Rock Chick Rescue by Kristen Ashley

My breath caught.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Pizza time!” I said a little loudly, considering his face was less than an inch away.

  Eddie’s eyes lit, he smiled and then he kissed me, the smile still on his face (I could feel it), making the pizza guy wait. Then he angled up and left me panting on the couch and thinking that, just as long as Eddie kissed me like that on a routine basis, I didn’t want anything to do with temporarily.

  * * * * *

  We both took off our boots and settled in for the night.

  We ate the pizza, Eddie drank a couple of beers and, as I’d already had over my alcohol quota for the day (and had to be prepared for whatever the evening would bring), I drank Diet Coke. We watched a game for awhile; me up against Eddie’s side with my bare feet tucked under me on the couch, Eddie’s feet were on the table.

  It felt good. It felt nice. It felt so good and so nice that I could get used to it. I knew I shouldn’t but I decided just to go with it… for now.

  It was when Eddie was clearing away the pizza box that my mobile rang.

  It was Indy.

  “Don’t talk, just listen,” she said.

  Oh no. Here we go.

  “Okay,” I replied.

  “At around ten, Ally’s gonna come to the door. Eddie’ll answer. You be in the bedroom. Leave a note for Eddie and crawl out the bedroom window. You don’t need anything, just your purse and you. We’ve got everything else covered.”

  Dear Lord. This did not sound like a good escape plan.

  In fact, it sounded like a terrible, amateur escape plan that Eddie would totally figure out.

  I heard Eddie walk back in the room.

  I looked at the time on the DVD player. It was just after nine.

  “Do you understand?” Indy asked.

  “Yep,” I said.

  “Ten o’clock, bedroom window. See you then.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  She disconnected, I flipped the phone shut and put it on the coffee table.

  “Everything okay?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah,” I lied, trying not to hyperventilate.

  “You sure?” Eddie was standing by the couch.

  I looked up and gave him a bright, false smile.

  “Sure I’m sure,” I lied again.

  He took one look at my face, his brows drew together and I was pretty certain he was going to tell me I was full of shit again.

  I needed a reason to be in the bedroom in less than an hour.

  I’d always been a good girl, I’d never been grounded, I’d never had a reason to be sneaky. I wasn’t out of practice, I’d never been in practice.

  I stood up and did the best I could.

  “I’m going to bed,” I announced.

  Eddie looked toward the bedroom, then back to me, then his eyes narrowed under his drawn brows.

  “‘Night,” I said and walked right by him into the bedroom.

  I yanked my pajamas out of my bag. They had a stretchy, peach eyelet camisole and lightweight cotton drawstring pants. They were cute. I bought them for myself for Christmas last year but hardly ever wore them. I figured they were thin enough, I could put my clothes back on over them in a flash.

  I was focusing on my pajamas and practicing deep breathing when Eddie walked in.

  I headed to the bathroom.

  “You don’t have to come to bed, you can finish watching the game,” I told him, making to walk by him but he grabbed my pajamas and threw them so they landed on my bag.

  I stopped and watched them fall.

  “I was going to put those on,” I said.

  His arms slid around me, his face was closed and he was watching me.

  I held my breath.

  Finally, he said, “Bed sounds good.”

  Damn.

  He walked me backwards, his hands coming under my t-shirt and then up and then it was gone.

  Hmm, this didn’t seem to be going to plan. If I couldn’t pull off the first part of it, how was I going to manage the last?

  I threw a shot out in the dark, “Eddie, I’m tired. Exhausted. Long nights, you know?”

  He pulled his tee off and threw it in the direction of mine.

  I sucked in breath.

  He had a great chest, what could I say?

  “Don’t worry, Chiquita, I’ll do all the work.”

  Eek!

  He undid the belt at my jeans and shoved me back so I fell on the bed. It was gentle but it was also macho and I felt my heart begin to pound as my doo-da quivered.

  His hands went to his belt, I heard the clink as it came undone and he began to work on the buttons of his jeans. I rolled and started to crawl across the bed.

