Fairy Tale 15 to 18
by: Belle
Hi Angels and Fellow J&B Fans!
All I can say is that I'm not giving up hope. The way I see it is that a S&B reunion was inevitable. After a year and a half the S&Believers deserve something, and that's what they're getting now. If VM decides to stay than she and Sonny will split and the S&B fans will feel like they got something before MB left. J&B will prevail. This is just a bump in their relationship. Despite everything they are still my favorite couple so I am continuing my story. Even if VM does leave, I will still write what I think Jax and Brenda's story should have been. If anyone wants to join me on my plight to hold out for J&B e-mail me. Thanks. :-)
- Belle
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"Ruby, I'm going out of town for at least five days so don't worry when I'm not here." Brenda poured herself a cup of coffee and looked around the busy diner to make sure that Sonny and Lily were there having breakfast. They were. Smiling excitedly she announced as loudly as she could without actually shouting, "I won't be here because my new friend Jax is taking me to Paradise Island for a romantic weeklong get-away. Isn't that generous of him?"
Ruby shook her head at Brenda. "Yes that sounds wonderful sweetie, but I just hope that you aren't going on this trip for the wrong reasons. Sonny *is* a married man now, and regardless of what his feelings for you may be - I can tell that he intends to keep hiss committment to Lily. Besides - maybe you'll find romance with this Jax guy."
Just as Brenda was about to clarify her situation with Sonny and explain to Ruby that Jax was strictly "her friend", she was distracted by a strong pair of arms wrapping themselves around her waist, and a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Morning sweetie." Jax said brightly. "Are you ready for our trip?" Jax's presence startled Brenda and she nearly dropped her cup of coffee when she saw him. He seated himself at the counter and draped his arm comfortably around her shoulders.
"Can I get you anything?" Ruby asked Jax.
"I'll just have a cup of coffee." Jax replied.
"Jax - this is Ruby Anderson. My land lady and surrogate grandmother. Ruby, this is Jax, my new friend and....business partner." Brenda giggled as she said this and Jax smiled devishly at her.
"Pleased to meet you Ruby." Jax stuck his hand out and grinned at Ruby. "I don't want you to worry at all about Brenda. I promise you that I'll take excellent care of her. She'll come home rested and tan and more beautiful than ever...." Jax leaned over and caressed Brenda's cheek with his thumb. Tweaking a strand of her hair, he murmered, "if that's possible."
Brenda flushed and looked down at her hands. Ruby looked at the two of them curiously. "Yes, Brenda is a very beautiful girl." Ruby agreed. "Now when does your plane leave?"
Jax checked his watch - "wow! We should really get going. Ruby - could you get me that coffee to go?" Ruby nodded and scurried into the kitchen. Brenda and Jax moved away from the counter, and stood so that they were facing Sonny and Lily's table.
"So....how am I doing?" Jax whispered in her ear. "Is my acting ability up to your highnesses' expectations?" His breath tickled her ear and neck and sent little shivers up her spine.
Brenda began to giggle and she reached down to get her bag. Standing up she wrapped her arms around Jax's neck and whispered back coyly - "Well, you know - your kiss on my cheek wasn't really what I had in mind when I mentioned quick but passionate. It was kind of dis-"
Brenda wasn't able to finish her flirtation because Jax pulled her towards him and kissed her passionately on the mouth. For a second Brenda squirmed in surprise, but almost instantly she melted in Jax's arms and weaved her fingers through Jax's hair as their kiss grew in intensity.
Ruby returned with Jax's coffee and held back a smile at the passionate display in front of her. Across the counter she could see Sonny glaring at Jax and Brenda and it suddenly dawned on her that Brenda was definitely up to something. She just hoped that Brenda didn't get so caught up in getting Sonny back that she missed something right in front of her face. JAX. When they finally broke apart, Ruby had to laugh at the startled and dazed expression on Brenda's face. Jax grinned confidently at Brenda and said huskily, "Better?"
