by Jenny Wood
“Okay, yeah. If you’re sure.” I relented. To be honest, I would feel a bit better about staying with them than I would being on my own at my apartment.
“Good, I’ll go get Conner, so you can tell him the good news.” He smiled brighter that time.
“Wait!” I called out to him, louder than needed because he was only a couple steps away from me. “Not yet, can you just… stay here for a little bit longer?” His face got softer and he nodded. “Course,” He said and took the seat next to me, again. I couldn’t explain my sudden need for him to not leave, but I decided to blame the drugs. We sat in comfortable silence for almost an hour before the doctor came in and released me, as long as I had someone to wake me every couple hours. Jody volunteered to do it and signed me out the second he could.
Conner and Jase fussed over me in the truck. Poor Kayson couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I appreciated them all, more than they knew. For so long, I’d felt alone in this life and they were giving me a real taste of what friendship was. Jody kept his distance, letting Conner hover and mother hen me, but I caught him watching me like a hawk. Seeing Jase’s face when he saw his new room, was amazing. Jody came up and pulled me into his side when he noticed I was crying again. I’m sure he was used to my emotional outbursts when he did something sweet for Jase, he’d seen it enough times over the last couple days. I couldn’t believe that I was going to be staying with Jody Mars. It was a fantasy and a nightmare, I wish it was under different circumstances.
This here is your room, Conner brought you a couple shirts, some jeans, and some sleep pants. It should last for a day or two until you can get home and get things of your own. The police want to get in there tomorrow and take a look around, take pictures and stuff. I said we’d meet them around noon. That lady, Vanessa? She said you had the rest of the week off, said that you had vacation days and not to argue, you could call her tomorrow if you needed to. For now, I just want you to relax, okay? Take it easy, you’re safe here. I promise.” Jody assured me, looking directly into my eyes and never shying away. I wanted so badly to kiss him right at that moment, I’d had several moments like that today, actually. Again, I was going to blame the drugs.
“Okay, okay. Morgan is calling back in ten minutes, he’s threatening to end the honeymoon and get back here to check on you, so you better get ready for bed and be ready for his call in a few minutes.” Conner came in, fluttering about the room, pulling me away from Jody, whose hand had been on my hip the whole time he’d been talking. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it at the time, but I certainly missed it now that it was gone.
Jody cleared his throat and that soft look he’s had all day, slipped away as he walked away. I wanted to call him back, but Conner walked me to the bathroom and showed me everything he loaned me. I picked the sleep pants and an old t-shirt and asked if I could take a quick shower. Of course, he agreed and gave me my space. I showered quickly, taking off the light blue, lace panties I had on and tucked them in the bottom of the trash. I’d die of embarrassment if anyone saw me in those or even found them in my laundry. They’d probably not want me to stay here if they thought I was a cross-dresser or something. The Kennedy/Mars men were all alpha male, I couldn’t imagine any of them tolerating someone like me.
Conner was on the phone with Morgan, who demanded to speak to me the second I walked out of the bathroom. I took a seat on the bed, beside Conner and spent the next twenty minutes telling Morgan everything that happened and assuring him that I was okay. Both of the guys waited until I explained everything and asked me why? Why I’d never told them or come to them for help. I didn’t have an answer, it all seemed so obvious now, didn’t it? Like, of course, I should’ve. All I can say is when you’re in that situation…it’s hard to think of the right thing to do. Fear and guilt and shame overcome any rational thoughts and I just didn’t know what to do or how to do it. Now, they were taking it upon themselves to wade into the drama and they weren’t going to let me deal with it alone. Both of them had promised, no matter how I tried to object.
It took a while to assure both men that I was okay for the night, I was exhausted and didn’t think I was going to be able to hold my eyes open for very much longer, but after ending the call with Morgan and Kayson coming to collect Conner, I couldn’t get my brain to shut off long enough to doze off.
I peeked out the door to my room and looked down the hallway towards the kitchen. Maybe a glass of water would help. How? I don’t know, but lying here staring at the ceiling isn’t helping at all, so… my options are limited. I tiptoe down the hallway and creep into the kitchen; it doesn’t feel weird here, it’s oddly comforting and familiar.
