Daddy's Girls: Chapter 7
Author's Note: Well, I've gotten permission to bring you up to what we call 'the good stuff', so keep your eyes in this space for a few more chapters of updates. The trouble is just beginning!
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Jess' room
Carefully, Jess inspected her outfit one last time and flinched inwardly. The clothes she wore was nothing she'd
want to be caught dead in, but she'd only wear them for a short time. The skirt touching her knees was wide enough
to hide the pushed up legs of her black leather pants while the jacket still hanging over her favorite chair would
perfectly conceal her tight, black low-cut bell-sleeve shirt. Her mother would probably know what was going on
the moment she saw the jacket and skirt, but her father wouldn't. He'd have a stroke and a heart attack if he knew.
In his mind, Jess never got older after her 12th birthday.
With a swift move she pulled up her hair and fixed it with two long, pointy pins. Then, she opened a drawer and
pulled out the Swiss pocketknife she'd gotten from Bruce and slipped it in her boot. Carefully she removed another
item from the drawer and put in her small rucksack she'd take with her, along with some make-up items, a small
mirror and her wallet. This would be a very special night. She'd managed to fool Annie into believing that they
were going to a Country Club together, while in reality their destination was a club named Ecstatic, where they'd
meet up with an unsuspecting Roxy. Jess had plans to try and play peacemaker between her friends, but if it didn't
work… hell, seeing Annie's face when she realized where they going and whom they'd meet would give her the fun
of her life.
A knock on her door startled her.
"Just a second!" Quickly, she pulled on her jacket and sat down in her chair, pretending to read her
science book. "Come in!"
"Hey Jessie, can I borrow your…"
Eric Hayes raised an eyebrow when he saw his baby sister. "What's with the costume? Halloween isn't for another
four months."
"Really? Then why are you wearing that ugly mask? Oh, sorry, I forgot… you were born with it."
"Cute, Jessie… really cute." He grinned. "I wanted to know if I could borrow one of your Advanced
Biology books? Scott's coming over for a little tutoring."
"Scott? As in Scott Trakker?" This evening kept getting better and better… if Scott would be here before
Annie… "When is he coming?" she asked, pulling out her book and handing it to Eric.
"Should be here any minute." The doorbell rang. "That's probably him."
"Ooooh, I hope so… Annie would be sad if she missed him."
"Eric! Scott's here!" Dusty yelled from downstairs.
Jess's grin got bigger. This would be one hell one a night!
"Come on in, Scott. Eric's gonna be downstairs any minute."
"Thanks Dusty. It's nice of him to help me. I would have asked Jess, but she's already helped me through Chemistry,
so I didn't want to bother her anymore."
"You'd never bother me, Scotty," Jess said, coming down the stairs. Once again, Gloria found herself
fighting a laugh again when she saw her niece. If she hadn't known her better, she'd be fooled by Jess' appearance.
"Eric's just got a call from his girlfriend, so he'll need a few more minutes. Make yourself comfy so long.
Would you like to drink something? Sunn and I made Mango Slashees."
"Mango what?"
"Ah, I see.. I bring you one… trust me, you'll love them." With that he disappeared into the kitchen
and fixed a slashee for Scott. Now all she had to do was stall the tutoring long enough 'till Annie and Brad arrived.
Oh, this would be so much.
The moment Jess had finished filling the glass the bell rang a second time. The moment she heard Brad's voice from
the living room, Jess rejoiced inwardly. Annie and Scott in one room… it was absolutely perfect.
With a bright smile she entered the room and noticed Scott and Annie sitting awkwardly next to each other on the
couch, constantly casting glances at each other.
"Here's your Slashee, Scott. Hi Brad." She walked over to her favorite "uncle" -after Alex,
Buddy and Jacques- and hugged him. Then, with a mean smile on her face, she turned back to the teenagers on the
couch.
"Hey, Annie, once you're done undressing Scott with your eyes, can we go? I don't wanna be late for the party
just because you can't keep your hormones in check!"
