by Jan
Good afternoon! As always, this is my adaptation of Sandra Brown’s book, “Above and Beyond.” Thunderstorms in my area may not permit my answering your feedback today, but please be assured that it is most appreciated. -------Jan
COMING OUT OF THE DARK
Chapter 5
“Brenda, you have a visitor up front.”
Brenda strolled to the front lobby of L&B Records. Just as she rounded the corner, her face exploded into a huge smile. “Anthony! Did you come to see mommy?” He barreled into her arms and she stooped down and gave him a huge hug.
Gloria Cerullo stood in the doorway, smiling at her grandson and daughter-in –law. Her thoughts strayed back to supper Sunday night, after Jax had brought her back from their ice cream “date.” She had served the sandwiches and iced tea on a picnic table in the back yard beneath an oak tree. Anthony had played in the grass while Lois tried in vain to get Brenda to give them some details of the date.
“Come on, Brenda, can’t you tell us ANYTHING?” she whined.
Brenda sighed and put down her tea. “No, Lois, because there isn’t ANYTHING to tell. We just went, had an ice cream cone, and came back here. End of story.”
Lois stared at her sandwich. “Seems like it took an AWFUL long time for just one ice cream cone,” she said in the sing-song voice that Brenda was coming to detest.
Finally, Brenda put down her sandwich. “All right, if you must know, he drove me out into the woods in that fancy car of his. Once we got there, we tore our clothes off, jumped in the back seat, and made wild, passionate love the whole time. We were overwhelmed by the spontaneous lust. Finally, a state trooper found us and turned a hose on us, so we got dressed again and came home.”
She got up from the table to stop Anthony from eating a ladybug. As she straightened back up, she looked at Lois for good measure. “Oh, and the ice cream? Well, you don’t want to know what we did with it!”
Gloria looked sadly at Brenda. “Honey, there’s no need to jump down our throats. You know that for months, Carmine and I have been telling you that you’re a young, beautiful, vital woman. Even though Louie was our son, we don’t want you to shut yourself off from feeling anything again. This is just the first time we’ve ever seen you give a man anything close to a chance of getting close to you. You have to understand – we’re just happy and excited for you, that’s all.”
Brenda sat back down. “And YOU have to understand. I loved your son. Louie was my husband, and he’ll remain my husband until the day I die. I’ll never love anyone the way I loved Louie, and I’m not looking for anyone to love.”
Lois snorted. “But why do you have to insist on loving the guy? Can’t you just go out and have a good time with him? Do you have to LOVE him? What about fun?”
Brenda gave Lois another dirty look. “Lois Marie, you know as well as I do that most guys won’t take you out for “fun” without eventually expecting you to jump in bed with them. I can do without “fun” in my life. I had Louie. I have Anthony. I have my job. That’s enough.”
She went to pick up Anthony, and headed back into the house. Gloria just took a deep breath and shook her head sadly. Carmine, meanwhile, looked at Gloria in puzzlement. “Gloria, where did the state trooper get the hose if they were out in the woods?”
Brenda’s voice snapped Gloria back to the present. “What’s
so funny?”
“Nothing, Brenda, nothing at all,” Gloria lied. “So… what’s new?”
Brenda knew very well what Gloria was hinting at. That Sunday night, Gloria had jumped at the telephone each time it rang, hoping it was Jax calling for Brenda. But it hadn’t been. She had called the office this morning to grill Lois if he had called there. But he hadn’t.
“Mom, he hasn’t called here, so give it up,” Brenda said in annoyance. Actually, if she were being truthful, she had to admit she was a little annoyed that he HADN’T called. At least then she would have had the satisfaction of telling him she wasn’t interested in going out with him anymore. Anthony was pulling on her earring. “So you brought Anthony all the way down here just to see if Jax called?”
“No, Brenda. Well, I DID want to know if he called, but that’s not why I brought Anthony down here. Actually, I have that dentist appointment at 3:30 and Carmine’s not back from the barber shop yet. I can’t take Anthony with me to the dentist, and I’m sorry, but…”
Brenda looked into Anthony’s eyes, and saw Louie reflected. “No problem at all, Mom. We’ll be fine. You go ahead.”
As Gloria left, Brenda took Anthony back to the office she and Lois shared. Since Lois knew more about the technical end of the recording business, she spent most of her time in the studio anyway. “Wow, look Anthony. Here’s Aunt Lois!”
Lois looked up from her desk momentarily. “Hi, precious! How’s my favorite nephew?” She came over to take him from Brenda. “How come he’s here?”
Brenda went back to her desk to sift through some papers. “Your mom had to go to the dentist and Pops isn’t back from the barber shop yet. So I said we’d watch him.”
“Well, I have to get back into the studio, so are you gonna be OK with him?” Lois asked as she handed him back to Brenda.
“Sure. If that software guy shows up, I’ll just have Carly watch him.” At that moment, the intercom on her desk buzzed.
“Someone’s here to see you, Ms. Cerullo.”
“Speak of the devil.” Brenda waved to Lois as she looked Anthony in the eye. “Want to go meet an obnoxious salesman, honey?” She walked back up to the front desk, looking at Anthony and not really paying attention to her visitor until she heard his voice.
