Everybody Falls

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  "Hey, girlfriend!" she yelled into the phone. I could hear loud music in the background. "Wha' cho doing?"

  "I'm at the grocery store. What's up and where are you?" I said, unlocking the trunk, putting the bags inside.

  "Arthur's in Sac. I just wanted to give you an update," she squealed. "There's been a sighting!"

  "A what?" I asked putting my keys in the ignition, covering one ear so I could hear her better.

  "Jax Wynter was spotted in Penryn the other night at that diner by the Quickie Mart just off the 80! Isn't that fabulous? He's here. Jax Wynter, the Eternal Teenager is here, Lace. Here!" She was yelling by the end.

  Oh, hazelnuts.

  "Good to know," I mumbled, my mind racing. That was why he was acting so weird when we ate there. Someone must have spotted him and reported it. Oh, God.

  "We gotta make it a mission to find him, Lace. We could meet him! Remember that poster I used to have? I bet he's even better looking than he was then. Ohmigod! Jax Wynter!" Ricki was a nutcase yet I could tell she was beyond even that if she was talking about trying to track him down.

  Aw, vanilla wafers. What was going to happen when she found out that I was already seeing him? Oh, crikey. This was already bad and it was going to get even worse, I could tell.

  "Let's get together and plan this, Lace, 'kay? Listen, I gotta go but we gotta make this a priority, girl! Jax Wynter!"

  Oh, dear whipped cream. I was going to have to tell him. Something I absolutely did not want to do.

  My mind was completely on damage control when I drove through Mickie D's before making my way back down the hill to the church to pick him up.

  I saw Jack and Boots standing in the glow of one of the parking lot lights. Whatever they were talking about, it didn't seem to be going very well. Number one they were standing very close together, Boots' mouth was open and, I'd say by the veins I could see popping on his neck, he was yelling up in Jack's face. Jack's fists were clenched as was his jaw and he looked beyond pissed.

  Were they fighting? Because to my eye, it looked like my man wanted to hit something.

  I watched and waited.

  It didn't last long because I saw Jack take a step back to shoot the older guy the bird before stomping over to where I was parked.

  "Hey, honey," I said as he climbed into the car. "You okay?"

  I watched him grind the heels of his hands in his eyes and heard him curse softly.

  After a couple of minutes, his breathing evened out and he did up his seatbelt before leaning across the console to drop me a kiss.

  "Hey, baby," he said distractedly.

  Trying to take a read on the emotion that was filling the car, our ride to my place was done in silence.

  We were just pulling the bags out of the trunk, when I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, coming from the dark edge of the parking lot.

  Oh, shit, no. Not again.

  It was my mom. My mom now dressed in spandex pants, a sequined bikini top thing and platformed slut shoes. Her hair had been re-done and she must've been wearing a quart of lip gloss over red, red lipstick.

  "Hey, Lacey," she purred. Purred, for goodness sakes. At me? Nope. I don't think so. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your man?"

  "No, mother. I'm not," I said firmly. I could feel my eyes narrow as she stepped closer.

  I watched the sneer as it crept over her face.

  "You always were a selfish bitch, even when you was little," she spat. "I just thought you'd let your mom have a little taste of what you're getting. He looks like he's big enough for the both of us."

  It took me a few seconds to work out what she was saying. I mean, she couldn't have meant what I heard, right?

  "You can watch while I do him and then I'll watch the two of you, which is only fair. I mean, age before beauty, right?" she continued with a giggle that didn't even make it to her avid eyes that were on the man in question behind me. "You might even be able to learn a thing or two."

  I was going to be sick. Was going to throw up right there over the mental picture my mother was painting with her words.

  I knew she was bent, but to want to screw your daughter's boyfriend and have said daughter watch? I was mortified, too, knowing that Jack was hearing her, once again, spew her twisted shit in front of him.

  He stepped around me, the plastic grocery bags rustling as he stomped towards her and I saw her eyes go to half-lids as she stuck her chest out and licked her lips.

