One Wild Night

He glanced at his bedside clock as he sat up and was surprised to see that it was evening almost 7 PM already.

He had come into his bedroom only to get aspirin for his headache and had sat on the bed to catch his breath. He had no idea how he had fallen asleep but he knew he had been exhausted in every sense of the word. That was the only reason he could have slept for so long.

He got off the bed and stripped out of his work clothes, leaving only his boxer briefs as he walked out of his bedroom to the living room.

He needed to give Lucy a call to find out how his dad was doing, and also to know if Candace had arrived.

After doing that he would then freshen up and return to the hospital to be with his father so that Lucy could go home.

Although he still very much wished that he would be alone, he couldn't. It was his duty to stay by his father and not abandon him at such a time regardless of the hurt and disappointment that was making his heart ache.

He paused by the entrance of the living room when he perceived the aroma of something cooking in the kitchen, and his stomach rumbled in response.

Was there someone else in his apartment? Who was cooking in his kitchen? He mused as he headed for the kitchen instead of going to get his phone as he had set out to do.

He stopped by the kitchen door when he saw a lady standing by the refrigerator and he narrowed his eyes.

Although her face was hidden by the refrigerator door as she searched for something, it took him only some seconds before he figured out the identity of the intruder in his kitchen.

It was the fragrance of her perfume that first gave her away followed by the shirt she was wearing. She was putting on the shirt he had left in his hotel suite and a little black bum shorts under it.

"Esquire?" He called in confusion, wondering if he was beginning to see things or if Jade was really in his kitchen.

Hearing his voice Jade quickly straightened and hit her head against the roof of the refrigerator as she turned around, causing her to wince as she met his gaze.

"You are awake," she said as she rubbed the top of her head which was hurting.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, still unable to understand why she was standing in his kitchen instead of being at Varis.

Jade shrugged as she looked everywhere else but at him, "I'm trying to whip up some dinner for you. I heard you haven't been eating or resting well lately," Jade said, trying not to sound as flustered as she felt.

She was doing her best not to look directly at him, and she was surprised that Harry wasn't feeling self-conscious either. Or perhaps he was too surprised to see her to realize that he was standing in front of her dressed in just his boxer briefs?

"No. I mean what are you doing here in my house? Why are you in Ludus when you should be in Varis?" Harry asked, and Jade shifted her gaze to his, and he noticed the blush that stained her cheeks.

Jade cleared her throat, "As much as I love the sight of you in just your briefs..."

Hearing that Harry looked down at himself, and before Jade could finish speaking he turned around and walked away very quickly, but not before she saw the tip of his ears go red.

Jade giggled as she watched him leave, and then took a deep breath. She had to admit that he had a really gorgeously masculine body. What a pack of tasty snack! Jade thought with approval as she set about finishing up with dinner while she waited for him to return.

Inside Harry's bedroom, his face burned with embarrassment as he looked down at his crotch. How could he have forgotten that he was half-naked? He mused as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

What was she doing in his apartment anyway, and why didn't anyone bother to inform him that she was coming? He knew without a doubt that she had come with Candace. That was the only explanation for her presence here.

And if she was coming with Candace, that meant Tom had known. So why didn't Tom warn him that she was coming? Harry thought in annoyance as he walked over to the door and locked it with his key.

He couldn't trust Jade not to barge into his bedroom without knocking, and heaven knew that she had seen enough for one day.

He returned to sit on the stool in front of his dressing table and ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do about Jade's presence and everything.

Despite all the problems he had to deal with right now, he knew that he still needed to face whatever was up between him and Jade, especially considering their interrupted conversation the previous day. But this wasn't a good time for him. What was he supposed to do now that she showed up in his apartment uninvited?

Harry took a deep breath as he made up his mind to freshen up and go talk with her. He was going to thank her for dropping by to check on him, and then encourage her to be on her way since he was certain she had more important things to do than cook for him.

He stood up and went into the bathroom to shower. Forty-five minutes later he walked out of his bedroom dressed in black shorts and a gray polo t-shirt.

"For a minute there I thought you were going to stay in your room all night," Jade said from her seat in the dining as she watched him.

"I had to freshen up," he said without meeting her gaze as he took the seat opposite her.

Although he was very hungry and was dying to have a taste of the meal, he did not attempt to touch the food in front of him as he looked at her and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't realize I wasn't properly dressed," Harry said apologetically, and Jade smiled.

"I don't mind. It wasn't an unpleasant sight," Jade said, and Harry felt the tip of his ears heat up.

"Aww! You're so cute, Harry!" Jade said with a wide smile as she propped both elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands as she looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he met her gaze.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Jade asked in return knowing that he was probably planning to send her away.

"Jade..."