Brenda straightened her hair and tried to pull herself together. Shrugging and trying to appear indifferent, she retaliated - "Hmmm...a little." She shot a look at Sonny to make sure he was watching her. He was. In fact he looked like he was about to kill someone. Her plan was working perfectly and Jax was a blast. In fact, up until this very moment she had almost forgotten that Sonny had anything to do with her and Jax. This made her kind of nervous.
"A little?" Jax humored her. "Are your sure it was only a little better?"
"That's what I said isn't it?" Brenda laughed. "We'll have to work on it."
"Practice makes perfect." Jax grinned - "Okay 'darling', let me get my coffee and then we really have to go." Jax grabbed his coffee from Ruby and he noticed Sonny shooting daggers at him. Brenda went over to Ruby to say goodbye and Jax smiled at Sonny as he took Brenda's hand and they left the diner. Once they were outside Brenda began to dance around and laugh. "Jax - that was perfect! Did you see the look on Sonny's face! Oh - I love you, I love you, I love you....." Brenda hugged Jax and kissed his cheek repeatedly.
Jax pulled away, and led her into the limo. "I think I get your point. Yes, it did seem like things went awfully well. Now - let's get going."
"I usually fly my own planes, but I thought that we could take this flight as opportunity for you to tell me all about yourself." Jax sat down next to Brenda on the large plush couch in the back of his plane. The main cabin of the plane was a large room decorated modernly in black, grey and white. A glass coffee table was across from the couch and breakfast that Jax had ordered for he and Brenda had been laid on the table. He poured himself some coffee and sat against the arm of the couch so that he and Brenda were facing each other.
"Well...." Brenda said. "What is it exactly that you want to know?" She removed a muffin from the basket and began to bite it carefully.
"Everything." Jax replied calmly.
"Everything!?" Brenda laughed. "Jax - the flight is only three hours. I can't possibly tell you *everything* about my life."
"Okay - so not everything. Just the important things. Your dreams and fears. What makes you happy, what makes you sad. Whether or not you had a happy childhood - where you went to school. I want to get to know you and I'm prepared to dedicate a large amount of time in doing this. "
Brenda stared at him amazed. She loved hearing him talk. There was something about his voice that just made her melt inside. She tilted her head and looked at him curiously, "Do you really mean that? You are truly interested in knowing me - in understanding me."
"Definitely." Jax nodded his head. She looked so adorable at this moment. Nibbling on her muffin and looking shocked that he wanted to know her. For a second all the toughness was gone - she was a vulnerable little girl.
"But why?" Brenda asked. She looked wondrously up into his face. "I mean - no man has ever wanted that before. Too understand my dreams and soul."
Leaning forward, Jax cupped her face in his hands. Looking directly into her eyes Jax whispered. "Brenda - from the moment I met you I've known somehow that we are meant to be great friends. To me, friendship is the most important part of life. Forget business and deals, I want to know you Brenda because I care about you. Now you have to believe me because I never lie. You're special Brenda - hasn't anyone ever told you that before?"
Brenda's dark eyes filled with tears and she pulled away brushing her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're amazing." she stated, smiling. Pulling herself together, she tucked her legs underneath her and laughed. "We are going to be great friends Jax. And I want to know everything about you too. So......here goes. My father was a wealthy businessman, and my mother died when I was little. I spent a lot of time alone when I was growing up. My sister Julia, she was my father's favorite, was always the center of attention because she was so smart and the perfect good girl." Brenda started laughing, "I was the little hellion."
Jax laughed also. "I bet you were." He agreed. "So - were you happy?"
"What do you mean was I happy?" Brenda asked.
"As a child." Jax stated. "Did you have a happy childhood? Because when you talk about being little you sound really sad."
"You're right. I wasn't very happy when I was little. My father was really horrible to me. You know - he hated my mother because she was impulsive and loud and headstrong."
Jax smiled. "It sounds like you were a lot like her. Go on....."
