Sweet Talk Ch. 04

"Yeah," Sam said. "It's no big deal. We just happened to end up in some shop, Anna started trying stuff on and I bought a few things. You know..." he cleared his throat. "Like a gift."

A gift, Jason, thought. Right.

"Andhe wouldn't take no for an answer," Anna added, shaking her head.

"That's what friends are for," Sam said, giving Anna a warm smile that bothered the hell out of Jay. Fuck, he was losing his mind.

Still, he couldn't stop himself when he stood up, slowly stretched his back and eyed both Anna and Sam. "Since when are we buying each other clothes?" Right as he said the words, he realized how his question sounded, but it was too damn late to take it back now.

Sam was staring at him, but Anna just laughed. "Don't worry, Jay. No one expects you to start buyinganyoneclothes—especially if those broke-down Asics are any indication of your fashion sense."

At that, Sam faked a wince. "Wow, Anna, you really know how to hit where it hurts." He crossed the room and sat down in a large, plush side-chair. Besides the bed, a small mahogany desk and a table near the door, that chair was the only other piece of furniture in the room.

Jason watched Sam settle himself and waited until Anna sat back down on the bed before he sat, too. "So, where've you been all day?" he asked Sam.

With a light shrug, Sam flicked his gaze toward the TV. "Around. Had some business to take care of."

"Family business, right?" Jay asked. He knew Sam's dad lived out here and he also had a pretty good idea of the custody mess going on with Sam's sister, but he didn't want to bring all of that up in front of Anna.

And, from the way Sam was studiously staring at the TV, it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it right now, either. "Yeah. That's right," he said, simply.

Nodding, Jason glanced at Anna who was now sitting next to him on the edge of the bed. She had her arms propped behind her, both legs dangling slightly above the floor as she swung her feet back and forth. Damn he wished she'd go put on some sweats or something.

After a second, she caught him staring. "What?"

Jason opened his mouth to reply, not knowing what he was going to say, but Sam's interjection saved him. "Oh, damn, I completely forgot why I came over here," Sam said.

"Why?" Anna asked.

Sam stood up again. "I did a little exploring earlier, and I found the hotel's pool room."

Jason laughed. "Way to go Magellan. They have little signs all over the place telling you where everything is."

Sam shot him a dirty look. "Mypoint, smart ass, is that you guys haven't been up there yet, have you?" When both Jay and Anna shook their heads, he grinned. "You've gotta see it."

"What's so great about it?" Anna asked, searching around for her flip flops.

"It's huge," Sam told her. "The pool room, alone, takes up almost half of the top floor."

"You coming, Jay?" Anna asked, bracing a palm on the bed next to his thigh as she put on her sandals.

He almost said no, since he was so damn moody right now. But he knew Anna would want to know why and he didn't feel like making up excuses, so he got up and slipped his bare feet into his Asics.

Turning back toward Anna, he grinned at the look of amusement and disgust on her face. "I know I look like a bum or a dork or whatever, so you don't have to tell me that," he said.

Anna, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to stare at the well-sculpted, lightly-furred perfection of his tan calves. She'd never been able to figure out how he managed to stay such a perfect, golden-brown color year-round in Seattle. He definitely wasn't the tanning booth type and he'd probably never even heard of that bottled stuff. It was just genetics, she decided, that had conspired against her to make him irresistibly gorgeous.

Even in a pair of faded basketball shorts, a plain white t-shirt and those damn sneakers, he still gave Sam a run for his money when it came to male eye-candy. And, she thought, shooting him a last glance before she opened the hotel room door, once again, he won hands-down.

"Just make sure you don't walk too close to me," she said, over her shoulder as he and Sam followed her out into the hall. "I'm afraid your crap fashion sense might be contagious."

Sam laughed, but Jay ignored them both. "Sugar, when you're as pretty as me, fashion sense is optional," he drawled.

"Oh God," Sam groaned. "Go make out with yourself, already."

"I know!" Anna exclaimed, as they all stepped into the elevator. "He makes me wanna puke sometimes." She tried to sound teasing and nonchalant because, honestly, that was the only thing that reminded her where the boundaries on their relationship stood. She was firmly in the Friends Only column, so that's how she needed to act.

Upstairs, the elevator doors dinged open and they piled out. The air smelled faintly of chlorine and pool water. Off to the left, there was a set of two doors, all black, only one of which was open right now. Inside, Anna could make out the dimly lit interior and the edge of what looked like a bar.

