by Kim Cong
“I can’t do it, Paul. I won’t.”
“There’s a signing bonus of $250k straight up.”
I feel everything in me turn brittle.
“Jet?”
“I….” I turned the pork chops, buying time. “I’ll get back to you.”
“So you’ll think about it?”
My mouth was dry, my stomach hurt. Everything felt jittery. Tears stung the back of my eyes but I pushed the feeling down and said firmly, “I’ll call you as soon as I decide.”
“Tuesday.”
“What?”
“I need to know by Tuesday, Jet. Otherwise we cancel everything.”
“Okay.” I felt the pressure mount as I tried to end the call. “Okay, Tuesday. I’ll call you then, Paul.”
“Good girl. For what it’s worth, Jet, your parents, me, the band, even Courtney would be proud of you for doing this.”
A small part of my heart cracked. “Yeah, I’ll call you.”
“Bye, Jet Plane.”
“Bye.”
I hit the end button and stared down at the phone.
“Fuck.”
Jetta
Tuesday rolled around quicker than anticipated. Dinner on Saturday had been spent in quiet contemplation. I guess Pax had a lot on his mind as he never pressed me to talk. Instead, we ate in companionable silence on his deck, watching the sun go down. After we’d watched a movie, snuggled together on his recliner (I really needed to talk him into getting a lounge), before I was pulled to the bedroom where he started undressing me.
“What are you doing?” His beautiful green eyes were full of fire as they met mine.
“Making us feel good.” Pax slipped my shirt up my body, knuckles grazing along my stomach and ribcage. He pulled the shirt off, throwing it clear. My pants were unbuttoned and dragged slowly down my legs, lips kissing each inch of skin that was revealed. I stepped free, clad only in a bra and panties. Pax stood up and quickly undressed, leaving only boxer briefs in place. We stepped together, lips pressing urgently to any skin we could reach. His teeth sank into the soft tissue at my neck, eliciting a groan. His tongue laved the spot, sending hot pulses straight to my groin.
“Jetta….” His voice was rough with want and arousal. A hand slipped into my panties, pausing. “Will I find you wet?”
My eyes came to his. “Try it and find out.”
A finger gently, slowly pressed in. I whimpered, thrusting my pelvis toward him and Pax let out a small laugh.
“Oh, princess. You are soaking.” His lips clashed with mine, hard, needy. I nipped at his lower lip, licking away the sting. A rough curse breached his lips as I was boosted up and carried to the bed.
His underwear was gone and I was quickly stripped as he continued to tangle his tongue with mine. We were each fighting for dominance, both of us knowing he would win.
“Fuck.” I arched my back as his fingers stroked my sweet spot. “There, Pax. Right there.”
Lips closed over my nipple as I gave in to the sensations he drew from me. His lips slipped down my body, pressing urgent hot kisses to different areas, paying attention to any spot where I showed a reaction. He was learning the feel of me.
I was unable to do more than moan and squirm. Finally, his mouth met my pussy, tongue warm as it lashed at my clit.
“Pax!” My fingers burrowed into his hair as he brought me to my peak.
Abruptly, he stopped, surging up the bed to pause, his cock on my stomach.
“I want you to suck me.” The words sent a thrill of desire racing across my skin.
“Okay.”
We swapped positions, he on the bed, me hovering over his groin. With a small smile, I grasped his cock in my hand, holding it rigidly in place. It was hot and large and I felt delicious satisfaction that I could turn him on. My tongue darted out, tasting the tip. Salty, hot, and tasting of Pax. My lips slipped down, reaching the crown. A hand threaded into my hair, holding me in place.
“God, Jet. Fuck, baby.” I grinned a little as his eyes drifted to half-mast.
“You going to let me come in your mouth, pretty girl?”
I shrugged, my mouth still around his cock, intrigued by the idea. Instead of pulling back, I moved downward. It took me a while but I found a pace, lots of tongue, the hand around his base, up and down. As he got closer, his hand tightened in my hair, pushing me down gently. I tried to take him deep and felt myself choke. Immediately, Pax pulled out and away. I murmured a protest but he sat up, pulled me up and then positioned me so I was straddling him, my centre pressed to his cock.
