Inferno Anthology

by Gow, Kailin

  By the end of the day I felt like a princess. I knew the spa was exclusive and expected good service, but Jack had made sure that my every need was taken care of. I was positive that the staff had to have been advised of who I was because they couldn’t possibly be that attentive to every customer every day in the same way as they were to my mom and I. We sipped champagne and wore plush robes that were embroidered with our initials and were truly treated like royalty. The young girl that did my manicure was sweet, but chatty. She told me that the spa had brought in one of the top celebrity stylists for our blowouts and that Mr. Heston had selected our masseuses personally. I was impressed, but not surprised, at the lengths to which Jack had gone. I was starting to realize that one of the reasons that he was so successful was that he didn’t do anything halfway.

  I hadn’t even realized that the suite had a doorbell until it rang promptly at 7pm. Of course I was running late and Jack was right on time. I opened the door and flung my arms around his neck, giving him a big kiss and hug. Jack smiled down at me. “What was that for?”

  “It was for being the best boyfriend ever. We had the best day. Thank you, baby.” I reached up on my tippy toes and kissed him again gently on the lips.

  “Well, I really hope that you are, Jack, with the kind of welcome you just got.” I heard my mom speak from behind me and blushed at the thought of what she had just watched me do. I must have looked like a schoolgirl running up to the boy that she had a crush on.

  Jack smiled his insanely perfect smile, extending his hand with one arm and keeping the other wrapped tightly around my waist. “You must be Mrs. St. Claire. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Good God, I decided right there and then that my children were going to the same boarding school that Jack had attended, just so they could come out with his incredibly alluring manners.

  Mom shook Jack’s hand and I could swear she blushed a little bit as she said, “Call me Renee, please.”

  “Renee.” Jack nodded and released her hand.

  “Go get ready, honey, you are always late. I won’t tell Jack too many stories about your childhood if you hurry.” Mom laughed, but I knew she wasn’t kidding.

  I gave her a silent ‘I’ll kill you if you do’ face as I walked by and then rushed to finish getting ready. I heard Jack and mom laughing a few times in the other room and, although I was afraid of what horrible childhood stories she was sharing, the sound of them laughing together warmed my heart.

  Jack stood as I entered the room. The only time the man didn’t have perfect manners was in the bedroom. In the bedroom he was domineering and commanding, such a stark contrast in some ways to the please-and-thank-you gentleman that stood before me. Although, if I really thought about it, both bedroom and gentlemanly Jack had one thing in common: they took care of me.

  Dinner was incredible, even though mom shared too many embarrassing childhood stories. She told Jack about my penchant for streaking when I was four, and about the time that I took off all my clothes and rode my bicycle down the entire block naked. Apparently, I had only made it about a dozen houses before the old lady next door called to report that she was upset at my lewd behavior. I knew from Jack’s face during that particular story that I’d be hearing more about my little naked endeavors later.

  Mom didn’t grill Jack as bad as I thought she would, but she seemed satisfied at the answers she got to the questions she did ask. The glass of wine with dinner, coupled with the massage earlier in the day and how well things were going, allowed me to relax. But my relaxation didn’t last long. Every muscle jumped back into a tight ball of stress the minute I saw Jack’s father walk into the restaurant. I silently said a prayer that he wouldn’t see us, but God wasn’t listening.

  Jack’s back was to the door, so he had no warning until he was standing beside our table. “Sydney, how nice to see you.” I watched as Jack’s face changed, his smiling eyes shuttered, and his jaw tensed as he turned with a face of steel. “Son, it wasn’t enough to take out one pretty girl this evening, you had to bring her sister too?”

  Shit. I had to do something. If Jack had to say more than two words to his father I knew it wasn’t going to end pretty. I jumped in headfirst, “This is my mom, Renee, Mr. Heston.” My mom turned to face Jack’s dad and I watched her take him in. He was an older, more polished-looking version of Jack. Jack was sexy with chiseled features, but there was still something about him that was rough and rugged. His dad, on the other hand, screamed old money and polish and didn’t look like he’d ever had a fistfight in his life. But he was still a very handsome older man, a fact clearly not lost on my mother.

  “Didn’t I tell you to call me Jack, Sydney? The way you two have been inseparable lately, you might be calling me Dad one day.” His father winked at me with his comment.

  Jack’s father held out his hand to my mother and I thought Jack was going to explode when he brought my mother’s hand to his mouth and gently kissed the top of her hand. Luckily my aim was good, and my foot met Jack’s shin under the table just as he was pushing his chair back to get up. He looked at me and I sent him warning eyes, begging him to stay put. I was shocked that he listened.

  My mother blushed a bit “Nice to meet you, Mr. Heston.”

  “You too, my dear. I can see where Syd gets her beauty from.”

  Shit, Shit, Shit. From the look on Jack’s face, I knew he was about to blow and I had to do something quick. I stood awkwardly. “It was nice to see you Mr. Heston, umm Jack, you’ll have to excuse me. I was just going to go the ladies room before you walked over. Mom, why don’t you join me?”

  Mom looked disappointed to be dragged away from the debonair Jack Heston Sr., but she stood to go nonetheless. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Heston.” My mom shook his hand again and I nodded, knowing a physical touch from his father to me could send Jack right over the edge.

