Author's Note: I'm really happy with this chapter, even though it's even longer than the last. Haha Again, thanks for the reviews and adds!! If any of you guys have some ideas of what you'd like to see happen in the future of this story, you can email me or IM me on AIM: lovelyxlady389 I'm pretty much always on and open to ideas! :D Read on! Oh and if you want to see a picture of Jayde's dress, I've got one, so just let me know. kbye
A violent shiver racked Jayde's body as she lowered herself into the hot, steaming water that same night after she had shed her soaked clothes at the bathroom door. She had searched, unsuccessfully, for anything in the bathroom to create bubbles in the tub and was not surprised when her efforts came up fruitless; Joker did not seem like the bubble bath type.
The water swirled around her body, enveloping her in a cocoon of warmth, heating her body back up after being the cold air conditioning in her wet clothes. She let her head lay back against the side of the tub, sighing with her eyes closed. Joker finding out about her virginity had to be the last thing she wanted to happen and now that he knew, she was almost certain he was never going to let her live it down. From the way he mocked Grizz for being black and Dotcom for being a nerd, she was positive he was going to embarrass her for all it was worth. It seemed he had an uncanny ability for pin-pointing a person's weakness, their tender spots to pick on them but Jayde knew it would be impossible to avoid him the next day.
But it wasn't just the sharing of deeply personal information between them in the pool that was bothering Jayde; she had seen his face. It almost made it that much worse to know that Joker was definitely good-looking under that ugly makeup, knowing how he would eye her, licking his lips as though he could see straight through her clothes. She had been relieved the other day to learn that he wasn't some old, creepy guy in his fourties, hitting on her, grabbing her ass and that he was really only a couple years her elder…not that that made him any less creepy…
A couple doors down from Jayde's room, the shower was running in Joker's bathroom although he didn't necessarily need to be cleaned. He stood under the hot water, letting it splatter over him, matting his green hair against his face as he faced the corner, his forehead rested lamely against the tile. He sighed deeply, shivering slightly as his mind replayed clips of the look in Jayde's eyes when she saw his face. Normally, he would have been murderously angry for her stupid playfulness, pushing him in the pool, especially if he hadn't pulled her in with him.
Ever since the first time he had touched her, he had wondered what that look had been in her eyes and now that he knew her secret, it all made sense. She was so innocent, prude even, and it made her horribly uncomfortable when his hands were on her in any sort of way. But there had been a moment, in the pool, when she saw his naked face for the first time where something besides discomfort flashed across her features, through her eyes. He wanted to call it surprise, possibly, but whatever it was, Joker felt the slightest bit relieved to see that she didn't find him completely appalling.
He sighed again, this time louder, followed by a groan as he thought of Jayde. She was so gorgeous, it was almost disgusting and Joker, secretly, found it hard to make eye contact with her sometimes. Her large eyes could seemingly see straight through him, right into his brain and he had to look away occasionally, afraid she might be able to see what he was thinking about doing to her. Oh, the things he would do to her…Of course, that was if she would let him…
Knowing she was a virgin made it that much easier but also that much harder to be around her. It made it easier in the sense that Joker didn't have to do much, but also that much harder, because it only made him want her that much more. Her innocence, to him, was like a perfume; intoxicating, thrilling, and addicting. He had to have it.
Joker looked down and groaned, rolling his eyes at his own human reactions to thinking of Jayde in that way; he was hard as a rock. "God damnit…"
Jayde woke the next morning to someone's hand gently shaking her but she slapped it away, turning over further into the blankets. It was far too early on to see Joker. But as the owner of the hand said "Ow!" she turned over, opening her eyes to see Dotcom standing next to the bed, grinning sheepishly.
"Oh, sorry, Dotcom. I thought you were-.."
"Yeah, I figured." He glanced around nervously, before he decided it was alright for him to sit on the bed near her feet and he sighed. "I heard you screaming last night. I wanted to make sure you're alright." He said, eyeing her face as though searching for any new bruises but Jayde nodded, sitting up against the pillows.
"I'm fine. I threw Joker in the pool but he pulled me in with him." she replied. "We were just playing around…kind of." Dotcom nodded, looking down at his hands in his lap as he fiddled with his fingers awkwardly. Jayde watched him do this, confused with why he was so nervous until he looked back up, taking a deep breath.