“Oh.” I moved a little, my hands going to his shoulders to balance. “Ohhh...”
“Change of plans.” His left hand moved to his cock, slid a condom on and then guided it into me. I slid down, filling myself with his length.
“I’m going to come in you.”
I started to rock, my pace frantic. It took us a few tries to find a rhythm that both of us liked but once we did we fell into it. My mouth was on his, our lips barely kissing as grunts and groans burst from them.
“Pax—”
“Come, baby.”
I did. Hard. I bit into his shoulder, pulsing around him. I heard him groan as his hands gripped my hips, holding me while his cock thrust up.
We collapsed on the bed, tangled in each other, and as sweat cooled on our skin, we fell asleep.
We spent most of Sunday in bed, wrapped in each other. I tasted every inch of him. His pecs, his six-pack, the dimples at the base of his back. And Pax returned the favour. It was lazy, it was sweet and it made me question how I could trust this man with my body, but not my heart.
I fell asleep with no answers.
Monday I was relegated to spending the day at his house while Luc or Ben, another of Pax’s ex-army recruits, stood watch while workmen came in to measure, build and then replace the door I had destroyed.
After the workmen were gone, Ben locked the house down and I was left to wait for Pax to get home. He called at 7:00 p.m. to say he was going to be late. That he had some things to take care of and to eat without him. By 10:00 p.m. I was tired and completely over thinking Paul’s offer.
Pax woke me briefly in the early hours of Tuesday, during which he got creative and I ended up on all fours while he pumped into me from behind, fingers on my clit as I bit down on a pillow to stop from screaming. I collapsed, thinking this was quickly becoming a new favourite position. Pax was already out the door by the time I woke up again.
By noon on the Tuesday, I was an emotional wreck. Unable to think of anyone who I had known for a while who could be objective, I packed my shit, dialled Pax, and asked for a lift to see Evie.
Luc showed up twenty minutes later and within an hour, I was at Evie’s bedside.
Today she was awake, sitting at a forty-five degree angle, a comic book open on one of those rolling hospital tables. The TV in the room was blaring a daytime talk show. She looked up as I entered.
“Oh, thank God.” Her smile was huge.
Seeing it, I burst into tears.
By the time I’d finally calmed down enough to string words together to form coherent sentences, Addie had arrived and was handing out chocolate bars. With her make-up impeccably applied (hot red lips, beautifully winged eyes, soft blush), her hair in place (let out, softly curled, falling across her shoulders and down her back) and her Betty Paige navy blue wiggle dress with matching kitten heels, Addie was the most composed of us. She’d sashayed through the door, hips swaying seductively, holding her cute matching handbag in the elbow of one arm, and a plastic bag in the other.
“Mama’s here now, darlings. Everything’s going to be alright.”
She handed her purse to Luc, who stood against the wall at the end of Evie’s bed, watching us both cry. I didn’t know when Evie started but at some point she’d also begun crying. I sniffled pitifully into the scrunched-up tissue in my hand as Addie started bag diving.
“Here.” She handed out chocolate bars to the both of us.
Luc moved quickly, snatching Evie’s away. Evie tried to reclaim her chocolate from Luc, twisting and reaching out to him before groaning, falling back and pressing a hand to her side. She’d had another operation two days before, the external screws were gone, swapped out for internal rods holding the bone together to support its healing. She was still in masses of pain but could at least sit now.
“Your chart says you’re still on clear fluids only,” Luc said as he unwrapped the top of the Kit-Kat Chunky and bit into it, smiling at her.
“I can describe the taste if that helps?”
Evie raised her middle finger, glaring. “I will get you back for this.”
Luc nodded, grinning unrepentantly. “I know.”
“Alright, ladies.”
Our eyes shifted back to Addie, who was standing with hands on hips, looking from Evie to me.
“You want to tell me what’s with the waterworks?”
