Wheels of Steel, Book 1

by Pepper Pace

  Robin sat down in an empty chair. The guy rubbing Jason’s feet seemed nice and he was that handsome which always made her nervous; as if she shouldn’t even bother to speak because a guy like that would have no interest in what she’d have to say.

  Jason sounded bored when he said. “Robin, Raymond. Raymond Robin.”

  “Robin. What a pretty name…for a pretty lady.”

  “Oh my god.” Jason said. “You didn’t actually say that did you?”

  “Hush.” Raymond said. “Don’t mess up my game.”

  Robin looked from one to the other, not sure if there was flirting or if the two of them were pulling her leg. “Um, nice to meet you...and thank you.”

  “Game…” Jason mocked. Grrr, he hated the way girls always acted flustered around guys like Raymond!

  Raymond reached for the baby oil and Jason noted the way her eyes followed his every movement. He began rubbing Jason’s calves.

  “Robin, you should never thank a man for honesty. But forgive me, I’m flirting mercilessly. I wouldn’t want your boyfriend to be offended.”

  Don’t fall for it Robin. Jason thought. Don’t fall for the obvious line.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend.” She spoke shyly.

  Oh Robin! Jason felt like giving her a lesson in ‘Pick up lines 101.’ Or a book entitled Pick Up Lines For Dummies!

  Raymond just gave her a surprised look and then he glanced at Jason. His expression brightened as he offered the younger man a hidden wink.

  “So Robin. Have you had to give a massage yet to any of your patients?”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Hmmm.”

  “Well I haven’t had many patients. I’m kinda new to this.”

  “Well you’ll probably have to at some point. Come here, bring your chair over.” Robin and Jason both gave him a surprised look.

  “Well…” She hesitated. “I don’t know-”

  “Come on, it’s ok. I mean, unless…you know…you’re not comfortable with it…”

  Jason blushed. “Raymond, she doesn’t want to…”

  Oh gosh, they thought she didn’t want to touch him. “No, I don’t mind. I mean, if Jason doesn’t mind…?”

  Jason didn’t respond but Raymond jumped up and brought her chair over to the massage table. “Okay, I’m going to do one leg and you do the other, and I’ll tell you what I’m doing, ok?”

  She nodded as she sat down. She glanced at Jason who didn’t seem all that keen on this. Raymond picked up his oil slickened leg and began to stroke the calf muscle. Robin took hold of his other leg.

  “Get some oil first.”

  “Oh, right.” She grabbed some baby oil and rubbed it into her palm then she gently began rubbing his calf; mimicking the movements that Raymond made.

  “That’s good. You can be a bit firmer. The key with Jason is to stimulate his muscles. You and I, this might hurt, but it doesn’t hurt him.”

  She looked up at him for affirmation. He nodded once. So she did as Raymond instructed, kneading his muscles firmly.

  “Good Robin. Now flex his foot; gentle. Never pull or tug. You’ll feel the tightness and you knead it in order to release it.” She felt how stiff his muscles were when she gently pulled back on his foot while working his calves.

  “Wow, you’re tight.” Jason’s face remained expressionless and he did very little moving. Robin turned to Raymond. “How long does it take to loosen him up?”

  “In Jason’s case? He has no concept of how to loosen up.” Raymond chuckled at his joke.

  “Shut up.” Jason mumbled.

  “See?” Robin smiled. She liked Raymond. He was easy going and his attitude put her at ease. He continued to rub and knead his calves. He loaded up more baby oil on his hands and ran his thumb firmly along the top of Jason’s upper thighs, his large hands gripping his leg almost completely.

  Robin reached for the baby oil and rubbed her hands together again. She placed them around his other thigh, cupping him firmly and then ran her thumbs into his muscles. Jason jumped and grunted. She froze.

  “Too hard?” His face was beet red. Raymond looked at him a question. Jason’s eyes flitted to Raymond; a silent appeal there. Raymond glanced down, and then his eyes grew big, a smile tugging at his lips.

  “Hey Robin, why don’t you go to the ladies room and wash the oil off your hands. I don’t want it to ruin your pretty blouse, and I’ll finish up here. Okay?”

  “Oh ok. Thanks Raymond, for showing me how to do this. I really appreciate it.” Raymond was already out of his chair and showing her to the door.

  “My pleasure.” He grinned in a friendly way. “You’re a good student.” She backed out of the door smiling and he closed it softly. He turned slowly back to Jason and burst out laughing.

