Fairy Tale-18 to 27
by: Belle
Hi Angels!
Well, today was certainly a sad day in J&B land. But, I have to say that their scenes only made me want J&B together more than ever. So - Katie (K8e82) and I are starting the J&B Reuniters. I still have hope. If VM stays than someday (after Brenda has done some *serious* groveling) we will have our J&B back! Anyway, regardless of what happens, I'm going to continue my story. Here's another installment of Fairytale. Hope you enjoy it. :-)
- Belle
IRFC
J&B Angels
J&B Reuniters (If you want to join, e-mail me of K8e82) :-)
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It's night and Jax and Brenda are sitting at a small table eating a candlelight dinner. An elaborate meal of broiled salmon with a variety of vegetables and salads is spread across the elegantly decorated table. They are both sipping champagne and looking at the ocean as the yacht floats along. Brenda reaches across the table and rests her hand on top of Jax's.
"This was a wonderful surprise. Thank you so much for bringing me here." Brenda gets up from the table and walks to the railing, staring out at the sunset glistening on the ocean.
Jax looks at her apprehensively. "Are you sure you're having a good time? I wanted everything to be perfect." He looks kind of bashful saying this which is unbelievably adorable. Brenda turns away from the rail and smiles at him.
"A good time?" she asked wonderously. "Jax, just look around you. The sunset, the ocean, the meal, the company - this has been one of the most amazing days of my entire life. I don't know what I ever did to deserve all this, but I'm enjoying every moment of it." Brenda bites her bottom lip and looks at him hesitantly. "What about you? Are you having fun?"
"It's one of my best days too." Jax smiled and got up to join her next to the rail. He shook his head. "It's funny. I've done things like this millions of times, but somehow you make it special. I feel like I've known you forever, and it's only been what? - two days."
"And we still have four more days in the Bahamas." Brenda reminded him.
Jax pretended to have a heart attack. "My god - I'm not sure I'll be able to survive four more days."
"Hey!" Brenda hit him jokingly on the stomach. "Don't be mean."
He grabbed her hand and began to tickle her, causing her to giggle and squirm away. "So..." she said, fixing her hair and dress. "What should we do next?"
"That's a surprise." Jax informed her. He looked out at the water. "Actually, the surprise might almost be ready."
"The surprise?" Brenda looked at him surprised. "But I thought all this was the surprise."
"Oh it was. But - there's still one more surprise left. I saved the best for last. Come on." He reached for her hand to lead her downstairs, but she just stood there.
"Wait." Brenda moved closer to him and reached up, brushing his cheek with her hand. "You're amazing. Do you know that? You turn everything into magic." They both stand frozen staring into one another's eyes. Jax takes Brenda's hand away from his cheek and turns it over, kissing her palm. She leans forward, and begins to cautiously kiss him. He hungrily kisses her trembling lips, and he lifts her off the ground as their kiss intensifies. Shivers run up and down Brenda's spine and she feels a warmth come over her entire body. She had never been kissed like this before. With Sonny their had always been passion and sparks, but this was almost like two souls touching. It was gentle yet passionate. Relaxing but intense. It took her breath away. But she shouldn't be doing this - they had a deal. It took all of Brenda's strength to pull away, but eventually she did.
"I.....we.......I.......oh no." Brenda flushed and stuttered. Jax just looked at her grinning and laughing at how flustered she was. Their kiss had taken him by surprise also, but Brenda was completely startled. "Jaaaxxx.......what are we doing?"
"Do I really have to explain that? I thought it was pretty self-explanatory. At least I hope it was or I obviously have a problem." Jax teased.
"You definitely *don't* have a problem." Brenda assured him. "I do. Jax - we made a deal. And I just don't want to complicate things. Kissing.....it will just confuse us." She looked at him apologetically.
"Okay." Jax answered easily. Brenda couldn't help being disappointed at how unbothered he seemed by her calling it quits to their kissing. A small pout formed on her beautiful face which made Jax laugh. "What?" he asked. He took her hand and smiled. "Listen Brenda - I like kissing you. I may even *adore* kissing you, but you are right. We do have an agreement and I don't want to confuse things either. However - don't forget that Sonny is supposed to think we're dating, so I don't think there's any harm in practicing a little kissing." he laughed. "Afterall, you were the one who said we needed to work on it."
Brenda giggled. For some reason she wasn't sure of - she felt much happier now that she knew Jax wanted to kiss her. "Oh that's right! Practice makes perfect. I almost forgot. Well, I think we've just about got it down....but then a little practice never hurt anyone." Jax arched an eyebrow and began to lean towards her, but she put a firm hand on his chest. "Why don't you show me your surprise?"she asked looking excited.
