Jacked Up

by Samantha Kane

  Jealousy burned in her gut. Why was she jealous? She had no right to be. They had a one-night stand, not a relationship, for God’s sake. Sam turned to go and she panicked.

  “Sam,” she blurted. He turned back to her, waiting. She didn’t know what to say next. “I…it was nice seeing you again.” Oh my God, could you be more lame?

  “Yeah,” he said. “Great to see you, too.” She could hear the hurt under the stiff words. She didn’t know what else to say. She felt awkward and miserable. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. It was supposed to end back at that hotel room, with kisses and a fond goodbye. Sam walked off and she let him go without another word.

  King still stood by her side. He took her hand in his and turned it palm up. Then he pulled her pen from where it had been clipped to her top and began to write on her arm. “This is my number.” When he was done he handed her the pen. “Put it on your phone before you wash it away, and call me tomorrow, yeah?”

  “Sure,” Jane said with another false smile. “Tomorrow.” She turned away before he could detect that she was lying. “I’ll get that wheelchair and say goodbye to our patient.”

  —

  Sam sat stiffly in the driver’s seat of Lelei’s SUV. King had bought her a nice Escalade when she and Mika had moved to Birmingham last year. King’s dad was dead, and Mika’s dad was in the military, so King felt better having all “his women” near him, as he put it. Talia hated it when he called them that, which was why he did it, of course. It made his mom laugh.

  “Are you okay, pele?” Lelei asked Mika for the thousandth time since they left the hospital.

  “I’m okay,” Mika said in a small voice. Sam glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He was pale, with big circles under his eyes.

  “It’s been a rough day, little buddy,” Sam said. For both of us, he thought. “Everything will feel better when we get you home and into your own bed.”

  “I don’t need to go to bed,” Mika snapped. “I’m not a little kid. It’s still early.”

  “After I got hurt in Afghanistan, when I was in the hospital I slept a lot,” Sam told Mika, surprising himself with his willingness to talk about it at all. “The doctors and nurses told me that sleep helps your body heal. If you want to heal faster, you sleep more.”

  “Really?” Mika said suspiciously.

  “Didn’t that nice nurse tell you so?” Lelei asked. “She said you should get lots of rest.”

  “I guess so,” Mika grumbled. Lelei smiled at Sam, but made sure Mika wouldn’t see it.

  That nice nurse. She was nice, all right. Jane. Man, seeing her had done a number on him. He’d gotten a little hard just seeing her and remembering what they’d done. Which was embarrassing and all kinds of wrong in the hospital, when she was working and Mika was hurt. Sam felt sick and dirty. But in his defense, she was freaking hot.

  King had thought so, too. Sam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought about how he’d found them in that empty hallway, King’s hands on Jane’s hips, standing so close together. Sam could tell he’d interrupted something going on between them. Maybe King was with her right now. Sam shook his head. Now he was getting delusional. King was in his SUV following them with Mrs. Ulupoka and Talia. But that didn’t mean he and Jane hadn’t made arrangements to see each other again.

  Sam blew out a frustrated breath. He was being an asshole. Of course King liked her. He was the one that had made the advances, not Sam. She’d gone with them back to the hotel, and had drinks with them, because of King. It was probably King she’d been attracted to. Maybe she liked fucking Sam in front of King. Sam had liked it, that was for sure. He felt himself blush and kept his eyes on the road. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was blushing to Lelei.

  “Sam, are you going to stay at our house?” Mika asked hopefully. “I’ll go to bed if you stay.” Sam had a room at King’s house. He had his own apartment, too, but he slept at King’s a lot. And sometimes, when King needed to get away from his family, he stayed at Sam’s.

  “Sure,” Sam said. He could keep an eye on King that way. He winced at the thought. What the hell was wrong with him? He and Jane had been nothing more than a one-night stand. He had no claim on her. And King was his best friend. He should be happy King was hooking up with a nice woman like her. Watching her work had been a turn-on. She was so professional and efficient. Sam liked self-confident women, and Jane was definitely one of those. King had always liked them, too.

