by Alex Riordan
Turning her attention to the redhead, she whispered back, “Shh, it’s just Theresa. It’s nothing to worry about.” Without realizing it, she was stroking the dark red hair soothingly.
Waking up instantly, Stephanie looked over at Theresa, standing by the door, arms crossed in front of her chest. It was obvious that the blond was uncomfortable. “Hey, Theresa.” She smiled at the blond, not sure how she felt about waking up in Jessie’s arms and having someone else in the room with them. She wasn’t used to sharing her personal life like this. Still, it was Theresa. And if Jessie wasn’t uncomfortable, then she was determined to not be uncomfortable either. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t know how comfortable Jessie could be in compromising situations.
Her face turning slightly pink, Theresa finally looked over at her. “Morning, Stephanie. Sorry to wake you.”
“Theresa came in to tell us that Mr. Mason’s coming over to check on you today. We need to get up and get moving.”
“What time?” Stephanie asked.
Theresa fidgeted but answered right away. “Noon.”
Jessie blew out a breath. “Well, that’s good. We have a little time.” Throwing back the covers, Jessie made to get out of bed. “I think I’ll take a shower.” Looking between the two of them, she couldn’t resist teasing, “Anyone else want to join me?”
Theresa and Stephanie blushed simultaneously and Jessie burst out laughing at their mutual expressions of horror. “Oh my God!” She laughed. “You two should see your faces. Stephanie, I’m just joking…Theresa, oh God, you are too easy!”
Theresa, annoyed that Jessie would joke about the shower invitation so early in the morning, turned around to leave. “Very funny, Jessie. One of these days I might just surprise you and say yes, when you issue an invitation like that.” As she left the bedroom, she could still hear Jessie laughing.
Jessie turned around when Theresa left and looked at Stephanie. She was having a hard time controlling her laughter when she saw the look on Stephanie’s face. Apparently, the redhead wasn’t sharing in the joke. Crawling back onto the bed, she slid up next to Stephanie and pulled her into a kiss.
“Steph…I really was only kidding,” Jessie said, trying to keep her from getting irritated with her, too. “Theresa’s just too fun to tease.”
Stephanie sighed and smiled at her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know, Jessie. But just for a minute there, I wasn’t so sure.”
“Just a joke, Baby. I swear, you’re the only one I want in my shower from now on.” She kissed her again.
“Well…if you’re sure?” The redhead rolled away from her and stood up. Pulling off her sleep shirt, she headed toward the bathroom. As she made it to the hallway, she stopped just inside and turned to look seductively at Jessie, who was still lying on the bed with her mouth hanging open. As she bent down and pulled off her panties, she asked, “So, you comin’ or what?” Then she dropped the underwear and walked into the bathroom. By the time Stephanie had turned the water on, Jessie was right behind her.
Chapter 22
Theresa, Stephanie and Nancy managed to make it to Theresa’s house ahead of Mr. Mason, and were consequently waiting for him in the backyard when he arrived. Theresa ushered him out to the deck and he was presently sitting in a chair, drinking tea and talking to Nancy.
In order to maintain their story, Jessie drove separately and arrived twenty minutes later. Letting herself in, she stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a Diet Coke out of the fridge. Then, heading through the house, she met them on the deck. “I hope I’m not late,” she said, as she slipped through the French doors.
“Not at all, Jessie,” Mr. Mason answered. “I’m glad you could make it. Nancy here was just telling me how much help you’ve been to her daughter. Thank you.”
Jessie shrugged. “It’s been my pleasure, Sir.” Taking a seat, she popped her can open and took a drink.
“Well, now that you’re here, I do need to talk to all of you together,” he said, changing the subject. “You’ll forgive me if I have to bring up business, but I’m afraid Bob has been making some accusations.”
Theresa nodded. “We heard him screaming about it Tuesday evening.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “I’m sorry I have to ask you all this, but…Is there any truth to what he’s saying? Jessie,” he turned to look at her. “Did you and Ms. Winters begin dating after Bob asked her out?”
Jessie, noting the way he phrased the question, answered easily. He didn't ask if they were dating, but when they started dating. Shaking her head, she said, “No, Mr. Mason. Stephanie and I did not start dating after Bob asked her out.”
“Ms. Winters? Has Jessie made any unwanted sexual advances toward you?”
Stephanie shook her head. “No, Jessie’s never made any unwanted advances toward me at all.”
He looked back over at Jessie, who was sitting quietly, trying not to fidget. “Jessie, I have one more question for you.” He pinned her with a look, and asked, “Have you been sleeping at The Hilton, in Ms. Winter’s suite?”
Jessie licked her lips and took a drink. Her mouth had suddenly become dry as a desert, and no amount of liquid seemed enough. Screwing up her courage, she was just about to answer him, when Stephanie jumped in.
