Redemption

by Jaimie Roberts

  I was about to reply when the sound of someone clearing their throat pulled me out of Dean’s spell. I looked sheepishly to my right and saw that it was one of my neighbors, and the worst gossip in the world, Belinda. For a second, I buried my head in Dean’s chest. “Oh, fuck,” I whispered, then realized I had my legs tightly wrapped around his waist. What the hell did that look like? And how the hell did that happen? I don’t even remember doing it!

  Easing myself down, I looked up to find him smiling like a Cheshire cat. “This is not funny, Dean,” I whispered towards him, turning to Belinda.

  “Jessica, so nice to see you. Who’s your friend?” She looked Dean up and down and smiled in the most perverted way possible. She was practically making love to him with her eyes.

  Cow!

  I cleared my throat. “Belinda, this is an old friend of mine, Dean Scozzari. Dean, this is Belinda Mahoney. She lives a little further down the street.”

  Belinda smiled and held out her hand. “Number fifty-five twenty…if you ever want to come and visit.” She practically purred the words.

  Dean took her hand for a quick shake. “Thank you for your invitation, Belinda, but there’s only one girl I want to visit here.”

  Belinda’s cheeks flushed. I could tell she was pissed, but I could also tell she was turned on at his voice. All he had to do was open his mouth and the entire female population would open their legs.

  “Well,” she said, waving her hand. “If you ever change your mind…” She turned to me. “Where’s Evan these days? I thought I saw him leaving your house a couple days ago. He did stay over, didn’t he?”

  If I thought she couldn’t get bitchier, she did. The problem was I deserved it. I was supposed to be with someone, yet I was practically humping another man in broad daylight outside my house.

  I immediately felt Dean stiffen behind me. “He’s at work.”

  Belinda nodded with an evil smirk. “Poor Evan. He’s always working hard. Give him my regards, won’t you?”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  Belinda winked at Dean, then turned to walk back to her house. Once she was out of earshot, Dean started laughing.

  “This is not funny. She’s the worst gossip in this town. No doubt the whole fucking neighborhood will know this happened, and then it will get back to Evan.”

  Dean shrugged. “Good. He needs to know, Tyler. It’s only fair. You shouldn’t string him along.”

  Angry, I closed my eyes for a moment. “Don’t you fucking get on your high horse with me, Dean. After what you did, you can’t preach to me!”

  His smile faded as he hung his head. “I know. I’m sorry. I just can’t help myself when I’m around you.”

  I sighed, walked up to my door and unlocked it. “Please leave me alone, Dean. And stop following me.” I shut the door, hearing the word never come from outside.

  *****

  Later on that evening, after speaking with Jeremy on the phone, I was getting ready to go out with Tara. I was in the middle of putting on some gloss when my phone rang.

  “Tyler, how’s my baby?”

  It was Evan. The pang of guilt came again when I thought about what had happened today. No doubt Belinda would be itching to tell him. I guess I would have to do it first. It would be better coming from me. I owed him that much.

  “I’m fine, Evan. How are you?”

  Evan blew out a breath. “There’s some weird shit going on today. You know that phone call I had?”

  “Yeah?” I knew all too well.

  “Well, it turned out to be nothing. No one knew who this Mr. Bundy was, but that’s not the strangest part. Once I got there, I was told I had a package. When I opened it, I saw a book entitled The Ten Worst Serial Killers in History. There was no name, no return address. You don’t know anything about this, do you?”

  I placed my hand over my mouth and shook my head. Dean was determined to make me sweat. “It certainly wasn’t from me, Evan. I would have no reason to send you a book like that.”

  I heard him sigh. “That’s what I thought. It just seemed strange that a Mr. Bundy called, then I get a book like this. One of them is even Ted Bundy.”

  I suppressed a laugh and closed my eyes. “That does sound strange. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

  “Have you heard from Dean? I’m just wondering. Could he be doing this?”

  He is the one doing this, I thought. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him that now. Not like this. It was actually a good thing we were going out for a meal tomorrow. I needed to lay it on the line. Get things off my chest.

