The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson

by Paige Toon

  ‘You don’t have a maid, then,’ I joke.

  ‘Actually we do.’ He purses his lips together as he looks over at me. ‘She’s been ill since Thursday.’

  ‘Bummer.’ I’m being sarcastic.

  ‘Tell me about it.’ I think he is too. But then again, I don’t know him that well.

  He opens one of his drawers and roots around, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. I go over to the window and look out. He has a view over the garden and the city beyond. People are dancing by the pool now. Oh no, is that Lissa?

  ‘Please tell me that’s not Lissa,’ I say.

  A second later he’s right by my side, his arm brushing against mine and making my hairs stand on end.

  ‘That’s her,’ he says.

  ‘Damn.’

  He laughs softly. ‘She was quizzing me about you when you left last night.’

  ‘What? Why?’

  ‘When she saw you leaving with Johnny Jefferson.’

  My heart skips a beat. ‘What did you tell her?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  He cracks the bottle open and takes a swig, grimacing slightly as he swallows. He offers the bottle to me. I take it hesitantly. ‘Don’t you have any Coke?’

  ‘Whiskey and coke? You are a bad girl,’ he says in a slightly dirty voice that sends shivers up and down my spine again.

  ‘I don’t mean that sort of coke.’ I pull a face. ‘Coca-Cola, you idiot.’

  He laughs. ‘I know. Yeah, I’ll get you something soft to go with it.’ He rummages around in his top drawer again and pulls out a small hip flask, filling it up to the brim.

  ‘Go on, then, I’ll have a quick swig,’ I decide, nicking the bottle from him. I knock some back. Urgh, it tastes disgusting! ‘How can you drink it straight?’ I ask, coughing.

  He laughs and puts the cap back on. ‘I’m hardcore.’ He pockets the hip flask and I catch a glimpse of his tanned, toned navel before he tugs his T-shirt back down. Phwoar! ‘Come on.’

  I’d prefer to stay here alone with him, but I suppose it is his sister’s party . . .

  We go back out into the corridor to the stairs, just in time to see a woman reach the top.

  ‘Hi, you!’ she exclaims brightly. She looks to be about forty or so and is wearing a medium-length, multicoloured print dress.

  ‘Hey, Mom.’ Do I detect a slight weariness to his tone?

  ‘Who’s this?’ she asks, looking past Jack to me.

  ‘Mom, this is Jessie. Jessie, this is my mom.’

  I quickly step beside him to say hi. She’s slim and tall with a wide smile and dark wavy hair that comes almost to her waist. ‘Hello, Jessie,’ she says pleasantly, then to Jack, ‘Hurry on downstairs. Agnes was looking for you earlier.’

  ‘OK, Mom.’ Definitely weary.

  We step back while she passes us and heads along the corridor. Jack looks at me and rolls his eyes as we start to walk down. What’s the deal with them? I think she seems nice.

  We grab a couple of soft drinks on our way past the bar and Jack ducks behind a potted palm to top them up with whiskey. I try to keep a straight face as I wait for him. I look over to see Agnes talking to Lissa by the pool, along with that other girl from last night, Bryony.

  Jack reappears and Agnes chooses that moment to notice him. She calls and beckons him over. He takes a large gulp as we walk and I follow his lead. Whoa. I instantly feel light-headed. That was quick.

  Lissa is saying something to Agnes as we approach. She’s looking me up and down. Bryony turns around to scrutinise me, too, and I groan inwardly. I’m not sure any boy is worth this much girl bitching.

  To my surprise, Lissa’s face breaks out into a huge smile as we reach them, and her delight seems directed at me. ‘You’re Johnny Jefferson’s nanny?’

  Oh, shit.

  ‘You told her.’ Jack sounds accusatory as he speaks to his sister.

  Agnes looks guilty, while Lissa looks put out. ‘Is it a secret?’ she asks me.

  ‘Erm, no, not really.’

  ‘So, who’s looking after the kids tonight?’ she asks.

  ‘Meg and Johnny,’ I reply cagily.

  ‘What are they like?’ Bryony chips in eagerly.

  ‘Would you quit with the inquisition?’ Jack snaps. ‘Haven’t you ever heard of a confidentiality clause?’

