This is an adaptation of Judith McNaught's novel, Double
Standards.
Secrets and Love
Chapter 4
The next evening, Jax returned
to the scene of his previous night’s disappointment. He closed the door to his car and walked up the path to Brenda’s
door. Before he rang the doorbell, he
smoothed his khakis and the white shirt he wore. The bell echoed in the house.
Brenda hurriedly tucked in her
sleeveless top as she went to the top of the stairs and looked down at the
door. She could just barely see Jax’s
shirt sleeve in the side window. She
ran down the steps lightly to let him inside.
“Hi, Jax!” she exclaimed, opening the door wide for him.
“Hello, Brenda,” he said as
calmly as he could manage. He bent to
kiss her cheek as he crossed the threshold.
She looked as beautiful as ever in her navy linen slacks and pale blue
top. Her feet were still bare and he
smiled to himself as he thought of how natural she looked. She was very comfortable as she was, he
could tell.
“Would you like a drink?” she
asked, leading him up the steps to the living room.
“I’d love one,” he said, “but
I don’t think our dinner reservations will allow us the time.”
“Reservations?”
“Yes, in about twenty minutes,
on the other side of town.”
“What restaurant? Am I dressed appropriately for it?” she
asked, worriedly. “You never did tell
me what we’d be doing tonight when you called today.”
He nodded. “I know.
You’re dressed fine,” he assured her.
He gestured to his own casual attire.
“It’s pretty much a wear-what-you-want type of restaurant.”
“Oh, good, then let me just
get my shoes and we can be going. Hang
on a minute.” She ran back up the steps
to her bedroom and returned in less than two minutes.
“That was quick.”
“I didn’t want to keep you
waiting,” Brenda replied, smiling coyly.
She grabbed a matching purse from the table. “Let’s go.”
Jax opened the car door for
her and then walked around to his side to get in. They drove in relative silence to the restaurant. Brenda fidgeted with her purse strap the
entire way. At the restaurant, Jax
handed the keys to a valet and led Brenda into the front entranceway.
She took in the contemporary
surroundings and turned to Jax to ask, “What kind of restaurant is this?”
“They have pretty much
anything you could possibly want on the menu,” he responded. “I think it was the goal of the owners to
find something for everyone all in one place.”
They were interrupted by an
employee carrying menus. “Mr. Jacks,
please follow me. Your table is
ready.” She led them to a table for two
in the corner of the room by the windows.
The view offered a look at the Port Charles River. Just beyond the river, Brenda could see the
outline of the new J&J Enterprises building.
“It’s a very nice place,”
Brenda commented as she sat down.
“Thank you,” Jax said
automatically. He stopped himself short
when he realized what he’d said, hoping Brenda hadn’t noticed yet. How would he be able to tell her that he had
built this restaurant as one of his first business ventures in Port
Charles? Once he’d had enough equity in
J&J Enterprises, his brother had convinced him to go in on the restaurant
as a financial backer. It was now one
of the most successful restaurants in town and Jax frequented it often.
However, she didn’t even seem
to hear him as she took in the view of the river. He ordered a bottle of wine for the two of them and then turned
to her. She was still looking out the
window.
“What’s so interesting?” he
asked.
She turned to face him and
blushed slightly. “Oh, nothing. I was just looking at the view. You can see the new J&J Enterprises building
right there, if you look.”
He glanced outside and
nodded. “Yes, you can.”
“It’s interesting, though, if
you think about it.”
“What is?”
“The J&J Enterprises
building is the tallest one in the skyline now. I mean, the older building isn’t, but the new one is. I wonder what made them think they needed
more space when they built a new building.”
“Isn’t that what most places
do when they get a new space? Don’t
they usually build a new one so that they can accommodate all the things they
have?”
Brenda nodded. “Well, yes, but I was talking to the other secretary
on my floor today and she said she didn’t even know why Jasper Jacks was
building a new building. She thought
the old offices were just fine.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Jax took a sip of his wine
before he said, “Maybe she didn’t know that J&J Enterprises was planning to
expand their offices and start a new division.”
“Are they?” she asked
curiously.
“They might be,” he answered
vaguely. They were, in fact, planning
to bring the global division to Port Charles with the expansion of the
offices. There was no Brenda would know
that, though.