“Is that your newest recording artist? He certainly has the lungs for it.”
“Jax!” Brenda almost dropped Anthony in shock. He had on a business suit with jacket and tie, and she had to consciously tell herself not to check out Lois’ statement about how well tailored suits fit. It was navy and double-breasted, and he had on a white shirt and light blue silk tie. His eyes looked so blue she thought the sky might be jealous. She glanced at Carly, who was almost drooling on the desk. “Uh… Carly, this is a new friend of ours, Jasper Jacks. He rescued Anthony from the fountain at the North County Mall Saturday. Jax, this is our receptionist, Carly Roberts.”
Jax shook her hand and Carly smiled broadly at him. “I heard all about you from Lois this morning over coffee. Lucky Anthony.”
Jax returned the smile, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Brenda. She was dressed in a navy business suit, minus the jacket. Her blouse was sheer and soft pink and very feminine, and he was glad Brenda couldn’t see beyond Carly’s desk, because she was having a very definite effect on him. Brenda put Anthony down, and he toddled back to her office.
“Do you bring him here every day?” Jax asked with a smile.
“No, my mother-in-law just dropped him off because she has a dentist appointment. But he’s been here often enough that he knows his way around.”
“Will he be OK back there by himself? I mean, you don’t have any fountains or anything?” Jax couldn’t resist the tease.
“No,” Brenda blushed. “There are some blocks and things back there that he loves to play with.” Carly watched the entire conversation like she was watching a tennis match, her head bobbing back and forth. Brenda looked at her, and then back at Jax. “So, are you coming here to tell me you’re buying our company and taking away all of our jobs?”
“No,” he laughed, “something much simpler than that. I was out taking a walk to clear my head after a particularly obnoxious business meeting, and I found myself in front of your building.” He could see Brenda’s eyes begin to cloud over at his sham of an excuse. “And…” he drew out the explanation, “…I…uh… came to find out if you can recommend a good florist. I need to order a corsage.”
{Corsage? For who?} “Really? {This oughtta be good.} “What’s the occasion?”
“A banquet. It’s semi-formal, and I thought a corsage might be nice.”
{What banquet?} “Well, L&B uses a florist downtown called Flowers by Jean. They do good work. I can have Carly give you the number.”
“Great.” But he didn’t look happy. “Uh… can you recommend any kind of flowers that would be nice? I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to flowers. I DO know that I like these little white flowers, though. Could they put some of those in?”
Brenda shrugged. “I guess they can do just about anything if the price is right. But it would help if you knew what they were called. There must be thousands of types of little white flowers.”
Jax thought for a minute. “These are about 1-2 inches, smell a little like lilies – stephan-something, I think they’re called. Is that good enough?”
Brenda caught her breath. “Stephanotis?”
“Yeah – that’s it!”
Nov. 4
I was cleaning out some boxes in the attic today, and I found some dried
flowers from my wedding bouquet. Remember how much I loved it – especially
the stephanotis? They looked so delicate and smelled so good. I never knew
how much I loved them until you picked them for my bouquet…
“Well, I’m sure if you tell Jean’s, they can put whatever
you want in the corsage.” She glanced over at Carly, who was still staring
at Jax. “In fact, why don’t you just give Carly the details, and
she can order the corsage for you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother her…”
Carly almost fell off her desk chair. “Oh, no bother at all.” She dropped her pen and knocked over her empty coffee cup looking for a pad to write on. “Now, when do you need this corsage?”
Brenda decided to stand back a little, and maybe if she gave them room, Jax and Carly might hit if off and take the pressure off of her. “The banquet’s Saturday night,” he told her, still glancing up at Brenda, who smiled back wanly.
“And do you want them to deliver the corsage, or will you pick it up?”
“Deliver it please,” Jax replied, digging in his coat pocket, “to this address on Saturday afternoon.
Carly looked at the paper, and then gasped loudly. “246 Brentwood Drive!” Now it was Brenda’s turn to gasp as Carly turned around to stare at her. “That’s your address, Brenda!”
Brenda looked at him as Jax gave her one of his best charming smiles. “Will you go to the banquet with me?”
Brenda felt all the air rush out of her lungs. “Oh, no, I couldn’t.”
Jax knew she would react negatively, so he hurried to add, “It wouldn’t be a DATE, actually. It’s a banquet that the Port Charles City Council is throwing to kick off the development of the docks. My company, J&J Jacks, is already involved in the project, but they want to attract some new blood to the development. I think some old-money-blue-blood named Edward Quartermaine is behind the thing.”
Brenda shook her head. “But what does that have to do with me?”
Jax smiled. “You’re a Port Charles native. You already know everybody, and I don’t. You could introduce me around, and give me the low-down on who I should know and who I should avoid.”
Brenda looked at him skeptically. If there was one thing Jasper Jacks would never need, it was somebody to help introduce him around. He had enough charm to sell raincoats in the Sahara Desert. If you put him in a crowded room, there wouldn’t be ANYBODY who wouldn’t want to be his friend within 3 minutes.
Then there was the gossip factor. If Jax hadn’t been so attractive, maybe she would have considered it. But if she, the little widow, turned up with the new eligible bachelor in town, Gloria’s friends from church would be planning the wedding by 10:30 the next morning.
