Drake's Rock

by Alex Riordan

  “Have I ever told you how much I love your freckles?” Jessie asked, moving her tongue down to pull Stephanie’s right breast into her mouth.

  “I don’t have freckles,” Stephanie gasped out between unsteady breaths.

  “Yes, you do,” Jessie said, her hands joining in to work on scratching the redhead’s back with her nails. “Here’s one right here.” She punctuated her words by biting lightly at the pale flesh directly above the breast.

  At the first sensation of even teeth biting down, Stephanie wrapped her hands around Jessie’s head and held onto her. Barely able to think coherently, she was somewhat surprised that she could still form words. “Oh! Jessie…my God! Is this how you get convinced to get in the shower?

  Jessie smiled at the sound of desperation in Stephanie’s voice. “This isn’t convincing me of anything, Babe. I already know I want you. What I’m hoping, is that it will convince you that you want me in your shower.”

  “I always want you, Jessie. In the shower, in the bed, the office…it doesn’t matter where we are. I just want you,” Stephanie said, pulling the brunette’s head up to kiss her passionately. “Now…shut up, get out of those clothes, and get in that shower.”

  Jessie smirked. “Yes ma’am.”

  * * * *

  Theresa and Nancy returned from the museum around six. “Jessie!” the blond called as she walked through the front door. Stopping to turn the alarm off, she called for the brunette again. “Jess? Stephanie?”

  “We’re in the living room,” Stephanie called out.

  When the two women turned the corner from the front hall into the living room they both stopped in surprise. Jessie and Stephanie were both sitting in the middle of the living room floor. Leaning back in a pile of pillows Jessie had obviously pilfered from every available couch, they were in the middle of what looked to be a game of Halo 3, on the Xbox.

  “Hey guys,” Jessie said, not taking her attention from the TV screen. “We’re almost done with this level. Give us a minute.”

  “Uhh…okay,” Theresa said in answer. This was so not what she’d expected the two women to be doing when they got back. What she’d expected she really couldn’t say, but playing video games was definitely not it.

  “Whew!” Jessie hit the save button and waited for the game system to save their game. When it was finished updating, she reached up and turned the Xbox off. “So, you guys have a good time at the museum?” She got up and stuck a hand out for Stephanie to grab onto. Pulling the redhead up off the floor, she bent over and started picking up the pillows and replacing them.

  “Uh…yeah, we did,” Theresa answered, still not sure what was going on.

  Moving into the room, Nancy picked the nearest chair and sat down. “It was a wonderful day,” she answered, pulling off her shoes. “But I think we must have walked about ten miles.”

  “There was a lot of walking,” Theresa agreed. She sat down in the other chair and watched as Jessie finished cleaning up. “Everything all right on the home front?”

  “Everything’s fine,” Stephanie answered, walking back into the room. She was carrying a small tray with Diet Coke for herself and Jessie, and two glasses of tea. One each for Theresa and Nancy. “We had a perfectly relaxing day.” Handing everyone a drink, she flopped down on the now cushion-covered couch.

  “I hope you got some rest, Stephanie,” Nancy said, taking a drink of her tea. “You were so tired when I left.”

  Stephanie nodded. “Actually, I fell back to sleep not long after you guys left. It was around two when I finally got up for the day. And yes, Mom. I feel loads better than I did earlier. I think I just needed a good cry.”

  Nancy smiled. Stephanie did look like she was feeling better. “I’m glad, Steph. You need to take better care of yourself.”

  Stephanie rolled her eyes lovingly. “I know, I know…”

  Two hours later, Theresa stood up to go. “I’ve got to be heading home,” she said, picking up an empty pizza box and carrying it to the kitchen.

  “It’s still early, T. You’re welcome to stay,” Jessie said, getting up to help her.

  “Nah. I have a whole boat load of things to do tomorrow before we meet you at the bar, Jess. I need to get home and get started.” She hugged everybody goodnight and headed for the door.

  “Well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Jessie said, returning the hug. “Careful driving home.”

  “Absolutely,” the blond said, shutting the front door behind her.

  Jessie re-entered the living room and looked at Stephanie and Nancy. “Well, anything you’d like to do tonight?” she asked, addressing them both.

  “Actually,” Stephanie said, biting her lower lip, “Would you mind if I spent some time hanging out and talking to Mom?”

  Jessie shook her head and smiled. “Not at all. I’ll just grab something to drink and head down to the studio.” Before she left, she bent down and kissed Stephanie lightly on the lips. When they broke apart, she said quietly, “Take your time and enjoy your evening together. I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Jessie,” Stephanie said breathlessly, watching the brunette head first to the kitchen, then downstairs.

  Chapter 24

  It was around midnight, and Jessie was sitting at the work table in her studio when Stephanie walked up to the door. “Hey, what’cha doin’?”

  “Just working on mixing a song for the new CD,” Jessie answered, turning to look at her. “Your mom going to bed?”