"There's a bar up here?" Jason asked, looking at Sam.

"Yep. It's called the Skyline or something like that," he replied. "I guess, during the week, it's just a bar. But on weekends it turns into a nightclub." He started walking in the opposite direction. "The pool room's this way, though."

The entire far end of the hallway was made up of frosted glass, and as they approached, the chlorine scent grew stronger. Finally, Sam held the door open for Anna and she walked through.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she breathed. Sam was right. The room was huge. Most of it was taken up by an Olympic-size pool, but another, smaller pool, for kids apparently, and two kidney-shaped hot tubs were arranged around the slightly humid room.

The best part, though, was the view. The wall directly across from them was lightly tinted glass that opened up onto a balcony twenty-five stories above downtown Chicago. Outside, the glittering gold and white lights of the early evening cityscape beckoned.

Anna grabbed Sam's hand excitedly and looked up at him. "Do you know if the balcony's open? Can we go out there?"

Sam grinned. "I didn't check when I was up here before, but we can see."

"Let's go." She tugged him along next to her, leaving Jason to follow.

And as he did so, Jay was scowling at where Sam and Anna's hands intertwined. Okay, they weren't holding hands, exactly, since Anna was clearly just trying to hurry both him and Sam along, but...it still made him uncomfortable.

Digging his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he followed them. There were a few dozen people milling about the room; some parents lounging on deckchairs and six or seven kids splashing around in the water. They were whooping and hollering, all of them ignoring their mothers' attempts to shush them.

For some reason, Jay was reminded of all those summers he, Anna and Nate had spent swimming in Lake Purdy, out by her dad's fishing cabin. Then, something occurred to him. It'd been a long time since he and Anna had gone swimming.

He stopped near the deep end of the pool and said, "Hey, Sam...think Anna's a better swimmer than she was when she was eleven?"

They both stopped, and turning to face Jay, all Anna needed to see was the mischievous smirk on his face to know what he was thinking. Oh, crap.

She immediately started backing away.

"Jay...don't." Trying to edge behind Sam, she let out a short-lived squeal as Jason quickly caught her from behind and, laughing, dangled her over the pool's deep end.

How could she have forgotten? Ever since they were kids, Jason had always gained a weird delight from throwing her into large bodies of water. While fully clothed.

"Jason, put me down!" she demanded, despite the fact that he had both her arms pinned to her chest. She could feel his laughter rumbling through him, vibrating against her back.

"But you said you were hot earlier, sugar," he said in a disgustingly innocent tone.

"Well, I changed my mind."

"Too late," Jay proclaimed and, before she could react, he flung them both into the cool, clear, and cold, water.

She came up sputtering. Her hair was plastered all over her face and her mouth tasted like chlorine as she blindly swam for the pool edge. Dammit, every single time they were near open water, he pulled this stunt. And she, stupidly, forgot about it until it was too late.

"Here, Anna, gimme your hand." She glanced up and saw Sam bent over the edge of the pool, reaching out for her. And he was clearly trying not to laugh. Ohhh, she hated them both.

Then, right on cue, Jay's grinning, water-drenched face popped up next to hers. He bobbed in the deep water, lightly splashing her.

"What're you, twelve?" Anna grumbled, blowing beads of water off her lips. She'd reached the edge of the pool, but didn't immediately grasp Sam's hand.

Jason's grin widened. "Come on, sugar, it's tradition."

Anna's eyes narrowed, but, dammit, nowshewas fighting the urge not to laugh at him. God, he was such a goofball sometimes. And she loved it. Still, she tried to maintain her irritation.

"How about we start a new tradition?" she suggested, finally taking Sam's hand so he could pull her out.

"A new one?" Jay asked as he hauled himself out, too.

"Yep," she replied, primly. "Every time you do this, I kick you in the shins a week later."

"Why a week later?" Sam laughed, giving them both a wide berth to avoid being dripped on.

Anna smirked. "Because that way, he won't be expecting my retaliation. And it'll hurt a hell of a lot more if it's a surprise."

Jason grimaced and shot Sam a wary look. "Oh, shit. I'm kinda scared now."

Laughing, Anna made a futile attempt to wring some of the pool water out of her dress.