“I’m afraid that’s true, Mr. Mason,” the redhead said, glancing over at Jessie, hoping she wouldn’t contradict her. Then, looking him in the eye, she continued. “You see, I asked Jessie if she would stay there once or twice. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve suffered from nightmares for years. Being away from home tends to bring them on; something the doctor referred to as separation anxiety. Having someone that I’m comfortable with close by seems to alleviate the worst of them.”
Jessie exhaled quietly, hearing Stephanie’s explanation. It had been entirely plausible, and she briefly wondered if it wasn’t rooted in some small truth. She hadn’t noticed the redhead suffering from nightmares, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have them.
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Then we can sit back and let this happen. From what I’ve gathered, he was considering an insanity plea, claiming that Jessie here has been playing mind games with him and stole you from him. However, when the other women started filing complaints against him too…Well, his lawyer informed me that he’s willing to take a plea.” He looked at Stephanie. “Unless of course, you want to go to court?”
Stephanie shook her head. “No. If we can end this without a trial, I’d be happy.” She was all too aware of the media attention a trial like that would garner. Simply put, she didn’t need that kind of attention or publicity. It was going to be difficult to deal with the attack as it was, without having the details splashed all over the media.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s talk about something else,” he said, taking another drink of his tea. “Theresa, have you decided to get married, yet?”
* * * *
All in all, the day couldn’t have gone better. Mr. Mason stayed for almost two hours and then headed back to the office. As he left, he promised once more to call every day and check on Stephanie. He felt terrible about what had happened, and wanted to make sure that if she needed anything, she would ask him for help.
Sighing as she returned to the deck after letting him out, Theresa flopped down in a chair. “Whew! I’m glad that’s over with.”
“You said it,” Jessie agreed. “Did you notice the way he phrased his questions? He wanted to make sure our story was straight.”
“You think he knows?” Stephanie asked, not sure she was comfortable with that.
“I think he doesn’t want any complications,” Jessie answered, looking over at her.
“If we’d told him that we’re together, what would he do?”
“He’d probably fire both of us,” Theresa answered. “But he’d wait until after everything was over to do it.”
Nancy, who’d been sitting quietly, listening, suddenly asked, “So…what I want to know is…why this Bob character
would claim that Jessie had stolen Stephanie from him in the first place?”
“Maybe he’s just delusional?” Jessie suggested sarcastically. “I mean, thinking Stephanie was his in the first place?” She rolled her eyes in disbelief.
Theresa smiled over at her, but added, “Actually, I’ve given that a lot of thought, and I think I know. When Bob first started working at the firm, he hit on Jessie a few times, but she always turned him down. A couple of months later, he went with a group of us from the office to see her band at some bar.”
“I remember that,” Jessie piped up. “He was trying to hang out with the group all night, but he just didn’t seem to fit in. And, he kept trying to get my attention.”
Theresa nodded. “Right. But what you never knew was what happened while you were up on stage. He saw this really beautiful girl standing by our table and started hitting on her. It was obvious that she wasn’t into him at all, but he kept trying. Finally, she got fed up and told him to basically ‘fuck off.’ I heard her telling him he wasn’t enough of a man for her.”
“That must have busted his ego,” Nancy agreed.
“Yeah. But here’s where it gets interesting. The girl continued to hang out around our table anyway. When you took your break and came over to us, she walked over and grabbed you, kissing you like there was no tomorrow.” She took another drink of her own tea and waited for Jessie to remember that night.
Jessie, for some reason, couldn’t quite remember that happening. But, to be fair, there were a lot of nights when people would try to grab or kiss her when she was leaving the stage. Shaking her head, she said, “Sorry, I don’t remember that.”
Theresa snorted. “Jessie, I swear. You should remember it. That was the first time you and Alex got together. The girl he’d been hitting on was Alex.”
Jessie’s face turned red almost immediately. “Oh, shit! He hit on Alex? God, no wonder he got pissed off.”
“Tell me about it. She wasn’t very nice to him at all.”
Jessie sighed. “Well, that explains a lot. So, when he asked you out,” she looked over at Stephanie, “and you turned him down…There’s no way he could have known we’d already been…”
“You can say it, Jessie. We were already sleeping together,” Stephanie said, rolling her eyes at how Jessie could be so nonchalant about things with Theresa, but so reserved around other people.
“He must have been following you, and seen us together somewhere,” Jessie finished. “And of course, if Alex talked to him like that, and then you turned him down…Both times it was me that got the girl…God! He must really hate me!”
“Well, at least he’s in jail, now. He won’t be hurting any other women for a long time,” Theresa said.
* * * *
On the way back to Jessie’s that afternoon, they stopped at the grocery and picked up some things for dinner. Jessie didn’t want Nancy to think that Stephanie had tied herself to someone with no culinary skills, and had decided to make dinner for them.
As she’d thought about it, she realized that being able to cook wasn’t really an important skill to have for their relationship. After all, Stephanie would be heading back to LA in the next few weeks, and there’d be no need to cook for the two of them anyway. Still, she didn’t want Nancy to think she couldn’t take care of her daughter. It was, for some reason, intensely important to Jessie that she know that.
