by Amity Cross
“Dee?” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Leaning over, he kissed the side of my mouth and said, “Love you, too.”
Chapter 31
Dee
“It looks like a florist in here,” I said as Jessie opened her eyes.
“Hey,” she said, her voice all husky and sexy from sleep. “I never knew I was so popular.”
It had been two days since the accident, and everyone from the cafe had been to see her. Even a few people she’d worked with at Galaxy had come, and every single one of them brought flowers and cards. The shelf along the wall was full to bursting, but it made the stark hospital room a little friendlier and wreaked havoc with allergies I didn’t even know I had.
“That’s because you’re such a good person,” I said.
“Dee, you can let it drop,” she scolded.
After she’d told me her story and how she still thought she was the same person after that thing back in LA, I didn’t understand how she couldn’t see it. How she’d changed. I understood now that her running had been out of fear, nothing else. Jessie had overcome so much to grow into the beautiful, generous, and kind person she now was. Anyone with eyes in their heads could see that with all the bloody flowers. People cared for her.
“You’ll never believe who I heard from,” I said, planting a kiss on her lips.
“Who?” she asked, grimacing as she shifted her body.
“Georgie.” Laughing as her face screwed up in mock disgust, I pointed to a bunch of expensive looking lilies on the shelf. “Those are from her and Galaxy.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Looks like your hard work paid off,” I said, winking. “You finally got a bunch of flowers outta them. Some paycheck.”
“Dee,” she exclaimed.
Linking my fingers through hers, I said, “They want you back.”
“What do you mean?”
“They want you to go back,” I repeated a little more firmly.
“Did you have something to do with that?”
“Don’t you want to go back and work for them? Isn’t that your dream?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes, but…”
“You sacrificed your dreams to come find me. The least I could do was have words with Georgie.”
“Dee, you didn’t.”
“I did. Seems like your replacements, plural, couldn’t hack Cyclone Georgie like you could. They want to give you real money, J.”
“A job?” she asked, her eyes widening. “A real life actual job?”
“Yep.” She sighed, her brow creasing into a frown. Before she could argue, I said, “You got this one all on your own, Jessie. I only made the suggestion. Well, Zoe helped, too. A little.”
“I don’t want it,” she said.
“What? Why?”
“I don’t want it because that means I can’t come to Australia with you.”
My heart did a stupid little flip-flop thing in my chest, and I couldn’t help grinning. “Jessie, that sounds fucking great and everything, but I can’t ask you to leave everything behind. We’ve got time.”
“I know we’ve got time,” she said, tugging on my hand. “But having a near-death experience kinda lays everything out for you. It makes the unclear pretty fucking clear. And I never want to leave you again. You’re stuck with me, Cosgrove. Whether you want me or not.”
Leaning over, I caught her lips with mine, kissing her long and slow. Pulling away, I whispered, “More like you’re stuck with me.”
“I can’t wait until I’m out of this hospital.”
“I can’t wait to take you home and give you another earth-shattering orgasm.”
“I can’t wait for you to give it to me,” she smiled wickedly, her fingers tracing mine.
Remembering the other night, I smiled to myself. I thought I’d had intense sex with Jessie that first night. What we’d done in her bed had blown that out of the water. Just thinking about it made me harden, and knowing that it would be a while before we could have sex again, just added fuel to the fire. The whole want but can’t have thing drove me nuts.
Closing my eyes, it was so easy to fantasize about those things, but it would take time for the image of the accident to fade away. Seeing her on the road, the way her eyes had unfocused. If I’d lost her, I don’t know what I would have done. Probably waste away to nothing and die a sad, lonely old man.
“Seeing you lying there,” I began, my voice cracking. “It was the single most horrible moment of my life.” We hadn’t talked about that moment, only the short bare minimum details, but it seemed like something I should tell her. We would never have a secret between us again.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “I know.”
“It made me realize that I can’t live without you.”
“I can try to find a job anywhere, Dee. The band is more than your life. It’s your family and your soul. I can’t ask you to leave that behind.”
“Fuck, I love you.” I didn’t know what else to say to that.
“I love you, too.”
“If you won’t budge, then you have to do something for me.” I’d been thinking this over ever since she’d told me her story. Jessie had been alone in the world for far too long. If there was one thing I knew from all those broken hearts and smashed dreams, it was that family mattered. Zoe, Will, Simone, Frank, and Chris… they were my family just as much as my parents were.
“What?” she asked, her voice full of suspicion.
“When you’re better, take me home. Take me to Montreal to see your family.”
She instantly paled, her fingers loosening from mine.
“I know it’s gonna be hard, but family matters, Jessie.”
She didn’t answer, and I knew I’d probably said the wrong thing making it an ultimatum like that. A nurse came into the room then, so any response Jessie was going to give me evaporated into thin air.
The nurse clucked her tongue at us. “Out, out, out, Mr. Dee,” she scolded me. “Your lady needs her checkup.”
Jessie gave me a look.
