Sinners' Playground

by Caroline Peckham

  “Don’t you dare boss me around, Johnny James. Your momma was always a sweetheart to me. I want to see her.”

  I groaned, hovering on the street as I pictured Mom’s face when she saw Rogue after all these years. “Alright, but only if you promise to tell her you’re my girl.” I folded my arms, not willing to negotiate on this.

  “Are you channelling Fox tonight or something?” she laughed and I grinned, happy the tension had broken between us as I walked up to her on the sidewalk and tugged her toward me by the pockets of her skirt. My mom had always said Rogue wasn’t gonna pick me out of my friends. According to her, I was too short, too skinny, too chatty. It seemed like a prime opportunity to prove to her that none of those things mattered anymore.

  “Just think how angry it would make him,” I purred in her ear and she shivered. “He’d be red in the face if he knew I’d brought you here, taking you home to my momma.”

  “You’re really convincing when you’re rebelling against the supreme canine,” she purred back in a husky voice that would have made a killing in phone sex. But I didn’t want her talking to anyone else like that. Just me while she straddled my cock and rode me like a damn cowgirl.

  “Come on then, pretty girl.” I headed along the road past the apartment blocks which were the most up market homes in the lower quarter. Unlike most moms, mine had been so proud when I’d joined the sex trade. She’d always put a positive spin on being a hooker, but I’d never wanted to follow in her footsteps. Dreams and wishes didn’t put food on the table though. And I’d fast learned that earning real cash in this town was only achieved through crime or sex. I’d opted for both, seeing as I was ambitious and all.

  When we’d first signed up to the crew, Luther had paid us for jobs, but starting at the bottom in the Harlequins meant we were given the smallest cut. Even his own son didn’t get a bigger sum than us. King Harlequin wanted us to earn the money in our pockets and that was something I was actually grateful to him for. And I’d learned the value of my body after I’d shot up to over six foot before I was seventeen, and by eighteen I was armoured with all the muscle I’d longed for as a skinny runt. Girls had started noticing me and I’d started realising the potential in that.

  “These apartments are cute,” Rogue cooed, taking in the little coloured properties. My mom lived in the pink one at the far end which had one of the best views down to Sunset Beach in the whole town.

  “Yeah they built them about five years back. I nudged the mayor into it with a few pennies in his pocket.” I grinned triumphantly.

  “You fucking gangster,” she laughed.

  I winked at her then snagged her hand and tugged her up the steps to the front door, banging my fist on it. There was loud music sounding from inside and smoke seeping out of the nearest window, the scent of pot sailing under my nose. It reminded me of my childhood. Which was kinda sad really when I thought about it. But the smell was weirdly comforting.

  The door opened and Mom stood there in a too-tight blue boob tube and tiny black hot pants. She was as skinny as a rake and barely came up to my chest. Her dark hair fell around her and a joint was smoking between her fingers. She may have been getting older, but she was still beautiful as hell. And a fierce protectiveness gripped my heart as I looked at her.

  I’d always wanted to shield her from her shitty life choices, but somehow I’d ended up following in them too. And as much as I understood it more now that I lived it myself, I would join Satan in hell itself before I let her go back to that life. She hadn’t been the best mother admittedly, but I still loved her. Even if she was a queen bitch sometimes.

  “Johnny James!” She hugged me tight and I had to bend forward to properly embrace her. She was always doing overly touchy huggy things these days, like she was trying to make up for all the hug time we’d missed when I was a kid. When I was seven, I could clearly remember asking Mom if hugging naked made it better, because she was always doing it with all her guy friends who came to visit. I’d taken off all my clothes, opened my arms wide and she’d started crying into her cornflakes. Hindsight really was a dipshit sometimes.

  “Hey Mom.” I let her go and grabbed hold of Rogue, yanking her against my hip. “Remember Rogue?”

  Mom did a theatrical gasp then lunged at Rogue, dragging her in for her own hug.

  “Oh hey, Mrs B, how are you?” Rogue squeezed her back and Mom leaned away, gripping her arms as she looked her up and down.

