Recipe for Romance: A Bucky Barnes Story

14: Jealous? No Way.

Bucky's Turn

I'm sitting on the couch with one leg swung over the other and my arms stretched out on the back of the sofa. Nat's to one side of me reading her newest book, I think it's the one that Sadie gave her called Slaughterhouse Five, and CNN is playing on the TV. Tony's on one of the chairs watching the screen over the top of his phone. I'm supposed to be meeting Steve down here in a few minutes so we can go out to eat. I think we're meeting Sharon. The asshole still hasn't called it off with the poor girl yet. She's clueless.

"There's soup in the slow cooker and I grilled bread and it's in the oven—just turn it on low for five minutes and it'll be nice and warm." Ah, speaking of clueless girls... Sadie and her sweet voice come strolling into the room. I'm taken aback by the sound of her footsteps. Usually they're so light and airy, but now they click like high heeled shoes. I crane my neck around. In from the hall the brunette woman comes sauntering. She's taller than usual as she is in fact wearing a pair of black stilettos. Her pretty curls are straightened. The ends of her soft hairs now fall to the middle of her back. Sadie's wearing a tight—and when I say tight, I mean fucking tight—slinky black dress. It smothers all over her perfect body. Her small waist is illustrated by the stitching. I'm filled with the desire to wrap my big hands around her and hold her by the waist there where the soft fabric divots between her curves. The long sleeves dip down low on her shoulders to reveal bare skin of a beautiful sharp collar. Her legs appear long and lean under the teasingly short skirt.

"Fuck."

I would like to think that I have enough right mind not to utter anything out loud, but Sadie's got me flustered enough to splutter thoughts aloud. Nat's the only one to hear my muttering, thank God. She snorts a laugh and discreetly whacks me on the shoulder with her book.

"Tony? Are you listening to me?" Sadie's rustling around the kitchen for something she's lost.

Tony waves a hand back at her. "Yeah, yeah, sure."

Sadie huffs—clearly annoyed. Brashly she rolls her eyes then says, "Well, I better not be getting another call hearing about you starving to death."

Tony turns to regard the girl. "Where the hell are you going?" he questions, realizing for the first time now that she's dressed for a Friday night on the town.

"Out." Sadie shrugs. My eyes dart to the exposed skin of the top of her pale breasts. My stomach knots up.

"Out? You never go out," Tony says.

Sadie rolls her pretty green eyes again. She comes to meet Tony in the living room—handing him a pad of paper. "Here. Write down what you want for breakfast tomorrow."

"Can't I just text you?"

"Just do it, Tony. You know I prefer paper and pen."

Tony grumbles and gets to scribbling.

While Sadie waits for her boss, Nat speaks up.

"You look good, Schatz. Are you going out with that Italian supermodel?" I don't miss the way that Nat's eyes dart to me. I grunt and cross my arms.

Sadie blushes. "He's not a model."

"Then what is he?" Tony questions.

She rubs a hand up and down her left arm—catching it on her shoulder and clearing her throat. "An attorney."

Nat smirks. "Even better."

Sadie quickly snatches up the paper from Tony as soon as he's done. She looks over it quickly, doing some sort of math in her head, before stuffing it into her purse. In the light of the TV I can see that she's wearing red lipstick and shimmery peach eyeshadow. Her eyelashes look impossibly long and tantalizing as her lips pucker in an O shape. For the first time all evening she's looked at me. Her gaze is fleeting. Mine is sucked onto her like a fucking magnet. I'm drowning in the way she looks, the way she stands, the way she smells so sweet...

"We'll see. It's only dinner." Sadie nervously toys with the ring she always wears on her right middle finger.

"At least try to have fun," Nat reminds her. "And if you need anything just text me."

Sadie smiles. "Thanks." She takes a deep breath and gathers her things once more. "Alright, I'm out."

"Hey! Hey if you're gonna be gone overnight just make sure to be back before breakfast!" Tony calls after her as she leaves. He's smirking teasingly and breaks into hysterics when she flips him off over her dainty shoulder. He chuckles and sinks back into his fluffy chair. Meanwhile, I've never felt more uncomfortable in my entire life. The thought of Sadie going out with another man makes my skin crawl. I can hardly stomach the notion that she might be spending the night with him...

"Way to be rude, Tin Man," Tony chuckles.

I check over my shoulder. Sadie is long gone.

"What?"

"Total cold shoulder. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised since it is made of metal after all, but ouch—that was some brutal pouting you had going for the girl there."

I open my mouth to bark but Nat beats me to it.

"Be nice to him, Stark. He's got a crush."

I'm glaring at Nat now. "Shut up, Romanoff."

She turns another page in her book without glancing up. "No need to be grumpy, Barnes. It's no one's fault but yours that she's going out with someone else."

"I—I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Tony laughs. He stands from his chair. "I'm not gonna stick around and watch you mope, so I'll see you both at tomorrow's meeting."

Nat gives him a nod while I ignore the Stark son as he swaggers out of the room.

"I'm not jealous," I growl to no one in particular.

Nat smirks. Another page is turned. "I never said that." Her hazel eyes dart to meet my blue ones. "But I think we both know the truth."

I bite down on the fleshy part of my cheek. The truth? God, the truth is this: I've fallen so fucking hard for sweet Sadie Schatz, and there's absolutely nothing to be done about it.