Rock Chick Revenge

by Kristen Ashley

  “It’ll happen.”

  “It won’t.”

  “Yeah, it will.” He sounded sure of himself.

  Holy cramoly!

  Why me? What did I do?

  I dipped my chin and tried to pull away but his arms got tight. I struggled a bit just in case he wasn’t in the mood to overpower me. I found, as ever, he was very much in the mood to overpower me.

  Tom Petty (obviously Luke had Greatest Hits on random) started singing “Learning to Fly”. I gave up the struggle and listened to Tom.

  After a few minutes, I said to Luke’s throat, “You want some ice cream?” I tilted my head back to look at him.

  He tipped his chin down to look at me and said, “Yeah.”

  He let me go and put on his sweatpants. I put on my underwear and his zip up sweatshirt.

  We ate ice cream out of the tub, two spoons, Luke holding the tub, me dipping in while we sat on his kitchen counter.

  And I realized on the third spoonful of peanut butter cup ice cream that I was sitting on the counter top in my pretend happy place.

  And I was going to stay there.

  For now.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Missed You

  Seeing as I had a three-hour nap that afternoon, Luke fell asleep before I did.

  I spent some time trying to fall asleep, but I couldn’t. So, carefully, I slid out from under his arm (we were spooning, his face in my hair, his arm around my waist) and I got up.

  The Triumph tee was in the laundry so I went to the dresser where he took me to get it that first night, opened the drawer, grabbed whatever was on top and put it on. I slid on my panties then my glasses then shrugged on the sweatshirt and zipped it up.

  I went to the floor to almost ceiling window, sat down on the floor beside it, knees to my chest, the side of my shoulder to the window. I pulled his tee and sweatshirt over my knees and hugged them, staring at his view.

  Luke was on the fourth of five floors in a LoDo loft. I couldn’t see the mountains but I could see LoDo, its lights and brick buildings and there were still some people milling about on the streets though it was way late.

  I rested my temple against the cold window and lost myself in thought.

  I wondered what Marilyn and Sofia would think if they knew I was with Luke (they were never going to know, I would never hear the end of it when it was over). I wondered for the gazillionth time where my Dad might be. I wondered how the Rockies were doing in spring training.

  I heard a movement and my head jerked away from the window as Luke settled behind me wearing his sweatpants. It was just plain old weird how a big guy like him could be so quiet.

  Without a word, he settled with his legs around me, wrapped his arms around my chest, pressed his front against my back and rested his chin on my shoulder.

  I felt a shiver slide through me, not from cold. “Did I wake you?” I asked in a whisper, like he was still sleeping.

  “Yeah,” he told me.

  “Sorry.”

  His arms got tighter.

  “You can go back to sleep,” I said.

  “Prefer you were with me, babe.”

  I closed my eyes and wondered if he would also prefer to be with Jules, sitting on the floor in the dark by his window. I figured he would.

  I mentally pushed away those thoughts and said, “I can’t sleep. The nap.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  I was afraid he would say that.

  We sat there, me looking out the window; I didn’t know what he was doing.

  After awhile, I slid into my pretend happy place. Sitting on the floor in the dark with Luke, his arms around me, I slid in so deep, I whispered, “I wonder where my Dad is.”

  His arms got tighter and his head shifted, his chin moving my hair out of the way so he could bury his face in my neck.

  Mouth at my ear, he said, “You don’t have to wonder.”

  My body went still. “Why not?”

  “You want, I’ll find him for you.”

  Oh… my… God.

  “Really?” I whispered so low it was barely audible.

  “Yeah.”

  Then it hit me. “What would I owe you for that?”

  He kissed my neck and his chin went back to my shoulder. “I would do that for free.”

  I tried to put the brakes on it, tried to call “whoa” but I couldn’t. My body relaxed into his. His chin came up as he took my weight and the back of my head went to rest on his shoulder.

  After awhile I said, “I don’t want you to find him for me. I don’t need another man fucking up my life.”

  “Your call,” he replied softly.

