Escapades
Page 20
*
“Do you have any idea how long we’ve been looking for you?”
Joey eased her eyes open and cast a blurry gaze at Mel’s face.
“Huh?”
“We’ve been looking all over for you. You just disappeared on us.”
Joey sat up from the rock she’d been leaning against and tried to shake the cobwebs from her head.
“You seemed to be getting along just fine without me.”
“So you decided to run away?”
“I just went for a walk.”
“A walk? Joey, you’re miles from the bar.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. At least a mile. We hung out waiting for you after last call, but when you didn’t show up, we started looking for you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Where are the girls?”
“They were helping me look by searching in the other direction. When I found you I called them and told them to go home.”
“I’m sorry I beaver dammed you.”
Mel laughed.
“I can’t believe you used that phrase.”
“What? I think it’s a great one.”
“You’re twisted.” She sat on the rock next to Joey.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“You were primed. Amanda was primed. What happened?”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“Well, without the company of Sara and Amanda, where do you suppose we’ll be able to stay tonight?”
“I called a cab. Jett said she’d leave the front door open for us.”
“Oh, yeah.”
They climbed off the rocks and walked toward a gas station where Mel had told the cab to meet them.
“You could have been killed tonight,” Mel said.
“How do you figure?”
“You could have fallen off those rocks and drowned.”
“I can swim.”
“Half asleep?”
“You worry too much.”
Mel stared at Joey in the backseat of the cab.
“I may as well worry. Thanks to you I’ve got nothing better to do tonight.”
“Man, I really am sorry. I thought you’d get them both.”
“So, what happened?” Mel asked again.
“Didn’t we cover this back at the beach?”
“I never got an answer. You were as hot for Amanda as I was. Why the sudden lack of desire?”
Joey turned to look out the window. She shrugged.
“No reason. I just wasn’t in the mood.”
“That’s crap and you know it. Tell me what happened, damn it.”
“Fine. If you must know, it was her car,” Joey said quietly.
“What was wrong with her car?”
“It was a Charger.”
“So?”
“So all I could think about was Samantha, okay? Are you happy? Feel free to laugh and judge and have a great fucking time at my expense.”
“Dude, are you serious?”
Joey turned to Mel, who looked genuinely concerned.
“Yes. I’m serious. I couldn’t do anything with Amanda because I felt un-fucking-faithful to the woman who dumped my ass.”
“Shit. That’s rough.”
“Tell me.”
“How are we going to get you over her, Jo? You’ve got to be able to move on.”
“I tried, man. You know I tried. I was all set to have my way with Amanda. But I couldn’t. I don’t know when I’ll be ready, but it can’t be soon enough.”
“I hate to see you in so much pain. It’s like college all over again.”
“It’s worse this time. At least then I was young and stupid and could just drown my sorrows. And I could hit on any girl I wanted. I can’t do that now. I feel like I’m trying to play responsible adult now.”
“Responsible adults don’t wander the beach in the middle of the night.”
“This one does.”
“I’m sorry, Joey. I know you never wanted to grow up and when you finally tried, you got shit on.”
“It sucks, for sure.”
The cab pulled up in front of a mission-styled house.
“We’re here,” he said.
Joey and Mel got out. Mel tossed a wad of cash at the cabbie then threw her arm around Joey as they walked up the drive.
“I had no idea you weren’t ready to move on. I guess I just assumed you could bounce back, too. Like the old days. I should have realized this was different. I’m sorry I pushed you.”
“What? I thought I could do it. Sorry I let you down.”
“You didn’t, my friend. Not at all. We just know now that scoring will have to wait.”
“Well, it sucked that your scoring tonight depended on mine.”
“Yeah. We’ll make sure that never happens again.”
They let themselves in the house and stripped to their underwear in the entry hall before making their way to the air mattresses their hostess had blown up for them.
“Hey, Jo, I really am sorry you’re hurting.”
“Thanks, Mel. It’s not fun. I need to figure out how to make it go away.”
“I’m guessing only time will do that.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Good night.”
Joey stared at the ceiling, thoughts of Samantha racing through her mind. She had no idea what time she finally fell asleep. It must have been late because Saturday morning came very early.
*
“Get up, you two lazy bums.” A fireplug of a woman with jet-black hair stood staring down at them.
“Holy shit. What time is it?” Mel asked.
“It’s late. Get up. You two need food and coffee so we can head to the tournament.”
“What time does the tournament start?” Joey managed.
“It starts at nine. It’s seven thirty. Get your lazy asses up.”
“Oh shit.” Joey rolled over and put her pillow over her head.
“Oh no, you don’t.” The brunette grabbed the pillow and tossed it on the couch. “Get up. What time did you two get here last night?”
