No one really knew how old she was. With short, fiery red hair and bright blue eyes, she looked far too young to be the owner of a bar. But she handled the place as well as any veteran. Right now, she was glaring at me with her hands on her hips.
Despite her gruff exterior, I knew she was concerned about me.
Throughout my shift at Hannagan’s, I had been distracted having spilled two trays of drinks, thankfully not on any customers, but I did break three of Mac’s nice German beer steins, which would undoubtedly have to be paid for out of my wages, but that was the least of my concern, the thunder cloud hovering above Mac was far more intimidating than a few dollars from my pocket.
“What’s up?” I asked, plastering a bright smile on my face.
I tried to go for the carefree and relaxed approach, but Mac was having none of that. She just crossed her arms and cocked a brow at me. I squirmed uncomfortably under her direct gaze. She reminded me of Sister Clarence in Catholic school who used to just peer at you over the top of her bifocals and purse her lips. She could intimidate you with just one gaze and cause you to confess to future sins you hadn’t committed yet.
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve been a little distracted,” I stammered.
Her response was to snort in a very unladylike manner, “A little distracted? That’s an understatement kid.”
She unfolded her arms and leaned forward a concerned look on her face, “I have never seen you this clumsy in all the time you have been here.”
“I know I’m sorry about the beer steins. I will pay you back for them,” I apologized.
She just shook her head, “I’m not worried about replacing the steins honey. I’m worried about you.”
The genuine concern on her face tugged at my heart strings. Mac had been like a surrogate mother to me since mine wasn’t around. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. How could I tell her I was distracted by the thoughts and memories of a man I haven’t seen for years? Someone I didn’t even really know.
“I’m fine. Really,” I assured her, fudging a little, I added, “I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”
That wasn’t a complete lie.
“Is it college, do you need money, do you need another loan for the rest of the semester?”
I shook my head, fighting back the tears. I quickly looked away pretending to wipe an imaginary spot on the bar with my towel. Mac could be generous to a fault. I didn’t want to play on her kindness, but I did grasp at the outlet she provided.
“Yes,” I answered.
“How much do you need,” she asked before I could finish.
“No, no that’s not what I meant.” I quickly responded. “Yes, it is school. But no, it’s not about money.” Blowing out a sigh, I tried to play it off as the problem was with my grades. “I’ve just been struggling with a couple classes. I have a huge test in Supply Chain coming up and a paper due for my Business Ethics class.” That sounded reasonable right? “I’ve had a couple low scores on my last quiz, so I really need to do well.” It was completely plausible. However, if anyone bothered to check, they would find that I carried a 4.0.
She scrutinized me for a minute longer and then nodded as if she understood.
“Well, if you need some extra time to study, I don’t mind rearranging your shifts a little.”
“Thanks, Mac. I really appreciate it, but I think I’ll be fine.”
Just then, the distributor came back over to have her sign for the invoices. Grateful for the distraction, I took the opportunity to sidle away from the bar.
“Hey,” she called my attention.
I snapped back around, worried that she was going to drill me some more.
“Why don’t you go restock what he just brought in to the cooler,” she offered, “It’s almost closing time, I can finish up here.”
Expelling a breath of relief, I just nodded to her and, grabbing a coat off the hook, I stepped into the cooler. The jacket barely went around my ample chest, but it provided enough warmth against the chill. Spying the boxes of beer in the corner, I went about verifying the inventory and then unpacking the boxes into the designated carts. We used roller bins to restock the bar quickly during the rush. We could just come back here, grab a cart and roll it out to the bar. They held 100 bottles of beer, which would get us through the rush until we had time to restock the bar coolers. The work was easy and didn’t require any real thought, which was opposite of what I need. With nothing to focus my attention on, my mind began to wander to Jamie and a certain dark-haired guy. I had thought about him only on occasion over the past few years, but today he consumed my mind.
Jaime and I had practically grown up like sisters, and now we lived together as roommates. We have always been inseparable when we were younger. I can hardly remember a time when one of us weren’t spending the night at the other’s house. We had been friends since elementary school. Jason was just a little over three years older than us and had always been more like an older brother to me. For the longest time, I had pretty much ignored him. That’s what little girls did with older boys. They pinched them, kicked them, made fun of them, simply for the hell of it. It wasn’t until I was in my teens when I started developing stronger feelings for him.
I would catch myself looking for an excuse to talk to him, even if it was to annoy him like Jaime use to do, I practically did anything for the slightest attention from him. I never though he noticed me, even when I began to fill out and change from a plump girl to a full breasted teenager, but all of that changed after our first kiss. After that we had moments, on and off, when Jason would sneak a caress or wink at me, and then just like that, cast me off to the side for another bimbo to raid his bed. But like any girl with a crush, I couldn’t stop feeling the way I did back then; always hopeful that someday he’ll come to his senses and see me, really see me. But the years went by and nothing happened, until the summer after Jamie and I graduated high school.
