“About two months, and it’s got absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with you.”
“Uh-huh,” Bernie mocked with a raised lip.
Holly kept a straight face.
Sonic got up and stomped into the RV.
“Was that really necessary?” Leo asked.
“Leave it, Leo. Bernie’s got a point,” Jake said.
“Thank you, Jake, just as long as you remember that.”
Jake only smiled. “Did you really think I would go for someone like Sonic?”
“Jake, I love you like a brother, but you are still a guy. And that in there, is a piece of ass.”
Holly was riveted to their exchange.
“Can we please not speak about this kind of stuff around Medusa?”
Holly was thankful she’d finished the Coke before his comment or she would have, without a doubt, spewed it all over herself from laughing so much. “I’m not Medusa.”
“Well, you hiss.”
Bernie and Leo exchanged grins.
“I hiss, because I’m fucking tired and my hand fucking aches. Speaking of which, I’m almost positive I’m not going to be able to convince you to give me a painkiller due to the fact that I have more alcohol flowing through these veins than any human probably should. I’m also pretty sure that if I tried to swallow one of those fire pills, I would explode. I hope that sums it up for you.” Narrowing her eyes, she looked at Jake.
Bernie, Leo and Jake couldn’t for the life of them contain the laughter that erupted.
“I don’t ever recall hearing you swear that much, ever,” Bernie stated with a fake, shocked look on her face.
“Zip it. You’re the reason for my foul mood.”
“I think it’s shooter time, so you zip it and go pour us a few.” Bernie cocked an eyebrow.
“That’s why you woke me up?”
“You are the only one who knows how to concoct an entire list of shooters, Holls. Why do you think I brought you along?”
“You’re evil, and you have the audacity to call yourself my friend.”
“I do, because you love me to bits.”
“Yeah? And how do you suppose I’m going to prepare the shooters, Einstein?”
“Ask Sonic, it will give Jake a couple of minutes away from her.”
Jake snorted. “Yeah, ask Sonic, please. I’m begging you.”
“Why did you bring her?” Holly asked on a whisper.
“It’s a secret,” Bernie whispered back, sounding really sarcastic.
Clucking her tongue, Holly teased her, “It must be so hard.”
“Shut up. Shooters, now.”
“Fine.” Holly got up. “I don’t think Sonic likes me very much after Bernie’s really mocking lesson. Could you please ask her if she would like to help me?” Holly asked Jake.
“Sonic!” Jake yelled.
“Seriously, you couldn’t get up to ask her?”
“Yes?” Sonic’s head popped out the doorway.
Pathetic, Holly thought.
Jake’s shoulders shook, as if he’d heard Holly’s thought.
“Would you help Holly prepare some shooters, please?” He gave her his super smile, the one Holly didn’t want to look at because it would make her turn into a pile of goo.
“Sure, come.” Sonic gestured to Holly to join her in the RV.
They spent the next couple of hours preparing shooters, managing to remain relatively civil to each other. Jake sauntered in from time to time, usually as they were close to finishing up and flirted with Sonic. She handed him a shooter; both threw their heads back at the same time on numerous occasions, letting the mixture trickle down their throats. Holly felt like she was intruding on their moment and walked out.
“Not want her, my ass,” Holly ground out, irritated after the umpteenth time it happened.
“He’s really not into Sonic, Holls,” Leo spoke quietly next to her.
“Whatever.”
The night went on and all she wanted was to go to bed, but again Bernie wouldn’t let her.
Holly started a countdown to Jake’s eventual appearance just as they finished pouring another shooter, and just as she’d predicted he walked in and had an extra one with Sonic.
“You want to make me drunk?”
“Sure I do,” Jake replied.
Holly left the RV. All she had had to do was look at Leonard to set him off bursting into laughter.
“He’s not,” Leo mumbled.
“Let’s bet. I say he’s going to grab her before the night is over,” Holly challenged Leo.
“How much?”