  Jack stopped about three feet away from her before I heard him speak.

  "Bitch?" he said and I saw his head move up and down, obviously taking in the full view of my mom. "Get your sick, twisted ass gone. You are not wanted here. By anyone!"

  His voice was deadly and held a threat even though he hadn't uttered one.

  She must have heard it too because her sultry smile died quickly before she did an about face and began to teeter and stumble away in the same direction she'd come from.

  My body was on lock down and I couldn't think clearly, so deeply ashamed I could hardly breathe.

  "Jack," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I'm so sorry…"

  "Baby? Get the door, alright?" he said soothingly on a sigh. "Let's just go upstairs."

  I nodded and moved to unlock the door, holding it open as he entered still holding the carrier sacks.

  I couldn't look at him as I moved.

  Chapter 14

  I put away the groceries from the bags which Jax had left on the table before he'd made his way to the dark living room to pace.

  He seemed to have things on his mind, stuff he was trying to work out. I left him to it. I just hoped his thoughts weren't still on the spectacle my mother had made of herself earlier.

  I grabbed the fast food bags and checked the temp of the cheeseburgers and fries. Not yet cold, yet no longer hot. Setting out plates, I pulled out jars of mayo and mustard, cut up some tomatoes and dragged out my industrial sized bottle of ketchup. I was a major red sauce kind of gal. Tomatoes and all related tomato products were fruit, right?

  As I moved between the small breakfast table and fridge, I heard Jack on his phone.

  "Hey, Grams. Yeah. No, I…uhm, I think I'll be at Lacey's tonight."

  My heart zinged at that statement, I can tell you.

  "He did? Oh. Well, yeah, we kind of got into it after the meeting. About some bullshit rule he thinks I have to follow just because he did. No, not that one. The other one. Yeah? Uh-huh. Well, truthfully? I don't care. They can't tell me not to and even if they did, I don't think I would."

  I kind of wished he wasn't being so cryptic, because I was curious as all get out about what he and Boots had been having words over.

  "What are they going to do, Grams? I'm there every day, I'm working the steps. I see Dr. Norton twice a week. I'm meeting all their goals. What else do they want from me?" He wasn't talking loud, but he wasn't whispering either, so I didn't think I was eavesdropping so much as overhearing.

  "No, Grams. I don't think so. She's good. We had a little, ah, altercation with her mom tonight and other than that it's all good. Yeah, she is. I think so, too. Me, too. Call me if you need me," he finished.

  As soon as he was done, he made his way to me, glancing at the table.

  "You always get this fancy with fast food?" he asked with a grin, pulling me into his chest. The mood in the room was definitely lighter than when we walked in and I realized that his talk with his Grams had helped to calm him down.

  I glanced at the table. Fancy?

  "Plates are fancy?" I asked.

  "When compared to boxes and paper, yeah," he confirmed, releasing me and sitting down.

  "What would you like to drink?" I asked opening the fridge.

  "Just water is fine," he replied, pulling things out of the bags.

  We tore into our food and I realized I was starving, having only picked at some of the baked goods early in the day. After my stomach was no longer screaming 'ravenous', I decided I might as well get it o
ver with and told him about Ricki's call.

  "So, I'm thinking it was probably somebody at the diner the other night," I finished.

  He was working through his second cheeseburger that he'd slathered an unhealthy layer of mayo on, when he used a handful of napkins to wipe his fingers and mouth.

  Our eyes caught and I saw him shrug.

  "It was bound to happen, Lace," he said slowly, dropping his elbows onto the table. "Your girl didn't say the report included anything about you or Grams, did she?"

  "No, she just confirmed that it was you instead of the Trimble guy from Worthy Victors and that you were seen at the diner," I explained watching him down half of his water in one long pull, his eyes never leaving mine.

  "Here's the thing about fame," he started, turning the bottle round and round in his hands as I got the sense this was important.

