Between The Walls Ch. 05

A long hiatus, what can I say, life gets in the way! Enjoy, I'll try to update again soon!

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Chapter Five--

Jason peeled himself from the oddly comfortable sofa around 4 AM, sitting up while allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness; the edges of the furniture in front of him appeared less blurred after a few moments.

He knew exactly where he was and gazing down the hall he remembered exactly where he wanted to be. J.D sighed quietly and let his head drop; he sat thinking about what had happened a few hours ago. It was over to quickly, and it really hadn't even ended the way either of them had wanted. Mentally kicking himself he tried not to imagine how big of an ass Louise thought him to be. It took his entire strength of will to untangle himself from between her legs last night, if the drinks hadn't flowed so easily he would be in that room with her now. He thought of how in this hour he should be prying her legs back apart and waking her from her sleep with his tongue on her clit.

Standing up he walked in the direction of Louise's bedroom, passing by her door, he looked in quickly. It felt wrong gazing at her sleeping when he hadn't even shared a bed with her yet. He hoped that was still a possibility after leaving her in such a state hours ago. He stayed in her doorway; he couldn't quite understand how she managed to look even smaller than she was. The oversized t-shirt she donned as pajamas were scrunched beneath her as she lay on her stomach, she was in a contorted position with her legs forming a figure four with her ass poking out. J.D moved towards the bathroom while she snored soundly. Flicking on the light, he relieved himself quickly while taking in the décor; he thought of taking a shower but decided against it. He had asked permission to sleep for a bit, but using Louise's shower with the possibility of rousing her from her slumber seemed like pushing it.

Retreating back down the hallway he peeked in her doorway again, this time he felt like an absolute creep but he assuaged his feelings be reasoning that he wanted to be sure he hadn't woken her. Approaching the couch, he grabbed his belongings to head out, turning around he noticed the picture he had knocked down when he pushed Louise against the wall. His cock jumped at the memory.

Picking up the frame, he noticed the damage on the artwork. The frame was bent and broken, the glass had cracked but no pieces were missing. He decided that he would fix it and return it to her as an apology. Perhaps there was some hope after all, he thought, as he closed the door quietly behind him.

Once outside of her building J.D looked up and down the street, the city had just begun to wake up, the air was crisp against his skin. He pulled his jacket around him as a brace against the cold. He could see the blurred red triangle of the CITGO sign off in the distance, the industrial lighthouse of back-bay. He started off in the opposite direction towards the nearest T-stop; he looked back at Louise's building longing for her warmth and company before continuing on his way.

The train car J.D was in was mostly empty at this hour, aside from a few city workers and college kids; pulling his phone out of his pocket he noticed several missed calls and text message notifications. All the calls and most of the messages were from Lenard, J.D couldn't stop the scowl from forming across his face. The other messages were from his older sister, they were innocent in nature, asking how he was, and when he was going to make it out for a visit. He made a mental note to call her back.

It was fifteen past five when J.D entered his brownstone; he looked at his trainers by the door and figured a run would clear his head a bit. Sleep was miles away and chasing it at this point would prove fruitless. Reading over the messages from Lenard once more, he confirmed he had a meeting around 9 that morning and then headed back out into the city.

-

Johnny walked into the offices of Birch Inc. at a quarter to nine; Stryker and Pink were seated outside of Terry's conference room.

"Morning boys," Johnny smiled with fake enthusiasm, "What brings you lot in at such early hours?"

Pink ignored Johnny's annoying jolliness, Stryker grunted in response before asking, "Is Frank with you?'

"No, he's probably catching the T in from Allston."

All three of the men looked up as J.D walked through the doors, Pink and Stryker offered greetings, Johnny only nodded slightly. The two men stared at each other causing a shift in the air; J.D spoke first, "Morning gentlemen."

"Is frank with you then?" Stryker inquired after J.D.

"No, should he be?" J.D answered.

"I haven't heard from him, and if he isn't with either of you. Well, it's odd . It's almost nine," Stryker said with slight concern.

"He'll be along, don't fret Stryke. He's probably still half drunk or something, what time did you guys leave Al's anyway."

"Quarter past two," Pink offered calmly, his demeanor stoic.

"That late huh? How about you Jason? Johnny pressed with feigned innocence, "what'd you get into last night?"

