by Amy Johnson
“Maybe you’re sending mixed signals too. Maybe you guys just need to tune your radios to the same station.” Ali suggested.
“Like how? I mean what do I say?”
“How about ‘Do me big daddy.’ I think that’ll get the point across,” Josie said.
“I can’t say that.” Megan put her head in her hands. “After that fiasco with Ted my self-esteem is on the floor. What if he shoots me down like Ted did.”
“He wouldn’t,” Josie said.
At the same time Ali said, “Then you’d know.”
“You know what? You guys are right. I’m just going to go for it. I know what I want.”
“Go get it!” Josie hollered.
“And get some for me. Bill’s been on a job for a week straight,” Ali said.
“I can help,” Josie said. “Here’s what we’ll do.”
Chapter SixteenJosie called the boys and told them there’d been a change of plans. Instead of throwing steaks on the grill, the girls were going out. She explained the plans to Jon who, being love struck himself, was happy to fulfill his part of the plan. Josie, Megan, and Ali had headed over to ‘Makeover Headquarters’, AKA Josie’s apartment, where the magic would begin.
“It’s not going to work, guys. I should just stick to my original plan,” Megan said, while Josie and Ali were selecting the perfect outfit for the evening’s plan.
“And that would be?” Ali asked, rummaging through Josie’s shoes and paying no attention to Megan.
“I, uh, well I don’t actually have a plan yet, but…”
“Exactly,” Josie said, “This’ll work Meg, trust me. Nothing gets a man’s attention like giving him a little competition.”
“But I think Jack may be a little dense when it comes to things like this. I mean he hasn’t figured it out yet,” Megan answered while Ali held a slinky black dress to the front of Megan’s body. Ali nodded appreciatively and Josie smiled. Megan crossed her eyes because as usual, they weren’t listening to a damn word she said.
“Oh he’s figured it out. He probably just hasn’t figured you out yet,” Josie said.
“Maybe he’s scared,” Ali observed. “You said he’s divorced right? Maybe he’s a little gun shy when it comes to love. I know I was after my first marriage.”
“Maybe,” Megan said. “That could be my problem too. Ted did a number on me.”
“You know, I went to a therapist after my divorce. It really helped me. Maybe you should consider it.”
“You guys want to call Dr. Phil or are we going to go get Megan’s prince?” Josie asked, shoving Megan into a chair and fussing with her hair. “Megan doesn’t need counseling. What she needs is a little sexual healing in the form of Jack Westin.”
“Okay, fine! Let’s do this. But if it doesn’t work I’m going home and sticking my head in the oven.” Ali chuckled and Josie grinned. If things went well tonight Megan wouldn’t even make it near an oven for at least a week.
After a quick forty-five minute full body restoration Megan was ready. Josie and Ali stood admiring there handy work while Megan fidgeted in her seat anxious to see a mirror.
“Gorgeous,” Ali said.
“Sinful,” Josie agreed.
“Dazzling,” Ali said.
“With just a splash of sex,” Josie decided.
“Guaranteed to bring any man to his knees,” Ali said.
“Or his elbows,” Josie said.
“Enough already! Just give me the damn mirror!” Megan shouted and Josie spun Megan around to the full length mirror in the bathroom. Megan froze. She looked magnificent. Stunning. Sexy enough to render a man unconscious with just a look. She glanced at Josie and Ali in the mirror, both of which were admiring their work and smiling, their eyes dancing with pride and mischief. She turned around and hugged them both, trying frantically not to cry and ruin her beautifully applied make up.
“I’d do you,” Josie said and Megan laughed.
“You’d do anybody,” Ali retorted and smiled at Josie.
“Good,” Megan said. “Remember you said that. If Jack doesn’t get the point, I may take you up on that.”
***
Jack was pissed. Megan was running from him. After he’d told her he wanted to talk to her, to drown this tension between them, she’d apparently decided to bolt. It was probably just as well. He’d much rather it happen now than later when he’d been in too far to get out.
