His Love

Chapter 21: Business

Jade POV

March 20th, 2009

9:29 PM

Allison steals me away from Tom and pulls me aside with Alexis and Laura. "How was your first race?" She asks, excitedly.

"So scary! I'm still shaking." I say, holding up my still trembling hands. They all giggle. "Soooo, how do you like Tom?" Laura asks inquisitively. I blush a little, looking back over at him. "He's alright, I guess." I say smiling. Alexis pipes up. "Georg told me that he's never seen Tom this happy. I think you have a really good impact on him." she says as she looks over at Georg. I turn back to Tom, admiring him. I watch as he points to something in the distance. I follow his finger, and at the end, stands J and Ev.

My face drops and my heart sinks to my feet. What are they doing here? Are they here to mock me? Did they not think I'd be here? My head starts to reel. Tom sees me staring at the two of them and quickly walks over to us. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and leans down to my ear. "Are you ready to go home?" He asks calmly, sensing my distress. I nod quickly and he takes me by the hand to his car.

***

10:44 PM

I sit on the bed, picking at my fingers. Tom leans down and gently kisses the top of my head. "The guys and I have some business to take care of. I shouldn't be longer than an hour." He says sweetly. I nod slowly. He frowns.

 "Hand me your phone." He says. I hand it to him reluctantly. He pushes a few buttons and hands it back to me. "I put my number in there for you, just in case you ever need me." He says, patting my head. "I will drop everything to come home if you ever ask me to." He smiles warmly. I nod again. He kisses my head once more and leaves the room, leaving the door open.

I set my phone down and sigh. I hear a small knock on the doorframe. "Hey, it's Allison." she says softly. I look over, being greeted by a bright smile. "The girls and I are making drinks, wanna join?" She asks. I think to myself for a moment. Maybe a few drinks won't hurt, that's how I ended up here after all. I nod and she takes me by the hand to the kitchen. Laura and Alexis are sitting at the counter, chatting and giggling.

 I pull up a stool next to Alexis and she gives me a side hug. "What do you want to drink?" Allison asks. She was the bartender when we worked together so I know she can make a good cocktail.

"Can I have a screwdriver? Those are my favorite." Allison rummages through the fridge and pulls out orange juice and grabs the vodka from the cabinet. She carefully measures out an ounce of the spicy water and pours it into a tall glass. "Can you make it stronger?" I ask quietly. She pours in another ounce and tops it off with juice. She slides the glass across the counter to me with a smile. I sit quietly, sipping on my drink as she makes herself one. "I take it you saw your ex at the race too?" Allison asks. I finish off my drink and sigh. "Don't remind me..." I scoff and slide my cup back to her for another.

She pours my second drink, laughing to herself quietly. Alexis, Laura and I look at each other. Allison knows something we don't. "Spill, Allison." Laura says with a smirk. Allison looks over at us, swirling her drink. "You know that business that the guys are out doing?" she asks, looking at each of us. She takes a long sip from her glass, watching us nod. "That business is Jeremy..."