chair and into his arms, running his hand over my bare back.
‘What do you still have to do before we leave?’ he asks softly and I tell him I only need to brush my hair and put on shoes. 
With those words, Jason displays another reason why I fall in love with him on a daily basis; he lets me go and walks over to my wardrobe and retrieves the pair of shoes I’m planning on wearing, with no instruction as to which pair, and hands them to me by the straps when he reaches me again, and sitting me down on the chair and reaching for my hairbrush.
He brushes my hair while I slip on my shoes, and by the time I slide the strap through the last buckle, he runs the brush through my hair one last time before putting my brush on the table and kissing the top of my head.
‘As always, you look gorgeous, my love,’ he says as he looks at me in the mirror and I smile at him.
‘You look handsome, love,’ I tell him and he chuckles, saying that he still doesn’t measure up; to which I roll my eyes and stand up from the chair.  He steps back and follows me to the door before I look back and tell Carrie to be good, and go downstairs where my mom is waiting.