So why was he so angry? And hurt?
Because although he may be able to walk away, he’d be leaving his heart behind.
“Want to get a drink somewhere?” Jon asked. Poor schmuck. At least Jack wasn’t the only one have a shitty night. Josie had dumped Jon and he looked as though he might faint.
“Thanks, man, but I don’t drink,” Jack replied.
“That’s too bad, I could sure use some company about now,” Jon covered his face with his left hand and made low sobbing sounds.
Oh hell! “Don’t cry man,” Jack said giving Jon a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be alright.”
Jon began to sob louder. “No it won’t. She dumped me,” he cried, “She said she doesn’t know what she wants.”
“What do you want?”
Jon let out a desperate cry and sniffled. “I want her.”
“Then you got to go after her.” Jack sighed and his voice dropped to almost a whisper. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it the rest of your life.”
“But I don’t know what to say,” Jon said through a smile he concealed with his hand. This match making stuff wasn’t too bad. Plus Josie had promised to reward him handsomely for his performance.
“Do you love her?” Jack asked.
“Yes.”
“Have you told her how you feel?”
“No.”
“Then that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to go to her and wrap her in your arms and look her dead in the eye and tell her how you feel. You’ve got to lay your heart on the line, put your cards on the table, go for broke and make her understand that she is forever on your mind and in your heart.” Jon snuck a look at Jack who was staring out his window, his eyes misty, his expression miserable. Perfect!
“Are you sure? I mean is that what you would do?”
No, I’m a hardheaded coward. “Absolutely!” Jack said.
Jon took a moment pretending to gain his composure. “OK, you want me to drop you at Megan’s?” Jack didn’t say anything. “You’re truck is there right?”
“Yeah, but I just want to go home.”
“But what about your truck?”
“Its fine there,” Jack said. “I’ve got my bike at the house and I could use a ride about now.”
***
Jon dropped Jack off and called Josie.
“I, my dear, am one hell of an actor,” he told her.
“So he’s a miserable mess?”
“Yep.”
“He gonna come sweep her off her feet?”
“That’d be my guess.”
“Well, well Dr. Ross, how can I ever repay you?” Josie purred.
“I’ve got a few ideas.”
“Mmmm, I can’t wait to hear about them.”
“There will be little talking involved. I plan to make you pay up with action.”
“Then you’d better get your ass over here, so I can start immediately,” Josie said.
Jon killed the engine in her car. “I’m already here. Come outside and make your first payment,” Jon said and hung up just as Josie walked out the door of the bar.
Megan and Ali sat at the bar inside the ‘Longhorn’ sipping their drinks and watching the drunken crowd of dancers stumble on the dance floor. Several cowboys had asked Megan to dance, all of which she’d sweetly turned down and the hunk of a bartender was frequently giving her the eye.
It had already been an hour and Jack was nowhere in sight.
“I’m really kind of proud of her,” Ali was saying and Megan had to think a minute about what they were talking ab
out. Her mind was certainly somewhere else.
“Josie?” Megan asked and Ali nodded. “Yeah me too,” she said.
“She’s finally in love,” Ali said, “And with such a great guy.”
“I told her it would happen someday,” Megan said with a forced smile.
“Don’t worry hon, you’re prince is on his way too.”
The bartender had obviously been eavesdropping. He strutted his stuff over to Megan, tilted his cowboy hat, winked and smiled which would have made most women go weak in the knees upon impact and said, “Have you ever heard the story of the ‘Cowboy Prince’?”
Megan shook her head and Ali muttered “Oh Brother!”
The bartender was not deterred. “Tell you what,” he continued, “you come home with me tonight, and I’ll tell you all about it, in surround sound, with special bonus features.”
Ali snorted. “You sound like an advertisement for a DVD.”
“And what would these bonus features be?” Megan asked in a bored tone.
“Whatever you want pretty lady. I aim to please.”
