Hold It Against Me

VERONICA

~“If I said my heart was beating loud,”~

~If we could escape the crowd somehow,~

~If I said I want your body now,~

~Would you hold it against me?”~

~– Britney Spears~

***

“Do I look okay?” I asked Amy and Nick, stepping out of my room after trying on what felt like a million outfits for tonight’s dinner at Bernard’s.

I’d finally settled on a dress—a rarity for me. It was a deep blue silk number that fell to my knees and had a neckline that was just the right side of risqué.

My bra did a great job of showcasing my assets, so I was pretty happy with my dress choice.

But what was really making me nervous was my makeup. I’d gone for a smoky eye, which made my eyes look lighter, and a bold cherry-red lip, which was a departure from my usual look. My cheeks were a rosy pink against my pale skin.

I added gold hoop earrings, pulled my curly black hair into a half-up-half-down style, and finished the look with black heels with gold accents.

This wasn’t my usual style, but I was pulling out all the stops tonight.

Nick, who was over to hang out with his girlfriend, gave me a long look.

“You look great,” he finally said. “You’re definitely going to make an impression.”

“Yeah,” Amy chimed in.

“You look hot, don’t get us wrong. But it’s like you’re flaunting your assets and saying, ~See this? You can’t have it!~ or something like that.”

Was I really that obvious? Because that was exactly what I was going for.

“No, that’s not it,” I lied. “I just felt like dressing up tonight.”

They both gave me skeptical looks but didn’t say anything else.

“You look amazing, if that’s what you’re waiting to hear,” Nick said, chuckling when I rolled my eyes.

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing my black purse. “I’m heading out now.”

“Have fun,” Amy said, smirking. “Bernard’s has a dance floor. Dance with some hot guys for me.”

I didn’t dignify her comment with a response and left, hearing Amy teasing Nick about living vicariously through me.

Then they both laughed, and I headed down to the parking lot.

***

Bernard’s was a fancy place. As soon as I walked in, a waiter took my jacket and hung it up.

Another waiter came over and asked if I had a reservation. I was too busy staring at the opulent surroundings to answer right away.

The floor was golden marble, the ceiling was covered in intricate paintings of angels and nude figures, reminiscent of Italian cathedrals or French châteaux. The walls were curved and the chandeliers sparkled like diamonds.

The dance floor Amy had mentioned was filled with couples swaying to the jazz band on stage. It felt like I’d stepped into a New Orleans restaurant in the early 1900s.

“Ma’am?” the waiter’s voice brought me back to reality. “The name of the reservation?”

I shook my head to clear it.

“Oh,” I said, blushing slightly. “I’m here for Stephen Bryson’s birthday.”

The waiter nodded and led me to the table. I followed him through the restaurant to a cozy booth near the dance floor, where I saw my family.

Mom was chatting with Stephen and Oliver, while Andy was talking quietly with a guy who was sitting very close to her. I realized with a pang that he must be her boyfriend. I hadn’t known my little sister was dating, and he was pretty cute.

But my attention was quickly drawn to Jax, who was sitting next to Oliver. He was talking to a woman who was probably around his age, maybe a year younger. She was stunning, and I recognized her as Regina Lockhart, the daughter of Mom’s friend Carol.

Regina was exactly the type of woman I’d expect Jax to be into: beautiful, slim, with long legs. She was gorgeous, and Jax seemed to be enjoying their conversation.

Suddenly, I felt out of place. I stopped before we got too close to the table.

“Excuse me,” I said to the waiter, then turned and walked as fast as I could towards the restroom sign.

Just as I reached the restroom, a voice stopped me in my tracks. “Nicky?”

~You’ve got to be kidding me.~

I tensed, my hands balling into fists, as Drake came into view.

“I can’t believe it, it’s you!” he said, his eyes raking over me as he smirked. “God, you look good enough to eat.”

Nope.

“Get lost, Adams,” I said, ignoring his attempt at flirting. I’d never entertain his advances.

He whistled and grinned. “Someone’s in a mood tonight.”

“Someone’s going to punch you if you don’t get out of my way,” I shot back, crossing my arms.

“Easy, beautiful,” he said, leaning in. “I just want to talk.”

“I don’t feel like talking to you.” Honestly, I couldn’t care less about what he had to say.

He sighed again, then, as if he had every right, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

“Why do you always get so prickly around me?” he asked, his eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t backing down.

