by WEST, T. J.
Her back is toward me, leaning her shoulder against the wall. Slowly, I walk my way up behind her and blow in her ear. She jumps like a rabbit, almost causing me to laugh. Spinning around she shouts, “Shit! This is becoming a habit of yours.” Her eyes become a darker green the madder she becomes.
Stuffing my hands in my front pockets, I bring up the situation from out front. “What was with that look I just saw out there when that chick threw herself at me?”
She huffs and places her hands on her amazing curvy hips. “Apparently you were seeing things.”
Squinting my eyes, I don’t believe anything that comes out of her mouth. “Right.”
“Here we go again.” She slaps her hands against her thighs. “Don’t start up this ego shit again, Jason. I wasn’t jealous.”
“No ego.” I shrug. “Confident. So yes, you were jealous.”
Looking up at the ceiling, she exhales, obviously annoyed with me. “Just stop it. You shouldn’t even be here, you’re distracting me, and you know it.”
Oh yeah, this is fun. Closing in our contact, Peta is once again backed up against the wall, with my body almost touching hers. I lean my mouth to her ear. “You like the distraction,” I gruffly reply.
She pushes at my chest, resulting with me taking a step back. “Jason!” God, she’s so hot when angry.
“We have a problem here?” A deep male voice, almost growl like, a few feet away from us, shouts. I know the dude. He’s the owner of Reds. I remember seeing him on occasion when we performed here. He’s fucking tall and big, like the Green Giant, his head almost hits the ceiling.
“No Quinn, it’s all good. We’re good, aren’t we Jason?” Peta seems to be pleading with me with her eyes,.
If so, I’ll go along with her ploy, but it doesn’t mean we’re finished. “Sure…whatever you say, Fireball.”
Quinn takes two big steps my way, trying to intimidate me, but it doesn’t work. I’m used to my dad always thinking he could scare me by being bigger and taller than me, so Green Giant here has no power over me. Getting near my face, he looks down at me like I’m some kind of invalid but since I’m not any good with eye contact, I move them away from his death stare. “Listen, don’t know who the fuck you are, but if you start anything at my joint or hurt Peta, you’ll be out on your ass faster than you can blink.”
“Quinn, chill it’s fine,” Peta says with a laugh which sounds to me like a nervous one. “This is Jason Chamber from the rock group JINKS. You remember them, right? They used to play here occasionally, and won a Grammy not too long ago.”
“Don’t give a fuck if he won a Grammy or met the God damn Pope, he messes with one of my employee’s, he’s a goner.”
Keeping my head down and my arms crossed, I respect Quinn’s rules. No reason to make this guy any angrier than he already is. If this was my restaurant, and I caught some punk making the moves on one of my employees, I’d probably behave the same way. “Totally understand, brother,” I tell him.
“No brother of mine,” he mumbles with a grunt as he heads back inside his office, slamming the door behind him.
Once her boss is out of earshot, Peta quietly says, “Please, you need to leave. Quinn isn’t someone you wanna mess with. He’s very protective.”
Her big green babies carry so much emotion, they’re enough to bring me to my knees. Moving back into her space, I cup the side of her face, which makes me happy when she leans into it. “Didn’t come here to mess with anyone, baby. Just have a question.”
“What is it?”
Without stalling, I ask, “Did you fuck him?”
“Fuck who?” She folds her arms.
“You know who I’m talkin’ about. After Brock went inside with you last night in your apartment, did you fuck him?”
Her eyes widen and a small gasp escapes her lips. “How–”
Placing a finger over her lips, I repeat myself with a little more stress in my voice. “Just answer the God damn question. Did you…or did you not fuck him last night?” I remove my finger.
“No. Of course I didn’t sleep with Brock.”
Her eyes don’t lie, she’s telling the truth. Thank fuck. My lips twitch as I say, “Good,” then go in for a round of kissing her precious lips without her consent, and by God, those lips of hers are just as naughty as her sassy attitude. Fucking delicious. “We’re goin’ out Friday night. Be ready by seven,” I murmur against her lips and walk away without looking back, with the biggest, stiffest dick known to mankind. My junk is fucking elated just as much as I am on the inside. This day couldn’t have ended any better, if I say so myself.
