Yeah, it was his shirt, what choice did I have?
“Those hand prints look too big to match…” Denise’s accusing cobra stare pounded her son.
In confusion I looked to my arms, remembered, then shrugged. I’d forgotten about our breakdown.
He noticed the exchange and followed her gaze. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Did I do that?” he asked in horrified shock.
You could just make out where his fingers had squeezed, but not much else. They were faint and not worth notice. Not in the face of the other bruises, which I didn't want to think about until Dr. George had me in his chair.
“Yeah.” I shrugged again. “Not a big deal.”
“Jessica!” William gently ran his fingers over my upper arm, “It is a big deal! My God, why didn’t you say something?
I nearly laughed—why didn’t I say something? Such a man response. Why was he squeezing in the first place? But I knew why, and I didn’t think he would realize it was a joke, so I shrugged again and said instead, “Didn’t seem important. There were… other things to discuss.”
“Jessica, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you!” He looked like a beat puppy. He stroked my cheek with his fingers.
“No worries.” I shrugged for the millionth time. Denise was still pointedly looking at William. He caught the look.
“Mom, I’m serious. I didn’t know I was hurting her!”
“You need to be more careful,” Denise said in a firm tone. It was like she was talking to two children. I didn’t appreciate the sentiment.
“The story isn’t in the papers, so that is good,” Denise said after we’d sat down at the table to quietly ate our breakfast.
I tried to keep my mind from calling up flashbacks. William put a hand on my leg.
“Dusty lived,” she continued. “He was put in intensive care overnight. But he lived. As soon as he is able he’s going straight to prison. Scotty is ready to counter sue if Dusty’s father looks like he is going to press charges. Right now it looks like the father’s placing blame the group his son hangs out with, but you never know. It is a painful road for a parent to travel—placing blame on a child. The good news is that the police have enough evidence to rule this as self-defense.”
“Good.” William sighed, squeezing my leg gently again.
There was a knock at the door followed by William’s bellow to come in. The dog took off to investigate.
I felt it my job to elbow William for blowing out my ear, even though Denise didn’t seem to mind. He, again, looked at me confusedly. We’d have to take up sign language.
In stepped Adam, who wasted no time checking out my various battle wounds. He crossed the room in a few long strides and ripped me out of my chair and into a tight embrace. It was fine, except that he could have smelt better.
“Damn it, Jessica. How do you keep getting’ inta trouble?” he asked with a growl.
“Ow,” I responded meekly.
He put me down and shook his head. “Damn glad to see you made it out. Someone should’a told us that f**ker was out of jail!”
“ADAM! Language!” Dense yelled.
“Oh.” Adam's face turned red. “Sorry ma’am.”
“It is like a bunch of sailors in this house!” Denise said, standing. “You want breakfast, Adam?”
“Yes ma’am, if it suits.”
“Now, that’s better. That’s language your mother would be proud of.”
After I’d showered and climbed into some clothes William had nicked from my house, the sneak, I thanked Denise for the breakfast and scurried toward the hallway.
“Jessica—“ Almost made it!
With a big sigh I turned back to Adam, who apparently thought my discomfort was hilarious, judging by the irritating smirk on his face. “Been meanin’ to tell ya. I’ve got a car you can borrow. I never use the thing so it’s no trouble if you wanna use it.”
“Adam, that is really great. Probably too much, though. I’ll get my stuff figured out soon.”
His eyes brows furrowed dangerously. “Stop bein’ stubborn. I don’t use it. Borrow it. Get your own’un. Give it back.”
“Yiks, okay. Thanks.”
“It’s nuthin.”
We walked into Adam’s spacious, three car garage later that day. It was attached to a moderate-sized ranch house. It wasn’t as nice as the one on William’s ranch, nor as big, but apparently Adam didn’t stay out here much, so he didn’t bother with improvements. He, like William, had a place closer to the city.
