Hanging on (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2)

by K. F. Breene

  I hoped it lasted.

  When I was done and everyone said hello, William gestured to the bar behind him. “Open house, ladies. Help yourself. Bar is free all night long. I heard y’all liked a party, so I took the liberty of inviting everyone worth your time. And a few that aren’t. If you have any trouble, let me know and I’ll take care of it. Otherwise, have a good time! Welcome to Austin.”

  “William. May I call you Willie?” Flem asked as if she was speaking to the governor.

  He looked at her like she fascinated him.

  She fascinated most people.

  He nodded with a confused smile. He was used to me, after all. My friends and I were all cut out of the same twisted, screwed up cloth.

  “Great. Willie. Little Willie, if I may...” She cleared her throat like a doctor might when talking about the new rash you found on your little finger. “This won’t do.” She pointed to the bar.

  “What?” Claire said, outraged.

  “No Claire. You especially. No. This won’t do.” Flem turned to all the girls. “We. Need. Structure! We can’t be let loose on an open bar. We’ll have to be scraped outta here!”

  “Works for me.” Jane?! “I need to relax!” She headed off to the bar.

  Claire followed directly. Flem shook her head, not budging. Until Lump pulled her, then pulled me out of William’s arm, and all of us headed together. There would be no wimps, and no mushy-mushy tonight.

  Well, until everyone got drunk. Then all bets were off.

  We asked for another champagne cocktail just as the DJ started playing. The song wasn’t great, so we went to the center of our area and chatted with each other. William was off with the boys, trying to give me space.

  After a few pleasantries, Flem said, “Okay, can I broach the subject?” She looked at all the girls.

  Here it comes. Judgment day.

  Jane nodded. Lump shrugged. Claire took a sip. Flem looked at me. “Spill. How did we not know about him?”

  “You did! I told you I was with someone.”

  “You said ‘with someone,’ yeah. You didn’t say ass deep in love with a good-looking, incredibly suave catch of the century!”

  “Jessica,” Jane said, “you really did fail to mention how incredibly hot he was. My God. He is in good shape. His butt just won’t quit!”

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at Jane’s serious face. She didn’t make those kinds of remarks normally. What had happened to her in my absence? Too much time alone with Flem, apparently.

  “I personally couldn’t stop staring at his shoulders,” Lump said. “He’s a strapping young buck.”

  I got a twinge of fear.

  Claire raised her hand. “Chest.”

  “Eyes,” Flem said. “There is something about them. They pull you to him or something. Weird. Sexy.”

  “Alright, alright, alright. Enough you all. My guy, remember? Not up for grabs.”

  “Yeah, but... Jess... he is really hot! Why did you not mention that?” Jane asked.

  “Oh fer fucks-sake, leave the girl alone, will ya? She was probably too busy gettin’ laid and being saved,” Claire said with a tsk.

  “Does he live up to his name?” Jane asked quietly.

  “Jane, who are you? What did Flem do to you?” I gawked at her.

  Flem shook her head. “Not me. Tests in general. This master’s program is kicking her ass. She finally knows what we all feel like in school!”

  Jane rolled her eyes and ignored us. “So, about Little Willie.”

  I sighed. Then smiled sinfully. “Nowhere near little. And good in bed! I orgasm almost every time!”

  “Shut up!” Lump said quietly with a conspirator smile. We all looked around us.

  Guys were loitering close, but not too close. These guys were professionals. They wouldn’t move in until they had a clear shot, and all of us huddled together and sober was a suicide mission.

  William was standing off with Adam and Moose at the banister. Adam’s eyes swiveled around our area, around the dance floor, but often came back to us, undecided which girl would get his full attention. Also, by the look of it, undecided which body part he liked best.

  Moose looked anywhere but at our group. He was probably fervently hoping his girlfriend would arrive any minute. He needed someone to keep him out of trouble.

  William’s eyes met mine with a gentle smile, until he realized he was the object of scrutiny. He straightened up slightly, his smile slipping.

  We huddled together again. “In a movie I heard once that the guy played her like a violin. Well...”

