Smoked Success

39.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, crossing my arms, this is going to get awful.

"Funny you should ask, I own this bakery now. If you didn't notice, the name and size even changed." Luke says, smirking. I must've not noticed, shit. If you don't remember, Luke's my first boyfriend.

"Jessica, who's your friend?" Andrew asks me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Actually, who is that you're in here with?" Luke questions me.

"I had nothing to do with this." Tyler exclaims, taking a bite of his cupcake. Stay out of it with your cupcake, Tyler.

"Okay, Andrew, this is Luke, my first boyfriend whom I broke up with. Luke, this is Andrew, my current boyfriend." I take a deep breath.

"You know, she's had this necklace since she was about thirteen, and she'd wear it every day until she went to university." Luke touches my necklace, under any right is he doing this?

"Luke, irrelevant." I roll my eyes.

"Andrew, that's your name right?" Luke looks at Andrew and then takes out the necklace whose pendant was hidden under my shirt. "Did you notice she was wearing this?"

"I always see the chain, but I never really asked to know what it is. And apparently, it's just a green bead." Andrew shrugs. There might be a slight chance I won't get into trouble.

"Oh my god Jessie, I thought you'd date someone a little more sophisticated." Luke shakes his head, laughing. "That, my friend, is her birthstone, Peridot. How do I know that?-"

"You got it for her." Andrew cuts him off, clenching his fist.

"Eighteen months ago," Luke smiles.

"First of all, who the hell gave you the right to touch me?" I snap.

"Oh please, you let me touch your breasts in eighth grade." He laughs, but Andrew punches him. Luke slowly gets up, yet manages to punch him back.

"Should I interfere between them or?" Tyler asks me as the fight goes on.

"Stay. I'll do it." I clench my jaw and walk slowly to them. I come between them and get some kicks. "Enough. Both of you."

"He started it!" Both Andrew and Luke say at the same time, pointing one at the other.

"I don't give two shits who started this. All I care is that no one speaks to me or tries to reach me." I snap, walking away, Andrew does his classic move, grab my wrist. "Not going to work, this time, Andrew."

"Jess, are you sure you want to do this?" Mika, the tattoo artist asks me as he prepares his machines. I nod at him and fake a smile. Don't ask how I ended up being in the tattoo shop I always go to.

And here it is, the painful sting of the machine, meaning it's really happening.

"Jessica! You're home!" Andrew exclaims as I open the door, he hugs me, but I don't hug him back. Yes, I'm still mad at him.

"Why the hell were you outside for so long?" Mom asks, leaving Angelina to color alone.

"I went to talk with Grandma, Kristen and Christina," I answer, glancing at my phone.

"That's vague." She crosses her arms. "Your brother and boyfriend came back early, even if your boyfriend had bruises."

"I have a name, you know?" Andrew snaps, glaring.

"I don't care. Jessica get changed into something more comfortable, I need you to do my taxes because your dad and I weren't able to do them last year." Mom states. Doing taxes was like my game and I'd do it in the comfiest clothes in the living room drinking coffee and of course, me smoking when Tyler isn't around.

"I'd love to. Let Tyler stay in his room, though, because I'd like to smoke." I fake a smile.

"Sure thing." She smiles at me. "Thank you."

I get up to my room and pick my black spaghetti strapped tank top with a pair of gray sweatpants. I put my hair in a bun, grab my calculator and pack of cigarettes then get out. Oh my, their tax papers are huge, wish me luck.

"Are you going to get a break from doing this?" Andrew asks me, putting a cup of coffee on the table. I just glance at him, I don't know what to do anymore.

"I used to do this for the neighbors around us before I moved out." I blow out smoke.

"You've been doing these taxes for over two hours now." He remarks, holding my hand. I raise my head from the papers.

"Here am I, talking to you, happy?" I roll my eyes.

"Oh my god!" Andrew shouts.

"What is wrong?" I ask.

"On your clavicle, is that new or am I blind?" He touches the tattoo. It's a boat under a sea with many waves.

"I got a tattoo, oh my god, huge event. Let's throw a party." I sarcastically reply.

"Do you get tattoos when you're angry?" He asks, still looking at my clavicle.

"No. I get them when I'm sad, happy, in love and sometimes drunk." I scoff, raising my left middle finger, showing the zodiac sign tattoo.

"It doesn't hurt you?" He questions.

"The first one," I show him my Jesus tattoo, "hurt as hell. But then I got used to it."

"I only have one and it hurt so bad so I decided to never do it again." He states. "You even have one on your hipbone for god's sake, it's in french."

"Je ne regrette rien, I regret nothing." I smile.

"About this morning, I'm sorry for beating up that guy, it's just he really got on my nerves." He apologizes, holding my hand. "I don't think you'd like it if one of my exes comes to you and talks about how great am I in bed."

"You're right, I wouldn't." I smile at him.

"I know you don't love him anymore, but this necklace, it just bothers me." He confesses. "Can you please take it off?"

"I'm sorry Drew, but no." I look at my calculator again.

"Okay, as you wish. Wanna go for a run later, like we did in Los Angeles?" He proposes. I nod.

"That was some intense as fuck run." Andrew smiles, wiping his sweat.

"Where were you? And why are you as sweaty, it's winter for god's sake!" Dad exclaims.

"Dad, we were running. We often do that in Los Angeles, it's sort of a habit." I try to be as calm as I can.

"Dinner's in fifteen, get changed." He smiles at us.

"Yes, sir." Andrew nods. "Now, Jessica, let's go."

"See you soon, dad." I start getting up the stairs.

Andrew and I still didn't have sex, I don't know if we will soon or not, I mean he's never even seen me naked. We make out when Angelina sleeps, and that's it. It's pretty weird for me, honestly, since we've been dating for about three months now. We'll figure it out through time.

"You were the one to know the streets in here, and I had to follow you." Andrew remarks.

"It was good being the lead." I smile at him, crossing my arm.

"You know, I find the shower water in here sort of cold," He smirks, hugging me from the back. "Maybe you could join me, it'd be warmer."

This wasn't planned for. At all.

"Really? I thought it's warmer, specially that my parents upgraded everything in this house." I look at him, I'm so in love with his eyes.

"You know I get cold quickly." He kisses my neck and my heartbeat gets faster and faster. He pulls up my t-shirt slowly and then we kiss. He puts his hand on my right cheek and I put mine on his neck. We keep on going for a while until we pull out so we can breathe. "Jessica, what have you done to your back?"