  “Be right back, Jack.” I smiled and widened my eyes to Jack, another attempt at a warning.

  I took as long as I could in the bathroom, trying to wait out whatever storm had to come to pass in the restaurant. My mom didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about Jack’s dad’s visit to our table, or, if she did, she didn’t say anything. Either way, I was grateful not to have to explain anything to her. I reapplied my lipstick, stalling for time, and then took a deep breath as we made our way back to our table. I was relieved to find Jack’s father gone and didn’t dare look around the restaurant for him, for fear finding him would cause him to reappear. Jack was sitting at the table and I noticed he had an empty small cut crystal glass in front of him that hadn’t been there earlier. As we sat, I realized that he had ordered a drink and downed it while we were in the restroom.

  “I ordered us dessert to be delivered to my suite. Renee said she wanted to see my floor.” His voice was harder than it had been earlier, but I knew he was trying for me.

  I mouthed ‘thank you’ to him and he responded with a small smile and nod of the head.

  Jack kept his hand at the small of my back and didn’t look back as we walked out of the restaurant. I saw his dad out of the corner of my eye, sitting at a table with a woman who looked at least twenty years his junior.

  After dessert and a grand tour of his penthouse, Jack walked my mom and I back to the presidential suite. My mom graciously said goodnight and went to her room to give us a few minutes of privacy.

  “You okay? You had me scared there for a few minutes when I saw your face when your father stopped by our table.”

  “I’ll deal with him later.” He buried his head in my hair and nibbled on my neck.

  I giggled. “Stop, my mother is in the next room.”

  “You could sneak upstairs after she goes to sleep,” Jack teased as he continued trailing kisses down my neck.

  I ducked out of his reach. “No way. I think she really likes you. I’m not messing that up,” I teased playfully as I walked around him and started to push him towards the door.

  Jack turned at the door and t
ook my face in his hands. “You think she likes me?” He could be so irresistibly adorable when he wanted to.

  “Yes, I think she loves you.”

  “I’ve never met a woman’s mother before.”

  I’d forgotten that he didn’t have any relationship experience and that things like meeting my parents would be first experiences to him. He’d just seemed so confident and secure that it was easy to forget that it was new for him. I adored that he cared if she liked him and that he was nervous about it. If it was possible, it made him even more endearing to me.

  “Well, mine loved you.” I reached up on my tippy-toes and kissed his nose.

  Jack kissed me chastely goodnight and I watched him walk down the hall. I could have sworn that he looked at the Kennedy suite and then back to me, confirming what I had wondered just the day before.

  Chapter 21

  Saturday night I didn’t mind going to work, but only because I knew Jack and Sienna were coming to the club. Sienna was bringing a few friends from her band and I was surprised when Jack had agreed to join them. Sienna had told me to invite Jack, but I never actually expected him to say yes.

  Sienna and her friends arrived first, and I could tell that the party wasn’t just getting started, it had been underway for at least a few hours. They were rowdy and loud, but it was just what the club needed. Sienna was clad in one of her usual club hopping outfits, four-inch high-heeled black leather boots that came to her knees, a black leather mini skirt, and a tight black Sinners concert t-shirt emblazoned with red sparkling sequins. I picked a song I knew she couldn’t resist and watched as she made her way to the dance floor. By the time the song ended, the number of people on the dance floor had doubled. Sienna’s energy could get a party at a funeral started.

  I couldn’t resist calling Sienna to the stage for a song. Of course, it didn’t take much to get her to oblige. I couldn’t remember Sienna ever turning down an opportunity to sing since we were kids. It didn’t matter where or when, she was always ready for a performance. I told the band what song to sing and the two of us took turns singing different parts. We hadn’t practiced the song together in years, but neither one hesitated when it was our part to sing. It just came naturally to sing with Sienna, as it always did since third grade. As we dove into the chorus, singing in perfect harmony together, I saw Jack watching us from the bar. I smiled at him and he smiled back as he raised his glass to me.

  The crowd loved our performance and I knew it was a bad time to take a set break. I should have kept the energy going by singing another dance song. But I wanted to say hi to the beautiful man on the other side of the room and show Sienna to the booth that I had reserved for them.

  Jack didn’t move as I walked in his direction, and his eyes never left me. I looked up to his gorgeous face as I walked, captured by his green eyes sparkling in the semidarkness of the club. His focus on me was searing. I didn’t say a word and neither did he. Instead my mouth reached up and went for his. It took less than two seconds for Jack to regain control of the kiss that I had started. He took my face in his hands and held my face where he wanted it as he kissed me senseless.

  By the time he broke the kiss my knees were weak. I was in the middle of the club where I worked and the man had me panting and breathless in twenty seconds flat. I should have known better than to start anything remotely sexual with Jack in public.

  “You looked like you were having a great time up there.” Jack’s thumb rubbed my bottom lip as he spoke.

  I took a deep breath to regain my wits. “I was. I really do love singing with Sienna.”

  Sienna broke into our cocoon, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. “I’d say get a room, but you already have a whole hotel full of them, don’t you?”