  “Sex in the City,” Flem said quickly.

  “It is really that good?” Jane asked.

  “Yes! Seriously!”

  “And...” Flem looked at the girls for help.

  “...do you really love him?” Lump asked.

  I paused. This part was admitting a real involvement in someone. An emotional commitment that might not be reciprocated. It was a scary thing to think it, but even scarier to admit it to your girlfriends that would tell you if you were going down the wrong road. Often times a situation viewed from outside wasn’t as great as when it was viewed from within. I hoped against hope this wasn’t that kind of situation, because I couldn’t think higher of William. I didn’t want holes poked in my perfect relationship.

  At least, not until the newness wore off.

  I took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. All the girls nodded back thoughtfully. Vigilance would be the name of the game. They would watch him, us together, me without him, and report back their findings.

  I didn’t want to hear that he was too good for me. I thought it often enough as it was.

  “Alright, if you guys are done judging me, how about meeting everyone else?” I asked, ready to change the subject.

  “Hot ones first,” Lump said laughing.

  The only people I knew were around William, Brad included. Usually I would wait for the boys to stop talking and acknowledge us, but as that was already the case, I let fire.

  “Okay, usual suspects first,” I said, pointing to Adam. “This is William’s right hand man, and probably the most protective of the bunch. Also the biggest whiner. Adam.”

  Adam scowled slightly, but with so many pretty girls staring at him, he quickly resumed lamb eyes. He nodded, not having a hat to tip.

  “And Moose. Might be the biggest, but easily the softest of the bunch.”

  “Softest?” Moose roared. He curled up his massive arms to display his giant rack of muscle. He then turned around and gave us a show of his back muscles, which miraculously, showed through his loose dress shirt.

  Lump’s eyes were as big as saucers.

  “Or is that the soft you meant?” Flem asked with a wicked smile, eyes pointed downward.

  Adam and William started guffawing, slapping Moose on the back. Moose caught the meaning and his face went bright red.

  “Would you guys all stop acting like fools?” I said in exasperation. “Nicest. Okay? That work for all your egos and daydreaming centers combined?”

  Moose finally realized that all the girls were looking at him sexually, thanks to his muscle display, and his face got even redder. He tried to shrink back, but a guy that size didn’t shrink anywhere.

  “Your face matches Brad’s shirt,” Adam said, still laughing.

  “Speaking of Brad, he is the least Texan of the bunch, for good or bad.”

  “Good,” Flem commented, eyeing Brad. It was his turn to develop a blush.

  “Everyone else I don’t know very well, so I turn it over to William,” I said, leaning against his warm body.

  He slipped his arm around me and continued the introductions. There were ten more guys, attractive, but not as hot as the three I introduced. One great thing—Brad was newly single. He finally gave up on the girl that wouldn’t move closer, deciding he didn’t intend to move to her. I’d never met her, but based on what all the guys said, she was a giant bitch. Bigger bitch than me without the good qua
lities.

  I punched a few people for that comment.

  “And now Jessica’s friends.” William allowed all the guys to have a good look before he went on. “Since she so kindly introduced mine, I’ll give a stab at hers.”

  “Good thing he doesn’t know us that well,” Clare muttered.

  “He knows a few stories,” I said under my breath.

  William’s smile was jubilant. “A few stories, yes. Let’s see—that’s Clare.” William nodded her direction. “She’s from Ireland and has the attention span of a knat. She can also probably drink as much as Adam.”

  Adam looked at her in surprise. “I dunno, Willie. There ain’t much to her.”

  Claire just shrugged. “We train ‘em young in Ireland.”

  “We’ll see.” Challenge was on. Adam would get a rude surprise. Claire would end up so drunk she couldn’t stand, and while Adam would surely beat her—the man could hold his liquor something fierce—he would absolutely get drunker than he meant to. She’d keep going even though half dead, and he would definitely give up. Growing up in a place that had the mentality, “Eating is cheating,” the Irish knew what they were about.

