Deeper (3 page)

“I
know. I’m surprised she hasn’t thrown me out yet, but why would she? She still
gets government assistance for me until I move out.”

“Which
will be soon, I promise,” I said, squeezing her into me again. “You’ve got to
be close to having enough to get your own place, right?”

Jessie
smiled and replied, “One more paycheck, Kris. God it’s going to feel so good to
get the keys to my own apartment. I don’t care if it’s bare and I have nothing
to sleep on. Just being away from her and on my own is going to feel amazing.”

“Well
when it’s time to move let me know and I’ll help you pack,” I said, smiling at
her enthusiasm.

I
couldn’t wait to get away from my bastard father but saving for a new drum kit
was making that impossible. Alan had offered to help me buy them, but he’d
already done so much to help us so I refused. I had to do this on my own.

As
we reached the door to the back stage lounge, Jessie pulled away from me to
open the door. When she did she brushed her ass across my crotch and out of
nowhere I felt tingles shooting through me and I stood up straight.

She
tossed her hair back again and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into
you!”

Her
cheeks were red with embarrassment as I moved away from her, but not in enough
time to hide my instant semi.
What the fuck was that?

“It’s
okay Jess, no worries,” I said, shifting around and thinking of anything to
make my sudden erection go away.

Thankfully
she didn’t seem to notice and walked into the room while I tried to shake off
what the hell had just happened.

About
an hour later, we’d been hanging out backstage having a good time just drinking
and laughing. My reaction to Jessie’s ass brushing against me was all but
forgotten and I was feeling pretty good and buzzed. We’d been hanging with Cory
Brewer, who not only loved the show but was insistent on talking to his manager
about us and possibly coming on tour with them this summer. We were on the
verge of everything we’d been working hard for and we were all excited for this
chance, including Jessie. We were starting to get noticed and she was one
paycheck away from being free from Crystal. Things were finally starting to
look up.

“Okay,
well, I’m going to head out, guys. Your band is fucking amazing and I’ll
definitely be in touch,” Cory said, stopping to shake everyone’s hands. “Nice
meeting all of you.”

“You
too, man,” Ryder said.

We
all gave him one final goodbye and when he was gone, everyone jumped up and
cheered.

“Dude,
can you fucking believe this? This summer we might be on tour with Sticks and
Stones,” Beau said.

“God,
that would be so awesome. Can you imagine playing in those venues night after
night?” Ryder added.

“What
about all the fucking hot ass girls at those shows? The pussy that’s going to
get thrown at us every night…” Jude said and he and Ryder fist bumped.

I
nudged his arm and said, “Fuck man, Jess is here. Can we not talk about pussy
in front of her?”

Jessie
rolled her eyes and said, “Kris, come on. I’m not a baby. I’ve heard you guys
talk about this stuff before. It’s no big deal to me.”

“Yeah,
but still…” I said, trailing off.

Jessie
put up her hands and said, “Stop it, it’s okay, seriously. Let’s focus on the
fact that Cory
fucking
Brewer was just here and you might finally get
your big break!” she squealed.

I
smiled at her and grabbed her up into a big hug.

“This
still doesn’t feel real.”

“Well
it’s real, so you better start believing it. I am so happy for you all. You
might actually get the hell out of this town!” she exclaimed.

“Well,
let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Cory said he’d be in touch so now we just
play the waiting game.”

Jessie
hugged me back tightly.

“You’ve
got this, Kris. I know it,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“You
tired already? It’s only midnight,” Ryder said to her.

“Well,
she’s working her ass off at that restaurant night after night. She’s not used
to being out this late,” I answered for her.

“Thanks
for that,
Dad
,” she joked. “I know its lame but I am starting to crash.
I think I’m going to head back to the hell hole. Crystal should be either
passed out from drinking or whatever she shot into her arm by now so there
shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ll
take you home,” I answered without thinking.

“Oh
no, it’s all right. I can just take a cab,” she insisted.

I
shook my head and replied, “Hell no. I’m taking you.”

“What’s
the big deal? I take cabs all the time and we all don’t exactly live in the
greatest neighborhood anyway.”

“Okay
please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re fucking hot, Jess. You already
had some cock sucker trying to get into your panties tonight and dressed the
way you are there’s no way you are going to make it back to your building
without being groped or worse,” Jude answered in a protective big brother type
way. We all loved Jessie and he teased her a lot, but when it comes down to it
he cares about her as much as we all do.

“Let
Kris take you home, pretty girl. We can load up all of the equipment.”

I
smiled at Jude, surprised that he offered to pack up my drum kit for me. He never
wanted to help pack shit up after a show. I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in
the mouth and walked to him, clapping him on the back.

“Thanks
man,” I offered.

He
smiled and said, “No problem, bro. You can owe me later. Just get her home
safe.”

Usually
when I owed Jude a favor it meant he wanted me to run interference on one chick
so he could hook up with her friend.

Sighing,
I said, “You know it, man. I’ll check in with you guys later.”

Jessie
hugged everyone goodbye and made them all promise to call her the minute they
got any news from Cory. As soon as she was ready, she linked her arm through
mine and we walked out of the back stage lounge and out through the club.

As
we reached my old beat up Ford pickup truck, I opened the passenger side door
and she climbed in.

Before
I shut the door, she had a dreamy look on her face and she said, “I can’t
believe you guys are finally getting your big break.”

I
laughed and shut the door after she got inside.