MY LIPS WERE STILL TINGLING from Jason’s kiss a couple minutes after he left me standing in the hallway at work. Hallways and bathrooms must be his favorite place to make out, since it seems those are the only areas he corners me in. The nerve of him!
Before we had ever slept together, Jason was hardly on my mind. Now’s he’s taking over every cell in my brain…and the ache between my legs. I don’t want to succumb to him like I have with every other man who entered my life, but I’m afraid it’s too late. My body is craving him and my heart is beating just for him, and it terrifies me. Why does he have to make things so intense and difficult, like with that groupie girl who was all over him? Ew. Just thinking back on how she was smothering him with her raunchy hands, and then her lips on his cheek. I almost threw up in my mouth after seeing the despicable display. What pissed me off was he had no intent of stopping her…what the hell? Wringing his neck with my bare hands sounded like a good idea at the time, and then maybe slapping that bitch across her face and kicking her out of my bar would’ve made me feel so much better. However, just one touch and one heavy, heart stopping kiss from Poker Face made me forget everything. What in the hell was happening between us?
I’m so confused with his on and off again attraction toward me: One minute he’s enjoying being groped by groupies and then the next he can’t seem to take his hands off me. He’s so hard to understand. I barely know Jason, yet I know enough to realize I’m falling hard for him, and that scares the crap out of me.
Going out with June tonight is exactly what the doctor ordered. She kept her word on our girl’s night out and asked me to meet her at this place called, Curbside Mexican. Sounded great to me, so here we are.
Both of us take a seat at our table, my eyes glide around the room filled with people eating, drinking, and watching the entertainment in the back corner of the room. There’s two Mexican men playing their guitar and trumpet; they’re both wearing huge sombreros and have colorful-like-cloaks draped over their shoulders. The music livens up the atmosphere and definitely heightens my itch to have a drink. I’m so glad we came here; Mexican food with a couple margaritas is one of my favorite things.
“This is a great place,” I mention to June after we receive our margaritas.
“It is,” June says. “Phillip and I come here every so often. It’s one of our favorite restaurants.” She swirls her skinny red straw through her margarita.
“How is Phillip? You guys doing okay?”
With a wave of her hand she tells me, “He’s fine, we’re fine. He’s just out of town a lot on business, like this week, but we’re still going strong. We’re it for each other.” She smiles, even though with him being out of town must be hard on her. I know she’s busy just like he is, but coming home to an empty house and bed on a regular basis, it starts to become extremely lonely and difficult. Travis and I were inseparable before he shipped off to the Middle East, so I kind of know how she’s feeling, even though she won’t truly admit how trying this has been on her.
“That’s good,” I say. “He’s a lucky guy, I hope he knows that.”
“Believe me, I tell him every day,” she jokingly says with a wink, which makes me laugh. “But I’m lucky too. He treats me like a queen, so I couldn’t have asked for a better partner and soulmate.” The light in her eyes when she mentioned Phillip being her soulmate. She’s so head over heels
in love with him, it’s almost contagious. To find that one person who makes your life feel complete…I want that.
“You think you’ll ever get married?” I ask, hoping they’ll finally tie the knot.
“We’ve been talking about it, but with Lucky and Faith getting married soon, I think we’re gonna wait a little while longer. But it’s definitely in the cards.” I hate knowing she’s putting her life on hold just so her best friend can move forward ahead of her own happily ever after. But I won’t butt in on their relationship and June’s decision. If she’s happy how things are going then I’m happy for her. “Okay, so…you and Jason. Spill it, sister,” June suddenly changes the subject. She certainly doesn’t beat around the bush. We’re a lot alike in that way, and it’s one of the reasons we became such good friends.
“I think I need a couple more of these before we dig into that subject.” I laugh, pointing to my margarita.
