The House Always Wins - 9. Chapter 9

It wasn't like I could do anything else; he left me little choice. It was a shock, really, to feel his lips touching mine and I wanted to protest, but it was smothered quickly. As soon as I opened my mouth, his lower lip closed the small gap, capturing my upper lip with his, which were soft and warm. In Olivia's eyes it must've looked like one hot zinger of a kiss, but nothing could be further from the truth; no tongue, no nothing. But it was intimidating, having a large man like that standing so close, able to do anything he wanted.

I took a cue from him and closed my eyes, not entire sure where to put my hands, so I used one to slide my fingers in his hair and let the other rest on his hip. Michael's slipped around me, one to my back, the other to my ass, both pulling me closer, effectively hiding me behind his taller frame.

By the time Michael ended the fake kiss, feigning shock for seeing his mother in the kitchen, we'd been at it for almost a minute. Empty or not, it was still a kiss, and even better than some real ones I've experienced. Not that there were all that many to compare to, but still...

"Oh dear, I'm sorry," Olivia said, hiding a smile behind her hand. "Carry on, carry on. Don't mind me."

All I could do was look anywhere else but at her, and Michael coughed, as if he was embarrassed. He was a pretty good actor. I just felt real shy, and completely surprised.

"We'll...umm...be right there," he said.

"Take your time, dear. I remember times when your father couldn't..."

"Yes Mother, thank you," he snapped moodily.

She left us with a cackling laugh, making me smirk as well; I couldn't help it, she had an infectious laugh.

"I'm sorry, I had to act fast," Michael said, still moody.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," I said, trying to make it sound like it really didn't bother me. It was a good thing that he couldn't see my heart thudding rapidly.

He nodded, and left.

**********

It took me a few minutes to gather my thoughts before going back into the living room. Olivia had taken up a seat again; Michael was nowhere to be seen.

I sat down opposite from her, holding a fresh drink I had quickly poured in the kitchen.

"Okay, where were we?" I said, pretending that nothing had happened, which wasn't easy.

Olivia smiled.

"You were playing footsy and I was intruding," she said without missing a beat.

I avoided looking at her, and took a sip of my Coke. My mind was working overtime.

"I'm sorry; I'm embarrassing you, aren't I?" She asked, leaning forward a bit, trying to look at me.

"That's enough, Mother," Michael's voice sounded. "As I said, you're scaring him away."

Glad that he was joining us again, I looked up, relieved. He had changed his clothes, which also meant he had succeeded in moving my stuff to the master bedroom. The thought of that didn't help me much either; it only made me more nervous.

Olivia looked at me, softly laughing.

"He's very shy, isn't he? A charming quality; I'd really like to get to know him in the coming weeks. I think we have a lot to talk about. How old are you, Jason?"

"Nineteen," I replied.

"I see. And you're sure you want to throw away your best years on this son of mine? He's almost senile, you know, compared to you."

"Don't listen to her; my father was 20 years her senior." Michael sat down beside me, nudging me.

"Best to learn on an old bike, I suppose," I said, matter-of-factly.

The shocked expression and the subsequent cackle from Olivia had me thinking the woman was going into cardiac arrest, but nothing could be further from the truth; she actually thought it was funny, and I relaxed a little.

Michael, on the other hand, looked at me with a bemused expression on his face.

"You'll pay for that," he said, semi-threateningly. But his mouth twitched a few times, amused. So he did have a sense of humor.

"I'm hardly the person for judgment on age gaps, Jason, since I was quite happy with my old bike, as you so eloquently put it, for many, many years. If it works between you two, I'm the last to complain, I assure you."

"It...works," I replied, sitting back.

I pulled up my legs to a cross-legged position, only to yelp in surprise when I teetered over into Michael's lap; he had used my temporary instability to pull me over unexpectedly. His face appeared above me, grinning.

"It definitely works," he said, appearing affectionate. "Old bike, eh?"
He kissed my nose, smiled and then helped me sit up.

When my eyes met Olivia's, I saw her watching us intently.

**********

We went downstairs for dinner at 9, and Olivia proved to be a well-known and loved lady. As soon as we stepped out of the elevator and arrived in the foyer, she was greeted by at least half a dozen employees. She answered them all with a quick hug, and knew their names, sometimes even the names of their children or partners. And in the restaurant, the chef came to the table to personally take her order, something that he didn't even do for Michael, I found out later on.

She also proved to be an entertaining guest. She was smart, she sparkled, and there wasn't a quiet moment for as long as dinner lasted.

Michael stayed pretty quiet, sometimes excusing himself when a matter elsewhere needed his attention. He was called away on at least five occasions during dinner, and I finally asked our waiter to take his plate away.