  Lissa looks back at me and I shrug. Yeah, I bet Johnny’s staff would have had to sign one of those. Come to think of it, I’m surprised they didn’t ask me to sign one, although I would have been pretty pissed off if they had . . . I’m family, not staff.

  Jack takes my hand and drags me away from the gaggle of girls.

  I barely register the warmth of his grasp before he lets go. ‘I’m going to have to go and check on Brandon soon. He wants me to play my set next, but let’s just chill out for a bit.’

  We reach the steep slope leading to the second, lower level.

  Jack jogs down, holding his drink aloft, and turns to look back up at me.

  ‘I’m not sure my wedges will survive.’ I kick up my feet to show him my shoes.

  ‘I’ll catch you,’ he promises.

  ‘Oh, you know all the lines,’ I joke, but inside I’m swooning. I edge down the slope and then let momentum take over and run the rest of the way, trying not to spill any of my drink, but failing. He steadies me at the bottom and my laughter falters as I look up into his blue-grey eyes, my hand wet from sticky liquid that has sloshed over the side. To my embarrassment, I can’t help blushing.

  I pull away from him and shake my hand dry, then set off across the grass. There’s nobody down on this level – they’re all up by the pool or over by the games room – but we walk to the next slope anyway, sitting a few feet down and facing the city.

  ‘So Agnes is sixteen. How old’s your brother?’ I ask, nursing the remains of my whiskey-spiked cola.

  ‘Twenty.’

  ‘What’s his name?’

  ‘Drew.’

  Drew. Why does that name sound familiar? ‘Oh, Charlotte mentioned him at Michael’s party.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Any other brothers or sisters?’

  ‘Nope.’ He glances at me and raises one eyebrow. ‘This is a lot of small talk for someone who’s going home tomorrow.’

  ‘What would you rather do?’

  He grins cheekily.

  ‘Sorry, pal, I’m not that easy.’

  But right now, I wish I were. I take a sip of my drink and grimace. Even with the Coke, it tastes like shit. He chuckles and looks away. His side profile is so sexy.

  ‘It’s just the three of us,’ he reveals. ‘There are two years between each of us. My parents were meticulous about pregnancy planning.’ He takes a large gulp of his own drink, but doesn’t pull a face. ‘What about you?’ he asks.

  ‘I’m an only child. My stepdad can’t have children.’

  ‘No dad on the scene?’

  Eek! ‘Yeah, he’s around.’ And then I suddenly remember Barney and Phoenix. ‘Actually, he has two kids of his own, so I have half-brothers.’

  ‘You forgot you had half-siblings?’ he asks with amusement.

  Whoops. ‘He’s only recently remarried.’ I quickly change the subject. ‘What about your parents? When did they split up?’

  ‘They got divorced about eight years ago.’

  ‘And your mum has remarried twice since then?’ I’m unable to keep the surprise from my voice.

  ‘Things were messed up for a long time between my parents,’ he says. ‘This conversation is getting a bit heavy.’

  I fall silent, trying not to feel snubbed. I take a large gulp of my drink. The sooner it’s gone and I can get something else, the better.

  ‘Sorry,’ he says abruptly, picking up on my mood. ‘I don’t really like talking about it.’ He sighs and falls back on his elbows, sliding his feet further down the slope so that he’s stretched out. ‘It’s just that my dad was a bit of a bastard back in the day. Mom used to put up with a lot of crap. But I don’t
think he ever expected her to call it quits, to find someone else and file for divorce.’

  What, so now he’s opening up to me? ‘Was that Stepdad Number One?’ I ask tentatively.

  ‘Yeah. She and Rob only lasted a year, though. Then Dad came back on the scene, screwed around a bit more before she moved on again with Tim. He looks after her, which is what she needs – someone reliable. And rich.’ He doesn’t look happy. ‘They’ve been married for four years now.’ He delves into his pocket and pulls out a familiarly crumpled cigarette packet. ‘Damn,’ he mutters, realising he only has one.

  ‘What does your dad actually do?’ I finally get around to asking the question as he lights up.

  ‘He’s a singer.’ He inhales. ‘Used to be in a band.’

