Wheels of Steel, Book 2

by Pepper Pace

  ***

  Joyce Hamilton was in a funk. Chase had called her to inform her that he was giving Jason the money for the surgery. She ripped him a new asshole but he had held firm to his decision.

  “You need to second guess me now? After all of these fucking years of me doing this by myself, now you want to man-up and make decisions?! Thanks for your support, Chase. Whenever it’s something important you know exactly how to drop the ball.” She’d hung up the phone and called him an asshole at the top of her lungs. Now she was sitting at her favorite pub drinking rum and coke and smoking a cigarette.

  What do you do when your kid tells you to fuck off? And all of your life has revolved around that kid? She never thought the day would actually come when Jason would ever be able to actually say the words. Yes he had his tantrums and did things to spite her. But in the end a mother couldn’t want for a better son. Jason was smart, fearless, and he loved her. She felt tears prick her eyes. She swiped them away before anyone could see and then her phone rang. Her heart leaped at the familiar ring tone. Jason had programmed it to ring Purple Haze.

  She answered it quickly. “Jason?” He wouldn’t be calling her this soon unless something was wrong. Mother’s had a sixth sense—especially when it came to their only child. “What’s wrong?”

  “Mom…can I talk to you?” He sounded like he had at the age of nine when some asshole had done something to him that he couldn’t work through. Her heart sank as low as a mother’s heart could sink.

  “What happened?”

  “Robin.”

  “Did you two break up?” Fuck! She hoped not, because then it could very well be her fault. Or maybe they were just fighting. Hopefully they were just fighting.

  “No. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” She relaxed. They were fighting. Jason continued. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a man. How am I supposed to be a man if I…”

  “Jason? If what?”

  “If I can’t support her with anything other than Dad’s money, if I can’t defend her, if I can’t take her to a freaking restaurant without people looking at me like I’m on leave from a home for the disabled! Or that she’s my overworked caregiver! I want to do this! But I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Mom!”

  “Jason, what happened? Because last time I talked to you, you were all about being a man and forging ahead without me. What happened since then?”

  He surprised her by chuckling. “My girlfriend came over with bruises all over her because some security guard decided to manhandle her because she lost it when she found out that her old patient died. She came over here and there was nothing I could do. I can’t even jump in my car and drive over there and get to the bottom of it. I can’t wait for him to come out of work tonight so that I can be waiting in the bushes to fuck him up.” Jason expelled an amused voice. “The only thing I did was hold her while she cried.”

  It was quiet on the other end. For a moment Jason wondered if his mother had even heard him. Then she spoke. “When I discovered that you were being abused at home…” She sighed. “What was the thing that I did for you that you valued the most? Was it when I filed charges against the woman? Because she didn’t even serve any jail time. Was it when I threatened to break her fucking neck? Or was it when I held you in my arms and told you that it was going to be okay?”

  Jason frowned. He remembered being afraid for his mother; that she would do something that would result in her being thrown into jail. The fear of losing her was worth keeping it all a secret. But then he was so relieved when she picked him up and placed him on her lap and held him. They stayed like that for hours. He remembered feeling very safe.

  “I…I gotta go, Mom.”

  “Jason. When it comes down to it, what a woman really wants is someone who can kiss away her tears.” Jason hesitated.

  “I…I’m sorry Dad didn’t do that for you.”

  “I am, too.”

  Jason thought fleetingly of Raymond but couldn’t broach that right now. “I’m sorry…for everything. I don’t want you out of my life even if you piss me off.” She smiled grimly.

  “I know, son. I won’t ever kick you out of my life. I’ll leave you to do that…and then to come to your senses.”

  He nodded. “Okay. I love you, Mom.”

  “Did what I say help?”

  “Yes. Because I don’t think Robin has anyone to kiss away her tears if I don’t do it.”

  She smiled. “And you think that you don’t know how to be a man…”

  ***

  Belinda and Amberly arrived first, just after 4:30. Once Belinda had explained about Robin’s bruising the smaller girl was anxious to get there in case Jason had gone ballistic. But when he opened the door he was calm and collected, soothing chill music was playing softly and he gave them a crooked smile in greeting.

  “Um…” Was Amberly’s response. The girls entered and Jason told them to relax because Link hadn’t arrived yet.

  “Robin’s resting. I don’t want to wake her yet.”