“What?” I shrugged giving the nurse a wink. I’d spent the last two days buttering up all the nurses on the floor so I could get Jessie extra pudding. That and I was just too antsy to sit still for five minutes at a time.
“You’ve been busy,” Jessie said, squeezing my hand.
“You know I can make friends with anyone.”
“He’s a sweet talker.” The nurse shooed me away. “I know you young boys like lady parts but out. Shoo.”
I stifled a laugh and gave Jessie a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll be right outside.”
When I went out into the hall, I spotted Zoe talking to Will, Ana, and Ed down by the nurses’ station.
“Did you get the flowers from the guys?” Zoe asked, coming to meet me halfway.
“Yeah.” I laughed, running a hand through my hair. Simone had sent over a bunch of flowers from her, Frank, and Chris. And when I say a bunch of flowers, it also included a giant stuffed monkey with a guitar. I’m sure that was a reference to something. “Jessie loved the monkey, but I think she’s gonna drop it off to some kids in pediatrics.”
“Shit, she’s so nice,” she said with a laugh. “Are you sure she loves you, you big ape?”
I knocked her shoulder with mine.
“Any updates from the doctors?”
“She’s getting a checkup now, but they said she’ll probably be good to come home the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s great.” Zoe beamed.
“She said she wants to come with me,” I blurted.
“Move to Melbourne?”
“Yeah.”
“Dee, that’s amazing, but why do you sound so down about it?”
“Galaxy offered her a permanent job.”
Zoe pushed off the wall and slapped me on the arm. “So it worked then?”
&
nbsp; Like I told Jessie before, Zoe and I had words with Georgie and the label about her predicament. We told them about the accident and why she’d quit in the first place. Apparently, they had huge plans in the works for The Devil’s Tattoo, and making us happy made them happy. It wasn’t a matter of our say so, getting Jessie her job back. It was more the fact that they’d already gone through two interns in just over a week. It turned out Georgie really was that good at staff turnover.
“Full-time, awesome pay rate with bonuses and holidays. Healthcare, dental, and all of that shit they do here.”
“But she wants to move to Melbourne with you?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe it’s not as important to her anymore. You know, after the last couple of days.”
“I’ll respect her decision, Zo, whatever she wants to do. I’m stoked she wants to come with me. I just don’t want her to keep sacrificing what she wants for me. She did it once already, and I can’t ask her to do it again.”
“Maybe love is what she wanted all along. Just like you.”
“Fuck, you’re annoying.” I sighed, pulling her in for a hug. She was right in a way, but we still had time to work it all out.
“One hundred percent.”
“Any word on the album?” I asked. I’d been out of the loop ever since I left LA and felt a little bad about it.
“Looks like the album is getting a January release.”
“That far away?”
“Yeah, but the label agreed to let ‘Red Heart’ be the first single, and that’ll probably be out before Christmas.”
“Yes,” I exclaimed, fist-bumping Zoe. “What about a tour?”
“Simone said they’re looking at dates in February and March for a US tour, but there’ll probably be a few festival dates in OZ first.”
“Big Day Out?” That festival was the first one I’d ever been to back home. Eighteen, sunburnt, and squashed in mosh pits all day and night. I’d been dying to play that circuit ever since.
“Yep.” Zoe smiled. She knew all about it because she’d been there with me on my shoulders. “We’ve had an offer for Falls Festival, as well. Not headlining but almost up there.”
“It’s all coming up Millhouse, huh?” I said, leaning back against the wall. The Devil’s Tattoo had cracked the big time, and I was in love with the most amazing woman in the whole entire world. If the world ended right now, I would be happy. Well, maybe that could wait a little while.
“Roses and sunshine and puppy dogs and unicorns.” Zoe laughed. “The whirlwind continues.”
Looking back down the hall, I noticed the doctor who had talked to me the day they’d brought Jessie in leaving her room.
“If they’re done, go back,” Zoe said, following my gaze. “Will and I are gonna go check out the Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art.”
Before she could escape, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her hair. “Thanks for everything, Zo Zo. I love you.”
“Love you too, Dee Dee.”
Watching her walk down the hall and into Will’s waiting arms, I couldn’t help smiling. Taking a few steps backward, I raised my hand in a wave as they disappeared around a corner. Walking straight back into Jessie’s room, my eyes latched onto her. She definitely looked brighter than before.
“Okay,” she said as I stopped by the bed.
“Okay, what?”
“Let’s go to Canada.”
“Really?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I kinda thought she would fight me a little longer.
“You’re right,” she said as the nurse left. “Family matters. Once I’m well enough, let’s go.”
“You can think about it a little more if you want to.”
“No, I don’t need to. I can’t let go of the past until I’ve made peace with every part of it. I want to see my parents. I owe them an explanation, no matter how pissed they’ll be.”
God, she made my blood boil sometimes, but Jessie Ware was a fucking powerhouse.
“The police are coming to talk to me tomorrow,” she added. “I’m going to tell them everything.”
