Revved Up Soul

Chapter 17

Jasmine

God damn him, he better be okay. Jasmine wished she really did smoke, it'd only been an hour and some change since she'd caught Augustus in his office. The stairwell was empty again and she welcomed the solitude it provided. Whatever the man was going through, Jasmine was going to make sure that she backed him all the way – she knew beyond a doubt he'd do the same for her; besides, wasn't it the not only the right thing to do – but the pragmatic thing? The man saved so many lives, he was so, so brilliant and passionate.

She wrapped her hand around the glass rose in her coat, running her fingers along the petals. It calmed her to absently play with the token, and yet a flash of anger jumped right through her when she thought about Luke and that girl. I'm being selfish, Augustus could have died . . . I wish I could forget about Luke.

We'll never see eye to eye.

Jasmine spent another couple of minutes reflecting on the chaos in her life when she heard the door creak open behind her. Her body jolted in response and she craned her neck to see who it was. Tch, speak of the devil.

Light poured through the doorway as Luke stepped inside of the stairwell, letting the door close behind him. "Figured you might be in here," he smiled that handsome, private smile.

It made her gut churn with disgust. She saw the way he had smiled at the girl. His private smile was not Jasmine's anymore, and it never had been.

Luke continued, "You okay?"

She turned her head away from the man, not wanting to even look at him. "What's it to you," she said cattily.

"Whoa whoa," Luke stepped over to her, sitting on the yellow railing and looking down upon her. "Did I do something wrong here? I can smell the vinegar coming off of you right now," he laughed.

"It's not funny," Jasmine coolly announced, still not looking the man in his eyes.

Silence hung in the air for several heartbeats. "I'm sorry," he said, though she could tell he wasn't sure just why he had to be as such.

"You don't even know what you're apologizing for," she could only see Augustus' eyes, black and dilated. "I—" she fumbled over her own words, a tight ball forming in her throat. "I almost lost someone close to me today, Luke," she phrased it that way instead.

The corner of Luke's mouth downturned in sorrow. "Talk to me," he implored.

She stroked one of the glass petals and shifted against the hard concrete wall. "I mean, I guess I can't say that we're friends exactly," she started, "we see each other a lot, and I'd like to think that he's my friend but . . ."

Luke slowly moved from his spot on the rail and slid over beside of Jasmine, his necklace moved with him. He then carefully slipped a hand around her shoulder.

She thought briefly about physically telling him no, but instead leaned against his touch. "He did something really stupid," she continued, taking in the lovely smell that was all his own. "Something that could have ruined his life and I'm just, scared I guess."

"It'll be okay," he rubbed along her shoulder soothingly.

"Maybe," she offered in reply. "I saw you earlier," she confessed quiet as a mouse.

"With Janet?" He asked, chuckling to himself. God why did he always have to be so cocky. "That why you're pissed?" Asshole.

The anger rippled right through her then. "It is, actually," she snapped, somewhere between too sad to function and too angry to think clearly. She wriggled free from the man and stood up. "The two of you had your hands all over each other," Jasmine lashed out, narrowing her eyes. "You had that same stupid smile that you gave me when we first met," bringing a hand up to her mouth, she moved back against the railing – the sting of tears threatening as she bumped her ass.