He finally lowered himself onto the seat at the opposite end. The water rose up to his neck. He crooned, “Ahh, the jet feels really good on my back.”
“Yeah, I like them on my feet,” Jennifer said.
Jake grimaced and shook his head. “It’s no wonder your feet hurt, Jenn, wearing those high heels and performing all night long. I’m surprised you haven’t broken your ankle or worse!”
They both grew quiet as they enjoyed the jets and the heat of the hot tub. Jennifer laid her head back into the neck brace on the seat and nodded off.
Jake gently woke her. “Honey, come on. Let’s get you to bed. You don’t want to fall asleep in here.”
“Hmm, okay.”
When they got out of the hot tub, she let her hair down and ran a comb through it. They wiped themselves dry.
Jake grabbed Jennifer’s hand and sat down in the chair, pulling her on top of him. He stroked her hair, then brought her head down gently so he could kiss her. She put her arms around his neck and laced her fingers in his hair. Jake’s hands began to roam slowly and seductively over her shoulders, down her back, and up her side and to her breasts. Her nipples got hard in his hands. He brought his lips down the front of her shoulder and kissed the sensitive area at the base of her neck. He then started kissing her chest until he got to her breasts. He resumed kissing her chest and left a trail of hot, lingering wetness as he slipped her nipple into his mouth and suckled it. Her breasts tightened up under his ministration. He then led a trail over to her other nipple and did the same.
The heat from his kisses, and the pleasure Jennifer felt as he nibbled on her nipples, was almost indescribable. It caused a wonderful sensation all through her body, especially in the very core of her. She stroked his long hair, shoulders, and muscular arms. Jake came up and claimed her lips again. He picked her up and carried her over the threshold into the bedroom.
As he put her down on the bed, he sat beside her. She moved to sit on his lap, facing him, straddling him, and put her arms around him. His shaft was hard and pulsating between the two of them. She reached down to gently stroke him as he brought his hands down her back and under her buttocks, finding that special spot. She always enjoyed when he touched it. She let out a hitched sigh. As they stroked and caressed each other, she felt her breasts crush against the hardness of his chest. Their bodies moved in unison and became feverishly hot.
Finally, Jennifer lifted herself up and leaned forward so Jake could enter her. He entered her gently, helping lift her as she moved up and down with his shaft, coming to the edge and then plundering into her, gently at first, then becoming more frequent and harder with each thrust. The bed moved under them each time. They kissed each other all over their faces as they rocked in rhythm. She felt like her world had exploded around her in sparkling fireworks as she climaxed. She dug her nails into Jake’s back as she moaned his name.
Shortly afterward, Jake entered her again. “Oh, Jenn...” he uttered as he thundered into her one last time. They sat there for a bit, until their breathing steadied, He pulled her with him as he lay down on the bed. He whispered into her ear. “You are so beautiful, Jenn. I can’t believe I have you at my side again. I don’t ever want to let you go.”
Jennifer put her hand up to Jake’s face and traced the outline of it. When she got to his lips, he opened them and licked her finger, pulling it into his mouth.
“If what you say is true, that you don’t ever want to let me go, what do you intend to do about it?” Jennifer whispered, almost afraid of his answer.
She waited for his response, and when he said nothing, she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
* * * *
Tom climbed back up into the tree again with his high-powered binoculars. He saw them come home together in her car this time. He watched and waited. They were in a part of the house where he couldn’t see. Eventually, they came out naked and got into the hot tub. After about fifteen minutes, they got out of the hot tub and went into her bedroom. He watched as they had sex again.
The voices were telling him that he should kill her and then himself. But he decided he was going to have to go back and check his astrology again to see what he should do.
His soul mate was having sex with another man. It made him sick to his stomach. He climbed down the tree and retched in the weeds. He wished she had listened to him three years ago when he tried to tell her they were destined by the stars to be together. She wouldn’t believe him and she got scared when he broke into her house with a gun. He only had the gun to protect himself from the danger on the streets. He would have never used it on her.
The voices telling him what to do were getting stronger now. The medication didn’t seem to be working anymore.
Chapter 15
Saturday night’s performance was a close repeat of Friday night’s, except the crowd was even louder. Jake noticed there were people outside the double doors of the concert hall, watching and trying to get in.
Just before they were due to go on stage, Jake saw Joe come in and go back to the makeup room where Jennifer was. About ten minutes later, Joe left and headed out the side door.
Great. He needed to be concerned with that just before a performance. He was considering if he should knock on her door and find out what was going on, but the decision was made for him when the lights went dim and the crowd started roaring.
During the break, he made a beeline to the dressing room and knocked at Jennifer’s door. She answered and let him in. He could hardly contain his jealousy and anger. “What did Joe want?”
“I called him to ask him to do something for me. We’re going to a late supper tonight at Ye Ole Steakhouse to discuss it.”
“Why?” Jake asked angrily.
“What do you mean why? We’re just friends. You’ll be busy dismantling your instruments and taking them back to the studio. I asked him to do something, and I need to talk to him about it.”
He glared at her and then said in anger, “I thought we meant something more to each other than for you to go out with another man!”
