Just Jayne

by Ripley Proserpina

  One wall of the room was glass. A sliding door opened onto a balcony, and I went out. We were close to the ocean. I could smell the salt water and feel it in the wind that whipped my hair across my face.

  There were two chairs, low and fitted with thick cushions, and I sat in one. Drawing my legs to my chin, I stared out at the darkness and tried to figure out what I was doing.

  Surely this would have frightened Lee, Klaus, Diego and Ten away. I’d told Ten about my childhood, but there was really nothing like experiencing my aunt first hand to understand it.

  If they were smart, and I knew they were, they’d make their excuses and be on their way.

  I wondered which of them would tell me. Was it Lee who seemed to sum up the group so well?

  Or maybe they’d go for the directness of Klaus?

  Then again, Ten was blunt and honest. He might fit the bill.

  The door slid open, and I glanced back to see the man I’d been thinking of walk outside. He sat in the chair and sighed. “Jaynie…”

  “It’s okay,” I said. He didn’t have to make excuses. I understood that they didn’t need my drama. I was extra work, and they already had so much to do. “I can call a cab and have it pick me up.”

  “What the bloody hell are you talking about?” he asked. He pushed out of his chair and knelt in front of me.

  “Tennyson. I get it. This is too much. I’m too much. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

  He frowned and shook his head. “I asked for this,” he said, shaking his head and then lifted me into his arms. Of all the guys, Tennyson was the leanest, but he lifted me like I weighed nothing. He slid the door open and strode to the bed. The breath left me when he dropped me on it, but he followed me down. He knelt above me, knees on either side of my body as he gripped the headboard and stared down at me. “Clearly, I need to explain some things.”

  He probably did, because I was lost.

  “Jayne, you’re not going anywhere. Drama… Do you know anything about me?” he asked.

  “Besides what you’ve shown me, no,” I answered honestly. “You’re honest and you don’t care what people think. You speak without thinking sometimes, but you’re quick to apologize.”

  His face softened, and he shifted. He’d grown erect, but he wasn’t rubbing against me in a sexual way. He was adjusting his position. “You know quite a bit about me,” he said. “Things I don’t let other people see. But what you don’t know is I won’t give up on you. Just because something is hard, I’m not going to run away from it.”

  “I’m embarrassed,” I admitted. “Have you ever been publicly humiliated?”

  “Which time?” he asked and collapsed on the bed next to me. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started searching for something. “This is our first time at the Grammys. We lost Song of the Year this year. Watch my face.” He played the video. The band sat next to each other, two on either side of a beautiful woman I remembered seeing photographed with them before. The camera focused on each of them while the nominees were read off. And it stayed on them when someone else’s name was read. Ten’s face was so hopeful, and then so utterly crushed.

  And then mad. I read his lips as he turned to Diego and said, “Asshole… something something.” The rest was unintelligible, but he hadn’t lost gracefully.

  It would be wrong to laugh, because his face flushed bright red when he saw the camera on him, and even now, when I glanced at him, his cheeks were pink.

  Rolling to my side, I kissed his cheek and snuggled into him. “Thank you,” I said.

  “Embarrassment is part of life. I got through it. Watched my face played on television. Became a punchline. But the world forgot. At least what happened today happened in front of people who care about you.” The sheer honesty in his voice undid me.

  I sat up and moved until I was over him. “No one has cared about me before,” I said. “Or cared that I was hurt.”

  “Fuck her.” Tennyson’s voice was gruff, and he rolled his hips into me. “You gave her the opportunity to make amends. And you gave her forgiveness. It’s out of your hands now.”

  I nodded. It was.

  His hips still rocked beneath me and I couldn’t stop myself from undulating in response. He hardened, but— “You don’t have to do this,” he said.

  I wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want to do.

  Undoing his pants, I slid my hand past the waist and into his boxer shorts.

  “I know talking about emotions makes girls horny, but I didn’t say I cared about you so you’d jerk me off.”