  “Love the hair. Where’d you get to all these years? My Johnny hasn’t stopped talking about you.”

  “Well that’s not exactly true,” I ground out, my neck heating at her words.

  “It is true!” Mom insisted, towing Rogue inside by the hand and she shot me an amused look over her shoulder. Goddammit.

  “So are you and my boy together?” Mom asked hopefully.

  “Ha, no way,” Rogue answered and I glowered at the back of her head. I’ll get you back for that, pretty girl.

  I headed inside, kicking the door shut and following them through the hallway which was full of potted plants and into the lounge which was teeming with even more potted plants. It was Mom’s new favourite hobby. And to be honest, so long as she wasn’t sucking dick for cash, she could grow a jungle in here for all I cared.

  My jaw ticked as my gaze fell on the sweaty old man currently taking up residence on my mom’s couch. I folded my arms, stopping dead in my tracks as fury started coursing through me.

  “Who’s this?” I boomed at Mom and the guy took a joint from his mouth, his throat bobbing. He was all moustache, I swear to fuck. It was the biggest ass tash I’d ever seen. His head was lacking in the hair department though so maybe he was making up for what he was missing on top. And maybe I didn’t give a fuck, so long as he took his moustache out of my momma’s house.

  “That’s just Greg.” Mom rolled her eyes at me, encouraging Rogue to sit in an armchair and offering her the joint.

  I snatched it from Mom’s hand before Rogue got any ideas about getting high with her and Greg’s moustache. The cherry burned my palm as I squeezed it up in my fist and tossed it in the vague direction of an ash tray.

  “Who the fuck is ‘just Greg’?” I growled.

  “Oh JJ, you’re such a buzz kill. We’re just friends, aren’t we Greg?” Mom dropped down beside him, crossing her bronzed legs and Greg sat up straighter, having the courtesy to at least look rattled. He knew who I was. I could see it in his beady little eyes. And in his moustache. I could see it there too.

  “If you want friends, you can have girl friends,” I clipped.

  “Johnny James, do not take that tone with me,” Mom growled and Rogue looked between us awkwardly.

  “I’m gonna make some coffee.” Rogue got to her feet and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close and speaking in her ear.

  “Go back to the car, sweetheart.”

  “Kiss my ass, douchberry,” she said in a sugary voice and I gave her a flat look.

  She booped me on the nose and sashayed out of the room as she hunted for the kitchen and I didn’t know if I was turned on or fuming as hell.

  “Greg.” I rounded on him. “Fuck off. And keep your moustache away from my mother. If I find one prickly hair in this house from this day forward, I’ll hunt you down, rip that monstrosity off of your face and feed it to a starfish. The starfish won’t like it Greg, but so help me, it will eat every scrap because no one defies me in this town.” I pointed to the door and his eyes widened as he leapt to his feet. I ushered him on by when he froze like a deer in headlights and I bared my teeth at him. He started scampering from the room while my mom wailed in anger and the front door slammed a second later.

  I arched a brow at my flesh and blood. “Da fuck, Mom?”

  She rolled her eyes, slumping back in her seat theatrically. “So I’m not even allowed male company now? Greg is a nice man!”

  “What’s his surname?” I demanded.

  “S-starfish,” she stammered, then tur
ned bright red.

  “That’s very coincidental,” I deadpanned.

  “It is,” she squeaked and I picked up a cushion, tossing it at her.

  “If you’re fucking for cash again, I’ll-”

  “I’m not Johnny, I swear!” she cried, blinking back tears then falling forward and cupping her hands in her face as she sobbed loudly.

  “Stop it with the guilt tears,” I insisted and she sniffed loudly as she pulled herself together. I took a wedge of cash from my pocket and those tears dried up just like that. Funny how that worked. Fucking magical.

  I tossed it at her and she caught it. I guess I knew who I’d inherited the dollar signs in my eyes from. That and my Korean looks with the splash of Malaysian on my dad’s side was the extent of the heritage I knew. My daddy was some guy whose condom had split, or so my Mom told me and that tiny little fact was all she could remember about him. She hadn’t even asked his name. I was conceived with the words oh fuck no slipping from good old pa’s mouth. Then he’d hightailed it out of town, left zero contact details and left even less fucks behind. Oh well, at least I grew into a respectable stripping escort who’s part of the most powerful gang in the state. Daddy would be so proud.