  ‘Which one?’ I watch him blow out the smoke and fight the temptation to ask him for a drag. After hearing what Johnny said last night about smoking, I’m starting to think it would be cooler to quit. The usual predictable lecture takes on a whole different meaning when it comes from one of the world’s most legendary bad boys.

  ‘Casino Girl?’ He says it like it’s a question, but he doesn’t need to.

  ‘I know them. My mum used to play their music.’

  ‘They haven’t done anything for a while,’ he tells me.

  ‘Johnny told me he knew your dad,’ I say.

  ‘Yeah, they know each other. Dad hung out with him and his crowd for a while, back around the time Johnny went solo.’

  ‘And your mum put up with him messing around?’

  He pauses. ‘Mmm. Agnes has been pretty screwed up over it. She won’t talk to Dad these days.’

  ‘Oh. That’s hard.’

  ‘Yeah.’ He falls silent, staring at the view. ‘Drew chose to live with Dad, so Agnes doesn’t speak to him, either.’

  So that’s why he’s not here tonight. ‘That must be really tough on you,’ I say.

  ‘It sucks,’ he says sombrely. ‘I hate being caught in the middle.’

  ‘I can imagine.’ So that’s why his sister was so keen for him to be at her party. He’s effectively her only sibling. She must depend on him a lot. I feel a wave of pity for her.

  ‘I don’t know why I’m talking about this,’ he admits suddenly. ‘I don’t normally.’

  ‘Maybe it’s because I’m going home tomorrow. You won’t have to see me again, so it’s easy.’

  ‘Hmm. Maybe.’ He looks across at me and my heart flips at the serious expression on his face. He looks at my lips and my heart begins to flutter.

  ‘Jack! There you are!’

  We whip our heads around to see Brandon standing above us. ‘You missed your DJ set, bro. Ryan swapped with you, so you’re on later, now.’

  ‘Oh, right. OK.’

  ‘Agnes wants us to kick off soon. You ready?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He gets up, and I do the same, dusting dead grass off my jeans. I wish we could stay here, just the two of us. Brandon flashes me a mischievous smile. ‘Sorry to drag him away, but he’s in demand tonight.’

  Jack’s raised eyebrow at Brandon doesn’t go unnoticed. I wonder if there was a double meaning to his ‘in demand’ comment. Is he talking about other girls? The thought makes my heart sink, but I won’t be around after tonight, so I guess it’s not really anything to do with me.

  Chapter 19

  I lean against the wall, keeping out of the way as I watch Jack and his bandmates hook themselves up to their equipment on the small stage. It’s pretty packed in here, now. More people have arrived and even more have come across to the games room from the pool terrace. I’m paying particular attention to Eve and the way she and Jack seem to be avoiding eye contact. They haven’t even said two words to each other since we turned up. I’m almost certain there’s something between them.

  ‘If you’re the nanny, how come you went out with Meg and Johnny last night? Who was looking after the kids?’

  Oh, God, it’s Lissa again. She leans against the wall beside me. I turn my head to face her, thinking on my feet. She just doesn’t want to let this go.

  ‘They got someone else in to help because they thought it might be nice for me to have a last night off,’ I tell her calmly.

  ‘But this is your last night,’ she points out.

  ‘They’re very kind,’ I say sweetly.

  The space is suddenly filled with the almost deafening strains of an electric guitar and I shoot my head around to see Jack, Brandon and Miles rocking the stage, while Eve nods her head to the music and hangs coolly off the mic stand. The party crowd has gone berserk. Agnes, in her hot pink dress, is standing right at the front, holding her arms aloft and jumping along to the beat. Eve stills and starts to sing staccato lyrics into the mic, pulling away and nodding her head while the music punctuates her words. Jack catches my eye and winks. I grin back up at him.

  ‘You know he’s only into you because you’re leaving, right?’

  Is she still here? I turn to face Lissa, wanting to put an end to her know-it-all attitude. ‘So Jack doesn’t do commitment? Well, that’s good, because neither do I.’

  Not strictly accurate . . . OK, I haven’t had a proper serious boyfriend, but that’s not because I don’t want one. Tom pops into my mind again, but even the memory of him doesn’t take the sting out of Lissa’s comment. Not that I want her to know that she’s got to me. I meet her gaze. My comment seems to have thrown her.

  ‘You’re suited for each other then,’ she says, huffily flicking her platinum blonde hair back off her face.