"So because he hated my mother, he hated me also. As soon as my mother died, he sent me to boarding school in Switzerland. I hated it. All the girls were mean to me because I just couldn't fit in, and I made it my goal to get kicked out of school after school." Brenda shook her head and looked up at Jax. "I thought that was the only way I could get attention from my father. By being the "bad seed." Anyway - nothing I did ever changed anything. He hated me. Julia was perfect. The angel. It is really sad because all I wanted was for him to love me. And then, once I realized that he never would, all I did was dream of being rescued and taken away. I pretended that I was a princess locked in a tower. I wanted freedom. Once I told my father that I wanted to swim with the dolphins because they seemed so happy and free. You know what he did? He told my nanny to never take me to an aquarium or beach." While she was speaking, Brenda was playing with the silver ring on her thumb, but as she told this final horror, she looked up at Jax surprised. "Wow -- I can't believe I told you all of that."
Jax smiled an understandingly and shook his head. "It always amazes me how horrible people can be to children." He reached out and took her small hand, "You are very brave Brenda. What's more - you rescued yourself. You didn't need a prince charming, and that's a very impressive thing. Look at you now. You're successful and independent. You should be proud of yourself."
Brenda's eyes shined with admiration. She had never met anyone like Jax. "So - what about you? Do you have a happy family?"
"Do I have a happy family? Yes. I have a wonderful family. Sure, we have petty arguments and spats about who's buying out who etc. but overall there's a lot of love. In fact - you remind me a lot of my Mum. She would really like you. You have her fire and spark. Someday I'll take you to meet them." He laughed. "Jerry would probably like you too. For other reasons of course." He looked her up and down and nodded his head. "You Brenda Barrett are certainly very beautiful and I'm very happy that we're going to be friends."
So am I, Brenda thought to herself. So am I.
The hot sun warmed every inch of Brenda's body as she layed out on the lounge chair next to the main pool of the exquisite Atlantis Resort. Opening her eyes, she sat up, put on her sun glasses and looked around amazed by how beautiful everything was. Not only did the Atlantis have the second largest casino in the Bahamas, and a world-reknowned spa, the grounds were some form of tropical paradise. Man made rivers, canals, lakes and caverns containing dolphins, sharks, whales and fish wove throughout the connecting buildings. There were glass tunnels and water slides. In all her years of traveling Brenda had never been to a hotel or resort as beautiful as this one. And wouldn't it figure that Jax was the person who had taken her here.
Eventhough she had known him for only a mere two days, Brenda felt asthough they had been friends their entire lives. There was a connection between the two of them that both thrilled and scared Brenda to death. Already she trusted him more than she had ever trusted any other man. He seemed to understand her, and more importantly, he wanted to understand and know her. "He probably knows more about me from one plane ride than Sonny knew after the first year of our relationship." she mused to herself. Sonny....she hadn't thought about him at all today which was peculiar since he was the purpose of her going away with Jax. But then she had been having too much fun to even consider thinking about her problems or frustrations with Sonny.
She and Jax had arrived at the Nassau airport around 11 am where they were met by staff from the Atlantis who had picked up Jax's rental car for them. And what a rental car it was! A silver Bentley convertible with creme leather interior. This car was so luxurious than only 81 had ever been purchased. It turned out that Jax had spent a lot of time in the Bahamas on business, so after he had given her a brief tour of the islands, they arrived at the Atlantis. All the staff had made a huge fuss over them, begging them to make use of all the resort's facilities and to ring them if they desired anything. Finally they were shown to their suite, on the very top floor. Actually their suite was the top floor. It was modern and spacious, with a kitchen, two master bedrooms, a dining area, sun porch, hot tub and large living room. Jax had told Brenda she could which bedroom she wanted, and she had chosen the pastel lavender and pink room leaving Jax with the more masculine, blue and green room. Jax had laughed at this and said she was "old fashioned." To prove to him that she wasn't, Brenda had moved her stuff into Jax's modern black and white bathroom forcing him to use her bathroom which was decorated with pink and white flowers. He had just rolled his eyes, laughed and agreed. Once they had unpacked and changed into summer clothes. Jax had ordered lunch which they ate a relaxing lunch and then Jax dismissed himself explaining that he had to go to a quick business meeting, but that he would meet her by the pool as soon as it was over. He had mentioned that she should get some rest since he had an exciting evening planned, but no matter how much she begged him to divulge his plans, he kept his mouth shut. Brenda had found this incredibly frustrating but also exciting. What in the world was she going to wear? She thought about which dresses and outfits she had packed, but nothing came to her mind as being "perfect." In fact, it seemed to her that there was only one solution to her problem and that was going shopping. She checked her watch. It was already 3:45 p.m. which meant that Jax would probably be out of his meeting in the next hour. "I'll just have to go right now." she thought. Stretching her legs and arms, she got up from the louge chair and began to gather her things together. She was pulling her shorts out of her woven backpack when her eyes were suddenly covered by a pair of hands.
