Jealousy

Jayce

The moment I spotted Tuli wrapped in an embrace with the Italian exchange student, a wave of jealousy washed over me.

I mean, she was almost mine in my office! Now she’s cozying up to this guy.

Maybe I’m blowing this out of proportion. This is the first time I’ve seen them together. It doesn’t mean they're an item.

But I didn’t like him touching her.

I walked up to her as she watched him saunter away. “He seems to have taken a liking to you,” I said, my voice rougher than I intended.

Tuli practically leaped out of her skin. I couldn’t help but smirk, but quickly composed myself as she spun around to face me. “Mr. Mitchell, you scared me,” she said softly.

I forced a smile, my mind still clouded with envy for the young Italian. I wanted to take this girl home and show her—

I shook my head, clearing the inappropriate thoughts before addressing her. “Sorry, Miss D’Amore. Didn’t mean to startle you. You left this in my office,” I said, holding out a small, stuffed bear keychain.

Her face flushed as she snatched the keychain from my hand, mumbling a quick thanks.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure not to lose it again.”

“Good,” I replied, my tone icy. “I’ll be heading back to my office, then.”

I spun around, leaving her standing there, a look of surprise etched on her face. I watched her climb into her car, slamming the door shut.

She drove past me, her face a mask of confusion.

She didn’t glance my way as she passed. I made my way back to my office.

Once inside, I decided to channel my jealousy and frustration into my writing. I pulled up Google Docs on my desktop and began to type, my fingers flying over the keys.

I let my fingers do the talking, pouring out my emotions. After what seemed like an eternity, I paused to read a section of what I had written. To my surprise, I had penned down my own thoughts.

~Chase wondered why Emma hadn’t shown up to his house yet. He stepped outside to hear screams from around the block. Now he knew why.~

~Chase ran to the screams. He came around the corner to see a man was on top of Emma, fondling her. Chase realized it was Emma’s friend, Liam. She whimpered as her “friend” whispered into her ear. “Stop fighting and let me have you.”~

~Chase growled and shoved Liam off Emma. Taking him by surprise, he quickly straddled the jackass and threw a flurry of punches at the man’s face. “Emma,” he growled, “get inside my house and lock the door behind you!”~

~Emma scurried off around the corner and disappeared. Meanwhile, Liam started to fight back. He threw kicks and punches at Chase.~

~Chase managed to dodge most of his hits, except for one, which connected with his jaw. His bottom lip curled back from the impact, and he could feel his teeth cut into his flesh.~

~He grunted, relishing the feel of beating the guy to a bloody pulp, oblivious to his own injury.~

~Chase continued to rain down punches on Liam until he held his hands up in surrender. Chase hopped off of him, and allowed him to get up. “Get the fuck out of here,” Chase snapped, “and leave Emma alone, or so help me God, I will finish what I started.”~

~Liam staggered away, and Chase walked back to his house. He knocked on the door and called out gently, “Emma, it’s me. Let me in, please?”~

The door creaked open slowly to reveal a tear-streaked and trembling Emma. Chase stepped inside and immediately pulled Emma into his arms. He closed the door and picked her up.

He carried her to his couch and sat her down, settling himself next to her. He then began to comfort her.

Okay, so I didn’t want to beat the kid to a bloody pulp. I was just frustrated because the one girl I wanted, I couldn’t have!

I just wanted to add some excitement to the story, something that would prompt the main character to whisk his lover away to safety.

~Lover?~ I thought, taken aback. Is that how I saw Tuli? As my lover?

I shook my head vigorously. Love is a foreign concept to me.

I continued reading and noticed the story had taken a different turn than I had planned.

~After cleaning Chase’s wounds, Emma looked up into his eyes. Their lips were inches apart. Chase gently cradled her head in his large hands.

~Emma could feel the passion and desire Chase felt for her in their heated, passionate kiss. She realized she wanted him just as much.

~She parted her lips and moaned, allowing his tongue to slide into her mouth and taste her.

I switched off the monitor before I could read any further. The last thing I planned was to include a sex scene in an action-packed book. It was unexpected, yet somehow fitting.

It was a welcome change after the violence in my book.

I was feeling drained. With classes over, it was time to head home.

As I left, Tuli was still on my mind. It seemed she had taken up permanent residence in my thoughts, no matter how much I wished she wouldn’t.