  “That's Lump,” William continued. “No one knows why she’s called such a feminine name, but if her martial arts experience is anything like her name, she fights as dirty as her name sounds. Also, as Jessica says, Lump is the classic LA beauty, which I can only assume means dense.”

  Lump looked at William in surprise, her mouth dropping open.

  Adam said, “Aw man, that ain’t right. I’m sure—“

  Adam was interrupted by every girl, including Lump, laughing uproariously.

  Flem pointed at her and said, “Only funny ‘cause it’s true!”

  All the guys had uneven smiles, hesitant to laugh at a woman they’d just met, but understanding the humor. Or maybe just slightly unnerved that we were so wild and carefree about showing it; they knew me, and were slightly afraid of me, and now I was multiplied by five. Dangerous.

  When our laughter died down, for the moment, William went on with Flem. “Flem, another delightful name, is one of our own—of sorts. She’s from Arkansas, but she hates when you mention it.”

  Big smiles from the men this time.

  Moose smirked. “You know what they say: literacy ain’t everything.”

  “Now, you know,” Adam said, trying to be the good guy again, “Arkansas ain’t like it used to be. There’s three million people now…”

  Flem looked at Adam with a relieved smile, until Adam continued.

  “And I hear they’re up to, what, fifteen last names?”

  I nearly threw up I was laughing so hard! Flem had her hands on her hips, trying to hide her smile while shaking her head.

  Adam stepped closer and threw an arm around her shoulders. “All in fun. Don’t take no offense. Ask Jessie-girl, we’re a bunch o’ fools.”

  “Tools, Adam," I clarified. "You’re a bunch of tools.”

  Flem’s humorous outrage turned to startled when she felt Adam’s body. A second later that look became one of pure pleasure. The wicked grin was back.

  “Next is Jane. Book worm. Apparently sweet, though I heard a story where she once made a grown man cry.”

  “You told him that?” Jane exclaimed.

  “Aw lads, that was pure class!” Claire said, remembering.

  “It wasn’t my fault!” Jane defended. “He had it coming! He was trying to arrange a ménage-a-tois with Lump and Jess. I merely reasoned that a man like him had no hope of ever getting one girl to willingly see him naked, let alone two hot ones!”

  “And last, my girlfriend Jessica, who is as pure as a saint.” I got a lot of scoffs for that one.

  I also noticed he called me his girlfriend! It was the first time that name had been breached. I looked up in surprise and met penetrating, deep blue, twinkling eyes. He winked at me, and looked back to the group.

  Okay, so that’s that, then.

  I was exploding with thrilled butterflies. On each beating wing sat cupid, piercing my heart with a million tiny, love soaked arrows.

  “Down girl,” William whispered in my ear.

  “Ew, you guys are gross.” Jane rolled her eyes.

  “I’ve been sayin’ the same thing for months! Did anybody listen to me? Noooo,” Adam said, having stepped back from Flem.

  “Like I said, you whine,” I admonished.

  Chapter Ten

  “Can I get y’all a drink?” Adam asked, squinting at me, “It’s usually the only way to shut her up.”

  “Always the gentleman, Adam,” I said over the chorus of yes’s.

  We told him what we were drinking and he left to get it for us. I went to help him, patting William on the butt as I walked by.

  “Need help?” I asked Adam good-naturedly as I approached the bar.

  “Nah, you’re alright. Enjoy yer friends.”

  I ignored him. “You never told me you were going to make a play for me...”

  He was surprised but tried to hide it. He shook his head.

  “Look,” I said, “I will just bring it up when I get drunk, so I thought I would do it sober. I hope I didn’t treat you badly or anything. I didn’t know.”

  “Jessica, no, of course... Willie was into you long before I even saw you. Given the opportunity, sure, who wouldn’t go after a beautiful girl? And you are, you know. Beautiful. One of the most beautiful girls I ever seen. I wanted to tell you that on occasion, but didn’t want you to take it wrong-like. But you made your choice like Willie did. I knew that. But yeah, if he passed, his loss... so to speak.” Adam blushed and shrugged.