Our waitress walks by our table, when June stops her. “Excuse me. Can you give us two more of these, pronto?” She motions her finger at each of our drinks.
“You got it,” the waitress replies with a smile.
“Boy, you’re not kidding around.” I chuckle.
“You got that right. We have serious shit to discuss.”
Looking down into my drink, I begin swirling the ice with my straw. “Crappola,” I say with a sigh, shaking my head. “Where do I begin?”
June places her arms on the table and leans forward. “Start out with the part when we were at Lyric and Slim’s, and you came out all flushed and winded, looking like you just got hit by a hail storm.” She smiles devilishly. If there’s anyone who can get the dirt out of me, it’s June.
By the time I finish revealing every little breathtaking, panty dropping thing that’s happened between Jason and I, we received our second order of drinks and appetizers. June is for once speechless. Her mouth drops and her eyes bug out. “Oh wow, that’s…that’s just wow.” She breathes out.
“Right?” I bite my lip, shaking my head while I remain stirring my margarita, and the now melted ice. “He’s like a pit bull but without the bark, you know what I mean?”
June nods and chomps down on a piece of ice. “Pit bulls without the bark are more like snakes.”
“Yes!” I exclaim. “A snake that slithers into your life and attacks you at all angles of your body where you can’t breathe…yet you want and need more, it’s almost unbearable.” The alcohol is starting to take effect and I’m beginning to talk a little louder than normal.
“I so love snakes.” June sucks through the red straw.
But then, the realization hits me. “Holy fuck.” I slam a hand down on the table.
“O.M.G., what?” June almost shouts.
It’s like I’m suddenly having an out of body experience when I say, “I’ve got my very own Quinn.”
“Say what?” June snorts. The margarita is taking effect on her too. We always get so silly together after a couple of drinks.
Grabbing a chip, I dip it into the salsa and then chomp down on it before I explain to her, “For so long I’ve envied Sandy having a man like Quinn– someone who’s rough, passionate, hot as hell and someone who would walk through fire for her and…” I pause for a moment, taking a big gulp of my second margarita. This realization is becoming way too much for me, it’s totally nuts! I continue. “I’m beginning to think Jason is somewhat like Quinn. I never thought I’d want someone who was an alpha, but I grew to admire and appreciate his ways. Jason reminds me of him. Isn’t that just the craziest shit? What the hell am I going to do?” Holy hell…Jason’s an alpha!
Smiling all goofy and cute, June takes a bite of her salsa covered chip. “Well, from the way he got your address out of me, and how he’s been stalking you since the Grammy’s…I’d say he’s fucking loony, but since I know Jason and how he is…he’s seems perfect for you.”
I almost choke on my margarita from June’s comparison. “You think I’m loony? Thanks a lot.” Giving her the evil eye, but in good humor.
“No.” June begins to crack up. “God no.” Still laughing, she can’t seem to catch a breath. Continuing to give her my evil glare, I fold my arms and wait for her to shut up. “Oh my God, your face. Stop making me laugh.”
“Then please, explain it my friend,” I curtly reply.
“Okay, taking a deep breath.” She runs her hands in front her chest as she takes her breath.
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re such a bitch.” Shaking my head, I take another sip from my margarita. I’m almost done with this one. I need another one and more chips as well. We’re running low on both.
“Sorry. Okay…starting over.” June takes a drink and composes herself. “Peta, you’ve been wanting a man who’s stable, grounded, protective, and sweet. Am I right?”
I snort. “Jason’s sweet? I haven’t seen sweet since before we slept together.” I take a bite out of my beef street taco. God, I love street tacos.
June places a taco on her plate. “Okay, well…something happened after that Grammy’s party. He became obsessed…and sweet went somewhere else, but I guarantee it’s going to come back…slowly. For now, he’s showing you he wants you, but he doesn’t know how to express it properly. In my opinion, I think you’ve been waiting for this man your entire life, you just didn’t know it yet. Does this make any sense?”
