No Strings Attached

Chapter Eighteen

"I should really be going back to help Jason with those-"

"Nonsense! Jason is a man, he can lift those suitcases with no problem. And I'm sure you have seen him with no clothes on, so you should know he's strong enough." The older woman sent her a sly look and Alex bit her lip again nervously. "Whatchu say your name was again? Ally?"

"Alex, m'am."

"M'am? Now you got me feeling old. Call me Aunt Nessa, at least let me keep some of this youth." Alex broke out into a smile as she followed the woman into the living room.

"This is a lovely home."

"You got a pretty smile but you got to stop doing that. It looks as if you're smiling too hard," immediately, her smile faded. "And thank you, dear, this has been my home for 40 plus years, I'm glad people still like it."

Alex glanced at all the surrounding pictures and fell about laughing at the one of Jason and Chris in matching denim dungarees and white tees. They looked about 5. "Do you mind me asking, Alex," she turned back towards Nessa, gesturing for her to continue, "exactly why did you accompany Jason here?"

"I told you I was here for business." Jason rejoined the room and removed his glasses, opting to sit on the seat beside Alex instead of his grandmother. He casually rested his hand on her leg, something she'd grown accustomed to. Whenever she was with Jason, he'd always somehow keep in contact with her and now she was used to the warmth he provided to whatever area he touched.

"Okay, so why bring the girl?" Aunt Nessa was trying hard not to sound rude but she just didn't understand. Yes this one was pretty, astonishingly in fact and she had respect unlike the others Jason brought around here but she still didn't understand why he brought her. Unless they were in a relationship and already at the meet the parents stage. "Oh wait. Is this part of the meet the parents part of a relationship? Oh Lord, you should have told me!"

Both of their eyes widened. "Ma, no! No, no this isn't that. We're not-" he sighed, not sure what to say. "I really am here on business. Remember how I said I'm opening a restaurant here? Well, I've just signed with Alex's advertising firm and she's here to check out the premises with me." Aunt Nessa's eyebrows rose in interest.

"Advertising firm? That is pretty impressive. What do you work as?"

"I'm a junior executive. I've been working at the firm for nearly 7 years now actually."

"That is nice. So are you two in a relationship?" Both of them had the deer caught in headlights expression on their faces. Sputtering at first, Jason spoke up.

"No, Ma, we're not in a-."

"And why not?" She asked in her accent. "Alex is a sweet, charming woman who has her own job and money. I don't get it. All this touchy feely and you not in a relationship? Is this what happens nowadays?" She sighed and leaned back, staring up at the heavens and leaving Jason and Alex red with embarrassment, pondering over her words.

Both were fighting feelings that they knew would surface soon, it was just a matter of when. Alex didn't want to voice her thoughts because she knew that once she fully and completely forgave Jason, most of her reasoning for hating Alexis would be gone. Then there was the fact that she'd just been burnt by love nearly 4 months ago and she had no gurantees that Jason wouldn't do the same. But deep down she knew he wouldn't do that to her. He wouldn't drag her through such hell like that. He knew how much it wrecked her and he wouldn't dare to have her go through such heart wrenching pain again.

Jason knew what he wanted and how to get it but he just couldn't seem to get through to Alex. It frustrated him that he couldn't get her to admit her feelings. Okay, maybe he hadn't exactly said it out loud but he had made it pretty clear that she was slowly but surely making her way into his heart.

"I used to go out with her twin." Was all Jason said. Aunt Nessa rolled her eyes and kissed her teeth. "And I, uh, I used to bully her at high school."

Suddenly, the older woman's eyes widened and her mouth dropped, a finger pointed in Alex's direction. "You told me you bullied a girl at high school because of-" she stopped herself when he shook his head subtly, "this is the girl?"

Jason nodded and Alex almost felt as if there was something going on that she wasn't meant to know.

"She looks just like him."

Alex's eyebrow rose. "Just like who?" She didn't miss the look that passed through the two of them. "Jason?"

"Adrian Campbell." Alex jolted up at the mention of her fathers' name. "That's who you look like, baby." Aunt Nessa said quietly.

"H-how do you know him?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Alex shook her head, unaware at what was going on. "Your mama never told you?" Now she was getting nervous.

"Told me what?"

Jason shut his eyes and grabbed her hand. "Alex, I think we should go."

"No, I think we should stay. What didn't my mother tell me about my father?" She could feel her heart hammering against her chest as she awaited an answer.

"Jason's right. Y'all should go but make sure you're back here for thanksgiving dinner alright?"
"No, no, what-." Jason tenderly kissed her forehead and pulled them both up.

