by B. B. Hamel
“Be there in twenty.”
Instantly I jump out of bed and get myself together. I don’t want to look like I’m getting too dressed up for him, so I keep it casual, but I fix myself up a little bit. I don’t know why he’s coming over, and part of me thinks this might be a booty call.
When I’m done, I head out into the living room to find Laney sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and staring at the television. She’s watching old Power Rangers episodes.
“Love this stuff,” she says to me without looking away. “All of my scripts are inspired by the original Power Rangers.”
“They’re great,” I say. “Listen, Jackson Hendricks is coming over.”
That gets her attention. “Your old flame?”
“I mean, sure.”
She grins at me. “Are you tapping that again, you ho?”
“No,” I say quickly, and feel guilty for lying. “I mean, I don’t know. Just be cool, okay?”
“Please,” she says, her grin enormous. “I’m always cool. Just try and keep it down. I’m doing research.”
I roll my eyes and sit down, waiting for Jackson. A few minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. Laney grins at me and gestures at the door with her head.
“Don’t keep him waiting,” she says. “He’s famous now, you know.”
I groan and get up. I cross the room and open the door.
Jackson smiles at me as soon as I see him. He’s wearing a simple outfit of a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans, and leather boots. He almost looks like a biker, except it’s all sleek and expensive and fits him perfectly.
“Hey,” he says to me.
“Hey yourself.” I can’t help but smile like an idiot.
“Hey,” Laney yells from the couch.
Jackson looks over my shoulder. “Oh hey, you’re Laney, right?”
“Script writer,” she says, looking back at the TV.
“Ignore her,” I say.
“Is that the Power Rangers?” he asks.
“Yes,” Laney says. “Feel free to join.”
He grins and hesitates a second. “Actually, Tara, mind if we go for a little walk? It’s nice out.”
“Sure. Laney, we’ll be back.” I leave the apartment and shut the door behind me.
“Sorry for coming over like this,” he says softly. “I mean, it’s pretty late, but I had to talk to you.”
“It’s no big deal,” I answer. “Things have been pretty crazy.”
“You don’t even know the half of it.”
He goes quiet as we walk out onto the street and start to head down the block. We’re going slowly, and the sidewalk is empty at this time of night. I live in a pretty nice area, looks like the suburbs basically, though it’s part of LA still. Modest bungalows line the streets along with a strip mall and some random stores.
I look up at him and his expression is serious. I don’t know what’s going on, but I suddenly realize that this isn’t a booty call. He’s not here just to sleep with me.
Maybe this is his way of throwing rocks at my window again.
“I talked to Holly,” he says finally. “Well, she did most of the talking.”
“She talked to me, too,” I admit to him.
He raises an eyebrow. “What did she say?”
“Threatened me,” I say. “Basically told me she’d get me fired if I don’t back off you.”
He groans and shakes his head. “That crazy fucking bitch.”
“What’s her deal, Jackson?” I ask him. “I don’t understand this at all. Does she love you or something?”
“No,” he says. “She thinks that if we stay attached as a couple that she’ll have an easier time getting a job.”
“She’s doing this for her career?” I can’t help but laugh. “That almost makes it worse.”
“Either way, she’s serious. I came here to tell you that she threatened to go to the paparazzi with a story about me abusing her and raping her.”
My eyes go a little wide. “She what?”
“Yeah,” he says. “She’ll tell the world I’m an abusive rapist or some shit if I don’t stay with her until she gets another job.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper. “Jackson, that’s insane. She’s blackmailing you.”
“Yeah,” he grunts. “And I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.” He stops and faces me, and I turn to face him.
“Whatever I can do to help,” I say softly.
He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me against him. He kisses me hard, surprising me for a second, but quickly I fall into his kiss. I let myself enjoy it, even if it’s dangerous and stupid to push this thing.
Slowly he breaks it off. “I just need you to know… Holly means nothing to me.”
“And why do I need to know that?” I ask him.
“I want you to trust me again.”
I look away, down at the ground. “That’s going to take some time,” I say.
“I know.” He tips my chin up and makes me look him in the eye. “But I’m trying. I don’t want anything to do with Holly, but I don’t know how to get out of it.”
I look into his eyes, and I believe him. I don’t know what it is about his expression but it’s the most sincere thing I’ve ever seen. I stand up on my toes and kiss him softly on the mouth, not sure what’s coming over me, and he kisses me back.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll let you try.”
“Got any ideas about how I can get out of this with Holly, or am I just fucked?”
I shake my head. “No clue. But I know someone who might.”
He cocks his head. “Who?”
“She’s a little weird and loves the Power Rangers apparently, but Laney’s the smartest person I know. If anyone can help, I bet it’s her.”
“You think we can trust her?” he asks me. “This story… if it leaks… it’ll be huge. And Holly will go off.”
“We can trust her,” I say. “I trust Laney with everything.”
“Okay,” he says. “Let’s go ask her.”
We head back to the apartment, holding hands, and I don’t know what that means. But it makes my heart beat fast and it feels good, really good, to have his hand in mine. I’m trying not to overanalyze this moment. I’m trying to enjoy it.