“A hundred dollars. Deal?”
“Deal.”
A couple of rounds later, Jake’s gaze didn’t waver from Sonic, who really didn’t look like she could handle one more shot. “I think it’s time you go to bed, missy.” He pulled her up gently and helped her to the tent situated directly in front of the RV. He ducked, lifted the green canvas flap and ushered them both inside.
Holly watched this turn of events with eagle eyes.
“Pay up, loser.”
“He’s not going to do it.”
“Oh, please. What do you think they’re doing in that tent?”
“Holly’s got a point. You lost.”
“I didn’t lose.”
Just then, Jake re-emerged.
“That was fast,” Holly smirked.
“What was?”
She merely scrunched up her face in reply.
“I told you I’m not interested in Sonic. I just never thought she could drink that much.”
“Pay up, loser.” Leo was sporting the hugest grin ever, as well as having a hand on his forehead, thumb in the horizontal position and index finger in the vertical; the universal sign for loser.
Jake turned and looked at Holly. “You bet on this? You’re mean.”
“So, sue me. There were a few times I had to get out of there. Your RV isn’t big enough for all that love.”
“Oh, please. I just gave her a shooter, woman.”
“Pay up,” Leo cut in, snapping his fingers.
“There’s a hundred in my purse. I’ll get it for you later.”
“A hundred bucks? At least I’m not considered a cheap bet.”
“Oh, shut it. You were supposed to grab her.”
“I...don’t...want...her,” Jake said, slowly enunciating every word.
“Uh-huh,” Holly replied.
“Don’t say that. Only stupid people say ‘Uh-huh’.
“Uh-huh,” Holly repeated, looking at Bernie. Of course, all she was doing was mimicking her.
“Ugh. Go make shooters.”
“I can’t, you guys just poisoned my assistant.”
“Take Jake.”
“Now I have to make the shooters?”
“You poisoned Sonic. Entirely your fault, now go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbled.
“Do you even know how to pour one?” Holly asked, tongue in cheek.
“Sure I do. I’ve watched Cocktail. Can’t be that hard to figure out.” With a wink thrown in Bernie’s and Leo’s direction, Jake moved toward the RV. “Let’s go, Medusa! Shooters wait for no man, or woman, as the case may be.”
Holly sighed while simultaneously rolling her eyes. “This is going to take a long time.”
“I’m sure it will,” Leo agreed, adding his two cents.
“What do you want this time, Your Highness?”
“A Jelly Baby.”
“Seriously? It’s his first shooter.”
“Holly, is it going to be today?” Jake yelled from the RV.
“Keep your pants on, I’ll be right there.”
Leo roared with laughter as Jake mumbled something from the RV.
“What is with you?” She looked at Leo, not the least bit impressed with him.
“Nothing, just go.”
“I can’t promise it will look like what you are expecting,” Holly warned as she walked up the RV’s steps. Jake had already put the shot glasses out.
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“I’ll have one, too. This is my favorite,” she smiled at Jake.
“What is it.”
“It’s called a Jelly Baby.”
Jake looked at her quizzically, but Holly knew he was faking it. For someone who could drink as he had and still stand on both feet, sound and sober, she knew he’d had them before.
“The one with layers,” she explained, arranging the different bottles of liquor she’d need for it.
“We have to pour all of them in one glass?”
“You’ve had shots before, and I know you know what a Jelly Baby is.”
“I drink neat shots, not fancy ones.”
Holly giggled. “Right. So, pick up the spoon and hold it like this,” she said, showing him how it was done.
Jake got it right the first time. It was perfect.
“Hmm, maybe I can work with this,” she whispered.
Jake was none the wiser.
. THE JELLY BABY SHOOTERS HAD INDEED BEEN great, for an assistant who had apparently never prepared one before. Bernie had been excited when she saw them, and happy that Holly had taken one, too.
Holly had silently thanked the heavens that Bernie hadn’t requested another immediately thereafter. She was tired of preparing shots, even if it had meant spending time with her yummy new assistant.
