by A. m Madden
“Reverse psychology. I’m so on to her.”
“You think she’s acting like she isn’t interested?”
“Hell yes!” Jack lifts my shirt and kisses the swell of my breast. “Ev, I have to go.”
Jack smiles against my breast and takes my admission to Evan as his green light.
“Ok. I’ll talk to you in a few.”
I turn towards Jack while he is manhandling my breast. “Really? We have like five minutes before we pull into New Orleans. You can’t wait until we check in?”
“It’s tradition.”
“Huh?”
“Haven’t you noticed, since leaving Albuquerque, we’ve been ‘doing it’ as we pull in to each stop?”
“We have?”
“Yes. Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Little Rock and Jackson. It’s become a goal of mine.”
“Is that why you woke me up in the middle of the night in Little Rock?”
“Yes. Impressive, right?”
“I am impressed. I had no idea it was a pattern.”
“Yep. And now, we don’t have much time.” He attaches his lips to mine while removing my shorts. “I was going to prep you a bit, but we may have to get right to it.” He moves his hand to stroke me and adds, “Doesn’t seem to be a problem, though.”
“Is it ever?”
He removes his jeans and briefs and aligns himself over me.
“Coincidentally, I’m ready too.” He whispers against my lips while he pins me with his smoky eyes. “I love you, Mrs. Lair.”
“I love you, Mr. Lair.”
In true Jack fashion, he slides into me torturously slow, one perfect inch at a time. By the time he fills me completely, I am anxious to increase our rhythm. He bends to kiss my lips, while hitching my one leg higher to get in deeper.
I wrap my hands around his neck to give me something to hold on to. Once I’ve anchored myself, I increase the movement in my hips. “Faster.” I plead, as he continues his measured, penetrating thrusts.
When I move my hands to his ass to encourage him, he smiles at me, the bastard.
“Jack.”
His response is to move his hand behind my knee and push my leg even higher.
“Oh God. More, don’t stop.” I plead in a hoarse whisper.
He complies, driving into me over and over. He traces my panting lips with his tongue and effectively does me in. The tremors that start to radiate through my body are bordering on being painful. My fingers grip him as I lose myself to my orgasm. I can’t remember if Jack came with me or after me. I was completely preoccupied. When I come to, Jack presses his forehead to mine.
“That was a fuck-tastic quickie.” He glances out the window behind my head. “And we are just pulling in.”
“Good job, cowboy.”
“Thanks. You barely made any noise this time. You’re getting better at muffling your coming sounds.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
“Well tonight you can scream all you want.”
“I don’t scream.”
“You moan. Mmm, I love your moans.”
“You are riling me up again. Get up.” When I move around the tiny room to throw the normal necessities into my bag, I turn to see Jack watching, amused and Little Jack is waking up again. “Jack, are you going to lay there pant-less all day?”
“Would you mind if I did?”
“Normally no. But I’m five seconds from attacking you, then we’ll never leave this bus and I really want to see some of New Orleans before rehearsals.” I pout.
“Fine.” He jumps out of bed and pulls on his clothes.
“You guys still want to hang before rehearsals?” Scott asks when we walk out of the back bedroom.
“Yeah, as long as Oscar is coming.”
“He is. Dylan also. We are going to meet in the lobby in an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
We quietly caravan to the hotel, check in and make our way to our rooms. Once inside, Jack sits on the edge of the bed staring at the floor. “Babe.”
“Yeah?”
“Should I try calling Jessa again?” He has that lost look he gets whenever Jessa or the baby comes up.
“Yes, you should call her again.”
“I don’t know why I can’t just move on.”
“You need closure.” He nods silently. I stand before him and he wraps his arms around me. “I love you.”
“I know.”
Jack’s tried calling her a few times since we got the news. She keeps refusing his calls and ignoring his messages, making him feel even worse than he already does.
“Do you want privacy?”
“No.”