  “I’ve changed my mind, I think I want to see the end of the game,” I lied, beginning to panic.

  “Hang on there, Chiquita,” he said and caught my calves and pulled me back, whipping me over. Then, before I could protest, he was on me, his mouth on mine and Ally, Indy, Daisy and our plans for the evening flew right out of my head.

  He unzipped my jeans, still kissing me and his hand went inside, between my legs. I pressed against him and slid my hands into his jeans at the back, holding on to his world-class behind. He had the best behind, or, at least, the best I’d ever had.

  His fingers pushed in deeper, I bucked against his hand, breathing heavy against his mouth and, all of a sudden, his finger slid inside me.

  The oxygen started burning in my lungs.

  “Dear Lord,” I breathed, my lips against his.

  “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on tonight?” he asked.

  My eyes were closed. At his question, they flew open and I looked in his. They were liquid but they were determined and I knew he’d totally figured me out.

  Shit and damn.

  I told the truth.

  “No.”

  His finger moved. It felt nice.

  I bit my lip.

  “I need to cuff you to the bed?” he asked.

  “No,” I whispered, though he probably did.

  His finger moved out and then back in. That felt so nice it was off the scales nice.

  “You and Indy plannin’ on doing something stupid?”

  I pressed my face into his neck and touched my tongue there, partially to buy time but mainly because I wanted to.

  I stuck with honesty, I was too turned on to try anything else.

  “Maybe,” I said.

  His finger went away but only to go and do a swirl somewhere better.

  “Am I gonna be able to talk you out of it?” he asked.

  One of my hands went from his ass to his crotch. He was hard. I took this as a promising sign.

  “Probably not.”

  The promise didn’t pan out, he pulled his hips and his hand from me and he started to move away.

  Um, no.

  No, no and definitely no.

  I rolled with him, pushed him back at his shoulders and got on top, straddling him. He knifed up and nearly dislodged me but I held on tight. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and I was sitting astride his lap. I looked down at him and I could tell he was pissed.

  I felt my heart squeeze.

  I knew I had to do something about his anger, not only because I needed Eddie to finish what he started but also because I really didn’t like the idea that he was pissed at me.

  I didn’t know what to do so I decided just to ask.

  “I have to do this and I want you to understand,” I whispered, “Please, don’t be mad at me.”

  Then I went for broke, put my hands on either side of his face, bent my head and kissed him. I think it was the first time I’d full-on kissed him, without it being in the heat of passion (well, okay, there was heat) but more simply just to kiss him.

  The kiss was a good idea.

  After a beat, his arms came around me, one hand went into my jeans at my bottom, the other one undid my bra. He slid it off my shoulders, pressed into the middle of my back, broke from my kiss and took my n
ipple in his mouth.

  It felt so good, my back arched and my fingers slid into his hair.

  He cupped my other breast and tilted his head back to look up at me.

  “How much time do we have?”

  His eyes weren’t pissed off anymore and I smiled at him. Because I was happy, because he was a good guy and because I was going to get some.

  “Ally’s knocking on the door at ten, then I’m supposed to climb out the window.”

  He shook his head at our stupidity, flipped me onto my back, pulled my jeans down my legs and tossed them aside.

  I felt like jumping for joy, but that would require me getting up and there was no way in hell I was going to do that.

  “When I’m done with you, you can call Indy and tell her to come to the front door with Ally.”

  To show my appreciation, I ran my tongue up his jaw and at his ear I said, “Thanks Eddie.”

  “I’m sure you can find more creative ways to show your gratitude.”

  Dear Lord.

  I pushed off with my foot and rolled him on to his back. My hair fell around us when I lifted my head.

  “I can do that,” I told him and I was pretty certain I could, or at the very least, I could try.

  I started to work my way down his chest.

  “You better be here in the morning,” he said when my mouth was at his abs.

  I ran my tongue along the waistband of his jeans and he ran a hand through my hair.

  “I’ll make the coffee,” I promised.

  “I don’t give a shit about coffee, I’m thinkin’ about the shower.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Poker and Stun Guns

  We got ready at Ally’s and upon arrival I found that Indy recruited Tod and Stevie for the dress-up portion of the evening.

