Chapter 191: Boyfriend?

Chapter 191: Boyfriend? Jax felt Mari’s hands wrap around his neck as she clung to his back. He tried to shake her off gently, but she only tightened her hold and hooked her legs around his waist. He sighed but there was a smile tugging at his lips. She always found a way to make him smile, even when he didn’t want to. "You’ve fallen for me, haven’t you?" Mari said again, her voice soft in his ear. She pressed her warm cheek against the side of his head. He didn’t answer. He didn’t think there was any reason to. Eventually she’d know the truth. But not just yet. Jax walked slowly to the door, carrying her on his back like she weighed nothing, yet with every step he took, his body responded to the feel of her boobs pressed so tightly to his back, and her feet resting too comfortably on his groin. He wanted to turn her around so she was straddling him that way as he kissed her, and then maybe their destination would be to his bed and not the living room. Or maybe he could just sit her on the kitchen island and take her right there, he thought as he went past the Island and into the living room. But no. He didn’t want that. Not just yet. He wanted them to develop something more tangible between them. He wanted an emotional chemistry not just a physical one. As he got to the kitchen door he let out a little grunt and shifted her higher so she wouldn’t slide down. "Get off me," he said, but his tone wasn’t harsh. Mari giggled. She felt his back rise and fall under her chest as he breathed. "For someone that wants me to get off, you don’t seem to want me to fall off," she joked. "Because I don’t want you to get hurt when you fall off. And it would be more dignifying if you get off yourself," he said, still walking. "I won’t get off until you admit it. What did you fall for? Was it my charmingly sweet personality? My smile? The way I talk? When did you start falling for me?" she asked, tightening her hold and pressing a little kiss against the back of his neck. Jax stopped walking. He stood very still, completely aroused by that little careless gesture. Mari could feel his heart beating a little faster under her arms. "What? Why did stop?" "You just kissed my sensitive spot," he said in a husky voice, and Mari’s pulse quickened. "Get down," he said quietly, and this time she didn’t argue, she slid off his back. Neither of them said a word as they continued to the living room, but she walked slowly behind him, wanting to give him enough time to relax his boner if he had one. "So, what kind of phone should I get you?" he asked, not wanting the silence between them to be awkward. "Any phone is fine as long as it can make and receive calls," Mari said, glad that he had changed the subject. "Alright. You can give your friends a call with mine if you urgently want to talk to them until I get yours," he offered. Mari blinked. She hadn’t expected that. "I can?" she asked softly. He nodded once. "Yes," he said, handing his phone to her. "Thank you," she whispered. "Make sure you only call your friends. And don’t check anything else on my phone. I’ll leave you to talk to them," he said, and then without waiting for her to respond walked away to his bedroom. Mari pressed her lips together as she watched him go. So, his nape was that sensitive? Noted, she thought as she quickly dialed Emily’s number on his phone. Away from there, Emily was sleeping so deeply that her mouth was slightly open and her hand was resting on the pillow beside her face. The room was dark except for the little night lamp that glowed soft yellow. Her phone which was on the small table beside the bed, began to ring, vibrating across the table. The sound made Emily frown in her sleep. She made a little groaning sound and pulled the blanket over her head. But the phone didn’t stop. With a tired sigh, Emily pushed the blanket down and reached for it. She blinked hard, trying to see the screen with sleepy eyes. The number was a strange one. She rubbed her eyes as she received the call. Her voice was scratchy and low as she spoke. "Hello?" Mari grinned when she heard Emily’s sleepy voice but she didn’t feel sorry that she had disturbed her best friend’s sleep. If anything she was happy to hear her voice. She decided to mess with Emily a little. "Is this Dr. Emily?" She asked in a false masculine voice. There was a pause. Emily frowned, still feeling half asleep. "Yes. Who is this?" "I am your secret admirer," Mari said slowly. "I have been in love with you for a very long time." Emily blinked again, her eyebrows pulling