“So, can I ask you a question?” Holly looked at Jake.
“Is it Sonic related?”
“No.”
“Then, shoot.”
“How on earth did a hooligan and a doctor become friends?”
The laughter that followed was roaringly loud. Holly had clearly missed something, but when she noticed tears streaming down Leo’s face, she put two and two together.
“You were into cage fighting, too. You hooligan,” she teased Jake.
“Now that was a long time ago.”
“That used to be the shit,” Leo said defensively.
“What, beating people up?” Holly asked.
“Never had the time to beat them up,” Jake explained. “It took a mere round or two to knock them out, stone-cold.”
“Always?” she looked at Jake.
“No, not always.”
“How did your mom feel about that?”
He chuckled. “Didn’t like it one bit.”
“I’ll bet,” she said. “Why did you stop?”
Leo gave Jake a concerned look, which in turn made Holly feel like crap.
“You don’t need to answer. Forget I asked…”
“Why not? It’s fine. I got badly injured. So badly that the doctor told me I’d never walk again.”
Holly could feel this was a very sensitive topic and she wanted to kick herself for bringing it up.
“But thanks to Leo and Bernie, I’m walking again.”
“Seriously?” She looked at Bernie.
“I’m a good friend,” Bernie sang.
Holly chortled. “Yeah, you’re okay.”
“And that’s when you became a doctor,” Leo stated.
“Yeah, there are more important things to live for.”
“Like a married woman.”
Bernie, Holly and even Jake gasped.
“Thanks, Leo.” Jake was none too pleased about that faux pas.
“Sorry dude, it slipped out.”
“I knew it would come out when the shooters started flowing.” Bernie looked at Leo and sniggered, “You, my angel, can’t keep a secret.”
“Shut up.” He sounded really upset, but then Jake started to laugh.
“You’re a home-wrecker, too?” Holly asked him, incredulously.
“Not in the least. I didn’t do a damn thing.”
“That’s the reason we haven’t seen you for the past three months,” Bernie asked.
“It was hard, okay?” He looked at Bernie.
“Jake, we help each other, always have.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t come to you guys.”
“Do we know her?”
Holly knew that once the secret was out, Bernie would interrogate them.
“No, you don’t,” Jake replied, quickly.
“I can’t believe you didn’t come to us.”
“Seriously, you had me to deal with. I really wouldn’t have liked it if Jake was there, too,” Holly joked.
Jake looked at Holly with a comical expression.
“See? I just had a feeling you already had a sad situation at your place.”
“Oh, can it.” Holly wished she could have slapped him with her left hand.
“I’m dead serious,” Bernie told him, after she got her laughter under control. “You should have come to us.”
“I know. I should’ve.”
“Sorry, dude,” Leo mumbled.
“Don’t worry about it, Leo.” Jake was sporting a huge grin.
“What happened? You guys have an affair?” This from Holly.
“No. I don’t even think she knew I existed,” Jake answered.”
“That’s boring,” Holly stated.
“They said their vows before God, Holly. You think I would break that?”
“To be honest, I don’t know you that well, Jake. But that’s very moral of you,” Holly finished.
One of Jake’s eyebrows shot up.
“What? It is. Just think, if everyone had Jake’s morals there might not be any Donnas.”
“No. Because then there would’ve been a Molly, or a Sarah, or…” Bernie trailed off, anger lining her voice.
Holly thought over her words. “True.”
“Brandon was a dick, Holly. You need to see that,” Leo said.
“I did. Why do you think I left him?”
“Then it needs to sink in,” Bernie said, adding her two cents worth.
“That takes time. But I’m sure it eventually will.”
“It needs to sink in faster,” Bernie practically growled.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, okay? I’m getting there.”
“Time for another shooter!” Leo clapped his hands together, breaking the tension.
“Sure. What would you like?”
“Something with Sambuca, please.”