"I promise I'll explain everything to you when we get to my house." She didn't want to wait. Alex wanted answers and she wanted them now. "I promise." He repeated in her ear and she just nodded. Either way, she wasn't going to get an answer at that moment, so she decided to agree.
Jason hugged his grandmother goodbye and she walked them out. Alex stayed behind with Aunt Nessa as Jason walked towards the car. "You're a nice woman, Alex."

Having been completely zoned out, Alex turned towards the voice. "Thanks Aunt Nessa."

"I truly do hope that y'all realise how good you are together." Alex's eyes darted up to meet the golden browns staring back at her, dancing with mischief. "Neither of you realise the vibe you give off do you? You're perfect for each other. For the first time I'm seeing my Jason be gentle with a woman and I'm glad it's with somebody like you. I do mean it, you're a good woman." Alex smiled warmly at her and leaned down, grasping the older woman's hand. "I can only hope that you feel the same for Jason as he does you."

"What do you mean?"

"It is clear as day that he loves you. Now whether you love him I'm not sure. You seem to be a little hesitant with him. Cautious even. You been burned by love before?"

Alex nodded. "I was scorched. It was recently actually. I just withdrew myself from everything."
"Recently? I don't see you withdrawn now."

"That's thanks to Jason." She couldn't help the faint smile that appeared on her lips.

Aunt Nessa nodded and held onto her hand tighter. "Don't break my baby's heart, alright."

"It may be the other way round, Aunt Nessa." Aunt Nessa glanced at Jason, whose eyes kept moving from Alex to the steering wheel.

"Something tells me to doubt it. Give it a try, baby. You have nothing to lose." She sighed and smoothed her hair back. "I'll see you on Thursday and please dont be too upset over what Jason is going to tell you."

"I'll try." She whispered before hugging her goodbye and getting into the car.

"What were you talking about?"

"Nothing, can we just go to your house so you can tell me what the hell is going on please?" Jason nodded and drove away to his house.

10 minutes later they'd arrived. "Wait a minute, I just realised something. You left our bags at your grandmas'."

"I wasn't really getting the bags out, Flatty. She just said that so she could talk to you alone."

"Oh." He got out and opened her door before ushering her in into his house. This time upon entrance, she didn't gawk at the layout, instead opting to fold her arms over her chest and wait for him.

"Let's, uh, let's go to my room and talk." She stepped back and followed him up the burgundy carpeted stairs, anxiety coursing through her veins. She walked inside and he shut the door behind her. "You may wanna sit down." She did as he said and waited.

"What's going on, Jason? How does your grandma know my father? How do you know my father?" Jason sighed, not knowing exactly where to begin.

"Y-your father and my mom- they," he sighed, "they cheated on our parents with each other and are probably still together out there right now."

It was almost as if someone had ripped her throat from out of her neck. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even pinpoint her feelings at that moment, she didn't know what she was feeling. All these years she had absolutely no idea where her dad was, turns out he had ran away with another woman. The only thing she remembered of his departure was him telling her he was sorry one night and then she never saw him again. When she asked her mom what happened, she told her that her father had decided he wasn't happy anymore so he left to start fresh in a new state. Neither Alex or Alexis had asked anymore questions. Alexis had been the one to cry more but Alex had never shown her emotions frequently, choosing to keep them hidden instead. Knowing now the true reason for her dad leaving, it felt as if her heart had been torn out of her chest. It all suddenly hit her and she let out a sob.

"He did what?"

Jason didn't know what to do. He felt horrible being the one to explain it to her. "That's why I hated you so much. Before it was just harmless teasing cos I was a little boy but then after I found out that she'd left my dad for yours, I-" he sighed. "I took it to a new level. I did everything in my power to make sure you were experiencing the same amount of pain that I was."

"That's why you hated me so much?" He nodded. "And all this time you thought I knew?" He nodded again.

"I actually realised you had no idea the first night you slept at my house but I didn't want to tell you."

"All this time my mother never said a word about this. I'm sure she knew exactly what was going on." She shook her head as she tried to process it all.

It hurt. The fact that her dad had decided to leave her, Alexis and her mother for another woman. It hurt way more than finding out about Jonathan and Alexis.

"Do you know where they are now?" She watched him hesitate. "Please tell me, Jason. If I can find him, I want answers."

"I've already tried and believe me when I say its not worth it, Lex. They left our parents because they're in love. As much as it killed me to admit and deal with, we have to."

"NO!" She yelled. "No, no, no! I'm not- I'm not gonna accept that shitty answer. Why didn't he tell us the truth? Or leave us a fucking note or something? Huh?" Alex didn't even realise that a tear had escaped out of her eye until Jason walked over to her and crouched in front of her, wiping it away with the pad of his thumb. That's when she allowed all that she was feeling to come out. She wailed and cried, her body shaking.