This is a ritual. He stalls, finally gets the nerve to call her hospital room, gets shot down, and sulks for the rest of the day. Just yesterday, I called her cell phone myself. I didn’t tell Jack, he wouldn’t want me getting involved with her or her conniving ways. I wasn’t expecting to speak to her. I left her a message that Jack was also a victim in this situation and the least she could do was talk to him.
After staring at his phone for ten minutes, he finally makes the call.
“Max, it’s Jack…yeah…ok.” He looks up in surprise and says, “She’s getting on.”
He pushes speaker and holds the phone away from his ear. “Hi, Jack.”
“What made you finally want to talk to me?”
“Jack, I’m hurt, I’m upset. This isn’t about you. Not everything is about you.”
Jack shakes his head and gives me a look. If I could reach through the phone, I’d slap her. “Jessa, I’m not going to fight with you. I wanted to know how you are feeling and if you need anything. I’ve left you messages, and I’m sure you got them. But I wanted you to hear it directly from me.”
“How sweet.”
“I didn’t do this to you. Let’s be clear, here.”
She sighs heavily into the phone. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m taking out my anger on you.”
“Thank you. How are you feeling?”
“I’m in pain, but the heavy duty drugs help. I guess that’s the upside of not being pregnant any longer.”
“Jessa.”
“What? Too soon for loss of pregnancy jokes?”
Jack remains silent. He looks at me and rolls his eyes. I take his hand quietly and give it a squeeze.
“Guess so.”
“Jessa, I gotta go. I just called to see how you are.”
“Wait…I was debating on telling you this. I guess it’s the least I can do.” She pauses for a few seconds, takes in an audible breath and admits, “It wasn’t yours.”
Her words stun me. I was not expecting her to ever tell him. I can’t believe she just blurted that out, the one thing that’s been tormenting us for days.
“You there?”
“Yeah.” Jack takes a deep breath and releases it. He gapes at me in shock.
“I have legit proof, if you need it.”
“Why did you tell me?”
“I want to move on. I hope you can forgive me. I hope this will…” She pauses and sighs before continuing. “I don’t know what I hope it will do, but I’m sorry.”
We continue to stare at each other. He pulls my hand up to gently kiss it.
“Jessa, I’m sorry he did this to you. But that’s all I’ll apologize for.”
“Yeah, I get it. Just watch yourself, Jack.” She hangs up the call, without a goodbye.
“Un-fucking-real. So now we know.”
“I can’t believe she told you…and apologized.”
“Yeah, you’d think she would have milked this for all the sympathy she could get.” He shakes his head over and over. “All that fucking guilt and worry for nothing. I’ll never forgive her for this…ever.”
“It’s over. She can’t hurt you any more or us. We survived her lies.”
“We did. I think it made us stronger.”
“It did.”
“I know I should call my parents and let them know. This h
as been hard on them. I just need to digest this a bit. I feel like a weight has been lifted.”
“I do too.” I stand and hold my hand out for him. “Let’s go have some fun. We deserve it. We’re in freaking New Orleans. I want to take on the town with my husband-to-be.”
He pulls me onto his lap. “I know I’ve told you this before, but I really appreciate all you did to try and protect me from her.”
I link my hands behind his neck. “I know. I’d do it all over again, and then some.”
“Except the breaking my heart part, right?”
I shrug and he frowns. “It was necessary. I’d even go as far as kicking her ass for you, if she hadn’t been pregnant.”
He raises his eyebrows and smiles wide.
“Why do you look so surprised? I could take her.”
“I know you can.” He slants his mouth over mine for a lingering kiss. “You are so adorable.”
A loud pounding on our door causes me to jump. “Put it in your pants, Lair. It’s time to party.”
“Fucking, Hunter.”
I get up to let Hunter in. He’s standing in the hall with Scott and Trey. “Let’s go. We only have a few hours.”
He links his arm through mine and drags me towards the elevators. “Wait, I need my bag.”
