Bulletproof

by Melissa Pearl

  For me, life was great.

  Peering over my shoulder, I glimpsed my sister in the back seat and felt a pinch of worry. She was home for Thanksgiving. We’d had a quiet family dinner together. I’d wanted to go to Sean’s, but he wasn’t ready to share me with his family yet. I couldn’t hide my disappointment over that one, but he told me to be patient. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere, so what was the hurry. It was hard to argue with that.

  Instead, my dad, Jody, Grandma Deb, and I had had a sedate celebration. Cole and Ella had been busy with his foster parents, Mal and Nina, who had popped over to LA for a visit. They flew back to Chicago this morning. Thank goodness Ella and Cole were coming out with us tonight. I was hoping their bright company would get my little sister smiling. She was usually a ray of sunshine, but something was obviously bothering her this weekend.

  “Hey.” I reached into the back seat and tapped her knee, trying once again to get her to open up.

  She forced a smile.

  “You looking forward to tonight?”

  “Of course.” Her sunbeam smile seemed dim to me.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  She raised her head to the ceiling. “Morgan, would you please stop asking? I’m fine!” She pushed my hand off her knee. “Seriously, I’m about to go dancing with my best friend, my sister, and Mr. Superstar. Trust me when I tell you, I’m great.”

  I didn’t buy it.

  Something was off, but I didn’t want to ruin the night by being my overprotective self, so instead I grinned and sat back in my seat.

  Sean reached over the gear stick and gently squeezed my knee. I ran my fingers over his hand, loving that I could openly touch him. Tonight would be fun. His brother, Kip, had pulled a few strings for us and managed to hire a private club tonight. Sean had then asked the DJ from Hybrid if he’d come play for us. So the party was going to be me and my friends, with Sean and his. It was the first time we were getting to meet each other’s trusted friends, and I think we were both a little nervous.

  Sean slowed and pulled into an underground parking garage. Jumping out of the car, he opened the door for Jody and helped her out. She sparkled him a smile, making me wonder if I was wrong and there was absolutely nothing wrong with her.

  I hated when I got like this, but I’d practically been her mother since I was a young teen, and I could somehow sense when something was off. I found it really hard to just let her go. The guilt I’d felt while living in Chicago had been pretty epic, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it if I hadn’t spoken to Jody on a weekly basis. I knew she was a big girl now and could handle things on her own, but I really wanted her to be okay. Happy and okay.

  Sean took my hand as we walked across the garage and through the black door. We ascended the stairs, the crescendo of music hitting us the higher we got. I squeezed Sean’s hand in excitement and laughed as we came through the door and were met with the excited greeting of Sean’s friends. He let me go and stepped into their embraces before pulling me against him and introducing me. I shook about ten different hands then stepped aside so Jody could meet everyone. A few minutes later, Ella and Cole arrived. I wrapped them each in a hug and then tried not to be bothered with the length of hug Jody gave Ella. Her arms were practically trembling from squeezing her so hard.

  Ella pulled back and gave her a sweet smile, her head tipping with concern, but Jody brushed her off, jumping back with a squeal as “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha started playing. She mouthed the words, making Ella laugh, and then the beat kicked in. I jumped over to them and started dancing, our bodies going into a slow-mo move on the word tip-sy. The beat kicked in again, and we danced and sang our way through the number, our bodies gyrating together, a smooth flow of water moving through our muscles.

  I raised my arms and grinned as Sean’s hands snaked around my waist, his body moving in behind mine. We swayed to the beat, his hands wandering to my hips; my legs crackled as if the energy was flowing straight from his fingertips and filling me. His touch was like magic.

  I was hoping he’d stay the night at my place. The little studio apartment was in Burbank, only ten minutes from work. It wasn’t anything flash, but it was mine. I hardly had any furniture, but all Sean and I seemed to need on our days off was a bed anyway.