"Jayde, I'm gay." He blurted and Jayde blinked, but smiled a second later, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I just wanted you to know so you didn't think I was…being weird or anything."
"I kinda figured as much." She answered. "No offense, but it's not exactly hard to tell." He laughed, rubbing his shoulder sheepishly.
"Yeah, I know." He paused, but looked over to the door. "Please, please, don't tell Joker. He would kill me…literally."
"What makes you think that?" Jayde asked, frowning as Dotcom glanced at the door again over his shoulder.
"Because I'm a fag! You should hear what Joker says about gay people when we see them out in public or something…He would freak out if he knew one of his 'crew-members' was a queen." He explained but sighed audibly as Jayde reached out, touching his shoulder consolingly.
"You can trust me. I wont say a word."
When they went downstairs onto the patio a few minutes later, Jayde glanced around, looking for Joker but Dotcom explained. "He left early this morning. Didn't say where he was going but he said he would be back this afternoon." Jayde sighed with relief and when Dotcom noticed this, he looked over at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked and Jayde looked over uncertainly, feeling just as awkward as she imagined he did just a few minutes prior upstairs.
"Joker found out something about me last night…" she put first, but when Dotcom did not change his expression, continuing to stare at her, she went on. "I'm a virgin…" His eyes widened as he leaned back in the chair.
"Oh…Uh oh.." he said and Jayde nodded.
"Yeah, and he gave me the strangest look…And…I'm pretty sure he almost kissed me." She blurted finally and Dotcom gasped, placing his hand over his mouth, looking gayer than ever.
"Oh my god, you didn't…"
"No!…No, I just really wish I didn't have to see him today." She said, staring down at her lap until he passed her a cigarette, smiling.
"Hate to tell you this, but that's not gonna happen."
For nearly an hour, Jayde and Dotcom sat out on the porch, laughing and talking, smoking cigarettes and getting to know each other on a more personal level now that they each knew the other's deep secrets. They were just laughing at a story Dotcom had told her about he, Grizz and The Joker when somewhere across the patio, they heard a soft 'meow'.
Looking over to the screen door, a small black and white tabby cat was sitting there, blinking placidly at the two of them and it mewed again, pawing at the screen.
"Awww…" they both cooed at the same time and Jayde stood up, walking over to let the stray cat in, smiling down at it as it purred, meowing noisily as it weaved in between her legs. She knelt, holding out her hand to it as it sniffed her fingers, arching it's back as she scratched along it's spine. "Aw, he's so cute!" she squealed quietly, standing to walk back over to Dotcom but a split second later, a loud shot gun blast shook the air and the cat blew up, fur flying everywhere. Jayde jumped, looking over at the screen at the huge, fresh, smoking bullet hole just as Joker appeared outside, holding a rifle. He cocked it, stepping inside as the empty casing popped out, grinning maliciously as he bent to pick up the cat's carcass by the tail to throw it outside.
"What the hell was that for?" Jayde asked, frowning at him as he walked over, carrying a bag. "He was cute and wasn't hurting anything.."
"Yeah, well it could've had rabies and bit you and then I would'a had to put ya down…" he replied, poking out his bottom lip as though the thought actually made him sad. Dotcom snorted a laugh but shrugged as Jayde frowned at him.
It grew awkward immediately after, for Jayde, but Joker seemed to be unbothered by this as he set the bag in his hand down on the table, staring at her expectantly. Jayde glanced at him but shrugged. "What?" she asked at his blank stare and he tossed his arms.
"Well, look in the bag." He said, pushing her toward it with his hands on her back but Jayde resisted, trying to look up at him over her shoulder.
"I think I've had enough of your 'gifts', Joker…Seriously, with the heart and everything…" she said, shaking her head but Joker groaned, pressing his forefinger and thumb on either side of the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in frustration.
"Jayde, just look in the fucking bag. There's nothing gross in there…"
Dotcom was watching all this go down with a grin on his face and as Jayde looked at him uncertainly as if for advice, he shrugged, taking a drag of his cigarette. When she reached in, she felt satin between her fingers and almost hesitated in pulling it out; if he had brought her a negligee, she was going to punch him. Once she realized there was more material than she had first estimated, she pulled it out and both she and Dotcom gasped.