"It'll be cold by now, and we have plenty of food in the fridge. I'll make him something to eat when we get back upstairs," I explained, when Olivia raised her eyebrows questioningly. As I've said, I wasn't completely useless; I knew my way around a kitchen.

"You cook?"

"I make a mean crepe, when I get the chance," I grinned, helping her out of her seat. We walked out of the restaurant, and into the foyer, where I motioned Jake, the hotel valet, to come over.

When Michael and I had gone on our shopping expedition, I'd found myself waiting at the entrance for a few minutes, and he had introduced himself. Since we shared the same name, we'd struck up a conversation and I liked the guy; he was funny.

"Jake, could you tell Mr. Black that we went back upstairs?"

"Sure will, JJ."

"Thanks."

Olivia told Jake to say hello to his girlfriend, to which he replied ‘which one?’, which got laughs all around. Lame. We proceeded to the private elevator.

"JJ?" Olivia asked.

"Jason Jake," I explained. "Most of my friends call me JJ, but Michael insists on calling me Jason; he hates to call me JJ."

"He always has," Olivia answered. "His father always called him..."

"MB," I said, recalling it from our conversation about this. "I remember; he told me that."

She laughed, taking my arm as we stepped into the elevator.

"I have the feeling that you and I will get along very well," she said.

I grinned at her, flashing the access-card in front of the panel and the door closed.

**********

It was a little after eleven when Michael came upstairs. I had taken up a portion of a sofa, reading the book I had found in the study. I looked up as he silently entered the suite, and laid the book down in my lap when he came over and leaned on the back of the sofa.

"Did she go to bed?"

"About fifteen minutes ago," I answered.

"Good. What are you reading?"

"Joseph Conrad," I said, holding it up for him. "The Secret Agent; I hope you don't mind that I got it from the study?"

"No, of course not," he said, rubbing his stomach. Funny sounds came from that area; I could hear them even from where I sat.

"Hungry?"

He nodded.

"I made you something to eat; it's in the fridge. Your dinner was getting cold, and since it was fish, I didn't think you'd like it warmed up. I figured you'd be hungry. It's crepes, filled with marmalade. Put them in the microwave and press the blue button; it'll automatically start."

He gave me a surprised look, and glanced in the direction of the kitchen.

"Thank you," he said.

He disappeared in the kitchen and appeared back a few minutes later with a plate, which he set on the bar. "Would you like some as well?"

I shook my head and went back to reading. He ate in silence, sometimes mumbling approvingly, the knife and fork the only sounds, as they touched the plate on occasion. When he was done, he took it back to the kitchen, then came and sat down. He used the remote to turn on the TV, and muted the sound.

"I don't mind," I said without looking up.

"Mind what?"

I gestured at the TV.

"If you want to watch, turn on the sound. I can read without being distracted by the noise."

When he didn't turn up the volume, I looked up. The muscles in his jaw contracted and relaxed before he spoke.

"We need to have a little talk," he said, taking the book from me and laying it on the table. "I cornered you in the kitchen."

I bit my lower lip.

"Yeah...about that..." I said slowly, after a while.

"You don't have any experience with relationships, I know that, but..."

I sighed and scratched my ear nervously.

"Alright, here's a little crash course for you. In a relationship, you do things, like touch each other occasionally, and steal a kiss here and there. Show affection. It's something you do when you love someone. It's not a rule, it's more an automatic thing. You want to do it, and it's allowed that you do it. It's fun, and relaxes you when you're around each other, okay?"

"Check."

"This isn't an exam, so stop that. I'm being serious here. So, since you'll be dealing with me: I like touching someone I love, or hugging him, or, and here we are, kissing him. I will want to show him that love at random, and I would enjoy receiving it, also. My mother knows this very well. You may have noticed that she's watching us, or me, more specifically. So I will do that, on occasion, and I can't have you acting surprised or shocked. Understand?"

"Ch...understood..."

"Don't look so scared...I'm not asking you to jump my bones as soon as she's in the room with us..."

I grinned shyly. Now there was a funny graphic; I pictured myself crushing a skeleton.

"...just try not to be jumpy when I do something like that, okay? What's so funny?"

"Nothing...Okay, I'll try. And I'm sorry if I...you know...didn't do it right."

"You did fine, don't worry about it."

"Fine"? I did fine? Wow, that was...boring. The silence that ensued was becoming uncomfortable very quickly, and I got up.

"Okay, I'm gonna go and put away my stuff. I thought it better to wait until she was asleep." He looked up, nodding.

"Feel free to use whatever space you need. I'll be in the study."

I left, glad to escape the room. The tension was almost palpable.