  “Oh my freaking god!” He laughed. “You got a hard-on?!”

  “Shut up before someone hears!” Jason’s hands were buried in his lap shielding it.

  Raymond calmed down, but only some. “I’m jealous, Red. You never got one of those for me.” Then he burst out in laughter again.

  Jason was just shaking his head. “You are so wrong for that.” He adjusted himself. “But thank you.” Then he grinned. “It was cool until…you know…”

  “Until shorty appeared?”

  “Ain’t nothing ‘short’ about him,” Jason bragged.

  Raymond reached for a towel and tossed it to him. “Well here. Go get dressed. And…if some bio matter appears on that towel, just leave it on the bathroom floor.”

  “That is gross.” He lowered himself easily into his wheelchair and with the towel balled in his lap, wheeled to the lockers. It was true that his body could withstand a hard massage, because his leg muscles were atrophied. But what people didn’t understand is that his skin was just the opposite. His skin was ultra sensitive to touch. The hint of a breath against his neck, or the feel of someone’s hands pressed to his chest to keep him from falling out in a seizure—all of those things were magnified in intensity.

  Chapter 14

  Jason plugged his MP3 player into Robin’s CD player as they drove back to his apartment. “Oh! Your braces! How am I going to give them to you if your Mom’s home?”

  Jason made a face. “You’ll just have to hold them until Monday. It’s no biggie.” Once they were parked she helped him into his chair and followed him to the apartment with his things. Her plan was just to dash in, drop of his things in the closet and leave. It had been a long day despite the fact that it had ended a few hours earlier than normal, she still needed to complete her last day at the restaurant.

  But when she got inside, Jason’s mom greeted them enthusiastically. “How was therapy?” She asked while placing a kiss on Jason’s cheek.

  “Good.” He answered while returning her hug.

  “And your feet?”

  “Tight, but they move.”

  Robin closed the closet door and opened her mouth to say goodbye but Jason’s mother turned her sharp eyes on her.

  “So Robin, how are you getting along with this job?”

  “Fine.” She seemed to be waiting for more. “There’s a lot to learn.”

  “Oh?” His Mom waited again.

  “Well…about seizures.”

  “Ahh, true.” She wrinkled her nose. “What is that smell?” Jason and Robin exchanged looks. “It smells like…feet and…fish.”

  Robin turned to the door on that note. “Well I better go. It was nice meeting you Ma’ame. Bye Jason.”

  “See you Monday.” He said.

  When the door was closed his mother turned to him. “She smells funny.” Jason wheeled into the kitchen.

  “Mom, that was lunch you were smelling. We had fish.”

  “Son, fish is a choking hazard. Does she even know what to do in the event that you choke? She doesn’t seem too experienced.”

  “She’s fine.” He responded in a short manner. He could have mentioned that she’d handled it just fine, but then his mother would ha
ve harped on the point that he should never have been eating fish because even filets still had hidden bones and blah blah blah…

  He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of soda. His mother came over and took it out of his hand, then she unscrewed the top even though he was capable of doing it himself. He gave her an incredulous look which she ignored, or chose not to see. When she handed it to him he just wheeled away without drinking it. She drank it absently as if it had been her idea all along to get a soda.

  “So when is dinner going to be ready?” He wasn’t hungry but knew that she wouldn’t leave until after dinner had been eaten and the dishes washed and put away.

  He was right. She stayed another two hours, not leaving until close to six pm. Jason loved his mother, so it really bothered him that he hated being around her. When he was younger his mother was everything in the world to him; she was god and satan and the sun and the moon.

  But then he grew up.

  She hadn’t been out the door half a minute before he picked up the phone and called Link. He’d been anxious to do this for hours. It was time for Link to face the music.

  “Hey, Top. What’s up?”

  “What are you doing?” Jason asked.

  “Not what I’m doing…but who I’m doing.”

  “Oh sorry, am I interrupting?”

  “Hold on.” The phone went mute for almost a full minute. When Link returned he sounded out of breath. “No, I’m cool. What’s up, son?”

  Jason’s lips pursed together. “Amberly told me to go fuck myself.”

  “Damn. I didn’t know Amberly knew the meaning of the word. Maybe she thought she was telling you good morning.” He joked.

  “She and Patty quit the group.”

  Link didn’t respond.