together. "Excuse me?" she asked, her voice getting sharper and a little bit irritated. "I know it is late," Mari went on, "but I could not wait any longer." Emily pressed her lips together in a thin line. "If you don’t have anything better to say, I’m going to hang up now," she said, already moving her finger to end the call. "What do you mean anything better?" Mari said, sounding a little offended. "I am confessing my true feelings. This is the most important thing I have ever said." Emily let out a tired sigh. "Sir, it is the middle of the night—" "I am sorry for disturbing your sleep. But my love for you burns so bright I had to call you tonight," Mari interrupted quickly, "I love you and I have missed you so much that I could not wait to hear your sweet voice. I have loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you, and I want to spend the rest of my life by your side." Emily sat up in her bed, her hair messy around her face. She squinted suspiciously at the dark room as if she could see the caller. Her eyes narrowed. "Mari? Mari that’s you, right?" "Why are you asking for a lady when I am clearly a man? I swear to you, I’m not Mari. I don’t even know who that bitch is," Mari protested, still maintaining the charade. Emily burst out laughing. The laugh bounced off the walls of her quiet room. "Oh my God. Mari, it is you. Stop messing with me! I know it is you!" A giggle slipped through the phone, lighter and sweeter than any man’s voice could be. "Okay, okay. It’s me," Mari said finally, her real voice warm with amusement. Emily let out a loud squeal, the sleep completely gone from her eyes now. She pressed the phone closer to her cheek. "Mari! Oh my God! You crazy girl. I’ve missed you so much! It feels like I haven’t seen or heard from you in years!" "I’ve missed you too," Mari said, laughing softly. "Switch to video call right now. I want to see your face," Emily said quickly, almost dropping the phone in her excitement. Mari laughed again. "Alright. Hold on." The call ended for one second, and then her screen lit up again with a video call request. Emily pressed accept, and suddenly Mari’s smiling face filled the screen. They both screamed at the same time, like little kids seeing each other after a long holiday. "Mari!" Emily yelled happily. "Em!" Mari called back laughing. "Why are you calling with a different number? Where are you?" Emily asked, looking at the strange background around Mari. Mari grinned and tilted the camera to show part of a couch behind her. "I’m at my boyfriend’s place. I borrowed his phone," she said with a grin. Emily’s eyes grew round. "Boyfriend? Since when do you have a boyfriend? And why did you have to wait for me to travel before you got one?" Mari giggled. "My mom felt sorry for her poor single daughter and decided to give me an early birthday gift. A boyfriend. She thought I needed the help." Emily fell back against her pillow, laughing until tears filled her eyes. "Why is that not surprising. I think your Mom is capable of doing that sort of thing. Is he there with you? Can I see him?" Mari shook her head. "He’s not here right now. Maybe another time." Emily propped herself up on her elbow. "Fine. But why are you using his phone and not yours?" "It’s a little complicated. I can’t give you the details right now. But I promise to tell you when it’s safe. I’ll be getting a new phone soon. When I do I’ll call you," Mari promised. "When it’s safe? Is there trouble?" She asked, then shook her head. "If you can’t tell me right now, it’s okay. Just make sure you’re safe no matter what. Okay?" Mari’s smile softened. "Sure. I will. But enough about me. How are you holding up around Callan?" Emily sighed so hard her shoulders dropped. "I have no idea. Every time he’s near, it feels like my heart is going to explode out of my chest." Mari tilted her head, studying her friend. "Is he behaving himself?" Emily looked away briefly. "I don’t want to talk about Callan. I don’t even want to think about him anymore. I’m moving on." Mari raised her brows. "Isn’t that what you’ve been saying all these years?" "This time it’s different," Emily insisted. "I swear, it is. I even went to dinner with another guy." Mari’s eyes went wide. "Dinner? With who? How come you’re already going to dinner with someone when you just got to Husla? Is it a colleague or a patient?" Emily giggled. "Yes, he was a colleague. It wasn’t exactly dinner. It was more like a welcome dinner party that was held for the residents. His name is Dan Coleman. I doubt you remember him, but he was once my date to our