Absolutely Unforgivable (7 page)

I grabbed the black dress off of the rack and made my way back to the dressing rooms, Jeromy in tow. I put the bags I was carrying in the stall next to me and then told him to do the same. No reason to carry those bags around while he stood out there waiting for me to try this dress on.

It was a cute dress but it was impossible to really measure the fit because I couldn’t do the snaps myself. I asked Jeromy if he would come in my dressing room and help me. He entered the small room with caution. He looked like he was walking into an ambush and well, perhaps he was.

His hands caressed my shoulders as he zipped up the back of my dress. He slowly began running his fingers down my back, pushing his hips into me from behind. I let out of soft moan and then Jeromy pressed his hand against mine and interlaced our fingers. “No, baby, we can’t. We are going to get caught,” I said softly as he started to kiss my arm and then pushed my head back and began kissing my neck. He knew exactly where to touch me to make me lose all sense of reason and logic.

When he sat down on the bench, I straddled him like the wild stallion that he was. I ground against him as he pushed my head back and licked the front of my neck in a slow but forceful motion. While he nibbled on my ear I took a deep breath and inhaled the musk of his manhood.

I did my absolute best to stay quiet during our secret tryst in the dressing room, but at times he did have to cup his hand over my mouth to help. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. Someone could walk in and catch us at any moment; but then again that was also part of the excitement.

This really wasn’t the type of person I was. Before getting with Jeromy I would have never in a million years considered doing something like this and would probably have slapped him for even suggesting it. But that’s the thing about Jeromy, he has this way about him. He makes you get so caught up in his world that you lose part of yourself, namely your sense of sanity, just basking in his glory. Just being near Jeromy could make even the most down–to-earth person get swept up in it all. He just had something about him that made you lose yourself in his infectious smile.

Afterwards, we did our best to rearrange our clothes and my makeup so that it wouldn’t appear obvious to people walking by what we had just done, and made our way back to the car. Then again, judging by the devilish grin splashed across Jeromy’s face, I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to figure out.

I didn’t pay much attention on the drive home. I was lost in thought, warm thoughts of how much I loved my boyfriend and how I was really beginning to love our new life together here in Houston.

When we arrived back home we found Billy wasn’t alone. Other members of the band were there now; they were in his studio working on a new song. More than anything I wanted to go in there and listen. I was curious how the whole making music process worked. I also think part of me wanted to see Billy again. But I didn’t want to intrude, so instead I went upstairs to my room and put away my new clothes while Jeromy went into the living room to watch TV.

I was so tired. I had been up late the night before, woken up far too early this morning and I had been on an all-day shopping trip. I only made it as far as my bed before deciding to lay down my head for a moment’s rest. I could put away my clothes after, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

I woke up to a clanging and clattering noise coming from my bathroom. I cautiously walked in to see what the noise was and was startled to see an older lady in my closet putting away my new clothes. She was short and had thin dark brown hair with olive skin that was worn with age. I tried to wrap my mind around who this lady putting away my clothes was and then I remembered Billy had mentioned a maid before. This must be her.

“I’m so sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to wake you,” the lady said with a distinctly Hispanic accent. “Please forgive me, Miss. I just wanted to put away your pretty things.”

“Oh please no, don’t be silly. It’s more than fine,” I said to the lady, reassuring her. “I’m Stacy, by the way,” I said as I put out my hand to shake hers. “And your name is?” She seemed a little taken aback by my reaching for her hand, so I quickly pulled it back.

“Yes, Miss Stacy. I’m Kita. Billy told me all about you. You are more beautiful than he said.”

I blushed at her words. “Well, I better get out of your way. It was nice meeting you, though.”

I made my way back downstairs and left Kita to do her thing. I felt a little guilty that she was there putting up my new clothes when I really could have done it myself, but I did my best to push that guilt back. I had so much to get used to here in Houston. Life really was so different than it was back in Oklahoma.

When I got downstairs I found the boys in the kitchen chatting away, drinking beer. They were all smiles when they greeted me and offered me a beer of my own. I declined their kind offer and instead went to the fridge to find a bottle of water. I was still a little dehydrated from the night before.

I had on a tight pair of white jeans that hugged my hips and a loose fitting, low-cut tee. When I reached up towards the top shelf to get the bottle my stomach was exposed and Travis made a comment. “Damn girl. You’ve got a great body.” I turned to glare back at him as I pulled down my shirt. All the guys laughed and Billy punched Travis in the arm.
Men
! They really were so childish sometimes.

I made my way to the living room and attempted to turn on the TV. There were more than a few remotes lying on the coffee table and I tried to figure out which one had the stupid POWER button. As I clumsily fumbled around with the buttons I finally found the right one. That was, the right one that turned on a TV that was playing a porno. My face shot bright red as I quickly grabbed for the remote I had just set down to try and turn the TV back off or at least figure out how to mute the sounds of all the moaning and groaning going on.

Just then the boys walked in. Travis had a smirk on his face, “Yeah! Now that’s my kind of chick. Shit, Jeromy, please tell me this one has a sister.”

I was beyond embarrassed. I wished at that moment the ground would open up beneath my feet and swallow me whole. But what could I do? If I didn’t own it they would never let me live this down. I put on my best fake smile and said, “What? Don’t you all ever watch porn? What’s wrong with you? I thought you were good ‘ole, red blooded American boys.”

I turned back to face the screen where a buxom blonde had just begun straddling a well-endowed gentleman and tried to hide the red that was now filling my cheeks. Zander let out a loud laugh and made his way to sit down next to me. “Here,” he said as he handed me his beer. “You look like you probably need this more than me.”

