Tension

I was running around the apartment in a mild state of panic, throwing discarded clothing left and right. As always, I was running late for my date that evening and I had no idea what to wear.

The April weather was unpredictable as usual, making it hard to decide if I should go with a thick sweater or just take my coat. Just to make matters worse, I had just managed to spill coffee on the one shirt I had decided to wear. Now I was right back to where I started.

The doorbell rang, signaling an end to my fretting and I quickly threw on the nearest shirt, glancing at the clock. He was early. Damn him. Quickly, I moved into the hallway, throwing the door wide open and put on a smile. It froze on my lips.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

That might not have been the most polite way of greeting someone, but at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less.

“I’m visiting, of course,” said Jamie, smiling at me.

This day was going downhill, fast. I was not in the mood to deal with Ashely’s bastard of a boyfriend.

“Ashely’s not here, she’s at her parents’ house,” I said, preparing to close the door. “I thought she told you.”

“She did,” he answered, still smiling.

“The what are you doing here?” I asked.

“Visiting you, of course. Can I come in?”

“No,” I said, trying to close the door.

Unfortunately, Jamie had predicted this action and had placed his foot in the door-frame. I glared at him.

“Do you mind?” I asked, with ire in my voice.

“Not at all,” he said. “I would love to come in.”

With that, he pulled the door open and stepped inside.

Sighing, I closed the door and narrowed my eyes at him. I had long since given up any pretense of being polite to him. It never seemed to work.

“I don’t really care why you’re here,” I said, “but my date is going to show up in ten minutes. You’d better be gone by then.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Ten minutes?” he asked.

I nodded. He seemed to think this over.

“Ten minutes is a bit short. I think I need some more time, especially with your attitude,” he said airily.

“More time to do what, exactly?” I asked, frustration now evident in my voice.

He leaned against the wall and smiled at me.

“To talk you into bed, of course.”

Hiding my face in my hands, I groaned.

“I don’t have time for this,” I mumbled. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

“Seriously?”

I nodded.

“I’m here to talk you into having sex with me. Do you have any coffee?”

For a second, I was completely dumbfounded. Jamie, of course, used my momentary distraction to walk past me and into the kitchen.

Regaining my wits, I dashed after him.

“I’m not in the mood for any of your games,” I said. “I want you out of here. Now!”

Jamie simply ignored me and put on a pot of coffee.

“Are you listening to me?” I almost screamed. “I don’t want to play your stupid games!”

“Then what do you want to play?” he asked, turning towards me.

“Nothing,” I said. “I want you to leave.”

“No you don’t,” he said dismissively.

I glared at him again. As usual, this didn’t seem to have any effect.

“Since when do you know what I want better then me?” I asked.

“Since now, obviously. You’re still in denial.”

I groaned again and closed my eyes. Having a conversation with Jamie had always been frustrating, but this was like speaking ot a wall.

“I. Do not. Want. To. Sleep. With. You,” I said, emphasising every word.

“Yes, you do.”

Turning away from me, he walked over to the table and sat down, lighting up a cigarette. One of mine cigarettes.

“Hey!” I screeched, “Those are mine!”

He looked over at me, raising one of his eyebrows again. Obviously, he wasn’t about to ask for permission. Sighing, I sat down in the chair opposite of him and snatched away the package.

“Okay,” I said in my most reasonable voice. “Since you seem to know so much, why would I want to sleep with you? You’re obviously not my type.”

He shrugged.

“To get back at Ashley, of course,” he said, as if it was obvious.

I blinked.

“Excuse me?” I said, trying to follow his logic.

“You’re obviously still mad at her because she slept with your boyfriend,” he explained. “So you want to get back at her. What better way to do that then to sleep with me?”

“It wasn’t her fault,” I said, shaking my head. “She didn’t know.”

“But you’re still angry with her.”

I shook my head again.

“That would be completely unreasonable,” I said. “She didn’t know who he was. It wasn’t her fault.”

He shrugged again.

“I didn’t say it was logical,” he stated. “But just because it isn’t reasonable, doesn't change the fact that it’s true.”

“Even if I was angry with her, sleeping with you would be much worse,” I said. “I know that you’re her boyfriend.”