  Sam gripped the steering wheel harder. He would be cool if King said he wanted to call Jane and see her again. He would wish them well. So what if she was the best fuck he’d ever had? So what if she was exactly the kind of woman Sam could see himself with? There were other women like her. Sure, Sam hadn’t been attracted to any of them yet. He hadn’t found any he wanted to rip the clothes off of and fuck standing right inside the doorway like he had Jane. But there must be another one out there. King could have her.

  As if Sam had any say in it. He quietly snorted under his breath. It was her decision. He wasn’t going to compete with King for her. He’d lose, for starters. King was built like a fucking Mack truck, and he was one of the nicest guys Sam had ever met. He was genuine, with a great family, and he was one of the best defensemen in the NFL. Sam, on the other hand, was fucked-up in the head and an embarrassment on the field. Yeah, not much competition there.

  Thankfully, they arrived home before Sam could depress himself any more.

  Chapter 12

  King checked his phone again. Nothing. She probably wouldn’t call. She’d been pretty embarrassed at seeing them again. Maybe she really didn’t want to do it again. Which was crazy. It had been so hot, the three of them together. King really wanted to explore that some more. He’d been surprised by how glad he was to see her again. She looked pretty hot in her rumpled scrubs and sensible shoes. The contrast between the professional, caring nurse and the sexy, incredibly hot girl who’d blown their minds in Orange Beach made her even more interesting.

  “Are you expecting a call?” Sam asked, not looking at him.

  Sam had been weird since they’d seen Jane three days ago. King hadn’t been able to get him to talk about Jane at all. Not that there had been a lot of opportunities, with either the team or his family around them. And Sam seemed to be taking pains to make sure they were never alone. King had fixed that by insisting they go to Sam’s after practice today.

  “I was hoping Jane would call,” King said, putting his phone down.

  “Have you talked to her since we saw her at the hospital?” Sam asked woodenly.

  “No.” Sam turned with a surprised look. “I gave her my number,” King told him, “but she hasn’t called. She told me she was embarrassed to see us again after what we did.” Sam’s shoulders slumped and he turned back to the hockey game on TV.

  “So she doesn’t want to see you again,” he said.

  “Nah, that ain’t it,” King said. Sam looked surprised again. “She wants to, she’s just embarrassed. I could tell.”

  “So are you going to ask her out?” Sam brushed at the arm of his chair as if he were cleaning crumbs off it, avoiding King’s gaze.

  “Yeah, sure,” King said. “I want her to go out with us again.”

  “Us?” Sam asked.

  “Us,” King confirmed. “It was hot, the three of us together. I want to do it again.”

  Sam jumped up from his chair. “Damn, King,” he burst out. “You don’t just say shit like that.”

  “Why not?” King asked, shrugging. “It’s the truth. Don’t you?”

  Sam ran both hands through his hair and paced in front of the TV. “I don’t know.” He sounded miserable. “I never did anything like that before. I mean, it was supposed to be just for the one night, so I didn’t hurt anybody.”

  “You didn’t,” King reminded him. “It worked.”

  “Yeah, so I don’t need to do it again,” Sam explained.

  “Need and want are different things. You
might not need it, but what do you want?” King waited, holding his breath.

  “Mark says I shouldn’t worry so much about what my dick is interested in,” Sam said wearily as he sat back down. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and stared down at his clasped hands. “He says that I shouldn’t expect to go back to the way things were. That I should get used to my ‘new normal.’ ”

  King leaned forward in his chair, mimicking Sam’s position. “What’s your new normal?” he asked, a little worried.

  Sam shrugged. “This, I suppose. I never wanted a threesome before. Now, it’s all I can think about.” He was blushing furiously.

  “Brah,” King said impatiently. “Why didn’t you tell me before now?”

  “Because you didn’t tell me,” Sam snapped. “How was I to know you wanted to do it again?”

  “Because it was hot,” King exclaimed. “I told you I liked it. I liked watching.” That got Sam’s attention.

  “So you just want to watch again?” he asked.

