Page 27 of King of Jokers

The beige chinos he had chosen were cuffed at the ankle, a slither of skin on display before his white shoes.

Why was that so attractive?

His black shirt was plain other than the printed grey star which sat atop his right chest. The sentiment of him packing the shirt I’d sent him for his birthday, sending a comforting squeeze around my heart. He was my star man after all.

Finally his matching black cap, the final piece of his outfit, cemented him as my kryptonite from head to toe.

We’d spent the previous night entwined in the sheets, losing ourselves in each other too many times to count, but those damn rules I created meant today was platonic. Something I found frustrating more often than not.

Sensing my presence he turned and shot me a quick grin, walking up the stairs and into the house. I was still standing in the same place and I did a little spin showing off my dress.

His eyes trailed from top to toe before slowly making their way back up to meet my own.

“Christ,” he muttered and my brows pinched in confusion.

“Too much?”

“Never too much,” he grumbled, reaching around me to swipe the keys off the kitchen bench. As we headed out to the car, I was certain I could hear him mumbling something about my heels and I grinned to myself. They were the right choice it seemed.

Anchor Tavern was the only place in Willow Bay which housed both decent food and a cocktail menu worth leaving the house for.

Following the waitress to our table, Jack was stopped by no less than four locals asking after his wellbeing or offering their tips for how the Hearts would travel next year. He was polite yet succinct, a practised smoothness to his responses which meant I never waited longer than necessary. Whether this polished efficiency was entirely for my benefit or his own, I couldn’t be sure but knowing Jack it was likely the former. Anyone else would have exploited my suggestion of afriends with benefitsarrangement but it wasn’t in his constitution to take advantage of others. He was a decent man and had been for as long as I could remember.

He pulled out my chair, giving me the seat that was positioned facing the ocean, but also meant my back was to the majority of the diners. The strategic gesture seemingly innocuous to the untrained eye but never when it came to him. He knew it would otherwise suffocate and overwhelm me. The vibration of too many people in my space was one of the main reasons I preferred to stay home, but with only three more nights in his company, I did my best to make sure he chose our evening plans.

“You’ll have the backstrap, right?” Lamb from the Tavern was his favourite and it wasn’t a trip home if he didn’t enjoy it at least once.

“Obviously,” he said and my eyes met his over my menu at the meaning the term now held. There was a seductive hint to the smirk which laced his face, illuminated by the flicker of candlelight coming from the table. It was dark outside, which meant we could easily slip into our role play but I was leaving the ball in his court. After I intruded on hismetime last night, I needed him to know he wasn’t pressured to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with. Even though the thought of doing that again made me ache.

Grinning, I shook my head.

This was familiar, a territory I could easily navigate.

Dinner and conversation, banter and fun.

“I finished my book,” I said, my menu snapping closed.

“Congratulations. Did they end up fucking on his desk? Or was there anystrum dicking?” He asked, cheekily referencing my most embarrassing memory.

Slapping my hands to my face in horror I squeaked, “Jack! You know the rules!”

“Sorry, sorry,” he said with a laugh. “But did they fuck?”

“Shhhh,” I said, glancing over my shoulder to the thankfully empty tables surrounding us. “Yes. Twice.” I answered, feeling my cheeks flush.

“Knew it,” he said with a grin. “Bet he swiped the papers right off that desk before he fucked her with his tongue.”

Hearing him speak such filthy words sent a swarm of heat to my now burning core and I fidgeted. He watched every move knowingly, his eyes flicking down to my mouth when I rolled my teeth across my lip.

The waitress appeared and I took the opportunity to have a much needed sip of water before ordering and handing her the menus.

“It is going to be insufferable when you leave.” I said, tactically changing the subject before I combusted in my seat. “Who will look after me?” His small acts of service had been glaringly obvious. Only this morning I discovered three new shells placed on my writing table, each lined with a different texture as if he knew the others had lost all gradient. His noticings had never been so apparent and I was starting to discover, he watched me a lot more than I realised.

“If you came with me, I could look after you all the time.”

“Winter will never leave Willow Bay, will you?” The somewhat familiar voice over my shoulder startled me and I turned to find Aiden a little too close, a tumbler in his hand. By the glazed look of his eyes, it wasn’t his first and I ignored the way he looked at my chest rather than my face.

“Aiden,” Jack greeted, his voice taking on an edge it didn’t have before.

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