Tension

by R. L. Griffin

  Stella looked at him. “Was it your kid?”

  “Hell no.” Jesse shook his head vehemently.

  “Well, I can only imagine what George is thinking right now. I haven’t heard from him.”

  They finished their meal and Jesse threw some cash down to pay for their dinner. Stella protested, as usual, and he laughed her away. As they began the walk toward the front of the restaurant, Jesse saw three or four photographers out front.

  “Shit, we’ve been spotted.” Jesse took her hand in his and guided her out of the restaurant and then helped shield her from the photographers.

  She stood close to him, her face in his chest and his arms around her, trying to shield her as best he could. Stella flinched at the sound of the shutters clicking.

  #fbibeautyflyingwithfalcon

  Stella’s mother forced her to eat dinner with them the next night. Stella was restless. George hadn’t returned any of her calls. She and Jesse both had issued statements, via Greg, denying any relationship other than friendship. Jesse’s statement went further than hers.

  “Stella Murphy is a true friend who has endured more in the last four years than most people have in their entire life. I’m saddened that the media continues to pry into her life; it’s hurtful to my friends Stella and George.”

  Her father started the conversation she was dreading. “Why did you suddenly need to see an attorney yesterday, Stella?”

  “Because someone is trying blackmail me,” she said.

  “What do you mean? For what?” her mother asked.

  “Okay, maybe not blackmail me. They didn’t ask me for any money.” She fidgeted, looked down and then took a breath.

  “Stella, baby, it’s okay. Tell us what’s happening,” her father said.

  “This is a conversation that should never happen.” She chewed at her nail on her left ring finger nervously and looked anywhere but at her father. “Jamie filmed us having sex. Someone has it and is trying to sell it,” she blurted out.

  Her mother gasped and her father got up and left the room.

  “N-nobody has seen it!” she stuttered to her sobbing mother. “The media knows that it exists and I went to see Jesse’s lawyer about preventing them from airing it, selling it, whatever.” Stella was glad her parents weren’t on Twitter because they would have seen all of the soul crushing tweets. This is so fucking embarrassing, having to talk to my parents about a sex tape.

  #fuckyeahfbibeautysextape

  #jellysextape

  #nakedfbibeauty

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Daddy!” she called. “I’m trying to fix this.”

  First, George had to endure watching a sex video Stella sent him of her with someone else. Then he’d been forced to examine the pictures that were all over the Internet with her and Jesse fucking McIntyre leaving a restaurant. She was going on dates with that motherfucker?

  He couldn’t take it; couldn’t take not being able to tell what was really going on, not knowing fact from fiction. The media had a good story; Stella left him for Jesse. The pictures supported the story; she was there, with him. Twitter was blowing up.

  #stellaandjesse

  #poorgeorge

  #stellaisaslut

  He kept trying to forget the image of that guy with his hands, lips and dick in Stella. His blood pressure was so high he felt his blood pumping in his eyes. Pulling on pants, a sweatshirt, a hat, and his iPod, George burst through the front door and through the paparazzi that had gathered around his house to get pictures of the recently dumped bartender. He ran south for miles. The houses and businesses going by helped fill his brain so he wouldn’t think about the noises that Stella had made in that video. The music helped him push out the thoughts of how her body reacted to that guy’s touch.

  It was the first time George thought he’d finally had enough. He couldn’t do this with her. He’d never be able to look at her again, touch her again. Those noises he thought she made just for him weren’t just for him. He wondered if she made those noises for Jesse fucking McIntyre. The pounding of his feet helped drive the doubts from his mind. For now.

  Stella took a plane to DC, leaving Cooper with her parents for a few days. Seeing and touching George was necessary right now. She hadn’t heard from him after she sent him the video, other than a few curt replies to her texts. Then the story broke that she’d left him for Jesse; she knew he was boiling mad.

  She took a cab and got to his house a little after noon. Opening the door, she sighed, feeling more at home than she had in the last several weeks at her parents’ house. She kicked her shoes off as she walked up the stairs. Noticing there was paper everywhere, she paused. It looked like all the files related to Montana, her medical reports and George’s notes. She looked upstairs and her stomach flipped; she knew this wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. I hope George hasn’t hit his limit.

  “George!” she called as she walked up the stairs to where his bedroom and study were. Stella didn’t call to warn him she was coming and it didn’t look like he was there. She stood in the doorway to his study. He must have just left; his computer was still up, showing a picture of her with her face buried in Jesse’s chest from a couple of days before. Fuck.

  Pulling out her new phone, she called him while she walked back downstairs. No answer; she left him a message and tossed her phone on the bed. Stella hadn’t packed any clothes and was exhausted from worry. She looked around and then decided just to take a bath. She went into the bathroom, peeled off her clothes and started the water. Examining herself in the mirror, she wondered how anyone could find her attractive with all her scars. Although they weren’t as inflamed as they had been, her scars were still red; her chest looked like something out of a horror movie. She piled her hair on top of her head and got into the tub.