He had moved over to her, and his closeness was making this so much more difficult. “No, Jax, I really don’t think so…”
He smiled at her again, and her armor began to buckle. “I really hate to do this.”
“Do what?” Now she genuinely looked scared.
“I never thought I would have to resort to this to get a date with a beautiful woman, but I’m desperate, so I’ll stoop this low. You OWE me.”
“Excuse me?”
“A favor. You are in my debt, madam.” He leaned forward as he said it, and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. His eyes were only inches from hers, and she could smell that wonderful aftershave he wore that she now recognized. It was woodsy, and sweet, and so appealing, just like the man. As she was desperately trying to think of another excuse to refuse, Lois’ voice rang out, coming down the hallway.
“Brenda, he may be my nephew, but I swear, this time I’m gonna….” She came into the lobby, carrying a sobbing Anthony in her arms. “Oh… sorry to interrupt.” Lois smiled at Jax and practically purred. “Hello, gorgeous!”
Jax smiled at Lois. Brenda rushed over to take Anthony. “I’m sorry, Lois. I got busy out here and didn’t notice where he went.”
“Yeah, busy. I guess so,” Lois drawled suggestively. She smiled at Jax, but then looked back at Brenda and Anthony with disdain. “You might be interested to know that he found that stack of Miguel’s new CD’s, and thought it might be fun to try using them as frisbees!” Brenda held him away from her, and Anthony’s lower lip began to quiver.
“Anthony Louis, you know better than to touch those!” Just as he was about to dissolve into a full-fledged wail, Jax reached over to touch her shoulder and took Anthony from her. Lois, seeing the potential before her, made a furious motion for Carly to join her in the back, and the two women gave Jax and Brenda some privacy.
Jax was holding Anthony very close to him, cuddling him, but looking him straight in the eye. “Now, tiger, didn’t you and I talk about this Saturday?” Anthony was perfectly still, and Brenda’s heart began to melt. Jax held him in the crook of his left arm and pointed the finger of his right hand at him for emphasis. “I told you that you have to listen to your mum. She loves you very much. And even though you and I know that we boys like to have our fun, we can’t go tearin’ up the town and giving her a heart attack. She’ll begin to think that we don’t care about her.”
Anthony was staring deeply into Jax’s blue eyes, as though he understood every word the man said. “Now, tiger, tell your mum that you’re sorry, and you hope she understands that sometimes, boys just,” he stopped to take a breath, and looked deeply in Brenda’s eyes, “will be boys,” he finished quietly. As he watched Brenda’s face carefully, the depth of feeling in her eyes took his breath away.
Brenda looked back and forth between Anthony’s tear-stained cheeks and Jax’s blue eyes. {The man should take up a career charming snakes in his spare time.} Anthony, meanwhile, had snuggled into the crook of Jax’s arm, and took the lapel of his expensive suit coat and was gnawing on it. As Jax looked down at him, he threw his head back in uncontrollable laughter, and Brenda had to chuckle, too.
“How can I resist you two?” Brenda finally sighed.
“Does that mean a yes for Saturday night?” he asked hopefully.
“It wouldn’t be a date? Because… I don’t want you to get the wrong idea or anything,” she said timidly.
“Not a date. Definitely. Not a problem,” he answered, trying to extricate the lapel from Anthony’s gummy smile.
She reached for Anthony. “I mean, I’m a widow, and I don’t date.”
He smiled. “I know. You told me that already.”
Lois and Carly peeked from behind the hallway entrance. “You two can come out now,” Brenda smirked. “All right, as long as it’s not a date, I’ll go with you.” Carly and Lois gave each other high-fives’s, and then Carly returned to her receptionist desk.
Jax smiled in triumph. “Sounds great. I’ll pick you up around 7.” He chucked Anthony under the chin. “You be good until then, OK tiger? Don’t go out on any hot dates with the neighborhood girls until I check them out for myself, got it?” Anthony grabbed his finger, and as he was about to put it in his mouth, too, Jax pulled it away. “I think this child is hungry! Don’t you ever feed him?”
He walked back towards the front door, and Carly stopped him. “Uh… do you still want me to order that corsage?”
“Absolutely.” Jax was firm about it as he turned back to give her a dazzling smile. Then he left, and all three women in the lobby let out their breaths at the same time.
Lois exploded. “You’re going to the banquet with him! All right!! Way to go, Brenda!”
“It’s not a date, Lois. It’s just a banquet to try to get some local businessmen interested in the docks project,” Brenda explained as they walked back to her office. She put Anthony down on the floor of the office, and went to get some cookies she always kept in her desk drawer for him.
“Yeah, but it’s a start! What are you gonna wear?”
“I’m not going to wear anything!” Brenda said in exasperation. When Lois got that naughty twinkle in her eye, Brenda immediately realized the double meaning of her statement. “I mean, it won’t matter what I wear because it’s not really a date.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He said so himself. He just asked me to go with him to introduce him around to some of the other important people in Port Charles.”
“Yep.”
“He did!”
“Gotcha.”
“It’s not a date.”