Even in the frigid cooler, I could feel the heat rising and my skin flush as I found myself recalling that night. Just another sleep over at Jaime’s. It was my eighteenth birthday two days before, and Jamie insisted that we make it a Birthday Celebration Week. She was adamant that I come straight over to her house after the birthday party my parents threw me, and spend the entire week with her. After all she reasoned, high school was over and who knows where we would both end up in the coming years.
I never could remember what really woke me up that morning, but I remembered looking at the clock, it was 3 am. I had gotten out of bed to get a glass of milk. But when I turned to leave the kitchen and found Jason leaning casually against the door jamb, it had felt as if my heart wanted to explode. I tried my best to stay calm and collected, regardless of the fact that he had been staring at me with those intense come-to-bed eyes…
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there…” I started and tried to pass him, but my words faded as he shifted to block my way.
I moved to the other side to get past only to have him shift again to block my escape. Nervous as hell; I folded my arms and looked at him trying my best to show some sort of irritation.
“Going somewhere?” he asked smirking at me.
“I…I was just getting a drink,” I stammered breathlessly. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest under his penetrating gaze.
“I see that,” he said as he stepped forward raising his hand.
I had backed away then, not sure what his intentions were, while my insides were doing flip flops like popcorn in a hot pot. He had kept his eyes locked on mine and I had been frozen on the spot, rendered completely speechless. It was there and then that the simple kiss from two years ago, and all our subsequent mild flirtations, turned into something far more life changing.
Jason had taunted me for being shy, and I had protested, even though I knew that he was right. Even when my nipples had poked at my sleep shirt, and his eyes had been riveted on them, I was still in denial. I had told myself over and over in those five minutes t
hat I could handle it. But when he pulled me closer, and his lips had captured mine, I lost all self-control and common sense. Where I suddenly had found the courage to take what I wanted, god alone knows. But I wasn’t going to let that moment pass me by. With a sense of boldness, I had never been aware of, I kissed him back. Just remembering his reaction caused a whirl of emotion to flood my insides.
Jason had wasted no time in divesting himself of his clothes. I had seen him shirtless, countless of times growing up. But not like this.
I watched with fascination, as he stripped down to his boxers. I caught a glimpse of his sheathed erection in his shorts before he bent over and slid those off. His cock was thick, with a plump head. It looked like it was angrily pulsing. My mouth watered just looking at it bobbing in my direction.
He had a condom in his hands. We had learned about sex-ed in school, so I knew how a condom was used, but I had never actually seen someone put one on. He tore the foil packet with his teeth before spitting out the wrapper. He gripped his thick member in one hand, while he swiftly and deftly unrolled the condom down his shaft.
“I’ve been waiting to do this for years, and now you’re finally legal.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“That night you spied on me and Sonia? I set the whole thing up so that you would see us.” He chuckled and backed me up against the kitchen table. Gripping the hem of my nightshirt around my thighs, he slowly glided it off my body, leaving a trail of heat where his hands touched my skin.
He was still for a moment, just staring at my breasts, my nipples stiffened under his intense scrutiny.
“Damn, your tits are amazing,” he finally moved, gripping both my breasts with his hands and squeezing. Then he wrapped his fingers around my nipples and pulled.
The only sound that came out of me was a moan of both pain and satisfaction. His pull on my nipples almost hurt, but I felt my clit jump in pleasure.
When he popped a nipple in his mouth and started suckling furiously, I just about lost my mind. The wet sounds he was making turning me on as much as the sensation of his tongue and teeth on me.
Jason lifted me onto the kitchen table and spreading my legs wide, he settled himself between them. His hand had traveled down to the space between my legs and massaged my clit in slow circles.
“I heard you tip-toe past my door that night.” He said as he tapped two fingers at my entrance. “I opened my door and turned the radio on. I knew you couldn’t help yourself, I knew you would look. I wanted you to see what you could have, what I could do for you.”
“How could you know I would watch you?” I asked.
“I knew you wanted me.” He replied confidently, and popped a nipple back into his mouth, lashing it with my tongue.
I squirmed in anticipation as he guided his cock to my core, still stroking me, faster. We both waited expectantly for him to plunge his dick into my waiting pussy. And he did. But he paused for maybe half a second before he ruthlessly thrust into me. I gasped and jerked back, my heart pounding relentlessly in my chest with the shock and pain of his invasion. But Jason gripped my hips tightly to him as he withdrew and pushed back in.
I could hear the slippery sounds as my wet entrance clamped down on his cock with each thrust. I wrapped my arms around Jason’s back to steady myself as he pumped relentlessly, my tits jiggling and shaking with each thrust, rubbing against the hard planes of his chest. My initial pain fading to a hot heat.
Right there in his parents’ kitchen, he fucked me senseless, not only once, but twice. On the counter, on the floor, it was unbelievable how we never got caught.