“Jake, you’re making this out to be something it isn’t! I’m just going to dinner to talk to him. He doesn’t mean anything to me but a friend.”
“Fine! But if you really care for me, you’d call him and cancel your plans.”
“No. I’ll not be blackmailed by you. You will have to learn to trust me.”
Jake had all he could do to contain his jealousy and anger through the rest of the show. When the performance ended, Jennifer quickly got ready to leave. She walked to the lounge area where Jake was sitting and asked, “What time did you want me to come over tomorrow for breakfast?”
Earlier in the day Jake had called and asked Jennifer to come over for breakfast and go to a powwow with him on Sunday. He turned and looked at her, his muscles tensing. “Nine o’clock.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
Jake’s eyes followed her as she walked out of the lounge.
* * * *
The next morning when Jennifer knocked on Jake’s door he opened it and let her in. “G morning, Jenn,” he responded quietly and subdued.
“Good morning, Jake. You look tired. What time did you get home last night?” She watched him closely.
“I got home about two in the morning. I didn’t get much sleep, that’s for sure,” Jake said dryly as he walked into the kitchen and handed Jennifer a coffee cup.
She poured herself a cup from the coffee pot, then lifted her nose up and inhaled. “Mmm, what do I smell?” she asked as she walked to the table and took a seat.
“I’m making egg casserole. It’s in the oven. Should be out in about five minutes.” He went over and sat down at the table beside her.
“It smells wonderful.”
They sat there for a few minutes and then Jake asked, “How do you feel about the performance last night, Jenn?”
“Wonderful. We all performed well, and I think it was a real crowd pleaser.”
“Anyth
ing you’d like to change, or not do, or improve on?” Jake took a sip of his coffee.
“I can’t think of anything.”
Jake got up, went to the stove, and pulled out the egg casserole. He set it on the table.
“Oh, this looks soo yummy!” Jennifer’s eyes feasted on the dish.
Jake grabbed some plates and silverware and placed them on the table, and then poured two glasses of orange juice. “How did your date with Joe go last night?” Jake asked, not bothering to hide his frown.
“It really wasn’t a date. As I’ve told you, I asked him to do something so I needed to talk to him. I don’t see why you’re so upset. Don’t you trust your friend, or me for that matter? And we met up with another couple there. His friends joined us for dinner. You see, there’s nothing for you to be concerned about.”
“Let’s reverse this for a minute. What if Kaitlin came up to the stage and asked me to dinner with her after the concert and I said okay? How would you feel?”
Jennifer thought about it for a few minutes. “Since you told me that there was nothing going on between you two in the first place, I’d have to trust that you knew what you were doing.” She looked deeply into his eyes, and finally he threw up his hands as if in defeat.
“Okay. Just know that I don’t like this, and we’ll leave it at that.”
Jennifer decided they needed to change the subject. “Tell me, Jake, what’s a powwow?” She had never seen one and felt excited that he had asked her to go with him.
“A powwow is where we get together to honor Native American culture. It usually lasts about five to six hours. There are four of us that play drums and sing traditional songs. Some people dress up in regalia and dance, but I don’t. I just wear regular street clothes. We start with a traditional song, and then we play the Grand Entry song. My grandfather is the Eagle Staff and he leads the Grand Entry. After that we play the flag song and people come out with the flags, along with veterans and different dancers. After they all come out, we play the retreat song and then the closing song to end the powwow.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Jennifer murmured with a mouthful of breakfast. “Mmm, this is so delicious. You really are a good cook.”
“Now you believe me,” he said with a deadpan face.
After they finished eating, they rinsed out the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Jake’s mood lightened. “I have to go get some things and put them in the truck. Why don’t you just hang out here? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
Jennifer went to sit down on the couch, but the item Jake had over the fireplace was so interesting to her that she went to get a closer look. It was a bow and six arrows aligned perfectly on the wall. They were all done in Native American colors. She noticed various artifacts on the fireplace mantel and looked at them closely.
Then she saw an expensive, and very impressive, stereo system as well as a fifty-two inch flat screen TV. His furniture was dark brown leather. Instead of having curtains or drapes in the big, front living room window, he had vertical blinds. They were pulled back, letting in the morning sun.
When she was there before, Jake had given her a tour of the house, so she knew it had three bathrooms. As she walked around, she wondered if she could ever live there with him.
There was also a full basement. The basement was fully furnished with speaker systems that connected to the stereo in the living room. There was also a pool table and fully stocked bar. The house had two decks—one was level with the basement and an overhead deck was level with the ground floor of the house. The basement deck had designer stone blocks and lawn chairs were placed neatly on it.
“Jenn, honey. You ready?”
She turned with a start. She had been deep in thought at the idea of living in the house with Jake and hadn’t heard him come back in. “Oh, sorry, I guess I was lost in thought. I’m ready.”
Chapter 16
Jake drove Jennifer in his Dodge Ram truck, carrying the big drums in the back. When they got to the location of the powwow, he led her to the seating area and then went back to unload his drums and set things up.