  “No, nothing as of yet.” I paused a moment, then sighed. “Listen, Evan, Tara will be around in a couple of minutes and I’ve got to get dressed. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, though.”

  “Okay. I’ll miss you. Please be good tonight.”

  I laughed. “I will.”

  After hanging up, I slipped into a figure-hugging black dress, and put my red heels on. I finished glossing my lips and was ready just in time to hear the doorbell ring.

  Tara looked stunning in a two-tone fitted dress. “Wow, girl. Look at you. Are you ready?”

  Tara shook her head. “Girl, I haven’t had any action in months. I’m more ready than I’ve ever been in my fucking life.”

  We both started laughing as I invited her inside. I called a cab and we sat with a glass of wine whilst we waited.

  Tara was on form, downing her glass within the ten minutes it took for the cab driver to arrive. She saw the way I looked at her and frowned. “Girl, when was the last time we let our hair down?”

  I had to smile. That was Tara all over…and I loved her for it.

  With the cab driver at the door, we grabbed our things and went out into the hot night air. It was sticky and close but, thankfully, we could get into an air conditioned car.

  It didn’t take long to get to the new bar in Georgetown. Tara and I climbed out and thanked the sleazy-looking cab driver. The bar was already busy as voices filled the air. Tara linked her arm through mine. “Shall we?”

  I nodded and we both walked in. Some heads turned and a few men gave us both the once-over. “Why do I feel exposed all of a sudden?” I whispered to Tara.

  “Come on, girl. You can’t expect to dress like that and not have men notice. Have you seen your boobs? Even I want to squeeze them.”

  We both giggled and ordered our drinks from the bar. “So, how are you and Evan doing?” I cringed a little. Of course she noticed. “What’s happened?”

  I didn’t think there was any point in lying to her. She was the only friend here who knew all about what happened.

  “Dean happened.”

  Her eyes widened. “What? How?”

  I closed my eyes. “I rang my parents in a panic and he found out where I was. Last night, he came climbing through my window, bold as brass. He then visited me outside my house earlier today.”

  Tara placed her hand on my arm. “Oh, baby girl, I’m sorry. What happened last night?”

  I looked at her sheepishly and sighed. “He wants me back. He said he was going to do everything he can to fix this. He said he loves me and can’t live without me.”

  Tara frowned for a moment. “What did you say?”

  The drinks came and I took a moment to take a swig of mine. I let the burn of the rum slide down my throat before I spoke. “I told him that he hurt me too much. That he couldn’t fix us. That we’re basically too broken to fix.”

  Tara sipped her rum. “Shit, Jessica. What did he say back?”

  I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering the feel of him being so close. He would always take over everything, no matter how hard I tried. “He said he’d do whatever it takes. That he would pick every single broken piece up and mend us back together again. He then left, telling me Evan better watch out because he now had a fight on his hands.”

  Tara’s eyes widened. “Fuck.”

  I nodded. “My sentiments exactly.”

  Tara frowne
d, then sighed. “I have to be honest with you, Jessica. I’m conflicted. You and I have been so close for so long, and your happiness is all that I would ever desire for you. But…I have worked with Evan for so long. He’s a good guy and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  My eyes almost pooled with tears. “I know. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you. I’m sorry. I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position.”

  Tara placed her hand on mine. “Baby girl, you will always need a friend, and you have one in me. I don’t want to see you or Evan suffer. If you truly love Evan, you must tell him. Stay with him and tell Dean that you never want to see him again. But if, for one second, you doubt your feelings for Evan, or you know you can’t get over Dean, it’s unfair to Evan. He will need to know so he can move on, and vice versa.”

  I nodded, tears in my eyes. “I know. Thank you.”

  Tara hugged me and when she pulled away, she offered me a half-smile. “So, can I ask how you feel?”

  I laughed. “Oh god, Tara. We’re gonna need more drinks if we start talking about that.”

  Tara banged the bar. “Well, if that’s the case, two more rum on the rocks over here, please!” she shouted.