  I walked in the front door and without saying a word of greeting, Tod looked me up and down and said, “I’ve got just the thing.”

  Then he rifled through a bunch of dresses, tossing aside shoes and whisking away feather boas and then he threw what appeared to be a swatch of navy blue material at me. I caught it and shook out the dress. It was tiny, stretchy, had spaghetti straps and was stitched with a bazillion little blue plastic disks.

  “Shoes!” Tod shouted, snapping his fingers at Stevie who gave Tod a glare that had to be in contention for The Glare of All Time, such was its magnificence. Still throwing The Glare, Stevie came forward with matching slingbacks that had a pencil-thin heel, a scary-pointed toe and a row of the same blue plastic disks that were on the dress were stitched across the toe.

  “Tod found the shoes first, then he made the dress,” Stevie told me.

  “I can’t wear this dress,” I whispered to Stevie, “It’s been made for a small child.”

  “It’s stretchy,” Stevie whispered back.

  “It’s gonna have to be,” I told him.

  It was, it covered everything it was supposed to cover (barely) and even came down to mid-thigh (if I pulled it hard enough).

  Tod did my makeup on a level one half notch down from full-on drag and Daisy did my hair in the only way she knew how. When I looked at myself, I had four times as much hair as I normally had. I didn’t look like me, I looked like eye candy in an 80’s rock video.

  “How did you do that to my hair?” I asked Daisy.

  “Magic, Sugar,” she answered.

  Ally and Indy were in the same get-ups. Indy was in green Lycra with a slashed neckline that gave more than a hint of cleavage (much more). Ally was wearing her own red knit dress, with a turtle neck but no sleeves, a teardrop cut out at her cleavage and it was so short, she wouldn’t be able to bend over for fear of an inadvertent moon.

  “My babies! I’m so proud. You look like the Burgundy-ettes,” Tod said, throwing his arms out to encompass us all and then hugging us in turn. His drag name was Burgundy Rose and he looked in danger of proposing a road show.

  “We better get going,” Indy said quickly before Tod produced a Tina Turner CD and made us practice doing backup for “Proud Mary”.

  Stevie stood at the door.

  “All right girls.” He handed out bags, “I’ve checked, stun guns and tasers are charged, pepper sprays are readily available. Knock ‘em dead.”

  Dear Lord.

  I took my bag and gave Stevie a kiss on the cheek and we rolled out to the Mustang. We almost couldn’t fit all of our hair into the car but luckily we were wearing fewer clothes so it balanced out.

  “Jet?” Indy asked, turning in the front passenger seat to look at me when Ally started to follow the directions Daisy gave her.

  “Yeah?”

  “What’d you mean about the Smithie’s uniform having a weird power over men?”

  I shrugged, then I realized my hair hid my shoulders.

  “You heard Vance,” I said by way of explanation.

  She kept turned and I could feel her stare in the dark.

  “At Blanca’s party, you said Eddie was out of your league. What’s that all about?” Ally asked from the driver’s seat.

  Daisy was sitting next to me and I heard the fabric of her dress (ice blue, skintight, ultra-mini-skirt with a v-neck that showed most of her ample cleavage) slide against her seat when she looked at me.

  “You think that, Sugar?”

  “Well,” I said, feeling uncomfortable, “yeah.”

  Daisy burst out laughing.

  I looked in the direction of her hair.

  “He’s a cutie pie, that’s for certain, but make no mistake, you two look great together. Phenomenal. He’s all tall, dark and handsome and you’re all blonde, sweet and pretty. The perfect match. Comprende?”

  I looked out the window.

  “It’s just ‘cause you all like me,” I mumbled.

  I wasn’t saying it to fish for compliments, in fact, I didn’t want to be on the subject at all.

  Daisy’s hand took mine in a tight grip.

  “Sugar, it’s true, I like you but ain’t no way I’d lead a girlfriend of mine into a world of hurt if she got herself caught up with some dickhead with his head up his ass.”