  "At first, it’s a gas. Your picture is everywhere, people are clamoring to learn everything they possibly can about you, to just see you. And you ride that first wave, thinking you are the shit!"

  His words stopped and I saw his eyes flicker.

  "Then, what people don't get, is that you become this bug. This nasty, goddamn bug stuck on a fucking pin under glass. Unable to move forward, unable to escape their bullshit microscope. What they don't know, they fucking makeup; swearing they 'saw it with their own eyes' or 'no, the words were not taken out of context'."

  I could tell this is something he'd given some thought to before talking with me about it.

  "I don't care that people have seen me here or there, except I really don't want to be seen. There's no way anyone would want that kind of sick attention, Lace. I wish I wasn't recognizable so we could go out for dinner, or a movie," he said, reaching for my hand. "But, I can't. Not right now anyway. And I sure as fuck don't want you or Grams involved in any of that shit."

  He kissed my fingers and turned back to his hamburger.

  "So, whatever you decide to do about your girl is okay by me. I liked what you said to Beth earlier which showed me where your head was. If your girl can keep it together, cool. If she can't though…"

  "I'll give it some thought," I said, really liking that he was leaving it up to me to tell Ricki or not. I was glad he opened up, taking the time to explain it to me. I would be thinking about Ricki because, honest to strawberries, she was a loose cannon in the best of times.

  With this?

  She might go completely off her rails.

  I heard Jack open the bag and started tossing the different paper and cartons into them.

  "Lace? This thing with your mom? Grams suggested you get a restraining order on her and, baby, I've got to agree," he said slowly. "I know your business is your business and it's not my place to say anything, but what went down tonight was definitely not right."

  He was putting it mildly, to say the least.

  Now that I could definitely do and considering her previous reputation in our small town, I didn't think I'd have any problem getting one on Monday. My mom's rap sheet was ridiculously long, even after her juvenile antics were expunged.

  I grabbed the plates and moved them to the sink for a quick rinse before shoving them the half-size dishwasher. Jack slam-dunked the bag in the trash before making his way back into the living room. I wiped down the counter before making my way to join him. He was silhouetted by one of the large windows which were providing the only light in the room with their reflection of the street lights.

  My arms went around his waist and he again pulled me to his chest. There was a special dip there, right where his shoulder and neck met, which I was starting to lay claim to.

  "What're you looking at?" I asked after a time.

  He answered me with his own question. "What do you see when you look outside?"

  "Trees?" Was the answer I gave him, however I could tell he wasn't asking specifically about the view.

  "Know what I see?" he whispered. "I see peace and calm and good. I haven't seen that, haven't had in my life for more than twenty years."

  I raised my head and saw his face tilt to mine.

  "So, what do you see here?" I asked, unwrapping one of my arms from behind his back to tap a finger on his chest, just over his heart.

  He didn't answer but continued to look at me.

  "I see peace and calm and good," I whispered, trying for the same softness, the same sweetness, that he'd used before. "I haven't ever seen it in anyone my whole life."

  His eyes, those gorgeous chocolaty eyes, shimmered at my words in the glow of the streetlights, and he tilted his head down further. Just when he was about to kiss me, I heard him growl, "Enough talking, Lace."

  *.*.*.*.*

  The way she spoke, the words she used, filled his heart so completely, he couldn't take a breath, a deep enough breath to be able to speak back.

  The only thing to do was to kiss her to try and pass along a little of what he was feeling.

  When he lifted his head, she ran her hands down his arms and began to pull him across the living room, down the hall, smiling as she walked backwards into her bedroom. He watched as she moved to turn on the small lamp next to her bed before stepping to close the curtains.

  "I'm going to take a quick shower, so make yourself comfortable, Jack," she said moving back to where he had stopped, where his feet were glued, just inside her bedroom door.

  He was given a gentle kiss before she passed him that he wished had been longer, yet felt honored just to receive.

