Can I

Myra's P.O.V

It was Jade's voice. I looked across the pavement over at him, and he had his phone pressed tightly to his ear, a smug smirk resting on his face.

I immediately ended the call and walked over to where he stood.

"How did you get my phone number, Jade?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He shrugged casually, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"I'll tell you when we get to where we're going," he replied smoothly.

He shoved his phone into his pocket and handed me a heavy black helmet.

"Put this on."

Despite my unanswered question, I took the helmet from his hands and slid it over my head, carefully fastening the chin straps into the buckle until it clicked securely.

He pulled on his own helmet and swung his leg over the seat, getting onto the bike.

"Hop on, my lady," he said, turning the key.

I crossed my leg over the leather seat and sat down directly behind him. I was a bit hesitant to hold onto his waist, but the exact second the engine roared to life with a violent shudder, I threw both of my hands around his torso, gripping him tightly with a gasp.

"Hold on tight," Jade said, hitting the pedal to accelerate out onto the main street.

The momentum pulled us forward with a sudden rush, the powerful engine vibrating violently beneath us as we sped through the city.

The world outside became a blur of neon streaks and passing headlights, and the freezing wind slapped against my helmet.

The speed was terrifying, forcing me to bury my face against the rough leather of his jacket.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers digging into his waist with a white-knuckled grip as my heart hammered frantically in my chest.

"Hey, loosen up a bit," Jade called out, his deep voice carrying through the rushing wind. "You're cutting off my circulation."

Hearing his tease, I forced myself to relax a little and slowly opened my eyes to look around.

This counted as the second time I was riding on a bike, and the experience was truly amazing once you managed to suppress the initial fear of being on a super-speeding machine and ignored the heavy air slapping your face.

The city lights looked beautiful as we leaned smoothly into the sharp turns of the road.

Soon enough, Jade slowed his speed down considerably as he pulled into a very familiar, crowded parking lot, with loud music thudming nearby through the walls of the venue.

He rode to a slow stop at a designated reserved spot and shut off the bike.

I climbed down from the seat, my legs feeling a little woozy from the intense ride.

"That was intense," I exhaled through my mouth, a plume of cold air escaping my lips in the night fog.

Jade chuckled softly as he killed the ignition completely and got down from the machine, removing his helmet.

"You said the exact same thing the first time we rode together," Jade noted, running a hand through his hair.

I looked around at the bright neon signage of the building, my eyes widening in recognition.

I couldn't be mistaken about this place. This was definitely the Onyx Seramis parking lot. My gaze settled back on his face.

"I didn't know we were coming here tonight," I muttered, looking confused.

"I practically own the place, Myra, so it's the best spot for us to have a private conversation without any interruptions," Jade replied, offering a confident smirk as he hooked his helmet to the handlebars.

People didn't come to the club to have a quiet drink and talk.

A tall, broad man with the imposing physique of a professional bodybuilder spotted us from the entrance and started heading directly in our direction.

Jade tossed his bike key at the man who easily caught it.

"Good evening, boss," the bouncer greeted Jade.

"Watch her while I'm inside," he instructed, and the man nodded, before he faced me with an outstretched hand. "Let's go."

I reluctantly took his hand as he led me towards the club entrance. There was a long queue of people waiting outside, but the bouncer let us in the second we reached there, tipping his head in respect.

Loud music blasted into my ears the moment we entered the club. The strobe lights flickered rhythmically overhead, casting rapid, blinding flashes of neon purple and white that cut through the darkness and made every movement look like a choppy, slow-motion film.

The place certainly had a completely different vibe from that day I was here. Half-naked women swirled on poles at the center while men sprayed them with dollar bills.

The women here were dressed to kill, and I started feeling underdressed and more self-conscious.

Thankfully we didn't stay there long; Jade led me up the stairs to the second floor.

"This is not the idea I had for the evening!" I said, glancing down at the sea of people below.

Jade paused beside me, following my gaze.

"Jade, my man!" a man a few steps away called out, raising his hand in greeting.

Jade looked towards the source of the voice and his expression immediately hardened.

"Great. That imbecile is here," he muttered under his breath.

I turned to look at him, surprised by the sudden change in his expression.

The man approached us with a wide grin, completely oblivious to Jade's obvious lack of enthusiasm, or maybe he simply didn't care with the half-intoxicated state he was in.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming in tonight?" he asked, stopping in front of us.

Jade slipped one hand into his pocket, his jaw tightening slightly.

"My busy schedule cleared up. Some of us actually have a schedule we follow," he replied dryly.

The man's smile didn't falter one bit; instead, he raised his glass to his lips and took a sip.

"If I had an assistant like that stoic worker of yours, maybe I would be concerned about silly things like that," he joked, placing a hand on Jade's shoulder, his eyes drifting in my direction.

"Winslow, can you go find a corner and bury yourself in liquor, which is the only thing you're good at." Jade replied sharply.

"And who might this lovely ray of ginger sunshine be?" Winslow commented, openly eyeing my cleavage while licking his lips.

I felt disgusted by the lustful look he was giving me.

"Back off, Winslow," Jade warned, his voice hard.

"Why should I?" he asked as he removed his hand from Jade's shoulder. "Trying to hoard this fat slut's cunt for yours–"

Jade punched him before he could finish, sending him staggering and crashing into a table. Winslow groaned on the floor, holding his jaw while the people around simply stared at the brief altercation.

I stood there stunned. Jade grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from there.

He took me to a private lounge and shut the door. The room featured dark leather sofas, dim red accent lighting, and plush velvet walls.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing he asked, while raking his fingers through his hair, his jaw working. "I'm sorry that asshole spoke about you like that."

"It's okay, I've heard worse," I replied. "When you're fat in high school, you kinda get used to the daily dose of insults, and teenagers can be cruel and also creative. But I've never been called a slut, so that's news." I chuckled softly at the end.

"You shouldn't be laughing about something like that, Myra," Jade said, his expression dead serious, as his fingers found strands of my hair to brush back. "I wish we went to the same high school. I would have been there to remind you every day."

I chuckled at his words.

"Why are you laughing?" he demanded softly.

"I doubt we would have ever spoken to each other. I'm two years older than you," I said.

After my first awkward day at the office, I'd gone home and done research on Jade. The little I could find on the internet was how I knew his age.

Jade shrugged as though unconcerned by the fact that I was older than him.

"You think that would have stopped me?" Jade questioned, leaning a fraction closer.

"I can think of a lot of reasons why it could have been a problem. Like we would have been in completely different classes–" I pointed out.

"Can I kiss you?" Jade suddenly asked out of nowhere.

No, it wasn't out of nowhere because he'd been staring at my lips for a while now.

I gulped.

"Jade... I don't think..." My reply got cut off when he slowly moved his thumb down my neck, stopping just at the hollow between my collarbones.