  I didn’t say any more. We sat there for a good, long while. Then he moved, pulling away, standing up. I looked at him as he leaned down, putting an arm around my waist, one at the back of my knees. He lifted me up and carried me to bed.

  Once there he set me in it and followed me down, stretching out beside me. He took off my glasses and put them on the nightstand. Then he unzipped the sweatshirt and I pulled it off, throwing it on the floor by the bed. Then he lifted the tee over my head and threw it aside. Luke, I was learning, liked sleeping naked. He would tolerate panties but that was about it. Seeing as I liked the feel of his skin against mine I didn’t mind. He pulled me over his body, settled me on his other side and yanked the covers over us. He turned to me, hooking his hand behind my knee to wrap it around his hip.

  “You could have put me in bed on this side,” I told him.

  “That’s not as fun.”

  I smiled in the dark. “You’re nuts,” I said. Finally feeling sleepy, I cuddled closer.

  His arm closed around my waist and he pulled me deep into him but he didn’t respond.

  When I was inches away from dreamland, I heard him say, “Ava.”

  I was too close to sleep to respond, I just pressed closer.

  And I was sure I fell asleep because, I swear, the next thing he said was, “Missed you.”

  And I knew that had to be a dream.

  * * * * *

  I was sitting at my desk at the loft trying to get some work done. Sissy was lying on Luke’s couch preparing to see Stella and The Blue Moon Gypsies by listening to the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club singing “Ain’t No Easy Way” one of Stella and her band’s coolest covers. The crowd always went wild when Stella sang that but her signature song was “Ghostriders in the Sky”. She ended every gig with “Ghostriders” and people always went nuts.

  It was early afternoon and I was beginning to feel like a Rock Chick Fraud. Nothing bad had happened to me in a while outside of finding out Luke was in love with Jules (something that I didn’t even tell Sissy about because I knew she would give me Good Ava-esque advice) but no getting beat up, kidnapped, shot at or cuffed to a sink.

  The morning had been relatively normal. That was, if you didn’t count Luke waking up in an energetic mood. Luke’s energetic mood translated itself into us having sex, during which he gave me the business in three different positions. One I’d done before, one I’d heard of but never done and one I didn’t even know was possible.

  If you asked me which was my favorite, I couldn’t tell you. I liked them all. A lot.

  He’d left me face down and drained in bed while he showered. I fell into a doze but eventually felt the sheet slide down to my hips then Luke’s mouth at the small of my back sliding up my spine to my neck.

  “Gotta get to work, babe,” he said there.

  “Mm,” I mumbled.

  I felt him smile against my neck before his hands rolled me and he lifted me up until I was sitting and my chest was pressed against his. His hand went into my hair and twisted.

  “Luke, I’m still sleepy,” I protested, not sleepy at all. I was spent, in a good way.

  “I want a kiss before I go,” he demanded before he kissed me, not giving me a choice in the matter (not that I would have said no). It wasn’t hot, hard and deep. It was hot, soft and sweet.

  When he wa
s done I stared at him in a new kind of Luke Lip Fog.

  “I always want a kiss before I go to work, Ava,” he told me quietly.

  “Okay,” I agreed (I would have agreed to anything at that point), too much in a fog to let his words and their meaning penetrate.

  So in a fog, still in my pretend happy place and having been given the business rather successfully (these were my excuses and I was going with them), I lifted my hand to his cheek. I let my thumb trail the sharp edge of his ‘tache that grew down the side of his mouth, my eyes so focused on watching my thumb’s progress (and studying his mustache and mouth) that I missed the look on his face when I did this.

  It was really too bad I missed the look on face.

  Before I could catch it, he kissed me again, this time it was hot, hard and deep. In a true blue Luke Lip Fog, he put me back in bed, covered me up and then he was gone.

  Later, Sissy and Lucky came over and we headed to the gym, Santo joining our party at the entrance to Luke’s building.

  I thought it prudent, so as not to earn another Luke Confrontation where I would be forced to bare part of my soul, to phone him the minute we settled in the car.

  “Yeah?” he answered.

  “Going to the gym,” I told him.

  “I’ll send a man over.”

  “No, I mean I’m on my way with Sissy right now.”