  Belinda watched him steadily. Yeah he knew. And he was okay. He evidently hadn’t broken anything or anyone. She and Amberly exchanged relieved breaths without saying anything about what they knew. When Peter arrived a few minutes later he was surprisingly calm considering that this is what he had been working so hard for.

  They all grinned at each other like goofy kids. And even though their personal relationships had taken a beating over the last few weeks, none of that mattered at this very second.

  “What in the hell am I supposed to say?” Link asked with a huge smile.

  They all laughed at that.

  “You of all people ask that?” Jason said. Both of Link’s parent’s were attorneys. He was the most business minded of any of them. “Just don’t agree to anything until we discuss it with your parents.”

  “Agreed.” Jason handed Link the card and he used Jason’s home phone and put it on speaker.

  “Hello.” Came the cultured voice of Mr. J. Edelson.

  “Mr. Edelson, this is Peter Warrant and Jason Hamilton of Wheels of Steel. You gave us your card and invited us to call you.”

  “Of course. I listened to the CD earlier today. Excellent!” Jason grinned at the others. “But I wasn’t expecting your call until Monday, what a pleasant surprise.”

  “We weren’t sure when we should call.” Jason said and Link punched him in the arm. He scowled and rubbed his bicep.

  “It’s quite alright. As I indicated, I represent Akita Tom. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but your music is accessible in Europe. Your More Love is in heavy rotation in many underground clubs as well as several other mixes created by you and Mr. Hamilton-”

  “Please feel free to call us Top and Link.”

  “Certainly. You both are very talented. What I wondered is if you would be interested in creating a mix with Akita Tom?”

  Amberly couldn’t help it, she made a small squeak and Belinda had to cover her own mouth to keep herself from screaming.

  Robin suddenly appeared. She moved towards them in her stocking feet looking at them curiously. Her face was puffy from either sleep or from her earlier crying jag. Jason quickly gestured her over to him and she settled onto his lap quietly.

  “You want to know if we would be interested in making a mix with Akita Tom?” Peter repeated. His voice had gone up an octave but at least he was able to keep the tremble from being heard.

  “Yes. What we propose is that you work from your studio and Akita Tom works from his in Japan, with an audio and visual hookup that would allow you instant connectivity. We, of course, would loan you the necessary equipment and make sure that it is properly set up. If this sounds like something that you might be interested in then we can talk contracts, and of course, compensation.”

  Jason and Peter stared at each other. They both nodded at the same time. “That sounds like something we’d be interested in.” The conversation moved quickly from there. Mr. Edelson said that he�
��d fax a contract to Peter’s mom and dad’s house. He mentioned a no royalty, direct sell of the rights to the one song with an option for others that would include royalties. That was the deal clincher for Peter.

  Once they hung up, everyone cheered happily. They were talking over each other and speculating about how it would be to work with Akita Tom. When Robin stated that she didn’t know anything about his music, everyone rushed in to explain that he was a legend in Japan! He was like J Dilla, here. He worked with other popular artists and recorded under his own name as well.

  Jason quickly pulled up Akita Tom music. They had strange names like Mood lounge # 25, and Atmosphere at Second Life 8-2007. She tried to make sense of it.

  Peter explained that he recorded under his own name for internet radio. He also had created music within some of the online clubs in the game Second Life. It seemed so strange and confusing to her when they said that some of the people he worked with were star musicians for popular anime shows like Samurai Hokoshu and Gobhi and Goliath. It turned into a huge production to educate Robin on it all.

  They spent the evening watching anime, listening to anime music and listening to Internet radio. Whenever they came upon an Akita Tom song they’d cheer merrily. Robin really liked it. His music was very ethereal with Asian influences. It didn’t have the same hip hop feel that Wheels of Steel music encompassed, but there was something very modern about it. And when she saw pictures of him, she saw a nerdy white guy that wore glasses and that appeared to be in his thirties. She didn’t know why she always equated people that created music with being ultra cool…but she was beginning to discover that talent had nothing to do with what was on the outside.

  They ordered pizza and it turned into a big party. Even Peter and Belinda put their heads together and were talking quietly to each other. Amberly danced around happily snapping pictures and Robin relaxed enough to put her horrible day behind her and to enjoy her friends. Jason watched her carefully and she seemed okay, but he made sure to keep constant contact with her as much as possible.

  The party ended about eleven with Peter giving Belinda a ride home. No one had mentioned the bruising on her neck, and when she and Jason were alone they wordlessly prepared for bed and he finally asked her the question that had been on his mind all evening.