  *****

  About an hour, and three more shots of rum, later Tara and I were well on our way to becoming merry. We were in the middle of ordering another when two men approached the bar. They both were handsome with dark hair, one slicked back and the other cropped. They looked to be in their mid-twenties, which would be a little young for me. Finding two older ladies certainly didn’t stop them. I could tell what they were after just from the way they were looking at us.

  “Hi there.” The one with the cropped hair sidled up to me, whilst the other guy came in close to Tara.

  “Hi,” she chirped back.

  “My name’s Nick and this,” he motioned to the guy standing next to me, “is Joe. Can we get you another drink?”

  I shook my head. “We’ve just ordered, thanks.”

  Joe looked down at my chest and licked his lips. God, what a douchebag. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?” He was still looking at my chest when he said that.

  “Okay, what color are they?”

  Joe jumped, looked up to my eyes, and squinted a little. “Green.”

  I leaned towards Tara and whispered. “This one’s an asshole. I hope yours is better.”

  She shook her head. “No, not really.”

  “So, what’s your name?” Joe was looking at my chest again.

  “Youran,” I answered. That got his attention.

  He frowned at me. “Youran? What kind of name is that?”

  I smiled, about to answer, when a voice behind him said, “She means Youran, as in you’re an asshole. Now fuck off.” Dean was right beside him, and he wasn’t happy.

  “Listen, dude, I was just talking to this girl here. I was here first, so I suggest you fuck off.”

  Oh dear. Big mistake.

  Dean grabbed the guy’s hand. I knew what he was going to do the minute I saw that agonizing look on his face.

  “Dean, stop. Not here. Don’t you dare!”

  Suddenly the other guy, Nick, came over. “Hey, what the fuck’s going on?”

  A huge guy with blonde hair and muscles as impressive as Dean’s came over. He placed the back of his hand on Nick’s chest. “I wouldn’t fucking go there if I were you, mate.”

  Dean still has his hand on Joe’s. “Now, I suggest you two fuck off before someone gets hurt. Understand?”

  Both men nodded and walked off, Joe mumbling, “They’re not fucking worth it anyway.”

  Dean made a move, but I grabbed his arm. “Don’t, Dean. They’re not worth it.”

  I looked over at Tara to see if she was okay, but I needn’t have worried. She was practically drooling over the guy Dean was with. “Are you okay, Tara?”

  She nodded, her mouth wide open as she danced her eyes over the guy, who was smiling back at her. “Hi,” he said, purring the words.

  Out of nowhere, Tara grabbed my hand and squeezed it. It was a silent conversation, but one I heard loud and clear. She thought he was hot, hot, hot. I had to agree with her. He was just as impressive as Dean. Speaking of which…

  I glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Jimmy and I just fancied a drink, didn’t we, Jimmy?” Jimmy nodded with a smile, not once taking his eyes off of Tara. “This is Jimmy, by the way.”

  I huffed. “I kind of gathered that.”

  Tara suddenly snapped out of her leering. “Hold up a sec. You’re Dean?”

  Dean smiled and offered his hand. “The one and only. And you are?”

  Tara took his hand and shook it. “I’m Tara. I’m a close friend of Jessica’s.”

  Dean frowned with an amused smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tara.” He winked and Tara blushed. I had never seen her do that before. It seemed Dean’s charm worked on everyone.

  “It’s especially nice to meet you, Tara.” Jimmy smiled. It was one of those smiles that would get you into trouble the minute you saw it.

  “And you.” She offered Jimmy her hand and he leaned down, lightly kissing the back of it. Tara smiled.

  “You look amazing,” Dean whispered in my ear, making me shudder. “I could see all the men in here fucking you with their eyes. If I had my way, I would cut out every single eye from their sockets so it teaches them never to look at you again. No one looks at you like that, Tyler. No one.”

  I was suddenly on fire. I should be mad as hell at him for following me and crashing our party of two, but all I could think about right now was how much I wanted him inside me. Besides, I think Tara was having a nice time. I could hear her giggling beside me.