  Rogue returned empty handed. “The milk’s off.”

  “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome anyway,” I said with a shrug. “I’ve got shit to do. Be good Mom.”

  She was busy counting dollar bills that had been between my butt cheeks earlier on tonight. Ah life.

  “See you later, Mrs B,” Rogue called and Mom actually looked up.

  “Don’t run off on my boy again, Rogue. He won’t survive it a second time,” she said casual as fuck and I dropped my arm around Rogue’s shoulders, steering her out of the house.

  When we were outside, I released her, walking off ahead of her toward the car and fighting down the twisting, uncomfortable emotions inside me. I opened the passenger door for Rogue as she approached and her fingers grazed mine on the handle as she paused and looked up at me.

  “What did you tell her?” she asked accusingly.

  “I didn’t tell her anything. The whole town presumed you’d run off to find a better life.” I shrugged and she huffed.

  “So everyone thought I’d just bailed on my best friends? Nice.” She dropped into her seat and I shut the door behind her, resting my hands on top of the car for a second as I drew in a long breath. Then I walked around and got in beside her.

  Tension sparked like a livewire hanging between us and I toyed with the car key in my hand as I decided what to do.

  Fuck it.

  I took my wallet from my pocket, flipping it open and rummaging in the back of it, finding a folded photograph and feeling the hard lump of the item I kept within it. I unfolded the picture, the paper worn from how many times I’d looked at it over the years. But I’d stopped doing that eventually, tired of the pain, tired of missing her. I’d printed this photo off at Luther’s house a week after Rogue had left town. It was the five of us standing beneath the Ferris wheel at Sinners’ Playground. Rogue stood at the front of the photo, her arms outstretched where she held her phone and me, Fox, Chase and Maverick crowded around her possessively. None of us were even looking at the fucking camera. We were all staring at her as she smiled this wild, untamed smile that had always gotten my heart racing.

  I passed it to Rogue and she took it with a pained expression as her eyes travelled over the memory. I’d scrawled words at the bottom, a promise to myself as much as her.

  I’ll find you, pretty girl.

  “What have you got there?” she asked, eyeing my hand which was balled into a fist around the stupid thing I’d made for her that day.

  “Nothin’.” I tried to tuck it into my pocket, but she lunged at me, grabbing my hand and trying to force it open.

  “No chance, sweetheart,” I taunted and she half crawled into my lap, her knee pressing down on my dick until I sucked in air between my teeth.

  “Motherfucker,” I growled, grabbing her hair and yanking, making her yelp and look up at me. Her eyes were alight with the game and she slid her hand down my arm to my wrist, curling around my closed hand, leaving goosebumps in her wake.

  “Give it to me, Johnny James,” she purred and I sucked my lower lip.

  “I really want to, sweetheart. But you’d have to pay big bucks for it.”

  She snorted, punching me in the chest and I gave in, opening my palm and letting her take the gift from it. It was a shark tooth Rogue had found on Sunset Beach and gifted to me when we were eleven years old. After she’d left town, I’d engraved her name on it and made it into a bracelet, attaching it from a leather band I used to wear around my wrist. Even at sixteen, I’d been a fucking chump. Apparently I’d thought making her jewellery was gonna win her over after we ran her out of town. But now it just seemed juvenile and embarrassing.

  “Is this the tooth I gave you?” she gasped and I couldn’t believe she actually remembered that shit.

  I shrugged, realising my heart was beating like a war drum and I was unable to blink as I watched her.

  “I had this ‘really cool’ plan of giving it to you when I found you. I had a whole speech planned as well.” I snorted derisively at my idiot younger self. There was a reason that kid was a virgin.

  “What was the speech?” she bounced in my lap and I groaned as she ground over my dick.