“They might be?” Brenda
repeated.
“My point is that Lois doesn’t
necessarily know everything that goes on in J&J Enterprises. There could very well be an expansion in the
future. That is quite possibly the
reason for needing more space.”
Brenda didn’t answer right
away. “Jax?”
“What?”
“Did I tell you her name was
Lois?”
He looked puzzled. “What?”
She shook her head as if it
didn’t mean anything. “It’s
nothing. I just don’t remember telling
you her name was Lois.”
“Brenda, you did tell me you
work on the seventeenth floor, right?”
At her nod, he said, “Ned Ashton is one of my good friends and
associates. I happen to know that he’s
on the seventeenth floor and that you’re working as his secretary. I also know that Lois Cerullo works as
Nikolas Cassidine’s secretary and Cassidine shares a floor with Ned. So, it’s logical that I know that the other
secretary’s name on your floor is Lois.”
It was actually true that Ned was a very good friend of Jax’s, when he
wasn’t berating him in the boardroom.
Brenda blushed a deep shade of
red. “I’m sorry, Jax. You must think I’m a complete idiot, don’t
you?” She buried her face in her hands
in an attempt to hide from him.
Jax chuckled softly and put
his hand under her chin to raise it up to look at him. “No, I don’t think you’re an idiot,
Brenda. I just think you jump to too
many conclusions about me.”
“Really, like what?” she
asked, her chin propped on her left hand as she looked across the table at him.
“Like the fact that I’m not a
bad guy. And I really try hard not to
be the player you think I am.”
She tried to look innocent
when she asked, “Why would I think you’re a player?” Everything about Jax so far had suggested he was a player and had
absolutely no trouble with women. She
did like to think she was a different type of woman for him, though.
He shrugged his shoulders and
leaned in close to her so that only she could hear. “Because you’ve been keeping me at arm’s length as if you think
the only reason I’m interested in you is to see how good you are in bed.”
She leaned in close, as well,
when she responded. “And don’t you?”
“Of course I do, but it’s not
the only reason I’m interested in you.”
He winked at her and sat back in his chair, taking another sip of his wine.
Brenda laughed quietly,
staring at him across the table. “Who
are you, Jax?” she said softly, and then shook her head, making it clear she
didn’t want an answer.
After dinner, Jax led Brenda
to where the valet had the car waiting for them. He again opened the door for her and then walked around to his
side. As they pulled out of the parking
lot, Brenda reached over to where his hand rested on the gear shift and took it
in hers. She laced her fingers through
his without saying a word.
The house was dark except for
the front light when they pulled into the driveway. Jax turned off the engine and they sat there for a few minutes in
silence. Brenda kept her hand in his.
“Do you want–“
“Well, I should be–“
They both stopped and
laughed. “You go first,” Jax said.
“Do you want to come inside?”
Brenda asked. “For a drink or
something?”
He was glad to accept her offer
because he would have had a hard time following through on what he was about to
say. He nodded. “Sure, that would be nice.”
They got out of the car and
walked up the front path together. He
had taken her hand back in his as they walked the short distance. She unlocked the door and opened it without
changing their grasp. “Can you get the
lights there?” she asked, starting towards the steps.
Jax sat down on the couch,
turning on the light beside it on the coffee table. Brenda stood at the small bar pouring them each a drink. She handed him his and sat down close beside
him. “So,” she said, turning to face
him.
He looked at her. “So,” he replied.
When he had turned his face to
look at her, they were perilously close to each other. He waited a few seconds before he took
advantage of that fact. Leaning in
slowly, he watched as she closed her eyes, tilting her head towards him. He closed his eyes as his lips met hers softly
at first. He moved to face her more
fully and put his free hand behind her neck to hold her closer to him. As each second of their kiss passed, the
passion seemed to mount quickly. She
leaned into him, putting her arm around his shoulder and moving closer.
Jax broke the kiss long enough
to put both of their untouched drinks on the table in front of them. With both hands free now, Brenda wrapped her
arms around his neck, reclaiming his lips with hers. He moved her legs across his and pulled her waist to him so that
she was almost sitting in his lap. His
hands threaded through her hair as his tongue finally slipped between her
lips. She met him eagerly with her own.
