Love Is the Drug

by K. E. Saxon

  Jim looked at his watch. “Time for the sports news.” He grabbed the remote from under the bar and turned the volume up.

  “…Connie Del Mar. The previously unreleased movie is—”

  “Del Mar! That’s it Jim!” Lou leapt off the stool. “I’ve got my story!” He hustled back over to the craps table, feeling in his pocket for his mind-erasers. Or I will have by morning.

  * * *

  Jason took hold of Julie’s hand and led her away from the table toward the lobby.

  “I told you we should have cashed in earlier,” she said, pouting a little.

  He grinned down at her. “Sorry. I thought for sure you had at least one more good roll in you. Damn! That was one helluva winning streak you were on.”

  “I agree. You were on a real heater,” a rather stout, middle aged man said as he got in step with them. He put his hand out to Jason. “Hi, I’m Lou. Lou Davis.”

  Jason shook the man’s hand and gave him a brief nod.

  “Hey, sorry you lost it all on that last roll, little lady,” Lou said. “I’d be lyin’ if I said I’d never done the same.” His gaze moved back to Jason’s then. “I’ve come to Vegas once a year for the past twenty. Came here this time to celebrate my retirement from the Post Office—35 years of service—and this is my first night here.” He pointed in the direction of the lounge. “I’d love to buy you two a consolation drink—what say?”

  “Sorry, Lou, but we’ve got plans,” Jason told him.

  But Julie felt sorry for the older man. How sad that he was here all by himself to celebrate his retirement—and after so many years of government service. “We have time for one drink, though, don’t we Jason?”

  Jason gave her a sharp look, but said, “Yeah, alright. I guess one drink won’t hurt.”

  “Great!” Lou said. “Hey, I didn’t catch your name, little lady.”

  “Julie,” she said, “and this is Jason.”

  “Glad to meet the both of you.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER 7

  “Wake up!” Julie bounced on the edge of the bed and shook Jason at the same time.

  “Stop rocking the boat,” he grumbled.

  “Jason!”

  He finally cracked an eyelid open and lifted his head from the pillow. “What time is it?”

  “It doesn’t matter—look at this!” She held the document up to his face. He blinked at it, clearly having trouble focusing.

  “It’s a marriage certificate! Ours! I—"

  “What the hell?” He bolted upright and grabbed the thing from her.

  “I just woke up and found it on the bed between us!”

  “How?”

  She knew what he meant. “I don’t know! I was hoping you would.”

  He rubbed one eye with the base of his palm, still studying the document. “Shit. Let me think.”

  “Jason, this is not good. The last thing I remember with any clarity is sitting in the lounge with that retired postman—what was his name?”

  “Lou or something, I think.”

  “Yeah. Lou—Lou Davis.”

  “That’s the last thing I can remember, too—except…shit, shit, shit!” He dropped the document onto the bed between them and grabbed hold of her shoulders. His eyes were wild. “Do you remember Elvis?”

  “Elvis?”

  “Yeah—or, maybe I dreamed it, I don’t know—but I’ve got a couple of sketchy visions floating around in my head of you, and me, and that postman in a limo driving down the Strip—and then Elvis. He’s talking to us, but…I can’t make out the words.”

  She grabbed hold of his arm. “Jason! I remember that too!”

  His eyes did a quick sweep of her torso, then his own. “I’m still wearing what I had on last night. Even my shoes. God, that’s a first.” He pointed at the shorts and tank she wore. “How about you—did you wake up in that?”

  “Yeah. What happened, Jason—this is scaring me.”

  He got up and strode toward the door leading into the other room. “My brain feels like it’s going to pound out of my skull—I gotta get some aspirin.” After another minute, he came back in carrying his shaving kit and went straight through to the bathroom. Then, as he rummaged in the kit, he picked up the thread of their conversation. “Look, Julie, I think we enjoyed ourselves way too much, got stupid-drunk, and became another embarrassing statistic.”

  “Statistic?”

