“Yes, boss.”
We said our good-byes, which took well over five minutes, and then he left.
Clay arrived in one of his joyful moods, but I didn’t want to play along with him or make an effort of conversation. How could someone be so happy all the time?
I rang Caroline and told her as much as she needed to hear. I said I’d come by to collect my stuff in a couple of days. I needed a few more days for the bruises to disappear completely, or she’d have a fit, and probably call Mum.
Marcus came home about ten. He looked stressed.
“How’s Joe?” I asked.
“He’s doing okay. They’re keeping him in for a couple of days for observation. He’s pissed off about missing the clash.”
I poured him a whisky and then sat beside him and touched his cheek. “You look tired, babe.”
“Not that tired.” He grinned.
Laying me down on the couch, he pressed himself to me.
I felt his erection. We kissed. It was a hungry, urgent embrace. I stopped and gently pushed him away.
“What about Dylan?” I asked.
“I’ve made sure he’s out all evening. No one’s gonna disturb us.”
His mouth found mine again. There were no excuses this time.
I was scared that he’d think I was inexperienced compared to the others. I wanted to please him so he wouldn’t regret his decision. I felt I had a lot to live up to.
The first time was mind blowing. He dominated our lovemaking, which for me was such a turn-on. My only experience of sex was with David, and he had been as inexperienced as I was. I realised that night how much I didn’t know. Marcus aroused feelings in me that I didn’t know existed. He made me feel sexy and special. He eyed my body and gently caressed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I believed he wanted me, and that he had never known anyone like me. I felt so lustful.
He did everything he could to please me, and I pleasured him back, which I’m certain he enjoyed. Conjuring up images of Marcus with other women, I imagine how they would have behaved in his bed. I didn’t want him to think of me as frigid. I knew a man like him could have any woman he wanted. I had to show him I was worthy.
It was wonderful, perfect even. I had only imagined what making love to Marcus was like. I expected him to be experienced, but not thoughtful. He was gentle at first, and then rough at the right moment. He kissed every inch of my body and gave me what I needed. I was on top of him when he climaxed. I felt his body stiffen, then he let out a loud groan and sunk, exhausted into the couch.
Of course, I wanted to hear him tell me how wonderful I was but it wasn’t in his character. Never mind, I was satisfied in more ways than one. I was a woman again. It had been such a long time since I’d last had sex, and enjoyed it.
I’d never experienced anything like that before, the warmth and excitement Marcus gave me.
When I got my breath back, I sat up on his chest and ran my fingers through his dark hair.
“Are you a model?” he asked me.
Did I look that good? “What makes you think that?”
“Well, for one, you’ve got an amazing body and a sexy figure.” He ran his fingers up and down my bare arms. “And you’ve certainly got the height for it, but it’s the way you walk. You’re confident, like you’re better than anyone else.”
If only he knew how much I was shaking in my boots that night in the subway.
I was about to object when he added, “But that’s cool. My woman’s got to stand out and be tough.”
So from then on, I had to be sexy, cool, confident, and tough. Until that summer, I never classed myself as sexy, cool, and tough. Yes, I had some confidence, so maybe I could pull it off. I just had to get smart.
I woke up the following morning in Marcus’s bed. I couldn’t remember how I came to be there. He was already up and getting dressed.
“I didn’t want to wake you. You look so beautiful sleeping. I’m shattered. I’ve got no energy for work, and it’s all your fault.”
He came over to the bed and we started kissing. I felt my desire building once more. I grabbed and squeezed his bum.
“Don’t tempt me, Jade. I’ve only got half a day. I’ve got to go.”
He kissed me again and then finished dressing.
“Is everything okay for this afternoon?” I asked.
“Yeah, the guys will be there. What are you up to?”
“Trust me.” I smiled, and then lay back on the bed and closed my eyes.