It was a satin, purple dress that would fall to her knees and from the look of the size, it was going to hug her curves in every place possible. "Oh, my god…" she said, eyeing it, completely shocked that she actually, really liked it. Joker was standing next to her, watching her face with a smirk stretching his scars, waiting for her to look up at him. When she did, his grin expanded.
"Ya like it?" he asked, a little surprised when she nodded.
"What is it for?" she asked in response, again looking at the dress as she realized she had no shoes to wear with it and Joker sat down at the table.
"Sal Maroni is throwing a lit-tle shindig at his estate tonight and he asked me to come and bring a date…So, date, you're coming with me." He replied, drumming his fingers on the table. "There are shoes in there too." Jayde nearly gasped but looked inside to find a really, surprisingly cute pair of purple heels to match the dress. All of a sudden, she became aware that it seemed really unlikely of Joker to have this much fashion sense and when she looked at him, as though in answer to her question, he said "Don't get excited, I made some girl pick 'em out."
That evening, at around five o'clock, Jayde looked around for Joker, confused when she couldn't find him to answer her question. He was not in the garage, nor on the porch, nor on the couch, so she went upstairs to knock on the door of his 'office'.
"What?!" he shouted from inside and Jayde took that as her cue to open the door. When she did, he was sitting across the room at his chemical table, peering down at something in a petri dish on a hot plate. His hair was tied back again in that little ponytail and Jayde grinned as she noticed several, ringlet baby curls at the back of his neck. Joker looked up as she stood next to him. "Yeeeeess?"
"What time are we leaving?" she asked, glancing at the multi-colored liquids on the table in vials and jars, some of them bubbling and gurgling. His eyes darted to his wrist.
"At seven. So be ready. I'm very impatient…" he said and went back to what he was doing, but when Jayde continued to stand over him and watch, he slowly looked up at her, glancing her up and down before he placed his hand on her stomach, pushing her away. "Goooo-uh…"
Jayde had just slipped the dress on an hour and a half later and was standing in front of the mirror, adjusting it at her hips when the door creaked open and Dotcom's curly head peered around the edge, grinning. "Can I see?" he asked and Jayde nodded, waving him in. He shut the door behind him and gasped, placing his hands over his mouth. "Oh, wow…you look amazing…"
She looked back into the mirror, adjusting the straps over her shoulders, tugging it down until the whole dress came together, hugging her curvy frame. Cocking her head to the side, she looked herself up and down, giving the critical eye to every inch of material covering her body. Her hair had dried perfectly into large, loopy curls that fell down her back and as she stepped into the shoes, she decided that, yeah…she looked alright.
"Thanks," she finally said to Dotcom, smiling over her shoulder. "Can you zip me up?" He obliged, shaking his head as he slid the zipper up her back.
"I don't think Joker will be able to keep his hands off you tonight." He murmured, laughing as Jayde rolled her eyes. "I'm just warnin' ya." He pulled her hair out from the back of the dress, patting it down along her back, picking a couple stray fibers from the material, basically making sure she looked her best, like any good gay friend should. "Promise you'll tell me everything tomorrow." He said and both burst out laughing.
Joker frowned from downstairs as the sound of two people laughing carried to his ears and was just in the process of turning to look at the balcony when Jayde's door opened and she stepped out, glancing down at herself one last time. His jaw fell open so hard, it hurt and he dropped the stack of papers he had been holding, not even bothering to hide the effect the sight of her in that dress had on him. When Dotcom stepped out behind her, Joker's eyebrows furrowed again and he ignored the papers on the floor to walk over to the bottom of the stairs as she began to come down.
Jayde looked up, immediately blushing wildly as she spotted Joker, leaning on the rail of the stairs, smirking. A low whistle came from between his lips as he held out his hand for her to take as she stepped off the bottom stair and he spun her, looking her up and down.
"You look to die for…" he growled, grinning when he noticed how rosy her cheeks had gotten and she looked away, tucking a curl behind her ear. Her eyes glanced him over once, noting how clean and fresh his purple suit looked, along with his makeup which he had taken extra care with that evening; even his hair seemed a little more green and combed. Jayde smiled genuinely, taking his arm as he led her off the stairs and she got a strong whiff of that cologne of his.