  Silence.

  “Lucky and Santo are with us.”

  “Babe,” was all he said before he disconnected (and, I will note, he hadn’t stopped calling me “babe”, argh!).

  At the gym Riley was in a better mood, back to the old Riley (mostly, he looked askance at the two, beefy, suited Italian-Americans following Sissy and I around the weight machines). I was relieved until he caught up with me on my way to the locker room.

  “You okay?” Riley asked. His eyes slid to Santo who was standing three feet away before coming back to me.

  I nodded.

  “That guy, Luke, he still in the picture?”

  I nodded again.

  Riley’s jaw clenched.

  Then he said, “The minute he’s out of the picture, you’ll tell me?”

  Oh jeez. Here we go again.

  I decided just to nod.

  Riley walked away and I thanked my lucky stars he was not a tough guy, macho man, brutally honest, straight-talker.

  Santo got close. “You’re hot, but this is ridiculous,” he told me, his eyes on Riley’s departing back.

  Santo was not wrong.

  On the way back to Luke’s loft, I called him again.

  “Yeah?” he answered.

  “We’re gonna hit King Soopers and then back to your loft. Don’t worry, Santo and Lucky are still with us.”

  Silence but no disconnect.

  I forged ahead through the scary silence. “You need anything from the store?”

  “No.”

  “Any word about Bobby?”

  “He’s out of the coma, talking but functions are slow, they’re worried about brain damage. Can’t know ‘til the brain swelling goes down.”

  “Shit,” I whispered.

  “He’ll be okay.”

  “What if he’s not?”

  “Then he’ll be okay. Me and Lee will take care of him.”

  I felt a weird whoosh of warmth spread through me. This was said matter-of-fact but I knew he meant it and for some reason I had the urge to hug him and then kiss him all over.

  Before I could share that thought (luckily), Luke said, “Vance says you and the Rock Chicks are goin’ to a gig tonight.”

  “Stella and The Blue Moon Gypsies,” I confirmed.

  “I want you protected, not Zano’s thug, one of Lee’s boys.”

  “Luke,” I used his name as a protest.

  “Shit happens too frequently when the Rock Chicks do the town. Indy got shot at while performing with a drag queen. Jet’s sister caused pandemonium on her opening night at a strip club. Roxie was held hostage at a society party. Jules took down three bitches when one of ‘em insulted Stevie. I want you covered.”

  I sighed because he wasn’t wrong. I’d heard all these stories.

  “All right.”

  “You get separated from your man, you stick close to Jules. Not many people can mess with Jules.”

  This time I felt a not so weird pain slice through my belly. There was no denying the respect in his voice.

  “All right,” I said but my voice (damn it all to hell) betrayed me. It sounded small and hurt.

  “Babe?” he heard and read my voice.

  “Later,” I said.

  “Babe,” his voice went low and I knew he wanted me to share.

  “We’re at King Soopers, gotta go,” I shut it down, not about to share.

  “Jesus, Ava,” he said, his voice strangely part curt, part amused like he found dealing with me frustrating but he found that frustration enjoyable. “It’s a good thing your sweet body and the fuckin’ things you don’t even know you’re doin’ give you away or you’d be a serious pain in the ass.”

  I had no idea what he meant (okay, I knew what part of it meant) but I still said, “I’m so sure!”

  “Later,” he said, now fully amused then he disconnected.

  Santo was driving, Lucky in the passenger seat, Sissy and me in the back. I looked at Sissy when I flipped the phone closed and she was grinning at me, eyes shiny happy.

  “You are so not fuck buddies,” she said.

  Santo and Lucky glanced at each other.

  Argh!

  We’d trolled through King Soopers and I bought some food to supplement the anti-healthy living mojo provisions that I bought with Ren. Sandra’s supplies were running low.

  Sissy and I carried them up to Luke’s loft (Santo and Lucky stayed downstairs) and put them away. We gabbed while I did laundry and changed the sheets on the bed and she swept the floors.

  Then I went to work and Sissy went to the stereo.

  I was finishing up a marketing leaflet for a client when we heard “Sissy!” shouted from outside.