I rubbed a hand over my aching eyes and sniffled again. “How did you even know?”
Addie grinned and jerked a thumb toward the only man in the room. “Luc text with a five-oh-one.”
“Five-oh-one?” I flicked my eyes to Luc, who was devouring the chocolate bar, but paused long enough to shrug one shoulder, then back to Addie.
“It’s his code,” Evie answered, a hand still on her injured side. “He has a crying woman code. Normally he uses it in work situations where we’ve got women who are being stalked or harassed and are trying to get our pro-bono services. He texts one of the girls. We come and sort it out for him.” Her eyes swung to Luc. “Not to mention the ex-girlfriends. I cannot believe you used a five-oh-one on us.”
“Evie—”
“No.” Her hand came up and out, palm toward him. “You can go and sit in that chair.”
She pointed to the one in the far corner of the room. “You sit, you read the newspaper and you pretend you cannot hear a word we’re saying.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “And if you say one word from today—”
“I get it.” He grinned at her and even though I was thoroughly satisfied with Pax, my girl parts tingled at the pure sex of his grin. “Calm your tits.”
“Calm my—”
“Would you prefer soothe your breasts?”
Evie flicked back the blankets on the hospital bed and started moving. “I’ll soothe your—”
“Fine.” He waved both hands in a downward motion, indicating for her to stop. “I’ll sit quietly—”
“Silently.”
“Silently in the corner and let you girls chat.”
We all watched as he made his way to the chair, made a big show of sitting in it, putting his legs up on the chair across from him, crossing his feet at the ankles and getting comfortable. He reached out and snagged a magazine off the windowsill beside him, snapped it open and proceeded to read.
Addie shook her head and then looked at the both of us, her eyes knowing.
“Okay. Who first?”
Evie and I exchanged a look. I knew my face looked as red and puffy as hers.
“You go. You’re the one who got shot.” She settled back in the bed with a grimace, gesturing for us to sit. Once we were all settled, one on either side of her bed, Evie sighed and started talking.
“I hadn’t really processed this whole thing yet.” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t regret what happened, but gosh it hurts. I have to be carried to the toilet or use a pan.” She grimaced. “I can’t even get myself up at night. I nearly wet myself waiting for help last night.”
“If you’d let me stay, that wouldn’t have been a problem.” My head twisted to look over at Luc, who innocently licked his finger before turning a page.
“Sorry? What was that? I think I heard a—”
“Evie.” Addie’s voice was warm with laughter but firm.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “Everything is sore. My back, my side, my leg. My brain is sore because I’m so bored. And yet, I’m tired. I am so tired. All I want to do is get out of this bed and walk but instead, I fall asleep. I can’t even wash myself. I can’t stand long enough to have a shower. A nurse had to come and sponge bath me.”
A loud thunk made us all turn again to the window, where Luc had dropped his feet to the floor and was leaning forward, magazine dangling from his hands between his knees.
“Which nurse? Tell me it was the hot one.”
Addie grabbed a pen off Evie’s side table and threw it at him. He plucked it out of the air and, grinning wolfishly, tucked it behind his ear, snapping the magazine open again and putting his feet back up.
Evie sighed heavily, a shudder running through her body. “I just want to go home.”
Addie reached over the bed and clutched Evie’s hand. “You’re going to be okay. You got shot a week ago.” She reached up and tucked a lock of limp hair behind Evie’s ear. “You don’t have to be strong, lady. We’re all here to catch you.”
I felt tears burn again, and reached over to clasp Evie’s other hand. “I wish I could take back that night.”
Evie shook her head, squeezing my hand. “No. I don’t regret or blame you. Don’t think that, Jet.”
“I can’t help it.” My voice caught. “I’m the reason this happened.”
“Shut up. You didn’t pull the trigger. So stop blaming yourself or I’m going to bash you over the head with my bedpan. Got it?” Evie looked angry and frustrated, but was also smiling through tears.
I offered her a shaky smile and nodded, feeling just a small part of my guilt ease. “I’ll try.”
“Good.”