His smile alone could have lit up the entire room.

“But that’s the beauty of it,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “Technically, I’m not really her boyfriend. I’m allowed to sleep with other people. So technically, you wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.”

“Just like she didn’t do anything wrong when she slept with Liam,” I mused, finally grasping his logic.

The plan did have it’s merits. Deep down, I knew that the reason for the awkwardness between me and Ashley was that I was angry with her. No matter how illogical or unreasonable it was, part of me felt like she should have known. That she had betrayed me somehow by not knowing.

Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts away.

“You’re forgetting one thing though,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Even if you’re not technically her boyfriend, I know that she likes you. And sleeping with someone she likes is against the rules of friendship.”

“There are rules?” he asked, sounding amused.

I nodded.

“Of course there are. I’m not surprised you haven’t heard anything about those though, “ I added tartly, a wry smile creeping onto my face.

Jamie didn’t seem to notice. He was staring intensely at me.

“What?” I asked, feeling bothered by his gaze.

“You’re forgetting one thing as well,” he said slowly.

“And what’s that?”

Smirking, he leaned forward even more. His voice dropped to just above a whisper.

“Even if I’m not your type, you’re still attracted to me,” he said.

My mind reeled. How the hell did he know that? I had never said or done anything that might have indicated that. Trust the bastard who never listened to anyone, to be good at reading people. That was irony for you.

“That’s not true,” I croaked, wincing at the sound of my voice.

That had not been a very convincing lie.

“Yes, it is,” he answered, his smirk growing wider.

Before I could muster anymore denials, he had reached across the table and taken my face in his hand. His thumb traced small circles on my cheek and for a moment, I was completely mesmerised. Trying to shake the feeling, I reached up to push his hand away. Instead, all I managed was to take a loose grip around his wrist, holding his hand firmly in place.

“It isn’t... I mean,” I began.

I never did find out how that sentence was supposed to end. In an attempt to silence me, Jamie leaned across the table and placed his lips firmly on mine.

I really wanted to push him away, but for some reason, that message didn’t seem to get trough to my body. Instead, my lips opened up under his, inviting him to move ahead. For a few, fleeting moments, all thoughts abandoned my head as I sat there, feeling his lips move over mine, his tongue slowly tracing the outline of my mouth. It was complete bliss.

And then the doorbell rang.

Jamie pulled away, now wearing a grin like the proverbial cat, just after getting the canary. I quickly stood up and prided myself on being able to do so, despite my knees having turned to jelly.

“That’s my date,” I said, with a voice so normal it surprised me.

“Are you going to answer it?” he asked, sounding like he couldn’t care less.

I nodded.

“Stay here,” I ordered, walking towards the kitchen door. “And don’t you dare move.”

He gave me a lazy salute.

Checking myself in the mirror, I noted with relief that I looked completely normal. No sign of just snogging my best friend’s boyfriend remained. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

“Hello,” David said, smiling at me. “Are you ready to go?”

“I can’t,” I said, frantically trying to come up with a plausible explanation. “Something’s come up.”

His smile died.

“Did something happen?” he asked, sounding worried.

Mentally cursing myself, I tried to smile at him.

“No, nothing serious,” I said. “I just... This isn’t really a good time,” I finished lamely.

He nodded, not seeming convinced, but being too much of a gentleman to press the issue.

“I’ll call you,” I said meekly.

“Yeah, you do that,” he said, turning around. “No worries.”

Closing the door and leaning against it, a let out a deep sigh.

“’Something’s come up’?” Jamie said mockingly behind me.

I took another deep breath and turned around.

“I don’t think the truth would have gone over quite as well,” I said in an attempt to defend myself.

“Maybe not,” Jamie said, shrugging.

Suddenly, I felt nervous. Sending away my date meant that I had, in a roundabout way, agreed to Jame’s proposition. But what was I supposed to do now? Back in the kitchen, for that one fleeting moment when he kissed me, everything had seemed so clear. Now, the doubts were beginning to resurface.

Jamie seemed to pick up on my hesitation, however. With a few quick strides, he had me pinned to the door, looming over me and smirking again.

“You’re hiding,” he said.

“What do you mean ‘hiding’?” I asked, squirming under his gaze. “I’m standing right here.”

