“Really? You’re a Spice Girl now?”
I rolled my eyes. “What I’m saying is that the perception of our little group was nothing but bad assumptions.”
“Not following.”
“We all thought we were different, but we really weren’t. Our trio would never have worked if we weren’t all a bit similar to one another. I mean, look at Steph. She definitely learned how to explore her animalistic side. But you…”
“What about me?” I could almost see smoke blowing from her ears.
“Why are you trying to hold it back?” I demanded. “I’ve seen it before. Where did it go?”
Please tell me that I did not just spend my youth dragging your name in the mud and smearing your positive outlook on life. Please tell me that you enjoyed everything and that I wasn’t too influential on you.
She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. “I’m not trying to hold anything back. What ‘it’ are you even talking about?”
“The certain ‘it’ factor that, despite your naiveté, allowed you to call me out on my bullshit. The ‘it’ factor that, despite your good girl qualms, pushed you to party and skip class with me even if I could tell you were scared.”
Her lip quivered. “I only did those things because I cared about you! You were so caught up in a downward spiral that I was afraid you’d go under if nobody was with you to yank you back up. Also, I called you out on your bullshit because, just like right now, you can be a stupid son of a bitch. I followed you around to protect you!”
Okay, I did not see that coming. “Protect me? That skinny little girl with the bright pink retainer wanted to protect me?” I threw my head back and laughed at the visual. Teenaged Rocky couldn’t protect me from a ladybug.
“Not physically,” she snapped in irritation. “More along the line of keeping you in line.”
I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes, trying to get a read on her. “Why are you denying it, Rocky? Your bad side is desperately trying to get out. I mean, why else do you think you kissed me?”
“Like I said, I was caught in the moment.”
“Because I always represented your rebellious nature. Think about it; once your inner self saw me, she couldn’t contain herself!” Wow, I really should have gone to college and earned a degree in bullshit. I probably could have become a politician or something.
“Inner self? When the hell did you get into all this philosophical crap?”
Then again philosophy would have been good too.
“As odd as it sounds, I feel responsible for stunting your growth. Without me, you’d have remained the seventeen-year-old I left behind.” Without the warm air from the heater, the warehouse began to cool considerably. Rocky’s perky little nipples hardened enough to poke against the thick fabric of her sweater. Resolve weakening, my eyes dropped down to admire the sight. “Well, not all parts.”
“Is there a point to this?” she asked, completely oblivious to my gawking.
“My point is I want to prove to you that you never needed me to explore your rebellious side. It was always deep inside. It was in your soul.”
“This is the weirdest after school special ever.” She let out an exasperated breath.
If I wasn’t head deep in my ‘philosophical crap’ I could have laughed. “You wanted to be friends again, right? Like old times?”
“Yeah.”
Friends…such a bad word.
“Okay then. From this moment on, we are once again Rocky and Jesse…and Stephanie. I will show you that once we hang out together, it’ll awaken that little vixen I know you have inside you. Just give me some time to figure out how to get her out of whatever cage you put her in. I’ll show you there’s a rebel there. Shit, she showed herself on N-Y-E.”
“And then you left…again,” she pointed out.
“I promise I’ll never do that again.”
Liar!
Still looking doubtful, she asked, “What does any of this have to do with Ethan?”
“Ethan?” My gaze snapped up from her chest. Really? She had to bring him up now?
“You said that now you can see why I always acted a certain way with Ethan.”
“Oh.” My mouth curled into a perfect circle. “Um, just forget about it.”
“What? Why?”
“I said forget about it.” There was no way I’d admit that I was jealous of the motherfucker. He had nothing standing in his way, but I had the whole world against me. Before she could push further, I quickly headed toward the Dungeon. Once I stepped inside and wrapped the stupid apron around my waist, I realized just how stupid I was acting. There I was, working in a store I hated, doing work I hated, and for what? To push the girl I loved away?
I really was such an idiot.
Chapter 23
Well my sense of idiocy tripled if not quadrupled within the next few days while her parents were away on a business trip. In my quest to prove my warped theory about her inner diva—as well as have some fun with her—I not only freaked her out with sex toys but practically drowned her in foam genitalia, butt plugs, and cock rings.
Rocky was furious, and I mean the ‘I-will-kill-you-while-you-sleep’ type of furious. Though my initial joke of shoving some bachelorette party favors in her face was pretty harmless and even resulted in a sale, I guess I did draw the line by booby trapping her workspace with more serious toys. The, ahem, type for professionals, if you know what I’m saying.
I knew she was ready to pounce on me from the moment I heard her scream my name over the intercom system. Truth be told, I was a bit scared and took my time walking toward the middle of the store. By the time I made it to the main register, Rocky was beet red and shaking with fury.
I gulped before asking, “Hey, boss. You wanted to see me?”
“What the hell is your problem?” she demanded.
I wish I could say what happened next was a mature, decent conversation where I was able to explain my actions and she was able to rebut, sharing her innermost feelings.
It wasn’t.
After pointing fingers back and forth, we were no better than the pile of butt plugs surrounding Rocky’s feet, which I had to admit, was a pretty funny sight. Unfortunately, that was the only thing humorous about the situation.
After being called a dick by Rocky (seriously that hurt like a bitch) and me retaliating by accusing her of only being concerned about money, I was certain that whatever weak foundation of a friendship we had left had all but crumbled. To make matters worse, Ethan chose that moment to show up, practically ready to lick Rocky’s face off!
Since there was no way I’d stay to watch whatever fucking lovefest was going on between them, I quickly busied myself by plucking all the sex toys off the floor, trying my best to ignore whatever the hell they were talking about. However, I couldn’t help but glance over at Ethan, who kept throwing discreet looks at the toys littering the floor.
Bet he’s wondering which to use on Rocky.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I shifted slightly so that my back blocked his view. I quickly threw the last dolphin head into the box and abruptly stood just as Ethan was on his way out.
“Bye,” Rocky called after him as I purposely nudged her with my shoulder.
She turned around and sneered in my direction. “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Without answering, I gripped the heavy box and pushed my way toward the Dungeon. I needed to get away from it all. Most of all, I needed to get away from her.
“Well, you were successful in your quest, Jesse.” I dropped the box at my feet and kicked it away. “Somebody was finally let go…too bad it was you.”
***
Pissing off Rocky was just the tip of the iceberg to my otherwise horrible day. Later that evening, I pulled up to my house and noticed a strange car parked in my driveway.
“What the fuck?” I muttered angrily, placing my car into park. I jumped out of my high SUV and slammed the door with enough force to shake the damn thing. I was about twenty feet away from the door when a chorus of laughs emanated loudly from the inside. Something in me snapped. It was as if repressed memories were awakened and flooded my brain, causing a rush of heat to fly through my veins.