Hook, Line, and Garter (Bitches and Queens)

by James, Rachael

  “That’s not what I meant,” Sam said. He stood up and walked towards her. Reaching for her hand, he held on to her fingertips and went on, “This is all your fault, you know. Had we went about this the proper way—we meet, I bring you back here, we fuck like crazy, wake up the next morning, fuck again before breakfast, over brunch decide there might be something there, and I ask you out on a date—but no, you insisted we become friends first. Now, you’re stuck with a new lover who knows everything about you. And last night, I knew you liked him. I could tell by the way you looked at him, smiled at him, leaned forward when he spoke to you, and I was afraid. It was the first time I realized that I could lose you.”

  Kate entwined her fingers with his. “Lose me?” she questioned doubtfully. “Where would I go?”

  Chapter 14

  Kate hadn’t come for Sam, and she certainly hadn’t come for Hannah—well, maybe to spite her. She still found the whole idea absurd. It wasn’t as if she didn’t adore him, love him more than anything or anyone else in her life, but he was only turning twenty-seven, not exactly a major milestone. Whatever happened to the good ol’ days when birthday cake, ice cream, and few helium balloons sufficed? Not for Princess Sam, only a red-carpet gala would do.

  In his defense, he wasn’t exactly a member of the planning committee. As far as Kate knew, he knew nothing about ‘the event of the season; the glorious event to ring in another year of Sam’, Finn Sullivan’s words, not hers. Not only a fantastically flamboyant event planner, Finn also served as a mediator between Kate and Hannah. Had it not been for Finn, there would be absolutely no way Kate would be sitting in the outdoor café along the river walk with Hannah. Knowing what she now knew about Hannah, hell would freeze over before she was ever alone with that woman. Sam might maintain a relationship with her, but as far as Kate was concerned, the less of Hannah the better. Still, Kate realized that if she hadn’t contributed something, she would never hear the end of it, although her contribution would be superfluous at best.

  The venue, entertainment, theme, food, drink, and decorations had already been arranged. They were meeting two weeks before the glorious event for a final dress rehearsal. So far, Kate’s only duty was to get Sam there on time.

  The trio chatted over a lunch of chicken-enchilada soup, and fajitas served with fresh guacamole, rice, and black beans. Of course, Hannah dominated the conversation, leaving Kate out of most of it. She didn’t particularly mind, but Kate did wonder why Hannah had been so insistent that she be part of Sam’s celebration if she wasn’t going to listen to anything she might have to say about it. Halfway through her first margarita, Kate discovered the theme and knew at once that it wouldn’t work.

  “Sam doesn’t like the circus,” Kate said in between sips.

  “What?” Finn questioned blankly. “Who doesn’t love the circus?”

  “Sam,” Kate answered with a shrug.

  “What are you talking about?” Hannah hissed. “Sam loves the circus.”

  “Whatever, Hannah,” Kate dismissed.

  Hannah’s beautiful features contorted. She was such an odd creature. One moment—stunningly gorgeous, and the next—downright hideous. Her mercurial emotions flipped the switched. Kate sensed an oncoming meltdown, and wouldn’t have been surprised if a few of the tables didn’t end up overturned. At the very least, she was expecting a few shattered dishes.

  Finn must have felt the coming storm too because with his most soothing voice he coaxed, “Hannah doll, nothing is set in stone. I’ve worked bigger miracles than this.”

  “Fuck you, Finn,” Hannah growled. “I spent twenty grand on a carnival troupe. What the fuck am I supposed to do with a bunch of little people and trapeze artists now?” She turned her lethal glare towards Kate. “And why the hell didn’t you mention this before now?”

  “You never asked,” Kate retorted calmly as she dipped a chip in the salsa.

  “Regroup, brainstorm,” Finn flustered as he rapidly snapped his fingers. “Suggestions?”

  “I don’t know…what about a disco theme?” Kate offered as she munched on her chip.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Hannah screeched loudly, causing several of the other diners to look their way.