  George’s texts were incredibly short after the pictures of her and Jesse came out. Stella knew she needed to do some major damage control. How can I convince him he’s it for me? With everything that had happened, she didn’t know if she could and she understood if George didn’t believe her.

  After what seemed like hours, she walked into the bedroom, crawled under the covers, and closed her eyes.

  Stella didn’t know how long she was asleep, but she felt the covers lift and someone get into bed with her. It was after 2:00 am when she glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened; she’d slept for over ten hours. Her arms reached for George, pulling him to her. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear before she kissed him. She caressed his face in the dark, feeling facial hair. “Is that a beard?”

  She felt his cheeks lift in a smile. “You like it?” he asked.

  “The jury’s out on that one,” she said, turning on the lamp next to the bed. She examined him closer.

  After a short kiss, George looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Love, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? How long have you been here?”

  “Since noon.”

  “Noon?” George asked and rubbed his head and face with his hands. “I’m glad you’re here, but wish you would’ve given me a heads up.”

  “Why would you need a heads up?” Stella asked, slightly irritated. “I told you I missed you and I needed to see you. Feel you.” She pulled him closer. She realized he was wearing boxers; he always slept nude. “Why are you wearing these?”

  “El, I wasn’t expecting you.” He kissed her jaw line and then pulled her earlobe into his mouth.

  “You don’t sleep naked when I’m not here?” she teased.

  “It’s not necessary,” he said huskily, pulling off his boxers. In between kisses and caresses, he murmured, “We’re not done talking about this...”

  “I know.”

  By four in the morning, Stella was ravenous. “You got any food in your house, George?”

  He took her in as she walked into the bathroom. “Our house, Love.” He pulled his boxers on and walked to the doorway. “I missed your naked ass parading around our house.”

  “I’m glad to
be missed. I missed parading around naked in front of you. My parents really don’t appreciate it,” she joked, pulling one of George’s t-shirts that was strewn across the counter.

  His eyes clouded over at the mention of Atlanta, his face darkening.

  “Look, let’s get something to eat, okay? Then we can hash it out. Alright?” She took his hand in both of hers and kissed it. He turned with her and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. “You’re kind of a slob when I’m not around, aren’t you?” she joked, nodding at the slew of papers everywhere.

  “I’m working on a follow up to the Montana story, since they apprehended one of the guys.”

  Her eyes popped open. “What?!”

  “About the story?” George asked, alarmed at her surprise.

  “No, they caught one?” she asked. “When? Why wasn’t I told?”

  “This afternoon.” George followed her into the kitchen and was pulling out cheese and tortillas for quesadillas when he felt her arms go around him.

  “Um, what’s with the new ink?” Stella said into his back, which was adorned with a new tattoo.

  “You’re full of fucking questions.” George smirked.

  “Well, shit, I go to sleep for a few minutes and all hell breaks loose.” Stella walked over to where she’d thrown her bag down and turned on her phone. “I guess one of these messages will tell me who they apprehended. You gonna make me go through these now or do you want to tell me?”

  “The one who assaulted you.” His voice was calm. “They found him in Alabama in a trailer park. Larry Holmes, 43, convicted criminal and known associate of the group that was involved in the undercover operation.”

  “Okay, well that’s something. He’s the one we actually have evidence to convict. So that’s good.”

  “Agent Harris called me looking for you, he said they’re trying to get him to flip and get the names of the other two.”

  Stella’s stomach clenched. “Well...”

  “I know you want this guy to rot for attacking you like that, but they really want the guy that shot you, El. That’s who they’re looking for.”

  She traced the heart on his shoulder blade with her index finger and then the new rings symbolizing infinity that now circled through it. Stella leaned into George’s back to kiss it. “When did you get this?”

  “A couple weeks ago.”

  “I love it.”

  “Oh, yeah. Why’s that?”

  “Because it means you’ll forgive me, because you love me.”

  “You’ve known I’ve loved you for awhile. Why does this make a difference?”

  “Now it’s permanent.”

  “Nothing’s permanent. You know that better than anyone, El.”

  “This is permanent,” she said as she traced his tattoo. “And this.” She put his hand on her scars.

  “Look, you’re right. I love you so much it’s crazy. I don’t like feeling stupid or blindsided with all this media shit. People look at me with pity now. Pity, El. Everyone thinks you’re fucking a football player and left me or that you’re just stringing me along. It’s starting to get on my fucking nerves. I’m not sure how much longer I can deal with it.” He slammed a cabinet shut.

  Stella turned him around so he was facing her.

  “I can’t look at you without seeing him touching you.”

  Her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, George. I never wanted you to see that video. EVER. I don’t think I could handle seeing you and another person having sex, but I didn’t want you to be blindsided if it got out. What did you want me to do?”

  Silence.

  “Ever since I woke up, dealing with the media has seemed to take up most of my time and I’m not even doing a good job with it. I sent you that video as soon as I got it. I called to tell you I was meeting with Jesse’s attorney. After we left his office, we grabbed something to eat. The paparazzi got wind of us being there. When we left he put his arm around me to lead me to the car. That’s it, George. That’s it.” She was pleading, begging him to believe her.