  “No,” King said firmly. “I want to fuck Jane. But I also want to watch. So you can fuck. You haven’t been with no one since her.”

  “Argh,” Sam groaned in what sounded like frustration as he dropped his head back on his chair. “This is crazy. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this.” He looked at King. “She doesn’t even want to see us again.”

  “Leave that to me,” King said. He would call her at work and try again. “You only want Jane?”

  Sam nodded. “I only want Jane,” he said.

  “Me, too,” King agreed. “Honestly, I can’t even think of doing this with anyone else.”

  —

  Jane threw her purse down on the sofa and headed straight for the refrigerator and a cold beer.

  “Whoa,” Margo said from where she sat in the living room. “Someone had a bad day. Again.”

  “I have a problem,” Jane said, popping the top off a bottle of beer. “I need advice. But I need you to keep your mouth shut.”

  “How am I supposed to advise if I can’t talk?” Margo asked, rising and coming over to sit on the barstool at the kitchen counter. She and Jane were complete opposites. Margo was loud and outgoing and a joy to be around. She was also petite and blonde, so she got away with the loud part.

  “I mean it,” Jane said. “You can’t tell anyone.”

  “Oookay,” Margo said. “Sounds intriguing. Did you kill someone at work?”

  “That’s not even funny,” Jane told her, pointing the bottle at her. “Shame on you.”

  “Clearly, I’m not destined for a career in stand-up,” Margo said. “The suspense is killing me. Lay it on me. Let Madame Margo advise you.”

  “I must be crazy to even ask you,” Jane said, half to herself.

  “Or really desperate,” Margo offered. “I agree. So, shoot.”

  “You know those two guys I met at Orange Beach?”

  “Oh my God, you’re pregnant,” Margo exclaimed. “I knew it! You’ve been so moody. I hope the baby daddy is the big Samoan. You two would have the cutest kids.”

  Jane put the beer down and lowered her head to her crossed arms on the kitchen counter. “This is my lowest point yet,” she said in a muffled voice. “Asking you for advice.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know nothin’ about birthing no babies, Miss Scarlet,” Margo agreed.

  “I am not pregnant,” Jane told her, straightening and reaching for her beer again. “Not. Pregnant. Got it?”

  “Okay. Then quit beating around the bush and tell me.”

  “I saw them a few days ago,” Jane told her. “At the hospital. King’s nephew broke his arm and Sam and King showed up on my shift.”

  Margo hooted with evil laughter. “Oh that must have been good,” she chuckled. “What happened?”

  “Not much,” Jane admitted. “I freaked and it was totally awkward. King was pretty cool, but Sam was as freaked out as I was. We could barely look at each other.”

  “Ouch.” Margo winced in sympathy.

  “Yeah,” Jane said with a wry laugh. “Oh, and then I had a total breakdown with King in the hallway and cried on his chest over that awful construction accident, and Sam walked in on us while King was still holding me.”

  “Is this like a telenovela or something?” Margo asked incredulously. She put her chin in her hands, her eyes gleaming with interest. “And then?”

  “Cue more awkward conversation between me and Sam, and then he left all pissed and King gave me his telephone number and told me to call him.”

  “Wow.” Margo was watching her with wide eyes. “Respect. Seriously. That guy is hot. H. O. T.”

  “Would you be serious?” Jane huffed in annoyance. “How can I see either one of them ever again?” She covered her eyes with one hand and took a big gulp of beer before confessing, “I was a total ho, Margo. I mean, like, a porno princess.”

  “Holy crap,” Margo said, frowning. “No wonder you wouldn’t tell me anything about it. Do we need to get you tested for something?”

  “No. Condoms,” Jane said wearily. “And Sam at least hadn’t had sex for years, so he was definitely clean. And King?” She shrugged. “I got the impression he wasn’t super promiscuous, but what do I know? I don’t know them, Margo. That was the thing. I didn’t know them, they didn’t know me, it was for one night, the gloves were off. Well, figuratively speaking. Literally, everyone who was granted entry was gloved. Okay, King wasn’t when I gave him a blow job.”