"I hope you aren't trying to escape." Jax teased. Brenda whirled around and faced Jax laughing and dropping her bag. He pulled the shorts out of her hand and shook a finger at her. "Uh..uh...uh....I don't think you'll be needing these seeing that 1. you look perfect just the way you are (he gestured to her light purple bikini) and 2. it's generally the men that wear shorts when swimming."
Brenda opened her mouth to retaliate but for a moment all she could do was look at him. He had changed out of his business suit and was wearing a black Tommy Hilfiger bathing suit and armani sunglasses. The black bathing suit and sunglasses showed off his tan, blond hair and athletic body. He was beautiful. "Well, since I'm not swimming at the moment, I don't think shorts are inappropriate in the least. Besides - I've always thought these were quite cute." She held up her white shorts and pouted. "You don't like them?"
Jax laughed at her game. "They are cute - and I do like them. But I think you are going swimming - with me. Come on." He reached out for her hand but she backed away shaking her head.
"No Jax. I don't want to get wet right now. I want to go shopping to find the perfect outfit for tonight."
"Shopping!" Jax gazed at her in shock. "Right now? On this beautiful afternoon. I don't think so. *We* are going swimming."
Brenda stared at him defiantely. As much as she wanted to go shopping, the thought of playing in the water with Jax definitely had it's appeal. But she didn't want him to know quite yet that she was breaking down. "I am going shopping." She announced reaching for her bag, but before she was able to, Jax had swooped her into his arms and started running towards the beach. They made quite the picture. Jax, tall and gorgeous running and laughing with beautiful, dark haired Brenda shrieking and flailing her slender legs and arms in the air. When Jax reached the ocean, he waded in up to his calves, and then he positioned Brenda so that he was cradling her in his arms. Counting, he began to rock her back and forth preparing to toss her in.
"JAX! NO!!!!" Brenda screamed. She was shaking her head and laughing. "Please....you don't want to toss me in because then I'll be angry. And I am very scary when I'm angry."
Her pleading only made Jax laugh harder and for a moment he stopped rocking and looked at her seriously. "Somehow sweetie, I don't think you could ever be scary."
"Try me." Brenda countered.
"Is that a dare?" Jax asked.
"Yes."
Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, Jax threw her into the water and dunked himself in. He had only just emerged when he felt a pounding on his back and heard Brenda's happy squeals.
"I'm going to get you back Jasper Jacks." she swore, smoothing her wet hair away from her face and wiping water out of her eyes. Droplets of water ran down her cheeks and glistened on her mouth and eyelashes. Jax had never seen her look more beautiful.
"Don't call me Jasper." he warned.
" Jasper, Jasper , Jasper...." Brenda sang dancing around him in circles and laughing. She felt like she was a child again, only she couldn't remember having this much fun when she was little. Continuing her annoying song Brenda began to splash water in Jax's direction smiling sexily at him.
Jax just watched her singing and dancing. She had to be stopped. He started splashing her back and soon a war had broken out. He finally lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her and covering her hands with his, immobilizing her splashing abilities. Her body felt warm and smooth against him, and suddenly Jax had the urge to kiss her, but he stopped himself. The deal was that he help her get Sonny, and he couldn't go back on his promise. "Let's call a truce." he whispered in her ear.
Brenda whirled around and grinned triumphantly at him. "Mr. Jacks - are you surrendering?"
"No! I never surrender. It's just that it's getting late, and I thought that you might want to go on that little shopping trip you had mentioned earlier." He looked at her sincerely, but Brenda wasn't going to give in yet.
"Excuses, excuses, excuses. Okay Jax. I'll agree to a truce, but inside I know that I won." She laughed and stuck out her hand. Jax shook it and then reached down to squatted down, pulling her arms around his neck.