I wished I’d had the courage to go sit with my family when I had the chance. Now I was stuck, trapped in this jerk’s arms.

“Why are you even here?” I asked, avoiding his question.

“With my family,” he replied, narrowing his eyes. “You didn’t answer my question. Why do you get prickly around me?”

“I’m not prickly,” I snapped.

He raised an eyebrow at my obvious lie. “Why are you resisting my charm?”

“Cool it,” I said, scowling, “you’re not that charming, and just so you know, even if you were, I’d still reject you.”

“Ouch,” he said, his tone dry.

“Whatever,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Now, please let go of me. You’re invading my personal space.”

Instead of listening, he pulled me closer.

“I’m going to be honest,” he said, his face suddenly serious.

“I want you. I’m attracted to you. I’ve had wet dreams about you ever since the first time we had sex.”

“I never forgot about you, and I think it was fate mixed with sheer luck that brought you into my life that day I went to the first book club meeting.”

“When you didn’t show up to the meeting after I did, I went crazy thinking about you and wondering where you were. I’m so into you it’s not even funny. I’m totally crushing on you.”

His words left me speechless. I just stared at him, eyes wide, when suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

I jumped, turned my head, and saw none other than Jax standing there, his hard gaze on Drake.

“Is everything okay here?” he asked, his voice low and raspy and oh so enticing. Just hearing him and feeling his warmth against my back gave me goosebumps.

Drake and Jax were the same height, both towering five to six inches over me. They stared at each other, challenging yet polite, making me feel small and vulnerable.

Especially since they both had their toned arms wrapped around me, one from the front and one from behind.

It made me feel slutty and guilty, which was ridiculous, considering I never felt that way when I slept with people.

“Everything’s fine,” Drake said, his arms tightening around me.

It was as if he sensed something threatening in Jax on some deep, primal level and couldn’t help but challenge him.

And now I was thinking of them in animalistic terms. What was wrong with me?

“You sure?” Jax asked, his jaw clenching and his arms hardening around me. He even moved closer, pressing his front against my back.

To my utter disbelief, Drake moved closer to me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were fighting over me like some romantic cliché.

Since I did know better, I was starting to understand what was going on, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Yeah,” Drake said, his lips curling downward. “Who are you anyway?”

“None of your business,” Jax said flatly.

His hands spread over my stomach, causing butterflies to flutter in my stomach and my heart rate to increase.

But it wasn’t just because of Jax’s closeness. The whole situation was making me anxious.

When Drake’s eyelid twitched in irritation, I decided that was it.

“Let me go,” I said, feeling like I’d said this phrase too many times in the past few weeks. “Both of you. Now.”

They didn’t listen to me. It was like I didn’t even exist right now. They were too busy glaring at each other to see who would win the stare-down first.

Sometimes, I wondered if having a dick also meant you turned deaf to the sound of angry women.

“Hello!” I said, waving my hands in their faces. “I’m still here, and I don’t appreciate you puffing your chests and howling at the moon right now.”

“If you want to keep staring longingly into each other’s eyes, at least leave me out of it. I’m all for gay love, don’t get me wrong, but being in the middle of your lovers’ quarrel is a bit much, don’t you think?”

For once, I managed to grab their attention. Both of them looked down at me with complete disbelief at my obviously ridiculous implications.

I didn’t back down though, since I wasn’t a man and didn’t view their silent stares as a challenge.

I looked right back at them, raising a taunting eyebrow, and threw their challenge back in their faces.

“Well, guys, are you going to give me some breathing space? I’m starting to think I’m in the way of your making up. Or making out. Whatever you’re into.”

Neither of them said a word. I’d rendered them speechless. Yet they still hadn’t let me go.

Damn men.

I was about to say something even more provocative when the sound of someone clearing his throat made us all snap our heads in the direction of the newcomer.

Both Jax and Drake dropped their arms from around my waist as if they’d been burned when they saw who it was, and I almost blanched, feeling like this Saturday Night Drama needed to reach its ending, and soon.

Oliver’s eyes moved from Drake to Jax to me and to the close proximity we were all in.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, and when he looked back at me, he seemed taken aback, as if he didn’t recognize me for a moment. “Veronica?”

His voice was so full of surprise that it stung a little. Was it really that odd for me to dress up?

“Hey, Oliver,” I greeted, my voice taking on that high-pitched, nervous tone. “I didn’t see you there!”