"Okay..." Jax agreed moving away from her."but first - you need to go change into your bathing suit. I'll meet you on the bottom deck in five minutes." He watched Brenda skip away excitedly, doing her little Brenda dance, and sighed to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this happy. A vision of Brenda's face after she kissed him flashed before his eyes, and he laughed to himself and headed towards his room to change into his swimming trunks.
Seven minutes later, Jax and Brenda stood on the bottom deck of the yacht with their bathing suits on. Brenda was pleading Jax to explain why they were in bathing suits at 11 p.m.
"Are we going for a moonlit swim?" she asked.
"Not exactly." Jax answered mysteriously. "Moonlit swims are fun, but they don't warrant a surprise. What makes this so special is *who* we're swimming with."
Brenda flushed. "Jax - now that's really romantic, but I just explained the whole being friends thing."
Jax pretended to be offended. "Oh. BRENDA! I wasn't talking about you and I swimming. I was talking about - "
"Oh my god look!" Jax was interrupted by Brenda's scream and she dragged him to the railing. "JAX! Are those dolphins over there?"
She was jumping up and down, and since she was still holding on to his arm, he was slightly jumping also. "Those are dolphins!" Brenda yelled. "I can't believe they're here."
"Right on schedule." Jax said, checking his watch. "We're almost at Dolphin Cove just in time for our moonlit swim."
Brenda was so excited that for a moment she didn't absorb exactly what he was saying. Finally, after a moment, she stopped jumping and looked at him questioningly. "Did you just say that we're going swimming with the dolphins?" Her dark eyes were wide and sparkling.
"That's exactly what I said." Jax confirmed. He pointed at a inlet of rocks about 50 ft. ahead of them. "That inlet is called Dolphin Cove, and I thought we would dock the boat and go for a swim." He smiled. "You can find your freedom there."
Brenda couldn't say anything lest she start to cry. She just hugged Jax tightly and kissed his cheek.
The next scene is accompanied by the Aretha Franklin song "(You Make Me Feel Like A) NATURAL WOMAN"
We see Jax and Brenda playing in the water with the dolphins. Brenda is excited and Jax is laughing and helping her ride the back of one dolphin.
Looking out on the morning rain,
I used to feel so uninspired.
And when I knew I had to face another day.
Lord it made me feel so tired.
Before the day I met you-
Life was so unkind
But you're the key to my peace of mind.
Cause you make me feel-
You make me feel -
You make me feel like a natural woman.
Womannn.....
The scene shifts back to the top deck of the yacht. Jax and Brenda are in shorts and t-shirts slow dancing. Brenda's head is resting on Jax's shoulder and he whispers something in her ear that causes her to burst out laughing and start hitting him playfully. He grabs her hands and starts tickling her. She escapes and begins to run away, Jax chases after her, grabs her, and the whole game starts again.
When my soul was in the lost and found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me -
Till your kiss helped me name it.
Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for,
And if I make you happy I don't need to do more
Cause you make me feel-
You make me feel-
You make me feel like a natural woman.
Womannn...
The scene shifts again, and now Jax and Brenda are sitting on the top of the boat with their feet hanging over the side. They're facing the ocean, and the wind is causing their hair and clothes to blow around. They are deep in coversation and Brenda is talking animatedly while Jax listens. Then Jax starts talking and Brenda is nodding and listening.
Ohhhh....baby what you done to me.
It makes me so good inside.
And I just want to be - close to you,
you make me feel so alive.
Cause you make me feel-
You make me feel-
You make me feel like a Natural Woman
Womannn....
The final scene is of Jax and Brenda sitting on the top helm of the boat. Their arms are around eachother and Brenda's head is leaning on his shoulder.
You make me feel-
You make me feel
You make me feel like a Natural Woman
You make me feel-
You make me feel like a Natural Woman.
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Jax tapped his fingers absentmindedly against the arms of his chair and stared out the large window. Outside the sun was shining and he could hear the happy voices of children playing in the pool. It was 1 p.m. and Jax was seated in a conference room having a business meeting. He was feeling impatient and distracted. By this time, Brenda was probably already enjoying herself at the beach or pool. That is - if she had woken up yet. He had teased her before he left that she was a "typical model sleeping the day away." She had laughed, told him to have fun at his meeting, and then rolled and fallen back asleep. As soon as he got out of this damned meeting, he would go find her and then maybe they could go jet-skiing. The thought of Brenda challenging him to a race on jet-skis made him smile and he completely tuned out the negotiations surrounding him.