  My eyes swung to Sissy and found hers on me.

  “Sisssss-eeeeeee!”

  “Holy crap,” Sissy breathed and ran to the window.

  I nabbed my phone and followed her.

  “Sissy, I know you’re up there!”

  I made it to Sissy at the window, flipped open my phone at the same time and hit the green button.

  I looked down and saw Dom standing in the middle of the street, stopping traffic. Santo and Lucky were approaching him but he dodged them, running around in the street while he shouted. “Sisssss-eeeeeeee!”

  “Holy shit, he’s like Stanley Kowalski without the rain and with two guys chasing him,” I breathed.

  “Babe,” Luke said in my ear, making me jump.

  “Dom’s here,” I told him.

  “We’re on it. Stay in the loft.”

  Disconnect.

  I flipped the phone shut and watched as Dom kept yelling for Sissy and Santo and Lucky kept trying to catch him.

  All of a sudden Sissy whispered, “I have to go to him,” and then she started to take off.

  My stomach plummeted. “Sis, no!” I yelled and ran after her.

  Catching up, I threw my arms around her waist trying to hold her back. We started stand-up wrestling then we fell to the floor with a (somewhat painful) thud. Sissy was so determined to get to Dom and I was so determined she would not, we immediately started lying down wrestling, rolling around on the floor, each of us trying to get the upper hand all the while cars honked and people were shouting outside, including Dom.

  “Ava, he’s my husband!” she screamed, still struggling.

  “I know! Let Luke deal with it,” I told her, trying to capture her hands.

  Then we both froze as we heard gunfire. Three shots; bang, bang, bang!

  And let me tell you, it was a terrifying noise.

  I rolled off her. She and I got up and ran back to the window. We made it there just in tim
e to see the blue SUV peeling away, its front end damaged from rear-ending me. No sign of Dom, Santo was running to the Volvo, Lucky running into the building and a Black Explorer was in pursuit.

  I ran to my cell which I’d dropped in the Sissy Wrestling Match and phoned Luke.

  I heard the connect and before he could say a word I screeched, “Gunshots!”

  “I know, babe. Stay in the loft. Buzz Lucky up now. I want him with you until I can get a man on you. Got me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Stay calm. Darius and Hector are in pursuit. They’ve reported in. Tell Sissy Vincetti’s okay. They didn’t hit him.”

  “Okay.”

  “You good?”

  “I’m good,” and I sounded good, calm and rational (after my initial “gunshots” squeal) which was way weird because I was not good. I hated Dom but I didn’t want people shooting at him, especially not with Sissy in hearing distance.

  “Solid,” he said in a soft voice then he disconnected.

  Shit!

  I did it again, exposing my strong woman-in-a-crisis. When was I going to learn?

  I told Sissy Dom was okay (for now, though I didn’t share that part), Luke was going to call when they knew something and I buzzed Lucky up.

  While we waited, Lucky called Ren. Sissy paced. I went to Luke’s utility room to take the clothes out of the dryer, switch them with the clothes in the washer and throw some more clothes in to wash. While I was there I tidied up the utility room (seriously, how Luke could find anything was a mystery, there was stuff all over the place and it appeared he hadn’t done laundry since the beginning of time).

  I was putting away the last newly cleaned pair of Luke’s socks when the elevator doors opened. I expected to see one of the Hot Bunch but instead Luke walked in with a guy who looked a lot like Eddie Chavez except rougher around the edges. He may have looked rough but you could tell it was because he liked it that way and, I had to admit looking at him, I liked it that way too. Yum.

  “Dom,” Sissy breathed, pulling me out of my mini-perv for Rough Hot Guy and I shut Luke’s sock drawer. She was in a state and I found myself wishing that Dom was a better guy and deserved this kind of devotion.

  Why Dom was out in the street screaming her name, who knew? It was clear he didn’t like the idea of someone hitting her but I wasn’t a big fan of better a husband loves and protects his wife especially when she’s my bestest best friend late than never. I felt more that a husband should love and protect his wife always not after she got punched in the face by a big, burly, bad guy while in the throes of a kidnap attempt.