Finally, after several long
minutes, Jax pulled away completely out of breath. She was gasping softly as he leaned his forehead against hers and
closed his eyes. He traced her jaw with
his thumbs, holding her close to him.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“I’ll say,” she breathed,
smiling.
They stayed close for a few
more minutes before Brenda stood up.
Jax tried not to look disappointed at what he was sure was a signal to
end their date. He was surprised when
she reached for his hand and tugged him to stand with her when he gave it to
her.
“Come with me,” Brenda
whispered.
He was no idiot. He knew exactly what she was implying and he
stood still for a moment. “Are you
sure?” he asked her.
Without answering, she kissed
him again, passionately. Cutting their
kiss short, she said, “Does that answer your question?”
“Oh yeah,” he said
breathlessly, following behind as she led him up the steps to her bedroom.
At the doorway, he swept her
into his arms and carried her over to her bed.
The king-size bed was covered in a flowered quilt and had what looked
like several hundred pillows scattered across the headboard. Brenda reached behind her with her arms and
swept the piles to the floor in one stroke.
Only three of the pillows remained and she drew herself back to lay
against them. Jax had watched her from
his position on the end of the bed where he had originally deposited her. When she reached her hand out towards him,
he crawled up to lay beside her. One
hand rested against her waist while the other brushed her hair out of her eyes
and cupped her face.
He kissed her again, deepening
the kiss and leaning into her body with his.
In return, she raised her hand to his head and threaded her fingers
through his hair to the nape of his neck.
Turning with her body, she lay flush against him. She opened her mouth and traced his lips
with her tongue once, then twice, before he allowed her entrance into his own
mouth. He rolled against her slightly
so that they lay with him on top of her, shielding her lightly with his
body. He kept one hand behind her,
bracing him above her.
When they broke from the first
breathless kiss, he remained where he was, looking deep into her dark brown
eyes. Mesmerized, she whispered, “I
don’t even know your last name.”
Puzzled, he drew back a little
further. “Does it matter right now?” he
asked.
She hadn’t even really been
paying attention to anything except his lips moving. She shook her head slightly and then raised her head to meet his
lips with her again. In the course of
their next kisses, his hand left her waist to roam towards her breasts as he
began to trace one through her blouse.
He hid his delight that she was wearing nothing beneath her shirt in his
next deep kiss, smiling against her mouth.
Brenda moaned softly and arched her back to allow him better access to
her. At the same time, her hands moved
to his waistband where she pulled the white shirt from his pants and slid her
hands beneath it, feeling his smooth, toned flesh with her fingers. She laughed a little when his stomach
muscles jumped at her touch.
Jax inhaled sharply when she
raked her fingernails lightly over his abdominal muscles. He quickly moved to intercept her wandering
fingers with his hand. He lay her hand
flat against his chest with his hand over hers through his shirt. “Not so fast,” he whispered in her ear,
though he was truly cautioning himself.
Instead of moving his lips, he kissed her earlobe softly, making her
gasp with pleasure. He didn't return
his lips to her, choosing to kiss a path to her neck instead. Finally, he dropped his body onto hers as he
moved his hands to the hem of her shirt to lift it over her head.
Her hands had made their way
to the front of his shirt where she was quickly undoing buttons in an attempt
to catch up with him. She slid the last
one from the buttonhole and slipped the shirt down his arms. She tried not to appear startled at the defined
lines of his chest and arms. She’d seen
them once before in the office that first day they met, but it was difficult to
remember anything other than this moment right now.
In the break they had while he
removed his shirt, Jax whispered, “Brenda, do you have--“
She cut him off with a nod and
a gesture in the direction of her bedside table. “In the drawer.”
“Thank goodness for small
favors,” he replied. “I’m not sure I
could have stopped if you wanted to right now.”
The way he said it, she knew
he was asking her permission to go further than they already had. She grinned up at him. “It’s a good thing I don’t want you to stop,
then, isn’t it?”
“A very good thing.”
Within minutes, they were
lying in each others’ arms while Jax made love to her. She’d never experienced anything like him
before in her life. She lay in his arms
afterwards while he slept cradling her.
She listened to the beat of his heart beneath hers as she wondered where
exactly they were headed with each other.