We get back to the apartment, and Laney is right where we left her. Once inside, we sit down and I launch into the story. I tell her the whole thing, about how we’re sleeping together, about his fake relationship with Holly, everything. Jackson adds in any details I don’t know, and when we’re finished, Laney is frowning.
“What do you think?” he asks her.
“Sounds like a fucking crazy story,” she says. “Can I write a script about it?”
He laughs a little. “You can option my story if you come up with a good plan.”
Her eyes light up, and I know she’s taking him seriously. “It’s a deal,” she says.
“Okay then.” He grins at her and they shake hands.
“Give me a few hours,” Laney says. “I think I can come up with a solution to your problem.”
“You sure?” I ask her.
“Positive. Just leave me to my work.” She grabs her laptop and a pair of headphones. “Don’t bother me until the morning.”
“Okay,” I say, but Laney already has the headphones on. She’s tapping away as Jackson and I get up. I’m not sure what to do, so I take him back through the house and into my room.
I shut the door and he looks at me. “She’s weird,” he says with a smile. “But I like her. I can see why you do too.”
“She’s pretty great,” I say, suddenly nervous. Jackson is in my room, my actual bedroom. I feel like a teenager again.
He looks around, studying my life. “So this is it,” he says. “More CDs than I would have guessed.”
“I got into music,” I say.
He nods and looks at the pictures on my walls, at the stuff on my bureau, before stopping in front of me.
He reach
es out and takes my hair, pulling me toward him. My heart skips a beat as I press myself against his body. “I’ve always wanted to fuck you in your bedroom,” he whispers in my ear. “Even all those years ago. But now we won’t have to be quiet.”
I look at him, eyes wide. “Who says you can do that?” I ask him.
“I do.” He smirks and kisses me, and I know he’s right.
23
Jackson
I push her down onto the bed and she laughs as I drop to my knees in front of her.
“Back then, we would’ve worried about waking up your parents,” I say to her as I slide her jeans over her hips. “Remember how worried you’d get?”
She laughs a little. “I nearly shoved you off the roof that one time.”
I grin at her and kiss her inner thigh. “You overreacted. I think it was just a raccoon.”
“No way. My dad was awake or something.”
I shake my head and kiss her right on top of the panties. She’s wet and I breathe in her smell. “He wasn’t. They never woke up. But you were always afraid.”
She smiles and moans softly. “Ah, uh, I was a stupid kid back then.”
“You’re not a stupid kid anymore.” I reach up and slide her panties off.
She props herself up on one elbow. “Do you ever wish we could go back?” she asks me.
I shake my head slowly. “No, not really. I wish I could do things differently, though.”
Her eyes go wide as my fingers slowly find her pussy and press inside of her. “Oh, shit,” she says, leaning back and tipping her head away.
“I wouldn’t have waited,” I say to her, pressing my fingers deep inside. “I would have fucked you back then. You have no clue how badly I wanted it.”
“Why did you wait?” she asks between breaths. “I wanted it too.”
“I know you did.” I grin at her and slide my fingers back out, teasing her clit. “I was a stupid kid, that’s why. I thought we had time. I thought I’d wait until you were a little older. I didn’t want you to have any regrets.”
She leans forward again and grabs my hair. “I was old enough,” she whispers.
I grin at her. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter now.”
“I was so angry with you.”
“I know.”
“But mostly I was disappointed. I never got to feel it. I didn’t lose it to you.”
“Is that what you wanted?” I ask her.
She nods, eyes wide as I continue to tease her.
“I’ll make it up to you now,” I whisper.
I drop down between her legs and find her pussy with my tongue as I lap up her taste. I suck and lick her clit, savoring the moans that fill my ears as I start to work her. I love her taste and I’m hard as hell as her fingers dig into my hair some more, pressing my face against her pussy.
Maybe things didn’t work out back then. But we have another chance now. And I’m not going to let this shit slip through my fingers, no fucking way. Not when she makes me feel like this.
I slide two fingers inside of her while I suck her clit, getting a taste of her soaking little pussy. I want to drive her crazy, make her feel good for all the times she felt fucking bad because I was an idiot back when I was younger. I should have done this sooner, I should have given her what she wanted back then, but I didn’t. And now I’ll make up for it.
She grabs my hair harder and pulls me up against her. I slide my fingers out of her and press her down against the covers, kissing her lips. She doesn’t care if she can taste herself, she seems to actually like it as my tongue enters her mouth. I tug up her shirt and pull it off her before she rolls me over and straddles my hips.
She unhooks her bra and I feel her full breasts, my cock hard as fuck. I sit up and she yanks my shirt off as I kiss her neck and her nipples. She digs her nails into my back and I grunt, which just makes her laugh.
I roll her over again and kneel in front of her. I unbutton my pants and pull them off, slowly sliding my boxer briefs down to reveal my thick cock. She reaches for me but I knock her hand away, stroking myself with one hand and teasing her pussy with my other.
She bites her lip as I spread her legs wide. She’s dripping wet, practically drooling for me, and I’m so hard I can barely stand it. I position myself and tease her slightly, slicking along her soaked pussy with my hard cock. She grabs onto the sheets and looks at me like she can’t think.