As
soon as I was behind the wheel and putting the truck into reverse, I asked, “You
really think this is a sure thing, don’t you?”

“Of
course I do,” she said, answering like it should have been obvious. “You and
the guys are incredibly talented and you know I’m not just saying that. If you
sucked I’d tell you.”

I
chuckled.

“I
know it. If there is one thing you’ve always been its honest, even if it’s not
what I want to hear.”

“What
are best friends for?” she asked.

“True,”
I answered and drove us the rest of the way home.

As
we neared the apartment complex, I saw a light on inside her apartment and I
could see her shivering out of the corner of my eye.

“Looks
like Crystal’s still up.”

“Or
just passed out with the lights on,” she said, trying her best to not sound
afraid.

I
pulled into my parking spot and shut off the engine. She reached for the handle
but I stopped her by gently taking her hand.

“Hey,
you don’t have to go inside there if you don’t want to. My old man is working
graveyard tonight so you can crash at my place.”

“No,
it’s okay, Kris. I’m used to this. If she’s up I will try to just side step her
to my room and lock my door.”

I
felt angrier as the seconds ticked away. It made me irate to see her this way.
No one should be afraid to go home and seeing her trying to hide her fear of
her mother always made me see red.

“Can
I at least make sure you get to your room safely? You know if I’m there she
won’t fuck with you.”

The
one thing I had going for me was my looks and Crystal was a true whore. She
tried everything she could when I was around to get into my pants and even though
I never let it get that far I used it to help keep Jessie safe from her. She
was fucking disgusting and being near her made me feel like I was going to puke.

She
bit her bottom lip and turned her face to me.

She
nodded her head and said, “Yes. Thank you so much, Kris.”

“What
are best friends for?” I asked, mirroring her words.

I
got out of the truck and she scooted across the cab and got out of the driver’s
side door.

“Only
a true friend would walk a girl to her apartment to keep her bitch mother from
attacking her by letting the skank try to seduce him,” she said, and I scoffed.

“As
if that whore had a chance. How someone as trashy as her had a daughter as
beautiful as you is beyond me,” I answered, and I thought I heard Jessie let
out a soft gasp.

Neither
of us spoke as we walked up to her apartment. I heard shuffling as she unlocked
the door. Crystal was obviously awake and I could sense Jessie’s fear. I placed
an arm on her shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly as we walked inside.

Crystal
was sitting on the couch with one leg propped up on the coffee table. As soon
as we were inside her eyes landed on Jessie and it seemed like she was trying
to focus. The bitch was as high as a fucking kite. Luckily, getting her to back
off so Jessie could get some sleep would be a piece of cake.

“Where
the hell have you been? You’re dressed like a fucking whore,” she snapped, her
words slightly slurred.

“I
told you I had the night off so I went to see Kris’s band play,” Jessie said
quietly.

Crystal
was poised to say something else but when her drugged up eyes roamed to me, her
mouth broke into a predatory smile.

“Well,
there’s the little drummer boy all grown up. Who knew when you were a little
kid you’d grow up to be sex on legs? Why do you keep hanging around Jessica’s
bony ass when you can put that cock of yours into a real woman?”

I
fought back the bile rising in my throat. I knew she was strung out and
wouldn’t remember much so I eased Jessie behind me so she could go into her
room and I’d stay and handle Crystal.

Playing
along, I said, “I don’t think you could take my cock all the way. It’s pretty
fucking huge.”

Her
glassy eyes moved down from my face to my crotch and she licked her lips. It
was taking all of my strength not to vomit as she looked at me like she wanted
to eat me alive.

“Well,
you’re just going to have to prove that to me, big boy. Come on, ditch that
little hussy daughter of mine and show me a good time,” she said, her speech
beginning to slur even more.

I
saw this as a golden opportunity to knock her ass out for a while and I grabbed
the bottle of cheap whiskey that was sitting next to her ash tray on the coffee
table. I took a drink and then offered the bottle to her.

“Ladies
first,” I said, using the term ‘lady’
very
loosely.

She
took a deep drink from the bottle and coughed after she swallowed it. She tried
to talk some more but her words were pretty inaudible at this point. I kept
encouraging her to drink and drink and when the bottle was almost gone, she
dropped it and it landed on the floor with a loud
clink
. I picked it up
and set it back on the coffee table, looking at her in the process. The bitch
was out cold.

I
sighed from relief and quickly rose to go to Jessie’s room.

I
tapped on the door lightly and said, “Jess, it’s me, open up.”

She
unlocked the door and opened it for me, keeping her body tucked behind the
door.

“Come
in,” she whispered, afraid to wake her mother.

As
soon as I was inside, she quickly locked the door shut again. When I turned
around and looked at her, I felt my entire world shift in an instant.

Jessie
was wearing a tight white camisole that was pretty worn and thin and short
plaid sleep shorts. In the thirteen years I’d known her, the only time I’d ever
seen her legs was that first day of school in second grade when she was wearing
that dingy blue dress. Back then she had scrapes on her knees and her legs were
dirty…nothing like I was looking at now. Her skin was a sun kissed tan and her
legs were long and toned and made her ass look perfect in those shorts.
Whoa…Jessie had definitely grown up and I had no idea how I’d missed it.

“Hey,
Kris, you okay?” she asked me. “You’re staring off into space and you look like
your mind is somewhere else.”

I
blinked my eyes a few times and ran a hand through my spiky hair.

“Oh
yeah, sorry. I guess I’m just getting tired.”