This was too much. Gloria almost choked on her wine, while Brad's mouth dropped open, Scott and Annie turned ten
shades of red, and Dusty shook his head pretending he didn't hear what he heard.
Her head shining brighter then a street lantern, Annie quickly got up, grabbed Jess by the elbow and pulled her
towards the door.
"Bye everyone," she quickly said, while almost running out of the house, a grinning and satisfied Jess
in tow, leaving two laughing women, an embarrassed teenager and two deeply shocked fathers behind… and a clueless
older brother who had missed it all.
"What's going on here?" Eric wondered when he came to pick up Scott.
"Have fun with Advanced Biology, Scott!" Sunny said, laughing even more. Scott's blush deepened, while
Eric's confusion grew.
As soon as they were out of the view of the eyes both of them knew were staring out the front window, Annie gave
Jess a hard, not entirely playful, shove. "Thanks for making me look like an idiot in front of everyone, Jess,"
she snapped sarcastically.
"No problem. Happy to help," Jess replied with a completely innocent grin. "I just adore making
you turn as red as your hair."
Annie shook her head and continued to walk toward Jess' car, knowing it was useless to comment, but feeling the
need to persist anyhow. "I still think that there's no possible way you and Dusty could share the same genes."
"That's funny, cause everyone says the same thing about you and Brad, too," Jess retorted with a malicious
smile.
"I heard that."
"Damnit!" Jess muttered under her breath.
"I heard that too."
Brad stepped out from behind Jess' parked car and regarded Dusty's daughter with a knowing smile. Winking at her,
he said, "That was a pretty nice stunt you pulled...I was ALMOST distracted enough to let you leave without
saying goodbye. Almost."
"Goodbye, Uncle Brad," Jess said in the same tone she used to sweet talk Dusty, even taking it one step
further with the term of endearment.
She walked over to the driver's side of her car, only to find Annie leaning against the door, blocking her entrance.
The redhead was dressed in a hunter green sweater, tight fitting black jeans, and a pair of black cowboy boots.
Her normally straight hair was curled into loose ringlets and topped by a wide brimmed black cowboy hat, under
which she was smirking wildly at Jess. She stood there with her arms folded across her chest, the pose looking
so much like Brad that Jess knew there'd be no escape.
"When are you going to learn you can't sweet talk him?" Annie asked rhetorically. "Even *I* can't
sweet talk him. Besides, wouldn't you rather hear the fatherly lecture about responsibility from him?"
"Actually, I really just came to say goodbye...to Jess," Brad commented with a pointed look at Jess,
and then his daughter.
Jess caught the look and acted on it. "Yeah, he only wants to lecture YOU," she grinned as she shoved
Annie away from the door and climbed inside the car.
Father and daughter walked a few paces away. "You sure about this?" Brad asked, all fatherly seriousness.
"Aren't you?" Annie replied with her own question, fully knowing he wasn't, at least not completely.
"Just...keep her out of trouble." He leaned over and tipped Annie's hat back, kissing her on the forehead.
"You call me if you need me, okay? No questions asked."
Annie nodded and kissed his cheek, readjusting the hat on her head. "Would it help if I told you I had a hunting
knife hidden in my boots?"
Even though he knew she'd been trained in its use by professionals, the idea of his daughter carrying a knife,
or any other weapon for that matter, unnerved Brad more than the prospect of a night out with Jessenia Hayes. "Probably
not."
"Okay then," she shrugged, a twinkle in her eyes, "I won't tell you. Night Dad."
"Night Annie," Brad replied as Annie waved him off. "Don't let Jess rub off too much."
The look he got over the passenger's side of the car told him he was starting to sound a little too much like Dusty,
so he waved back and started walking back to the house, turning back only to make sure the car left the driveway
safely. Then he turned back to Dusty's front door and planned the hardest part of his evening, how to escape from
Dusty's worried clutches.