Watching her, Jay swallowed hard, suddenly thinking that, once again, he'd badly miscalculated tonight. The pool thing was partly tradition, but he'd also done it to remind himself of their roles—his as an older brother figure, and hers as his almost-sister.

Now, though, that wet dress was clinging to her curves in ways that made him want to peel the whole thing off of her and get a first-hand look at what was underneath.

He cleared his throat, right fucking back where he'd started earlier—wanting things he had no business thinking about, and wanting todothose things with someone he damn sure couldn't, and wouldn't, touch.

Fuck.

"We checking out this balcony or what?" he asked gruffly, trying to act normal.

Anna gave him a dirty look. "Well, that's where wewereheaded beforesomeonedecided to take a detour in the pool."

Chuckling, Sam led the way toward the glass doors and they all walked outside.

Now that the sun had set, an entirely new sort of beauty cast itself over Chicago's skyline. The tall buildings, seemingly so industrial and harsh, stretched up into the night sky, their dark silhouettes dotted with lights like embers in a dying fire. Even the heavy traffic below turned rhythmic, almost serene, this far above street-level where the sound of horns and exhaust fumes didn't penetrate.

Stepping up to the railing, Anna leaned her head back and peered up at the inky sky. There were fewer stars visible here than in Seattle, and even that didn't compare to the sensory overload of star-gazing in Sweet Water. But still, there was something unique and pleasant about looking out over an unfamiliar city, while standing beneath the same, yet altogether different, sky.

The experience was all the more enjoyable because she was here with two people she cared about, Jason on her left and Sam on her right. Up here, for a moment, the world—and her life—felt oddly uncomplicated. It was a feeling she knew would be short-lived but, right now, she drank it in.

"So does it live up to your expectations?" Sam asked.

Inhaling the humid air, Anna smiled a little. "Do you have to ask? It's beautiful."

"They say Chicago has one of the best cityscapes in the world," Jason observed and his low voice simply added to Anna's enjoyment, washing over her in pleasant tingles.

"What about Seattle's?" she asked after a moment.

She saw Jay shrug out of the corner of her eye. "I think it's up there, too, but not as nice as this, I don't think."

"I love the Seattle skyline," Anna announced, shivering as a light breeze started up.

Sam chimed in, then. "If we're comparing, I'm gonna have to be loyal and say Boston's skyline is pretty amazing."

The breeze grew stronger and Anna, still wet from the pool, shivered even more. But she looked over at Sam and said, "I've never been to Boston. What's it like?"

He smiled, tilting his head back as he thought of his hometown. "Crowded. Big—a lot bigger than Seattle. Full of bad traffic...but also great sports, lots of history and," he grinned, "the best chowder you'll find anywhere."

"Which," Jay added, "all the true Bostonians pronounce chow-dah."

Anna tried to laugh, but that light breeze had upgraded to a full-blown wind by now; it was cutting through the thin, wet fabric of her dress and she was freezing.

"Okay, guys," she said, "this was fun until the wind started blowing. But I'm cold and I'm going back inside."

When Sam turned to follow her, Jay caught his eyes. "Hold on," he said. Then he told Anna, "We'll be in there in a second."

Anna looked between the two of them, wondering what was up, but she was too cold to ask questions, so she just walked back inside, leaving them alone.

"What's up?" Sam asked when the door closed.

Jay eyed him for a minute, wondering if now was the time to bring this up. He leaned back against the railing, his hands deep in his pockets. "You go see your dad today?" he asked.

Sam blew out a breath, turning to stare out at the buildings and cars below. "Yeah. I talked to him."

"Anything change?"

Slumping his shoulders, Sam silently shook his head.

Jay didn't say anything. He knew how much this whole custody thing was ripping Sam up inside. Back at the CIA, he never made it any secret that he thought his stepmother was no good. Then, when Dave Wyatt and the stepmother went through the divorce, the only thing Sam worried about was what was going to happen to his baby sister.

Jay had been able to relate, since he'd lost his sister, too. Only while his mom and sister disappeared one day and he never saw them again, Sam and his dad had to go through a drawn-out divorce, rarely getting to see Claire. Then, and now, Jay didn't know which version was better: short and quick pain, like his; or slow and prolonged, like Sam's.

Any way he looked at it, it was all pretty fucked up, though.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's cool," he said, after a moment.

