NOVEMBER
CHAPTER 8
Thanks reviewers. I love you all. 33 please keep reviewing; I love to hear what you think. ;)
________________________________________________
"Anybody see Jen? The gig's about to start," Mark said, throwing back a shot.
Maureen shrugged. "Nooo idea. Maybe you should…find her?" she giggled. She slouched back over the table.
Collins shook his head. "The gig hasn't even started and already you're trashed. Jo, she's completely in your hands."
Joanne rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks Collins."
"Anytime."
__________________________________________________
"Vin?"
Lori and Jen ran up to the security guard and smiled. "What's up Lori M?" he said, tickling Gwen under her chin.
"I need a favor from you," Lori spoke. She adjusted Gwen in her arms and rubbed the baby's back.
"Sure thing."
"Can you watch Gwen from me for about 20 minutes? I want to catch the beginning of Wes' set," she asked.
Vinnie nodded and picked up the baby. "No problem. I'll take her upstairs with me."
Lori gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks so much."
"Catch ya in twenty."
Lori smiled at Jen as she led her back into the main club area, and the two took a seat at a reserved table in the middle. "So have you ever been to one of these gigs before?"
Jen shook her head and set her empty martini glass down on the circular black table. "No. First one. Anything I should know?"
Lori laughed and took a sip of her beer. "See over there? That's where all the girls hang out—groupies or whatever. They stand there with their boobs and thongs hanging out for the whole set, hoping to score with one of the guys backstage."
Jen stared in the direction she was pointing in and rolled her eyes. It was pretty pathetic. There were about five girls squeezed into tube tops and three sizes too small jeans, practically hanging on the amps. "Wonderful. So which one's the favorite?"
"Roger. Although last week they were going crazy over Travis' new tongue ring, therefore making Travis the weekly favorite. They hate me so much. I swear, I can't even walk over there without getting a drink dumped on me or the word bitch thrown around in five different creative ways," she laughed. "Watch this." Lori sauntered over to the girls and appeared to start chatting with them. To Jen's surprise, they actually followed Lori back to the table. "Ladies, this is Jen. Roger's girlfriend. Get it? That means hands off. You can look, but you can't touch."
A petite girl with platinum blonde hair started laughing. "You're with Davis? Lucky bitch." They all left quickly and Lori sat back down, laughing.
"Nice kids. What are they all 18 or something?" Jen said, smirking.
"Barely legals. The usual crowd."
Jen nodded. "So how do you deal with it?"
Lori laughed. "I admit I used to get really upset about it when I first started dating Wes. I met him through my cousin Robbie, who owns his own bar a few blocks over and sets up all their gigs for the Hungarians. We dated on and off for the first year and a half, and then I found out I was pregnant, so we got serious with each other fast. He proposed about a month later, and we've been happily married ever since. Well—pretty happily married. But about the girls, don't let them get to you. They'll try to find you after a show and say some pretty cruel things to you and it'll make you feel like shit, but then when it comes down to it, you have to realize that you have the guy and they don't. When Wes and I said our marriage vows, we meant them. It wasn't some bullshit joyride because I was pregnant—it was because we both wanted to remain faithful to each other."
"Yeah." Jen's gaze wandered up the stage and on Roger, who saw her and gave her a smile. She returned it.
About forty-five minutes into the Hungarians set, Lori stood up. "I have to go get Gwen and get home. Poor Vinnie must have his hands full by now. Hopefully I'll see you at the next gig. It was nice to meet you."
"Yeah, it was." Lori smiled politely before slipping backstage. Jen managed to grab another martini and within another half an hour, the gig was completely over. The applause was deafening, and Jen managed to avoid the crowd now filing out onto the street. She hadn't seen Mark—or anyone—for that matter since she had met up with Lori at the bar.
Just as she turned around, Collins walked up to her. Behind him were a very drunk Maureen and Mark, and a disapproving Joanne. "What happened to designated drinking Collins?" she asked, laughing.
He shrugged and smiled. "I can only control myself. Maureen's—well, you know how she is. And Mark had way too many jello shots."
"They jiggled," he laughed.
Collins shook his head. "I'm getting everyone home. Mark will probably pass out on my couch, so don't expect him home tonight." He gave Jen a kiss on the cheek.
"Later Marky," she said.
"Bye-bye Jen. You take care now," he slurred.
__________________________________________________________________________
"Yeah. I'll see you Saturday night Robbie."