I moved away from Jax and Drake, feeling a sudden sense of relief, and pretended to scan the room for our table. “Where are we sitting?”

A few moments later, I sensed something was off. I turned slowly, a little apprehensive, to find the three guys locked in another glaring contest, this time with Oliver included.

I’d had enough.

“For God’s sake!” I exploded. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?!”

Finally, Jax gave me an answer.

“He was bothering you,” he said, his gaze still fixed on Drake. “I was just trying to help.”

“I wasn’t bothering her,” Drake shot back, his eyes finding mine. “I was just confessing something.”

A spark lit up in his light eyes, making me tense and my face pale.

“Drake, don’t,” I warned, suspecting what he was about to do and hating it.

“Why not?” he asked, and then did the one thing I’d hoped he wouldn’t. Before I could stop him, he wrapped one arm around my waist, used the other to cradle the back of my neck, and kissed me.

Right in front of Jax and Oliver. My boss, who’d asked us to pretend to be lovers, and his best friend, my stepbrother.

I didn’t respond to the kiss. I couldn’t. I could feel Jax’s eyes on me, and when Drake finally released me, I was too scared to look at either Jax or Oliver.

Drake, satisfied with the shock he’d caused, tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear and spoke loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

“You and I aren’t done, Nicky. I’m going to have you back in my bed, as my official girlfriend, no matter how long it takes.”

Then he turned and walked away, once again having the last word and leaving me wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.

Once he was out of sight, I remembered how to breathe.

But that ability was quickly lost when Oliver shot me a disgusted look.

“You really do sleep around,” he said, his disapproval clear. “And here I thought those were just nasty rumors.”

How he’d found out about my habits, I had no idea, and honestly, I didn’t want to know.

“That’s none of your business.” It really wasn’t, and besides, he’d never shown any interest in getting to know me.

The only thing he’d ever done for me was get me my current job, but that was the extent of our relationship. We weren’t close, we didn’t even have a sibling bond.

As far as I was concerned, he was nothing more than an unavoidable acquaintance.

“Thank God it isn’t,” he said, giving me a condescending look that irritated me, “otherwise I would’ve had to tell your mother about it and that’s the last thing I want to do.”

“It’s none of her business either,” I said through gritted teeth, glaring at him for even suggesting he’d tell my sweet, traditional, wait-until-marriage mother about my habits.

He looked even more disgusted with me.

“You disgust me,” he said, as if his expression hadn’t already made that clear.

He shot me one last look and returned to the table, where, thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed the scene that had just played out.

I’d forgotten there was one more person here with me. He was kind enough to remind me of his presence, though.

“Why?” Jax asked, standing right behind me.

I clenched my hands and asked tersely, “Why what?”

“Why do you let other guys touch you but not me?” His lips were close to my ear, his voice sending shivers down my spine.

“Why do you push away anyone who shows even the slightest interest in you? There are a lot of whys, and you won’t give me an answer to any of them.”

I shivered and found myself whispering like a broken record, “It’s none of your business.”

His minty breath made my ear tingle.

“That’s the problem, Veronica,” he said softly, “you won’t let it be anyone’s business.”

Having had the last word like the two guys before him, he pulled away from me and walked back to the table, his hands tucked in the pockets of his coat.

I watched his sexy back and realized with a start that all the drama had delayed me from greeting my mother and Stephen.

While I went over to the table and did what I was supposed to do—make up with my mother and wish Stephen a happy birthday—Jax’s words refused to leave my mind.

And when I saw him flirting with the beautiful Regina, who, Mom told me in a whisper, was his date for tonight, I found myself sinking in my chair and avoiding conversation with everyone.

Thankfully, no one seemed too keen on talking to me either.

Mom was focused on Stephen. Andy and her boyfriend, whom she introduced as Ben, were in their own little world.

Oliver was making an extra effort to ignore me while he talked to Mom and Stephen about whatever.

And Jax was with Regina, talking and laughing and later going to “grab some fresh air”, which was code for making out without everyone, especially me, watching them like they were a hot TV show.

I was alone.

I was lonely.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened with Jax and Drake and the hurtful words Oliver had thrown at me.

When I tried to leave, my mother stopped me.

“The fun has only just begun!” she told me as she dragged Stephen to the dance floor.

~The fun hasn’t begun, Mom~, I thought gloomily.

There was no fun to begin with.