  Before I could answer Dean, Tara tugged on my arm. “Erm, Jessica, can you come with me to the bathroom? I need to speak to you about something.”

  I looked at her and nodded. “Excuse me,” I said to Dean as I slid off my stool. He helped me down and, suddenly, I was intimately close to him. He smiled down at me like the cat that drank the cream.

  “Ladies,” Jimmy said as we walked away.

  As soon as we got in the toilet, Tara gasped. “Fuck me, Jessica. You never said Dean was that hot. And you certainly never told me about his extremely hot friend, either. Do they all look like that in England?”

  I shook my head with a smile. “I’ve never met Jimmy before. He is kinda hot, though.”

  Tara raised her eyebrow. “Kinda hot? Girl, you need glasses. That man out there is damn fine. Did you see his fucking ass? Shit!”

  I shook my head again. “I didn’t really have time to check out his ass.”

  Tara nodded. “Well, you need to…just saying.” She placed her hands on the sink and shook her head. “Sorry. I’m so busy drooling over Jimmy that I failed to realize he was here. How are you holding up?”

  I laughed. “Just barely…I think. He always had a way of making me forget everything. When he’s around, all I can think about is him.”

  Tara closed her eyes for a moment. “Girl, if that’s the way you feel, I think you’d better think long and hard about what it is you really want. Do you want to get back with Dean?”

  “No!” I said a little too quickly. “Oh, I don’t know. He confuses me. He hurt me too much, Tara.”

  Tara came over and rubbed my arms. “I know. I think you just need to figure out whether you can forgive him for it. Then you can move on and find out if your heart truly lies with him. And I think you need to do it quickly…for Evan’s sake.”

  I nodded with a smile. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want to hurt Evan, Tara. I truly don’t.”

  Tara nodded and squeezed my arms. “I know you don’t. You have a good heart. You just need to listen to it every once in a while. You would never intentionally hurt anyone, I can see that, but trying to shut off how you really feel may end up hurting others. Do you see where I’m coming from?”

  I nodded with a smile. “Ye
s, I understand. Thanks.”

  She patted my arm. “Don’t mention it.” She went over to the mirror to check herself out. “Now, be honest. Would you go home with me tonight if you were Jimmy?”

  I nodded with a laugh. “Totally.”

  She winked into the mirror. “I thought so. Now, let’s go ruffle some feathers, shall we?”

  I giggled, not knowing where in the hell she was coming from, but I nodded. “I’m as game as you.”

  The minute we walked out the door, some big burly man with a beard was glaring at us. “You women need to leave.”

  I frowned and looked at Tara. She looked as confused as I did. “Why?”

  “Because you disrespected my customers.” He motioned down the hall towards Nick and Joe.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! They were being disrespectful to us, not the other way around. Besides, you can’t order us to leave.” I glared back at him.

  He motioned towards a sign that read The owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. “Yes, I can.”

  “Asshole!” Tara shouted.

  The guy grabbed Tara’s wrist. “Do I have to throw you out?”

  I shouted, “Don’t you fucking touch her,” before jumping on top of his back.

  He tried to shake me off, but Tara bit his hand. As I put my arm around his neck, he yelled, “Fucking bitches! Get off me!”

  Tara kicked him in the balls. “You call us a bitch again, I will fuck you up!”

  He hunched over, clutching at his crotch. I took that moment to jump down from his back, grab Tara’s hand, and pull her out of the hallway. But he was fast. Grabbing my hair, he yanked me back, causing me to slap hard into his potbelly. I screamed and he placed his hand over my mouth. Tara came running back and jumped on his back.

  “Let her go, motherfucker!”

  I could hear him gurgling as his grip on me tightened. The more he tried to shake Tara off, the more we emerged further down the hall. I needed us to get further out into the public so people could see this crazy man attacking us.

  Pulling my arm forward, I punched back with my elbow, hitting his side as hard as I could. Beardy guy let go of me and started pulling at Tara. I screamed at him to let her go and started pulling at his long hair.