  With the whole clandestine relationship going on, Sean insisted we spend all our time at my place or tucked into booths of unknown restaurants. He often parked in different spots in my neighborhood, hoping people wouldn’t recognize his car. Talk about extreme, but he said it was to protect me more than anything, which was why he’d never spent the night—something I was hoping to change.

  I grinned as the song came to an end, spinning to face Sean and draping my arms across his shoulders. I wasn’t sure if he’d mind me kissing him in such a public arena, but he obviously felt safe here, because he planted his big lips on mine and the world disappeared for a second.

  The hours ticked by with one dance song after another broken up with the flow of drinks and boisterous chatter. My voice was getting hoarse as I yelled a conversation with Sean’s older brother Kip. He was telling me stories about Sean being the baby of the family and as a kid, how he really was a big baby. I grinned as Kip described Sean crying over a stubbed toe.

  “He was the biggest drama queen; you’d think he’d had it amputated.” Kip rolled his eyes. “And you know the funny part? He didn’t even know he’d done it until Helena pointed it out. He saw the blood and started bawling.”

  I threw back my head and laughed.

  “What lie’s he telling you now?” Sean’s arm wove around my back and he leaned against me. I let Kip take over, the brothers’ banter making me smile. They were obviously close. My eyes skirted the room as they chatted. Cole and Ella were all snugged up on the dance floor. They’d outlasted everyone. “Forever Ain’t Enough” by J. Holiday was playing, and they were dancing to the slow number. Cole dipped Ella, her body swooping down before being pulled back against him. They were so in love it wasn’t even funny.

  My insides swelled; Ella deserved this, and I was so grateful she’d found the strength to fight for what she wanted. She and Cole were perfect together. I squeezed Sean’s shoulder, hoping the same for us. It was impossible to deny that I was way past falling for him.

  I’d fallen, hard and fast. It had been brilliant and amazing and I wanted it to last forever.

  I rested my chin on his shoulder, my eyes moving away from my best friend and landing on my sister. She was watching them too, her face awash with sadness. That pinch of worry nibbled on my insides again, and I slipped out of Sean’s grasp.

  “Back in a minute.” I brushed Sean’s cheek with my lips and wove through the party people to get to Jody.

  “Hey.” I slipped onto the stool beside her.

  She glanced at me but didn’t say anything.

  It was a little quieter in this corner, and I didn’t have to shout so loud. I leaned my head against hers.

  “You ready to talk about it yet?”

  “Talk about what?” she mumbled, running her finger around the glass in front of her.

  I frowned. She wasn’t old enough to drink yet. Not to be a Nana about it, but I didn’t like the idea of my sister sitting in a bar drowning her sorrows, especially with straight spirits.

  “Whatever it is that’s bugging you.” I reached for the glass, but she shifted it out of my way.

  Giving me a defiant look, she downed the clear liquid and slammed the empty glass back onto the table. “I told you I’m fine, Morgan. Please, just drop it.”

  “I can’t. You’re my sister and I care about you.” I snatched the glass and moved it to the other side of the table.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, my sister, not my mother. You don’t have a right to pry.”

  I frowned at her snappy tone. I’d had to put up with a little lip when she was going through her early teens, but after moving to Chicago things became infinitely better. She seemed happy to have me
as a mother-figure most of the time, so why the sudden change?

  I swallowed, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. After all I’d sacrificed for Jody, I really hated it when she got snarky like this.

  “It’s the guy, isn’t it? Did he dump you?”

  Jody whipped around to face me, her skin draining of color. “No.”

  “Okay, so, what’s the problem? Did you dump him? Are you feeling guilty or something?”

  “No!”

  My eyes narrowed as I studied her face. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

  Her lips pinched tight, her face blanching as she blinked at tears.

  “It was your first time, wasn’t it?”

  “Would you shut up?” Jody whispered between clenched teeth.