At exactly eleven, him and three other guys started the drumming and singing. She couldn’t understand what they were saying, because it was in their native language. Soon, the Eagle Staff came out, then all the other dancers followed that Jake told her about. The Eagle Staff, Jake’s grandfather, was dressed in full regalia. Jennifer thought each person in the line was dressed beautifully with very vibrant colors.
When Jake finished playing the closing song and the powwow ended, Jennifer waited for him to come to her. When he did, he brought his grandfather with him, still dressed in full regalia.
“Hello, Mr. Ackerson. It’s nice to see you again,” she said with a smile.
“Likewise.” Earl Ackerson nodded his head at her. “So you’re the one that’s keeping my grandson on his toes, mmm?”
“Well, I don’t know if I’m keeping him on his toes, but he does toe the line when we’re performing on stage!” Jennifer admitted, laughing.
“Jake, you’ll need to have us both over for one of your fabulous dinners so we can get reacquainted.”
“Okay, Granddad, I’ll do that.” Jake looked at Jennifer and said, “I guess we better get going. We still have one more performance to do tonight and you need to get ready.”
“I look forward to visiting with you real soon, Mr. Ackerson.” Jennifer smiled.
He nodded and walked away. Jennifer and Jake walked to the drums and began putting them in his truck.
* * * *
Sunday’s performance went without a glitch, and the crowd was just as wild as they had been on Friday and Saturday. The routine was the same and Jennifer left right after the show. She didn’t bother to shower or take off her clothes when she got home. She went straight to her bedroom and fell on the bed. She was sound asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next morning she got up, took a shower, and got dressed. She called Anna and asked if she’d like to meet for breakfast. Anna agreed so they met at the café at nine.
“How did the concert go this weekend?” Anna asked.
“It was fabulous! It went without a glitch, and all three performances sold-out. I think the band was in awe of it and had a great time performing. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing okay. The doctor says if the baby doesn’t come on his own within the next two weeks, they’ll have to induce labor. I’m tired and cranky all the time, and my body feels like a blimp. I can’t see my toes. Rocky says my feet are swollen, and they must be, because I can’t wear anything but these moccasins or Rocky’s slippers.”
Jennifer smiled at her friend. “Jake took me to the powwow yesterday. I was surprised I didn’t see you there.”
“Really? He took you there? I was too uncomfortable to stay outside in the heat, so we didn’t go this year. I feel bad. I know Granddad performed as the Eagle Staff. Was he all dressed up?”
“Yes. The regalia he wore was very colorful and beautifully done.”
The waitress came back with their coffee and took their orders.
“Are you and Jake back together again?” Anna asked.
Jennifer had figured that Anna would be asking questions along that line, so she was prepared. “I wouldn’t say we’re back together, but we have been together a lot over the past week or so.”
“Do you think you two might get serious again?”
“I don’t really know. I’ve enjoyed being with him so much, I’m afraid where it might lead to. Saturday, I called Joe to meet me at the dressing room because I wanted him to do something for me. We agreed to get together after the concert to talk some more, so I went to dinner with him. When Jake found out about it, he got very upset. He acted like he was jealous, and I don’t know what to make of it. I never seen him jealous before. Is he jealous because he thinks I’m dating someone, or is it because he wants more from our relationship? I’m afraid that it might turn out to
be what it was the last time—that he doesn’t want anything to do with commitment. He just wants us to date exclusively.”
“But you want it to be more,” Anna stated matter-of-factly.
“Yes, I would like it to be more. I would like marriage and a family. I just don’t get the feeling that’s what Jake wants. Can I ask you a question, Anna?”
Anna nodded her head.
“What does sil n’zhoo mean?”
Anna looked at her quizzically. “It means I love you.”
Jennifer’s eyes opened wide for a few moments.
“Why do you ask? Where did you hear that?” Anna pressed.
“Jake said it to me one night.”
“Well then, this is serious, Jenn. Jake doesn’t give away his feelings or emotions very often, and if he said that to you, he’s serious about this relationship.” Anna looked up as the waitress brought their food to them.
“The problem is that even if he’s serious about this relationship, what does he want from it? Just someone to live with? As much as I love him, I don’t think I can do this living together business.”
“That’s something you’ll have to discuss with him. But I have a feeling he wants more than just living together.” They ate in silence for a few minutes then Anna asked, “Have you decided whether you’re going to stay here?”
“No, I haven’t decided yet. I think now, part of my decision will depend on Jake, and part will depend on some other things that are going on in my life. You know I have to go to each of my parents’ homes and box everything up. I have to decide to either sell everything or keep it, and maybe put the houses up for sale as well. It’s going to take a lot of time to get these estates settled.”
Anna changed the subject and remarked, “I saw Joe yesterday, and you won’t believe this, but he’s dating Kaitlin now. I could’ve puked when he told me.”
“I know. He mentioned it the other day.”
“Yeah, that’s just ducky,” Anna grumbled sarcastically.
While talking to Anna, Jennifer’s cellphone rang and she saw it was Jake. She flashed her phone to Anna then answered. “Hello”
Love Songs Page 9