  Boy, Daisy didn’t mince words.

  “You’re gorgeous,” Indy threw in.

  “Please, let’s not talk about this,” I said.

  “Eddie thinks you are,” Indy ignored me.

  “Eddie wants to rescue me,” I explained.

  Daisy emitted a tinkly laugh.

  “Eddie wants a lot more than that. No man buys a coffee maker with a woman he wants to rescue. No way, no how. He buys a coffee maker with a woman he wants to fuck. A lot. And for a good long time, and I don’t mean the fuckin’ I just mean time. Comprende?” Daisy said.

  Dear Lord.

  How could I not “comprende”?

  “Vance thinks you’re hot,” Indy put in.

  “Vance has seen me in my Smithie’s uniform,” I said.

  “Hank hasn’t seen you in your Smithie’s uniform and he thinks you’re hot,” Ally said.

  My mouth dropped open and I saw Indy’s hair turned to Ally.

  “He tell you that?” Indy said.

  “Heard him talking to Lee,” Ally said.

  “Holy cow,” I said, in a state of, like, total shock, “Really?”

  “Yeah, um, I don’t get it. Do you not look in the mirror?” Ally asked.

  “That’s what my sister says,” I told her.

  “Sugar, I hope you don’t mind me sayin’, your Daddy left you ‘cause your Daddy’s a jackass not because you ain’t all that ‘cause I’m here to tell you, you are. Smithie won’t have a girl work for him who isn’t all that and that’s the God’s honest truth,” Daisy declared.

  This was true. Every girl who worked at Smithie’s was hot. It was a job requirement.

  “I thought Smithie felt sorry for me because of Mom.”

  Daisy let go of my hand and made a snorting noise with her nose.

  “Smithie’d give you fifty dollars and tell you to take a hike. He wouldn’t put you in
heels and a skimpy outfit and have you traipse around his bar. The point is, all his girls gotta give the guys hard-ons and make ‘em want to hang around longer, order drinks and enjoy the show. He ain’t gonna make no money if he’s got some plain-ass bitch draggin’ around.”

  I saw Indy’s hair nod.

  So, all this was making sense to me, but it still made me uncomfortable.

  “Okay. Can we stop talking about how hot I am and giving guys hard-ons?” I asked.

  “Sure, Sugar.” Daisy gave in as if it was all the same to her, “Let’s talk about your Eddie and his hard-ons. Do tell, does the promise of what I saw in those jeans hold true? Please tell me it does. It would be so disappointing if he stuffed a sock down there or somethin’.”

  I laughed. If Eddie used a sock his crotch would enter the room before he did.

  “He doesn’t use a sock and he’s so not disappointing it’s kind of scary.”

  “How scary?” Ally asked.

  “Mind-bogglingly scary,” I answered.

  “I’ve always wanted to know if Eddie was even close to the promise of Eddie ‘cause the promise of Eddie is seriously shit-hot.” Ally said.

  I thought about Eddie. I thought about Mom leaning against Eddie. I thought about Eddie getting so angry on my behalf he’d punch out Bachelor Number One and throw a phone into a margarita pitcher. I thought about Eddie’s hands and mouth on me. I thought about Eddie moving inside me. I thought about Eddie in the shower. I thought about being tucked up against Eddie on the couch.

  I sighed, deep and huge.

  Indy turned back in her seat, “I think that’s enough said.”

  “You got that right, sister,” Ally agreed.

  * * * * *

  We arrived at the table, which was somewhere I didn’t know and somewhere I never wanted to go again. I just knew it was in the back of a seriously not-trendy bar and up some barely-lit stairs that didn’t smell good. Daisy knocked on a closed door and when the big guy opened it, he didn’t look happy to see her. Then he hid it and was all smiles.

  “Daisy!” he said.

  “Got a game goin’, Butch?” she asked.

  “Sure Daisy,” Butch said.

  “Room for me?” she asked.

  “Always room for you, Daisy.” Then his eyes came to Indy, Ally and I and I wondered why he ended everything he said with “Daisy”.