  “Come on, Jo-Jo. You can talk to me about anything. I know first times can be difficult; it doesn’t always go well. I told you about mine.”

  “Which doesn’t mean I have to share every detail of mine.”

  “He didn’t hurt you, did he? I mean, intentionally.”

  “No, it was fine. It was great. It was perfection.” Her sarcastic reply told me it was anything but. Her head dropped into her hand. Damn it, she was drunk!

  I gently touched her arm. “It gets better...with time and practice.”

  Jody’s shoulder tensed. “I know. I’m sure it will.”

  “Are you sure...” I licked my lips, wanting to word things correctly. “Do you care about him enough to keep trying?”

  “I love him,” she whispered.

  “And he loves you?”

  Jody’s gaze locked onto the table, her eyes large.

  “Jody?” I touched her shoulder.

  “I don’t feel very well.” She slapped her hand over her mouth and stumbled away from the table. I chased after her, cursing myself for not watching how much she’d been drinking. This was a private function; no one would be checking IDs, and Jody would’ve definitely taken advantage.

  I pushed the restroom door open as the stall at the end banged shut. Jody’s retching filled the air. I wrinkled my nose and gingerly walked further into the bathroom.

  “I’ll go get you some water, Jo-Jo.”

  She replied with another heaving retch into the toilet. Closing my eyes, I pushed the door back open and made my way to the bar, feeling like the world’s worst sister. I was so caught up with Sean; I should have kept a better eye on her. As I placed my water order, I realized that I didn’t really know much about her boyfriend. I couldn’t even remember his name. How bad was that? I’d been so busy at work and living in my little love bubble that I hadn’t pressed for more details.

  I knew he was a dancer and came from New York, but that was about it. They had dance class together every day, and she had seemed so blissfully happy. They must have tried sleeping together before she came here and it’d gone really badly. Poor thing.

  All I could hope was that she was telling me the truth and that she hadn’t given it away to some selfish asshole like I had. That familiar wave of regret shuddered down my spine as I briefly relived my first experience with Jordy Lehman. I’d only been fifteen, hardly the best example for Jody. I should have lied and never told her, but on the night before I left for college, we’d stayed up with Ella talking until dawn and everything had come out.

  “Thank you.” I took the water bottle and uncapped it as I walked back to the bathroom. Jody was standing at the sink looking wrung out. The bags under her eyes were dark, making her look a decade older than her tender nineteen years.

  “Here you go.”

  She grabbed it off me with a shaky hand and took a few sips.

  “I’ll take you home.”

  Spitting the water into the sink, she shook her head. “No, you should stay.”

  “I don’t mind, Jo-Jo.”

  “Morgan, I want you to stay. All I’m going to do is crawl into bed and sleep this off.” Her eyes skimmed the floor.

  I resisted the urge to tell her off for drinking too much.

  “Hey, is everything okay in here?” Ella’s head appeared in the doorway.

  “Yeah, Jody’s just had a little too much to drink.”

  “Jo-Jo,” Ella chided. “You naughty girl.”

  Ella’s sweet grin made Jody laugh; it was a punchy one that sounded almost like a sob. I rubbed her back and guided her toward the door.

  “I think I’ll take her home.”

  “No, Morgan...” Jody started to argue.

  “We can.” Ella shook her head. “Cole and I have an early start tomorrow anyway; I was just coming in to say goodbye.”

  “Are you sure?” Guilt sat heavy on my shoulders. I was Jody’s sister; I should be the one taking her home.

  “Yeah, of course. Cole’s saying goodbye to everyone now.”

  Ella stepped around to Jody’s other side and gave her middle a squeeze. “Come on, you drunk squirt. Let’s get you home.”

  Jody gave us both a tired smile. We guided her out of the bathroom, and I collected her stuff, handing it to Cole. He kissed me on the cheek and promised to take care of her. Crossing my arms, I watched them leave, worry making my face tight.

  Sean approached me with a concerned smile, and I forced myself to relax.