Holly got up. “You coming, home-wrecker, or am I going to do this by myself?”
At least Jake was finding humor in this situation, because he grinned in her direction. However, he could deal as good as he got.
“I wasn’t a home-wrecker, and for that you can do the prep work yourself. Call me when it’s time to pour.”
Holly could hear Bernie speaking to Jake the minute she entered the RV. She knew there was something odd about Jake, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
No man is that perfect, and to think he’s the male version of Donna! Did he really not interfere the way Donna had? Her thoughts were running rampant. That was definitely the question of the day.
She arranged the shot glasses neatly in a row, but as she turned around one of the Sambuca bottles went skittering toward the floor. Holly tried to save it with her good hand, her legs and basically every body part she could in order to soften the bottle’s landing, but it shattered and the bright blue liquid spread quickly across the RV’s floor.
“Shit!” she shrieked, scrambling to clean up the mess.
“What are you doing?” Jake came in after he heard her scream. “I told you to call me when it was time to pour.”
“It wasn’t. I knocked it over by mistake.” Angrily, she crouched to pick up the pieces of glass, while Jake ran to the cabinet where the dishcloths were kept. He got to work soaking up some of the liquid. Holly watched as it began to turn a dirty blue.
“Oh, shit. This is going to stain the floor.”
“My mom’s going to kill me.”
“I’m so sorry, Jake.” Holly felt like crap.
Jake chuckled, instead. “I’m just kidding, she won’t mind.”
“You idiot,” she yelled.
Truth be told, she desperately wanted to smack him with her left hand but after giving it some though
t, realized he was pure muscle and didn’t want to break her other hand in the process. Forcing herself to calm down, she gingerly showed him the bits of glass she had picked up and asked him where she should put them. He gestured with his head to where the bin was located.
Once she’d disposed of the sharp pieces, she said, “Go, I’ll clean up the rest.”
“It’s no problem. More hands make light work.”
“This is my mess.”
“Breakage, Holls,” Leo yelled from outside.
“Yeah, yeah,” she yelled back. “I’ll replace it later!”
She could tell from both Leo’s and Bernie’s chuckling, how easily it was to entertain them.
Holly picked up some of the smaller pieces she’d noticed shining in what little blue liquid still remained on the floor. If she’d had the use of her now injured hand, the clean-up would have gone a lot quicker.
Jake was at the stainless steel sink, rinsing the cloth. That was followed by more crouching and yet more cleaning. Holly could only watch helplessly when he mopped up what was left after they’d made sure no further glass fragments remained. However, to lighten mood, she joked about wanting to lick the rest up with her tongue.
Jake barked with laugher, shaking his head as he looked at her. “You sure Josie isn’t the only one that needs a few tweaks?”
“No. Believe me, Josie is bad. She needs it more than me.”
With a big smile on her face she crouched down, pointing at a tiny bit of Sambuca Jake missed. Jake, too, crouched but twisted around her to pick something up. It was a large piece of glass neither had seen. He moved back and stopped, his face inches from Holly’s. They stared at one another intensely for a few seconds, barely breathing.
Jake exhaled, long and hard, and the next thing she knew, he’d pulled on her T-shirt and slammed her into him while he kissed the living crap out of her.
Somewhere in the distance, Holly heard the piece of glass fall to the floor before she was pulled up onto her feet and pushed against the wall. Jake’s kissing started to make her ears zing as their tongues danced love steps inside each other’s mouths.
Ironically, her mind brought up the conversation regarding the married woman. Somehow, she managed to pull away, hard as it was.
With her eyes still closed, she barely whispered, “I can’t and won’t do one night stands.”
“You’re not a one night stand, Holly,” he uttered softly, claiming her lips once again.
Holly knew she wouldn’t be able to pull away again, so simply succumbed and enjoyed the dizzy feelings kissing this heart-throb, home-wrecker, and hooligan were giving her.
Imperfect Love Page 7