  “Boom,” Margo said, flashing her hands open at her temples. “Mind blown. I didn’t even know good little Jane knew how to give head.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Jane snapped. “Maybe I’m not the Goody Two-shoes you always accuse me of being.”

  “Oh, girl, I figured that out when I walked into that hotel room,” Margo said with a snort. “You became my bad-girl idol that day.” She frowned. “Back up. Why hadn’t Sam had sex for years?”

  “The war,” Jane said, spinning wet circles on the counter with her bottle. “He was injured in an IED accident and a bunch of his unit were killed. He’s got some post-traumatic-stress issues and was worried he might have a flashback or something if he had sex.”

  “Did he?” Margo sounded appalled.

  “No,” Jane said. “I could tell right away it was going to be fine. And it was. And trust me, we had some hardcore rough sex and it didn’t trigger him.”

  “I feel like I might be too young to listen to this,” Margo teased her.

  “He did have a nightmare afterwards, though,” Jane admitted. “Or more like a dream, really, but based on reality. And the reality, I guess, was a nightmare. Anyway, King and I held him through it and he didn’t even wake up. Just went back to sleep in my arms.”

  “Holy shit,” Margo said. “In a twisted way, that sounds so romantic. So what’s the problem?”

  “King called me at work today.”

  “So?” Margo frowned in confusion. “He told you to call him.”

  “Which I didn’t.”

  “For which I think you are crazy. Look, when a gorgeous, successful professional athlete, who you have already boned, says call him, you call him.”

  “For the record, I did not bone King. I blew him. Big difference.” Jane didn’t meet Margo’s eyes as she took a drink of beer to hide her embarrassment.

  “Riiiight,” Margo said. “Dick in hole somewhere on your body counts.”

  “That is just crude,” Jane said prudishly.

  “You don’t get to talk any more,” Margo said, wagging her finger in Jane’s face. “I don’t get you. Obviously, he wants more than a one-night stand. Aren’t you into him?”

  “He’s great,” Jane said miserably, turning her back to lean against the counter as she dropped her head back on her shoulders. “Grrr, that’s the problem.” She spun back around. “Great guys want hos for one thing.”

  “Would you stop saying that?” Margo said with a look of distaste. “Say whore or slut or something. A ho works a Jersey
street corner.”

  “Fine. A great guy like King wants a slut for one thing only.”

  “Then he’s not a great guy and you can ditch him,” Margo said with a shrug.

  “And what about Sam?” Jane asked.

  “Um, what about him? Do you want to go out with him, too?” She looked a little intrigued by the notion. “I guess that’s how it worked before.”

  “No. I mean, yes. Argh.” Jane clutched two fistfuls of hair on either side of her head. “I don’t know. Have you seen the news? They are not kind to those women who are already sleeping with two players on the team.”

  “Yeah, that does seem to be a Rebels thing,” Margo mused. “That could be good. You wouldn’t be unique.”

  “Thanks. Big help.” Jane chugged her beer only to find it gone too soon.

  “You want my advice? Call him back.” At Jane’s incredulous look, Margo shrugged. “What? Life is short, honey. You of all people know that.” She put her hand over Jane’s sympathetically when she said it, but it didn’t lessen the pang of hurt at the reminder of David’s death. “All I’m saying is, give the guy a chance. And if he’s not the forever one for you, at least you can actually bone him.”

  “Margo!”

  “What? He’s gorgeous. Don’t you want a piece of that? If you’re lucky, he’ll bring Sam along.”

  Jane closed her eyes. That was exactly what she was afraid of. Because she definitely wanted another piece of what she’d had during the summer. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it, and about all the things she didn’t have time to do with them that she wanted to do. She’d imagined some pretty wild shit over the last few months, and now here was the opportunity served up to her on a silver platter. So her choice was, did she want to embrace the slutty side of herself she’d discovered thanks to King and Sam, or did she want to crawl back to the good girl she’d been her whole life? One had so many possibilities, but the other was safe, and safe was highly underrated. Wasn’t it?