by Ashlee Price
“Have you tried dating anyone else?”
“There have been a few in-betweens, but nothing ever stuck. But I don’t want to talk about her. What about you? Anybody else after the last guy?”
“Nope.” Jenna shrugged. “Call me crazy, but having my heart broken right after my mother passed away kind of turned me off to love for a while there. I didn’t believe any guy was sincere after that. I just wanted to be left alone and finish school.”
“So what now?”
There was something about the way he looked at her that made Jenna wonder if there was still something there between them. Perhaps it was taking that trip down memory lane, but there was a tingling feeling trickling down her body as they made their way back to The Wheel. She told him about her plans to go to grad school in the fall while he filled her in on his career as a firefighter. They were making strides toward becoming close again. Jenna hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Tanner until that night.
By the time they ended up in front of The Wheel, Tanner was completely sober and they were on the road to friendship.
“Thank you for walking me back,” Jenna laughed. “I should go in and help my dad finish closing up. You’re going to be okay getting home by yourself, right?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” he smiled. “How about lunch?”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah, I got a couple days off next week. We can grab something to eat, outside of the bar.”
That smile of his was so engaging. All Jenna wanted to do was wrap herself around Tanner. She wondered what them being together would feel like.
“Sure, I’d really like that.”
Tanner stepped closer to her with his arms open for a hug. Jenna didn’t shy away as she welcomed the embrace. The spark between them ignited like a newspaper soaked in gasoline, and Jenna pulled away, not wanting to get her feelings into the mix after he’d just broken up with his girlfriend. But as Tanner pulled her back into him, Hannah’s words rang in her mind: “He belonged to you first.”
His face bent down to hers, and it felt so right… just like old times. When his mouth pressed against her lips, Jenna parted them, giving him room to slip his tongue inside. The passion growing between them increased tenfold with that kiss. She didn’t think Tanner could hold her any tighter. Her bosom pressed against his chest so hard she swore she could feel his heart thumping. But maybe it was just her own pulse racing.
Tanner’s hands moved from around her petite frame down to her waist and around to her back pockets. Grabbing her ass through her jeans, he nearly bent her back as they continued to kiss in front of The Wheel.
The moment felt like it could last forever, but eventually they both came up for air. Jenna touched her bottom lip, gazing into Tanner’s eyes.
“Wow,” was all she could muster.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Nostalgia, I guess,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, nostalgia, but I don’t remember it ever being like that,” she admitted.
“Things change,” he winked.
Jenna was at a loss for words, wondering where they went from there. The moment between them was short-lived as Brandy suddenly appeared. Her walk was off, but her mouth was on, and it was loud.
“Where the hell have you been, Tanner?!?” she screamed.
“Oh God, she’s drunk,” he sighed.
“What? She didn’t have that many drinks here!” Jenna protested.
“I didn’t say you got her drunk. She must have gone somewhere else,” he mumbled.
“Tanner Devlin! You get over here right now and help me! I knocked on your door but you weren’t home. I thought you were going to be home! We need to talk! We need to figure out how we’re going to make this work!” Brandy continued to ramble.
“I should get her home,” Tanner told Jenna.
“Yeah, go figure out how to make things work,” Jenna said, shaking her head.
“It’s not like that,” Tanner assured her. “Just let me get her home. I can’t just leave her out here like this.”
“No, you can’t, and I’m not your girlfriend, so my opinion doesn’t matter here. Do what you want. Go figure things out with your girlfriend,” Jenna told him flatly.
Tanner wanted to argue with her, but just then Brandy managed to trip over her own feet while she was standing still. He needed to get her home, and he wished more than anything that Jenna would understand.
But Jenna walked back into the bar without waiting to see how he and Brandy left. She couldn’t believe she’d let herself fall into that kiss believing that he was finished with Brandy.
Trying to put Tanner behind her, once and for all, she got to work cleaning up the bar.
“Dad should have been done with all of this by now,” she huffed as she finished turning the chairs onto the tables.
Jenna decided to see what was holding him up. She was half expecting him to be blubbering over her mother’s desk, but instead she heard voices. He was talking with someone in the office, and that Irish accent was all too familiar. Jenna didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she heard something about money and decided that she’d better.
“I already told you I don’t want you talking to my daughter, Sean. Please respect that,” Paul said to the Irishman.
“But she’s such a lovely businesswoman. Didn’t she tell you how she negotiated my rate up?”
“Yeah, she did, and you don’t have to do that. We can keep things moving the way they’ve been.”
“But she tells me you’re having trouble paying the bills again. I can help you out like I did before.”
“That’s exactly why we’re in this mess to begin with. I should have never taken that loan from you. No offense, but I wish we’d never met. I just want you to finish up this lease and be out of here.”