“No you don’t. It’s on Jack.”
Our hotel is smack in the middle of the French Quarter in New Orleans. We can walk from it to the House of Blues, where we are playing tonight, or to about fifty bars as well. From the lobby, all you see are droves of tourists walking by, some openly holding alcoholic beverages. It’s a huge party.
The House of Blues, although one of the most famous places we are playing in so far during our tour, is also one of the smallest. With barely nine hundred seats, it will feel intimate compared to the arenas we’ve been performing in. As we wait for Oscar and Dylan, I’m bouncing with anticipation. The weather is fantastic. Except for seeing Los Angeles from the backseat of a cab, and what little I got to see of Vegas, this will be the first real tourist destination I’ve ever been to.
“Do we have to wait for them?” Hunter asks impatiently.
“You don’t. I’m not going anywhere without Oscar. Where you heading? We’ll catch up.” Jack offers.
“Fine, meet us at The Abbey.”
The guys head out, leaving Jack and me to wait for our security.
“Jack, The Abbey is a block away. We could have gone with the guys.”
“Baby, I don’t want you going anywhere without Oscar.”
“I’m with you constantly. Where am I going? Oh, the ladies room. Does he need to come with me there too?”
“I’m serious, smartass. If I’m not with you, Oscar is. End of discussion.”
“I love when you get all controlling on me.” I lean over to nibble on his ear.
“I know what you’re doing.”
“What?” I trace his ear with my tongue, then move lower to suck on his neck.
“Lei.”
“Jack, the poor guy already has to stand guard outside my dressing room. You have him trailing us like a puppy dog. What more do you want, for him to sleep on our bedroom floor?”
He holds my chin and tilts my head to look into my eyes. “Leila, I’m not kidding.”
“Ok. I hear you.”
He kisses me and continues to stare into my eyes. “I love you.”
Oscar and Dylan come over to where we are having our moment. “Hey, sorry we’re late.”
“Everything ok?”
“I was on the phone with Ace. Nothing new, no sight of him.”
“I was just informing my fiancé she goes nowhere without me or you.”
I roll my eyes, and Jack catches me. “Really?”
“Leila, he’s right.” Oscar sides with Jack. Well, of course he’ll side with Jack.
Realizing it will get me nowhere to crack a joke, I concede instead. “Got it. Now can we go have a drink?” I stand and hold my hand out to him, which he ignores, and instead wraps an arm around me.
My argument was valid. Our walk to The Abbey took less than three minutes. We find the guys in the back corner. A tray of tequila shots sits, waiting for our arrival.
The waitress comes over, focusing on Jack.
“Baby, what do you want to drink?”
“I’ll have wine.” She levels me with her glare, measuring me up. She is one hot piece of ass, and the old Jack would definitely be paying attention. My Jack barely looks at her.
She takes our orders and throws Jack a dazzling smile before heading off to get our drinks.
“What took you so long?”
“We were waiting for Oscar and Dylan.” Jack looks at me briefly and quickly adds, “So, um…I spoke to Jessa.”
They all wait patiently as Jack takes a few seconds to continue. “She told me it wasn’t mine.”
“Holy shit.” Hunter speaks first.
“Jack, you must be relieved.”
Jack nods at Scott and says, “You can’t imagine.” He squeezes my hand and adds, “It’s over. I don’t want to hear about it any more.”
“Well, I’ve been staring at these entirely too long. Shot time.” Hunter is quick to comply.
“I’ll pass.” I shake my head, as Hunter passes out the shots.
“Lei, this one is your shot. It’s ginger ale.” Trey holds up the tiny glass.
“Not funny.”
He shrugs and smiles. “She asked me to do it.”
“Leave my wife alone.” Jack says, just as the waitress reappears with our drinks.
“You two are married? I don’t see a ring on your finger.” She asks, looking directly at Jack.