I could hardly contain myself the next morning, I wasn’t even able to face Jamie, much less Jason. I left the house early, hoping that some space would help me garner the courage to tell Jason how I really felt. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t just another potential docking station, but I never got that chance.
I leaned against the cooler door and latched it close; it’s been eight years already, and for a moment I wondered if Jason was ever going to be released on parole, or if he was going to spend his entire sentence in prison. Jamie never talked about what happened that day between her brother and her stepfather. And I didn’t ask. We had drifted apart for a time after that. My parents as usual wanted me to go to college, then Law School. It was their way of getting me away from the riff-raff crowd I should never have socialized with. Jamie and I only reconnected a few years later after her mother passed away and she found me on Facebook. I was there to help her through her grief and she was my pillar of strength after my parents practically disowned me.
It wasn’t until earlier this month that she mentioned Jason’s name for the first time in years; it was in passing when she told me that she was thinking of paying him a visit, it was a fleeting comment, but enough to trigger a cascade of memories for me.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought of Jason. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I just spent the last thirty minutes in the cooler, or that he had been convicted of manslaughter. It had everything to do with the unfinished business we had left behind and the uncertainty of it all.
Jason
The ride home had been exhausting but in the best way. Jaime and I had so much to catch up on. She filled me in on the last eight years, skimming over most of the bad stuff. I didn’t ask her about mom or her passing, and she didn’t volunteer to talk about what it had been like either. Instead, she amused me with her anecdotal tales of learning how to cook and clean. How she had accidentally put dish washing liquid in the washing machine and had bubbles coming out from under the laundry room door.
I still couldn’t get over the fact at how much she’d grown up since the last time I’d seen her. No longer was she the frightened gangly teen that I’d been forced to leave behind. In its place was a beautiful, intelligent, and confident young woman. My chest swelled with pride at the person she had become despite everything that had happened.
I was also grateful that she hadn’t been completely alone. I was both surprised and pleased to hear that Jaime and Ally had remained friends, or at least been there for each other during the loss of our mother. Jaime had briefly mentioned a period where they drifted apart, but when I pressed further she changed the subject. I was curious to know what had happened to Ally. Her parents never really liked us since they were upper class people, but unlike most spoiled brats, she was humble and shy in a cute way. I could only imagine the fallout when the headlines were out there and everyone in town realized that I was a murderer.
As we rode along the country side, I couldn’t help but wonder what Ally would have had to say, knowing I was released. The last time we spent together was on the kitchen floor, then all hell had broken loose. I had never mentioned anything to Jamie, and I doubted that Ally would have. Maybe it was for the best, I thought.
I started to recognize some of the landmarks, indicating we were getting closer to home. The reminiscing had been fun, but exhausting. Now, the mood seemed to peter out as we got closer to town. It went from jovial and carefree to somewhat somber and subdued as we pulled into the outskirts of town. The gravity of what had transpired so many years ago weighed me down and I could feel the sense of fear knocking at the fringes of my mind. We sat in silence the rest of the way as we made our way through town and into our neighborhood.
Thankfully, the drive had taken a little over three hours, so it was dusk by the time we pulled into the driveway. We lived on a relatively quiet street, but I didn’t relish a spectacle at my homecoming. Better to just make my way into the house quietly under the cover of night.
I stared up at the house that had once been my home, and would now be again. It still looked the same; a traditional two-story A-frame house with a detached garage and wraparound porch. The house needed some TLC, nothing a little fresh paint and a few replacement boards couldn’t fix. But Jaime had done a good job keeping it up. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the old porch swing still out front.
The smile faded when I thought about Ally, I had hoped that I would see her again, but I didn’t want to make it too obvious to Jamie, somehow I half expected her to be here too, but this wasn’t her home. She was probably married with children by now, living the life she was meant to have.
The only lights on, were the ones on the porch. The house reminded me of a crypt, where all the horrible memories of the past lay buried deep in the concrete foundation, never to be dug up again. From the outside, I could see the white flakes of paint peeling from the window frames, like large eyes that lost the ability to cry over the years. This is what comes of reading Shakespeare when there’s nothing else to read in a prison, I thought to myself, making idle comparisons between living things and material structures.
“Welcome home, big brother,” Jaime spoke softly as we sat in the driveway.
I turned and gave her a ghost of a smile, “It’s good to be home.”
Taking a deep breath, I opened the car door and stepped outside. I didn’t have any bags to get out of the trunk, so I just shut the door behind me and walked slowly up the familiar steps. Jaime passed by me to unlock the door. Pushing the door open, she walked in and flipped on the hallway light. Pausing by the stairs, she watched me closely.
I stood on the threshold, not knowing what to expect or how I would feel taking my first steps back into this house after eight years. Bracing myself for the worst, I stepped into the familiar foyer and shut the door behind me. I hadn’t known what to expect, but I didn’t expect to feel this. No hints of anger or despair coursed through me, only relief, relief, and love and fond memories.
Convicted: A Dark Ex-Con Romance Page 3
