Bad Desire: New Beginnings - Fast Forward

Chapter 31

"Baby." Jack reached out for Jess as she was passing by but just as his hand reached hers, she pulled it back.

A chorus of voices from the guys were heard, taking the mick of him obviously being in trouble and biting down on his lip, he was trying not to laugh.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He jumped to his feet and hurried in front of her so she had no choice but to stop.

"Nothing. Can you just move?" She looked at him with an expression that meant she was not messing around but due to the amount of alcohol Jack had consumed, he had not caught on.

"Come sit with us then." His hands were either side of her face as he tried to close the gap between them but she refused, pulling her head back.

Jess had just managed to get Addie off to sleep which had proved difficult due to all the excitement still happening downstairs and on her way back had got caught up in conversation with Juliet and Erika. The obvious happened and the name 'Ashley' was brought up, leading to topics that Jack had been trying to keep from being discussed.

He had managed to keep Jess out of the loop for most of the night however, the moment he was pulled into drinking with the guys, that was it; Mr. Responsible was long gone.

"It's cold out here. I want to go inside." Jess continued to fight her way past him but even in his drunk state, Jack could notice the issue.

"Tell me what's wrong first."

Jess could see the guys sat behind Jack trying to act as though they were not listening when they truly were. They liked gossip more than they ever let on and they were not up for missing out on this argument.

"I don't know, maybe you should ask Erika." She bit and Jess didn't need to explain anymore, Jack knew what was going on.

"For fuck sake." He pinched the bridge of his nose as the frustration took over him. "I didn't know Ashley was back around here but it's irrelevant. There should be no issue."

"I didn't say there was one."

"But with the way you're acting, there definitely is."

"I need to check on the kids, so please continue getting pissed out of your mind while I do just that." Jess pushed past him and began walking off however; Jack managed to reach out for her hand just in time to prevent her.

"So are you annoyed because of Ashley and Erika or because I'm having a drink?" He asked and the sarcasm in his voice just pushed her to her limits.

Jess wasn't sure why she felt so mad at him exactly but it was likely partly due to her hormones, maximising everything and making it seem much worse. While she was pregnant and unable to drink, meaning she had been on mum duty all night, he had taken the opportunity to act like a teenager again.

The moment it hit 8pm and everyone had finished eating, the drinks had been stepped up a notch and Jack held no reluctance in joining in. It wasn't that she didn't want him having fun with his friends but she had hoped he would have waited until their kids were in bed.

She hated how he had happily poured drink after drink down his throat with the guys and just expected her to take full control of the kids. He had just expected that because she was pregnant and couldn't drink anyway that he didn't need to offer to remain at least partly sober until their responsibilities were tucked up and sleeping.

"A drink? Because you are having 'just one drink?'" Jess mocked, amused that he was trying to get away with making it seem as though he wasn't completely drunk.

"Okay, one or two." He chuckled in return, still seeing this as a joke.

"You are pissing me off so much right now, so just let me go." Jess ordered before pushing past him one last time.

This time when Jack tried to reach out for her hand once again, he missed due to his aim being slightly off because of the alcohol within him.

"Oh shit, trouble in paradise." Corey teased causing the guys to laugh.

"Fuck off." Jack stuck his middle finger up at him before taking a seat once again.

"This is why I couldn't deal with the serious relationships. You have more fun when they don't expect anything from you." Corey spoke with confidence in what he was saying. "If you are single they praise you for even the smallest amount of effort, if you are tied down, you get shit for the small effort."

"It's a good theory dude but not quite convincing enough to cause a divorce." Jack responded as he looked over to where Jess was making her way inside.

He knew full well that if he went after her it would cause a bigger argument than necessary. While he was drunk and insensitive he knew, it was safest if he backed off and let her cool down.

"Are you and Kaia a definite no go then?" Zaiden went onto ask.

"We're sleeping together but I'm sleeping with other girls too, that's what she doesn't like." Corey responded so casually.

Even though most of the guys here were in relationships, they could still relate. They had once been a 'Corey' and had no care in the world for their actions. They had once not had any care about settling down but it was that huge leap and risk they took of experiencing it that changed their opinion.

"You don't want more, at all?" Jack went onto ask.

He had known Corey for years and knew it took a lot but he could be sensitive when he wanted to. The only girl he had managed to show that around so far was Sophie but it was clear that had not worked out.

However, now that Kaia was showing an interest in him more than just sex he seemed to have shut down from showing any emotions back. They didn't know if he was just scared of finally joining that 'settling down' place or if he truly did not want it right now.

"Nah dude, I'm not ready to throw my life away."

"And were you serious about her liking Harris?" Zaiden asked the question they had all been reconsidering. "Because you know throwing shit like that around isn't safe if it's not true..."

"She might have changed her mind but rewind a few months ago, yeah. She liked him."

"Shit." Zaiden began to laugh. "That could ruin a friendship."

"She wants Mr. Prince Charming." Corey raised his eyebrows as he began to take the mick. "But what she doesn't realise is he's never going to put a ring on any girls finger."

"You're lucky Jess took you back, Lawrence. This could have been you." Zaiden then nudged his friends arm.

In response Jack reached out for his drink and downed the contents of it in one go.

"She's hard work. I couldn't deal with it." He laughed, just the thought of it tiring him out.

Kaia was the type of girl that most could only deal with in short bursts of time. She was a lot to handle and even though Sophie seemed to love her, many found her a little trickier to get along with.

She could be slightly intimidating towards girls when she wanted to and to guys she could be completely exhausting. Her big personality meant that unless you had the mentality to put up with twenty minutes of an excitable toddler's company, that felt more like ten days, then you probably wouldn't like her.

Her and Corey had a strange relationship as they were extremely alike. It meant that they could enjoy one another's company for a while but it wouldn't take long for them to clash and drive each other crazy.

They would manage to spend an hour or so in peace before it would erupt and they would spend the rest of the time arguing.

Therefore, Corey's choices for refusing to act more like a 'boyfriend' and take their 'dating' title serious, was definitely to save himself from losing his mind.

**

:)