“Let me guess, satisfaction guaranteed?” Ali retorted.
“Of course,” ‘Mr. I’m full of myself’ said. “And I’m not above retelling the story all night long over and over until every little detail is right.” He traced his finger along Megan’s delicate collarbone and licked his lips. “And I promise not to stop until you are completely, 100%, satisfied.”
“Oh?” Megan said not even tempted, her body filled with desire for Jack.
“Oh yeah,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
“Travis, quit molesting the ladies and bring me a beer,” a raspy voice hollered out.
Travis grinned at Megan and said, “I’ll be back.”
Megan sat stunned. Travis? As in Travis McPhillips? As in rodeo, strip tease and sex on a mechanical bull. Well hell’s bells. She’d finally found Bronco Billy, the last guy on her list and she could have cared less. He was gorgeous, and sexy, and probably lived up to every last bit of his delicious reputation and in her eyes he didn’t hold a candle to Jack.
***
“Where is she?” Jack growled before Josie even said hello. He’d called Megan’s house, her cell, her mother’s, Mickey’s and if Josie didn’t know where she was he was going to scream.
“Huh, uh, hang on a second.” Josie shifted underneath Jon and tried to catch her breath. Jon groaned, then settled back against her and began moving ridiculously slow making her eyes glaze over and her body shutter. She momentarily forgot about Jack.
“Josie!” he yelled. “Where the hell is she?” She grabbed Jon’s behind and halted him to a stop. Her body protested immediately.
“Oh uh, where is who?”
Jack slammed his fist onto the table. “Megan! Where is Megan? And don’t play games with me dammit. Tell me now!”
She resisted the urge to say Megan who? “Oh Megan, she’s with Ali.”
Jack gritted his teeth, “Okay where is Ali?”
She resisted the urge to say with Megan. “Ok Jack, but you didn’t hear this from me. OK?” Jon began moving slowly again and Josie gasped.
“OK,” he snapped ready to explode.
“Last time I saw them they were at the ‘Longhorn’. Megan was sitting at the bar talking to Travis McPhillips, who was working his charm on your girl. Oh my God!” Josie purred and Jack crunched his eyebrows together and held the phone out and looked at it curiously.
“What?”
“Oh sorry, I wasn’t talking to you. Anyway if I were you I’d hurry up and get down there before Travis shows her how to ride his bull.” John hit the right spot and Josie shattered. “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!”
“I hope to hell you’re in the middle of prayer, Josie,” Jack snapped. “Because if you’re doing what I think you’re doing, you’re messing up. Jon loves you and he’s looking for you right now so he can tell you.” Josie smiled and cut the connection. She looked into Jon’s heavenly eyes for a long minute, cupped his jaw and while riding one of the greatest waves of orgasm she’d ever experienced she said, “I love you.”
Jon lost it then too and it was at least a full minute before he had recovered enough to say, “I love you too.”
***
Jack grabbed his keys and helmet and got on his bike in less than a minute. ‘The Longhorn’ was about ten minutes away. He’d make it in five.
Freaking Travis McPhillips. She must have figured out where he worked and her and the girls set out on the mission together. What if she wasn’t there now? What if she and Travis were…?
He accelerated and almost took out a street sign trying to navigate the turn.
He tried to slow down his thinking. Megan wouldn’t just go home with any guy. Not this quickly. She might give him her number or take his and then go on a date or something and then maybe…
But what if she was drinking and Travis was mixing her drinks way to strong so that he could get her too drunk to say no. OK, Jack would have to kill him then.
He sighed with a little relief as something suddenly occurred to him. Ali was there. Surely she’d keep a watchful eye on her friend. She was too responsible and level headed to let anything happen.
But what if she was drunk too? Oh hell! Jack screeched around the last corner and skidded to a stop just in front of the main entrance to the bar. Several people were standing around eyeing him suspiciously but he abandoned the bike, swung the door open and like a man on a mission went to find his girl. At first glance she was nowhere. He surveyed the bar. Travis wasn’t there either. “Shit,” he growled and ran his hand roughly through his hair.