"$700,000,000. That's my final offer. I can't go any lower."a dark haired man in his late forties who was seated across the table from Jax announced firmly. William Robertson was CEO of DKNY, a corporation that Jax owned a lot of stock in. The past few months, J&J Jacks had purchased 75% of the companies' stock, and now Jax was looking at purchasing the company entirely. He had flown to the Bahamas to meet with William and his friend and business partner Kieren McKinnon. The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate a final pricetag for the company.
Kieron quiet for a moment. He was seated next to Jax and he ran his hand through his spiky blond hair. "I think that seems fair to me - what do you say Jax?" He turned his pure blue eyes in Jax's direction and looked at him expectantly. Jax made no motion and appeared to be in another world. Kieron was puzzled. This was 100% un-Jax. He was usually alert and on-guard during business negotiations. Today he looked like he was floating through a dream world. "Jaxx......Jax buddy." Kieron waved his left hand in front of Jax's face causing Jax to startle and shake his head.
"What!?" Jax composed himself and laughed. "Sorry - I missed that I must have spaced out for a moment. What were you saying Kier?"
Kieron shot him a strange look, and stated, "Bill offered us the company for seven-hundred mill. and I thought that was a reasonable price. What do you think?"
"Great." Jax agreed. He was suddenly all business again, and he folded his hands and leaned across the table. "Now - I want to discuss creative control. Kieron and I have been exploring a new ad-campaign."
"What are your ideas?" William asked.
Kieron reached into his briefcase, and pulled out a portfolio. "Well, Jax and I were thinking about an "All-American" campaign. You know, young, beautiful, fresh. Here are some of the models we've been looking at." He layed five headshots on the table. All the women were blond, blue-eyed and athletic. "These are the models we're currently deciding between."
Jax just stared at the photos. He had seen them hundreds of times before, but suddenly these women didn't seem to fit the image he was looking for. "Actually Kier - I think I may have changed my mind. What if we went for an exotic look. Maybe we should steer away from the atypical. Instead of blond, tall, athletic - we could go for someone dark haired, tiny, mysterious."
Kieron's mouth dropped open. "Is this a joke?" he whispered. "You want to re-shape our entire ad-campaign?" Jax nodded. "Mr. Robertson - would you mind if I spoke with Jax in private for a moment?" Bill shook his head, and excused himself. When they were alone, Kieron got up from his chair and began to pace around the room. "I don't believe this Jax. When we first looked at purchasing DKNY I suggested that we redue the advertising and look at something more exotic and mysterious. You completely disagreed with me and pushed for the "All-American." So, I agreed and spent the last four months searching for the perfect model." He pulled out thousands of headshots - all blond and blue-eyed. Dropping the pile on Jax's lap he exclaimed, "And now - now that I've narrowed it down to five women - you tell me you want to go with exotic. What is going on with you today?" Kieron looked at Jax concerned. "Are you okay? Listen - you know I'm just having fun with you. It's okay, we can start the search again."
"I'm fine." Jax assured Kieron. "For some reason, I'm just a little distracted today. And I'm sorry to have complicated things. I'm sure we'll find a new model sooner than you think. Let's call Bill back in so we can sign the papers and get on with our day. I promised Brenda that I'd meet her for a late lunch."
"Brenda? Oh right - Brenda....I forgot you had come with someone. Maybe she's the reason you're so spacey today." Kieron smiled suggestively and wiggled his eyebrows. "Could this be the *one* Jax?"
"Kieron - we're just friends. We aren't even dating. It's just....it's just a "friend thing." Jax rambled on.
"I think you stated that already." Kieron laughed. "Well so when am I going to meet Ms. "Just a friend" Brenda? Would you two join me for dinner and gambling tonight?"
Jax thought for a moment - did he really want Brenda to meet Kieron. He was his best friend......"Sure. 7:30 at Cafe du la Pait in the lobby and you had better behave."
"I'll be on my best behavior." Kerion swore, crossing his heart and smiling.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." Jax joked laughing.
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"Lois? It's me Brenda. Hi! How are you?" Brenda cocked the cordless phone on her shoulder and layed back on the lounge chair. She was sitting outside on the sun deck off her and Jax's suite in her chocolate brown bikini relaxing and waiting for Jax to get home from his meeting. While she waited, she decided to call Lois and fill her in on where she was and what was happening.