  I giggled. “Jesus, Tennyson. You have a filthy mouth.”

  “You love it.” He skimmed his hands over my hips until he could cup my breasts in his hands. My shirt and bra hampered his movement, and he grabbed my shirt, ripping the cotton right down the center and then pulling the cups of my bra down. “That’s better.” His skin was hot and his palms rough as he covered me. He opened his fingers, pinching my nipples and rocking into me again.

  I gripped him harder, pushing down until I could cup his balls and roll them.

  “Fuuuuck,” he breathed. “You remember the conversation about me being clean, right?”

  “I do,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss along his neck and chin. Our lips met and he slid his tongue into my mouth. It was a perfect match to what he was doing with his hips. “I’m clean, too. And on the pill.”

  He moved fast, scissoring up, and then flipping us so I was beneath him. I laughed as he wrestled his shirt off his head and then my pants and his.

  He knelt, hand on his dick, gently stroking himself as he stared at my body. “So perfect.”

  Those were my thoughts. His body was beautiful. Like Lee and Klaus, he had ink. His entire torso was covered, and I spread my fingers out, tracing the shapes and images.

  He was quiet as I explored, and patient when I sat up and moved around him so I could see his back. I kissed his shoulder blade and then dragged my tongue to the other, kissing him there. He leaned forward, head resting on the headboard as I traced the dragon on his shoulder and kissed my way up to his neck.

  Reaching around his body, I let my hands glide along his stomach. By the time I gripped him, he was thrusting into the air, and I could feel my pulse between my legs.

  He spun, changing our positions so I was the one grabbing the headboard and he was the one kissing my back and neck.

  I pushed my ass against him, searching for him. I couldn’t take it anymore. There was emptiness inside me that I needed him to fill.

  “Ten,” I begged. He shifted, pushing between my legs to drag in the wetness there. His tip touched my clit before he pulled back again and then made the slow slide forward. “Please.”

  He braced himself with one hand on my lower back, and then his tip was at my entrance. He dipped in, pushing only until the head was inside me, and then pulled out.

  “Goddammit, Ten!”

  With a laugh, he gripped my hips and slammed into me. He let out a sound, a moan and a grunt, and then he pulled out again. Over and over, he drove himself into me. He reached around us, pulling me upright, and he pinched my clit.

  It drove me wild. The pressure of his hand on my mound along with the feverish pace he set, drilling into me, pushed me over the edge. With a cry, I came, and then I felt him, spilling into me. He pulled out, and I felt a splash of warmth on my lower back. “Fucking beautiful,” he said. His palm was rough as he spread it out on me, and I glanced over my shoulder. He was staring at my ass, a look of contentment and pride on his face. “Perfect.”

  I couldn’t hold myself up anymore and collapsed into the bed. He followed me down and pulled me into his arms. I jerked away, but he tugged me back. “I’m—”

  “You think I care?” he said. “I purposefully pulled out to see you covered in me. I’m going to get us all sweaty and nasty, and then we’re going to go into the shower, and I’m going to go down on you.”

  My body heated, and I eased back in
to his arms. “I love the way you talk,” I said, because I did. “I never have to wonder or worry. You just say it. It’s nice.”

  “How about I tell you how I’ve been dreaming about your lips wrapped around my cock?” he said.

  I smiled and closed my eyes. He pulled a blanket over us and wrapped his arms around me. He placed one on my stomach, and cupped my breast with the other. “I’d say… I can probably make that dream a reality.”

  He chuckled and nuzzled my ear, biting my earlobe. “Give me five minutes, and then I’ll be up for anything.”

  “Five minutes?” I asked, impressed with his stamina. “That’s it?”

  His hand moved from my stomach to between my legs where he began to play with my folds. Oversensitive, I startled, but then he was rubbing slow lazy circles around my clit.

  I forgot everything except that I wanted more pleasure.