  “Retro seventies peaked three seasons ago. As much as I hated it, disco really did die another death,” Finn murmured. “Wait a minute!” he exclaimed excitedly and squeezed his eyes tight. “I’m getting something here…” he whispered, sounding more like a medium than a party planner, “…picture this—burlesque. Not Paris burlesque, but a 1950s Bourbon Street revival. Where glam meets raunchy, a splendor where all walks of life mingle together. We’ve never done it before, Hannah, and it would require only a few alterations.”

  “I don’t know,” Hannah simpered indecisively.

  “Come on, Hanny, you know Sam would die for it,” Finn purred. “And I’ve got the most luscious, raven-haired beauty in mind for the opening festivities.”

  Crisis averted. The year of Sam was a go full steam ahead. Finn had been so enthusiastic that it was hard not to get a little excited. Only after she had left to go back to her apartment did Kate think to herself, Did I seriously just hire strippers for my boyfriend’s birthday? How did that ever sound like a good idea? Well, what was done was done. Kate couldn’t change anything now even if she wanted to, without risking life and limb as Hannah would strike first and look afterwards. Hopefully, Sam would be too taken by the costume Finn promised to send over to notice the naked raven on stage.

  When she got home, Kate was relieved to discover it empty. It gave her a moment to breathe. The last couple of weeks she seemed to need these moments more often. She didn’t know what was going on inside her brain. It didn’t feel like her normal attacks. This was different. It didn’t make any sense. Her life was perfect, or as close to perfect as she would ever be able to find on this earth. She was crazy, madly in love with a wonderful man who felt the same way for her. She loved her new job. She had everything she ever wanted. She was living her dream life, yet she was troubled by a persistent inkling of dread. It was more irritating than overwhelming, but try as she might, she couldn’t make it go away.

  At her wit’s end, Kate confided in Jenner. Jenner thought Kate was stressing herself out about Sam’s birthday. She wasn’t worried about the surprise party as that was Hannah’s baby, but she didn’t know what to get for a man who has everything he wants. Admittedly, she had had a few sleepless nights while her thoughts crashed about, trying to thinking of something. A big part of the birthday stress was because Sam had always been so considerate of the gifts he gave her. Even the silly antacid tablets were purchased because of their earlier conversation. Yet, Sam had never once said he desired to have anything but her. Sexy lingerie was more of nightly occurrence than a birthday present. All creative thoughts shut down the more she struggled.

  Jenner found her staring blankly at the television, which wasn’t turned on. “Let me guess, birthday thoughts,” she said as she flounced over and sat down beside her.

  “I’ve got nothing,” Kate groaned.

  “He can’t be that hard to shop for. For goodness sake, you could look in both the women and men’s department,” Jenner said.

  “I don’t want to get just anything. It should mean something.”

  “Think,” Jenner suggested. “Surely, there must be something he said he wanted.”

  “Except for his obsessive worrying about my overall health and well-being, Sam has been remarkably undemanding. The only thing he ever said was that he wished he knew me before the panic attacks.”

  “That’s it,” Jenner exclaimed excitedly. “Remember last Christmas, Aunt Jane said she reformatted all those old home videos. Ask your mom to send you copies and we can make him a movie—The Story of Kate.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said indecisively. “It seems…”

  “What?” Jenner challenged. “You can’t say it isn’t a thoughtful present.”

  “Not that, cheap.”

&n
bsp; “Sam doesn’t care about that kind of stuff. Besides, even though his company is paying you a killer salary, you still would not be able to afford the designers he wears,” Jenner said.

  “Who wants to watch a bunch of boring old home videos?”

  “You’re kidding, right? You could film yourself reciting the U.S. Constitution and he would be completely enthralled,” Jenner snorted.

  “Embarrassing,” Kate finally admitted. “It seems a little embarrassing. I don’t want Sam seeing evidence of my awkward tweens.”

  “You don’t think he will eventually? Your mother pulls out those old videos every holiday or family gathering.”

  Two weeks later, on Sam’s actual birthday, Kate had him all to herself. After they finished eating his favorite meal, which Kate spent the afternoon preparing, they sat together on his balcony, sipping a vintage wine as dusk settled on the city below them.

