jxncollins:
“I do like getting what I want,” he smiled at her words and watched as she stepped towards him, his eyes taking in the lines of her body easily. Without her heels she was noticeably shorter and her height difference to his was far cuter than it had any reason to be. The mess inside of his mind dissipated slightly as she turned her back to him, pulling her hair to the side and exposing more tempting skin for him. As he unzipped the material he gave into himself just a small amount, the backs of his knuckles grazing against her skin but he easily stepped back so she had the space to change. Having her so easily play with his emotions was frustrating, especially when she clearly wasn’t even trying to, and he forcibly ignored the bubbling in his stomach that told him how much he wanted this intimacy more often. He wanted to honestly care for her and be alone with her and have it mean more than casual hang-outs and hook-ups. But Laney had made it clear more than once that it was pure and simple fun for her, for both of them, and as much as he wanted to bring up what the woman had said to them he knew realistically he shouldn’t. Because having Laney as a friend was the best thing to come from the situation and he wasn’t about to put that on the line because he couldn’t control his ridiculous infatuation with the mysterious girl.
Loosening the tie around his neck and taking his jacket off, Jackson relaxed into the familiar room and glanced around in amusement at the mess. There were so many elements to Laney that, honestly, he couldn’t be blamed for how he was feeling and even though he knew it wasn’t quite love like the lady had earlier suggested it was definitely building to something. Before he could talk himself out of staying and quickly leave the room, Laney wandered back in and threw several towels at him. The flex of her body was enough to distract him for a moment and he smiled knowingly at her actions, amused at how she could be so predictable sometimes and yet a complete mystery at other times. At her words he let out a little laugh; he knew he didn’t have to do something he didn’t want to but there was just something about her that had him acting so out of character he barely even knew himself. But after being faced with the people that Laney usually surrounded himself with Jackson found himself almost needing to prove something. He didn’t have a yacht to whisk her away, or money to take her on spontaneous trips, and there wasn’t a chance in Hell he could afford to throw lavish parties or take her to expensive restaurants and so if he could give her a party on a beach with people she generally spent time with then he was going to do it. He knew why he wanted to give her those things too but he was sure she wasn’t willing to hear that.
He took a few seconds to weigh up his options on how to reply and watched her as she rolled her joints. “I know you don’t care,” he reassured her with a nod, almost surprising himself with his voice after being quiet for so long and he reached across to place his hand on her thigh. “Just figured you would get bored if it was just me and you, you know? Plus you were going at that bottle before so I thought you’d just want to party properly with your friends and you are dressed for it now.” The implication that he didn’t want her to get bored of him evident even if he didn’t say it out loud. Having her next to him in just a bikini top and those shorts was enough to drive him crazy and he smiled at her before moving his hands to her hips, encouraging her until she moved so she was straddling across his lap comfortably. One hand rested on her lower back and Jackson knew he could write forever and still be unable to explain how much better he felt touching her after telling himself he wouldn’t. His other hand moved to her pocket and pulled out one of the joints, holding it between them with a faux-thoughtful look. “So we can have this and chill for a bit here before we go and then we get the best of both worlds. Because as cool as your family are I’ve wanted you alone like this most of the night and I don’t want to share you just yet.” The urge wasn’t quite as overwhelming as it was when he saw another guys arm around Laney’s shoulders but he wasn’t lying either; if given the choice he’d choose spending time with Laney over most other things any day.