  “I don’t fucking remember.” But I did. Every stupid word. Because I’d gone over it a million times in my head, practising it as if that would make it any more likely she’d decide to be mine once I found her.

  According to Chase, she’d already picked Maverick back then anyway. And I’d been so far out of the running regardless, I’d probably never been in the race.

  “You do,” she insisted, but I grabbed her ass, squeezed it hard then dumped her back in her seat.

  “I don’t,” I said, tossing her a smile.

  “Liar, liar,” she sang but I ignored her. She wasn’t gonna get those words from my mouth ever. If I could erase them, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

  I started the engine and turned the car around, heading back down into town. We were soon pulling up alongside The Mile and I parked up outside the Whirlpool Launderette. I jumped out and Rogue followed as I popped the trunk and took out the two sacks of laundry from the club. Kitty was supposed to be doing it tonight, but she was off sick – cough chlamydia cough – and I didn’t mind getting the job done.

  Rogue followed me through into the brightly lit launderette. It was a twenty four hour place run by a Mexican family who didn’t mind me and my girls bringing all kinds of dirty outfits down here to launder. Ana Maria even dry cleaned anything that couldn’t go in the washing machine like corsets and outfits with sequins and tassels.

  “Hola, Ana Maria!” I called out toward the back room, but there was no answer.

  I shrugged, heading past the row of dryers that ran down the centre of the place to the wall of washing machines on the left. I filled two machines and set them running, turning back to find Rogue sitting up on the dryers, her golden legs hanging down, her sandals discarded on the floor.

  A radio was playing pop music and as the song changed onto a slow one, the sound of Past Life by Trevor Daniel and Selena Gomez filling the air, I smirked at Rogue and pulled her to feet.

  “Dance with me,” I demanded, looping her hands around my neck and brushing my fingertips down the length of her arms, running them along her sides until I was gripping her waist.

  “How’d you get so confident, J?” she asked as my fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt circled against her warm skin.

  “Practise.” I shrugged, letting my hands fall from her back and dropping them down to cup her ass.

  I tugged her tighter against me and her fingers pushed into my hair as her hips rocked to the music and the denim of her skirt chafed against the crotch of my sweats. My cock was jerking happily as I pulled her even closer, letting her feel how hot she got me
and her fingers knotted in my hair tight enough to make me growl.

  “How did the whole escort thing start?” she questioned and I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I thought about that.

  “Well, I guess I got hot before I realised I was hot. And when I was eighteen, Mrs Blackwell who runs the bait shop offered me fifty dollars to suck me off and I figured it was easy money. So I said fuck it and let her. After that, I guess things just kinda escalated. I realised I needed the practise if I was ever gonna get a girl off, so I just started finger fucking girls at parties until I’d figured out how to make them come in less than a minute. Rumours spread of how good I was until I had girls approaching me for it. And I said sure, so long as they paid me.”

  “That’s so fucked up,” Rogue said, frowning.

  “Nah,” I said. “If it wasn’t transactional, I don’t think I coulda done it. And I needed to get over…well, you.”

  “JJ…” Rogue’s brow creased and I squeezed her ass to try and get her a smile out of her, but it didn’t work.

  “Don’t pity me, pretty girl,” I growled. “I would have been a virgin forever waiting for you if I didn’t just rip the band aid off eventually.”

  “Who was it?” she asked, looking like she half wanted to know and half didn’t.

  “Some rich chick from the upper quarter,” I said, chewing the inside of my cheek again. That night had been a special kind of fucked up.

  “Was she someone we knew?” Rogue asked, her fingers still in my hair and giving me the good kind of shivers.

  “Nah,” I said. “She was like forty so it’s not like we would have mixed with her.”

  “What?” Rogue gasped, stopping dancing and gazing at me in horror. “How old were you?”

  “Nineteen.” I didn’t like her looking at me like that and I turned away from her, heading over to the washing machines as if to check if the load was done. But I really just needed to avoid the horror in her eyes.

  “J, please tell me she didn’t pay you for it,” Rogue implored like she cared. But why would she care? It was a long time ago. It didn’t matter. Dead and buried. Just like Axel and Clive and our dreams.