Perfect Match by Kelly Arlia Page A

watching them. Chad laughed and punched him in
the arm. Jackson gave him a funny look. “What?”
    “You’re just hoping for that guy to make one
wrong move with her.”
    “You got that right. That will be the last
thing he does.”

    “So do you think that we can go to a show
sometime?” Tim asked as he motioned for the waitress to bring
another beer. Noelle felt the date going downhill fast, especially
after she told him about her father. Tim took it as an opportunity
to tell her his life story and how this had to be fate that they
met and are here together tonight. She tried hard to change the
subject, but it always seemed to go back to wrestling. She should
have known that is the type of show he was referring to.
    “What kind of show?” She asked with her best
fake smile plastered on her face.
    “One of your dad’s shows! I always wanted to
meet Larry Reid! Wow! I think you and I were meant to be. Damn, I’m
out with Ruckus Reid’s daughter! I can’t wait to tell my buddies!
I’m so glad to have run into you at the gym. I knew we had a
connection but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Now I know.” Tim
reached over and picked up her hand and kissed it, leaving a sloppy
wet spot on in. She politely moved her hand to her lap and tried to
discreetly wipe it on her jeans. Noelle was disgusted, and suddenly
prayed that she would run into someone she knew. She needed a way
out of this date and fast.

    A half hour later Jackson was still keeping
his eye on the table by the deejay booth. He was not only very
angry that Noelle would even consider going out on a date with that
guy, and he was dealing with a strong sense of hurt. He tried to
tell himself that it was because he considered her such a good
friend, and was hurt that she made a date and didn’t tell him But
he knew it was more. As off- limits as she was, he fell for her. He
did the moment they laid eyes on each other a few weeks ago at this
very place. So yes, it did hurt him like hell that she was here on
a date with a sleazeball. They were at a comfortable place in their
friendship and it was good to have his friend back, but it had to
be more than that. He felt this overwhelming need to protect her
from a jerk like Alex the other night, and now with this new Mr.
Evil. He woke up thinking of her. He found himself asking Larry
about her, and made sure that he had some sort of contact with her
before he went to sleep each night. Text messages, Facebook
comments, or a quick phone call was what got him through days that
he didn’t see her. He just knew that he had to be in contact with
her each day. He hated that he hasn’t spoken to her today, and at
this moment, he could no longer lie to himself and reason that she
was just a friend because these feelings that were going on inside
of him went far beyond that. He never even felt this way about
Kayla. Noelle was starting to mean more to him than was allowed,
and the extreme jealousy he was feeling was confirming that.
    He knew her pretty well and he could tell
that she had a fake smile on her face and from the way she was just
pushing the food around on her plate.
    “Just go over there. Please,” Chad
pleaded.
    “I can’t just barge in on her date.”
    “Okay, so can we stop watching her then? This
is not my idea of an exciting night catching up with my favorite
cousin. Besides, Tommy and Josh are going to be here soon.”
    “I’m just waiting for that perfect moment to
make my move.” Jackson looked over at the booth again to see Mr.
Evil get up and move to her side of the booth. He put his arm
around her and kissed her cheek. He saw Noelle cringe and looked as
if she pushed him away from her. Then he tried to kiss her on the
mouth.
    Jackson drank the rest of his beer, and
slammed the bottle down on the bar. “It looks like Bullet will be
making an appearance tonight after all.” He headed over towards the
back of the bar where their booth was. He got there in time to hear
him say, “Come on,