Pulling the chair back to her bedside, I sat and took her hand in mine. Every time I was near, I had to touch her, or I might implode. “The contract and everything?”
“Yes. I mean, it’ll suck and be annoying as hell, but there are more important things.”
“Like what?”
“Justice. And you.” She squeezed my fingers, squashing them together. “And wherever you are, I want to be there.”
“Do you really think you can give up New York for Melbourne?”
“In a heartbeat.”
There were a few more hurdles to get over, but we were on the home stretch. We had an imminent trip to Canada to plan, which was going to be an emotional roller coaster for all involved. Then there was everything with Nate and the accident. Jessie was going to press charges even if it meant losing her apartment. It was her decision, and I would stand by her all the way to the end and beyond. Hell, it was even possible that the screwed-up contract they made her sign would be null and void after what happened. No doubt, the case would go straight to court, but we would fight it. Seemed she was good at that kind of stuff.
“Oh, and I already talked to billing about paying for your hospital stay,” I declared.
“Dee,” she shrieked, slapping me on the arm with her good hand.
Laughing, I took a Sharpie off the bedside table and pulled the cap off. On the top of her cast, I wrote D.C 4 J.W 4 EVA.
Chapter 32
Dee
Six months later...
* * *
I’d always hated airports. Someone was always leaving or coming, but it was the separation part I hated the most. Walking through the doors into that magical in-between limbo. The hugs goodbye, the last wave as the doors slid shut. Standing in the International Arrivals hall at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, my eyes were fixed on those doors like superglue.
“You’re staring at the doors so hard it’s a wonder you haven’t burned a hole through them,” Zoe said next to me.
“That’s right, hot legs. I’m dying to lay them on hot stuff.”
She laughed at the nickname I’d given Jessie. “She lets you call her that?”
“No, but she seemed to like it better than hot ass.”
“Oh God, Dee.”
“I’m more of a breast man, but hot tits would be a little inappropriate.”
“You think?” She pretended to gag. “As per usual, Dee, TMI.”
“Above and beyond.” I winked, nudging my best friend with an elbow.
Before I’d left, Jessie took me home to Montreal just like she promised. I knew it was going to be hard for her, but I was there every step of the way to charm the ass off her parents. And when she told them what had happened with Nate and everything after... well, it wasn’t easy for them to hear, but I think they appreciated the honesty and the guts it took to come home and begin making amends.
Everyone had made mistakes along the way, some bigger than others, but it took real integrity and courage to face them. I think that was what won them over in the end.
After two months together in America and Canada, the hardest thing I’d ever had to do was leave Jessie behind to face her court date on her own. Bad luck saw me booted out of the country a couple of days before D-day. The case had since been adjourned and called back, but in the end, her lawyer and whatever big shot the Barnes’ had cut a deal that saw her on the receiving end in a good way. Nate was sent to jail on a slightly reduced sentence, and Jessie got to rip up the non-disclosure contract and keep her apartment. She even went back to work at Galaxy until they found a more permanent replacement.
Jessie was getting here just before Christmas, and we’d already made plans to have a huge BBQ at my parents’ place in the Northern suburbs and a Christmas Eve house party at Frank’s with everyone and anyone we could think of inviting. I was so damn excited I couldn’t sit still. She was going to
be here for a month and come with the band when we played the Big Day Out across Australia and New Zealand, then we were going back to America for a two month cross-country tour. I couldn’t fucking wait.
I’d been waiting and waiting for it, but I was still unprepared when Jessie walked through the doors, a massive suitcase trailing behind her. She looked rough around the edges from her flight, but it didn’t matter. She took my breath away every time, no matter what she looked like.
Ditching Zoe, I strode forward through the crowd, desperate to feel her in my arms again.
“Dee.” She smiled as she caught sight of me. Dropping her suitcase, she launched herself into my arms, and we stood together, tangled in each other for ages until we parted.
“Am I fucking glad to see you,” I whispered in her ear, drawing her mouth to mine for a kiss. “How’s the jet lag?”
“Why?” She kissed the side of my mouth.
“You know why,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows. “I haven’t seen you in almost three months. You know how hard I am?”
“Like a rock,” she quipped, taking me by surprise.
“Love you, hot stuff.”
“We have to have a talk about the nickname,” she said, linking her arm through mine as I rolled her suitcase behind us.
“That’s what I told him,” Zoe called out as we approached. She came forward and gave Jessie a hug. “Welcome home.”
“Home,” she replied. “That’s got a nice ring to it.”
Fuck, I felt proud seeing the two women I loved getting along. Zoe and I were a package deal, and to think that Jessie got it and didn’t give a fuck… How perfect could she be? Pretty flawless in my eyes.
“Georgie gave me a recommendation.” Jessie grinned as we walked out to the undercover car park. “I have a job here if I want it, and they don’t care one bit when I want to start.”
“Fucking A,” I cried, swinging her around again as we stopped by the pay station.