  “Mmm hmm…you wouldn’t mind if I…stayed and watched you work, would you?” Stephanie had followed Nancy downstairs when she decided to retire for the evening. Since she’d slept in this morning, the redhead wasn’t tired and thought she’d find Jessie and watch her work for a while.

  Jessie shook her head and held out her hand. “Not at all, come on over here and pull up a chair.”

  Stephanie took her hand and sat down in the chair next to the brunette. “So, is this something you wrote?”

  “Yeah…actually, I wrote it a couple of weeks ago.” Looking shyly at the redhead, she smiled. “It’s about you.”

  “Me? You wrote a song about me?” Stephanie was stunned. She hadn’t expected that.

  “Would you like to hear it? I was just cueing it up.”

  Smiling at Jessie, she nodded. “Of course, I would. If you don’t mind, that is?”

  “Why would I mind? Here,” she reached over and pressed the play button. “Sit back and close your eyes.”

  Stephanie closed her eyes and listened to the entire song. When it was finished, she opened them again and looked over at Jessie, who was watching her intently. “Jessie, that was beautiful,” she breathed out. “I can’t believe you wrote it about me, though.”

  “Thank you. It just came to me and I had to get it on tape. I was thinking about recording some backing vocals for it.” She grew quiet and looked out toward the recording studio. When she looked back at Stephanie, she said, “Why don’t you do it?”

  “What? You want me to sing?” Stephanie couldn’t believe Jessie would even suggest such a thing.

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Jessie,” Stephanie looked at her like she had three heads. “I’m no singer.”

  Jessie shook her head. “I’ve heard you, and you’re pretty good. Go on…give it a try.”

  “Well…”

  Jessie stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the chair. “Come on. I’ll set you up.”

  Stephanie relented. “Okay, but just beware…”

  Jessie laughed. “Okay, I’ve been duly warned. Here, pick up the headset there, and put it on. Give me a minute, and you’ll hear the music start.” She went back out to the booth and flicked on the mic. “Okay, give me a thumbs up if you can hear me.” At Stephanie’s signal, she said, “All right. The words are on the music stand there in front of you.”

  “Jessie, I’m not even sure how the song goes to sing it. When do you want me to start?” Stephanie asked nervously.<
br />
  Jessie smiled. “Just relax and listen to the music. I’ll cue you when it’s time to come in.”

  “Well, if you’re sure?” Stephanie really wasn’t sure about this. Like she said, she was no singer. Still, it was kind of fun. It made her feel a little closer to Jessie, this way, too.

  An hour and a half, and fifteen takes later, Jessie finally called the session quits. “Steph, that was really good!” she said, when Stephanie came back into the booth.

  Stephanie looked at her dubiously; sure that Jessie was teasing her. “Jessie, I was awful! It took forever to get it even close.”

  Jessie laughed. “You have no idea how many times I record and re-record a track for a song. Fifteen times isn’t bad. Especially for your first time recording. Sit down and we’ll give it a listen.”

  “All right, but if it’s horrible, you’re trashing it,” she said, plopping down in the chair next to Jessie.

  Jessie started the song at the beginning and let Stephanie hear the whole thing. While they listened, she fiddled with the different tracks, mixing it a bit. By the time the song was over, Stephanie had her mouth hanging open. “That was me? That wasn’t bad.”

  Jessie smirked. “I told you. You just need to trust me, Steph. I’d never compromise the quality of my music. If I say you sound good, then you sound good.” She stood up. “Come on, I want to play some other things for you.”

  Taking the hand Jessie offered, Stephanie followed her back into the recording booth. They each sat down on a stool, and Jessie grabbed a guitar. She played through a few old songs they both knew, and Stephanie sang along, only fudging the words once in a while.

  Jessie laughed when she’d forget the words and join in; helping her through the spots she couldn’t remember. After a while, Jessie started playing some of the songs she’d written over the years. Over time, she’d created quite a catalog for herself ranging from slow, soft ballads to loud, heavy metal songs. Each one was uniquely Jessie in some way, though.

  While Jessie played, Stephanie got up and wandered around the small recording booth, looking over the other instruments. Along one wall, Jessie had a row of six different guitars, both acoustics and electrics. Each one was hanging from a hook, ready to play at a moment’s notice. There was a keyboard in one corner, a few hand drums, harmonicas and even a didgeridoo. Stephanie was quite impressed with the array of instruments that Jessie could play.

  While she was looking at a picture hanging on the wall opposite them, Jessie began to play another song. As she listened to the words, Stephanie turned to look at her. “Is that one of yours, Jessie?”

  Jessie nodded, as she continued to play and sing. The song was just something she’d been playing around with over the last few weeks. She’d already settled on the guitar part, but hadn’t put any words to it, yet. As she watched Stephanie wander around the room, looking over everything curiously, words just started to flow into her head, and she began singing. “Yeah,” she stopped playing and put the guitar down. “I’m just making it up as I go along. You like it?”

