Page 2 of King of Jokers

“So, he is her boss and is arrogant, but sexy as all hell, obviously. She’s his assistant and has been in love with him forevvverrrrr.” Holding the phone between my shoulder and ear, I washed my hands and leant back against the basin, smiling at the way she elongated the words.

“And she put her whole life on hold for him, doing whatever he asked, whenever he asked. Including travelling halfway across the world to secure a business deal he had been working on for years which then meant she missed her nephew’s first birthday party. I mean, he did threaten to fire her if she didn’t, but still.”

“He sounds like a dick.”

“We prefer the term morally-grey, thank you. Anyway, she never told him any of this, obviously.”

“Obviously.” I repeated with a sarcastic lilt to my reply.

“I’m ignoring your mockery because get this – Jackson overhears her getting chewed out from her mum–”

“His name is Jackson?” I interjected, my smirk turning into a full-blown smile.

“Mmmhmmm.” She answered as if I shouldn’t be concerned that she named her main character a strikingly similar name to my own. And made him a jerk.

“Anywayyyyy, like I said, he threatens to fire her, so of course she agreed because, urgh hello, she is in love with him. And then her mum calls her and totally berates her for missing the birthday party and he overhears this and realises how freaking amazing she is and always has been and sacrifices his chances at securing the deal to take her home immediately. On his private jet, obviously.”

“Obviously.” I interjected again, my smile still firmly cemented as she sucked in a much needed breath after that spiel.

“And now they are on the flight back to New York, where she lives, and he is standing outside the door to the bathroom which she has just opened and he is looking at her like he wants to eat her having realised she is the one woman who has always been there for him, always been his biggest advocate, and she is staring up at him,” her voice dipped to a whisper and I turned the volume of my phone up, desperate not to miss a word, “Internally freaking out because she wants nothing more than for him to devour her. And then the hostess interrupts so he yells at the unknowing attendant to go away because they’re about to join the mile high club, obviously.”

I knew it was my turn to repeat the word, confirm with an exaggerated reply thatobviouslyhe was going to fuck her on the plane, but my mouth was dry and there was something new happening in other areas of my body which shouldn’t be when talking to myfriend.

“You hate it, don’t you? On a scale of one to throw the typewriter in the ocean, how bad is it?”

“That thing would survive a tsunami so it wouldn’t make a difference,” I joked.

“Don’t you dare criticise my beautiful magic maker. She brings me so much joy and helps me escape.”

Clearing my throat, I stood up straight and ran a hand through my hair.

“I think I’m going to need you to read me the next chapter.” I said, hoping my voice didn’t betray just how much I wanted that.

“You’re a grub.” She laughed and the melodic familiarity of that sound reaffirmed my decision. Home was exactly what I needed for the next few months and it would be even better with her there. “Buuuut, as soon as it is finished I will definitely need you to read it. I’ve never written an S-E-X scene before so it could be terrible.”

I barked a laugh at how a highly-educated twenty-six year old could not bring herself to say the word sex or any other word alluding to anything remotely erotic out loud. Thanks to her very embarrassing faux pas as an awkward fourteen year old when my father asked for help with his crosswords and she confidently screamedstrum dickinstead of drum stick. Both my parents and hers thought it was the funniest thing in the world, and I did my best not to join in when her cheeks flamed and after gaping at the room for a good fifteen seconds, she fled down to the beach where it took me two hours to convince her no one would care.

Which for a horny fourteen year old boy – was a lie. I cared. A lot.

Strum dick. Classic.

It was also the last time I ever heard her say anything even remotely close to sexual and I was forbidden from mentioning theincidentagain.

“I’ve missed you, Win.” The smile was evident in my words and I could hear her own in her reply.

“I always miss you, Jack Jack. Now when are you coming to visit me?”

“About that. I actually called because I have a favour to ask.”

Jack

Chapter Two

Itwaswhenthereverberation of the cicadas was loud enough to break through the closed car windows that I knew I was almost home. The smell of salt was stronger and if I paused and listened, no matter where you were, you could hear the crack of the ocean close by.

The small beachside town of Willow Bay was a quiet little slice of heaven and was often missed by those desperate to flee down the lengthy east-coast highway on their way to somewhere busier, louder and more exciting.

For the most part it was nothing special, boasting of only a few thousand locals, predictability and peace. But it was exactly what I needed for the next eight weeks. The team was always given six weeks recuperation after finals but considering we didn’t even make them this year, the coach sent everyone packing with an extra two weeks of leave and a threat to come back with a new attitude or don’t come back at all. The Sydney Hearts were always one of the top four teams and honestly, winning had become so common that we really just weren’t sure what to do when we didn’t. Some of the boys had played the back half of the season with niggling injuries and strains so they at least had excuses for the slight decrease in their pace or lower than average tackle count – but me, my body was in the best condition it had ever been – it was my focus which wasn’t where it should be.

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