I fell back to sleep for a little, then got up and made breakfast. I was feeling well that day, no more aches and pains. I took a quick shower, dressed in my new clothes, and took a long look at myself in the mirror. The bruises had gone, my lips were red and soft, and my eyes weren’t black anymore.
“Damn!” I said. I looked too good. It could spoil everything.
I guessed Dylan would come home at the same time as Marcus, so I made up my mind to make them both a meal. I was a good cook. It was the one chore back home I enjoyed. Searching the cupboards, I found a tin of stewing beef, some flour, and luckily there was enough margarine and eggs in the fridge to make a steak pie. The three apples in the fruit bowl were perfect for an apple crumble desert.
By the time the guys came home, everything was ready and served up on plates.
“Something smells nice.” Marcus sat himself down at the table and started to tuck in.
“She cooks as well,” Dylan said sarcastically.
He stood by the fridge and stared at me for a full minute before sitting down at the table. I’d been wearing sweatpants and baggy t-shirts, for the last few days, I supposed my tight leather trousers caught his interest.
Dinner worked out well. In fact, they both had seconds. I suspected that neither had eaten a decent, home-cooked meal in a long time. I couldn’t imagine Monica enjoying kitchen duties, though I didn’t say as much.
“That was great,” Marcus commented.
“Well, get used to it,” I told them. “I’m taking care of both of you from now on.”
“How do you think you’ll cope with making dinner for twelve?” Dylan glanced at me. “You take on Marcus, you get the whole package.”
Marcus looked at me for an answer.
“If it means I’ll be accepted, I’ll do anything.”
Dylan smiled.
That’s when I anticipated everything was going to be all right. The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. The old cliché was right after all.
“God, look at the time,” I cried, “the guys will be waiting.” I ran upstairs to get ready.
Marcus kept pressing to know what I was up to. I think he was pissed off because I kept my plan from him.
The others were already at the sub when we arrived.
“Hi, guys,”
“Hi, Jade, you look good today,” Ian said as he eyed me up.
“Yeah, but that’s the problem,” I told them.
“What do you mean?” Hatch asked.
“Yeah, what’s this all about?” Tony questioned.
Marcus folded his arms. “That’s what I want to know.”
“It’s what you said yesterday, Marcus, about looking good for the clash. Well, with what Monica’s been saying to the Vipers, they’ll expect me to turn up looking like this. But what happens if I turn up covered in bruises and hobbling on crutches. I don’t think they would stoop so low as to beat up a defenceless woman, would they?”
I tried to look innocent.
Everyone started talking at once.
“Plus, when they see the state of me, they’ll know Monica’s been stirring trouble, and then it will be just me and her, and I promise you, she’ll get what she deserves. It might even work out that you won’t need to fight.”
“Stop right there, Jade,” Marcus called. “There’s gonna be a fight tonight. They’ve had this coming for a long time. I’m not letting them get away with trashing my house and hurting Joe. No, they’re gonna fucking pay.”
/> Everyone spoke in agreement.
“Don’t try to interfere, this doesn’t concern you. Do I make myself understood?”
“I’m sorry, of course,” I replied.
I cursed myself for being so stupid. Just because I was Marcus’s girlfriend, it didn’t give me any rights. I was angry at myself, and ashamed.
Dylan nudged my shoulder, playfully. “But it’s a cool plan, Jade. You get the Vipers off your back, and Monica’s shown to be the liar, and back-stabbing whore we all know her to be. We’ll go along with it. What do you need?”
“Yeah, what do you want us to do?” Clay asked, “Beat you up?”
We all laughed.
“No, leave that part to me.” I smiled. “Steve, when you visit Joe later, can you borrow some crutches?”
He grinned. “I’ll try my best,”.
“Marcus?” Dylan waited for his brother to speak.
It all came down to whether the president agreed or not.
Finally, Marcus nodded his head. “As long as I get to pound a Viper’s head in, I don’t give a shit what game you want to play.”
“Then it’s settled,” Dylan declared.
“We’ll meet in the park around midnight,” Marcus said.