"Brenda!" Lois' screeched. "Girlfriend - where are you?! I've been calling and calling you. I was starting to get worried when Ruby finally answered your phone and explained that you had gone away with some Jax guy? Have you been holding out on me? I'm hurt."
Brenda giggled. "No, of course I haven't been holding out on you Lo. Don't worry. I actually just met Jax. Three days ago at the Outback. He was doing some sort of business with Lucy and we kind of "bumped into eachother." I'll tell you all about it when I get home. Anyway - Jax was on his way to the Bahamas, and he invited me to come along. So - here I am. Sitting on the deck of the Presidential Suite in the Atlantis Resort. Lois - I'm having an incredible time." Brenda spoke happily and quickly.
Lois smiled to herself. "You sound really happy Bren. That's good. I've been really worried about you lately. So....this Jax guy - could he be the one to help you move on from Sonny?"
"That's the best part!" Brenda shouted. "Lois - Jax is just the most amazing man, and he's agreed to help me get Sonny back. You see - we made this deal that we're going to pretend to be in love with eachother to make Sonny jealous. Isn't that perfect? Lois - Lois are you there?"
Lois shook her head. A sick feeling came over her. "Brenda - honey, are you sure Jax is okay with this? Are you sure you're okay with this? If Jax is such an "amazing" guy - why do you even need to get Sonny back?"
"Lois - I love Sonny, remember?" Brenda sighed. "Let's not talk about this anymore. You are going to *adore* Jax. I can't wait for you to meet him. He's sweet, and funny, and sensitive, and gorgeous - my god, Lo - he looks like a Greek God."
"And you're telling me you have absolutely *no* feelings for this person?" Lois asked.
"Well.......sometimes when we kiss I feel all confused inside, but I still love Sonny. Jax and I are just friends."
"Sometimes when you kiss? Brenda - what aren't you telling me."
"Nothing. We just kiss sometimes to make Sonny jealous. So - how is everything there?" Brenda tried to steer the conversation away from her and Jax.
Eventhough she was intrigued, Lois let it go. She knew that Brenda wouldn't give her anymore information than she was already had. Bren probably didn't even realize how much it sounded like she was falling in love with Jax, but Lois didn't want to do anything to stop her. "Everyone here is fine. Ned is at the house meeting with Edward and I'm just sitting here relaxing. When are you coming home?"
"Friday." Just then Brenda heard a door open and she peered through the door. Jax was home. "Lo - would you hold on a second. Jax just got back from his meeting." She got up from the chair and walked into the den smiling broadly at Jax. "I'm just talking to my best friend Lois, but I'll get off in a second and then we can get lunch."
Jax smiled and dropped his briefcase and suit jacket on the couch. "No rush." he said. "I'm going to go change into something more comfortable. I'll be out in a few moments."
After Jax went into his room, Brenda picked up the phone again. "Lo? Are you still there?"
"Of course. So - that was Jax? Does he have an accent? Brenda - he sounds dreamy."
Brenda laughed. "Doesn't he? He's australian and he has the sexiest accent I've ever heard." Jax came out of his room then, and Brenda pulled him over beside him. "Jax - say hi to Lois." she pushed the phone to his ear laughing. "Hi Lois." Jax said.
"Hi Jax." Lois said, laughing also. "I hope you know that you have my very best girlfriend in the world with you, and I'll just kill you if anything bad happens to her."
Jax laughed. "I assure you that Brenda is in safe hands. Her wish is my command." he reached out and tweaked her hair. "Not only that, but we're having so much fun that we just may never come home. Maybe I'll whisk her away with me forever. Now how do you think Sonny would like that - maybe we could get your mad-mobster to chase us around the world." Jax was laughing and Lois could hear Brenda whining, "Jaxxx......stop it." Lois rolled her eyes. These two were impossible.
"Lois?" Jax said. "Brenda wants to talk to you again. It was nice talking to you - I'll see you when we get back to Port Charles." Jax handed the phone to Brenda.
"Hi Lo - listen I'm going to go and have some lunch with this impossible man. Yes Jax - I said you were impossible. Would you stop tickling me? Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Brenda was laughing and squealing. Lois shook her head. "Sorry. I'll call you later in the week, but if I don't - I'll see you when we get home. Maybe you, Ned, Jax and I can have dinner."
"It's a date." Lois stated. "Bren - have a good time. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear you laughing again."
"I will. And say hi to Ned with me."
"Will do. Say good-bye to Jax for me.
"Okay - I love ya Lois. Bye."
"I love you too Brenda. Bye." Lois hung up the phone and smiled. Whether or not her best friend knew it yet, she was definitely falling in love.