“Besides,” this came from Luc in the corner. “We haven’t found any link back to you yet, Jetta. Could have just been a wrong place, wrong time thing.”
I nodded, not believing his words but trying to find comfort in them all the same.
“Anything else, babe?” Addie asked, touching Evie’s head. She shook it. “No. I’ll get over my frustration. Just be prepared for me to be angry and bitchy for a while, okay?”
We both nodded, squeezing her hands again.
“Sure there’s nothing else?”
Evie shook her head again.
Addie pushed. “Say, like the whole Luc is my boy—”
“Geeze, Addie. She said no. Deal with it.” Our heads swivelled toward Luc, who was glaring at us, then back to Evie, who shook her head and looked away.
“No. Just… not today, okay?”
We both nodded and were silent for a few moments. In unison, both their heads looked to me.
“Your turn.”
I sighed deeply and looked down and my hands. “I don’t know where to start.”
“How about the bit where you took a blowtorch to Pax’s house?”
My head shot up in surprise. “How did you—”
They both burst out laughing, Evie immediately stopping with a groan and a palm to her side. Addie and I surged up, rubbing her back. She raised a hand, waving us off.
We sat back down, eyes still sharp on Evie, who had paled, her lips tight, eyes scrunched with pain.
“So you blowtorched his study door?”
I could feel my face flush red with embarrassment.
“I can’t believe he told you that.”
Addie started laughing, shaking her head. “He didn’t. The guys did.” She gestured to Luc, who had been strangely silent during this exchange.
“I’m going to kill them.” I dropped my head into my hands, pressing palms into my eye sockets. “Dear God, I am never going to live this down.”
“Excuse me.” Evie smacked a hand on my head, causing me to leap a little in surprise. I looked up and she was frowning at both of us.
“Someone needs to fill in the cripple. I may be out of it, but a blowtorch? Come on, people. I need details!”
I shook my head again, sighing heavily. “Look, basically Pax got a call at stupid o’clock in the morning. Refused to take five seconds to tell me where he was going or what was happening and left. I lost my shit and tore his place a
part. Including, yes, taking a blowtorch to his secure room.”
Evie’s eyes bugged out. “No fucking way.”
I nodded miserably. “Yeah. He had to call a specialist guy in to repair it yesterday. It took them all day.”
“Oh, my God.” She started grinning. “You are officially my new hero. I don’t even know how to use a spanner, let alone a blowtorch.”
“Flashdance-level blowtorch skills aside,” Addie interrupted, saving me from uncomfortable explanations, “is this incident why you’re currently in a hospital room looking like someone just told you Auntie Flo will never leave your nether regions?”
Evie and I both made suitably disgusted faces, but it was Luc by the window whose reaction was most impressive. “There are three things a guy never wants to hear. And one is the workings of a woman’s downstairs area. So please refrain from such talk until the man in the room has left.”
“Grow up. You have sisters. And you’ve had girlfriends,” Addie pointed out.
“So? You don’t want to hear about my impressive bowel—”
“Point taken.” Addie interrupted. “If you don’t like it, leave.”
Luc shook his head, still looking down as his magazine. “Can’t. I’m on babysitting duty.”
I groaned. “That’s another thing I—”
“Wait.” Evie held her hand up. “Don’t get off track. Start at the beginning. Specifically at where we left off before the whole me becoming a tragic heroine and nearly giving my life so you could get laid thing. Let’s start there.”
I chuckled and nodded.
It took a while to explain to these women, with whom I now had an unbreakable bond, why I was so freaking crazy.
“The sex was… it was phenomenal.” I grinned at the girls and they both beamed back at me.
Addie laughed. “The man has the body of a sex god. I knew it would be good.”
Evie held her hand up for a high five. “Way to go, tramp. Getting that v-card stamped like a boss.” I high-fived her, laughing.
“He’s—”
“No,” Luc again interjected. “I don’t want to hear about the sexual prowess of my best friend and boss.”
“So don’t listen.” Addie threw another pen at him, which, still not watching, he plucked out of mid-air and tucked behind his other ear.