“Can’t sleep?” Jody asks from behind me. I drop the glass I was holding under the tap and flung half the water, everywhere. “Fuck!” He says, right before he tips his head back and laughs his ass off. I should be mad because he scared me half to death, but I’m not. I’m captivated, by his laugh. If I thought the smirk and the full on smile were something to write home about, it had nothing on this booming, belly clenching laugh. It was….everything that was good and right and happy. I wanted to hear it again and again.
“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” He says after a full minute of laughter at my expense. I decide it’s well worth it.
“I made a mess,” I say, ripping off a large stretch of paper towel from the roll above the sink and squat down to wipe it up.
“It’s fine, it’s just water.” He grabs a towel and helps me.
“You okay?” He asks, throwing the rag into the open laundry closet off the side of the kitchen.
“Yeah, just too worn out to sleep I think, that ever happen to you?” I ask, knowing it sounds silly. But haven’t you ever just been too tired to sleep?
“Not really” He smirks at me and again, well worth it at my expense.
“What are you doing up?” I ask. It has to be going on eleven o’clock and everyone else is in their rooms.
“The truth or the safe answer?” He asks. I’m not sure which one I want.
“Truth,” I say weakly.
“I wanted to check on you. I wanted to make sure you were okay and if you weren’t I wanted to get you back to okay. I didn’t want to bother ya but I was going to come knock, in about twenty-five minutes, for your two-hour checkup. So…. here I am.” He says confidently, but on a resigned, sigh. I’m shocked, to say the least.
“I’m okay,” I tell him. I can tell he doesn’t believe me.
“I don’t believe you.” He shouldn’t.
“I’m a mess, aren’t I?” My shoulders sag in defeat as I look to the floor. Color me surprised when Jody steps forward and engulfs me in his arms and just holds me.
“You aren’t a mess, Cameron. You’re just in a shitty situation. If you let us all help you, we’ll do our best to get you out of it.” He says, running his hands up and down my back as I feel the extremely hard, warm muscles of his back under mine. I lay my head on his chest, wondering if I’m dreaming. In what world would I be lying my head on the chest of this incredibly sexy, selfless, sweet man that I’ve had such a crush on for months? A crush. That sounds so juvenile, but true nonetheless.
“He won’t let me go, not really,” I tell him. “His friends are judges and other attorneys. He knows people who know people. I’m stuck. I’ve been stuck for a long time and I’m scared of the problems he can cause you guys if you get involved.” I whisper that enormous fear to him. I don’t want to cause any trouble for them or their families, or their businesses.
“Come on in the front room, sit with me.” He pulled back and grabbed my hand, leading me into the living room where the TV was on, but turned down too low to hear. He sits me on the couch right next to him and keeps my hand entwined with his.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked. I wasn’t sure what he was wanting to talk about.
“There isn’t much to say. He’s a manipulator and he’s good at it.” I tell him, truthfully. He has a
way of getting what he wants because he has a way of making people believe he’s some sort of victim in all this or something. People trust his word and he has a friendly reputation. His friends know better, they’re no different than him, especially the ones at his firm.
“I called a good friend of our family’s. Carrie Garrison, do you know her?” He asked. I didn’t.
“She’s a Georgia State Supreme, Judge. I’ve filled her in on a little bit of what you’re going through. I didn’t mention any names, just as a hypothetical situation. I didn’t want to take any liberties until I spoke with you first. But she’s willing to help if you let her.” He tells me. I’m floored by that; by the way he approached it and the way he thought to include me.
“She said she could help?” I asked for reassurance. “I’m worried about going back to work, he knows a surgeon and an anesthesiologist that I work with and he sometimes shows up where he knows I’ll be. He doesn’t usually make a big scene, but until last night, I’d never thought he’d do anything this extreme, so… I’m not above taking the help if it’s offered. I have money saved up, I can hire a lawyer I just don’t know who to hire that would be out of his reach. Ya know?”