He was right. I was utterly mortified, but still I think I handled it well. As we sat around the living room watching the adult movie play on the television, we all drank beer and chatted. I was still a little uncomfortable with the porno on the TV but it was nice know that I had earned the respect of the band. I liked being treated like one of the guys.

Overall it was a relaxing night. I liked getting to know them. I liked watching them together. They were all so playful with each other, roughhousing and telling jokes. I also noticed Billy was far more relaxed and carefree that he had been the night before in the bar.

I went to the kitchen to get Jeromy another beer. When I returned Travis was telling everyone a joke. “So this guy wakes up and was real horny, so he nudged his wife awake wanting to get it on. She wouldn’t though saying she had an appointment at the gynecologist tomorrow and she didn’t like to make love the night before. The dude rolls back over and started to go back to sleep but then a few minutes later he nudges his wife again and asked her if she had a dentist appointment tomorrow too.”

Everyone laughed. It was kind of funny, I guess. But Bran’s joke was much funnier.

“A couple drove down a country road, not saying a word to each other. An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither would concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the wife sarcastically asked,
Relatives of yours?
The man thought for just a moment and then replied,
Yep, the in-laws.
”

Jeromy turned to Bran, put his hand on his shoulder and said, “I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.” It took everyone just a moment to get it but when they did, the room burst out in laughter.

Sometime during the night Jeromy and I got invited to see the band play again at Rowdy’s. Jeromy glanced towards me and I shrugged, so he said we would go. Part of me wondered how this was ever going to work. These guys were in a band and the party lifestyle, day in and day out, was apparently completely normal to them. Starting Monday, Jeromy had a real job to go to and I quietly worried their partying would interfere.

◊

When we arrived at the bar the next night I was surprised at how packed it was considering it was a Thursday night. Back home we couldn’t even pull in a crowd like this on weekends. As I glanced over at Billy, I wondered if it had something to do with the band.

Before the first set an older gentleman dressed in cowboy boots and a pair of all too tight jeans, made his way over to our table. He put his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “What a night. That fucking Penny broke her toe and she has to stay off of her foot for the next week. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s packed in here tonight and it’s too late to call anyone in.”

I looked down at my pretty white new dress and then glanced at my feet in my shiny new Christian Louboutin heels. I let out a sigh as I looked to Jeromy. He nodded his head. That was one of the great things about Jeromy. We knew each other so well that we often didn’t have to say a single word; we both just knew how to answer each other, instinctively as if one knew what the other was thinking.

But before I could say a word, Billy spoke up. “Don’t worry man. I’ve got the solution to your problem right here.” Billy put a hand on my shoulder and told the man who was now eyeing me warily; “Meet my roommate Stacy. She’s been a bartender for years.”

“Is that true?” the man asked with almost a sound of desperation in his voice.

“Yes, but …” I started to say when the man interrupted me and said, “Well damn, girl, what are you doing sitting here? We’ve got a line of customers a mile long at the bar waiting for you.” He grabbed me by the arm and started to drag me along beside him.

“No, wait. You don’t understand. I’m not from here.”

The man stopped and gave me a strange look.

“I just moved here from Oklahoma. My liquor license probably isn’t good here in Texas.”

The man paused for just a moment and then said, “That’s okay. I’ve got an idea.” He led me back behind the bar and then pulled out a piece of paper and a marker, and wrote in big letters,
Beer Only
. He taped it to the counter that hung above my head.

“You don’t need a license to serve beer. You’ll be a behind the bar waitress for the night,” he muttered as he walked around looking at his sign with a big grin on his face.

He looked back at me before walking off and reminded me not to touch any liquor, not even for a second. I nodded in agreement and watched him walk away. I had been around the bar scene for long enough to know how serious it was for an unlicensed bartender to serve drinks. I wouldn’t dare dream of it.

I looked around at the large tubs of beer and ice behind me.
Okay, this is going to be easy. I only had to serve beer. I could do that. Anyone could do that.
And one by one the customers started lining up.

Because I only had to grab beer bottles and hand them over to the customers that came up to me, my line moved fast. His idea had actually been a pretty good one and it sped things up behind the bar significantly. The other bartender looked to me with appreciation written all over her face. I completely understood what she felt at that moment. I knew what it was like to be alone behind the bar on a busy night.

In between sets I brought the boys buckets of beer and sat them on the table. They seemed grateful and showed their appreciation with a series of crudely sexual remarks each time I came by with a new bucket of longnecks for them to devour.
Ahh, boys will be boys,
I tried to remind myself each time.

When the night was over I was beyond ecstatic. My feet were killing me. As great as my new shoes may have looked, they weren’t meant for hours of standing behind a bar, slinging drinks.

It turned out the old man in cowboy boots was named Henry and he owned the bar. He asked if I would consider coming in to work again on Friday and Saturday and after discussing it with Jeromy,

I agreed to help. Tomorrow, however, I would be smart about my attire and wear something far less painful on my feet and just in case there are any other issues that arose I would fill out the online application for a temporary servers permit. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

It was nice to feel needed and, even better, I was earning some of my own money. The people at this bar tipped really well, even just for serving them beer.

Friday and Saturday night went by fast. Rowdy’s was so packed I could barely keep up. I felt bad that I didn’t get to spend much time with Jeromy and the boys over the weekend but I could tell they liked that I helped their friend Henry out of a jam.