  “I hope you weren’t too disappointed with your birthday,” Kate said.

  “Disappointed,” Sam scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

  Kate sat her wine glass down on the table between them. “It’s just the two of us and not some grand extravaganza,” she explained.

  “Oh, you mean my surprise party,” Sam smiled.

  “What surprise party?” Kate asked innocently.

  Sam answered with a shrug, “After all these years, it’s not exactly a surprise anymore—although I am stunned that Hannah convinced you to help.”

  “I didn’t,” Kate admitted. “At least, not very much. I won’t say anything else about it, but I did save you from spending the evening with a bunch of clowns.”

  “Good Lord, a circus theme,” Sam grimaced. “Thank you, I would hate to spend the night hiding in the bathroom. It’s completely ridiculous, over-the-top, but it’s Hannah’s thing. I think she enjoys it more than I do.”

  “I doubt that,” Kate teased. “Sam in all his glory. It has been awhile.”

  “It has,” Sam answered with a slight twinkle in his eyes. “I do have a very tolerant girlfriend, but I imagine coming home every night to that might test even the holiest saint.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate murmured. “I was always rather fond of your other self.”

  “I know,” Sam laughed. “Do you know how insane it feels to be jealous of yourself?”

  “Were you?”

  “Of course,” Sam said. “When I played the role, I got to have some part of you. A part which I very much adored, but I wanted more. I didn’t think I would be able to have any of you without the makeup, but got to the point when I couldn’t stand it. I hated having to pretend to be someone I wasn’t to be with you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kate whispered.

  Sam blinked in surprise. “For what?”

  “That you had to do that for me.”

  “You didn’t make me do anything,” Sam said as he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “It wasn’t as if you purposefully set out to steal my heart. If I remember correctly, just the opposite was true. Every time I slipped, you put up your invisible wall of defense.”

  Kate looked up sadly into his eyes. “You said you were fine.”

  “Fine is a relative term, and I don’t think you can die from blue balls,” Sam teased.

  “I wish it could have been different.”

  “Had I declared my undying affection on our third date, which was probably only a date in my mind, you would have run for the hills—as you should. I don’t regret a thing because it brought us here, and there isn’t any other place on this earth I would rather be,” Sam said.

  Kate bent over and reached into her bag. After she grabbed the present, she stood up and crawled into his lap. “I love you,” she said quietly and then pulled his lips down to hers.

  “Happy birthday,” she said and then handed him the gift.

  Chapter 15

  “Hello,” Sam declared with an impish delight once he saw the DVD. He scooted forward out of the seat. Reaching for her hand, he pulled her inside the condo. He didn’t stop until he was front of the flat-screen television set in the front room.

  As he hunkered down to switch on the set, Kate rushed, “You don’t have to watch it now.”

  “Yeah, right,” Sam dismissed. “This has to be the best adult film ever made—like I wouldn’t watch it right away.”

  “It’s not the kind of movie,” Kate hissed.

  Sam’s gleeful expression fell flat. “All right, now I might be a little disappointed,” he said after he put in the DVD and walked back to the couch. He then smiled, “Relax, I’m kidding. Come here,” he gently demanded and wrapped his arms around her as they sat down on the leather sofa.

  “The Story of Kate,” he nipped against her ear. “I love it already.”

  After he hit play, Kate cringed and felt herself dying a little bit on the inside. As the background music of all those fabulous sounds of the 90s played, Kate watched herself growing up on the screen. Thankfully, the fashions weren’t too atrocious, but like everyone else she had not avoided the horrible stage in life in between the years of cute childhood and reasonably attractive young woman. As if all the oily skin and blackheads weren’t enough to make her hide her head in shame, she had forgotten how incredibly mouthy she had been back then. Puberty hadn’t been easy on her, and God love her mother who had managed to capture some of her finest moments.

  Several times, Sam laughed so hard he had to hit the rewind button and watch them again. Kate glared when he wiped his eyes. “I’m laughing with you,” he snorted.