“Don’t worry about any of that just yet, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” Jody says. Just like with Jase, he’s all about the “we”. It’s nice and I don’t feel I deserve it, but I like it all the same. “We’re having Jase a party tomorrow, you think you’ll feel up to hanging out with us? I invited Ms. Jay and all the kids from the center.” He smiles.
“Of course, I haven’t seen them all in a while. I hope to change that, soon.” I tell him. It’s not that Asher forbid me to go, but he didn’t necessarily like it either.
“Sophie found a forever family. She left last week.” He tells me about the nine-year-old girl who, if I’m honest was a bit of a handful. She was special needs, having autism due to her mother’s alcohol abuse while she was pregnant. She hadn’t been at the center long but she was a sweet, little thing. I was glad to see things work out for her.
“That’s amazing, were they good people?” I asked, needing to know for sure.
“Of course. Ms. Jay wouldn’t let her go, otherwise.” He tells me sincerely. I know Ms. Jay takes her role as caretaker very seriously. She is head guardian to those kids; if she doesn’t think a match is a good fit, she’s the first one to shut it down. She’s very well trusted in our community and has been doing it long enough that the state takes her input very seriously. So, of course, I knew she’d have to approve first. I’m always so happy when it works out.
“Would it be too personal to ask what made you start volunteering there?” I asked him. I’d wondered about it for a while.
“Garret, actually.” He smiled. I smiled, thinking of the small, sweetest, red-headed boy, with freckles dotting his face. “He was behind me with Ms. Jay and a few of the other kids and he came right up to me, tapped me on the leg and asked me why I colored on my skin. He said Ms. Jay told him that “skin ain’t for markin’ on”, he copied her thick drawl, perfectly and I couldn’t help but laugh. He asked if he could see some of them, so I lowered myself to his level and I showed him some of the ink on my arms and one on my leg. He was awestruck, and of course, he had a billion questions. Ms. Jay gave me her card and a couple days later, I couldn’t stop thinking about all those freckles and his missing front tooth, so I went to visit. I took watercolors and paint books and I hung out for a while. Then Ms. Jay asked me if I’d be interested in painting a mural for that brick wall on the south lot. I jumped at the chance. I’ve been going back ever since.” He smiled again. I didn’t know any of that, well, except the wall painting, I knew about that because I’d spent a lot of time watching him do it.
“I used to watch you out the kitchen window, painting that rainbow,” I confessed.
“Yeah? You should’ve come and helped, those kids like to never let me finish.” He chuckled. I’d never tell him that I was the one who had them go out there asking question after question. I liked the way those kids wiped the scowl off his face and made him smile.
“I can’t paint to save my life. I can barely draw a stick figure.” I tell him honestly. Artsy, I am not.
“Oh, come on. I bet you could make something unique, something that’d be all you.” He bumped my shoulder lightly with his own. I hadn’t noticed that I’d scooted so close. Or, had he? Either way, he was right there, when I turned my head to smile at him. I took inhaled sharply in surprise.
“I know you’re going through a real hard time right now and this is the absolute worst timing of anything, quite possibly ever.” He whispers, so close to me. “But if I don’t kiss you right now, it would be the stupidest thing I ever done.” He says, licking his lips in anticipation. I couldn’t help the small moan that escaped me. His eyes jumped from my lips to my eyes, back to my lips. “If you don’t want me to, I won’t.” He whispers, closer. I nod just slightly, but it’s enough for him. His lips press against mine and I stop breathing.
It’s the sweetest kiss I think I’ve ever had, just feeling his lips touch mine. It isn’t abrasive or intrusive. It’s sweet and gentle and I’d have never believed he was capable of such things, had I not been experiencing them for myself right now. When I opened my mouth to breathe just slightly, I felt his tongue slide across my bottom lip and sucked. I wanted to climb in his lap and maul him. He dropped a couple, chaste kisses on my lips and pulled back just slightly, looking at me directly in my eyes. He reached up with his big, calloused hand and pushed the hair back from my eye; much like he did the other night outside the restaurant.