“I have no idea,” Mel said. “It was after last call when we went looking for Romeo over there. I don’t know how much later I finally found her.”
“What? Never mind. Tell me over pancakes and coffee. Come on, guys.”
Joey and Mel finally got up and followed their hostess to the kitchen.
“Hey, Jett, thanks for letting us crash here,” Mel finally said over a cup of coffee.
“You’re welcome. But why the hell are you two in your skivvies?”
“We figured our clothes would be covered in sand. We didn’t want to track it through your house,” Joey explained.
“What the hell? What were you two doing on the beach last night?”
“I went for a walk.” Joey knew it sounded lame.
“And then she fell asleep, and I had to find her.”
“You passed out on the sand?” Jett asked.
“No. I dozed off on some rocks.”
“Damn, that’s scary. How fucked up were you?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Shit.”
She put plates in front of them with three huge pancakes and refilled their coffee.
“So where are your clothes?”
“The ones from last night? They’re in your entryway.”
“No. The rest of them.”
“In the car. In Flannel’s parking lot.”
“Only you two. Jesus Christ. I would love to join you sometime when you come to town, but I’m afraid I’d get in all sorts of trouble.”
“Speaking of trouble, where’s the missus?” Mel asked.
“She’s already at the beach. She’s saving us seats, but we can’t dilly-dally. Go throw your clothes on. We’ll go get your car. Shit. We’re going to be late.”
“We can get the car afte
r the tournament,” Mel said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We’ll just throw our clothes on and go. Do you have a couple of spare toothbrushes?”
Jett hurried them off to different bathrooms to speed up the process, and soon they were piled into her Mercedes SUV and heading to the beach. They parked at a lot three blocks from their destination and hurried to find Heather surrounded by people in the bleachers. They climbed up and sat with her.
“Thanks for saving us seats,” Joey said.
“No problem. You look like hell, by the way. Good night?”
“It could have been,” Mel piped in, grabbing Heather for a hug.
“What happened? Don’t tell me the dynamic duo struck out.”
“Long story,” Joey said, hoping Heather would let it die.
“I heard you’re serious with someone anyway,” Heather said.
“You heard wrong.”
“I did?”
Joey watched as Heather and Mel exchanged glances.
“I was with someone and now I’m not.”
“Got it. Touchy subject?”
“The touchiest,” Mel said.
“I’m sorry. Well, let’s just relax and watch the women.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Joey was relaxing, enjoying the skills and physiques of the women on the court. The morning was passing pleasantly until a man sitting behind them came back from his fifth or sixth trip to the beer stand.
“They’re not bad for a bunch of rug munchers,” he said.
Joey tensed and looked at Mel who simply rolled her eyes.
She cringed when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
“I didn’t mean no offense,” he said.
She pulled away and ignored him.
“Shit, there’s nothin’ but muff divers around here, are there?”
“Give it a rest, buddy,” Jett said.
“Hey, sister,” the man called to the woman about to serve. “How about you try cock just once? I got one for you.”
The woman didn’t react; rather, she scored on a perfect serve.
“Don’t make us call security,” Jett said quietly.
“Fuck me. I know where I’m not wanted.” The man walked down the steps on unsteady legs and disappeared into the crowd at the end of the court.
“What a scumbag,” Heather said.
“No doubt.”
She and Jett went down to the concession stands and picked up hot dogs and beer for their group.
“You sure you can handle a little hair of the dog?” Jett joked.
“I’m telling you. I wasn’t messed up last night.”
“No? So what was with the long walk on the beach in the middle of the night?”
“I just needed some time to clear my head. I was bummin’ hard-core.”
“You really got burned, huh? Hey, I’m sorry about that.”
“Thanks. It just reinforced that I’m not relationship material. I’ll keep my relationships to a six-hour maximum from now on.” She wished she believed what she was saying.
“There’s the Joey I know and love.”
Joey forced a smile as they made their way back to the bleachers.
The early afternoon sun felt good on her face, and Joey found herself occasionally dozing off during the tourney. It was nice to spend time not trying to outrun her demons. She was enjoying friends, sports, and the great outdoors and was thankful for every minute.
“Your body was made to please a man!” Joey heard someone yell, and her eyes flew open.
“Where the hell is that jerk now?”
“It sounds like he’s across the court,” Jett said.
“He was quiet for so long. I’d hoped he’d been escorted out.”
She saw the man stand in the center of the stands across the way. He unzipped his pants.
“I’ve got something for you right here, sister. Come and find out what you’ve been missing!”
Everything seemed to slow down. Joey watched as security ran up the stairs, and around a blond woman who tried to step out of their way. She saw the guards grab the man by his arms and struggle to get him to the steps. She watched as the man fought against them and finally broke free, knocking the woman off balance. She fell backward down the stairs and lay motionless on the ground.