  “You okay?” He rubbed my arm.

  “Yeah, a little worried about Jo-Jo, though. She got so drunk tonight, she actually threw up.”

  “Really?” He turned as they disappeared through the doorway.

  “Yeah, I know. I always thought a drunk Jody would be wild, but she’s obviously one of those tired, sedate ones.” I frowned. “She just sat in the corner quietly downing straight vodka.”

  “You want to go, make sure she’s okay?”

  “No, Ella said she’ll take her home.”

  Sean pulled me against him and kissed my cheek. “She’ll be okay, baby. Why don’t you come and forget your troubles on the dance floor with me.”

  I grinned as he pulled me back into the open space, letting his arms drift around me. I laid my head on his shoulder, and the slow music swirled around us. His soft touch soothed me, and I closed my eyes, trying to let go of my worries for Jody.

  If only I could.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  SEAN

  “I said turkey on rye, not chicken; are you fucking deaf!”

  I cringed as I watched a small glob of spittle fly from Travis’s mouth. He was once again going off at Morgan. I hated the way he spoke to her, and I really wished I hadn’t just walked past the door and heard it.

  “There was no turkey available today, so I made you the next best thing.” Morgan’s voice remained calm, as usual.

  “It’s not the next best thing. If I want turkey, I expect you to get me TURKEY!”

  I heard the splatter of food and assumed Travis had thrown his plate onto the floor. Why did he have to treat her like this? She was brilliant at her job. Everyone on set thought so. She was more organized than Lisa, anticipating people’s needs before they’d even asked her to.

  Everyone loved her.

  Everyone except Travis.

  Morgan pulled in a slow breath. “You told me I had to urgently send three emails and before I can do that, I need to make two phone calls, so which is more important, the turkey or the emails?”

  “Don’t give me lip, princess, okay? Clean this shit up, get me the right sandwich, and then go do your fucking job.”

  “Okay, thank you for helping me prioritize.”

  “Smart ass,” Travis mumbled as he flew out the door, Lisa hot on his heels.

  I jumped-to, pretending I was walking down the hall toward them and missed his big hissy fit. He slowed his pace to let me pass.

  “Hey, Sean.” He greeted me with a friendly smile, and I had to force my lips north. “Great job today.”

  “Thanks.” I nodded and waited until he was around the corner before ducking into the onsite office.

  “Hey.”

  Morgan glanced up from the floor, flicking a piece of chicken from he
r finger to the plate. “What’s up?”

  “Just checkin’ in. You good?”

  “I’m always good.” Her reply was sharp, like staccato.

  I cringed, closing the door and crouching down beside her. I reached for a piece of bread to help her with the clean.

  “It’s okay, I’ve got it. Your filming’s up for the day. You should get going.”

  “I’m gonna wait for ya.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Sean.”

  “I know, but I want to.” I kept my voice light and soothing, trying to ease the tension radiating off her. Ever since Thanksgiving she’d been wound tight. I knew she was worried about her sister. Jody had flown back to school a few days ago, just left for the airport. She’d asked her father to take her, not even giving Morgan the chance to say goodbye. It had really hurt, not that Morgan would admit that to me.

  I wanted to make it up to her, make her feel better, but Travis had been on a rampage today and I had barely had a chance to see her.

  Morgan stood from the floor, picking a piece of grated carrot off her knee. “I better go make another sandwich for His Highness. Seriously, Sean, you don’t have to stay; I can just see you later...or tomorrow.”

  I moved into her space before she could storm from the room. “I’m stayin’.”

  “Okay, fine.” She stared at the floor.

  Resting my fingers under her chin, I gave it a gentle nudge, compelling her to look at me.

  “What can I do to make it better?”

  “You can tell Travis to stop treating me like shit.”

  I swallowed; it sounded noisy in the still room. Morgan’s tension was palpable, and I knew my answer wouldn’t dissipate it.