“You’re so sweet and I’ve been thinking about doing that for a really long time.” He says. My heart takes off, beating rapidly in my chest at his declaration.
“I would’ve begged you to, had I known that,” I admitted unabashedly. He shakes his head and smiles at me.
“How’s your head feel?” He asks.
“Dreamy,” I state, making him laugh.
“So this is just the concussion talking, is that it?” He taunts, playfully.
“It might be, ask me tomorrow.” I sass. I surprised him because his eyebrows about reached his hairline before he laughed. If someone would’ve told me even yesterday, that’d I’d be sitting on a couch in the dark, just have gotten kissed by Jody Mars, I’d have called them, plum stupid. Now, I don’t care if it’s the concussion or a dream. I’m going to enjoy it like it’s real.
I woke up in my bed after falling asleep on the couch last night. I don’t want to think about Jody carrying me in here and putting me to bed. There is also some pain reliever and a tall bottled water that’s still cold. I wonder if he stayed in here with me or if he just brought it in, this morning. The other side of the bed is cold and unused, so I assume he just brought it in. Or maybe it was Conner. Maybe I dreamed the whole thing last night and I just had the best night’s sleep and the best dream ever.
I check my phone and see two “unavailable” calls with no number. No voicemails so I don’t worry so much about it. I make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth with the toothbrush I borrowed from Conner. Apparently, the dentist in town has a crush on Kingsley and he’s always giving him free toothbrushes. Bonus, me.
After checking my face, brushing my hair into it’s usual, side-banged look. Very Zac from HSM days chic and apply my gloss and gray eyeshadow that I had in my hospital kit that Vanessa got from my locker last night. I’m feeling a lot more like myself today. It’s also Jase’s birthday and I want to pop out and get him something. I wonder if someone could take me to get my car. I could call a cab, but I don’t have my wallet.
I head to the kitchen to hear Kayson and Jody talking on speaker with Kingsley. They’re all laughing at a story Kingsley’s telling and I hate to interrupt, but Kayson saw me before I could make my escape.
“Cameron, come say hi to King. He’s enjoying married sex and is doing zero sightseeing of anything outside the bed and shower.” He tattles.
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“Hi, Kingsley. I’m glad married life is amazing.” I say, grabbing a mug and heading to the coffee pot. Jody has his eyes on me and I can feel them boring into my back. Turning around, the look he gives me is one that can’t be hidden. It’s pure lust. Maybe last night wasn’t a concussion dream after all.
“How’d you sleep?” Jody asks quietly as I sit in the chair beside him.
“Good, thank you. Did you put the medicine and water beside the bed this morning?” I ask. He nods, so I thank him. I had woken up with a slight headache, but it’s completely gone now. I tell him as much and he seemed pleased.
“Do you think someone can take me home on their way to work or something? I need my wallet and some clothes and I want to get my car so I can get Jase a graduation slash birthday present.” I tell him. He stands up without answering and walks down the hallway to his room. He’s only in there for a second before coming back, Kayson still talking to Kingsley about Oreo and Kady; Jody hands me my wallet.
“I grabbed this when we were going out the door, yesterday.” He says. “I couldn’t find your keys, but I thought it safer to lock your door so we may have to call a locksmith or something.
“It’s okay. I’ve got a spare set to the house and my car in my work kit. I did have a change of clothes but I had just used them on application night and I hadn’t replaced them yet.” I tell him, remembering the accident in which I needed to change from.
“I can take you. I rearranged things with Kayse today, so he’ll cover me. I’d rather you not go home alone just yet.” He says.
“It’s okay. I’ve got pepper spray and my phone. I can call the police if I see him.” I tell him honestly. I would too, I felt…stronger, somehow now that I had this family on my side.
“Not happening.” He leaned down in front of Kayson and pecked my lips. I’m not sure which of us was more surprised. Kayson, Jody or me. Still, Jody recovered first and excused himself to his room to get changed.
“Kingsley, Jody just kissed Cameron,” Kayson whispers into the phone dramatically, looking straight at me.