“You know, Paul, I’m starting to think you’re being a bit unappreciative. Here I go, giving you my hard-earned money and the opportunity to make some more in the bargain, and you’re throwing it back in my face. How about I take the other route we discussed and just let the place get foreclosed on and buy it from the bank? I’ll put yer daughter in a miniskirt with her tits out and have her serve all my friends. You best be careful, Paul.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hannity. You’re right. I’m undeserving of your kindness. Everything stands as is,” he stuttered.
“No, I’m kicking in the extra two grand that I told her, because I’m a man of my word. Besides, the more money I’m passing through here, the faster your debt gets paid. I gave the lovely Jenna your four grand. I already took my share out, of course. I’ll see ya next Thursday, okay? Have my room ready!” Hannity told him.
Jenna’s heart sank, and then she panicked as she realized that Hannity would be heading her way. She knew there was no way that her father wanted her to know anything about what she’d just heard. So she rushed toward the door to pretend she was just making her way back inside. She greeted the Irishman with the fakest of smiles across her face. “Well, Mr. Hannity, I hope you’ve enjoyed your evening here at The Wheel! We all appreciate your business so much.”
She wondered if he could hear the nervousness in her voice. If he could, he didn’t let on. Instead, he smiled just as widely as she had. “Thank you, sweet Jenna. I hope you can teach your old man some of those kind words. But I’ve got something for you.”
“Oh?”
Sean Hannity was intimidating, to say the least. While he wasn’t very tall, his broad shoulders and menacing, broken-nosed face would make anyone cautious, and after hearing how he’d spoken to her father, Jenna was trying her best to keep her distance.
“Here,” he said, handing her a few bills.
“What’s this for?”
“You must have been my lucky charm tonight, because I won a nice little pot playing poker back there with the guys. So this is my tip for you and your excellent service this evening.”
“Oh, Mr. Hannity, I couldn’t,
” she protested, trying to hand the money back.
“Aren’t you a bartender?”
“Yeah, but—”
“And isn’t the money you make for yourself mostly from tips? Isn’t whatever money the bar made tonight put towards bills?”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts. Take it and enjoy it. You earned it.” He walked away before she could try and hand it back to him again.
Jenna watched the man walk out of the bar. She went back to cleaning, refusing to talk to her father about anything else that night. Some of her questions had been answered, but a plethora of others had surfaced. The warm, secure feeling she got with her dad around was fading. She just didn’t understand how he could let a man like Hannity come in and take over. He didn’t belong at The Wheel. So Jenna made up her mind that she’d do whatever she could to get him out of it.
Chapter 5
Tanner’s tux had a silver floral pattern embroidered into a white fabric that Jenna absolutely loved. He held his hand out to her. All she saw was her white-gloved fingers extend to him, letting his hand envelope hers. She was smitten as they ran away from their ceremony into a waiting limousine with their friends and family cheering them away into happiness.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jenna smiled to him.
“Neither can I. This is all we’ve ever wanted. I’m so happy we finally made it!” He pulled her in close to him. They shared a kiss. Jenna tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes, getting lost in the romance of it all.
When she opened them, they were no longer in the limo but in a suite overlooking a white sand beach. Palm trees swayed as sheer chiffon curtains danced over the breeze. Jenna inhaled that beautiful ocean air, wondering when the honeymoon would be over. Tanner walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling against her neck.
Jenna moaned as they began to move together, stepping side to side as if dancing to a song only they could hear. It wasn’t long before she felt the softness of his lips travelling up her neck, to her ear, and finally turning her around to kiss her deeply. Tanner’s appetite appeared insatiable as their bodies pressed against each other.
Scooping her up onto the marble ledge of the balcony, Tanner opened her robe, revealing a perfectly tanned and toned body.
“Oh, Mrs. Devlin, you are remarkable,” he whispered as his mouth began to travel down her silhouette. The slopes and curves of her torso arched with every erogenous zone his tongue grazed. When he finally dropped to his knees and spread her legs, a part of Jenna wondered if she’d fall off the balcony. But Tanner placed his hands firmly around her backside, holding her steady, before he buried his face in the most tender place on her body. The blissful ecstasy coursing through her forced her to arch her back, writhing her hips into his tongue, waiting for her first orgasm.
The waves crashing on the beach below mimicked her sweet nectar dripping onto her husband’s mouth and down his chin. He waited for her to come again before coming up for air, kissing her delicately on the mouth before helping her off the ledge and into the bedroom, leaving the doors wide open.
Jenna didn’t care if anyone saw, but no one would as they lay down in the plush bed. Wrapping themselves around each other, their lust overflowed onto the sheets as she felt every inch of Tanner inside of her. It was as spectacular as it had been when they first made love in their younger years. Every stroke, every thrust, every roll of his hips into her body brought on pleasure she never thought she could feel.
Tanner had her mind and body caught in the rapture of his essence. The touch of his hands, the flex of his muscles, every movement made her fall deeper and deeper in love with him. Just when Jenna thought they were finished, there was a light knock at the door.
“Come in,” Tanner called out while still moving in and out of her.
Jenna panicked as her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. “No, don’t come in! Are you crazy?!?”
