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JADE's POV
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Wednesday nights were supposed to be slow. A shower, a drink, maybe a game on in the background while I scrolled through my phone.
Tonight was loud.
Callum invited me and Max to chill out at his house since his parents where out on business. And I seriously needed to rest. Probably even drink, cause chasing this Ark girl isn't no game. She is so resistant.
Max's laugh cut through the smoke haze in Callum's garage, the kind of laugh that told you he'd been saving a joke just to stab you with it.
"So," Max started, holding his beer bottle like a mic, "when are you actually going to prove you're still Jade Vale?"
I exhaled slow, cigarette between my fingers. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Callum snorted from the couch, leaning back against the wall with a lazy grin. "It means you've been chasing Scarf Girl for, what, weeks? And still- " He made an exaggerated hand gesture, circling his fingers before snapping them open- "nothing."
I rolled my eyes, taking a long drag. "You make it sound like I've been begging her."
Max leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You have been. Just not out loud. You're different with her. It's almost pathetic."
"Pathetic?" My tone stayed calm, but my jaw tightened.
Callum took a swig, pointing his bottle at me. "Pathetic's not the right word. More like… weak. Like she's got you wrapped up without even trying."
"She's not like the others," I said before I could stop myself.
They both burst out laughing.
"Oh no," Max grinned. "He's actually saying it. The golden boy's falling for a girl who won't even give him a taste."
I smirked, even though the heat in my chest wasn't amusement. "Who said anything about falling?"
"Then prove it," Callum said, tilting his head. "Get her in bed. You've had easier girls in less time. What's the hold-up?"
The hold-up was complicated. The hold-up was that every time I pushed, she pushed back, and every time she pushed back, I wanted to push harder- not just to win, but to see how far she'd go before she broke.
I didn't say that.
Instead, I took another drag and let the smoke curl up toward the ceiling. "I've got it handled."
Max grinned wide, like a wolf smelling blood. "Then handle it tonight."
I raised a brow. "She's not going to come over."
"Doesn't need to," Callum said, flicking ash into an empty beer can. "Call her. Get in her head. You're good at that."
The three of us passed around another bottle, the beer going down too smooth, the haze settling in. Music thumped low from the speaker on the shelf, bass vibrating the garage floor.
Somewhere between the fourth cigarette and the fifth drink, the bet stopped feeling like a bet and started feeling like a challenge I couldn't lose.
I pulled my phone out, scrolling to her number.
Max saw it and grinned like he'd just scored the winning goal. "There we go. Give her that voice, man. The one that makes them think you're in their bed already."
I rolled my shoulders, loosening up, then hit call.
It rang twice.
"Hello?"
Her voice was soft, wary.
I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes as I let my tone drop into something lazy and smooth. "Miss me already?"
A pause. "Jade… it's late."
"Yeah," I said, smiling to myself. "But I couldn't stop thinking about you."
She exhaled sharply, like she didn't know whether to hang up or listen. "You're drunk."
"Maybe," I admitted, letting the word curl slow. "Or maybe I just needed to hear your voice."
"Why?"
I smirked. "Because it's addictive. Like you."
Silence on her end- long enough for me to picture her, scarf on, eyes narrowed but curious. I could almost hear the little shift in her breathing when she didn't know what to say.
"You're wasting your time," she muttered.
"Ark," I said, voice dropping lower, "time spent on you is never wasted."Got it
Another pause. I swore I heard the faintest hitch in her breath.
Max mouthed perfect from across the room, Callum grinning like an idiot.
I let the silence stretch before adding, "Good night,Ark. ."
I hung up before she could reply, slipping the phone into my pocket.
Max and Callum were grinning like I'd just landed a kill shot.
But I wasn't grinning.
Because somewhere between the smoke, the beer, and her voice.
Max let out a low whistle. "Damn, that was smooth. Even I almost said yes."
Callum chuckled, leaning forward to tap his beer bottle against mine. "That's the Jade we know. Took you long enough to pull it out of the bag, though."
I smirked, leaning back in my chair, cigarette dangling between my fingers. "Told you I've got it handled."
Max grinned, shaking his head. "Handled? Bro, you've been circling her like a dog around a steak for weeks. One late-night flirt isn't a win—it's foreplay."
"Foreplay wins the war," I shot back.
Callum laughed. "Only if you get to the main event. Right now, you're all talk and no- " he made a vague, crude hand gesture, grinning.
I flicked ash into the tray, keeping my smirk in place even though part of me wanted to tell them to shut the hell up.
"She's playing you," Max said, pointing the neck of his bottle at me. "She's making you chase. When was the last time that happened? You're usually the one leaning back, letting them come to you."
"Maybe I like the chase," I replied, tone lazy, but the truth ran deeper. Maybe I liked the way she made me work for every inch. Maybe I liked that she didn't fold just because I pushed.
Callum raised a brow. "Or maybe you're catching feelings."
I barked a laugh, shaking my head. "Feelings? You've had too much to drink."
Max smirked knowingly. "Yeah, sure. Just remember, we'll know when she finally lets you in… or when she breaks you first."
They both laughed, but the words stuck like grit in my teeth.
Because the way Ark looked at me earlier-wide-eyed, breath caught, before she pushed me away-
it didn't feel like I was breaking her.
It felt like she might be breaking me.
Max and Callum left just after midnight, still laughing, still throwing little jabs at me as they stumbled out into the dark, looking for something I didn't don't hear them saying. The garage went quiet except for the faint hum of the fridge and the faint ringing in my head from the drinks.
I stayed in my chair, bottle in one hand, phone in the other. Her name glowed back at me from the screen.
I didn't call again. I didn't need to.
That voice… soft but laced with that stubborn little edge. That hesitation that wasn't really hesitation- it was her thinking too much, like she always does. I could hear the push-pull in her head, the way she wanted to hang up but didn't.
And that was the win.
Because I had her now, whether she admitted it or not. She was already letting me in- just a crack, but enough for me to wedge myself there and start pulling her open.
Max and Callum thought this was a game I could lose. They didn't understand. I don't lose.
And her? She was going to fold. Maybe slow, maybe with all that shaking resistance she likes to pretend is strength, but she would fold.
The scarf, the walls, the attitude- it all made me want to rip them away piece by piece. Not because I cared what was underneath, but because I wanted to watch the moment she realized she couldn't keep me out anymore.
It wasn't love.
It was need.
And I was going to take exactly what I wanted.
I leaned back, smirking to myself in the dark, her voice still echoing in my head. She didn't know it yet, but she was already mine.