"You look handsome as well, Joker." She commented quietly, glancing up as he looked down at her with an arched eyebrow. "No, I'm serious. You look nice." She nodded but glanced over her shoulder at Dotcom with a grin as Joker opened the door for her as though she were leaving for prom with her date. He waved, grinning as they stepped out into the garage and beyond the door.
Jayde was thoroughly surprised when Joker led her over to the passenger side of the Escalade, opened the door for her and waited until she was seated before he closed it for her, grinning through the glass as though he knew what she was thinking. When he got in on the driver's side, Jayde was staring out the window at the garage, deep in thought when something velvet touched her elbow. Looking down, she noticed Joker holding a long, slender jewelry box to her and he nodded, pushing it toward her.
"I got you something else." He said and paused before turning on the car to watch her face when she opened it and her reaction did not disappoint. She gasped, closing it quickly again once she had seen the diamonds inside and she looked up at him with her mouth hanging open.
"Joker…" she breathed, staring at him, absolutely floored by this gift as he smirked, starting the SUV to back out of the garage. "Did you steal this?" she asked a moment later, hoping the question wouldn't offend him. Rather, it did the opposite and he smiled widely, nodding, rather proud of himself. Jayde grinned, pulling the stunning diamond necklace from the box to link it around her neck. For some reason, to her surprise, the thought of him stealing that just for her made it that much more special. This is very out of character for him…she thought, but smiled none the less as the Cadillac began picking up speed.
Whoever Sal Maroni was, his estate was not all that far from The Joker mansion and Jayde leaned to the side, gazing up at the massive home to the right of her as she and Joker pulled up, fifteen minutes later. Once he had parked, Joker got out and walked around, holding out his hand to Jayde as she stepped down from the truck, smoothing out her dress. The leather of his glove felt as soft as baby's skin in her hand and she glanced up at Joker as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, glancing around with that usual scowl on his face. Jayde grinned, gripping his upper arm as they walked up a long pathway, leading to two massive front doors, which opened before they even needed to knock or ring a bell.
A servant or butler of sorts had opened the door but grunted when Joker's gloved palm met his face, pushing him back as they stepped inside and Jayde couldn't help but laugh under her breath at Joker's blatant rudeness. Just inside, a whole sea of people stood, milling about, drinking champagne or other concoctions and their eyes all flew to Joker and his date just as a shorter, well-dressed man with graying hair and a slight limp walked over, leaning on a cane.
"Mister Joker, I'm glad you came." He said, holding out his hand to shake The Joker's although he suppressed a cringe with difficulty when Joker must have gripped it a little too tight. Jayde grinned again, looking away.
"Maroni, this is my date, Jayde." Joker introduced her, looking past Maroni to where a large table sat, atop which stood many bottles of alcohol. Jayde noticed this but took her hand from Joker's arm to shake Maroni's hand as he extended it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jayde. You look stunning." He said, leaning down to kiss Jayde's hand only to jerk away when Joker slapped them apart, scowling. "Alright, well there's plenty to drink for everyone so please, everyone-" he began speaking to the room immediately and Joker and Jayde moved away, down the hallway into a larger room, full of more people who again all turned to stare.
Joker leaned down as they passed through the room, speaking in her ear. "See the way everyone's staring at you?" he asked, and Jayde nodded, glancing around awkwardly.
"Yeah but I think that's just because I'm here with you." She replied, stepping outside onto a veranda as Joker's hand slipped onto the small of her back.
"Noooo, it's actually because you're drop-dead, fucking gorgeous." He murmured, forcing a grin onto Jayde's face as her cheeks began to burn pink again. "I don't know how you don't see it, Jayde." He said, letting go to turn and face her with his eyebrows raised.
Had it not been for a man walking up, the moment would have grown incredibly awkward for Jayde, but luckily he was shaking hands with Joker, taking his attention from Jayde. He grinned rather maliciously.
"Well, well, Carmine Fal-coni…To what do I owe this…uh…great displeasure?" Joker asked, licking his lips as he smirked at his word play and the mobster's eyes narrowed although he still smiled.
"You know that Salvatore is one of my favorite…'nephews'…It's only fitting that I come to his birthday." He replied before his gaze shifted to Jayde and his eyebrows rose as he looked back to Joker. "Wow, she's beautiful, clown, how much did you have to pay this one?" Jayde's mouth almost fell open but Joker bounced back, still grinning widely.