  “Were you gearing up for it that night at Froggy’s?” I pushed. I wanted this all out on the table. I didn't want any closeted feelings or anything that might crop up later and put a damper on our friendship. Or worse, his and William's.

  Adam shrugged again. “Maybe. Just gettin’ to know you, was all. You’re a handful. Pure evil on occasion, then sweet as pie the next second. Too much of a whirlwind for this country boy. It worked out like it shoulda. Willie needs a strong hand to keep him in line, and you need a guy that won’t backhand you.”

  “Oh my God!” I exclaimed, slapping his arm.

  He laughed and hugged my shoulders. “Nah, you know I’m kidding. But yeah, it worked out like it shoulda. You and Willie fit like a glove. I was just admiring the real estate.”

  “Cool.” I nodded with finality. It was like I’d thought. I wasn’t what he wanted. Granted, he didn’t seem to know what he wanted, but he was right—while he was strong and tough and manly, he was a pushover at heart. I would walk all over him then feel badly about it. William at least made me work to get what I wanted, which made it all the sweeter when I eventually did.

  “I wanted to clear the air,” I said, watching the bartender make our drinks. “You are a good guy, Charlie Brown. And besides, now you got even prettier girls you can hook up with. Lump makes me look like a street corner girl.”

  He shook his head. “I mean, yeah, all you girls is pretty! But that girl...Lump? Queer names y’all got. Lump is damn pretty, sure. Not denyin’ that. But she ain’t any prettier‘n you if you wanna know the truth. Don’t mean nothin’ by it. Just callin’ it like I see it. You are just as beautiful, each of you in your own way.”

  I scoffed at him.

  “I think a lot of that happened when you started gettin’ close to Willie, though,” he said, contemplative. “Seems like he lit some kinda spark in you‘r somethin’. Him, too. Spark I mean, not beauty.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Listen to me! I sound like a gay from San Francisco with all this feelings ‘n crap.” He shook his head.

  “Wow, that was not very P.C. of you, Adam. But thanks.” I leaned on my tiptoes to give him a kiss on the check. I grabbed three drinks in a pyramid so I could carry them. “Shall we?”

  He nodded, slightly relieved and definitely embarrassed.

  When he was grabbing drinks I looked at him again
. If it wasn’t for William, I would have counted myself lucky to get Adam. He was all kinds of good. Tall, handsome, hardworking, a gentleman, a lot of fun to be around, and someone you could count on. Yes, I might walk all over him, but I was a head-strong jackass. If he got a more even-tempered girl with a dose of patience, she’d get a great guy in him. I really hoped he’d find it.

  Back with everyone, we toasted and drank. More men joined us, since the girls were starting to get their flirt on, but the dance floor was starting to fill up and dancing was necessary. I grabbed Flem by the wrist and pulled. She grabbed Claire who pushed Lump who glared at Jane who in turn glared at me.

  “Dance!” I yelled.

  “Hot men!” Jane yelled back.

  Steve—I think that was his name—beamed. He thought he was getting some.

  He was wrong.

  I pulled harder, noticing Moose nudge Adam and point. They were no doubt pleased I was getting my aggression out on the girls rather than them. Little did they know, I was just getting practice. I’d be back annoying them soon enough, with more force!

  With a little more pull, I got the ladies, one and all, on our way to the dance floor. We left our area with a trail of boys in our wake. We walked along the railing to the stairs, looking down at what we would encounter, or back at what was left behind.

  “Some serious lookers in that group!” Flem yelled over the music.

  “Would it be uncomfortable for you if there was a one-night-stand?” Jane yelled from behind me somewhere.

  We congregated at the stairs. Across the large expanse of space in from of me I could see William watching me with a smile, talking to the guys around him. We were still, easily, the prettiest girls in the club. Easily. More lookers would definitely come, but they didn’t have what we did—mayhem! Hot and exciting, watch out!

  “Don’t touch anyone with a girlfriend. Don’t do more than one in the group. Don’t put yourself on display. Other than that, good hunting.”