Must be freaking nice having two houses and a bunch of cars to put in them. No wonder William couldn’t understand why buying a car was a big deal. Jerk.
The light from the open garage door splashed down on a beat-up old mustang in need of desperate repair. It looked like the paint was once orange, but rust had taken over. I tried to keep my eyes from bugging out of my head for Adam’s sake, but no offense, I would rather take the bus.
William and Adam started laughing.
“Not that one you dolt!” Adam turned to William, “Didcha see the look on her face? She about threw up her breakfast!”
Indignantly, I watched as Adam walked across the garage, passing a sweet, though slightly older, Mercedes, before he stopped in front of a mid-sized car with a cover on it. He pointed. Being that the light was on one side of the big garage, and he was on the other, and also that the car had a cover, I wasn’t sure what reaction to offer. Frankly, I was worried it would look like the rusty death trap I was standing in front of.
“Oh right,” Adam said as he noticed, apparently for the first time, that the car was incognito. He ripped off the cover and pointed again. “It’ll do ya, I reckon. It works. About five years old, but I ain’t had no problems with it. Hell, I hardly ever drove the thing before I parked it. Prefer the truck.”
This time Adam had got it right! It was a BMW in great condition!
“Adam, I can’t drive this!” I protested.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” He turned and surveyed the car, hands on hips.
“It’s an expensive car, Adam.”
He waved my comment away. “It ain’t that expensive. Use it. No one else is gonna. It aught’ta get some drivin’ time.”
“You don’t take your truck on dates, though.”
He looked taken aback. “Uh...no. Well, I haven’t actually gone on any dates as of recently, and I have the Merc for that.” He cleared his throat.
William chuckled. “Our Adam is hard to please. I took the only good woman.”
Adam blushed.
William smiled wickedly. “Jessica, just say thank you and try not to wreck it.”
Later, when we were laying in my bed in the buff, I asked William what that exchange was all about.
He said, “I thought I told you... Adam wanted to make a play for you.”
“But I thought you said everyone knew you wanted me, and your friends just left it at that.”
He laughed. “Men aren’t that noble, I’m afraid. In the beginning, yes, I basically called dibs. I did see you first and made contact possible. But I was desperately trying not to get involved, as I told you, so Adam wanted to take a crack at you. Lucky for me you didn’t come around after Froggy’s.”
“It was after the dance off?”
“Yup. If I was going to make a play for you—this was the guys’ logic, not mine—it should have been then. Obvious reasons.”
“Obvious, as in, I was throwing myself at you?”
He laughed again and mussed my hair. “Something like that, yeah. That guy Brad wanted to dump his girlfriend and make a play, too.”
Without thinking I said, “He was cute.” Then I winced.
William gave me an incredulous look. “What?”
“Well! You were untouchable! That’s what everyone said. ‘Stay away from Davies’ was all I heard. So... Brad is cute and seemed interested. Which made me interested. Until I found out he had a girlfriend.”
“Interesting. And what if Adam did make a play for you? Is he cute?”
“Adam is striking, yeah.” I could see William’s face go blank, hiding his wariness. Apparently he didn’t care if I thought Brad was cute, but Adam was another story.
I wondered how I found William so hard to read before. It was comical how easily I could decipher his feelings now. I also wondered what the deal was with him and Adam. I decided to make him sweat.
“Adam is air-brushed good-looking,” I continued. “Tall, well build, gentleman, an extremely good guy—any girl would be lucky to get him.”
William’s blank face was a perfect mask. A see-through one, but perfect none-the-less. “So you would have gone for him?”
I put on a blank face of my own, playing him like a puppet. I shrugged. “Maybe.”
I figured William would get angry, or give me the silent treatment. Instead, he started to laugh. Not the reaction I was going for.
“You would never do as a spy,” he said. “All your emotions are on your face. He is a good-looking dude, though, that is true enough. Girls seem to like him.”