“Samantha!” Joey yelled, quickly climbing over people to get down to the sand. She cut across the game in progress, and now the security guards were after her as well.
She knelt next to the still body on the ground.
“Samantha? Can you hear me?” She looked around. “Where are the paramedics?”
As if on cue, the standby paramedics were there, checking her vitals. Two security guards grabbed her by her arms.
“I’m not going to fight you,” she said. “I’m sorry. This is my ex. She’s pregnant.”
The guards loosened their grips on her.
“I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have cut across the court,” Joey continued.
“It’s cool. I can see why you’d be upset,” one of the paramedics said as the guards released her.
“How far along is she?” the other asked her.
“A little over five months.”
They rolled her onto a backboard and carried her across the sand to a waiting ambulance.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Cottage Hospital. Do you know where that is?”
“Can I ride with?”
“Sure. Come on.”
And, for the second time in twenty-four hours, she left without telling Mel or anyone where she was going.
*
They wheeled Samantha into a room in the Emergency Department. Joey hurried to keep up. Samantha hadn’t made a sound, and Joey’s distress was growing with every passing minute.
Joey sat next to her and held her hand, talking to her quietly as they waited for the doctor.
“You’ll be okay, baby. I know I shouldn’t call you that. I’m sorry. It’s just that it comes so naturally when I’m with you.”
She realized she was babbling, but didn’t care. She kept up a steady flow of one-sided conversation until a short, balding man walked in.
“I’m Dr. Lamton. I’ll be examining your…friend.”
Joey stood.
“Do I have to leave?”
“No need.”
He lifted her eyelids and shined a light in each eye. He massaged her scalp and nodded sagely.
“She’s got quite a goose egg. What did she hit her head on?”
“I don’t know. I thought she just hit the sand. Though I suppose she might have bumped it on the metal bleachers.”
“That makes sense. I think she has a concussion. We need to get her to wake up.”
“They used smelling salts in the ambulance, but that didn’t help.”
“I’ve got something a little stronger.”
He broke a capsule under her nose, and they watched as Samantha shook her head and quickly opened her eyes.
She looked around, clearly confused, and was even more so when her gaze landed on Joey.
“What? Where?”
“Shh. You just relax,” the doctor said. He motioned for Joey to pour a glass of water.
“Let’s get you sitting up so we can get you to drink some of this.”
Joey and the doctor helped Samantha sit up just as Brenda and Liz scurried into the room.
“What are you doing here?” Brenda asked.
“I rode along in the ambulance. I was worried about her.”
“Thanks for that. We’ll take it from here.”
“What happened?” Samantha said quietly.
Both Brenda and Joey started to speak at once. Brenda glanced at Joey, who backed away from the bed, realizing she really didn’t have any right to be there. She remembered the baby and stepped forward, shouldering past Brenda.
“How’s the baby?” she asked the doctor.
Samantha’s hands went to her belly as her eyes grew wide.
“The baby sounds fine,” the doctor announced.
There was a collective exhaling of breath.
“You need to rest now. Don’t go to sleep, but just relax, please,” Dr. Lamton told Samantha.
“You can head out now, if you want,” Brenda said to Joey, apparently worried about her level of comfort.
Joey glanced back at Samantha, then back to Brenda. She nodded.
“You’re right. I’ll text Mel to come get me. I’ll see you guys around.”
“Wait a minute,” Samantha said. She looked at Brenda and Liz. “Can I please have a moment alone with Joey?”
Joey’s stomach was flip-flopping as she watched them leave the room. She turned back to Samantha.
“Look, maybe I didn’t have the right to ride along in the ambulance with you,” she began.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m glad you were there for me. I’m surprised you’d do that for me after the way I treated you.”
Joey shrugged. “I was mostly concerned about little DJ.”
“DJ?”
“Yeah. That’s what I call him. Kind of like Dee Junior, I guess.”
Samantha smiled.
“DJ. I like that.”
“Whatever. I need to go. I’m glad you’re okay. You gave us all a good scare.”
“Well, thank you, Joey.”
“You’re welcome.”
Joey felt a mixture of joy and pain as she walked out to the waiting room, where she found Mel, Jett, and Heather waiting along with Brenda and Liz.
“How’d you know to come here?” Joey asked.
“You were a lot easier to find today than you were last night,” Mel said.
“Good.”
“How you doin?” Mel asked.
“I’m okay. I’ve been better. Let’s get out of here.”
“Let’s catch some waves,” Jett suggested.
*
“So how’d things go with Samantha?” Mel asked when she and Joey had paddled out of earshot of Jett and Heather.
“I don’t know. She thanked me for being there, and I got all, you know, excited. And then she didn’t ask me to stay so I got all bummed.”