13. Jessica
13
Jessica
Y ou never know when a blessing will come your way. When it does, you better grab on and not let it go. That’s Watcher.
Diablo rides about two hundred yards in front of me. She’s my rock now. She’s all in to make these dreams come true. I lied to Watcher. There’s something I can’t move past. My wicked stepmother. The gold-digging tramp who has fucked more men while married to my father than a Saturday night hooker. I want her ass on a platter. It’s not necessarily about the money. It’s about her being a selfish, vindictive whore. She’s near the top of my shit list. I also still want Harrison Rich’s ass, although I have another idea of how to deal with him. I no longer want him dead.
As we enter Memphis, I think about Jeremy and dropping the idea of him, me, and Watcher in a tryst. Did Watcher choose him because he’s young, the way he was back then? I don’t doubt the idea, and I’m okay with that. We all want to be adults when we turn 18. There’s no easing into it. Adulthood grabs you at 18 and starts slapping you around. Jeremy and I can be slapped around together under Watcher’s watchful eye.
We pull into the rink parking lot, and I find Jeremy sitting in his car, his head back, sleeping.
“I need to talk to him for a minute,” I tell Diablo. “I’ll be in shortly.”
Diablo goes inside, and I step to Jeremy’s window, watching him for a minute. “He’s a good-looking young man. Someone I am attracted to, though I know what we want out of life is completely different. Maybe that’s what will make this work. However, he’ll have to understand that we can never be an exclusive item. I may be the Queen, but I belong to Watcher.
I tap on the window, and Jeremy startles. He sees me laughing and lowers his window. “You scared the shit out of me,” he says and lowers his window.
“Are you going to sit there or get out?” I step back and cross my arms, looking at him sternly. He reaches for the door handle with fear in his eyes. “You know you can’t keep hanging around here,” I say. “It looks a little creepy.”
“I wanted to talk to you and you haven’t replied to any of my messages, Jess.”
“Damnit.” I pull out my phone which is dead. “Sorry about that.”
Jeremy leans against the car and gives me a good look over. “There’s something different about you, Jess. You okay?”
“I’m better than okay. Give me a second.” I return my phone to the car and plug it into a spare charger. “I’m expecting a call this morning about furniture for my apartment.”
“You moved out of your father’s place?” He looks genuinely concerned. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing is wrong. I’ve found my way in life and heading in the direction I’m supposed to go.” I move beside him and lean against the car as well. “The biker’s name is Watcher. He’s helped me find my way.”
“You and him seeing each other now?” Disappointment fills Jeremy’s voice. He comes from a wealthy family and is used to getting his way. In this case, he will not.
“We are, and he’s very important to me.”
“You in love with the guy?”
I didn’t expect a question like that, and quite frankly, I hadn’t yet considered the word love with Watcher. I didn’t know enough about love to say if I was. I decide to move off that subject.
“You liked seeing him fuck me on the desk?” I ask.
“Wow,” he says.
“Don’t wow me. You fucking jerked off right there in front of us.” Maybe it was a guy thing. No. I enjoyed it, too.
“Yeah. I guess I did.”
It was time to drop the question. “What if I asked you to join us the next time? Would you be interested?”
“You mean a threesome?” There’s surprise in his voice, but his eyes say something completely different. He wants to. “I don’t know. I’ve always imagined just the two of us.”
“Okay.” I shrug. “Thought I would ask.”
Jeremy grabs my arm when I move away from the car. “Wait. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Exactly what I said. We want you to join us. Although I need to tell you, Watcher will always be in charge. What he says goes. Otherwise, this is a no-go.” I stay where I am, and Jeremy removes his hand from my arm. He’s considering the possibility.
“I need to think about it, Jess.”
“Hellcat. That’s what I want you to call me from now on. Can you do that?”
Jeremy nods. “You aren’t the same girl.”
I shake my head. “I’m not, Jeremy. I’m different now. I know what I want. One of the things that I want is to have you and Watcher together, pleasing me.” I put my hand on his arm. “Think you can do it?”
“When do you want an answer?”
“Watcher is heading up tonight. He’ll be staying with me at my new apartment.” I give Jeremy the address and he types it into his phone. “Eight o’clock tonight. If you’re interested, we’ll see you then.” Even to my surprise, I lean into Jeremy and give him a seductive kiss. He doesn’t kiss me back but leans into my hand when I press it against his face. “Bye, Jeremy.”