  “I’m not laughing,” Kate retorted.

  “Well, you should be,” he said when he hit the play button. “This is hilarious. Without a doubt, this is the best birthday present anyone has ever given me.”

  By the time they reached her junior year in high school, Sam’s levity had vanished. He watched the screen, transfixed by the sight of her in her cheerleading outfit. After the routine that ended with a double-back handspring, back tuck, he asked, “Do you still have that outfit?”

  “I’m sure my mother still has it somewhere, but it wouldn’t fit you,” Kate answered.

  “Not for me,” he chuckled. “I never knew you were that limber. I thought you said this wasn’t a porno.”

  “Only in your mind,” Kate laughed as she snuggled against him.

  Kate had been hesitant about including the last part of the movie, but she wanted to portray the full story. There wasn’t a lot of footage of her college years, and in most of the short shots she had covered her face, but it was still painful to watch the evidence of all that had been stolen from her. The once vibrant, bold girl now appeared like a lifeless zombie. As they were making the movie, Kate realized that her family must have known the truth. How could anyone witness such a dramatic transformation and not know something terrible must have happened?

  Sam grew silent. His commentary ceased, but he gathered her in his arms. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she felt his quiet strength wrap around her and fill her soul. Just knowing he was there with her gave Kate the courage to face the harsh reality. For years, she had denied the truth, but her denial had left a festering sore that could never properly heal. Yes, she had been raped. Yes, that monster had tried to destroy her, but he hadn’t because she was still here, here with Sam, ready once and for all to bury the zombie.

  As the credits started to roll, Kate leaned up and kissed Sam’s neck. “That is who Kate Logan was,” she whispered against his skin as her fingers trailed against his collarbone. “Your best friend…the woman who adores you…worships you…”

  Her hand grew more adventurous. She moved down to caress his heavy cock through his denim jeans. Just as she was about to unbutton them, something flashed on the screen that she hadn’t seen before.

  In bold, cursive script, it read For Kate and Sam because I love you both!

  “Wait a minute, what’s this?” Kate questioned.

  “I thought you made this.”

  “I did
, but Jenner must have edited it,” she explained with a frown.

  She watched the screen intently. Obviously, it was her, and filmed recently, but she couldn’t remember it. Why on earth would Jenner include a blip of Kate first thing in the morning with messy hair, still in her pajamas? From somewhere off screen, you could hear Jenner’s voice vaguely say, “Sam left that for you last night.”

  Kate’s eyes widen in recognition. Now she remembered the exact morning this had been filmed. It was the day she first met Sam. Damn, she thought Michael was just playing with Jenner’s phone. She didn’t know she was being filmed.

  “This is pretty boring. Let’s just fast forward through this part,” Kate said with a rush and tried to grab for the remote.

  “Oh no,” Sam laughed and held it out of reach, “I definitely want to watch it now.”

  On screen, Kate was looking down at a piece of paper in her hand. Her nose wrinkled with disgust. “Sam’s tips for the perfect party,” she said with a sneer before wadding up the paper and tossing it in the trash. “Kate’s tip for the perfect party—don’t invite Sam. Honestly, isn’t she driving you insane with this Sam stuff? I swear, if I have to hear about how fabulous Sam is again, I think I’ll start screaming.”

  “Huh, I hadn’t really noticed,” Michael’s voice responded from the phone camera.

  Kate covered her face with embarrassment. “I hadn’t even met you yet, and Jenner was slightly obsessed,” she explained.

  “You were vicious,” Sam said, sounding very serious and then smiled.

  As the mellow, soft sounds of a reggae song played, several still shots of the two of them flashed across the screen. They were nearly as revealing as the college films. Astonishingly enough, even from the beginning, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. How had she thought he was gay? Even more amazingly, how had she spent six months believing they were only friends? With every look, every touch, the chemistry was so sizzling hot that Kate wouldn’t be surprised if it burnt a hole through the flat screen. They were in crazy, mad love from the moment they met. Sam had been right about one thing. This movie was pornographic, or as close as a movie could be with two fully clothed actors.