Johnny's question would seem friendly enough to anyone other than him and J.D, but at that moment his interest was anything but cordial.

J.D's head snapped towards Johnny, his eyes narrowed as he adjusted his wristwatch, "not much, just dinner with a friend of mine." Johnny noticed his reservations; the anger from the previous night began to poke through.

"So, not too late of a night for you I gather?" Johnny offered coolly, he watched to gauge J.D's response, taking note of his clenched jaw and squared shoulders. J.D's reply was calculated, "no, not too late at all," he quipped, "question though. Do you happen to know of hardware place around?"

Johnny stood confused at the retort; he replied flatly, "No. why?"

J.D was quick, "Oh, I just knocked a wall hanging down at that friend's place, thought I might fix it up before I see her next"

Pink, who had been watching the interaction between the two men, reacted quickly. Had he not, Johnny's fist would have connected with J.D's jaw after his first swing.

Johnny yelled, "Come again?!" He pushed against Pink's restraining arms.

J.D had stepped back, and Pink was now pushing a very hot headed Jonathan into the corner, "Nigga, have you lost your mind?!" Pink barked, "What are you on about?"

Johnny had stopped swinging at J.D, but his finger was pointed at his face over Pink's shoulder, "I'll fucking kill you. What the fuck did you do!" He was seeing red, and the smug look on J.D's bastard face was not quelling his rage.

"I think you should calm down Jonathan, listen to your friend." J.D stood unflinching.

"What the fuck is this all about?!" Terry Birch stormed in with Lenard quick on his heels, his icy blue eyes moved between all four men's faces before settling on Johnny. "What is your fucking problem, kid?"

Johnny moved from Pink's reach while straightening his suit jacket, "Nothing Sir."

"Well, it doesn't look like nothing. So whatever 'something' it's 'not,' drop it. Now!" Terry growled.

Everyone stood looking at Terry, his presence garnered no further argument.

A loud bang came from the door Terry and Lenard had just come through.

"Ah fuck, the T ran late with all the construction," Frank crashed in behind everyone looking deshelved, meeting Terry's piercing gaze he shut his mouth quickly.

Terry glowered at everyone before stomping into his conference room, throwing his overcoat in Lenard's direction he yelled at everyone to follow him.

-

J.D noticed Johnny looking in his direction throughout the meeting; he figured no interaction was his best course of action at this point. There was no need to roil any waters with Jonathan yet, Louise and he were close, so whether J.D wanted to or not, he needed to keep things on an even keel.

Before he got a chance to leave the conference room Lenard called his name and beckoned him over.

Placing his sausage fingers on his shoulders he pulled J.D in close enough that he could smell the foulness of his breath as he heaved each word out in anger, "When I fuckin' call you, you had better answer. This isn't a game boy, you work for me."

J.D jerked away angrily, "I work for Terry," he clipped.

"No, Terry had me hire you. So for all intents and purposes you work for me," Lenard spit out while thumbing his own chest, "understand?"

J.D nodded his agreement.

"I have some things you need to attend to in the next couple of days, I'll call you this evening with word," Lenny sat down and smoothed his slick hair back breathing heavily

"Oh," he added, "And whatever that was all about this morning with Johnny-boy, get it straight."

J.D walked out with the office door slamming behind him. He walked about eight paces before Johnny appeared in front of him.

He looked annoyed, and his calm demeanor was forced, "I just wanted to, uh, apologize," he coughed before continuing, "that was uncool and I lost my head." He reached his hand out.

J.D appraised it cautiously before grabbing it back, "yeah, no hard feelings. I was out of line. I would never treat Louise poorly," he looked Johnny straight in the eyes when he said it.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Johnny replied gruffly before looking away, "the boys are waiting lets knock this shit out of the way before lunch, cool?"

"Yeah cool," J.D responded, he was pretty sure Pink was behind this cease fire, but it was welcomed at the moment. He knew full well that this thing between him and Johnny was not done. An image of Louise popped into his mind, yeah, he was certain things were far from over.

He walked over to the black extended town car that carried the other four men; he climbed in the back as they headed further into the city. Collections needed to be made, before a larger meeting around three o'clock. Certain council men needed to be 'spoken' too in order for particular legislation to go through. Construction and city planning was one of the easiest avenues Birch Inc. had for burying and 'washing' money, and for the time being J.D had to ensure that that is the way things stayed.