I lean over her, one hand on my shaft, the other supporting me as I kiss her lips softly. “This is what I should have done years ago,” I say before pressing myself completely inside of her.
I slide in deep and it makes her moan. I smother her with a kiss as I fit myself deep into her pussy, making sure she takes every single inch of me. I love how she reacts, with that little gasping moan. She wiggles her hips a little to feel me deep in there, and I know I’m stretching her wide.
I slide myself in and out, moving slow at first, kissing her lips deep and hard. There’s an impatience in her, and I know she wants me to fuck her rough, give her that big dick the way she wants it, but I need her to feel it first. I need her to know what I want, how I fucking feel about all this.
I grab her hips and her ass and tease her breasts, feeling every inch of her skin, getting to know every single part of her body that I couldn’t know for all these years. I kiss her shoulders and her neck and her chest, biting her nipples as I fuck her slow and deep and rough. I squeeze her hips and she flexes her legs, taking me deep, and I bite her lower lip when she gasps.
“This is what you missed all these years,” I whisper to her. “This is what you’ve been dreaming about.” I pull myself out just as she moans and grab her hips, turning her onto her stomach.
I love that sweet little ass. I slap it hard and spread her wide, bending down to lick her. She gasps and I slap her ass again before reaching up and grabbing her hair. I spread that ass wide open and find her dripping little pussy. I rub up against it before plunging deep into her, grabbing onto her hips and fucking her faster.
Her little pussy grips me hard as I fill her up from behind. I grab her wrists and pull them back as I slam into her, forcing her to stay still for me. I wreck her, fuck her, destroy her, as we slowly get deeper and deeper into it.
I’m covered in sweat when she gets up on her hands and knees, spreading wide for me. I fuck that pussy rough, slapping her ass, savoring the sweet thwack of my palm against her skin. She tosses her hair back and I grab it, pulling her toward me, squeezing her breasts and teasing her nipples. I kiss her as she turns her head and I pump my cock into her tight pussy. She bucks back against me, desperate for every inch.
I let her ride it that way, using her strong legs to slam back against me. I slap that ass, watching it move along my dick, and I want to come inside her so badly I can barely breathe. My heart’s hammering for her, pleasure moving through my very core.
I grab her hips and slam into her, forcing her face down into a pillow. I’m so close, and I know she is too. She’s screaming my name as I fuck her deep and hard, begging for more, begging for every inch. I slap her ass again, grab her hair, slam inside of her.
She presses up and I feel her whole body stiffen, moans escaping her lips, and I know she’s coming. Her pussy tenses and spasms and her whole body gets behind it. I don’t let up, I’m a filthy fucking animal, and she’s my goddamn woman. I’m going to fuck that cunt until I explode.
I come inside of her, a sweaty, messy explosion of pure pleasure. I grab her against me, grunting and sliding inside of her until finally I finish, and we collapse onto the bed.
She giggles as I pull her against me. We’re both drenched and breathing heavy but goddamn does it feel good.
“Think we woke the neighbors up?” she asks.
“Probably,” I say, grinning. “Your roommate heard at least.”
“Nah. She can’t hear a thing with those headphones on.”
“Too bad. Guess you’ll have to be louder next time.”
She grins at
me and cuddles closer. I grab her and pull her tight against my body, wrapping my big arms around her.
I feel so exhausted from this shit day, but I don’t want this moment to end. I don’t know what it means that we’re lying here, and I’m falling asleep, but I’m not questioning it.
I’ve never felt so fucking comfortable before, and I’m not about to leave this.
24
Tara
I wake up, a little groggy, and there’s a guy in my bed.
It takes me a second to realize that it’s Jackson. He slept over last night.
I can’t believe it. Jackson slept over, in my bed, and we cuddled all night. His body is still against mine, and it feels so good.
I snuggle closer to him, not sure what the hell’s happening. He wasn’t drunk and neither was I. We just had sex, and then… we fell asleep.
Booty calls don’t normally sleep over. So maybe that wasn’t just a booty call.
I watch him sleep for a second, surprised at how vulnerable he looks. He’s breathing deep and slow, handsome as always, but there’s a softness to him while he’s unconscious. He looks like the teenager I fell in love with all those years ago.
I slowly slide out of bed after a few minutes, not able to wait anymore. I use the bathroom and rinse my face off before looking at myself in the mirror.
For a second, I see that teenage girl I used to be. I was angry back then, hated everything about my hometown and dreamed about so much more. I wanted to get out, come to Hollywood, and live a life that my parents could never have dreamed of. And I wanted to do it with Jackson.
I remember the way I was after he left, so broken and sad. But those feelings don’t feel current anymore. I can’t relate to that anger and that hurt. Those emotions used to be very present for me, the hurt and the betrayal, but now… it feels like just another memory. My anger toward Jackson is gone, and that teenage girl is my past.
When I sneak back into the room, Jackson is sitting up in bed.
“I thought you were running away,” he says, smiling at me.
“No, that’s your move,” I say, surprised that I can joke about it.