He smiled and tapped my temple with his finger.

“You’re hiding in here,” he said. “Running away and hiding yourself, like you always do when you get nervous. You get introverted and polite.”

“And you know this how?” I asked, my interested piqued.

“Because I watch you,” he said, trailing his fingers down to my chin and cupping it. “I watch you trying to be polite, trying to play be the rules, and I watch you come closer and closer to breaking.”

“And what happens then?”

His smile grew wider.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m dying to find out.”

Looking him in the eyes, all thoughts abandoned me again. All I was left with was the knowledge that here was someone who understood me, someone who actually got me. And right then, I wanted him more then I had ever wanted anything in my life.

I don’t know who made the first move, but suddenly we were kissing again. Not in the mild, almost careful way we had earlier. No, these kisses were intense and demanding. The door was pressing against my back and I was grateful for the support it gave me. Without that, and my death-grip on Jamie’s shoulders, I probably would have fallen over.

The kisses grew even more fevered and I could feel Jamie’s hands working on the buttons of my shirt.

“This really isn’t the best idea,” I mumbled, proud of my ability to form a complete sentence, while his mouth was doing some positively wonderful things to my neck.

“And why is that?” he asked, drawing back a bit and looking at me.

His eyes were almost black and I couldn’t see were his pupils stopped and the iris began. He didn’t look as collected and in control anymore. Whatever he might have known about the sexual tension between us, I don’t think he was prepared for this.

Collecting my thoughts again, I answered him.

“Because the floor is going to be very uncomfortable and my bed is only a few meters away.”

His answering grin was positively feral.

Stumbling into my bedroom, we were quickly trying to free each other from the layers of clothing. Frantically trying to unbutton his shirt, I realised that there was one thing left to be said. One thing my pride wouldn't let me omit.

“Don’t think I’m doing this because I like you,” I said, finishing with the last button and almost tearing the shirt in my attempts to get it off.

“The thought never even crossed my mind,” he responded, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter.

After that, there wasn’t really anything left to be said.

----I----

I slowly stretched out on the bed and winced when my muscles protested. Well. Jamie might be the biggest bastard to walk the planet, but he more then made up for it in bed. To say that the sex had been great would be an understatement.

Speaking of Jamie, he had already bolted from the room. After catching his breath for a few minutes, he had mumbled something about coffee and left. Presumably for the kitchen.

Moving slowly, as to not cause any undue pain to my aching body, I pulled on my robe and left the room as well. Coffee seemed like a nice idea.

Entering the kitchen, I found Jamie seated at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him and a cigarette in his hand. Right now, I felt good enough to even forgive his habit of stealing my smokes.

Pouring myself a cup as well, I seated myself across from him at the table. Jamie was staring out the window, not showing any sign of having noticed my entrance.

“So...” I began, not really sure of what to say.

Jamie winced. I looked over at him curiously.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “I’m just not very good at this. The emotional after-talk.”

“’Emotional after-talk’?” I repeated, feeling stupid.

He looked pained.

“You know, that part after sex when females tend to want to talk about what happens now,” he said, still not looking at me. “When you get all clingy.

Realisation dawned.

“Wait, do you think I’m suddenly going to declare my love for you, just because we had sex?” I asked.

“Er...” he said, shooting a glance over at me and looking guilty.

“That’s why you’re so shifty,” I said.

“Well, maybe,” he said, shifting a bit in his seat.

I sighed.

“Don’t get me wrong, the sex was great,” I said. “But I still think you’re a bastard, and this will never happen again. Understand?”

Jamie finally looked at me, now with a ghost of a smile at his lips.

“Never again?” he asked.

“No,” I stated. “Never again. I mean, half the reason I slept with you was so that we could get it out of the way. Now we’ve done it, and can go on to just dislike each other, without the sexual tension. And we won’t tell Ashley,” I added, as an afterthought.

Jamie laughed. A loud, barking laugh that completely took me by surprise. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“You know what?” he said, after calming down. “I think I like you.”

AN: And that’s the fourth chapter. Hopefully, more will be added soon. I just need to get out of this no-writing phase I’m in.

Thank you to IsabellaCat for rewieving. It always means a lot.