That’s when he spotted Ali leaving the ladies room. He fell into step with her and grabbed her arm. “Where is she?” he asked then noticed Ali staring at his hand grasping her arm. He let go abruptly. Ali pointed to Megan.
Relief washed all through Jack and he was just about to head that way when Ali stopped him by grabbing his arm. She came up on her tip toes to brush an unruly strand of hair out of his face and patted his cheek.
“Good luck,” she said and Jack wondered if he had his feelings written across his forehead.
“I hope I won’t need it,” Jack replied and set off to the pool room.
“You won’t,” Ali added and stepped on the dance floor.
***
Megan was shooting pool with two guys. One was short and stocky with unremarkable features and the other was tall, a little on the heavy side, with a handle bar mustache and a belt buckle the size of California.
Jack spotted Megan before she saw him and he lost all the air in his body. She looked beyond sexy. Beyond fabulous or beautiful or any other adjectives he could come up with. Her hair was softly tousled into a simple, stylish shag. Her makeup was light but flawless. Her little black dress hung off of her delicate shoulders, and flowed just above her knees. And those legs. God help him, those legs were bare and toned and led the way straight to heaven. He made the mistake of letting his eyes drop to her feet. The curve of her elegant feet, with brightly painted toenails, encased into those elegant shoes set his body on fire. Those feet were going to be over his shoulders while he backed her up against that pool table right here in front of God and everybody if he didn’t calm himself down. He stepped into the room.
“Where’s your partner?” the big guy was saying, “It’s her shot.”
“She went to the bathroom,” Jack said watching Megan turn at the sound of his voice. “I’ll take her shot.”
“I don’t know,” the little guy said and Jack laid a fifty on the table and picked up a cue.
“Chicken?” he asked, teeth bared and the little guy took a step back.
“We ain’t playing for money,” the big guy said and Jack frowned.
“Stripes or solids?” he asked Megan and she muttered quietly stripes. Jack eyed the table. If Megan was stripes them she was getting the pants beaten off of her. Or in this case the dress. “What are we playing for?” he asked never taking his ey
es off Megan.
“Just for fun. Maybe for her phone number,” the little prick said.
“How bout this,” Jack said. “You and your partner there take that fifty and have a few drinks on me.” They both looked skeptical and didn’t budge. “Or, I can always just run the table, get the lady’s phone number and then kick your asses before I take her home with me.” Jack stood seriously still, his eyes liquid fire, the pool stick in one hand. Both guys stared at Megan.
“What’s it gonna be boys?” Jack asked and Megan nodded for them both to leave.
“You sure ma’am?” the big guy inquired and Megan looked at Jack, her eyes lighting up and she said, “Yep. Scoot.” They left the room and then the little guy came back in, ducked down a little, grabbed the fifty and left quickly.
***
Jack racked the balls. “We’re going to play a little game,” he said.
“What are the stakes?” she asked, selecting a stick and chalking the end of it.
“My heart,” he said and Megan’s own heart swelled in her chest. She didn’t respond because she didn’t know what to say. “Here’s the deal, for every ball I make you have to answer a question of my choosing. I’ll do the same for you. You can end the game at any time by pocketing the eight ball, but I must warn you if you do that, you forfeit and I win.” Their eyes locked “And I will make you pay.”
“What’s the price?”
“That’s still to be determined, although I will tell you that it might be a good idea to clear your schedule for a couple weeks.”
“You’re toast,” she said, accepting the challenge.
No shit. His eyes glittered. “We’ll see.” He handed her the cue to break and she motioned for him to go ahead. He broke and sent the balls spinning. He sunk the two and the six balls. He met Megan’s eyes and grinned. Leaning his cue on the table he backed her up against the table and put his hands on the table on either side of her.