“Stop it, babe, let the world see us,” Tanner said to her. “It’s alright. Join us.”
Jenna scurried under the blankets, away from Tanner’s naked body. He simply waved her off as if she was being silly and opened the door to welcome their unexpected guest. Just like that, her magical moment turned into a nightmare as Brandy stepped into the room.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?!? Get out!” Jenna screamed.
“Oh, Tanner, tell your wife to relax.” Brandy smiled, kissing him on the cheek and running her hand down his chest.
“Get your hands off of him,” Jenna yelled, leaping out of bed.
“Now it’s a party!” Tanner exclaimed.
“Don’t worry, Jen Jen,” Brandy giggled, “you can have him. After all, he did belong to you first. Here, take him.”
Jenna watched as a collar and handcuffs attached to a chain appeared around Tanner’s neck and wrists. She kept shaking her head, refusing to participate. She closed her eyes, willing it all to go away, waiting for the madness to stop, waiting for her husband to return to their glorious moment.
When Jenna opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom, at home in Doveport, drenched in sweat. The sun had risen in the sky and the morning found her confused and riled up from her dreams and the night before. It was too much to even think about before a morning cup of coffee.
Pushing herself out of bed, Jenna took all the sheets with her, hating that she had sweated through her pajamas. A quick shower would refresh her. She threw on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts before making her way through the house. Walking past her father’s room was jarring; the bed was made. It was just as immaculate as the desk in the office. She stepped inside the room, inhaling what she wanted to be her mother’s scent. It was only that of the perfume she used to wear, but still, it brought a tear to her eye. Her father refused to let any of it go.
Simply standing in the room used to make her feel better, but now it made Jenna angry. She couldn’t help it. Then something caught her eye. It was like looking in a mirror, but the picture was of her mother. She was standing by herself with a smile as bright as the sun. They had the same eyes, the same color hair, and even the same nose. It made her wonder if the reason she and her father butted heads so much now was because of how much she looked like her mother. The sadness was becoming overwhelming, so she left the room, heading down to the kitchen.
Paul sat at the kitchen table with a smile on his face, but he was surrounded by mail, most of which looked like bills with angry red letters stamped across the pages. Glancing over his shoulder as she went to the counter to pour herself some coffee, she couldn’t help but notice some of the pages had her name on them.
“What’s that you’re reading?” she asked him.
“Good morning,” he responded to her.
Jenna sighed. “Good morning, Daddy. Now, what’s that you’re reading with my name all over it? I never knew you liked to commit felonies. It’s a crime opening up someone else’s mail!”
“Not when it’s coming to my house, and especially not when I’m going to be footing the bill,” he smiled, sliding her the envelopes he’d already read through.
Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her father that happy, and as she read through the letters, she realized why.
“I can’t believe I got in,” she laughed. “Even with the semester off and everything? I got in!”
“Look at the others,” he told her excitedly. “NYU, UCLA, Penn State, Temple, University of Miami. I didn’t realize you sent your application in to every school across the eastern seaboard.”
“Remember that grant I was telling you about? It left me with some cash for grad school applications, so I put in as many as I could,” Jenna chuckled. “I had no idea that so many would come back.”
“Well, we’re up to six! I’m so proud of you, Jenna. Your mother would be too.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Jenna smiled.
“So when are you leaving?”
Jenna s
ipped her coffee. “Leaving?”
“Yeah, to go to grad school. You’re going to grad school!” he stated firmly.
“Dad, relax, I just got home yesterday. I’m not thinking about school just yet. It’s only May. I have until July to make my decision. What’s the rush?”
“The rush is I don’t want you hanging around Doveport all summer. I don’t want you stuck here. You need to leave!”
“Wow, thanks, Dad. Way to make me feel welcome. I feel right at home. I want to relax. I think I’ve earned a few weeks without thinking about school. I don’t want to worry about any of that now. Not to mention the costs.”
“Stop worrying about the money. I’ll take care of it! Has there ever been a time during your educational career that I didn’t pay for something you needed?”
Jenna had to think about it. “I don’t think so.”
“Exactly! Just because you’re old enough to understand that bills need to be paid doesn’t mean you’re old enough to treat me like I’m the child. You don’t have to find excuses, just find the time to pack your stuff up and hit the road. You gotta visit at least three of these schools to make an informed decision. That’s a great road trip. Maybe take Hannah with you and have some fun.”
“I’m having fun right here, Daddy. I don’t know why you’re in such a rush to get me out of Doveport. It’s not like you’re dating anyone and don’t want me to know about it… or are you?”
“Never.” He shook his head furiously.
“Dad, it’s fine, I was just kidding. I’m okay with you dating. It still hurts, but eventually you have to find another—”
“I don’t want to fight with you right now. Especially after we just got this good news. Your mother and I agreed that you would go as far as you possibly could with your schooling. We, especially her, didn’t want you confined to Doveport for the rest of your life.”
“You know what’s wrong with that, Dad?”