| Taylor rolled over and tightened his grip on Jamie, terrified that she would wake before him, panic and take off. He smiled slightly when she settled herself closer to him, and sighed softly in her sleep. He stroked her hair back off her face, as he looked up at the clock. He realized she'd be awake soon, no matter what her condition when she fell asleep the night before. He laid his head back down next to hers and toyed with the ends of her hair, knowing that when she woke, it would be back to the carefully constructed, tough-girl act she was constantly playing. He slowly drifted to sleep again, the silky ends of her hair twisted around his finger tips. Jade woke suddenly, with a start. She shot straight up from the couch and instantly regretted it. "Oh my GOD." she groaned, rubbing the kinks out of her neck. Her entire body began to ache from the position she'd been sleeping in and she stumbled groggily into the kitchen for a glass of water and some heavy-duty aspirin. She made herself some coffee then, and looked through her cupboards to find something that looked remotely appetizing. "Why bother?" she muttered to herself and slammed the cabinet shut. her stomach was in knots and her mind was a running drone of, "you shouldn't this or you SHOULD do that's.." She wearily made her way into the bathroom, took a long, hot shower and tried to think about what she was going to do now. She definately didn't want to see Josh and Ike at odds because of her, but she also knew that she would never be happy with Josh. She was in love with Isaac. For the ten millionth time that week, she wished she'd met Ike first. Jamie striied slightly in her sleep, instinctively reaching for Taylor. The fact that she'd done that registered when he rolled toward her, and threw his arm over her waist, pulling her close. Jamie began to tremble, unconsciously, as her fingers dug into the flesh of Taylor's bare back. "Jame?" he asked, as he slowly opened his eyes. "What's wrong baby?" Jamie only looked at Taylor with big, amber eyes, full of fear. Taylor inwardly groaned, here we go..he thought. "Jame? Talk to me? Do you need something? Are you gonna get sick?" he asked, knowing full well that was NOT the problem. Jamie shook her head slightly as taylor stroked her hair back again. "No..no.." she said, her voice rough. "I have a slight headache is all. I'm fine, Tay.." she let her sentence trail off as she began to drown in the clear blue of his eyes, her mind searching desperately for the life preserver she felt she needed. "You sure? I can get you something?" Taylor offered, still wanting to move carefully, not wanting to risk her taking off, or having her kick him out because he'd scared her half to death AGAIN. "No thank you Tay." she said, "I am okay...really." "Kay.." he murmured, his eyes travelling over her sweet, unguarded expression. He could not resist stroking her cheek wih the back of his hand. Jamie swallowed hard over he grapefruit-sized lump in her throat and closed her eyes. "Are you hungry?" he asked her, deciding that he better NOT bring up any subject dealing with the night before, she looked like she was either going to jump out of her skin, or fall completely apart. "Tay...I'm...I'm..." she stuttered slightly as she looked up into his eyes, his flushed cheeks framed by his shaggy, sleep-tangled blonde locks. "What baby?" he asked softly. Jamie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am sorry I took my evil mood out on you, Taylor. I promise not to drink so much tonight." she told him, and he silently cheered. "It's alright, Jame. I..." he started to add his own apology, but she held her hand up. "That's all I can handle right now, okay?" she swallowed over what had become a boulder in her throat, and caressed his cheek. "A shower. I need a shower and some FOOD dammit." she groaned and her expression became less child-like. "Okay, Jame." Taylor replied and gave her a light squeeze. He sighed heavily and helped her up from the futon, knowing that her guard was fully back in place. He wondered what it would take to finally break that wall down for good. |
| The night seemed to be progressing at a relaxed and normal pace. Jade stood next to Isaac, alternating between watching the band and stealing glances at him. He was being very helpful with the soundboard, considering that she was not as on top of things as she usually was. She figured it was because he was standing here, next to her, and she could NOT get what happened between them the night before out of her head. She wanted him to put his arms around her, wanted to feel his lips on hers like that again, feel his body pressed against hers. She shook her head hard and returned her attention the the board in front of her. "Jade? What's wrong?" Ike asked, noticing her shake her head. "Nothing Isaac." she hollered above the sound of Jamie, pounding out a hard fast drum solo. "You sure?" he yelled back. Jade nodded her head, then when Jamie's solo was finished she spoke again. "I'm still out of it from LAST night. I never drink like that.." she grinned. "Kay.." he smiled back and laid his hand over hers. He couldn't stop thinking about the night before either. He wanted to pull her into his arms right that moment and kiss her. He wanted her to let him take her home again, make sure she got there safe and sound, then tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. He wanted to make love to her, spend the night in her arms, but he would wait for her, until she was ready. All he could make himself do, was hope with all of him that Josh screwed up SOON. Taylor watched in amazement as Jamie poured everything she had into the music, her hair pasted to her forehead with sweat. The muscles in her arms were defined with the effort she was putting into playing, and her skin glistened in the dim, smoky light of the bar. The day had gone fairly normally, Jamie returning, to some degree, her normal, fun-loving self. They'd showered and taken a ride on her bike, grabbed some food then wound up in the apartment, spending the rest of the afternoon and late evening in bed. Taylor's pants became increasingly crowded as his thoughts took him back to the afternoon. He could be so happy if he could just keep her in bed with him, or sleeping next to him. He'd spent his waking hours that day, on the back of Jamie's bike as she drove, trying to figure out how to get her to look at him the way she did when she was slowly waking up, or just about to fall asleep. The way she looked at him when she was too tired to put the wall up between them. He did notice that she was keeping her promise, not drinking like she had the night before, but it seemed she was trying hard to work through something as she played those drums. |