  He peeked out the doorway at her. “Yeah. Drunken-marriage-in-Vegas-followed-by-quickie-Divorce statistic.”

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  “Well, more like annulment, since it’s clear we didn’t do anything but pass out on the bed together last night.” He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. "Shit, what the motherfuck was I thinking to allow either one of us to get that smashed?" Then he popped two aspirin in his mouth and ran some tap water into a glass tumbler.

  He’d just swallowed it down and was filling it again when his cell phone started ringing. He glanced toward the bureau. “Will you get that—I’m expecting a call from that prospective client I told you about.” He turned his gaze on her. “And Julie—don’t be scared. We can fix this thing, okay?”

  She swallowed and nodded—to both of his requests. She snatched the phone off of the bureau. “Good morning, this is Mr. Jörgensen’s assistant, may I help you?”

  Jason grinned out the doorway at her and winked.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. But then she dropped her jaw. “Ohmygod.”

  He took a step into the room. “What is it?”

  “Yes, yes. He’s right here.” She hurried toward him holding out the phone. “It’s Methodist Hospital —your dad’s—”

  He grabbed the phone from her. “This is Jason Jörgensen—is he okay?” He strode past her into the center of the room and began to pace. “Angioplasty? Oh. Uh huh. When did he go in?”

  Julie darted her eyes around the room. She found her own slip-on shoes peeking out from under the bed. She dashed over and slid into them and then started collecting the few shopping bags—she had no memory of these, either—from where they lay on the bureau and chair.

  “Okay. Right.” Jason looked at his watch. “Listen, I’m in Vegas—the earliest I can be there is probably three or four this afternoon.” His eyes landed on her and then he strode toward the bathroom and grabbed the kit.

  Julie hurried over to him and took it from him. He mouthed “thank you” to her and then said into the receiver, “Oh. Yeah, okay. So he’ll be in recovery by that time?”

  She ran into the other room and found his carry-on open on the floor. She stuffed everything inside and then zipped it shut. She jogged back into the bedroom just as Jason was saying, “Got it. Thanks.”

  He pushed the disconnect button and looked at her. “I’ve got to get to Houston right away. The annulment is going to have to wait until after I’ve seen my dad.”

  Julie nodded. “Of course.”

  “Well—you’ve got a choice. You can either stay in Vegas and I’ll come back for you in a few days, or you can fly to Dallas by yourself.”

  “Jason! I’m not doing either—I’m going with you!”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Julie.”

  “Why not? You’ve got to know I’m worried about your dad. I want to see him—make sure he’s alright.”

  “Because. It would be awkward for you—and for him as well. He doesn’t like to appear puny around people.”

  “Jason, please let me go with you. I’ll stay in the waiting room—I won’t even ever have to see him if he’s too embarrassed. Okay? Please?”

  He stared at her for what seemed like a full minute before his shoulders finally relaxed and he said, “Okay. And this drunken marriage thing is to remain between you and me. Got it?”

  She nodded. “I agree. And the letter?” Her tripping heart leapt into her throat. She felt in her pocket. Thank God. It was still there.

  “The letter as well.” He turned then and headed into the ot
her room.

  Julie followed.

  Jason had just picked up his carry-on and started walking toward the door when Julie stopped in her tracks and looked around the suite for the first time. “Hey! Where’s the other bedroom?”

  “There isn’t one.”

  She slammed her hands onto her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean—”

  He sighed. “Look, we’ve gotta go. I’ll explain on the way, okay?” He opened the door to the suite and waited for her to go through it.

  “You bet you will,” she said and then strode past him into the hallway.

  They boarded a flight to Houston an hour and a half later.

  * * *

  Jason swung the door open to his father’s hospital room and stepped inside. “Dad?”

  “Jason!” Gabe turned the volume down on the television. “Come over here and let me get a look at you.”

  “You look a lot better than I was expecting, thank God.” His dad seemed a little drowsy, but there was some color in his cheeks. Jason pulled a chair up close to the bedside and sat down. He placed his hand on top of his dad’s wrist. “How’d it go? You okay? The doctor said you were, but I want to hear it from you.”

