It's Tradition, Right?

She felt him before he even touched her and knew any second now he’d wrap his arms around her from behind and draw her back into his chest. The moment his hands slid around her waist she let out a breath of anticipation and sighed. They hadn’t danced together since that first time at the wedding and just thinking about the sparks that had flown between them then had her heating up.

Jake held her close to him feeling his anger towards tattoo boy slip away. It was he who had Rox in his arms, in his bed so as he really should just forget about Bax and his stupid comments. It wasn’t hard to do so when his girlfriend was swaying her hips to the music, every movement had her ass brushing up against the fly of his pants causing a delicious friction. He pushed her hair aside and kissed her behind the ear, a spot he’d discovered she loved.

Turning in his arms, Roxy threw her arms around his neck playing with the hair at his nape. He was looking at her so intensely she could barely breathe. A rush of concern ran through her as she detected a hint of anger in his eyes, and even though she knew it wasn’t directed at her, she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.

“Is everything ok?”

Jake smiled, hiding his tension and nodded. When he noticed her searching look he quickly pulled her closer and captured her lips in a smoldering kiss. It had never been his style to make out in public, but it seemed to be something she brought out in him.

“Get a room you two!” Heidi called teasingly from where she was dancing a few feet away.

“We might just do that.” Jake retorted earning a chuckle from the blonde and elbow in the ribs from his girlfriend.

“Who are you and what have you done with little Jake Matthews?” Rox joked peering up at him as they continued to sway to the rhythm.

“There’s nothing little about him… as you well know Rox.”

She almost melted at the adorable smirk on his face and nodded in agreement. No, there was nothing little about him at all. Standing on her toes she leaned up and kissed him sweetly, grateful when he deepened the kiss and his tongue brushed her lower lip before delving further. The world around them disappeared and they continued their kiss not noticing the music stop or the near silence that followed.

“Hmm hmm”

The loud clearing of a throat through the speaker system had them breaking apart to find that the band had taken the stage and Mick was currently staring at them with a raised brow.

“If you’re quite finished mauling her Jake, we’d like to start now.”

Roxy’s jaw dropped as the crowd laughed and she buried her face in her boyfriend’s chest only to feel it vibrate as he joined in the laughter. How on earth had sexy and sassy Roxy Wilson become the blushing virgin of the scene?

“Now, now Rox. No need to be embarrassed… although we’d probably prefer it you guys made it out of the club before the clothes start flying.”

A loud roar of male voices all cried out there protest and a few chants of ‘clothes off’ began before Mick took control again and introduced Plunj’s first song of the night.

“And it’s dedicated to our happy and horny friends, Roxy and Jake!.”

“Oh God.” Roxy groaned her embarrassment before lifting her head to see Jake smiling down at her. She had to laugh at the amused twinkle in his eye and deciding to hell with modesty, she pulled his mouth down to hers in a kiss to rival the movie greats. The crowd around them cheered loudly.

“Let’s just do this!” the couple heard Bax’s aggravated voice before the band kicked off their first song and the crowd started dancing, most of them forgetting the pre-show display.

The rest of the evening at the club flew by with plenty of dancing and drinking done by all. Roxy was pleased to find that Jake got along fairly well with most of her friends, especially Heidi who was doing her best to help him feel like a part of their group. There was still an underlying tension with Bax throwing glares in Jake’s direction from the stage, but her boyfriend seemed oblivious, or simply didn’t let it bother him which she was grateful for. Bax could be an ass sometimes, but she wouldn’t let him mess anything up for her and Jake.

“You ready to go home?” he whispered in her ear as they stood watching the band from near the edge of the dance floor.

“Yeah”

They gathered her purse and his jacket, saying goodbye to Roxy’s friends before making their way to the exit. Jake took one last look at the bass player who’d been glaring at him all night and found the other man smirking at him knowingly, almost mockingly; his penetrating stare telling Jake to enjoy it while it lasted because he’d soon be history. He scowled at Bax before lacing his fingers through Roxy’s and exiting the club.

The ride back to his place in the cab was filled with sexual tension, both yearning for what was soon to come. They sat on opposite sides of the back seat, knowing that if they had too much contact, the simple brush of a thigh or an arm, they’d find it too hard to hold back. The old Roxy wouldn’t have given a second thought about heavy petting in the back of a cab, she’d found herself becoming more modest, easily embarrassed. What she had with Jake was special and private, and not for the world to see.