Sam glanced at him over his shoulder and shrugged. "Right now, there's nothing really to talk about. Not a damn thing has changed." This time, Jay nodded, as Sam turned his back again. Abruptly, he changed the subject, "Anyway, how'd you do in competition, today?"

Jay didn't have to be told that, for now, at least, the subject of Sam's sister was closed. So he stared into the pool room through the large windows, as he answered. "It was good, I guess. Almost felt like I didn't have enough time, but then everything was going in slow-motion, too."

Sam let out a short laugh. "Flash backs to cooking finals at the CIA, huh?"

"Damn, not even close," Jay admitted. "This was worse. Way worse."

"How so?" Sam asked.

Jason, still facing the pool room, had just opened his mouth to reply when his eyes settled on Anna, and immediately narrowed.

She was standing next to the pool, a few feet inside the door and a shirtless man in black swimming trunks was talking to her.

She smiled up at the man and something that felt a lot like jealously began to bubble in the pit of Jason's stomach. He tried to tamp it down, but then the man shifted so Jay had a good view of his face, and he stood up straight, glaring through the glass.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed, through gritted teeth.

"What?" Sam glanced at him, then over his shoulder, following Jay's line of vision. It didn't take long for him to notice Anna inside—talking to Andreas.

He swore under his breath and turned fully around, eyeing Jay warily.

"Don't do anything," he warned. "Seriously, Jay."

Jason barely heard Sam speak. Against his will, as he watched Anna talking to Andreas, his mind went back to his junior year at the CIA. When he'd learned how big of an asshole Andreas Giordano really was.

That year, he'd been doing a few internships out in Manhattan and ended up meeting and dating this gorgeous, Upper East Side girl named Rachel Van Hausen. She'd dripped wealth and class and, basically, all the things that Jason had never experienced. And she was so damn intense, passionate, that after a few months of what had started out casual, he'd really let himself fall for her.

It wasn't love, really. Not yet. But it was pretty damn close to it. He'd been half-obsessed with her; couldn't stop thinking about her. It was the combination of her independence, intelligence and the fact that, for once, he was the one doing the pursuing.

They'd been dating a little over five months. She always came out to see him in Hyde Park because it was damn near impossible for him to get away from the CIA teaching restaurants during the weekends. That semester, he had an afternoon class that ran late sometimes, so she'd get a taxi from the train station and wait outside the building.

It was their routine. Every now and then, he'd come out and find her talking to Andreas who took every chance he got to grab a cigarette break. Each time he found them laughing and chatting, Jay wanted to tell Rachel to stay away from Andreas. But he knew she'd interpret that as him trying to control her, so he just kept his mouth shut.

At the end of April, when he walked out to meet her and she wasn't there, he thought for a minute that she was just running late. After a few minutes passed and she didn't show, and she wasn't answering her cell phone, he went inside and asked some of the other students hanging around the front entrance if they'd seen her. One girl said she thought she'd seen her headed toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

So Jason walked back there, thinking he'd knock on the door and see if she was inside. Only, as he neared the bathroom, the muffled sounds he heard made his stomach knot up. The unmistakable noise of panting moans and flesh slapping on flesh came through the swinging door. It was almost like slow-motion when he'd pushed the door open and saw them there.

Rachel bent over the countertop in the women's bathroom. Her blonde hair all over her face and shoulders. The black line of her thong off-set from the center. And Andreas, his loose, white chef's pants down around his ankles, revealing his bare butt and thighs as he thrust into Rachel's body, both of her hands clenched in his where he held them against the small of her back.

Jay didn't know if he yelled something or if it was just an anger-filled shout, but the next thing he knew, Andreas had backed off and pulled up his pants, while Rachel was screaming, crying, her blue eyes wide with shock. She just kept screaming.

He was shouting by the time he asked her what the fuck had happened. And all she said, between gasping sobs was, "Jason, I'm sorry...he...made me...I'm so sorry..."

He didn't remember moving; didn't remember thinking about moving. Just, suddenly, he was on top of Andreas who was sprawled across the floor. Andreas had gotten in one or two good punches before Jay took him down; he could taste the blood in his mouth, but he didn't fucking care.

The son of a bitch had raped Rachel and he wanted to kill him. He probably would've come pretty close, too, if Sam hadn't shown up. Rachel's screams had alerted half a dozen students and a few faculty.