Placing the unlit joint between her parted lips with a small laugh Jackson pressed several kisses against her the bare expanse of her chest in front of him in quick succession as he waited for her to light it. It was a lot easier to be himself when he didn’t feel eyes on him and he wondered for a brief moment if she felt the same, despite claims she didn’t care what people said. Hoping she was just drunk enough to forget his next words, he continued. “I’m serious by the way. it’s been difficult to not touch you with all those guys around, you know? Like I’m not usually a jealous guy but ain’t gonna pretend like I didn’t totally think about taking you right there so they’d get the message.” With a smile on his face to try and hide how serious he was, he leaned back to look at her. “Next party you have to look less hot. Deal?”
laney was relieved to find her prodding was met with chagrined honesty and not frustration or ultimatums and as he spoke more and more, laney cocked her head at him and smirked slightly in wonder. she honestly wasn’t sure what would’ve been worse--jackson lashing out at her for her exploitative attitude and fast-paced lifestyle, or jackson continuing to prove himself to be nearly perfect for her? then he was pulling her onto his lap, melting all tension from her body though her mind stayed uneasy. it was clear that she was running out of time and that jackson already liked her too much and was too smart to pretend for much longer that laney was just really dedicated to sunrise yoga because of her mom, handled with kid gloves by her family just because she was the baby, and also fundamentally unwilling to commit to absolutely anything, all at the same time. she lightly knocked the hand that held the joint aside and stated in a slightly firmer voice, “for the record, i don’t want to share you either, i don’t get bored when it’s just us, and they’re not my friends. they know me because they know my brother but they’re not my friends.” though her statement sounded as if it was simply a matter of semantics, she felt that she and jackson were similar enough that he could read between the lines. sure, she might’ve gotten invitations to their events, griped about the rich kid bullshit they had in common, partied with them, and even ended up liking a few, but these people, who defined themselves more by their money than any other part of themselves, were not laney’s people.
he looked too good laying there in his neatly pressed button-up, the bright white fabric of his collar the only thing stopping her from planting her lipsticked lips on his neck. she sighed lithely as she eased back instead of pressing forward to tip him onto her bed, her mind and body a jumble of urges, and was surprised to find him pressing the joint to her lips, a confused scoff getting cut off by an intake of breath as he pressed kisses above the cups of her bikini top. laney wriggled away, almost as if she were more ticklish than unfairly tempted when there were people waiting on them, and shot him a warning look as she retrieved her favorite lighter (and thus, the only one she took great care not to lose) from her desk to light the joint. it was a black metallic zippo lighter that featured a silver moon with a smiley face consisting of dopey eyes and lips that held a joint between them. the loopy handwritten white text above the moon read the moon is high, and finished below, and so am i. maybe a little too on the nose but it was a friend’s christmas gift to her a year prior, so she used it proudly. she lit the joint expertly, pushed her lighter into her empty pocket for later use, and walked back to jackson as she took the first hit, turning so she could back into his lap this time, resting the small of her back on his shoulder. alas, he was still a good head taller than her even with her in his lap.
he brought up being jealous again as if it were only a joke and she peered up at him curiously, slowly releasing her smoke until she nodded in subdued understanding under his gentle gaze; he’d definitely been able to read between the lines with cody. laney shook her head slightly to herself: of all the things for jackson to worry about with her, another guy was not one of them. especially when the other guy that had convinced himself that he belonged with laney simply because she was his best friend’s younger sister, he knew her secret, she wasn’t any of his exes or his friend’s exes, and they’d had a few enthusiastic hook-ups in the past couple of years. but she knew that that was nothing compared to the sense of belonging she felt with jackson, that hopefully he felt too. but to say that cody was nothing and jackson was everything would’ve been too much too fast, so laney just gave him a look that told him he was being ridiculous. “no deal, life is too short to not be the hottest girl in every room,” she retorted, only half-joking. “but it’s also too short to keep your hands to yourself, so if you get the urge to touch me at a party, other guys will just have to get over it, won’t they?” laney took the joint back and puffed hard on it, ready for the drugs to make them both less likely to mentally untangle the web of being young tragic lovers and more likely to just make out on the beach and not worry about the consequences beyond getting really sandy. she coughed lightly as she choked on the smoke, too experienced of a pot smoker to let even a hard pull deter her much, and handed it off again. though it had been nowhere near enough time for anything to really take effect, laney peered over at him wonderingly, a bit glass-eyed, and admitted, “i know this sounds weird, but i don’t even really remember what it was like before i met you.”