Gifted Connections 1

“Hi,” she said warmly as she hopped down off the counter and held her hand out to me. “I’m Rose, you must be Blake. And Jemmy’s right, Noah, bragging isn’t the most desirable trait in a man.” She looked suspiciously at the arm still draped over my shoulder. “How’s Stacey doing?”

“Nice to meet you,” I murmured as Noah ducked his head.

“I told her I needed a break. She wants me to go home to meet her parents for Thanksgiving, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

I carefully extricated myself from him and moved over to the island to get some dessert. Sooner or later she will be told the truth, and I didn’t want her to have any bad initial impression. From what I gathered, I had no control who my connections were. They had no power who their connections were.

“I told you I would like you too! It wasn’t a requirement. You could have just man upped and talked to me about it! You didn’t have to ignore my texts all day,” a cool, feminine voice said from the opposite side of the kitchen under the arch that led to the living room.

Jax cursed under his breath. “How did you get in here?”

I looked over and saw a very tall, very model like redhead in the doorway. Her pale skin was flawless and her hazel eyes were stunning. She was just as tall as Noah, at I’m assuming five feet ten. She was extremely thin and looked like she could have stepped off the pages of any magazine.

Behind her was an equally beautiful girl that was average height and size but had the beautiful uniqueness that people of mixed races carried. She had light brown skin, hinting at an African American heritage, but her eyes were blue, and her hair was long. She may have had extensions in, but they looked natural to me.

She made an immediate beeline to Jax and wrapped her arms around his neck, plastering her body against his. “The door was open, so we let ourselves in. We always do. Why haven’t you been answering my texts? Where have you been?”

Jax looked over at me with a little discomfort in his eyes. She must have noticed his edginess because she turned and looked at me.

“Who the hell is she?” she bit out with vehemence.

And that’s how I met my connection’s girlfriends.

Chapter 12

“So, are you visiting?” Stacey asked me as I dug into my rocky road ice cream with warm chocolate chip cookies. I took a seat next to Jemmy at the bar, figuring it was the safest place.

“Umm, no,” I said as I finished chewing a piece of cookie. “I’m staying here…for a while.”

“Dad has temporary custody of her and her sister,” Jax explained as he poured more chocolate sauce on top of his ice cream.

“Why?” Tamara asked bluntly.

I knew immediately I didn’t like her.

I blinked slowly at her. I wasn’t going to be a victim of bullying anymore. I wasn’t going to try to appease any jealousy she may be feeling because of me. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”

Noah choked on his ice cream as he laughed, and even Jax had to hide a smile. I didn’t understand why the guys had invited the girls to stay if they had no plans of staying with them. I think I would have been more understanding if the guys truly cared for the girls, but after being in the presence of Stacey and Tamara for fifteen minutes, I knew they weren’t the nicest of girls.

“Whatever,” Tamara rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed look at Noah. “My dad’s part of the board. He’s good friends with Mr. Bell. I’ll find out.”

“Is it really that important?” Rose asked crossly. “I mean, if she doesn’t want to tell you, isn’t that her business?”

I liked Rose in that moment, which made it harder for me, knowing if Drake and I were to complete our connection we would be hurting her. It was clear she doted on him and cared about him.

I looked over at Drake and noticed the sad look in his eyes. Like he knew his days with her may be numbered. I would have to tell him that our situation didn’t need to affect their relationship. Maybe when the time was right, we could tell Rose, and maybe she would be understanding. According to Jemmy, the guys had always let their girlfriends know that they had a connection out there.

“You know,” Stacey said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just rude. We just want to know who our boyfriends are with. They disappear for a couple of days, and the day they come back, so does some random girl.”

“Well,” I said, pushing my chair out from the island. “This random girl is going to bed. Nice to meet you guys,” I said sarcastically to Tamara and Stacey.

I wasn’t done with my dessert, but I couldn’t stay in the kitchen any longer. I grabbed a couple of cookies as I headed out the door and up to my room. Drake really was a magician in the kitchen.

I wasn’t tired, so I decided to take a bath. I pinned my hair up and inspected the bathroom closet, then I grabbed some bath bombs to throw in the tub. I washed the makeup off my face while I waited for the tub to fill. Before I got in the tub, I pulled out my iPhone and set it at a low volume so as not to wake Ella.

As I sunk into the warm, fragrant water, my phone chimed.

Troy: Getting settled in?