Brenda threw the eye-liner pencil down on the vanity in disgust. It may not have been a date, but it sure FELT like one. Otherwise, why had her hands been shaking so badly that she needed to apply the eye-liner three times before she got it right?
And why, if it wasn’t a date, did she find herself shopping with Lois the previous Wednesday at Windom’s for something suitable to wear?
Earlier that day, Lois had come over to the house and they had gone through Brenda’s closet. Every time Brenda had found an outfit that she thought would be acceptable, Lois gave it the “thumbs down.” After going through everything in her closet, Brenda had to admit that her wardrobe choices were pretty limited. All she had was either business suits or tops and pants that were suitable for “mommy and me” functions.
Lois had dragged her to Windom’s in search of the perfect dress, but Brenda’s heart wasn’t in it somehow. After much disagreement, they finally narrowed the choices down to a lemon yellow shift and a black cocktail dress.
“I like the yellow dress,” Brenda said quietly.
“You would,” Lois answered with disgust. “You ought to know better, Bren. Yellow is not your color.” She had put on the sleeveless shift, and after viewing herself from all sides in the mirror, she almost had to agree. It did make her look pale. It had a little white daisy trim going down the front in two lines.
Finally, Lois sighed. “Are you trying for the Goody Two Shoes look?”
“I’d like Brenda Cerullo look, if that’s all right with you,” Brenda answered sarcastically. “And besides, the black one is too…. Too…” Lois gave her a dirty look, and she put the black one on again.
Lois whistled. “Now, that’s the one she should take! That one definitely makes you look like a million bucks!”
Brenda turned to closely check her reflection in the mirror. The black silk swirled around her legs, showing them off. The black dress clung where she had curves and swirled where she didn’t. The rounded neckline was just a little daring, but not too immodest. The cap sleeves accented her shoulders and made her arms look graceful. But if she wore this dress, would Jax think she was being too sophisticated and suggestive?
She had to wonder the same thing as she stood before the mirror, inspecting her appearance. She was glad Gloria and Carmine were entertaining Anthony, because he would have learned many new words that shouldn’t be in his vocabulary yet if he had been in the room with her while she was getting ready. She had left her hair loose, just pulled back on each side with pearl combs. She wore a choker of black pearls that hugged her neck, and black high-heeled sandals to give her height. Jax was so tall compared to her that she could afford to wear the highest heels she had. She added simple black pearl stud earrings to complete the outfit.
Thankfully, Lois had a hot date with Eddie Maine that night, so Brenda was spared her interference. But Gloria and Carmine kept tactfully sticking their heads in the door, reminding her of the time.
She was almost ready to go, and when she turned, she saw the corsage lying on the bed. It had been years since the florist delivered something to the house for her. She carefully lifted it out of the box, inhaling the sweet fragrance of the white roses that had been mixed with the stefanotis. Her hands were still shaking as she placed it on her shoulder to pin it on, and she stuck herself several times with the corsage pins. {Why are you so nervous? You’re a widow, for goodness’ sake. It’s not like you’ve never been with a man before for a social engagement.} But as she stared at herself in the mirror, she still felt those butterflies. {This isn’t just any man. He’s handsome, and sophisticated, and wealthy….and you’re WAY out of your league here, kiddo.}
She shook her head to clear it, and then turned out the lights and made her way to the head of the stairs. As she stood there, she could hear that Jax had already arrived and was speaking with Gloria and Carmine.
She descended the stairs on wobbly legs, to find Jax holding Anthony and nodding to Carmine. “…. Should be finished in about two weeks,” he said, and then he sensed her presence on the stairs and turned to stare up at her.
Brenda felt like Cinderella descending the staircase at the ball. Jax’s eyes traced her form from head to toes and back again, making her breathing more shaky than it already was. She returned the stare, and he was gorgeous. He had on a charcoal gray suit, with the coat unbuttoned for comfort in holding Anthony. His starched white shirt showed off his tanned skin, and just as Anthony reached for his silver and black striped tie, Jax pulled it from his grasp. “Not tonight, tiger,” Jax said to him seriously, his gaze returning to Brenda. “Can’t have you using my tie for an appetizer tonight. Not when your mom looks this breath-taking.”
To be continued….
Chapter 6
Good morning! As always, this story is my adaptation of Sandra Brown’s novel, “Above and Beyond.” Although she does include a “non-date” at a civic dinner in her book, I have taken the opportunity to include many other GH characters and change the tone of the dinner, making this chapter more of my own. Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback and I hope you enjoy it. ----------Jan
COMING OUT OF THE DARK
Chapter 6
Brenda felt like Cinderella, walking down the stairs towards Jax and her in-laws. Jax’s eyes were like twin beacons of blue/white fire as he watched her descent. Carmine’s eyes were misty, and Gloria tried to brush away a tear without Brenda seeing. Even Anthony was blissfully quiet until she stood beside Jax.
{What do I say? What do I say?} Brenda had never felt so tongue-tied. Finally, Anthony saved the day.
“Maa-Maa!!” he cried, lunging from Jax’s arms into Brenda’s. Jax was not experienced at holding babies, but luckily he kept hold of the child’s legs, as Brenda caught his upper body. The only casualty of the situation was that Jax’s left arm was effectively trapped between Anthony’s body and Brenda’s breast.
