“I’d rather be a tramp than a dried-up old hag!”
At this the woman dives for the car, but Jay reverses just enough so she doesn’t collide with his bumper. He ends up on the lawn, and manages to swing around and head straight for the exit, leaving tire marks all through their flower beds. I turn in my seat to see the two chasing after the car. I hope they didn’t get the chance to memorise his licence plate.
Soon we’re well clear of the house and back on the road. I let out a long sigh and turn to Jessie, asking with concern, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, no way, Matilda,” says Jay, putting his hand on my thigh. “Don’t go giving her any sympathy. She got herself into this situation, so she only has herself to blame.”
“She didn’t know the woman had a husband,” I say, my voice quiet.
“Yeah, I didn’t know,” says Jessie pointedly. “And thank you for your concern, honey, but I’m fine.”
“You shouldn’t have caused a scene,” Jay mutters, eyeing Jessie sharply through his overhead mirror.
“But it’s what I do best,” Jessie replies, and sticks out her tongue.
I turn to look out the window, but Jay doesn’t move his hand from my thigh. His fingers are pretty close to a certain place, and I have a hard time breathing for a second. He gives a little squeeze, and God, it makes me want things I don’t want to want.
There’s a couple minutes of silence. Jay breaks it when he starts to mimic Jessie. “‘It’s not my fault I’m offended by the idea of sucking a cock.’”
Jessie snickers. “Shut up.”
Jay sighs. “We both knew that one was going to be trouble.”
“Trouble is fun, so long as there’s no husband involved.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve got to stop letting your temper get the better of you. One of these days it’ll get you into the wrong kind of trouble, Jess, the un-fun kind.”
“Okay, Dad. I won’t point out that you’re hardly a poster boy for self-control.”
“Yeah, you won’t, but you just did. Anyway, I’m not your dad, and thank fuck for that. You were a little hell-raiser.”
Jessie laughs and slumps back in her seat, folding her arms. “So, how did your night go?”
“It was going great until we had to leave to come rescue your ass.”
“Yes,” I put in, turning to wink at Jessie, “there was a very attractive redhead coming onto Jay. You totally cockblocked him.”
He squeezes my thigh again, his voice low when he says, “She didn’t cockblock anyone. I never planned on going there.”
I don’t know what to say now, so I say nothing. Jessie’s soft chuckling drifts from the back. A couple of minutes later, we arrive at her apartment and she hops out, tipping her imaginary hat to us.
“Thanks for the ride, you two,” she says, and then skips her way to the entrance.
“How do you know Jessie?” I ask as Jay pulls away from the curb.
“Known her since I was a kid. Before my parents died and I went to America to live with my uncle, we were best buds at school. When I moved back here, I looked her up. Turned out she was doing pretty badly. Her entire family had disowned her when they found out she was gay, so she turned to drugs. I got her into a clinic, helped her find a job. The rest, I guess, is history.”
“Wow. That was really nice of you.”
Jay shrugs. “It is what it is.”
The remainder of the drive home is quiet. In the house, Jay follows me upstairs. When I get to my bedroom door, I turn back to say good night, only to find he’s standing right behind me, a look in his eyes that makes me feel hot all over. There’s something dark in his gaze that I can’t translate. The air between us is thick, and as the seconds tick by, I grow nervous. I need to get away and I’m not even sure why, so when I find my voice to speak, I tell him good night before quickly hurrying inside my room.
And when I lay my head on my pillow, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t broken the moment.
***
Saturday passes in a lazy fashion. I spend most of my time reading my Kindle out in the garden. We’re going through a sunny-weather patch. My book choice on this occasion veers toward the emotionally intense romantic kind, but I’m not going to analyse why that is. I suppose the way Jay was looking at me last night has me in need of a bit of lady porn.
Speaking of Jay, he’s currently camped out at the table by the glass sliding doors, a tonne of books and his laptop open in front of him as he researches God only knows what. Every once in a while I’ll let my eyes wander in his direction, and I’ll find him looking back at me pensively. Then he’ll smile and return his attention to his research. Other times he won’t be looking, and I’ll be unable to tear my eyes off him. He’s wearing a tight grey T-shirt that showcases his muscular arms perfectly, the toned lines of his shoulders.