annual medical students conference. I ran into him at the airport when I arrived." "No, I don’t remember him. I’m sure he didn’t make any impression on you back then, cause if he did you’d have made sure I remembered him. Do you like him? How did the party go?" Mari asked curiously. Emily looked thoughtful. "Well, it was okay... until Callan showed up." "Callan showed up? Why would he show up at your welcome party? Who invited him?" Mari asked, and Emily told her about Callan being a major sponsor and about the speech he gave after she spoke with him and asked him to keep their relationship a secret. Mari clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her laugh. "That sounds like fun. But if you really wanted to keep your relationship a secret why call him out to the garden to talk instead of just saying your piece via text? Someone other than Dan could have spotted you both. Unless of course you wanted to get a bit of his attention privately. Maybe show off your dress," she said with a teasing laugh. "Mari, you’re not being nice," Emily complained, and Mari laughed. "We both know I’m saying the truth," Mari said, and then added thoughtfully, "I wonder why he didn’t have a date with him." Emily rolled her eyes. "I’m sure he didn’t come with one because he wanted the attention of all the ladies there. And he got it, though. You needed to see them circling all around him, and he drank up all the attention." Mari laughed, "For someone who plans to move on, and who had a date with her, don’t you think you noticed him too much?" Mari teased. "It was hard not to," Emily admitted. "While I think it’s a good idea to move on, I think you’re expecting too much from yourself too soon. Take it easy on yourself. I don’t think you can go from a hundred per cent to zero in a day or even a month. It’s okay to slowly get over him, percent by percent. Just take it a day at a time, okay? Everything will be fine," Mari said and Emily nodded. "Thanks. That’s very helpful," Emily said, feeling relieved. "Did he say anything about Dan? Or talk to Dan?" Mari asked curiously. "He said Dan was a jerk and I should be careful. Can you believe it? Callan thinks someone is a jerk," Emily snorted. Mari tilted her head. "If Callan thinks he’s a jerk, he probably is." Emily narrowed her eyes. "Why are you taking his side?" Mari shrugged. "I don’t like the idea of Dan lurking around while you were talking to Callan. I don’t trust him very much just yet. And the fact that Callan doesn’t makes me all the more concerned." Emily sighed. "To be honest... I felt a little uncomfortable too. But I’ll handle it." Mari nodded. "Just be careful. Don’t make any costly mistakes in your haste to get over Callan." She paused. "by the way, when last did you talk to Jam?" Emily smiled a little. "Two days ago. We were on the phone when one of Callan’s crazy girls attacked me." Mari’s mouth dropped open again. "What? What happened?" Emily told her everything, her voice growing annoyed as she finished. Mari let out a long sigh. "I’m glad you didn’t get hurt and could handle yourself." Emily nodded. "Yeah. I know." "I’m going to hang up and call Jamal now. Then I’ll call back so the three of us can talk together. Unless you want to go back to bed..." Emily’s face brightened. "Nope. I’m up now. And I’d love to talk to you two. Heaven knows I’ve missed that. Talking to you two is the only sane thing I can hold on to right now." Mari blew a kiss through the screen. "Alright. I’ll call soon." "I can’t wait for you to get your phone. I want to hear all about your boyfriend," Emily said, and Mari grinned. "He’s hot. Really hot," Mari said with a giggle before hanging up. When the screen went dark, Emily smiled as she set the phone on her bed. She let out a slow breath and stretched her arms above her head. After hearing from Mari, she felt happier and lighter like everything was going to be okay. She got out of bed and walked out of her room toward the kitchen to get a glass of water. When she stepped into the living room, she froze when she saw that the television was on, and it cast a glow on Callan who was lying curled up on the couch in a tight ball. His face was turned to the back of the cushions, and he looked almost small. Emily frowned. Why was he sleeping that way on the couch when he had a bed? Her first instinct was to walk over and shake him awake, to tell him to go sleep properly. But she stopped herself. It wasn’t her business. It was his house. He could sleep wherever he wanted. With a quiet sigh, she turned away and walked to the kitchen.