They barely made it up the stairs and into his apartment before they were removing each others clothes. Jake kicked the door shut behind him before lifting Roxy into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist, and he made his way into his bedroom, dropping her onto the bed. She giggled playfully as she bounced a few times on the mattress, her hair falling over her face, and in that moment she’d never looked more beautiful.

When she stopped laughing and looked up at her boyfriend, Roxy was surprised to find him stripped down to his boxers and very obviously ready to make love to her. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and smirked.

“Someone’s happy to see me.”

He growled playfully before joining her on the bed, kissing her passionately, his hands roaming over her dress before finding the hem and with a little maneuvering from them both, Roxy soon lay in only a matching lace bra and panty set.

Roxy rolled them over so that she straddled his thighs and looked down at him hungrily before scooting forwarded and rocking back and forth against him, only a few scraps of material between them. His moans filled the silent room and his hands reached up to cup her breasts through the satin and lace. She threw her head back and with a breathy moan, unclipped her bra, letting the garment slip down her arms until she was exposed to him.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and took a pert nipple between his lips, flicking it with his tongue. Her breathing sped up as did her rocking motion and it was becoming too much for Jake. He gripped her hips, and lifted her off him, rolling her back underneath his body. Quickly removing each others underwear Roxy hooked her feet around his thighs urging him forward, whimpering when he pulled away.

Jake leaned across the bed, opening his second side table draw and fishing around for a few moments before he withdrew a condom. Tearing it open quickly he sat back and rolled the latex over his erection. He was going mad with need for her, fumbling a few times before the he was ready to resume what they’d started.

Roxy watched the whole thing bewildered, but forgot to question him as he moved back over her, joining them together. It was hard and fast, both panting for breath as their sweat slicked bodies moved together in an ancient rhythm before reaching their peak and tumbling back down to earth.

“God, that was amazing. I wanted you so bad. You were so fucking sexy out on that dance floor tonight.”

Roxy smiled against his lips while running her hands down his naked back as he lay next to her still breathing heavily. They lay silently for a few moments catching their breath before Roxy looked at him questioningly.

“Jake?”

He kissed her temple sweetly before looking into her eyes. “Yeah?”

“What was up with the condom?” She asked bluntly, never having been known for beating around the bush. She’d thought his scramble to put on the latex protection was odd at the time, but was too caught up in the moment to question him, but now that she lay sated, her mind kept going back to it.

“Nothing.”

Roxy raised her eyebrow in a show of obvious disbelief while removing his arm that was draped over her naked torso. Moving to sit on the edge of the bed with her back to him she sighed heavily. “It’s obviously something.”

Jake was panicking, knowing that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she got her answer, only he couldn’t be honest with her. It’d break her heart. “I don’t know babe. I’m a little buzzed from drinking at the club and I guess I just remembered some stupid article I read yesterday about the pill not being one hundred percent effective…”

The doubts that Bax had stirred up in his mind were irrational. He trusted Roxy, well at least he thought he did, but did he really? For him to have stopped and put on a condom tonight after having made love to her without one many times in the last few months, and basically non-stop in the past week – it obviously meant something. He didn’t consciously stop at that moment and think to himself that Roxy might have slept with other people, but it must have been somewhere in his mind.

He knew the doubts must have been visible to her because he noticed a flash of hurt in her eyes before she bent to pick up her clothing from the floor, frantically trying to sort her garments from his; a not so easy task after the way they’d torn each others clothing off.

“Roxy.”

She couldn’t answer him, afraid her voice would break, and she most definitely couldn’t look at him because she knew she’d be crying at any moment. He did trust her. And it broke her heart. She may not be a saint, hell, she would never deny having been promiscuous before she got together with Jake, but she’d never once been unfaithful with a single boyfriend… and the fact that Jake honestly thought she’d cheated on him was like a knife to the heart.

Giving up on finding all of her clothing, Roxy pulled on her dress without worrying about her bra and panties and quickly slipped her feet into her heels. Steadying her weight against the wall she took a deep breath before turning to grab her purse from the bedside table and slamming straight into Jake’s bare chest. If it hadn’t been for his strong grip she would have stumbled backwards.