  “Still no period?”

  She paused in shimmying out of her jeans. “No, still no period.”

  “Do we…need to get a pregnancy test?”

  She fumbled with her shirt, not removing it, but twisting it nervously in her hands. “Yeah.”

  He placed his hands into his hair and Robin’s heart sank. It felt as if it was in the pit of her stomach at the look of misery on his face. Here he was about to make a name for himself and the last thing she wanted was to be a burden.

  “I’m sorry-”

  He looked up quickly. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” He moved to take her hand. “Absolutely nothing.” And he meant it. “Do you want to make love?”

  She nodded. “I need to make love.” She didn’t mean that she was aroused. She just needed to be close to him.

  He nodded. “I need you, too.”

  She crouched before him and using the technique to get him on his feet, she helped him to stand. He cupped her face suddenly and kissed her, his tongue slipping between her lips. The bed was directly behind her and she gently fell backwards allowing him to fall on top of her. He braced himself so as not to squash her and then he kissed her again, his hands moving quickly over her breasts. He pushed up her shirt and clutched at her breasts again, squeezing them through her bra. His hands quickly tugged at the thin material, lifting it until her breasts fell from the cups.

  Robin squirmed out of her shirt and pulled her bra quickly over her head. Jason watched for a few moments before he quickly pulled off his own shirt. The couple moved fast; Robin slid up the bed until she reached the drawer that had the condoms. They were down to the last two and she showed him the packages. He blinked and then lowered his head to her perfectly formed breasts. His mouth worked over one nipple while his fingers gently rolled the other.

  Robin gripped his head, her fists in his hair and she held him there at her breasts while he lapped and sucked. When her stomach began to hitch and roll with pent-up desire, she reached into his pants and gripped his very hard cock. Jason quickly helped squirm his way out of his pants and together they rolled the condom down his shaft.

  She spread her legs waiting for him to nuzzle there between them but he surprised her by pushing her over onto her belly. She felt his body on top of her, molding to her back. He ran his fingers along her crease, collecting her natural lubricant. His fingers continued its explorations until he was caressing the opening at her anus before he eventually moved downward to dip into her canal.

  Robin gasped and then Jason was gripping himself, guiding the head into her pussy from behind. Robin arched her back, loving the way his body felt covering her and then his hips began to pump against her rear, his cock going in and out of her slowly at first. She clutched the pillow to her, lifting her hips off the bed so that she could meet his thrusts.

  “Oh I love when you do that…” She groaned when he kissed between her shoulder blades. He ran kisses along her back and neck as he quickened his pace. In her mind, with the feel of him stretching her, Robin felt that they were one. She imagined that Jason had built a place within her body that now belonged only to him. With eyes closed she reveled in the feel of his touch, the feel of his lips and tongue as they traced across her hot skin. He squeezed her ass and she heard him groan and quicken the speed of his thrusts.

  It was true that her body had become accustomed to his girth and length, but there was still a painful friction that she associated with pleasure. And therefore, even though it hurt her, it was pain that she now craved because she knew that it would drive her to a mind blowing orgasm!

  She felt his body tighten and Robin knew that he was ready to cum. She released the hold that she held on the impending orgasm until all of her senses were flooded with the need to climax.

  Once he felt her muscles seize around him, Jason cried out and while gripping her hips firmly he pumped his semen into the reservoir tip of his condom. One day soon he would fill her belly with his semen but not today.

  They lay there like that; his body covering her back for a long while, condom sheathed penis still deep within her. Jason continued to kiss her neck and shoulders while she shivered. But then he became afraid that the condom would slip off so he gently withdrew from her body and Robin got up and deposited it into the garbage.

  Afterwards she snuggled in his arms and he kissed her temple. “Are you okay…you know, about Miss Lucille?”

  She looked up at him and then nodded. She thought that she was being honest, too. She just felt numb about it. “I’m so happy about Akita Tom.”

  He smiled. “Me too.” And then his smiled slipped away. “My Dad is going to pay for the pump.”

  “He is? That’s great!”

  “Yes.” He hesitated. “He came over and we had a long talk.

  Robin watched him closely. “Did you get stuff off your chest?”

  “No, but he did. I was just in ‘give me money mode’. It was hard to bite my tongue. But I appreciate the fact that he’s going to pay for it. Oh, and he wants to meet you.”