-

"YOU ARE FUCKING JOKING," Rachel shrieked loud enough for a few customers to turn their heads quizzically.

Louise glared, "Rachel! Ssh!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wined, "But, he just stopped?! Just like that, just stopped."

Louise was trying to finish up the batch of macaroons she was working on after the evening rush. Macaroons weren't particularly difficult, just tedious and time consuming. Small steps had to be taken in order for them to turn out with the correct shape and consistency. Technically, it was her day off, but because she was the owner of the bakery, 'time off' was never a guarantee.

When Louise had woken up that morning she was in a foul mood, as soon as she opened her eyes a flood of memories from the previous night were on instant playback. A tinge of rejection was laced throughout her recollections, she tried to hold onto J.D's words and his promise, but by mid-morning she had lost her bravado.

No missed calls or texts by noon somewhat solidified her earlier negative musings, so she took it upon herself to get some shopping done. Most of the ingredients for her pastries had to be shipped in but living in Boston afforded her the ease of picking up certain specialty items from local artisan shops.

Fall was just beginning, so she figured she'd make use of her bike before the season turned completely, the items she needed were small and moving her body felt like it could provide a bit of the release she was anticipating from the night prior. By the time she had finished up her errands and grabbed food it was almost five in the evening. All she really needed to do was store her oils and extracts away in the shops pantry, but her empty flat seemed a bit too lonely for her liking. Instead she grabbed her apron, forced on a smile and helped her employees with the tail end of the late rush. Rachel took notice of her sagged shoulders and took it upon herself to pour a glass of wine for her and Louise. Rachel took the bottle from the 'emergency stash,' as she dubbed it, basically it was a cupboard of half empty bottles used in recipes. A while back Rachel took a label maker and printed out the title, "Cabinet of Cure all's and Curiosities," and stuck it beneath its doors.

Fast forward to the current moment in which Louise was measuring out cream of Tartar while Rachel stood in front of her wide eyed and mouth gaping.

"What a fucking tool!" Rachel huffed, "And to think I liked him. Well, liked him for you that is."

Louise sighed, "The worst part is he promised all these wonderful things y'know."

Rachel quirked an eyebrow suspiciously, "you mean like psycho promises? Did he express his undying love?"

Lou swatted at her laughing, "Not like that Rachel, he just said all these things about how he didn't want me drunk our first night together, he said something like," Louise then tried to imitate his southern drawl, "I want to make sure you remember everything that I make you feel."

Rachel was floored, "I think I'm wet. Did he have cowboy boots on when he said it? Please tell me he had boots on!" Louise laughed whole heartedly at Rachel's silliness.

"No, of course not," a sly smile crept onto Louise face, "Can you imagine if he did though." Both women fell into a fit of giggles.

Slight shuffling grabbed their attention between laughter. Simon had poked his head in through the window to see what was going on, "Scat! You little peeping tom!" Rachel pointed at him cackling.

Louise wanted to pee from laughter, "That poor boy!" she mused.

"I'll go check on him, and then I want to hear more about the lone ranger," Rachel walked back to the front of the shop while shooting finger guns above her head.

Louise laughed to herself softly and continued her work, a few costumers must have been preoccupying Rachel's attention because she didn't interrupt again until just before closing. Interrupt was an understatement actually, Rachel almost fell into the back before hissing, "Lou! He's here!"

Louise was confused until it dawned on her, her eyes widened and her first reaction was to whisper hurriedly to Rachel, "Hide the wine!"

"Huh? OH!" Rachel moved like the wind throwing the bottle out to recycle before pushing Louise out towards the front, "Go, go, oh! He has a package or something!"

Louise halfway got out the word 'what' before she was pushed out towards the counter' When she gazed back J.D was standing there looking boyishly handsome. He was dressed down from the last time she had seen him, this time he was just wearing a white t-shirt under a dark grey hoodie. He had a crooked smile on his face that made his single dimple more prominent. Louise tried to play it cool but couldn't stop her eyes from roaming over his body; he must have just taken a shower because his sandy brown hair was a bit damp, the slight natural wave of it kept it from being in his face.