  My hips chased his hand, and he grabbed my knee, pulling my leg up and over his hip so I was open to him. His fingers dipped inside me and then circled my clit again, rubbing harder.

  I was warm beneath the blankets and sweat trickled between my breasts as I got closer and closer to release.

  He held me when I came, still thrusting inside me until I became too sensitive and had to grab his hand to stop him.

  Leaving my leg over his, he trailed his hands over my breasts and hips. “I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”

  A warm lethargy overtook me, and I muttered a response. “Wreck me?”

  He chuckled. “No. Get you sweaty and sticky so I can get you in the shower.” He whipped the covers off of us, and I shivered as a cool breeze blew in from the ocean. “Let’s go.”

  29

  Diego

  Was there anything more depressing than three guys drinking alone at a bar? Probably, but I couldn’t think of what it would be.

  I’d agreed to give Tennyson time alone with Jayne, but I couldn’t get her face out of my head. I should have gone back in to tell her we were leaving. Explained it all to her.

  Instead, I just left.

  My phone rang, and I glanced down at it. It was my mom. “Hi,” I answered. “Everything okay?”

  “It’s fine,” Mom said. “Sophie wants to say goodnight.”

  “Hi, Diego!”

  “Getting ready for bed?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Sophie answered and then launched into a description of everything she’d done with her cousins and grandparents. “Put me on speaker!”

  I pushed my phone between us so we could say goodnight. Once she hung up, we sat in silence and sipped our drinks.

  “We shouldn’t text him, should we?” I said.

  “I already have,” Lee replied. “Haven’t heard back.”

  “Diego Martin!” One of our bodyguards moved between us, and the woman screaming my name. “I love you, Diego! I love you!”

  I held my glass up to the bartender.

  “Diego, sign my tits!”

  The bartender handed me a fresh drink, and I took a sip. “Not going to sign autographs, Diego?” Warner asked. He sat next to me and now my night was fucking perfect. I was supposed to be in my house, wrapped around Jayne, and here I was, with Warner for company.

  “Not tonight.”

  “The cellphones are out,” Warner replied. “If you don’t want someone to live tweet this, you’ll sign her goddamned titties and then we can leave.”

  He slammed a sharpie on the bar, and I took it. With a glance at Lee and Klaus, we stood and went over to growing group of people near the bar entrance. I signed the woman’s fake breasts, and then some guy’s arm. I signed napkins and even the back of someone’s phone. I guessed that was how it went now. No one bought albums or CDs. Their music was on their phone. I was signing the twenty-first century equivalent of vinyl.

  Finally, too many people were here for it to be safe, and the bodyguards led us past our fans. We waved and smiled and took selfies with whoever threw their phones in front of our faces until we could get in the car.

  “I think you’re right about Warner,” I said when the door shut. People surrounded the SUV and the driver had to crawl through the parking lot to get to the road. “I think it’s time we move on.”

  “I’ll call the lawyers tomorrow,” Lee said.

  “Set him up with a hefty severance package,” Klaus said. “He’s been a good manager. But we should have done this a year ago when he started scheduling without consulting us.”

  For a long time, we’d been lost. We made our albums, recorded, and did whatever promotional bullshit Warner told us to do. But we gave him too much freedom, and as a result, he thought he was in control of us. It was easier that way in the beginning.

  Show up here. Sign this. Perform that.

  It was a simple way of life, but we’d put up with it for too long. Warner didn’t care about us. All he cared about was that we line his pockets and make our record company happy.

  I checked my phone. We’d been away four hours, but my stomach was in knots. I felt like I was flying apart and I needed Jayne to anchor me.

  I don’t know how she knew what to do, but she got me. She saw my need and she took control, and I’d never felt such peace.

  Maybe it was fucked up, I was man enough to admit that. But Jayne didn’t make me feel fucked up. She didn’t look at me like I was weak. Instead, the way she’d stared at me had set me on fire.