I’ve been waiting for Jason my entire life? Can that be possible? If it is, I’m in deeper shit than I realized and it’s scary as hell. It’s like a cannonball hit me straight in the gut, because what June said makes absolute perfect sense. My feelings for Jason are nothing to take lightly. Wagging a finger at her, I say, “You’re fucking good, you know that? It makes perfect sense, but…this scares me. I mean really scares me.”
June smirks at me. “Scared that you found the man of your dreams and your life is actually going to make sense?” I suck in a breath. June really needs to stop making sense. “Been there done that.” She shrugs. “Look at Faith, Harmony, Melody, and Lyric. We’ve all been there, so has Sandy. It’s now your turn to feel what we’ve been feeling. It’s scary, yes, but it’s amazing, Peta. True love…is amazing.” She ends on a sigh then begins eating her taco as if what she just said wasn’t something that went through my body like a gust of wind.
I’m now beginning to feel a little somber. I can’t shake off this feeling that Jason wouldn’t know how to express something so deep to me. “What if he doesn’t feel that way about me?”
She wipes her taco greased lips with a napkin. “I’ve seen this happen to every guy in that band, and believe me…he’s feeling the exact same way, but just differently. He’s a guy, they’re clueless at these things.”
It’s true, guys can be fucking spaced out with their feelings…but. “But Jason…he’s not like the others.” The waitress drops off another round of drinks and chips for us. I so needed another margarita. I’m leaving this girl a big ole tip for reading my mind.
“I know you’ve said he may have Aspergers, but that has nothing to do with his heart. He’ll show appropriate feelings when the time comes. Just give him a chance. I’m dying to see him fully happy and off the market.”
June’s hitting me with all sorts of self doubt all of sudden. “You think I can make him happy?”
She knows me too well when she points a finger at me and says, “Stop doubting yourself, chick.”
“I know, I know.” I sigh. “I just have so much to learn about him. He’s very reserved and quiet.”
“Give him time. That’s what dating is for.” June takes another bite out of her next taco.
Grabbing a few more chips, I place them on my plate next to my taco. “Dating sucks. I’ve done it for so long it’s not fun anymore.” I’m beginning to feel like a big fucking baby. Pouting is so not cute, yet it’s exactly what I’m doing; I can’t help myself.
“The difference though? You haven’t dated Jason.” She smirks with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
�
��True,” I mumble. However, the doubts in my head won’t stop churning. “But what if he hates taking me out, huh? You know I love dancing. What if he hates going to clubs?”
Wiping the napkin across her mouth, June laughs. “Honey, might I remind you he’s in a popular band that’s highly well-known these days. I doubt going to clubs is a place he’ll want to hang out in, so that’s why you go out with the girls. The guys will do their thing, and we’ll do ours.”
“That makes sense.” I take a sip out of my fresh margarita.
“Of course it does. And trust me, he won’t hate taking you out.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Okay, stop.” She raises her voice and a scowl forms on her pretty face. “What’s with this self-doubt?”
Laughing humorlessly, I reply, “Have you seen my history with men?”
“Jason is not those men, he’s smarter than they are.”
“Hope you’re right.” God, I hope she’s right, because unlike all those other men who have broken my heart, Jason would simply kill me if he decided to leave me. He would not only break my heart, he would destroy me.
June picks up her margarita. “If not, then you can beat me to death and leave me in a dark alley. Now, drink up.” She smiles.
What would I do without my friend? Picking up my margarita, I say, “Thanks, June. Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
We clink glasses and continue the evening of indulging ourselves with good food, drinks, and hot topic discussions. It was an eye opening night, and I’m so thankful I got to spend it with June.
I’VE NEVER BEEN SO FUCKING nervous before. You’d think performing in front of thousands of people would make me nervous…nothing comes close to a date. To be honest, I’ve never taken a woman out before. Don’t know the first thing about showing someone a good time, or where to take her. I’m outta ideas, so I’ll be takin’ Peta to the one place that makes me feel comfortable enough to bring anyone– the bar under my apartment. Just hope she doesn’t hate it.