“Soon to be.” He responds without looking up.
She leans over and says into his ear loud enough for us to hear, “That’s a shame.” Then hands out our drinks and saunters off towards the bar.
“Is she for real?”
Jack drags his chair closer. “Ignore her.”
“She’s hot as hell and hitting on you.”
“Is she? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Hoo-kay,” Hunter challenges. “We know you love Leila, but you are trying to say you didn’t notice that hot piece of ass?”
Jack stares into my eyes and touts, “Nope.”
“I believe you. But if she comes near you again, I’m going to get violent.”
“Now that’s hot,” Hunter says, while smiling. “Two hot chicks in a fight? Wet dream material.” Jack and I stare at him. “What?”
“You guys are too much.” Oscar shakes his head before drinking his seltzer. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes, and I love her. But just because I can’t touch doesn’t mean I can’t look. I’m being honest.”
“Hunt, how many chicks did you average a year since I moved in with you?”
“What’s your point?”
“Been there, done that.”
“So?”
“It doesn’t interest me anymore.”
“Are you saying I love Mandi any less because I look?”
“No. I’m just saying I no longer have the desire to.”
“Oh, throw up. I’m not in love or attached or pussy whipped. I’m going to tap that.” Trey gets up and stalks to the “hot piece of ass”.
“He is such a whore.” I say out loud. Besides what little I know of him from Lori, it occurs to me I really don’t know much about him. “How old is Trey?”
“He’s thirty-one.” Jack responds. “Why?”
“I was just curious.”
“Spill it.” Jack eyes me suspiciously.
“Do you think he’ll ever settle down and have a family some day?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Jack and Hunter respond simultaneously.
“I don’t know. I have to agree with Hunter. I think domesticated Trey is in there and just needs a nudge.” I lean over to give him a quick kiss. “You’ve changed.”
“For the better.” We proceed t
o ignore all things around us and have one of our moments in the midst of this crowded, noisy bar.
Oscar notices and says, “You two make sure you keep this fire going. That’s what kills a marriage…trust me. My wife and I didn’t work hard enough at it. With me being gone in the beginning, we lost our connection. Even when I got home, we didn’t work hard enough. I was detached, having been through hell and back while serving, and she didn’t understand what I was going through. Whatever little passion we had, smoldered and died. After being together for almost ten years, we had nothing left.”
I first notice sadness in Oscar’s eyes. “Oscar, do you have kids?”
“No. We tried. Maybe things would have been different if we had been successful. But then again, my career choice would have probably done us in anyway. When I got home, I had gotten a boring desk job in an attempt to settle down and work at having a normal married life. I was miserable. After we split, I called my army buddy, Colt, and begged him to get me a job with *Orion. He spoke to his boss Mike, and they hired me. I was meant to do this. If I had discovered this line of work earlier, she would have left me much sooner.”
“I am never letting you go.” Jack says directly to me.
I smile warmly at him. He truly has changed. He’s so open with his love for me. He’s so romantic and sweet. Having heard many of the stories of how Jack used to behave, stranger things have happened than Trey finding love and settling down. I’m witnessing it every day that I’m with Jack Lair.
“You two are truly nauseating.” Hunter says, before tipping back another shot.
“And you are such a hypocrite. When I was miserable, you and Mandi were God-awful to be around.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot,” Hunter smirks. “Still, if I can’t be happy, no one should be allowed to be happy.”
“Jackass.” Jack says, before leaning over to smack the back of his head.
“You guys are very entertaining, I’ll give you that much,” Oscar admits. “You are the first rock band I’ve worked for. It’s been a blast.”
“You don’t get tired of living on a bus with a bunch of men?” Scott asks incredulously. “I don’t think I could do that if I weren’t also doing what I love to do.”
“I am doing what I love to do. I love my line of work. I love helping people.” Oscar shrugs. “Dylan is in the same position. Do you mind living on a bus with a bunch of men?”