We said our good-byes, and then the three of us started walking home.
“That was smart,” Dylan said.
“Thanks, I’m not just a pretty face you know.”
“Yeah, I’m beginning to see that.” He grinned.
Had he finally accepted me? I wanted to think so.
We went to the cinema to kill time. The movie couldn’t have been good, as I can’t even remember what the film was about. We didn’t get back to the house until late in the afternoon.
Marcus went upstairs to play his guitar, it was his way of chilling out, and Dylan stayed in his room listening to music at a very loud volume. I’m surprised the neighbours didn’t complain, but would they dare? I guessed it was a ritual both men did before a clash. I washed up the dishes, my way of dealing with it. After I’d finished clearing up, I went upstairs and listened to Marcus playing. He had talent. I fell asleep listening to him playing “Stairway to Heaven”, classic Led Zeppelin. I woke around ten-thirty to the aroma of fresh, hot coffee, under my nose.
“Time to get up, babe.”
Marcus sat on the edge of the bed with a steaming mug in his hands.
“Hey, you.” I yawned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I sat up to drink my coffee.
He stroked my hair and caressed my cheek. “Are you sure you can pull this off?”
“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine. Just promise me something.”
“Shoot.”
“No matter how bad things look for me, don’t interfere. I can take care of myself. Promise me you’ll stay out of it.”
Marcus shook his head, “I can’t promise that.” I scowled. “If it looks like you’re getting beaten to death, of course I’m gonna bloody step in.”
I smiled. “It won’t come to that,” I assured him. I stroked his cheek. “Well, at least promise you’ll look after that face of yours. I like looking at it.” A terrible thought then occurred to me. “It’s just skin, isn’t it? No weapons?”
“Yeah, just knuckles, the rules are agreed before any fight.”
“But can you trust them?”
“It’s the rules of the gangs, Jade. Everybody lives by them, including the Vipers.”
“Don’t tell me. I know... I’ve still got lots to learn.”
We both laughed.
“I’ll be downstairs, don’t be long.” He kissed me then left.
I started to get ready. Covering my ribs with a large, wide bandage, I then cut up one of Marcus’s old t-shirts, short enough so the bandage would show. I finished dressing and then sat in front of the mirror to start work. Dylan knocked on the door, and then walked in and sat on the bed.
I tied my hair back and started with some grey eyeshadow under my left eye, and then mixed dark purple lipstick and black eye shadow together. I put some around my lips, and a big streak down my cheek. Dylan gazed at the transformation. Then as an extra, I drew what looked like three stitches, across my forehead with black eyeliner.
He gave me a sceptical look. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna be close enough for them to notice it’s only makeup,” I assured him.
I turned around and faced him. “Well, how do I look?”
“A mess,” he laughed, and then looked concerned. “I know you think you’re tough, Jade, and maybe you can fight.”
I gave him a cold stare.
He ignored me and continued, “Are you sure you can handle her? I’ve seen Monica in action, and she’s a dirty fighter.”
“I’ll be fine, Dylan. Thanks for the concern. Tonight, I’ll show you how well I can handle myself, and then maybe you’ll stop mothering me.”
“Sorry.” He held up his hands in defence. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I should be protecting you. Just be careful, okay?”
He stood up to leave, pausing to rest his hand on my shoulder. It seemed to linger. I’m sure he wanted to say something else. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and left. His touch made the hairs on my arms stand up, and a warm feeling where his hand had been. I liked the sensation.
Marcus stormed into the room. “You ready yet?” he barked. “It’s late, and we’ve got to leave... Wow! You look great.”
With a swollen lip, bruised cheek, black eye, stitches, and broken ribs, I did look great.
We met up with the others in the park, and thankfully, Steve had the crutches.
“Jade, you look fantastic,” Paul said.
“Have you ever thought about doing this for a living?” Steve asked.
“What, an actress?” I replied.
“No, a makeup artist.”
We laughed.