  I’d gone from semi-erect to pound-nails-with-my-dick hard. I snorted at the thought. Look at me using American-isms. My dialect coach would be so proud.

  I’d give Tennyson tonight, like I’d promised, but as soon as the sun rose tomorrow, we were jumping back in this car and going home.

  Then it was my turn.

  I glanced at Klaus and Lee, who were quiet. Too quiet. They were probably plotting their escape with Jayne as well. A buzz of anticipation ran through my veins, and I elbowed Lee. He glanced at me and smiled. I didn’t even have to tell him what I was thinking, he knew.

  He elbowed Klaus, who sighed and held his hand out. He put one hand under his fist. “Rock paper scissors shoot.” I beat them both with paper covering rock. “Scheisse.”

  Leaning back in my seat, I took a deep breath. There were five hours until daylight, and then she was all mine.

  30

  Jayne

  I woke up shivering. Turning in the sheets, I looked for Ten, but I was alone. The sun was up, and it was chilly, especially here on the water.

  The night had been filled with everything Ten promised, and when we’d finally fallen asleep, the horizon was pink. I yawned and crept out of bed, searching the floor for my clothes.

  My shirt was ripped, and I laughed as I collected it.

  “Now you have to let me take you shopping.”

  Yelping, I spun in the air. Tennyson stood in the doorway, a pair of sweats sitting low on his hips and a cup of coffee in his hand. “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Just long enough to enjoy the view.” He winked and handed me the coffee. I took a sip, and he wrapped his arms around me. I didn’t care that I was naked. The heat from his body seeped into mine, and I sighed.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” he said. “I thought I’d get back before you woke up.”

  “I was cold,” I said.

  He touched my arms, trailing his fingertips from my shoulders to my hands and carefully took my coffee. “Back in bed,” he said.

  I did what he asked, and he handed me the coffee before he went to dig through the drawers of the dresser. “Jeans. Jeans. Jeans. Jaynie.” He held up a pair of jeans I’d had since high school. They were soft and had holes in the knees. “Are these bootcut?”

  “So?” I asked.

  “I love that you don’t care about clothes,” Ten muttered. “I don’t know why, but it’s so bloody adorable.”

  He brought me an armload of clothes and dropped them onto the bed. “Get dressed and we’ll go down to the beach.”

  “Surfing?” I ask
ed.

  He chuckled. “Fuck, no. The water is like sixty degrees.”

  With his announcement, I realized something. “You looked into it,” I said. “That’s how you know how cold the water is.”

  “Of course I did.” He said it like it was obvious. Like I had people who tried to make my dreams come true every day. He said it like I should expect him to do everything he could to make me happy.

  I held the blanket to my chest as I got to my knees. Crooking my finger, I gestured for him to come closer. He leaned in, and I ran my fingers through his hair as I kissed him. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  He kissed the tip of my nose and then nibbled it. “Baby, I came more times last night than I have in a year. I should be thanking you.”

  I giggled and let him help me get dressed. We went downstairs, me bundled up in one of the guys’ sweatshirts and Ten looking handsome in ripped jeans and a leather jacket. I didn’t know if leather jackets were appropriate beachwear, but he wore it like it was.

  I loved how much confidence he had. Like he was utterly sure of his place in the world.

  The front door opened as we got to the ground floor, and Ten groaned. “So close.”

  Diego, Klaus, and Lee walked inside, none of them looking like they’d slept a wink. They surrounded me, and I could smell the booze and cigarettes on them. No wonder they looked like they hadn’t gone to bed yet.

  Each one of them touched me and pulled me into their arms. I didn’t care about what they smelled like when they held me like this, passing me from one to another to look in my eyes and ask the same question. “Are you okay?”

  “I am,” I assured them. Ten had made certain of it. Lee pushed his hair out of his face and Klaus stood, arms crossed over his chest like a statue. But it wasn’t until Diego sighed into my hair that I understood what was going on.

  They’d made an agreement.