Rock Hard Envy - Part 2 (9 page)

James and I went to his bedroom and undressed for bed. I caught him staring at me as he paused. I looked down to find I had a nice bruise across my chest from the seatbelt and my wrists were raw from the airbag.
“Sexy, huh?” I observed. James finished undressing and joined me in bed. He traced a finger softly along the bruise.

“I feel responsible,” he said. I’d be lying if the whole Sylvia thing didn’t bother me, but she was probably gaming James too. I didn’t blame him and he
was forgiven. I just wanted to forget it.

“Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault,” I told him and pulled him close to kiss him. He slipped an arm around me and hugged me tight.
I winced, but wouldn’t let him pull away. It felt so good to be in his arms and, for the moment at least, I felt safe and secure.

“Sore?” James asked as we parted.

“Yeah, getting there. I’ll be fine,” I said but then I remembered something he said earlier. “What did you mean Sylvia wasn’t the worst of our problems?”

“I think something bigger is brewing, but I don’t know for sure. You shouldn’t worry about it right now. I’m going to take care of it,” James said. I wanted to know what he thought but he was probably right. I should be concentrating on myself. I wasn’t hurt badly but I was sore and shaken. “I need to go away tomorrow. I need to take care of things. I’ll be gone a few days but you’re welcome to stay here,” James told me after a moment.

“No, stay. You can do whatever it is another time,” I pleaded but James was already shaking his head.

“I need to make things right. I need to make this all OK. I brought all this into your life and I’m going to make it right,” James said. I nodded. I wasn’t sure what he meant exactly, but something told me it had everything to do with the Fraulein. I was too tired to argue.

“All right. But right now, just hold me,” I said. James turned out the lamp, pulled me next to him and wrapped his strong arms around me. Suddenly, the entire day faded and it was only James and me. That feeling permeated my world as I drifted off to sleep.

~10~

Josie called in sick to work to spend the day with me. She had grabbed a few things, clothes and the basics, when James picked her up to take her to the hospital. I felt better after a good night’s sleep and my bruise wasn’t quite so apparent. I wished James didn’t have to go, but I knew that whatever he was doing was very important even though I had no idea what it was. Josie made me breakfast, just some fruit and yogurt, and while we were eating, I got a call on my phone. It was James.

“Morning, little girl,” he said after I answered.

“Good morning. You were gone when I woke up,” I said.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to wake you. You need your rest. I miss you,” he said.

“I miss you too,” I replied.

“I’ve scheduled a delivery later this morning. The landline will ring, pick it up and you can speak with them at the front gate. Just push one and the gate will open. You might have to sign for it too,” he explained.

“Oh, all right,” I answered. We said our goodbyes and James hung up. True to his word, about eleven o’clock the phone rang. I picked it up and a young man named Craig told me he was out front and requested I let him in. I pressed one on the phone and waited. The doorbell rang a few minutes later and Josie followed me to go answer the door.

“Hi, you must be Simone,” the young man in the shirt and tie greeted me.

“Yes, that’s me,” I answered.

“I’m Craig. I need to get your signature. Mr. Turner asked that I give you the full tour also,” Craig said.

“Tour? Of what?” I asked as I signed where Craig had indicated.

“Yes, he wanted me to give you a tour of your new Jeep,” Craig said and I looked past him and saw the red, lifted four door Wrangler sitting in the driveway.

“Oh my God! I didn’t mean it,” I said.

“Mean what?” Josie asked as we followed Craig out to the sexy, red Jeep. It wasn’t as big as James’ truck, but it was still impressive and sturdy looking. The body was red but the soft top, wheels and most of the accessories were black.

“I jokingly told James he owed me a new car yesterday. I didn’t mean it,” I told her. Craig showed me the ins and outs of the Jeep and after about half an hour, his ride back to the dealership showed up. He left Josie and me alone with my new toy.

“You want to go for a ride?” I asked.

“You sure you want to?” Josie asked. She had a reason to wonder. I had just lost badly in a joust with a concrete truck the day before.

“In a car like my Fiesta, no way.
In this beast, I’m not afraid,” I said and fired up the Jeep. Josie and I headed out and spent all afternoon driving, eating and shopping. I was a little tired and sore, but it felt good to get out. Nothing like a brush with death to make you appreciate the little things in life. That evening, we ate at James’ steakhouse and then returned to Malibu.

“We should go swimming. I want to replace my last memories of that pool with new ones,” I told Josie when we got back to James’ house. I wondered if Josie would mind going nude, not as if she had a choice since she didn’t have a bathing suit with her, but I should have known better. Josie stripped down
immediately upon my suggestion. I’d told her about the rule before and didn’t have to remind her. She went ahead while I grabbed some sparkling water for us. Josie was already in the pool but I invited her into the hot tub instead. We sat in the tub, enjoying the evening peace and quiet. The warm water felt so good.

“You’re really lucky, you know,” Josie said.

“Yeah, the pool is great,” I told her but that’s not what she meant.

“I mean James. You’re lucky to have him. I know he kind of fucked up with the whole Sylvia thing, but he meant well. I hope you know that,” Josie told me.

“I do. Did you talk to him?” I answered.

“Yeah, we had a good talk on the way to the hospital yesterday,” Josie admitted and then added, “But he didn’t tell me to say that. I really like him and you both need each other. I just don’t want all of that bullshit to ruin something special,” Josie said. Despite the fact we were both naked, I hugged her.

“It won’t. I know I’ve got something special. I just wish things would settle down so we could just enjoy each other,” I replied. Josie nodded as we parted.