“Come on, baby, let go!” Brenda cried in embarrassment, since Anthony thought this new position was fun and enjoyed being a bridge between two humans. He had wrapped his legs around Jax’s arm, and didn’t show signs of letting go soon.
Jax, meanwhile, was trying to do his best in a “touchy” situation. He smiled devilishly at Brenda. “Oh, that’s OK, he’s not too heavy. I think I could hold him all night like this, if necessary.”
The blood rushed to Brenda’s face and she blushed becomingly. “Come ON, Anthony!” she muttered through clenched teeth one more time, and the toddler finally got the message. Brenda swung him up into her arms, and he immediately reached for her pearl choker.
“Here, Brenda, let me take the baby,” Gloria said, rushing forward to get him before he destroyed the finished product that had taken Brenda so long to achieve. She swooped Anthony out of Brenda’s arms and Brenda shifted a little to readjust her dress and pearls. She smiled up at Jax.
“Maybe we should try that again,” she said softly. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself,” he said, wondering how he would be able to go all night without kissing her. “Am I permitted to tell you how wonderful you smell?”
“It’s the flowers,” she said shyly. “And besides, that would make this sound too much like a date…”
“… and it’s not, I remember,” he answered. “Well then, I won’t tell you how exquisite you look, either, since I don’t want to break any of the rules.”
She smiled at his creativity. “Thank you for being so careful.” She noticed Gloria and Carmine, both grinning like idiots at the interchange. “Well, shouldn’t we be going?”
“Now, Brenda, you just don’t worry about Anthony. He’s gonna be fine with grandma and grandpa. You just have a good time and don’t worry about getting home early,” Carmine advised as they headed toward the door.
Brenda began to worry that if they dallied much longer, Carmine would insist on getting out his camera and they could pose in front of the couch for pictures. She lifted the black and silver crocheted shawl that Gloria had loaned her, and Jax took it from her and draped it over her shoulders.
As they went out the door, Jax leaned back and whispered to Carmine, “No need to worry about her, sir. She’s perfectly safe with me. I’ll make sure to have her home at a decent hour.”
Carmine chuckled and looked at Jax. “It’s not HER I’m worried about, young man. It’s YOU. How you can take one look at her and not fall in love is gonna be a sight to see!”
Jax looked into Carmine’s eyes, and realized he had another ally. {Would you still feel that way if you knew it was my fault your son is dead?} He shook off the feeling, and followed Brenda down to the car to assist her in getting inside.
Brenda sat in the car, waiting for him to get in. {What will we talk about? What will we talk about?} Just as panic was about to set in, Jax got in the car and they pulled away from the curb. He began asking about her business and thankfully, he hadn’t forgotten the fine art of making small talk. Before she realized it, they pulled up in front of the Port Charles Country Club.
“I’ve never been here before,” Brenda said as they entered the main lobby. She was still a little shaken by the constant presence of Jax’s hand at her elbow. “They don’t exactly have too many of the “mommy & me” functions here, you know.”
Jax laughed. “This is my first time here since I’ve come to Port Charles, too. I think the reception is in the private dining room, off to the left.” He guided her that way, and when they reached the dining room, he offered to take her wrap. She refused, since it gave her something to do with her hands, but let it slip down to her elbows so the corsage wouldn’t be crushed. He left his hands at her shoulders, though, and she inhaled sharply when she realized he had bent down to whisper in her ear. “Now, I KNOW that’s not the flowers. You smell terrific, too.”
She looked over her shoulder at him in surprise, and realized that he was so close that she could smell his aftershave. She was becoming accustomed to it, and it fit him, she thought. Masculine, strong but not overpowering, sexy, and appealing. Just as her thoughts were taking a dangerous turn, she noticed a familiar face watching her across the room.
Jax followed her gaze. “Is that somebody I should know?”
Brenda smiled. “Probably. Come on – we might as well get the receiving line out of the way as quickly as possibly.” She led him over to the intimidating assemblage of Port Charles city fathers. What she didn’t know was that they were watching her as well. The familiar way that Jax had his arm around her and the fact that she was with the new, powerful, wealthy business lion of Port Charles did not go unnoticed.
“Ned, isn’t that Brenda Cerullo?” Edward Quartermaine grumbled to the tall, dark young man in the receiving line. “I thought she was out of circulation. Or at least, that’s what you’ve been telling me!”
“Grandfather, be quiet! They’re coming this way!” Ned hissed. He reached out as Brenda came up to him. “Brenda, you look fabulous! I didn’t know you were coming tonight!”
{Who the hell is he? I thought Brenda said she didn’t date. How does she know him that well?} Jax’s head was spinning.
Brenda hugged Ned, and then turned to Jax. “Ned, I’d like you to meet my new friend, Jasper Jacks. Jax, this is Ned Ashton…”
Jax interrupted her. “… CEO of ELQ. Nice to meet you, Ashton. I’ve read a lot about you.” Jax’s eyes were cold as he shook Ned’s hand.
“And we’ve read a lot about you, Mr. Jacks,” the older gentleman interrupted. “Edward Quartermaine, founder of ELQ,” he introduced himself. “Just exactly why would J&J Jacks decide to open a new satellite office here in little old Port Charles?”