“Baby, what are you doing? Where are you going?” Jake hoped by playing down the condom issue, that they could forget about it and move on. He knew now it was stupid and if he hadn’t have been drinking he probably never would have given Bax’s claims a second thought. He couldn’t lose her over this.

Leveling him with an icy glare, Roxy shook herself from his grasp and pushed at his chest, his foot tangling in his jeans which lay on the floor, sending him flying back onto the bed.

“Oh, thought I’d go out and have some unprotected sex… you know… like the spoilt, rich little slut you seem to think I am.”

“Hey, I never said that!”

“But you were thinking it!” He began to protest but she beat him to it. “I know what you think of my lifestyle and my friends. I hear your tone of voice when you talk about the places I go and the people I mention. Well, guess what Jake… I’m part of that world. They’re my friends and although they may not be perfect angels like you and your friends back home, for the most part they’re good people. And the fact that you despise them so much says a lot about the future of our relationship. There isn’t one.”

Jake was angry and frustrated both with her and himself. She was right about him being judgmental and he felt bad about that. Tonight he’d been pleasantly surprised by most of her friends. Worst of all he felt guilty for believing she could have cheated, but at the same time he knew she had a colorful history and that was bound to put some doubt in his mind. Their whirlwind relationship was so out of character for the guy who always thought things through and did the responsible thing. How much did they really know about each other? He knew he cared about her a lot, but cracks were obviously starting to appear and a lack of trust was not an issue that could be pushed aside. And now after one argument, not that she’d actually given him a chance to explain or discuss the situation, she was calling it quits. He remembered now why he avoided high maintenance girls.

“If you storm out of here sulking and pouting, then all you’re doing is proving that you are what you try so hard not to be. Life won’t always go your way, Roxy, and the sooner you realize that, the easier life will be.”

She let out a laugh which held no trace of humor. “You think this is about not getting my way? How can you be so stupid, so blind?” Her breath caught for a moment he watched her lips tremble. “I’m in love with you, you idiot and even though I don’t expect you to feel the same way… I do expect you to trust me enough not to think that I laid on my back for any guy that showed an interest while you weren’t around. You really don’t get me at all.”

He could see the anger and hurt shining behind the tears she was so obviously trying to hold in and it broke his heart. He was an ass. It was that simple. He knew deep down that she hadn’t been with anyone else, but his stupid insecurities and doubts that a gorgeous, vivacious girl like Roxy, would be happy to wait around for an average guy like him, had him forgetting just for a short while, how incredibly different she was to what she portrayed to the world. She was bright, loyal and loving. God, he was an idiot and he needed to fix this… fast.

Grabbing her purse she walked with as much dignity as she could muster to the front door of the apartment, only stopping when he called out to her again.

“I’m sorry Roxy. I made a mistake and I was wrong.” She moved her gaze from the spot on the floor she had focused on to look into his eyes and in them she found sincerity. But it didn’t matter. He didn’t trust her, not completely. He’d doubted her. He’d broken her heart, a heart she had always kept guarded… apparently for good reason. No matter how much she wanted to just forgive and forget in that moment, she just couldn’t do it. Without even realizing it, she’d already locked her heart up safely in its gilded cage and thrown away the key. She’d taken a risk falling in love with Jake, and it hadn’t paid off. She wouldn’t put herself in a position to be hurt any more badly. She was brought out of her reverie by another anguished plea from the man who stole her heart. I just… how do I fix this?”

The sincerity in his plea almost had her running back into his arms, but she couldn’t do it. She’d been disappointed by everyone in her life at one time or another and this was one of the biggest disappointments of all. She could walk away now and get over her broken heart… but if she stayed and grew to love him even more, which she knew she would, then she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to get past him letting her down again. The only way to protect herself was to get angry; otherwise she’d be giving in to him in no time.

“I was stupid to think you were any different to all the other guys who see nothing but a pretty face and a body made for fucking. Well, you need to look for a new sex toy, Jake, because my legs are permanently closed to you.”

Jake winced at the sound of the door slamming and sunk to the floor, his head falling back against the wall. He’d hurt her so badly and he knew that she found it hard to trust anyone after the raw deal she’d been handed with family and friends in her past. In that moment he really wasn’t sure they could come back from this.