  “I’m fine. In fact, I’ve been out of surgery for awhile—three hours or so.”

  “I know. I—”

  “Did you bring your wife with you?” Gabe asked, looking in the direction of the door.

  “My wi—?!”

  “What a surprise!” Gabe patted Jason’s hand. “A good—no GREAT—surprise, in fact.”

  Jason shook his head in bewilderment. “But…how did you know?”

  “The T.V., of course.” His gaze sharpened. “You can’t tell me you didn’t expect the press to get wind of this.”

  “I…” Shit! “I guess I didn’t really think about it.” They were well-and-truly screwed.

  “Heh-heh. No, I’m sure you had other things on your mind. But I have to tell ya, I think you should think about giving Julie a better ceremony. I mean, I understand how your enthusiasm got the better of you, but this is a ‘til death do us part’ thing. The least you can do is offer yourself to her in a more sober environment.”

  His dad’s choice of words made Jason want to squirm in his chair like a six-year-old in the principal’s office. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, Dad. I’ll think about it.”

  “So? Is she here?”

  He cleared his throat again. “Uhmm. Yeah, she is.” He cocked his head toward the door. “In the waiting room.”

  “Well, go get her!”

  * * *

  “Julie! We are so very, very, VERY screwed.”

  Julie lifted her head and refocused her gaze from the magazine in her lap to the crazed Adonis barreling toward her. She straightened and tossed the magazine on the table. “What are you talking about?”

  Jason dropped down into the chair next to her and leaned back, covering his face with his hands. “My dad—the whole fucking world—knows about this goddamned sham of a marriage we got ourselves into last night.”

  Julie’s hand flew to his thigh and her nails dug in. “Oh good God! What are we gonna do?” She nearly bit through her lip.

  He dropped his hands and looked at her. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do: Nothing. Nada. At least until my dad’s recovered—okay? He’s actually happy about this and I don’t want to upset him, yet.”

  For a long moment, Julie could only stare at him. Another lie. But finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

  Jason sighed. “Okay then.” He looked out toward the nurses’ station. “I’m not sure what the law states as far as annulments, but I’ll talk to my lawyer later—after we’re done here—and find out.” He took hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips. He gave it a soft buss on the back and then he said, “Thanks, Julie. You’re being so great about all this.” He sat forward then. “Look, he wants to see you. You think you can handle it?”

  Oh, God! “Yeah. Sure.” She looked down at herself and combed her fingers through her hair. “But—Jason, I’m such a mess! I wanted to look more professional the first time I saw your dad! He’s going to think he’s partnering with a rube or something!”

  Jason took hold of both her hands and pulled her to her feet. “You look fine—beautiful. Besides, my dad already likes you. Hell, he’s been all for this partnership from the get-go.” He let go of one of her hands and tipped her chin up, forcing her to look directly at him. “Anyway, he’s not going to be thinking of you as just a partner now—he’s going to be thinking of you as his daughter-in-law.”

  She blinked at him. Her brain had stalled on the word beautiful. Did he really think so? She smiled up at him. “Okay—at least I was able to wash my face and brush my teeth at the airport earlier.”

  He grinned down at her and squeezed her hand. “C’mon then,” he said, and pulled her forward. She was surprised, but thrilled, when he continued holding it throughout the remainder of their visit.

  * * *

  “See, the house is fine,” Jason said three days later as he steered the BMW up the drive. He looked at Julie in the rearview mirror. “No exploding gas.”

  Julie shook her head and rolled her eyes at him.

  Gabe turned around and looked at her. “Is there a problem with the gas?” He switched his gaze to Jason. “You should have someone look at that pretty quick.”

  “Nah, Dad. I was just giving Julie a hard time. She was worried about leaving everything behind the other day.”

  Julie sat forward and patted the older man on the shoulder. “Thanks for letting us talk you into this. Neither Jason nor I felt comfortable leaving you to recover alone in Houston.”