"Hi." he spoke out quickly, the baritone of his voice vibrated through her.

"Hi." her response came out with a breath she didn't know she was holding.

He lifted a medium sized item wrapped in brown parchment paper, "I uh," he cleared his throat nervously; "It's a gift."

Louise eyed him suspiciously without saying anything. He continued, "If you aren't busy, perhaps we could talk outside, for a moment."

"Oh, well I have some things—"

Rachel cut her off, "Ha Louise, best boss awards goes to you, coming in on your day off and everything. I think Simon and I got this from here, Right Simon? Simon?!"

"Ye-yeah," Simon piped up from somewhere in the back.

J.D looked at the floor laughing quietly, Louise shot Rachel daggers before nodding at J.D, "Sure, I guess I have a moment."

"Great," he stepped aside to let Louise pass and followed her out of the shops doors.

-

J.D had no doubt that Louise was going be pissed, but when they stepped out into the evening and she crossed her arms in front of her, he knew he had his work cut out.

"Louise, I'm sorry," she cut him off before he could finish, "I don't want a lame ass 'I'm sorry', Jason, an explanation would be better appreciated."

J.D frowned as she continued on her tirade, "You haven't reached out to me all day, all day! Not a single word. I've been racking my mind this entire time trying to get you out of my head, it's bad enough you left me hotter than a half-fucked fox in a forest fire last night, but then you just ignore me the morning after."

J.D did a double take, what did she just say, he couldn't stop the smile that crossed his lips.

"Don't you dare laugh at me Jason Doyle," she wagged her finger in his face, "You can't just show up randomly with gifts and expect everything to be fine. Grow up." She turned to walk away but J.D stepped into her path. "Move!" Louise barked.

"Louise! Stop, would you please," he grabbed her hand and dipped down to meet her gaze, "Look, I picked up my phone to call at least a dozen times to say something, but everything sounded wrong." Her gaze softened only a little, J.D continued pushing his luck, "I was running around all day, and that's not an excuse, I just, I'm sorry. I thought that if I saw you in person and I gave you this," he lifted the package, "Maybe I could get you to hear me out."

Louise's eyes travelled to the package intrigued, she blew out a frustrated sigh before asking what it was.

"Open it," J.D pressed.

Louise held the package awkwardly trying to untie the drawstring; once it was partially opened she looked up at him with a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"You replaced my picture?" She laughed surprised.

"Kind of, I replaced the frame; the picture itself was fine, but yeah," J.D shrugged sheepishly.

"Thank you, you're so sweet."

J.D looked down and he could see that Lou's anger had lifted; he reached his finger under her chin to tilt her face towards him. "Forgive me?" he asked before bending and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Louise pulled away quickly and J.D thought for a moment that she might yell at him again, but instead she was looking up at him through her lashes with shining onyx eyes, she smiled biting her lips, "Yeah, I forgive you."

J.D felt his heart tighten at her words while a familiar warmth began spreading within his chest, "Would you like me to hang it up for you, the picture?"

"Oh, yeah," Louise stammered out, " Thank you. Yeah, I just need to grab my things from inside. Meet me around back? I'll be just a sec." She handed him the picture and moved towards the shop. J.D watched her enter through the window and smiled as Rachel all but threw Louise's belongings at her.

A moment passed while J.D waited next to Louise's security door, he stood patiently, grateful for a second chance with her. As she turned the corner and approached him he stepped aside so that she could unlock the gate, "Are you hungry at all?" she asked turning to look at him before swinging the door open, "I could make us something small if you would like?" J.D smiled and kissed her swiftly, "Sure, and to drink?"

Louise's eyes noticeably darkened with lust, "is tea alright with you?"

-

A loud hiss erupted from the copper tea kettle atop Louise's stove, announcing it had reached boiling. She lowered the flame and turned back to the items on her chopping board, she raised an eyebrow at J.D who kept stealing bell peppers as if she wouldn't notice.

"There won't be anything left to cook if you keep swiping everything y'know. Mind grabbing a couple of mugs, the tea cabinet is to the left."

"How much tea do you drink?" J.D asked swinging the cupboard open, at least a dozen jars stood with different colored leaves and flowers, some of the names he could recognize while others were lost on him. "I thought you guys dropped all of this stuff in the harbor or something?"