  Jack and I both turned to Sienna. “I do. But I have to warn off the hungry masses of men drooling at the two of you on stage somehow, don’t I? Jack’s words were said in jest, but I knew there was an element of truth in them. He was definitely an alpha dog that marked his territory to keep the pack at bay.

  “Well, don’t keep the masses from me, I don’t have a prince charming of my own to sweep me off my feet at the end of the night yet.” Sienna winked and reached up and kissed Jack on the cheek.

  Jack shook his head and smiled and Sienna introduced us to her friends. Some of them I already knew from the band, but there were a few new faces. After a few minutes, I excused myself and went back to rejoin the band. The night went by quickly and I loved watching my friends dance and enjoy my music. I tried not to focus on Jack, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t be in a room with him and not watch him. And I caught him watching me on more than just a few occasions too.

  The next afternoon I laid in bed with a bit of a hangover from the tequila shots I’d had with Sienna after I finished working. My head dangled sideways at the foot of the bed, the covers pulled up to my neck. An hour earlier, Jack had moved from his office and sat with his back against the headboard, typing on the keyboard of the laptop on his lap. “Do you really like this movie?”

  I turned to look at him. I loved to see him that way, wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans and his feet crossed at the ankles, his long legs splayed down the length of the bed. He looked so young and relaxed. I knew that it wasn’t a side of him that many people knew. “It’s a classic. Who doesn’t love Ghost?”

  “Babe, men don’t like Ghost.”

  “They don’t?”

  “No, they don’t.”

  “And you speak for all men?” I rose an eyebrow inquisitively.

  “I do.”

  I crawled up the bed, straddling his legs. “What do men like then?”

  Jack grinned and folded down his laptop.

  “You, naked and the TV off.”

  I pressed my pelvis down and felt his erection stabbing into my cleft. “Is that all men, or just you?” I teased as I rolled my hips.

  Jack leaned up and firmly gripped my ribcage. “There will be no other men seeing you naked.”

  I leaned in and bit his ear gently before I whispered, “Because I belong to you.”

  The following Monday was Jack’s birthday and I wanted to surprise him, but what do you get a man with unlimited resources and a personal shopper with exquisite taste? I struggled for almost a week and decided on a gift with meaning instead of something from a store that I couldn’t really afford and he didn’t really want. I was sure it was a great idea, until I was on my way to his office to surprise him with it, then I thought it was a stupid gift and I would embarrass myself.

  The guard greeted me at the door and recognized me from my earlier visit with Jack. I told him I wanted to surprise Jack for his birthday. He was hesitant to let me in, but did it anyway when I reassured him that it was okay. I passed a few people on the way to Jack’s office door. All of them said hello and seemed to remember me. I was feeling confident until I stood in front his closed office door. I suddenly felt like an intruder and wasn’t sure if I should knock or walk in. I decided to knock.

  Jack yelled to come in and I opened the door. He was leaning against the front of his desk with his arms folded and Jenna sat in front of him, too close for my liking. His face showed surprise at my visit, but he made no attempt to hide anything he was doing. Jenna turned and saw me, giving me a cunning smile.

  “Syd, is everything okay?”

  I took a few steps inside, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. “I … I … I just wanted to surprise you with a birthday present. But I see that you’re busy. I’m sorry I interrupted.” I put the wrapped package down on the couch in his office and turned for the door, desperately needing to get out of there. It was suddenly as if all the air in the building had been sucked out and I needed to make it outside for my next breath.

  Jack caught me at the end of the hall, grabbing onto my arm. “Syd, what’s going on? Where are you going?”

  I couldn’t turn to look at him for fear I would lose it. All of the memories came flashing back from the day that I’d
walked into Michael’s office and found him leaning against his desk, his secretary on her knees, her head bobbing as she took him in. I struggled to free myself from Jack’s grip and ran as fast as I could to my car.

  Jack stopped calling after the first day. I don’t know why I wouldn’t return his calls. I knew I was acting childish, but I wasn’t ready to speak to him. I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to his voicemails. Three days later I was still dragging myself around feeling sick and sorry for myself. I had dark circles under my eyes and my face was swollen from crying. My hair was matted from the tossing and turning the night before and I didn’t have the desire to brush it. I forced myself to undress and turned on the hot water to steam up my tiny bathroom. The knock at the front door startled me, as I was about to step into the shower.

  I threw on my robe and went to the door to find Jack on the other side.

  “What do you want?” My voice was low and lackluster.

  Jack stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “I don’t know what the fuck I did, but I’m going crazy, Syd.” I looked up at him, seeing him for the first time in three days. He looked like I felt. The impeccably groomed man with the pale sparkling eyes was a disheveled mess. He had three days of scruff and his skin was sallow and eyes dim.

  “I can’t do this, Jack.” My voice was a whisper and the words began to break as I spoke. Jack took a step toward me and I put my hand up, keeping him at distance.

  “What can’t you do, Syd?” His tone was angry and he took another step closer.

  I took another step back and spoke to his chest. “I can’t close my eyes and not see what is going on around me just because it makes life easier for me.”

  Jack took another step closer and lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Look at me. What do you think is going on?”