Drake's Rock

by Alex Riordan

  Chapter 5

  The following week, on Thursday morning, Stephanie walked into the office and noticed that Jessie’s desk was empty. Attempting to hide her disappointment, she looked over at Theresa and asked, “Jessie not coming in today?”

  Looking up from her keyboard, Theresa said, “Oh, she’ll be in. She’s just running late today. I should have told you…she comes in late one day a month. Her band has a standing gig at this bar downtown where they play until four in the morning.”

  “Really?” Stephanie said, intrigued. Neither woman had mentioned that Jessie was in a band before this. She wondered why? “I didn’t know that Jessie was in a band. What does she do?”

  “Yeah, they’ve been doing this gig for about two years, now. She’s the lead singer and main songwriter for the group. They've been together forever, though,” Theresa answered, noticing at the same time how lost Stephanie looked. Taking pity on the woman, she said, “Why don’t you pull your chair over here next to me? I can go over things with you until Jessie comes in if you’d like?”

  Stephanie nodded, relieved. Smiling, she said, “Thanks, Theresa.” It had been two weeks since she’d started working with Jessie and Theresa, and she was finally beginning to feel comfortable with them. Well, to be fair, she was feeling comfortable with Theresa. Jessie was still hard to read sometimes.

  “Think nothing of it, Stephanie. And don’t take it personally. Jessie just doesn’t run in the same world with the rest of us most of the time,” she said kindly, knowing how Jessie’s behavior could appear to people who didn’t know her.

  “Well, that’s good to know, I guess,” Stephanie said, growing quiet. A few minutes later, after working up the courage, she asked, “Theresa, would you mind if I ask you something?”

  “No, of course not,” the blond answered, curious as to what the redhead might have to ask her. She was sure it had to do with Jessie. Despite the fact that Jessie refused to discuss the redhead, she’d noticed the odd tension between the two of them the last two weeks.

  “Well…” Stephanie said, hesitantly. “I was wondering if maybe Jessie…I don’t know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. “She’s always nice to me, taking me out to dinner and movies…even the museum. But, I guess I get the feeling that she doesn’t want me here?”

  “What? Oh, Stephanie, that’s not true,” Theresa said, shaking her head. “Jessie isn’t like that, not at all. She’s just…well…she just gets so wrapped up in things sometimes, she comes across all wrong.” Turning to look at the other woman, she said, “I swear to you, she likes you just fine.” Especially, she thought to herself, since she happened to know that Stephanie was Jessie’s favorite actress and, Jessie just happened to have a massive crush on the redhead. Again, Jessie wouldn’t discuss Stephanie with her, but she was sure that was part of the problem. Jessie was probably just pushing her feelings down in an effort to stay professional where Stephanie was concerned.

  Stephanie took a deep breath, relieved. “Thanks Theresa, that makes me feel better. It’s just that…well...she never seems to let me in. You know, I’ve been trying to get to know her, since she’s been saddled with me for the next month or two. I thought it might be nice if we were friends. But she never seems to open up. I mean, we talk all the time, but she never really talks about herself. She's never even mentioned that she’s in a band! I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t mention something like that.”

  “First of all,” Theresa said, “Jessie doesn’t feel like she’s ‘saddled’ with you. Second, she doesn’t let anyone get to know her. It’s just who she is. Third, who the Hell knows why Jessie keeps things to herself? She's a freak that way sometimes.” She stopped and took a drink of water before saying, “I think it’s because she’s always out in the public eye. She tries to keep some part of herself private, but she comes across a bit standoffish.”

  Stephanie nodded. She could understand that, since she had to be that way a lot of the time, as well. Did she come off as being stuck up and standoffish too? She hoped not, but at least she could understand the behavior when she looked at it that way. And, knowing that Jessie was in a band, it explained the enigmatic smile she’d had on her face at dinner that first night. Jessie really did know what it was like to be treated like she was different.

  “So, do you think she’d mind if I went to see her band play? I don’t want to take up any more of her time than I already do, I just thought it might be a fun night out,” she said, plainly wanting Theresa’s opinion.

  Theresa smiled broadly. “Actually, I think that’s a great idea. She’s playing tomorrow night at this place called The Blue Rose. I’ve wanted to go there forever, but I can’t get my boyfriend to take me.”

  All right then,” Stephanie said happily. “What time would you like to go?”

  “Hmm…well, they start at ten, so why don’t I pick you up and we’ll get dinner first? Let’s say…seven?” Theresa said, getting excited about a night out on the town and wondering about it. After all, Brian took her out all the time. He just never took her out to clubs anymore.

  As an afterthought, Theresa added, “Let’s not tell Jessie about this, though. I think it would be better if we surprise her. She tends to get nervous if she knows friends are going to show up.”

  Stephanie agreed, and the two finally got down to work. By the time Jessie arrived in the office two hours later, they’d already made it through one case file, and had started on the second.

  * * * *

  Theresa let herself in when no one answered the knock on the door. Jessie’s car was in the driveway, so she had to be here. Hitting the control panel and disabling the alarm before it could go off, she called Jessie’s name again. When she still didn’t get an answer, she moved out of the entryway and walked toward the living room.