I laughed, too. “No, I wouldn’t have gone for Adam. If he wasn’t your friend and I had never met you I might have, but you trump all. Plus, Adam wasn’t going to go for me. He might have told you that. He might have even thought it at one time, but when it came down to it, he wouldn’t have. I even think he almost did, at Froggy’s actually, but backed down on his own. I’m not what he wants. He’s searching, I can tell, but I’m not it. Interesting that I see this now. I never really noticed it before. Too set on you, maybe.”
William kissed me.
“I was being honest, though,” I continued thoughtfully. “He is a definitely a good-looking guy, but he is a little…I don’t know how to describe it. Pretty, I guess. A little too pretty—don’t tell him I said that! But I like…rugged. He is manly, but doesn’t really come across as rugged. Hard to describe.” I shrugged again. “You trump all.”
William grunted, flexed, and kissed his bicep in a display of “manly.” I amended my description, informing him he was now a clown.
That next week I decided I would take William on a date, Jessica-style. No fancy restaurants, no jewelry, no expensive clothes, and I would pay. With the date in my power, I hoped it would go a little better.
I arrived at William’s house in my new-to-me Beemer wearing jeans, a cute little singlet with an airy top over it, my hair all done and new boots. The door opened and there stood…Adam.
“Um…hi?” I stammered, trying to look past and see what the hell was going on. William better not have forgotten this was my date night! He hadn’t wanted to go, mostly because I planned to drive and pay, so a slip of the mind would be just like him. He would expect the beating, too.
“Ladies ain’t supposed to say ‘um.’” Adam smirked.
“Well, I don’t think ain’t is in the dictionary, so who’s judging, huh?”
Adam laughed. “I hear you is takin’ Willie on a date. I’m the door man. C’mon in.”
I chuckled. William didn’t have Gladis, so he called in Adam. Touché.
I was admitted to the front entryway and led past the kitchen, down a hall to the living room, which Adam called the sittin’ room. I’d been here a million times, so I knew the layout, but I still marveled at the decorating. William had done it up right. He hated interior design, but he liked living in nice places. He was a bachelor raised by his mother—no beer signs for this guy! He had an interior decorator at the top of the trade come in and work the place over. There were a few artistic pieces that were a bit weird, like the goat statue with gold and grass outlays—he called them eclectic—but overall it was a stylish place.
I sat on the modern leather couch, which was not as comfortable as it was stylish, and noticed a bottle of champagne on the glass coffee table.
Adam sat in the adjacent leather recliner. “How’r you doin’?”
“Great. Really good. Thanks for asking. How are you?”
Adam gave me an annoyed look. “I ain’t the one going through a life trial.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Adam,” I said, taking a sip of my champagne, “I bet you go through life trials every day.”
“You know what I mean, Jess.”
I put on an affected southern accent a la Gone with the Wind; “Why, I never! I resent the implications that I am a mind reader, Mr. Dunn, if you please!”
“I meant about… How are your mental facilities?” Adam was talking slowly and clearly, as if we were underwater and he wanted to make himself heard.
“My mental facilities? Adam, are you calling me dense? That isn’t very nice.”
Adam looked at me slightly cross-eyed, “Jessica—“ he shook his head and tried to collect his thoughts, but apparently gave up when he said, “You can try a saint, you know that? You’re as infuriatin’ as all get-up!”
“I’ll take it from here,” William said, walking in with a smile.
“He’s no Gladis.” I laughed and got up. Adam got up, too, still miffed.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have a lot of options. The other guys were out with girls.”
“I bet their women aren’t all pains in the asses, though. Right, Adam?” I nudged Adam.
Adam huffed and walked toward the kitchen.
William stepped forward in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that fit him like a glove. We were going to a BBQ joint that was widely believed to be the best in the city. Coming from people that loved their BBQ, that was saying something. It was also on the other side of the tracks, so to speak, and I didn’t want William looking all rich and suave to eat some ribs.