"I'm not leaving, Harry! Remember how you barged into my home a short while ago and strutted around like you owned the place? I'm here to return the favor," Jade said as she angled her chin stubbornly.

Harry sighed inwardly since he recognized the look on her face. It was the look she wore when her mind was made up on something.

"Surely you have your job to..."

"I don't. I quit my job before getting on the plane. So you have nothing to worry about," Jade said, and Harry's brows pulled together.

"Still, you can't be here," Harry protested, and Jade raised a brow.

"Why not?"

"Does it make sense to you that you are in my house right now?" Harry asked, and Jade bobbed her head.

"It makes a lot of sense to me. I wonder why it doesn't make sense to you when it made sense to you some time ago to show up in my apartment uninvited," Jade said, and Harry shook his head.

"That was different. Tom asked me to go to you," Harry said reasonably, and Jade shrugged.

"It's the same. Your dad asked me to stay with you," Jade said, and Harry sprang up from his seat when he remembered that he was yet to give Lucy a call as he had intended to some time ago.

Of course, he had been distracted by Jade's presence, he thought with displeasure while Jade raised a brow, "What are you frowning for? Sit down and eat," she said, pointing to the food in front of him.

"I need to check on my dad first. Excuse me," Harry said as he headed to the living room to retrieve his phone and Jade followed him.

"He is fine. Tom, Lucy, Jamal, and Candace are there with him. They all tried reaching you when he woke up but you weren't taking your call. I let them know you were sleeping and your dad said I shouldn't disturb your sleep and to fix something for you to eat," Jade said as she followed him but Harry didn't listen to her as he picked up his phone from the table and dialed Lucy's line.

Lucy received the call on the third ring, "How are you feeling? Your dad is awake now," Lucy informed him immediately after she received the call.

"How is he doing? Can you put him on the line? I have to speak with him."

"Uhm, can you wait until I return to the hospital? Tom and I stepped out to get Jamal and Candace something to drink. He's with Jamal and Candace," Lucy explained, feeling slightly sorry that she had left his father's side when he had asked her not to.

"You left him alone with them? Does he know who she is?" Harry asked with a concerned frown as he looked around the living room for his car key.

"Not yet. We are waiting for you to do that yourself," Lucy said, and Tom held out his hand for her to give him the phone.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave him alone with them?" Harry asked just as Tom took the phone.

"Your dad hit it off with Jamal as I told you he would. Jamal didn't want to leave his side so we had..."

"You sneaky bastard! How couldn't you tell me that your sister was coming over?" Harry growled under his breath, and Jade who was standing behind him poked his back.

"Are you talking about me? I'm right here, you know?" Jade asked when Harry turned to look at her, and he walked away from there and headed to for privacy of his bedroom but Jade followed him.

"I tried reaching you but you were sleeping," Tom said apologetically.

"That was only after she got here, am I wrong? Or are you trying to say you were not aware she was flying down to Ludus when you dropped me off?" Harry asked as he walked into his bedroom and quickly shut the door before Jade could stick a foot in.

"Well, I didn't expect her to come directly to your place..."

"Then come get her!" Harry cut in before Tom could speak.

"I'm not leaving!" Jade called back from the other side of the door making Harry walk into his bathroom.

"Get her? Jade is not a kid. Send her away if you don't want her in your apartment. Call the cops on her if need be," Tom said, and Harry gritted his teeth.

"This is not a joke, Tom. She is not listening to me..."

"Then what makes you think she is going to listen to me either?" Tom asked, and Harry raised a hand to massage his temple.

"Do I need to remind you that she is your younger sister? How can you let her do as she pleases? This is irresponsible of you," Harry said sounding desperate.

"Because she is an adult and can do as she pleases. Send her away if you don't want her there. It's as simple as that," Tom said, knowing that Harry only wanted him to step in because he couldn't say no to Jade.

"I really can't deal with Jade right now..."

"Harry, I'm sorry I can't help you here. Whatever is going on between you two, is for you to handle. I can't interfere. I'm sorry. We will give you a call when we get back to Aaron," Tom said and hung up the call before Harry complain any further.

"Is Jade bothering him?" Lucy asked with a concerned frown.

"He sounds more like himself now than he did earlier," Tom said with a small smile.

"I take it you are not going to ask Jade to let him be?" Lucy asked, and Tom raised a brow.

"Would you let me be if I was in Harry's situation?" Tom asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"I wouldn't."

"Good. So let's leave those two to handle whatever is going on between them," Tom suggested, and Lucy sighed.

"What do you think is going on in Aaron's room right now?" Lucy asked, and Tom grinned.

"Jamal is probably championing the conversation and trying to get them to like each other," Tom said, and Lucy giggled.

"Yeah. I can see him doing that."