  Not finding Jessie there, she checked the kitchen. It dawned on her that Jessie might have gone downstairs to work in the studio. The room was soundproof, and she’d never hear anyone upstairs. So, heading down the hall to the basement stairs, she stopped when she realized the water was running in the shower.

  Detouring into Jessie’s bedroom, she made her way to the full bathroom attached by the short hallway. Without even thinking about it…after all, she’d always just walked in on Jessie while she was in the shower, Theresa opened the door. She stopped dead in her tracks however, when she realized that Jessie wasn’t in the shower alone. She was just about to back out and close the door, when the showers’ other occupant noticed her.

  “Hi, Theresa, you come to join us?” Alex Fagin asked, noticing the blond standing, mouth hanging open, staring at them. Back to the shower wall, moving in time to Jessie' hand, Alex never missed a beat. “We’ve never tried before, but there’s probably room for one more.”

  Her back to the shower door, Jessie turned her head to look at her then. “Jesus Christ, Theresa! Can’t you ever stop walking in on me in the shower?”

  Theresa, face burning red with embarrassment, started to back out of the bathroom. “I…uh…I wanted to talk to you about something, Jessie. I’ll just…”

  Jessie looked at Alex. She could tell by the look on the other woman’s face, and her breathing, that she was almost there. Continuing the motion of her hands on Alex’s body, she glanced back at Theresa again. “If you want to talk to me, you can either join us or wait.”

  Theresa, shocked that Jessie would go along with the suggestion, stammered, “I’ll uh…just wait…out in the living room.”

  Jessie smirked. She loved making Theresa uncomfortable. It served the blond right for interrupting them. “Fine. We shouldn’t be much longer.” Forgetting about Theresa, she turned back to the task at hand. Alex was moaning and writhing, biting her lower lip. Her hips moving to the rhythm Jessie had set, she screamed as her muscles began contracting, and Jessie held her tight as they slid to the shower floor together.

  Shutting the door, Theresa closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. When Alex screamed he
r pleasure, she actually felt her own body respond in sympathy. God! What the Hell did Jessie do that made Alex respond like that? Shuddering, she managed to get control over her own hormones and headed out to the living room to wait.

  Twenty minutes later, Jessie, dressed now in a pair of work out pants and a t-shirt, walked into the living room. She set her bottle of Guinness on the table next to her and sat down in the chair, pulling her bare feet up to sit cross legged. “Well? What the Hell did you want to talk about now?”

  Theresa turned off the TV and took a deep breath. She’d expected the attitude, and it didn’t bother her at all. She didn’t blame Jessie for being irritated with her. As a matter of fact, she’d expected it. She’d be irritated too, if someone had interrupted…what she’d interrupted. Still, trying not to think about that, she answered. The topic of their conversation was going to irritate Jessie too. “I came by to talk to you about Stephanie.”

  Jessie blew out a breath. “Jesus Theresa…” She was cut off, however, by Alex entering the room. Long dark hair still wet, dressed in tight jeans and a light blue fitted blouse, she walked right up to Jessie.

  Leaning down slightly, she kissed her. “I’m gonna head on out,” she said when she released Jessie from the kiss. “Thanks for the shower Jessie. It was fun.” To Theresa, she said, “I really am sorry you didn’t join us Theresa. It could have been a good time.”

  “Thanks anyway, Alex,” Theresa answered as she watched the brunette pull on her black leather jacket and walk out the front door. Turning her attention back to Jessie she shook her head. “I thought you had something important to do tonight?”

  Jessie shrugged nonchalantly. “I did.”

  “You said something, not someone, Jessie,” the blond spat out sarcastically, slightly disgusted with Jessie right this minute. Shaking her head, she continued her little tirade. “My God, doesn’t she have any modesty at all? Didn’t it bother her that I saw all that? And, while we're on the subject…Alex again? I thought you told me you don't love her and she doesn't love you?”

  Jessie shrugged, answering the modesty question first. “Apparently not. But, to be perfectly honest Theresa, you did kind of interrupt at a critical moment, you know?”

  Blushing again, Theresa ignored her last comment. “Jessie, Stephanie talked to me about something this morning, and I thought I should mention it to you.”

  Jessie rolled her eyes and sighed. “Theresa…please. I don’t want to talk about her right now.”

  “I don’t really care, Jessie. Stephanie seems to feel like she’s in your way. Like you’ve been, in her words, ‘saddled with her.’ Jesus, Jess! She’s been trying to be your friend, and she thinks you’re trying to blow her off, or something!” Finished with what she had to say, Theresa fell silent. She took a drink from her own bottle of beer and waited for Jessie to say something.

  She didn’t have to wait long. Jessie, who’d been looking at Theresa, suddenly dropped her gaze to something on the floor. Swallowing hard, she finally managed to find the words she was looking for. “Theresa,” she said quietly, “I swear I’m not trying to blow Stephanie off. It’s just…” she shook her head and sighed. “Sitting there in the office with her for eight hours a day for the last two weeks. I don’t know how much more of that I can take.”