Everyone looked good, felt great, and was in high spirits. In fact, the guys looked delicious. I felt honoured to be hanging out with so many gorgeous men.
“Now, don’t any of you give me away, okay,” I warned.
We were close. I heard Monica’s laughter echoing through the subway. Boy I was going to take pleasure in beating the crap out of her.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I started using the crutches. I stood behind the Tyrants, making sure the Vipers couldn’t see me until my big entrance.
Paul sniggered.
“Hush up,” I whispered.
We turned the corner and saw the Vipers chatting to one another.
“Hey, Luke,” Marcus shouted.
The leader of the Vipers spun round. When they saw us, their attitude changed. Luke stood up straight, fists clenched at his side. With tension in the air, the clash could have kicked off anytime.
Monica was smoking a cigarette, one hand rested on her hip as she tried to look cool. I despised her so much.
“So, where’s the bitch?” she snarled.
“Well,” Marcus said, “there’s a small problem. I can’t allow Jade to fight you tonight.” His face was expressionless.
What’s he doing, I wondered.
“Why? She too scared?” Monica turned to the Vipers and sniggered.
“Jade, come here,” Marcus ordered.
The gang parted and I hobbled out on crutches, my face twisted in agony. I brushed my hair away from my face so they could see the stitches. Monica gasped. She’d assumed that I’d recovered.
“You’ve a short memory, don’t you, Monica?” Marcus said loudly. “You and your girlfriends beat her up last week.”
Luke frowned. “She’s not in your gang then?”
“No, before last week I’d never met her.”
Luke turned to Monica.
“You never told me that. Come to ‘fink about it, you said she beat you up. I ‘fink it might ‘ave been the other way ‘round. What other bullshit ‘ave you been telling me?”
He grabbed Monica’s arm. “Get the fuck out of ‘ere, I’ll d
eal with you later.” He pushed her away, silencing her with a stare.
She turned to leave.
I could tell Marcus wasn’t going to say anything else. It hadn’t gone as planned, but I wasn’t going to let her walk away after what she’d done to me, and all the trouble she’d caused. I needed to say something, only things were going well, and I had to be careful what I said, and how I said it.
“I have something to say,” I shouted.
I sensed asking Marcus for permission to speak showed respect. He nodded his acceptance.
“Monica, I’m not finished with you yet.” I hobbled a little closer. “You don’t look so tough without your girlfriends, but as Marcus said, I wouldn’t be much competition for you right now. So how about you and me, Wednesday, nine o’clock, here in the sub.” I wasn’t waiting for an answer. “And if you don’t show, I’ll find you.” Talking tough, I felt dangerous.
“She’ll be there,” Luke assured me.
Monica scowled at me before leaving.
“So, Jade’s not a target now?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah, we ain’t got a problem with ‘er.” Luke straightened up and glared at Marcus.
Marcus looked to Clay and nodded in my direction.
Clay whispered in my ear. “It’s time you left, everything’s okay now. Go home, Jade. We won’t be long.”
It was wrong for me to speak to Marcus, so I did as Clay said, and hobbled out of there. I wanted to stay and watch the clash and see my man in action. However, unless there was another female to fight, I couldn’t remain, and I’d made it clear that I wasn’t able to take on Monica.
Too psyched up to go home, I went for a walk around the park until I calmed down. I didn’t stay long. I wanted to be home when they arrived back. I had a feeling they were going to need me.
Marcus, Dylan, Clay, Paul, and Steve rolled in around one in the morning. The others had gone straight home. No victory celebration, no cheering, or yelling, the Tyrant’s entrance was serene. I didn’t want to ask what had happened, it was obvious from the state of them.
They sat down, and I started to clean them up. Marcus’s lip was cut, again, and his eyebrow was already swelling. I pictured him with a black eye the next morning. He didn’t even flinch when I dabbed antiseptic on his cut, even though it must have stung like the devil.
In Times of Violence Page 7