Everything suddenly clicked in Jason's mind. Watching Alex cry confirmed everything for him. Whether he liked it or not, he was in love with her. Listening to her sobs and looking on as she cried her heart out set off feelings in him that he didn't know even existed. Jason scooped her up into his arms and held her tightly, tucking her head under his chin.

He wanted to be there for this woman forever. He never wanted to see her cry anymore. He never wanted to be the one to make her cry. He never wanted to disappoint her. He loved her. And he was going to do whatever it took to convince her that he was worth the shot.

He gently rocked them back and forth, whispering encouraging words into her ear. "I'm sorry about high school. I was an idiot."

"I always thought you hated me because I was smart. Some days when your shit actually got to me, I used to hate the fact that I was smart." She said, wrapping her own arms around his larger frame. He leaned back and pulled up her chin to face him.

"Your intelligence is part of what makes you so amazing. It's one of many reasons why I... Why I think we would work." He was going to declare his love for her but decided against the idea. She sighed and returned to her previous position.

"It wouldn't work."

"So you've thought about it before..."

She chuckled and sniffed, wiping her cheeks and ridding her face of the tears for her father. "Yes, I have. And each time I keep thinking about how it will end. I always come up with the same conclusion."

"Let me guess, I end up cheating on you?" Her silence was all the answer he needed and he let her go. Then he stood up, pacing around the room. "I wouldn't cheat on you, Alex! I'm not like Jonathan, damn!"

She instantly felt bad but it was true. With her history of men and Jason's history, she had a feeling that he would end up being unfaithful and somehow she didn't think she'd be able to deal with Jason cheating. That would be the final straw to her sanity. "How do I know that?"

"Look at me." Reluctantly she looked up, witnessing his emerald eyes shining and blazing with raw emotion. In them she saw determination, anger and... Love? "I feel myself changing. And I know that you know I'm not behaving the same as I used to. It's all because of you." She shook her head, not wanting to believe his words. "Believe it, Alex. I wouldn't cheat on you. I wouldn't ever want to hurt you because you've had too many people in your life disappointing you and making you cry. I know I used to be one of those people but," he crouched down infront of her again and cupped her face in his hand, smiling when she leaned into it. "Baby, let me make it right."

"I'm not sure, Jason." She whispered. She wanted nothing more than to tell him 'YES!' And say that she wanted to give a relationship between them a try but that was what her heart desired and she needed to learn to listen to her head. Her head always had her hearts' best interest in concern. "I really do want to try with this but-."

"But what!?" He exclaimed impatiently but his tone of voice didn't faze her.

"But I have to protect my heart." He groaned in frustration. "And something tells me that this may go wrong."

Jason sighed and stood back up, stepping away from her. "If that's really what you want to believe then fine. You and I both know that I wouldn't hurt you in any way but I guess Jonathan's fucked you up so bad that you can't even trust again. You can't knock something until you try it, Alex, I may not be a Jonathan but that's because I'm a 100 times more man than he will ever be." She dropped her head, instantly feeling horrible.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sorry for ever thinking that you could ever get out of the man-hate bubble Jonathan put you in. But make no qualms about it, Armstrong, I won't stop trying. Like I said earlier, I'm already yours and you're already mine, I'm just waiting on you to accept that with open arms and deal with it." He was met with silence. He chuckled bitterly and opened the door. "I guess it's gonna take a while." Without another word he left, the slam of the door in the next room informing Alex that he was pissed off.

She hated herself. She hated herself for angering him like she had. She hadn't meant to but she was only looking out for herself. In the long run, chances were that it just wouldn't have worked out. They were two complete opposites personality-wise. But Alex couldn't deny the fact that he had captured her heart. The only reason why she said no was to keep him at arm's length, in the hopes that her feelings would fade because judging by the rate that they'd developed, if he did crush her, she wouldn't be able to get back up. Why did he have to bring it up a second after she'd discovered the truth about her father?

She reached into her pocket and brought out her blackberry, smiling faintly. Whilst she was asleep, Jason had changed her background to a picture of him grinning at the camera. She laughed at it for a second before sighing. She'd gotten Jonathan out of her system within 2 months but she knew getting Jason out of her system would be mission impossible.

Alex thought about how much fun her and Jason had and how she felt when they were together. She'd always had a slight crush on him before but now that she'd gotten to know him better, she could truthfully say that the mere thought of losing him hurt more than the reality of losing Jonathan and losing her father.

Her mind was torn. She quickly dialed the numbers and put the phone up to her ear. Right now, all she needed was her best friend. "Hey girl, how was your flight? Y'all settled in yet?" Mya said happily but paused when she heard no reply. "Alex?"

Alex sobbed and then she poured her heart out to her, not missing a single thing and even mentioning things that she hadn't wanted to speak out loud