"What are you doing?" Brenda asked giggling.
"Your carriage awaits, my lady." Jax responded. "What does it look like I'm doing - I'm going to give you a piggy backride to the room so you can change."
Brenda smiled happily. She'd never met a corporate raider who didn't mind carrying someone on his back through hotel lobbies, but then she'd also never met anyone else like Jax. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy and at peace.
"Jax? Would you mind helping me zip up this dress?" Brenda called walking out of her room into den. It was six-thirty and she and Jax were getting ready to go out for his "surprise." After they had gotten back from the beach, he had taken her to the shops in the lobby and instructed her to buy whatever her heart desired. He had advized that she find something that had a jacket or sweater in case it got chilly and that she might want to purchase a new bathing suit. It was the bathing suit part that was throwing her off track. Finally, after much thought and turmoil, Brenda had decided on a form fitting Valentino lavender tank dress with a matching cardigan sweater. She had also purchased Prada creme sandals and a creme hair clip to pull her hair up with. At the DKNY boutique she found a creme bikini that had a sheath cover-up to wear over it. Brenda had ran like a mad woman through the stores, dragging Jax along with her. "She's a woman on a mission." Jax had jokingly told one of the sales girls. Overall, they were done shopping in under 45 minutes. They returned to their room and Jax had practically pushed Brenda into her bathroom telling her that she had to be ready by 6:45 under penalty of death. Brenda had jumped in the shower, put on her make-up, pulled her hair into a messy french twist and put her dress on. Now she was all ready except her dress needed to be zippered. Hopefully Jax would help her with that.
"I'll be out in a second Bren." Jax yelled back from his room. A moment later he walked into the den busily buttoning his creme button-down shirt. He whistled when he saw her and she laughed, instructing him to "be a doll" and help her with her dress. He quickly zippered the back and turned her around so that they were facing eachother.
"If I had had any idea how truly beautiful you were going to look in this dress, I would have bought you one in every color." Jax said. He arched one eyebrow, and took her hand kissing it tenderly. He whispered huskily. "You are a vision."
Brenda flushed and withdrew her hand. Tingles ran up and down her spine from his touch and she tried to mask her embarrassment with laughter. "So are you." Jax looked incredible. He was dressed in black slacks and a creme button-down shirt with a perry ellis tie that matched her dress. It was a design of lavender, black and creme. His blue eyes sparkled and quite truthfully the very sight of him took Brenda's breath away. Taking a deep breath she announced proudly. "It's 6:42. We're three minutes ahead of schedule."
"Are you hinting that you're ready to leave?" Jax teased, picking up his black suit jacket off the white couch.
"Where are we going?" Brenda asked eagerly.
"Not yet......" Jax said. "You'll have to wait until we get there."
"Oh alright." Brenda sighed frowning. She tried to appear angry, but she was so excited that she couldn't keep a small grin from showing. He reached for her hand and it slipped into his so naturally that it wasn't until they were in the elevator that Brenda realized that they were holding hands and Sonny was thousands of miles away. However, it felt too good and Brenda was too excited to worry about anything or try to stop it.
Thirty minutes later, Jax pulled the car up beside the Paradise Island Yaucht Club. Brenda jumped out of the car and ran to the docks staring wide-eyed at the impressive boats. Not saying a word, Jax took her hand and led her down the dock to the largest boat. It was black and four stories high. The modern architecture included balconies and a lighted pool that could be seen through the glass fourth deck. The crew scurried up and down the stairs shouting orders. Jax laughed at the expession on Brenda's face, and grinned. "You like it?"
"Like it?" Brenda echoed. "I love it! It's amazing. Who's is it?"
"Mine." Jax answered easily. "Come on." he pulled her towards the ramp up to the boat, but she wouldn't budge. "Brenda - what's the matter?"
"Where are we going?" she tilted her head and looked at him curiously.
Jax didn't say anything for a moment, and then he gave her a lopsided smile and answered, "to paradise."
Brenda laughed and followed him. He didn't hear her murmer. "Paradise? I think I'm already there."