"This one was a little bit more. Luckily, I had some extra cash left over from your mother…talk about a cheap date.." he replied, his dark eyes flashing as he laughed.
"You son of a-.." Falconi made to swing on him, but was stopped by who Jayde assumed was his wife, who had walked up in just enough time to catch his arm.
"Carmine!" she whispered hoarsely, glaring at her husband. "Do not make a scene…"
Once they had walked away, Joker turned to Jayde, glancing around. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He said and disappeared off the veranda into a back door. Jayde frowned after him, feeling awkward already as she certainly did not know one person at this party and she could already feel people staring at her.
While Joker was gone, Jayde did her best to seem preoccupied, examining the ends of her hair until a young man in a black suit walked up, holding out his hand genially. Jayde's eyes widened and she glanced around nervously, hoping Joker was not watching, for this man's sake.
"Hi, you seem a bit lost. I'm Derek Robertson. You are…?" he looked to her expectantly but Jayde shook her head, backing away a step.
"You should probably get lost too…I'm here with The Joker…" she explained, looking apologetic but before the young man could walk away, his eyes flew over her shoulder to where she was guessing Joker was stalking up behind her, looking evil as per the usual. But instead of shooting him or hitting him like she expected him to, Joker simply gave the young man the same treatment he gave the doorman except this time, he pushed him away by means of his hand on his face.
"They're about to do the toast and then we're outta here." He murmured, sliding his arm around Jayde's waist as Derek glared over his shoulder at the two of them as he walked away. Jayde nodded, standing slightly closer to Joker as a butler walked past them carrying a tray of champagne glasses full of that light amber liquid, bubbling as it caught the light. Joker noticed her do this and grinned, tightening his grip around her waist, surprised with the way she did not seem nearly as uncomfortable around him when she was wearing that dress. He wondered vaguely how long that would last…
The large group of people began to slowly spill onto the veranda from the dining room and as Joker and Jayde watched from a slight distance, the butler walked over, offering them each a glass of champagne. Joker took the last two off the tray, handing one to Jayde, only to stick a foot out and trip the poor man as he walked away. He giggled through his nose as the butler glared at his back and Jayde rolled her eyes.
Sal Maroni and Carmine Falconi had pushed through the crowd at some point and were now standing at the front, hushing everyone to get their attention as they held up their glasses. "Tonight, we're celebrating-…" Jayde zoned out during this little birthday speech, looking down at the liquid in her glass, swirling it absentmindedly while she tried to ignore the fact that Joker was gliding his finger up and down the small of her back along the zipper of her dress.
When everyone moved to raise their glasses, Joker and Jayde copied, but Joker leaned over, pressing his nose against the side of her head to whisper "Don't drink it." Although confused, she obeyed, watching as everyone else did, however, and Joker threw his over his shoulder behind him, laughing. "Alright, tutz, lets get outta here." He said, placing both of their glasses on the railing to lead her through the house and back out the front door, making no stops to say goodbye to anyone or even to look around.
Outside, Joker sighed, taking Jayde's hand under his arm again and he slowed their pace to a leisurely stroll. "Come take a walk with me." He said as if Jayde had a choice and began to lead her down a slight incline toward a small lake, surrounded by trees, casting odd shadows on the ground as the moon had come out while they were inside.
They walked in silence at first, Joker absorbed in his own musings until Jayde remembered what she wanted to ask him.
"What did you do to the champagne?" she asked, looking up at him to find he was smiling as though he had been waiting for her to ask.
"Well, let's just say…" he reached down, pulling the sleeve of his coat back to glance at his watch. "…that right about now, it's one giant puke-fest back there." He pulled a small, empty vial and eye dropper from a pocket of his coat and Jayde couldn't help but laugh.
"Thanks for not letting me drink it." She replied, glancing down at her feet as they walked.
A few feet in front of them, several ducks fled the bank of the lake to swim out onto the water when Joker and Jayde approached, forming ripples that reflected the moon's light. A light breeze blew over them, ruffling Jayde's hair and she felt the cool sensation of the diamonds against her neck. Reaching up, she touched them, smiling somewhat wistfully to herself as she readjusted her hand to grip Joker's strong upper arm. He must have felt this, for he brought his other hand over, placing it over hers gently.