  Theresa furrowed her brow in confusion. “I’m not sure I follow you. I thought you liked Stephanie? She’s your favorite actress in the world, Jessie. How could you not like having her right there? I thought you’d love the idea of becoming friends with her?”

  “I do. But…Theresa, seeing her every day is killing me,” Jessie admitted. “Those business suits she wears…and my God, the skirts with the hose…Jesus, T! It’s all I can do to force myself not to stare at her all day.”

  “But…? From watching you, I had no idea,” Theresa said, finally beginning to understand the problem.

  Jessie was miserable. “It takes all my control not to walk over there, throw her down on the floor and kiss her. All I want to do is touch her…run my hand up her skirt…By the time I leave for the day, I’m so keyed up…” She laughed sarcastically, no real amusement in it. “Alex has been happy, though. She’s certainly been getting a work out.”

  “Well, that explains a lot,” Theresa said, sighing into her beer. Then, looking over at Jessie, she asked, “Jessie…would you have gone through with it if I’d joined you guys in the shower?”

  Jessie shrugged, smirking again. “I don’t know, T. You’ll just have to take us up on the offer some time and find out.”

  Theresa shook her head. “Sorry I asked.”

  Jessie just laughed.

  Chapter 6

  “Mom,” Stephanie said into the cell phone. “I was going to call you in a few minutes. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” Nancy Winters answered. “I just haven’t heard from you in a few days. Just wondering how your internship’s going?”

  “It’s good, Mom,” Stephanie said, sitting down on the couch and crossing her legs. “Actually, I had something I wanted to talk to you about. I’m glad you called.”

  “What is it, Dear? You know I’m always glad to help if I can,” Nancy said.

  “Um, well…I think I’ve met someone,” Stephanie said slowly.

  “But? It sounds like you’re not sure,” her mother said, intuitively hearing what Stephanie wasn’t saying.

  “I’m sure, Mom. I like her, but…I don’t know if she likes me.”

  “She’d be crazy not to like you, Stephanie,” her mother said, not at all surprised that Stephanie would be so unsure. For some reason, Stephanie had never felt like she was anything special. Nancy just couldn’t figure it out.

  “Thanks for the vote, Mom. But, I don’t know…she’s always nice to me. I just get the feeling that she’s trying to stay distant,” Stephanie explained.

  “She work there in the law office?”

  Stephanie nodded as she answered, “Yeah. She’s the lawyer that was assigned to show me the ropes. Her name’s Jessie…Jessica, actually.”

  “Is she pretty?” Nancy asked, trying to draw more information out of her somewhat reluctant daughter.

  Stephanie laughed. “Actually, she’s gorgeous, Mom. She’s just a little bit shorter than me with long, dark hair and blue eyes. And…not only is she a lawyer, she’s also the lead singer in a band. We’re going out to see them play, tonight.”

  Nancy was smiling for real, now. She knew when Stephanie was smitten. “She sounds great, Steph. But…if you like her, who are you going out with tonight?”

  “Oh…Theresa, the paralegal that works with us in the same office. She and Jessie have been friends since they were about ten years old,” Stephanie explained. “She’s the one who told me about Jessie singing with the band.”

  “What does she think about your liking Jessie? Or does she know?” Nancy asked.

  “I didn’t tell her that, Mom. I did ask her if she thought that Jessie felt like I was in the way, though,” Stephanie answered. Realizing that she needed to explain why she felt that way, she did.

  Nancy nodded in approval. Apparently, this Jessie wasn’t just another fan out to bed her daughter. That was good. “And her answer?”

  “She said ‘no.’ Jessie definitely doesn’t feel like I’m in the way, and she doesn’t let a lot of people get to know her. It’s just the way she is, and I should just give her some time.”

  “Well, keep at it, Stephanie. If she’s worth having and you really like her, I’m sure things will work out,” Nancy said encouragingly.

  “Thanks Mom, I love you, you know,” Stephanie said.

  “I love you too, Stephanie. You call me if anything new happens, okay?”

  “I will, Mom. Talk to you later,” Stephanie said, hanging up.

  * * * *

  Theresa showed up at Stephanie’s hotel suite at seven Friday evening and Stephanie ushered her in. “Hi, Theresa, let me just put my earrings in and I’m ready,” she said, gesturing tow
ard the couch. “Have a seat, I’ll be right out.”

  “Sure,” Theresa said, taking a seat on the dark brown suede couch. “Man, this is a great room,” she called to Stephanie as she waited.

  Coming back into the room, Stephanie said, “Yeah, it is really nice. Mr. Mason didn’t need to go all out for me, though. It’s kind of big for just one person.”

  “Hey, take it while it’s offered. Trust me, he doesn’t offer things like this all the time,” Theresa said, standing up and heading for the door. As she got up, she eyed Stephanie critically. Dressed in a dark green silk fitted blouse that brought out the green of her eyes, a black leather skirt that ended about three inches above her knees and ‘fuck me pumps’ to die for, Stephanie really knew how to rock an outfit. Not to mention the earrings and matching necklace that really set the whole ensemble off perfectly. Oh yeah, she could see why Jessie liked her so much.