Tainted Heart - A Jai Brooks Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Myself, Leah and the boys were driving around Melbourne. Beau was driving the car and we had music blaring loudly with all the windows down. I kept trying to catch Leah's eye but she purposely broke all eye contact with me. I felt like the brief moment of connection we had was lost.

And I was dying to get it back.

Justin Bieber's song As Long As You Love Me came on the radio and Beau squealed while cranking up the volume.

"AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME, WE COULD BE STARVING, WE COULD BE HOMELESS, WE COULD BE BROKE" Luke belted out the chorus making everyone laugh.

"Jesus Luke, I didn't take you for a fangirl!" Leah teased him, smiling mischievously. That smile melted my heart and made my breath catch.

"Luke wants Justin's babies, don't you Lukey?" I grabbed Luke's head and started to ruffle his hair.

"Fuck OFF Jai!!" Luke squirmed away from my grasp, as I laughed at him.

"Who fancies a McDonalds?" Leah asked. "I'm starving!"

"It's called Maccas here, you dope!" Beau corrected her smiling. "You have a lot to learn, my young apprentice."

Leah giggled and took out her phone as we pulled up to the Drive-Thru. She opened the door and turned to us.

"I gotta ring my rents, get me a Big Mac with cheese and twisty fries!"

"Alright fatty! Supersize or...?" Luke teased. Leah stuck out her tongue and clambered out of the car. God she was so cute.

As Beau ordered what we wanted through the speaker, I watched Leah make her phone call. She was pacing nervously and her hand gestures were going all over the place. Something was obviously going on with her family, that much was obvious. I saw a tear slide down her face and at that moment she caught me staring at her.

For the briefest of seconds I saw the same unguarded expression she had on her face this morning when she talked about Rob. Her vulnerability was breathtaking. As quickly as it appeared, the expression disappeared as she turned away and ended the phone call. I saw her take a deep breath in and out before she turned around and walked back to the car.

She clambered back into the car and Beau pulled up to the window to collect the food. As she turned around to hand me my food our fingers brushed and our eyes locked. She looked at me defiantly, daring me to say something. When I didn't she turned around and started chatting to Beau like nothing happened. I sighed. This girl would be the death of me.

Worth it.

----------------LEAH'S POV---------------

I couldn't meet Jai's eyes on the journey home. Twice. Twice he had seen me cry. What the hell was wrong with me?! I mentally kicked myself for being so weak. I was so used to having my walls up around new people it was a shock to finally meet someone who tore them down like Lego.

We got back to my place and Luke and Beau announced that they were going to do a dare video with just the two of them in it. They left and it was just me and Jai. Alone.

I walked into the kitchen and put my bag on the island. I turned around to face Jai who was standing in the doorway, looking unsure of what to say.

"I know you saw the texts to Ariana." That caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting him to bring that up.

"Yeah.. I'm sorry about that. I looked like the two of you were really in love."

It almost pained me to say that. To imagine those hands holding someone else's, those arms wrapped around someone else's waist, those lips...

"We were. But distance.. You think you can overcome it if you love each other enough but.." he trailed off.

"It's not enough." I finished for him softly.

He nodded and his expression was pained.

"Leah.. I want you to know.. I'm not a player. I don't go around breaking girls hearts. Yeah me and Ariana were in a long term relationship but we had drifted apart long before we broke up. My emotions were all over the place but.. The moment I saw you, everything fell into place."

He had walked closer to me as he talked and I was backed right up against the counter. He was only one step in front of me.

"Jai.." I whispered, my voice shaking. "I.. I'm not sure I can do this I.." I trailed off as he stepped closer to me, our faces inches apart and he met my gaze.

"Try." He said simply, and he began to lean in. I tilted my chin up ever so slightly as he slowly lowered his lips onto mine. He slid his hands around my waist and I shivered at his touch. He pulled away slowly and looked into my eyes again. He was breathing quickly, so was I. My heart thudding against my ribs, I placed my hands on his chest and kissed him again, this time with more urgency.

He pressed his body against mine and I slid my arms around his neck, trying to pull him as close as possible to me. Fireworks were exploding inside me as our lips moved in sync and his hands slid down my back. His tongue traced along my lips, asking for access which I granted as we kissed more passionately, hungry for each other's touch.

Our urgency started to fade and he started kissing my neck, all the way down to my collar bones and back up to my lips. I kissed him slowly again and looked into his eyes. I was shaking and he seemed to feel it as he hugged me tightly while stroking my hair. None of us spoke. There was no need. The moment was just perfect. He was perfect.

After a few minutes I pulled away and led Jai by the hand to the couch. I put in Marley And Me into the DVD player as Jai sat on the couch. I turned back to face him and my breath caught a little when I saw how perfect he was. His face was full of care and concern for me and those eyes...

I sat the couch and cuddled up to him, taking comfort from his strong arms around me. He kissed my forehead and smiled at me. I smiled back and we settled down to watch the movie.

By the end of the movie, where Marley is being out down, there were tears rushing down my face and I couldn't mask my sobs. I felt Jai's body shake beside me and I looked up, surprised.

Jai's gaze was fixed on the television screen and there were tears escaping from his eyes as well. I pushed myself up and kissed every tear on his face. He pulled me towards him and our lips crashed together again. This time the kiss wasn't just physically passionate. It was full of emotion of things we had lost, things that we could never tell anyone of.

I gently bit Jai's lip, causing a groan to escape from him. I smiled through our kisses and pulled away again.

"I've never fallen for someone this fast." I whispered softly, as Jai trailed kisses down my neck. "I'm scared Jai."

Jai pulled away and held my gaze.

"I'm scared too Leah. It's so weird, it's like whenever I see you.. My heart skips a beat. I've never felt this way before. Not even with Ariana."

My body tensed at the sound of her name. Was this wrong? Kissing Jai only a day or two after breaking up with the girl he thought was the love of his life? Jai seemed to sense my tension and held me tighter.

"Leah, there is no other girl in the world who I'd rather be with than you right now." He assured me, smiling his cute little smile. My heart soared.

"Jai, I-" I broke off. Was it too early to say the L word? He seemed to know what I was saying and smiled again.

"I know" he said. "Me too"

At that moment, the front door opened and Beau and Luke walked in with take away Maccas. They looked at the two of us cuddled up on the sofa and started making kissing noises and wolf whistling. Jai and I smiled sheepishly and levered ourselves off the couch, Jai playfully wrestling the two boys.

I walked over to the table and inhaled the smell of the chicken nuggets before Beau snatched them away.

"Oi! My nuggets... My preeeccioouusss" hissed Beau in a Gollum voice. I broke into laughter and grabbed a box of twisty fries. As we all sat around the table laughing and talking I looked around and smiled. Jai caught me looking at him and smiled back.

I felt so lucky.