Jax chuckled to himself. {The old boy doesn’t beat around the bush.} “Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Quartermaine. My family has been interested in developing our New York holdings for some time. Since I’ve recently entered the family business, it seemed a perfect match for me to open this office. New opportunities have always intrigued me.” He looked down at Brenda as he spoke, and suddenly Ned wasn’t sure if Jax was still talking about business.
Edward bristled. “Well, since both ELQ and J&J Jacks have a substantial stake in the new docks project, I think we should probably discuss it further. Would you and Brenda care to join us at our table for dinner?”
Jax pulled back slightly, and tightened his arm around Brenda’s waist, much to her chagrin. “Thanks for the offer, Mr. Quartermaine, but I didn’t bring Brenda with me tonight to listen to boring business discussions. We can do that in the board room sometime in the future. Will you excuse us?” He leaned down to Brenda’s ear, and his breath ruffled the hair there as he spoke, sending shivers down her spine. “Would you like something to drink?” He deftly spun her around so that they were walking away from the Quartermaines, leaving Edward still sputtering.
“Not now, thanks,” she whispered back shakily. When they were out of Quartermaine earshot, she turned to him. “I thought you said you wanted me to introduce you to the movers and shakers tonight.”
“Mm-hmmm,” he responded, looking around the room.
“Well, THAT was THEM!” she said quietly. “Why did you hustle me away from them so quickly?”
{So I can find out what’s going on between you and Ned first.} “Brenda, you have to distinguish between old money and new blood. Edward Quartermaine’s days are numbered. He’s had to hand the baton down to young Ashton. And I’m really not interested in either one of them. I’m looking for the NEW movers and shakers of Port Charles.” He tried to sound nonchalant. “So, it seems that you are pretty close to young Ashton, though. How do you know him? He doesn’t attend one of those Mommy and Me classes, does he?”
Brenda chuckled. “Actually, Ned is signed with our record label.” Jax choked. “Really. He performs under the stage name of Eddie Maine. Old man Quartermaine has a fit every time he takes the stage, but thank goodness, he’s got enough sense to not let Mr. Q stop him. He’s really quite talented. Oh, and he also dates Lois. I think they have a real thing going.”
Jax let out a quiet sigh of relief. The only competition Ned would be providing would be in business. He noticed Brenda looking back at the Quartermaine table. “Something wrong?”
Now it was Brenda’s turn to sigh. “No, I’m just really glad you didn’t accept Edward’s invitation to eat with them. I feel like everyone in the room is saying to themselves, “Oh, look, the little widow is getting out in circulation again.”” She glanced over at the Quartermaines. “Or I’m sure some of them are thinking, “Well, at least she had the good sense to wear black. Shouldn’t she still be in mourning?”” She looked sadly at Jax. “Do you ever get the feeling everybody is talking behind your back?”
“I really don’t think about it,” he answered, gently leading her over to a corner of the room more removed from Quartermaine eyes. “I’ve never cared much about what other people thought of me or said about me. You can’t be in the corporate takeover business and give a hoot about public opinion.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “The only thing I imagine people are saying behind my back tonight is “How did he get lucky enough to get a beautiful woman like that to accompany him to this boring affair?”” He saw her eyes start to widen. “Uh-oh, I’ve gone over the line again, haven’t I?”
Brenda smiled. “Well, it would help a lot if more of the people here knew that this really wasn’t a date.”
“Would you like me to have the band announce it?” he asked with a grin that could do serious damage to an iceberg. When she smiled again, he leaned down to whisper, “And I, for one, am glad you chose to wear black tonight. I would tell you how divine you look in that dress, but I know that’s against the rules for our non-date, so I won’t.”
“Well, thank you so much for following the rules,” she snickered. “It looks like everyone is going in to eat. Shall we?”
They moved to where the dining tables had been set up, carefully avoiding the Quartermaine table. Brenda noticed a couple sitting by themselves at a table. “Do you know them?” Jax asked.
Brenda shook her head. “He’s the new police commissioner. He was brought in from out of town – but I think Carly mentioned that he’s originally from Australia. Want to sit with them?” She and Jax made their way over to the table, and introduced themselves. Mac and Felicia Scorpio were friendly, and the dinner conversation was lively as Mac and Jax compared background stories from Australia. Since they were new and didn’t know Brenda’s life story, she enjoyed the time without having to worry about what they were thinking about the little widow’s new “friend.”
Jax was a charming and attentive dinner companion. Brenda enjoyed the delicious steak dinner, and Jax was always there to make sure she had anything she needed – condiments, more coffee, a refill for her water glass. She hadn’t had this pampered of a meal in ages. Dining with Anthony always resembled a war zone. When she wasn’t trying to get his hand to shovel the food into his mouth, she was dodging flying portions of food and flailing hands. She was usually up and down at least 5 times during a meal, and she had become accustomed to eating cold food herself. So for her, this was a real luxury.
Felicia excused herself to go to the ladies’ room after dinner and while Mac went to get an after-dinner brandy, Jax looked at Brenda. “Was the steak cooked the way you like it?” he asked with a smirk, as the waiter took away her empty plate.