  Gabe smiled at her but shook his head. “I still don’t think having an old man around on your honeymoon is a good idea.” He gave his son a pointed look. “I want a grandbaby PDQ.”

  Julie saw Jason tense and hastily said, “Besides, having my other partner around will make everything run a lot smoother.”

  Gabe patted her cheek. “You’re a sweet girl, Julie.”

  Julie felt her face flush. “Thanks, Gabe—I mean, Dad.”

  Jason grinned into the rearview at her.

  She felt the heat spike. It melted her insides.

  “We’re here,” Jason said as he turned off the ignition.

  Julie looked up at her house and took in a deep breath. “Yes, we are.” And now the true charade would begin.

  * * *

  Julie opened Jason’s carry-on case later that day and took out the shopping bags. The past few days, they’d spent so much time at the hospital, or dealing with the media hounds—thank God, the story of their elopement was quickly becoming old news—that this was the first chance she’d gotten to even think about the packages.

  She opened the smaller one first. “Oooh, pretty,” she said as she brought out a cream colored short silk nightgown with lace on the bodice. She smoothed the silk over her cheek and sighed. Nice. After laying it on the bed beside the case, she looked back inside the bag. Her brow furrowed as she put her hand inside and stroked her fingers over the material. Leather. Black leather.

  Alarm bells sounded in her head, but she clutched the garment anyway and pulled it out. A portion dropped to the bed and she stared at it. Shorts. She looked back at what she held in her hand and drew the garment open more. A bustier?

  She looked behind her at the closed door and then walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner. With her head cocked to the side, she positioned the thing over the front of her torso.

  “Yep, I was drunk all right,” she said to her reflection. “Drunk as a skunk.”

  And then her eyes riveted onto the larger bag and narrowed. She turned and walked back to the bed and pulled out the oblong box inside the bag. She’d thought this would be the cocktail dress they’d talked about buying, but now she wasn’t so sure.

  She settled the box on the bed and lifted its lid. “Oh, good lord.” Even though she could see what they were, sh
e just had to lift one of the boots out. How did women walk in these things, anyway? She set it down next to her right leg and stood on tiptoe. Even with that, the upper portion would nearly come up to her hoo-ha.

  She giggled. And then she snorted. And then she crowed.

  Oh my God! Jason had to have put her up to this! She fell onto the bed, cackling like a crazy lady. And after the strain of the past four days, it was a much-needed tonic.

  Another minute or so passed and then she sat up, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes and cheeks. She reached over and lifted the silk nightgown to look at it once more. Perfect.

  Tonight, she’d wear this. Tonight, she’d give him what she owed him. Tonight, she’d finally learn how to make love. How to be made love to. How to be a woman. By Jason Jörgensen.

  A fearful, excited thrill went through her. She glanced down at the shorts and then back to the gown. If she were a much bolder person, she’d wear the leather.

  But she wasn’t.

  Hopefully, the gown would be enough of an enticement.

  If she didn’t chicken out.

  * * *

  Late that night, Jason walked into Julie’s bedroom and shut the door behind him. She was in her bed already. And—oh, God—he could see her nipples through the pale slip she was wearing. He swallowed hard and then cleared his throat. “Hey,” he whispered, “my dad’s finally gone to bed.”

  How was he supposed to resist that? HOW?

  She laid the magazine she’d been reading on her lap and sat forward. The front of the gown fell open and he got an unobstructed view of her gorgeous left breast. His dick took notice, too.

  “Good,” she whispered back. She tucked her hair behind her ear and when she dropped her arm, one of the straps slipped off her shoulder.

  His heart kicked into overdrive.

  “Look, Jason, I’ve been thinking. Maybe, it would be safer for us to share the bed instead of you sleeping on the floor—you know, just in case.”

  It was an effort, but he managed to lift his eyes to her face.

  She licked her bottom lip and Jason bit back a groan. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Julie.”