"Later Davis. You played a good gig tonight."
"Thanks." Roger walked into the bar area to find Jen sitting on a barstool, watching football on the TV. The place was deserted except for a few other guys drinking and the janitors cleaning. "Hey," he greeted, kissing her on the neck.
"Take it outside Davis," Robbie called over, laughing.
Roger grinned. "Yeah yeah."
She stood up and yawned. "Hey. What time is it?"
He looked over at the clock on the wall. "Close to 2. Sorry I took so long. We had to pack up and everything." She nodded and pulled her jacket on, yawning again. "Somebody's tired."
Roger took her hand in his and wrapped his other around her waist. They headed outside of the club and down the street. "You try keeping up with a 3 year old and tell me how you'd feel after your first night out in a really long time."
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "We better get you to bed then."
She nodded. "You smell like smoke."
"I had a few backstage."
She looked up at him. "A few of what?"
"Cigarettes."
"Uh huh." She pulled away from him and continued walking down the street.
"Jen come on," he said, grabbing her arm. "Don't do that."
"What?"
"I said they were cigarettes, not joints."
"They better not be joints."
"Fuck, I said they weren't. Just leave it," he argued. He kicked open the loft door and flung his keys onto the counter. Jen walked past him and into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and took off her heels and jacket before standing up again to rummage through her still unpacked clothes.
Roger came in shortly after. He stripped down to his boxers and set a glass of water and his pills on the nightstand. "You coming to bed?"
"In a minute," she answered, taking her pajamas and leaving the room. When she returned, her makeup had been washed off and her hair had been pulled up.
Roger was lying on the bed. He leaned over and downed his pills before pulling down the sheets for Jen. He turned out the light and she slid under the sheets, pulling her knees up to her chest. Roger leaned over and kissed her lightly before running his hand up and down her side. "I want you to trust me Jen."
"I know," she whispered. "And I do. It's just hard."
Roger pulled her closer to him and she settled her head on
his chest. "Night baby."
"Night."
"And I do love you."
"I know."
___________________________________________________________________
"Jen," Roger groaned the next morning. "Your cell."
She rolled over and was just about to whack Roger in the face with her arm when he reached out and caught it. "What? Shit, did I hit you?"
He grinned. "Almost. Want me to get it?"
She yawned and nodded before shutting her eyes. "Yeah."
He reached over and grabbed the phone out of her bag. "Hello? Who is this? What? Hold on." He reached over and kissed down Jen's neck and arm. "Jen. It's someone named Michelle."
Jen took the phone and sat up against Roger. "Hello?"
"Jennifer Walsh, who was that sexy voice that picked up the phone? Is he as hot as he sounds?"
Jen grinned at Roger, who mouthed 'What?' to her. "Oh yeah. You could say that."
"Jen got laid…"
"Nah, actually I didn't. You know, there is such a thing called sharing a bed with a hot guy and not having anything sexual happen."
Roger laughed as he said this, pulling on a shirt over his head.
"Guess I wouldn't know about that. I need some help at the gym today. Can you please come in and help me coach the girls? Please…"
Jen looked at the clock and sighed. "It's 9 AM."
"So? Be here for 10. The girls have been here since 8. Tina can't stick her back handspring back tuck on her floor routine, and Keri's having problems with her shoulder. Everyone's been asking for you. Apparently I'm not good enough."
"I'll come in for a few hours. Do you need anything?"
"Bring me some extra tape. Alicia has shin splints."
"Got it."
"Can you bring sexy voice with you?"
"You're so pathetic."
"So what? Does he have any friends?"
Jen laughed when she thought of Mark. "Yeah. He might have a hangover though."
"Eh, no difference. Bring him along?"
"I'll try."
Jen tossed her cell back in the bag and rolled onto Roger, straddling his lap. "We've got to get up."
He smiled at her. "Not with you sitting on me like that we don't."
"Oh yeah? Oops, sorry about that," she said. She tried to slide off of him but he pulled her down again."
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To the gym. I've gotta help Michelle coach the competitive gymnastics team today."
"Oh. And let me guess, I get to come?"
She nodded and stood up. "You get to keep track of the score and any problems that the girls have."
Roger laughed and rolled his eyes. "We'll see."
__________________________________________________________________
An hour later, Roger and Jen had arrived at the gym. Jen knew Michelle was having a tough time before she even stepped foot into the main gym area.
"Come on Keri! You've gotta stick the landing or it's no good!"