Taking a deep breath to stave off the impending depression she knew she’d fall into when Stephanie left, she got to work. As she worked in the kitchen, Stephanie and Nancy spent some time together. Jessie had insisted that both of them stay out of the kitchen while she worked.
Theresa and Brian showed up at six thirty, and joined the two women in the living room, until Jessie called them for dinner. For once, she’d actually set the table, instead of eating at the island in the kitchen or in front of the TV.
Once they were all seated, she brought everything out and placed it on the table. To start with, she’d made a nice dinner salad. Then, for the main course, she served Pot Roast, fresh red potatoes with a parsley garnish, green beans almandine and dinner rolls. And, to drink, she’d chosen a nice Italian Merlot.
“Jessie! You didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” Stephanie said, surprised. Of course, Jessie had cooked before, but it had been just the two of them then, and she hadn’t done anything fancy.
She shrugged. “It was no trouble, Steph. I wanted to do this.”
Theresa leaned over to the redhead. “Trust me, Stephanie. If Jessie’s cooking a big meal, it’s because she wants to. Never question it.”
Jessie smiled. “Coming from someone who only cooks with the microwave.”
“At least it’s hot,” Theresa shot back. “Besides, we’re both busy. It’s just easier.”
“Keep telling yourself that, T. Someday, you’re gonna have kids and they’re gonna want something besides TV dinners.”
Nancy, laughing at the easy way the two teased each other said, “Actually, all my kids liked a TV dinner on occasion. Stephanie especially liked the fried chicken and mashed potatoes.”
“How do you remember things like that, Mom?” Stephanie asked, looking over at her quizzically.
Nancy shrugged. “I’m a mother. It’s what I do. And Jessie…this is really wonderful. You’ve done a fantastic job. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, Nancy. I just thought you’d appreciate a home cooked meal rather than eating out,” Jessie answered. “I don’t get the opportunity to cook for people very often, and I actually like it when I do.”
“Well, I fully expect you to visit the family in New York. And I promise, we’ll have a huge sit-down meal,” Nancy said, enjoying the look of panic that briefly flickered across Jessie’s features. She could tell that Jessie rarely ate meals with her own family.
Stephanie’s face lit up when she heard her mother’s invitation. “Mom, you mean that?”
“Well, of course I do,” Nancy answered her, surprised by Stephanie’s reaction. “Jessie’s family now. She’s always welcome.”
Stephanie leaned over and hugged her, beaming from ear to ear. “Thanks Mom! You’re the best!”
“You’re welcome,” Nancy said, taking another drink of her wine and glancing at Jessie, who was still sitting there with a stunned expression on her face. To her credit, she was doing a fairly decent job of hiding her surprise at the invitation. But Nancy could plainly see that Jessie had yet to get really comfortable with the idea of a ‘close family gathering.’ When she got to New York and met the entire Winters family, it would certainly be a surprise for her. She only hoped that Stephanie would prepare her before they got there.
To Jessie, Nancy’s acceptance meant more to her than any of them with the possible exception of Theresa, would ever know. Her own family was okay, but she never really felt like anything she did was ‘right’ for her mother. Julie Drake had a tendency to criticize and try to guilt her into things. And, Bobby’s family had been the Dysfunctional Family from Hell, when they weren’t completely absent from his life. Back then, she hadn’t cared. But now, it meant a lot to know that Nancy liked her and thought of her that way.
Standing up, she went around the table and gave Nancy a huge hug. “Thank you so much, Nancy. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
Nancy hugged her back. “You’re welcome, dear.” She looked over at Stephanie. “I’ve never seen Stephanie happier, Jessie. You’ve had a lot to do with that, and I appreciate it.”
Jessie blushed at the praise, looking at Stephanie. “She makes me happier than I can ever remember being,” she said quietly, almost to herself. Stephanie grabbed her hand and pulled her back to sit down next to her again.
* * * *
After dinner, Jessie ushered everyone into the living room. Theresa helped her carry dessert out for everyone and they spent the next two hours trading stories about their childhoods. By eleven, Theresa was yawning every so often. After doing so for the tenth time
in as many minutes, she finally got up to leave.
“Jessie, let me help you before we leave,” she offered, standing up.
Shaking her head, Jessie refused. “I’ve got it, T. Get home and get some rest.” She hugged both, Theresa and Brian, walking them to the door.
Once they were gone, Nancy got up as well. “I’m ready to turn in too, I think. Jessie, can I help you clean up a bit?”
“No, I’ve got it,” Jessie answered. “You’re my guest, Nancy. You don’t need to clean up.”
“Well, if you’re sure? I’m going on to bed then,” she said.
“Night, Mom,” Stephanie hugged her as she got up off the couch where she and Jessie had been sitting all evening. As she did, she stifled a yawn herself.