"Tell me something about yourself." Jayde said a few moments later, looking up at Joker as he frowned at the randomness of her request. "Anything. Something that nobody knows." She went on to say, watching his face. Joker took a deep breath, rolling his eyes upward.
"Uhhh…" Jayde watched in suspense as he thought about it for several moments before he spoke. "Well, I was an orphan." He said, looking down at her. "That's something, right?" Jayde nodded, tugging on his arm to make him stop walking as she noticed his pace had begun to quicken. She supposed it was because he was nervous although it was really hard to imagine the Joker as even having the ability for that emotion.
He stopped walking to turn and face her, sliding his hands into his pants pockets somewhat sheepishly. "What about you? You said you don't have parents either." Jayde took a deep breath, rubbing her arm as she began to feel nervous; she hated it when he turned the tables like that.
"My parents were murdered two years ago. They were criminal court judges in Montana." She replied quickly, not wanting to spend any more time on the topic than necessary when she was standing less than a foot away from a mass-murderer. Joker didn't seem to notice this uneasiness as he rocked back on his heels, glancing down at his shoes. He really didn't like divulging all this information, but she had asked honestly and for some reason, he felt abnormally comfortable around Jayde, telling her such private information about himself that literally no one knew.
"Yeah, I never knew my parents." He commented, shrugging. Jayde laughed quietly, looking out over the lake.
"You're lucky," she said. Joker followed her eyes out onto the lake, watching as a few ducks' wings beat the water a ways from them.
"Why's that?" he asked, frowning as she finally looked back up at him, a tiny grin playing with her features in the moonlight.
"You don't know what you're missing."
Joker felt some sort of unfamiliar tug at his heart strings and he stepped forward, letting one of his hands reach out to tuck her hair behind her ear before those fingers slid down her jaw, under her chin. Jayde sighed quietly, closing her eyes to his touch. She wasn't sure when he had taken his gloves off but the feel of his bare hands against her skin was enough to make her weak. His thumb was stroking her cheek, gently, lightly, producing a strange fluttering in her stomach that forced her to shiver slightly and move closer until her cheek met his chest, her head just under his chin. His other arm came up, wrapping around her shoulders to hold her close to him and he closed his eyes against her hair.
Jayde couldn't help herself when her arms did the same around his middle, inside his coat and they linked behind his back, completing their moonlit hug. She grinned against the material of his vest as Joker began to gently rock from side to side, humming something quietly in his chest with his cheek against the side of her head. A few moments later, he brought his arms from around her back to push his fingers into her hair, gently pulling her head from against his chest so he could see her eyes. Jayde fought the urge she felt to look away, forcing herself to meet his gaze as he grinned at her, his eyes darting down to her lips while she did the same to him.
He could tell she was looking at his scars curiously and he never liked her questions to go unanswered, so he reached behind him to take her hands and he placed them on either side of his face, all the while watching her eyes. She took a slow breath in, tracing the tips of her fingers along the jagged surface of his scars, fighting urges to shiver the whole time. They were so violent and deep as they ripped down his face to his mouth and as Joker closed his eyes to her touch, he seemed to enjoy the feel of her hands.
"Do they hurt?" she asked gently, hoping he wouldn't get mad but he shook his head, opening his eyes.
"No." he grinned, reaching out to touch her chin and his thumb touched her bottom lip. "Here, let me show you." And with that, he closed the distance between them, parting her lips with his thumb and he kissed her, gently at first. Jayde nearly gasped against his mouth, but ended up sending her breath the other way in a sigh. She really wanted to pull away, but something in the way his hands cradled her face kept her melted to where she stood. Joker smiled against her lips and Jayde could feel his scars lightly brush against the edges of her mouth. It did not bother her though and neither did the feel of the scar along his bottom lip against hers.
Just as quickly as it had happened, he pulled away, opening his eyes to look down at her as she opened hers, gazing back up at him. He grinned, brushing his thumb along her bottom lip.
"See? That didn't hurt at all did it?" he asked, the grin on his face expanding even further when he could see Jayde blushing even in the shade of the moonlit tree. She shook her head no, but watched as Joker reached down to take her hand, and they walked that way back to the Escalade to go home.