“Yes,” she answered truthfully. “I didn’t have to cook it or wear it!” At his puzzled look, she continued. “You see, Anthony is at that age when he’s trying to feed himself, and most of the time, I’m trying to make sure that the food goes in his mouth and not on the floor. An uninterrupted meal for me is a real luxury. This was a real switch – I’m so used to wiping his mouth to clean it, or grabbing body parts to keep him from escaping from his high chair, I almost didn’t know how to behave tonight! I had to restrain myself tonight from leaning over to cut your meat for you!”
As she giggled at the mental picture, Jax leaned over to her and whispered in her ear again. “Believe me, Brenda, anytime you want to clean my mouth for me, I won’t object at all, but I can think of a much more fun way to do it than with a napkin!” She gasped and turned to face him, and their mouths were only millimeters apart as he continued. “And if you have the urge to grab any of my body parts, I would be most interested!”
Brenda felt the blood rush to her face, but as she looked into his blue/green eyes, she felt herself being drawn towards him. His head tilted slightly to the left and hers to the right. Just as their lips were about to meet, the orchestra struck a chord, startling them and breaking the mood. The lights in the room dimmed, and the band swung into dance music.
“Dancing? I didn’t know there would be music for dancing,” Brenda said, trying to regain her composure.
Jax straightened, trying to slow his heartbeat back to normal. “I guess they want to get everyone into a good mood before they make their presentation about the docks project.” They watched other couples dancing for a while, and Brenda sat, enjoying the music. Her glance strayed to Felicia and Mac, who had his arm around his wife. His fingers were idly stroking her bare arm, and she snuggled closer to him.
{Louie and I used to do those kinds of things. Sometimes he would just stroke the back of my hand with his fingers…} Brenda immediately felt like cold water had been thrown over her. She had gone several hours without even thinking of Louie. She had even almost kissed another man! What was the matter with her! Guilt didn’t make a very appealing after-dinner companion.
Just as she was about to tell Jax that she wanted to leave, he leaned in close. “Who’s that blonde woman over at the table near the Quartermaines?”
Brenda followed his gaze. “Oh, that’s Katherine Bell. She’s the head of Deception Perfume. I think that’s subsidiary of ELQ.” She looked at Jax. “Why? Are you thinking of taking over perfume companies now?”
Jax shook his head in disgust. “No. She just looks like she wants to take ME over, body and soul. She’s been staring at me all night, and now she looks like she wants ME for dessert.” Brenda watched her, and Katherine gave Jax what she apparently thought was a sizzling, flirtatious look. He looked at Brenda in desperation. “Dance with me.”
She was shocked. “Dance? Now? Here?”
“I know, it’s probably against every rule in the “non-date” book, but you’ll be saving my life here. I promise that I will consider your debt repaid, with interest,” he pleaded, as Katherine rose from her seat. “It’s like that movie, Jaws – she’s coming to get me!”
He held his hand out to her, and when Brenda took one look at his blue eyes imploring her to rescue him, she couldn’t resist. He led her out on the dance floor, and Brenda tried to ignore the looks they were getting from everyone in the room. Jax realized her discomfort, and placing his finger beneath her chin, he tipped her face up to him. “Don’t think about them. Just look at me and relax.”
{Yeah, right. Look into those baby blues and relax.} Brenda took a deep breath, and tried to think of some pleasant conversation. “You’re a very good dancer,” she said inanely.
Jax’s face sobered. “You mean, for somebody who was in a horrible accident?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean….” Brenda felt like she wanted to die, right there on the dance floor, but Jax’s face softened.
“I don’t really think of it as dancing,” he joked. “Just leaning in time to the music.” At that point, he tried to spin Brenda around, and her ankle turned over in the high heels, throwing her momentarily off balance. Jax caught her to him, tightening his arms around her. “Are you OK?”
“Yeah, it’s just I’m not used to these high heels. I just lost my…” Her words cut off abruptly as she looked into his eyes. He hadn’t released his hold on her. Where before they were in a polite dance position, he now held her body against him, wedged securely between his legs, and her chin rubbed against his shirt front.
The orchestra picked that opportune moment to swing into an old melody, and the female vocalist stepped up to the microphone.
When I fall in love It will be forever
Or I’ll never fall in love
In a restless world like this is, Love is ended before it’s begun
And too many moonlight kisses, Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun.
Jax pulled her closer, if that were possible. She felt so good in his arms.
He put his face next to her hair, and inhaled its fragrance. Jasmine. The
same as the letters. He rubbed his face against her ear, and placed just
the hint of a kiss behind it.
{This is what Dr. Napoli meant in Psych 1 – all those experiments about monkeys holding baby dolls and the effects on children of not being held as infants. The positive effects of touch on the human animal.} Brenda had missed this – being held in a man’s arms – and she hadn’t realized it how much until now. She rested her head against his chest, and could hear the reassuring beat of his heart. She never wanted the song to end.
When I give my heart, It will be completely,
Or I’ll never give my heart,
And the moment I can feel that, you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you.
As the music ended, Jax and Brenda reluctantly pulled apart and applauded
politely. Brenda wondered how to bridge the awkward silence, but she was
saved by Edward Quartermaine, who announced that everyone should take their
seats since the presentation on the docks project was about to begin.