  Jax sat on the edge of the bed and gazed around the room as he pulled his boots and socks off, setting them aside. Even when he'd seen it earlier, he hadn't really looked around.

  She had a little table with a big mirror over it, the table top covered in different little bottles of creams and other girlie things. There were pictures tucked around the edges of the mirror which seemed to be of her at different ages, taken with different people.

  Grams was right; she'd even been beautiful when she was young.

  He removed his t-shirt and folded it over the back of the little chair that sat in front of her dressing table.

  The shower turned on and he stretched out on the side of the bed that didn't look like it had been slept in, unbuttoning his jeans before tucking his hands behind his head.

  He was in his girl's room and they were going to have sex.

  And, if this afternoon's party had been any indication, it was going to be great sex; the 'best sex in the annals of all time' kind of sex.

  He closed his eyes to better explore the fantasy of having Lacey underneath him as he slipped inside her.

  When he opened them again, the room was dark. He was curled around her back, one arm draped over her waist.

  Wait…what?

  He'd only closed his eyes for a moment. Had he fallen asleep?

  That couldn't be.

  It took him hours to go to sleep. Hours and hours to even find a comfortable position to sleep in. So many times, he'd just given up and gone downstairs to the piano or to play the acoustic guitar Grams had propped up next to it.

  He raised his head to glance at the time on the small clock nestled next to the flower from the bouquet he'd given her.

  Three thirty? It couldn't be three thirty.

  No way.

  That meant he'd slept, what? Seven hours?

  His norm, if he hit it at all, was four.

  So, what about the sex?

  Obviously no sex had happened. You can't have great sex when only one of the players was awake, right? Well, maybe, except not the kind that he wanted to have anyway.

  She felt really good in his arms.

  He liked that he had woken up next to her, his nose in her hair.

  He wondered what she did to make herself smell so good.

  His cock obviously liked the smell, too, since he was coming awake just as fast as Jax was.

  Jax moved his face off her hair and down to her shoulder, just pressing his lips gently to her skin.

  No movement; no change in
her breathing.

  He opened his mouth and kissed a little harder, with just the smallest bit of wetness and got a shoulder twitch in response.

  Using his face to push her hair aside, he moved his lips to her neck.

  He kissed again, using his tongue lightly and got a hip-flex with a groan. He moved his lips higher, pressing against her tighter, and did it again.

  "Oh, Jack," he heard her breathe as her ass moved again, this time distinctly stroking his hardness which was already flexing at the sound of her whispering his name.

  "Right here, Lace," he said, making his way up her neck to lick and suck her earlobe. Her hand moved to stroke his arm before she entwined her fingers with his.

  "Yes," she hissed and he felt her start to turn, fluffing the covers as she moved.

  Their mouths were soon joined, tongues twining, swirling as they pressed together, their soft moans filling the quiet space.

  He felt her legs move and she disconnected her mouth just far enough to say, "What was it you told me this morning? You're overdressed for this party?"

  "Yeah, and?" He whispered back.

  "Naked, please," he heard her warm, silky voice instruct.

  Answering would've taken too long, so he just rolled over onto his back, shucking his jeans and shorts off as fast as he could move. He heard her rustling, as he slipped beneath the sheets. It was only moments before they were back pressed bare chest to bare chest, naked belly to naked belly, their mouths already fusing as they used their hands to begin a slow exploration.

  "Lights, please." It was him instructing this time, not wanting to wait even another second more to see her.

  She pushed off his chest and turned to click on the small lamp next to the bed.

  God she was gorgeous; a fucking vision of creamy skin and tousled hair.

  "Oh, Lace," he groaned, moving himself up and onto her as she remained on her back. As he shifted, he pushed the covers aside so he could see her better. To touch, to stroke her without anything between them.

  "I love hearing you say my name, Jack," she breathed, arching to press her breasts against his chest as her hands entangled themselves in his hair.

  Oh, God.

  He was gonna lose it.

  Right there, against her leg, just watching her move in the soft light.