  “You there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, any reaction to that?” By this time it seemed that Link had figured out that this was not just a casual conversation.

  “I mean…what’s the point of having them? For the videos? Like…what I want to do is play the music. I don’t care about the videos.”

  “People like the videos. It…completes the music.”

  “Whatever dude. I’m happy they’re out.”

  “Well…thanks to you there is no more Wheels of Steel. Are you happy about that?”

  “WHAT?! Thanks to me?”

  “Dude I know you’ve been taking gigs under Wheels of Steel. And you’ve been keeping all of the money for yourself!”

  “What?!”

  “Oh fuck, Link! Don’t play me. Patty called down at Omicron and got the truth. Man…you are treacherous.”

  “What the fuck…Who told her that I was taking gigs under WOS?! That’s a damn lie! I told you, Jason, I’m trying to do my own music! I mean, Wheels of Steel, I love this group but I’m not trying to share my take with two people that ain’t helped with the music! Fuck that!”

  “Wait a minute-” he blinked and then squeezed his eyes closed.

  “Call Mikie Hall at Omicron. He’s the one that got me the gig!”

  Jason frowned and shook his head. “I-I-I c-c-can’t-” He felt a seizure coming and rapidly began flexing his fists.

  “Fuck…not now Jason! I’m on my way over. Don’t bust your head open! You there? Fuck…” Jason didn’t hear the line go dead because he was already seizing.

  Link was at the door fifteen minutes later and Jason wheeled to it and let him in. Link had an evil look on his face to rival any that Jason had ever worn. Jason just blinked at him unsure.

  “Did you call him?” Link demanded.

  “No…I called Amberly and Patty. They’re on their way over.”

  “Good, I’m happy them bitches are on their way.”

  “Aww, don’t say that, man.” Jason grimaced. He didn’t like this kind of thing at all. They were friends and partners and he couldn’t stand for their bond to be taking such a beating.

  Link wheeled into the kitchen and got something to drink out of the refrigerator. Jason didn’t follow, knowing that his friend was pissed and didn’t want to talk to him.

  Amberly and Patty arrived a few moments later. Amberly could drive; she was seizure free. And Patty, who didn’t have her own car, had evidently ridden with her. He greeted them. Amberly responded warmly, but Patty just gave him a brief, cold hello. Link had wheeled in from the kitchen and just scowled at them. He took a swig of his soda and after belching he gestured to Jason.

  “So Patty, I hear that you have been making calls and digging up shit that you know nothing about.”

  Patty stalked towards Link, looking every bit as masculine as a linebacker, stopping short a mere foot from his chair. “Peter, you can go to hell.” Her eyes flashed fire even though her voice remained calm. “I always knew you were a prick. I just never knew that you were a back-stabbing one!”

  “I already told you a million fucking times! I got my own gig, sheesh!”

  “That’s not what Darby said.” Amberly spoke.

  “Darby? Who the fuck--? He didn’t hire me. Pick up the phone and call Mike Hall. That’s the one that paid me. Darby don’t know shit about the deal we had.”

  Patty snorted. “You think I won’t, asshole?”

  “Do it you big butch bitch.” He said, eyes seeming to pierce through her. She dug into her pants pocket for her cell phone. Mike Hall wasn’t at the house so someone had to get his cell number and after five minutes she was talking to him. The one way conversation was filled with a lot of yeahs, okays, Mhmm…

  She finally pressed end on her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. She stared at Link. “I oughta pick you up out of that chair and throttle you for calling me a butch bitch…but, I’m sorry for accusing you. I was wrong.”

  Jason slumped in his chair. “Shit.”

  “Yes.” Link said tightly. “Now all of you can kiss my BLACK ASS!” The angry blonde hair, blue-eyed white young man wheeled quickly to the door.

  “Link.” Jason called. “Link!”

  “Link, I’m sorry!” Amberly called out. He was out the door and wheeling down the walkway. Amberly and Jason moved to follow but Patty held up her hand.

  “No. Let me go. I’m the one that started this.” Patty headed out the door, shutting it after her. Jason and Amberly looked at each other.

  “Damnit Amberly.” He said bitterly.

  “I know. I’m so sorry Jason.” Her big eyes were watery. Shit, he didn’t want to see her crying. He offered her a twisted smile. She just slumped on the couch and covered her face. Jason cursed under his breath and wheeled over to her.

  “Oh my god.” She murmured. “Link must hate us…”