  For some reason, Stephanie suddenly felt tears slipping out of her eyes to roll down her cheeks. Sniffing, she managed to say, “It’s beautiful, Jessie. Gorgeous…” her words turned into sobs, as she suddenly broke down.

  Jessie, getting up off the stool, rushed over to her and pulled her into her arms. “Hey. Steph…what’s wrong, Baby?”

  Stephanie couldn’t seem to say anything. As badly as she wanted to explain, the words wouldn’t come. Shaking her head, she felt her legs start to buckle. As she began to slide toward the floor, Jessie caught her and held on to her, somehow managing to keep her from falling completely. Instead, they made a controlled slide down the closest wall, coming to rest on the floor.

  * * * *

  Outside, in the control booth, Nancy was watching quietly. She’d been walking by, heading to her room, when she heard the music from the studio. The door was still open, so she didn’t think it would hurt to glance inside. What she saw when she did, fascinated her. Jessie and Stephanie were both in the recording booth, singing along to Jessie playing the guitar.

  She didn’t mean to eavesdrop…she usually never did anything like that. But something about the way the two of them were looking at each other just made her want to stay and watch. She knew they couldn’t see her, because Jessie had never turned the lights on in the booth. She also hadn’t turned off the speakers, so she was able to hear everything they were saying. But, since they were just singing, she didn’t feel too bad about listening.

  Since she’d arrived, she’d been worried about the way Stephanie was handling the aftermath of the attack. On the surface, her daughter seemed to be doing okay. But she knew there had to be more to it than that. She was afraid that Stephanie was putting on a show for her benefit. She’d always been a sensitive soul, and something like this could damage her permanently if she didn’t deal with it well. The episode in the bedroom this morning had confirmed her fears.

  Satisfied that Stephanie seemed to be doing okay, she was about to turn and leave, when she heard her start crying and saw Jessie pull Stephanie to her. Then, she saw Stephanie start to fall to the floor. Terrified, she forced herself to stay put as Jessie held on to Stephanie as she sank to the floor. When they leaned back against the wall, Jessie had her wrapped securely in her arms, rocking her and whispering to her.

  Wiping away her own tears, she decided to wait a little longer. Standing back along the wall, she stood in the darkened room and watched, as Jessie tried to sooth away her daughters pain and fears.

  * * * *

  “Steph! Stephanie…Oh, Baby…” Jessie was leaning with her back against the wall, Stephanie pulled tightly to her right side. Not sure what had precipitated this outburst, she didn’t know what else to do. Holding Stephanie and stroking her hair, she simply whispered, “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

  After a few minutes, Stephanie calmed down a little and sniffed. “I know, Jessie. This is so stupid, I just can’t seem to help it. I just keep feeling his hands on me. I thought…I thought that after…after you made love to me, the feeling of his hands on me would…would go away. But I can still feel him all over me.”

  “Oh, Steph…You have to give it time. It takes more than a few days to heal from something like this.” She kissed Stephanie on the forehead lightly.

  Looking at Jessie, the redhead whispered, “When you touch me, though…I forget, for a little while. The feel of him touching me goes away. Jessie…” she closed her eyes, afraid to ask Jessie for what she so desperately wanted right then. With a huge sigh, she forced herself to voice her needs, though. Will you touch me, Jessie? Please?”

  “What…now?” Jessie asked, surprised that Stephanie would ask her for sex now.

  Stephanie nodded. Licking her lips, she said, “Yes, Jessie please…please just…fuck me.”

  Jessie blinked rapidly when those words fell out of Stephanie’s mouth. Stunned, she wasn’t sure how to answer. Stephanie had never asked for sex like that before and it shocked her to hear the redhead do so now. Forcing herself to say something, she shook her head. “What? Stephanie, no. Not when you’re like this.”

  When Jessie turned her down, rage suddenly enveloped her, shoving the fear and pain away. “Oh, so you can fuck Alex, but not me?”

  Jessie looked at Stephanie with her mouth hanging open. Not sure where this sudden anger was coming from, she shook her head. “What? Steph, I haven’t been with Alex since we got together. You know that.”

  “And you think I don’t know you were fucking her in the shower that Thursday night?” At Jessie’s blank look, she elaborated. “You remember…the night before you took me back to my hotel room? And…you even invited Theresa? Jessie, how could you?”

  “Stephanie…no! I didn’t…” Logically she knew that Stephanie was in pain and wouldn’t do this under normal circumstances. At least she hoped that was the case. Not wanting to give in to Stephanie’s anger, she sai
d, “Steph, I don’t think we should discuss Alex right now. Not when you’re so…emotional and angry.”

  “Save it, Jessie.” She pushed back out of Jessie’s arms and looked at her, eyes blazing. “It’s too bad if you don’t want to talk about her. I do. Besides, you can’t deny it. I know already. What, did you think I didn’t understand what Alex meant when she told Theresa it was too bad she didn’t take you up on the offer? I’m not stupid, you know.”