  “You sure?” His thumb ran down her cheek and jaw.

  “I swear, George. You’re it for me. I just want you to trust me.” Stella looked him directly in the eyes.

  “I want to...” George looked down, breaking the eye contact. “It’s so hard with the media speculating about everything and then there are pictures of y’all together. I look like a schmuck.”

  “I think you look awesome.” She kissed him; he ignored her. She kissed his chest and then pulled his boxers down. “I’ve missed you,” she murmured, making her way down his body.

  Stella filled George in on what the attorney said and the plan that was in place. The video would hopefully never be sold. George had lots of questions about who had a copy of the video.

  “Honestly, George, the only person I thought had it was Jamie. I was obviously wrong about him on so many different levels. He could’ve given it to any of his friends.” She shook her head in disgust. “I was young and stupid.”

  “Why would he do that?” George rubbed his hand over his newly cropped hair.

  “I’m not sure. I know whoever sent it to me is shopping it around for big bucks.” She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. “I’m mean, why be a lawyer when I could make money in the porn industry?”

  He pulled her to him. “I’m sorry this is fucking up your entire life.”

  “Just tell me it’s not fucking us up. I can deal with the rest, just not us.” She knew the pictures of her and Jesse had put doubts in George’s mind. She hoped her visit would repair any damage that’d been done.

  “I’m trying, El,” he whispered into her hair. “So, they’re pretty much assuming that Jamie, or Jack, is one of the three guys that attacked the office.”

  Her eyebrows raised and she pushed back so that she could see his eyes. “Since when?”

  “Since they got the guy this afternoon and the fact the ATF won’t tell the FBI if they’ve had any contact with Jack. The FBI thinks ATF is covering up something. I mean, some of that is expected, but eight months is outside of protocol. Patrick confirmed the ATF is circling the wagons and trying to protect Jack.”

  This was new information to Stella. She knew that Jamie contacted the ATF through Patrick; they must be keeping everything close to the vest.

  “You’ve talked to Patrick?” She started chopping onions and mushrooms to put in the quesadillas. She wondered why Patrick hadn’t told George about Jamie’s allegation against her, that she’d blown his cover. It also struck her funny that George called him Jack. Stella turned to look at George to see if he was hiding anything from her. He looked as honest as ever. The realization hit her that George had been honest with her since their agreement; she was the one that hadn’t held up her end of the bargain.

  “Yep. He cares about you. He’s torn up about all this. Thinks it’s his fault.”

  “I’m trying to get past it.”

  “I think you owe it to him to listen to his side of the story.”

  “I’ve already heard his side. And I don’t owe him SHIT, George.” She slapped the tortillas in the pan. “Why are we arguing about this?”

  “Okay!” He held his hands up in surrender. “You talk to Millie?”

  “Every once in awhile. I called her yesterday to let her know that Greg will be handling the PR side of things now. She was relieved. It’d been consuming her life, too. I may go see her while I’m here. Can you get off any time today or tomorrow? I’m leaving in two days.”

  “Oh, I wondered if you were staying. I didn’t see your car.” George looked out of the window into the night.

  “I’ve got some things I need to do before I come back,” Stella said as she concentrated on her cooking. This was so hard. A voice kept telling her to tell him everything.

  “What things?” he asked.

  Finding and killing Jamie. “Family obligations. I already told my Mom I would be around for some things. So...”

  “When are you coming home?�
� he asked, taking a bite of the quesadilla Stella had put on his plate.

  “A week, I think. Stan said they keep putting off my re-entry meeting, but I still have to be here for the evaluation on the 30th. I have a feeling I may not be able to go back, for several reasons.”

  “You don’t think you would be taken seriously as the ‘FBI Beauty’?”

  She grimaced at the term. “What do you think?”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “While I was in Atlanta, I got an offer from a firm in the District. One of the partners called and said I would be a huge draw for clients wanting to work with me because of my high profile and my dealings with the media. She said folks in political trouble would eat it up. You think she’d still think that when my sex tape comes out?” Stella took a bite of her quesadilla while she walked over and sat on the bar stool.

  “Let’s hope your new attorney doesn’t let that happen.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Contingencies

  Jesse watched Stella punch the red bag with disinterest. He looked around the side at her. “Come on! You’re not even trying.”

  Punching the bag even harder, she grunted then walked away. She’d been at this sort of training every day for the last three weeks straight, minus the three days in DC. “I need a break.”

  “A break?” Jesse walked over to where she sat on the mat. “You just had a break.”

  “My entire body hurts. You forget I almost died a few months ago.”

  “No, actually, I haven’t forgotten that, Stella.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “That’s why we’re doing all this, right?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “I need a break, though.”

  “How about a massage?” Jesse stood and pulled his phone out of his pants. He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  “Um...” Stella examined her gloved hands.

  “Hey, Macy, it’s Jesse. I need two massages, please.” He listened for a minute. “Sure, fifteen minutes.”