Brenda sat through the presentation, and although Jax was fascinated, she began to feel how “out of shape” she was at social functions. She tried to stifle her yawns, but finally one sneaked out. Jax felt her embarrassment, and put his arm around her. “Do you want to leave?”
“But isn’t this the part you wanted to hear? The whole reason we came?"
“No,” Jax answered truthfully. {The real reason I came is because I wanted to be with you.} “I’ve done all the people-watching I need for one night.” They made their excuses quietly to Mac and Felicia, and then quickly escaped through a side door.
When they were safely inside Jax’s car again, Brenda began to get nervous. The end of the evening was coming. Even though it wasn’t a date, the dance had been very romantic. Would he expect a payoff? Did she want him to?
Jax was as nervous as she was. He began to fiddle with knobs on the dashboard to try to relieve some of his anxiety. He turned the radio on, then down, then up. He turned the air conditioning on, then adjusted the thermostat. “Comfortable?” he asked her. When she nodded, he combed his fingers through his hair, and then finally let his right hand rest on the seat next to her.
Brenda watched the hand carefully. What if it came over to take hers? Would she hold hands with him? What if he placed it on her knee? What if he moved it higher? What if ….?
But the hand stayed where it was. Soon, Brenda saw the Cerullo house not far ahead. Every light was off, but Brenda was sure that some snooping eyes were looking out a window somewhere. He pulled up in the driveway, and the hand turned off the ignition of the car. She dreaded the next moment, but Jax simply jumped out of the car on his side and headed around to open her door.
Fate had other ideas for them. As she stepped out of the car, her high heel caught in a crack in the driveway. Jax was standing close enough to catch her. He laughed and said in a low voice. “I think those shoes should be declared dangerous to your health.” He had placed his arms around her waist and as he steadied her, she lost her balance again and leaned against him.
She looked up at him. Thinking back on it later, she wasn’t sure if she reached up or if he leaned down, but the next thing she felt was his hand on the side of her face, and his mouth closing gently over hers. It wasn’t forceful, or intrusive. It was full of promise, and warmth, and sweetness. It asked, not demanded. Just as quickly as it began, it ended. Jax took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Are you one of those girls who don’t kiss on the first date?”
She smiled back at him. “But it’s not a date, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Darn. Silly me. I forgot.” His eyes twinkled in delight.
He walked her up to the front door. He half expected the porch light to come on, but thankfully it didn’t.
“Thanks for a lovely time, Jax. I really enjoyed myself.”
“Brenda.” He looked at her like a lost little boy, and she came closer. He put one hand on her waist, and she looked puzzled, but let him. “I know you didn’t want this to be considered a date.”
“Right.”
“And it wasn’t a date. I mean, I don’t want you to think I break my word about things.”
“I know you don’t.”
“But if I hadn’t…”
“If you hadn’t what?”
The hand slid around to the back of her waist to pull her against him. “If I hadn’t promised…” He never finished the thought. His hands came up to cup her face, and her eyes slid shut as he lowered his lips to hers. One hand made its way to the back of her neck to tangle in her hair there. The other hand stayed at her face, his thumb softly stroking back and forth along the edge of her chin. He teased her with light kisses at each corner of her mouth, and his tongue traced the perfect bow of her upper lip. It caused her lips to part, her breath coming out in a long sigh. He swept his tongue into her mouth and took her lips full force with his in a long, drugging kiss. This time, there was nothing tentative about it. As his tongue continued to tease hers and he tilted his head to get a better taste, his one hand slowly eased down her body to her waist, so that the backs of his knuckles gently brushed over her breast. He heard the hint of her moan at his touch, but also felt her body tense at his sensual attack. He cursed himself for pushing too hard, but it felt so right. He gently broke the kiss, and pulled back to gaze into her passion-glazed eyes. “Good night, Brenda.”
Thinking back later, she didn’t know where she got the strength to say it. “Good night, Jax.” She watched him walk back to the car and get in, and let herself in the house. Thankfully, Gloria didn’t come out to ask how the dinner went. Brenda floated to her room and quietly shut the door.
She leaned her back against the door and touched her finger to her lips. {It wasn’t a date. And that wasn’t a kiss.} But as she walked over in the dimly lit room and saw her reflection in the mirror, she gave every appearance of a woman who had been kissed, and kissed thoroughly. Her lips still were deep red from his touch. She took a ragged breath, thinking of the way Jax made her body come alive with his touch.
As she unpinned the corsage, she realized her hands were still shaking. She sat down at the vanity and watched herself in the mirror to avoid impaling her hand on a corsage pin, and began thinking about the kiss. Even thinking about it made her feel warm inside. It certainly put to shame those experiments in high school with Jagger behind the football bleachers. She had never known any man that could kiss like that. Not even ….
Her shaking hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sob. She looked down on the vanity and saw it -- Louie’s picture. At that point, she burst into tears at her wanton betrayal of her husband’s memory.
To be continued….
*Music credit: “When I Fall in Love,” from non-album tracks sung
by Nat King Cole. Song by Victor Young/Edward Heyman.