  Job done. Without another word, I push off from the wall and immerse myself in the dancing crowd – then I let myself go to the music.

  They play five songs, all of them potential hits in my opinion. The crowd moans when they finish playing, but the DJ almost instantly pipes the music back up again. Jack lifts his guitar strap over his head and props the electric guitar up against the wall, then jumps down from the stage, his eyes on me. Agnes catches him first, throwing her arms around his neck.

  I notice with a jolt that Charlotte Tremway is also here. She has her hand on Brandon’s chest and is staring up at him with a flirtatious smile. He sure doesn’t seem to mind. She pulls away and turns to Agnes and Jack, grabbing Jack’s face in her hands and pressing a kiss right on his lips. My insides prickle with jealousy and my eyes somehow find Eve in the crowd. She’s seen them, too, and I turn to watch her push her way through the people dancing and exit through the games room doors.

  Before I have a chance to process what I’ve just seen, I feel someone’s hands on my hips. I look over my shoulder to see that it’s Jack.

  ‘Hey,’ he says.

  I swivel round to face him, my emotions all muddled up. He grins down at me, seemingly unaffected by all the attention he’s getting. I don’t know what to think. I don’t like that he’s got a terrible reputation, but even that doesn’t stop me from being unbelievably attracted to him. He starts to dance with me and he’s so close and hot and sexy that I make an impulsive decision. I’m just going to enjoy tonight. Tomorrow all of this will be irrelevant, anyway.

  ‘I’ve got to go and do my set,’ Jack shouts in my ear after a while, his hand on my waist. He nods towards the DJ decks set up on the other side of the room. ‘You wanna come and help me?’

  ‘Are you kidding?’ I grin up at him.

  He smiles at me and takes my hand, making me feel even more jittery as he pulls me through the crowd. A couple of times he’s accosted by girls who are way too tactile for my liking, and who clearly pretend I’m not there. Jack is friendly, but not flirtatious and he doesn’t let go of my hand. We finally make it to the decks and he lets go to greet his mate, a tall, sandy-haired guy with headphones on. I recognise him from last night. Jack pats his chest and nods at me.

  ‘You remember Jessie?’

  ‘Hey, Jessie. Morgan,’ he says. That’s right. He takes the headphones off and passes them to Jack. Jack pulls me behind the decks as Morgan ducks away. Jack rifles through the records and qui
ckly pulls one out of its sleeve, being careful not to dirty it with fingerprints. He swaps it over with the one on the right-hand deck, and as the record on the left approaches its end, he expertly speeds his own choice up so the beats melt into one. Then he flicks a switch and his own song – ‘I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’ by Black Kids – seamlessly takes over.

  OK, I really want him to kiss me now.

  He nods at the records, indicating for me to take a look, and I dance along to the song as I rifle through them. I have no idea how to work the decks – although looking at him do it, I really want to learn – but for now I’ll stick to helping with song choices. I stop when I come to the Wombats and my heart flips at the smile Jack gives me.

  It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in an hour, and the time passes way too quickly. All too soon, Miles arrives to take over.

  Despite the laidback atmosphere, I’m feeling ridiculously strung out. I fancy Jack so much and I know I’m going to be on edge until his lips are on mine, but I know I have to chill out if I don’t want to put him off. Jack pulls me into the crowd and I let my inhibitions leave me and drape my arms around his neck as we dance. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Charlotte and Lissa looking over at us, but I don’t care. Right now it’s just Jack and me.

  I stare up into his blue-grey eyes, which look darker in this light, and he stares right back at me as every nerve ending in my body stands on edge. It’s like there’s an electric current between us. His toned chest presses up against mine and I feel his muscles ripple underneath his T-shirt as he moves. Then his fingers are in my hair, his palm cupping my jaw as he bends down and kisses me. My stomach cartwheels over and over as my lips open, our tongues touching as our kiss deepens. He’s such a good kisser. I feel dazed as he pulls away, his face still close to mine.

  ‘Shall we go to my room?’ His question comes with meaning and I’m a little shocked. I am not that sort of girl – I’ve never been with a boy in that way and I’m not about to lose my virginity to someone I’ve only just met – but God, I want to be with him alone, away from all this female attention.