“Good!” was all she said. We soaked for a while and then I took her home. There was still some shattered glass at the bottom of the freeway ramp and a stain where my car had come to rest on its roof and leaked fluids. It was already kind of surreal, more
like I’d seen it in a movie than something that really happened. I dropped Josie off and packed myself a bag. I left and drove back to James’ house. It was feeling more and more like home, even more so after the events of the previous day. I was as angry about the kiss as I was about where it happened. That was my home and Sylvia was the intruder.

However, she was gone now and I
was left feeling very possessive and protective of James and his home. I shut down James before whenever he asked me to move in with him. I made it clear that I wasn’t ready for that and I wanted to take things slowly. I regretted that now but I wondered how I could let him know I was ready without sounding pushy. Maybe James would sense it. Maybe he would ask me without my having to tell him about my change of heart. It felt like something had changed between us in the past couple of days. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it felt good. It felt right.

~~~

James didn’t come home the next day but mid-morning of the third day, Friday, he surprised me. I was watching a movie when he walked in the front door. He looked amazing. He wore the same thing he always did, the t-shirt, jeans and his big black boots but he looked happy as if his trip had been good. I expected him to join me on the sofa, but instead he went to the stairs.

“C’mon, we need to get ready,” he said and went up to his room. I shut off the television and followed him. Was this more of his flair for the dramatic?

“Get ready for what?” I asked as he tossed his wheeled duffel on the bed and began to pack. He didn’t answer though.

“I know you don’t have everything with you, but we can get it there. Just grab the important stuff,” James told me being purposely evasive. I could tell he had a secret and he was teasing me.

“Get what where?” I asked. James stopped and looked at me.

“You have a passport, don’t you?” he asked in return.
A passport? Why did I need a passport?

“Well, yes. But it’s at the apartment,” I said.

“Good, we’ll go get it on our way,” he said and then walked over to me and slipped his arms around me. “By the way, I missed you. You feeling better?” he said.

“Yes, I missed you too. You’re not going to tell me where were going are you?” I said, more of a statement than a question.

“Nope. Now get packed,” was all he said. I did as ordered. My clothes were still in my bag, but I gathered my toiletries and I was pretty much packed. James was done too and he grabbed both bags with one hand and led me from the room with his other hand on the small of my back. I loved when he did that. We went outside and he went to my Jeep instead of his truck. “You’re diving, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, and thank you, by the way. I was kidding, you
know? You didn’t really have to get me a new car,” I said.

“What? Do you think I’m your personal chauffeur? Don’t answer that,” he said and I giggled. Once we were on our way to my house, I wondered about his absence.

“Did you accomplish what you set out to do?” I asked.

“And more.
I’m fairly awesome,” he said.

“And modest too,” I replied and James laughed.

“I missed you and that fiery side of yours,” James said. I was about to ask him what he had done, but James sensed it and said, “I’ll tell you on the plane.”

“Oh, so were flying somewhere,” I said as if that was some great revaluation since we were on the way to get my passport. James didn’t say another word about it. I think I enjoyed his little games almost as much as he did. He seemed to enjoy surprising me and I enjoyed being surprised. Once we got to the apartment and I found my passport, I was about to leave Josie a note to let her know I would be gone. James stopped me.

“You don’t need to do that,” was all he said. This was becoming frustrating. What was he up to? I left a note anyway and James just shrugged as if I was being foolish. We left the apartment and James asked me if I remembered where the band’s hanger was. I did and drove us there. It was nearly one in the afternoon when we arrived. The last time we took the jet, it was only the pilot waiting for us at the hanger. However, this time the hanger was buzzing with activity. Luggage, instruments and amps were being loaded into the belly of the jet. Tommy and Chad were waiting in the lounge.

“Hey, better late than never,” Tommy announced. He and Chad got up to give me a hug.

“Simone was driving,” James said as if implying that’s why we were late. I punched him but he ignored it and asked, “Where are the girls?”

“Benny’s on the plane playing pilot,” Chad said jokingly implying Benny was one of the girls. We all laughed.
Poor Benny. He was a good sport but he was so often the butt of everyone’s jokes. Benny seemed to enjoy the role, however.

“They went to powder their noses,” Tommy answered seriously. I assumed they meant Anna but James had said girls. Just then, Anna and Josie walked out of the restroom. I looked at James, understanding now why I didn’t need to leave my roommate a note.

“Girl! Cabo, can you believe it?” Josie said and I looked at James again.

“
Cabo, huh?” I said and hugged Josie and Anna.

“Big deal.
That’s the least of it,” James said. Was he being coy or was there really a bigger surprise? I didn’t have a chance to ask as the pilot came in and told us it was time to board. He led us out to the jet and we climbed inside. Benny was already there sacked out on the sofa. We all found seats but I stopped to give Benny a big hug on my way.

“There’s room here on the sofa,” Benny said suggestively.

“Get your own girl, drummer boy,” Chad told him.

“Maybe, I’ve got a girl waiting in Mexico,” Benny retorted.

“What donkey show does she work at?” Tommy asked. We all laughed, including Benny. He seemed to enjoy the banter and it was all good-natured. The four members of the band were like brothers and they acted like it. Once we were in the air, the co-pilot, a beautiful blonde woman, came back into the cabin and broke out trays of small sandwiches, veggies and fruit before offering everyone a drink. Thank God, I was famished.

“Thanks, Cheryl,” James said and the rest of us thanked her as well.

“No, problem. Least I can do for a few days in Cabo on your dime,” she said, winked at James and went back to the cockpit. James seemed to have surrounded himself with people who loved him. The band, the staff at his restaurant and Peter to name a few. His pilots, or rather the band’s pilots, seemed to feel the same way. However, James was the business face of Battery and its leader on stage as well as off. He had made all of this happen and capitalized on their talent to make them all wealthy. I guess I was just another one of James’ adoring fans, but I was more than that. As I contemplated that, it made me feel pretty special.