I walk away from Jeremy, unsure if he will show up tonight. Either way, it’s okay. I trust that if Watcher wants a threesome, he’ll make it happen somehow.
“How’d that go?” Diablo asks when I go inside. “He didn’t like the idea, did he?”
“I don’t think so. He’s always wanted something more.” I sit behind my desk. “I get it because I always thought I wanted one guy and grow old with him. That’s changed. I don’t know what happened, but I’m no longer that woman.”
“Kentucky told me Watcher has a way of making women reconsider what they thought they wanted. They see him and lose their minds.”
She’s right, but I think it’s deeper than that. He’s helped me see the light. “what about you and Kentucky?”
“Temporary,” she says. “I think his old lady is back in town, trying to get him back.” She shrugs. “I get it. He’s an amazing man. Has a big dick and can eat pussy with Olympic-like skill. I’m thinking of going your route.” She smiles. “I’ve always wanted my own little reverse harem.”
I laugh and then another thought comes to mind. “Roller derby babes. Bikers. Kink club owners. And are you ready for this? We each have our own reverse harems.”
Diablo slaps her knee and laughs. “Fucking fantastic idea.” She stops laughing and sighs. “I’m not sure everyone will be on board with that idea.” Diablo gets up. “I need to get home and check on the cats.”
“You don’t strike me as a cat person.”
“Yeah. My cats aren’t people cats, either. See you in a couple of hours.”
When Diablo leaves, I call to check on the apartment furniture only to find out there’s a delay. No couch, no bed. Is that okay? I start to call another furniture store, but my office door opens, and my father walks in. He looks around the office, mentally notes the names on the whiteboard, and sits across from me. He points at the board.
“Is that something I need to know about?”
“Nothing important,” I say a bit nervously. He never shows up unannounced.
“I know on some level I’ve failed you as a father. I’ve put my business dealings before you, not ensuring you have everything you need.” He’s treating this as if it were a business deal. At the end of the talk will come the hook. The reason he’s here. He likes to make people on the other side of the table wait.
“You’ve had a lot on your plate,” I say and realize I’m doing it again, trying to make someone feel better about themselves after treating me like shit. I can’t do it anymore. I won’t back the bus over myself.
“I know what Sandy has been doing.” He looks me in the eyes, something he never does. “I know where she went yesterday and what she was doing.”
“You have her followed,” I say.
He nods and taps his fingers on the chair’s arm. “I do. And since I had her followed to that biker gang’s location, I know you were also there.”
“They aren’t a gang, Father. They’re a club.”
“Are you having sex with the one they call Watcher?” Once again, he ignores anything I have to say.
“He’s a good guy, father. I feel protected when I’m with him, like nothing in the world can bother me anymore.” He doesn’t say a word. “He’s going to teach me how to ride a motorcycle. We’ve talked about opening a business together.” It's not a good idea to mention the kink club yet. These other things need time to sink in.
“I won’t allow it, Jessica,” he says and stands, tugging on the hem of his suit.
“Hellcat.”
He turns as he’s walking away. “Excuse me?”
“Hellcat. That’s my new name. My biker name.”
“It is not. We’ll discuss this more when you come home tonight. I’m not feeling well and will skip tonight's Stallions game.” He heads to the door, not accepting my answers. He never will.
“I have an apartment now, Father.” I raise my voice to make sure he hears me.
“I know, Jessica.” He turns and faces me. “Unfortunately, I know everything you do.”
“You’re having me followed as well?” I move around the desk. “Since when?”
“Since you came home from the mess you mad at Stanford.” He leaves the office and closes the door, leaving me speechless.
I sit behind the desk and cry for several minutes. I’m hurt, but it’s more than that. So much has happened in the past week that it has become almost overwhelming. The fastballs keep on coming, and I can’t swing a bat near fast enough. I take a deep breath and wipe my eyes.
“Okay,” I say. “This is how it’s going to be from here on out. You’re either with me or against me. Choose the right fucking side, or get the hell out of my way.” The empty office doesn’t reply.
I change in the locker room and pull on my skates. “With me or against me,” I say again and go to the rink.