"FUCK YOU!"
Jen sighed and tossed her bag onto the bleachers before signaling to Michelle. "You .Sit. Don't move. Be good. Entertain yourself if you want—" Roger cut her off and pulled Jen in for a kiss.
"Ooh Jen, where'd you get this one?" A girl asked, dusting her hands with chalk as she walked by. "He's cute."
Roger laughed and smiled at her. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Who was that?" Roger asked, watching the girl take off down the runway and vault. "She's good."
"Tina Mullan. 14 years old from Seaside, New Jersey. She commutes back and forth everyday after school and on weekends to be here for practice."
"That's dedication for you," Roger said, taking a seat on the bleachers.
A woman with blonde hair dressed in a leotard and shorts jogged over to Jen. "Jesus Christ, did you hear Keri yelling at me five seconds ago?"
Jen laughed. "Yeah, I was practically in the parking lot. She okay?"
"She had a pulled muscle in her hamstring. She's icing it right now, but she's a real bitch today so watch out."
Jen tossed Michelle the tape. "Michelle, this is my boyfriend Roger. Roger, this is Michelle."
Roger leaned forward and stuck out his hand. "Hey."
"Hey, nice to meet you. Big hands."
Roger looked at her weirdly and then glanced at Jen.
"…big—" Jen clamped her hand over Michelle's mouth and steered her in the other direction towards the mats. Roger laughed and sat back down.
Michelle looked back as she taped up her wrists. "He's cute. Where'd you find him?"
"That's the Roger." When Michelle stared at her blankly, Jen tried again. "Abby's father?"
"No shit. What happened?"
Jen shrugged and stole the tape back from her and wrapped it around her shins. "We just met up again."
"Aka you don't want to tell me here." Michelle tossed the tape in a pile at the end of the mats and ran her hands through the chalk as Jen followed.
"No. I'll tell you later."
"Hey Jen!" A girl said, tumbling straight by her.
"Hey Alicia." Jen took of her t-shirt, which just left her in a tank top and tiny cotton shorts.
"Is Abby coming to tumbling class Monday night?"
Jen nodded and walked out onto the mat. As she looked back, she noticed Roger was interested in what was going on. The various girls were vaulting and doing their routines all over the place. She was surprised that he wasn't half asleep by now. "Yeah. She's with my parents in Boston, but she'll be back Sunday morning. I enrolled her for the second semester a few weeks back. She seems to like it."
"She's good at it too. I was working with her on her cartwheel last week, spotting her. She's got a great sense of balance. Better then most of the 3 to 4 year olds I've seen lately." Michelle walked out onto the mat and whistled as the girls came jogging over. Most of them said hello to Jen before letting Michelle finish speaking.
"Ladies, you see that guy over there?"
"The hot one?" Alicia asked.
Jen grinned. "Yeah. My boyfriend."
"Damn." The other girls laughed as Michelle passed the tape down to them.
"Give Roger your scores today. Whatever we tell you your score is, and whatever we say you need to work on, run over to him and have him write it down. We have a competition next Saturday. I want to see some improvement." Michelle turned around and looked around the gym. "Britney and Sarah, I want you to work on your uneven bars routine. Take turns going through the motions and spotting. Either Jen or I will be over there to check up on you in a few. Keri, work on your vault. Tina I want you on floor, and Alicia on beam. We'll rotate in about half an hour."
"I'll spot Keri on the vault," Jen said, taking after the seventeen-year-old brunette.
"And I'll just walk around and work with the rest of the girls. Thanks Jen," Michelle added before taking off in the opposite direction. "And I'll give lover boy the score sheets."
____________________________________________________________________
Jen wrapped a towel around her head and stepped out of the bathroom. She sniffed the air and made a face. "What are you making?"
Roger shrugged. "Dinner."
"I hope it's edible."
"It will be. It's Betty Crocker's fault if it isn't."
Jen laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Can I ask what it is?"
"Beef stroganoff."
Jen glanced into the pan. "Looks like it." Roger pulled her around to face him and kissed her, first lightly, and then deeper as the minutes progressed. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her hips into his as he backed her up against the counter.
"Good god, I hope you're not going to fuck near the food," Mark said. Roger groaned and dropped his head onto Jen's shoulder as she giggled and rolled her eyes at Mark.
"Shut up Mark," Roger growled, taking Jen's hand in his and pulling her towards the bedroom.
"Have fun kids. I'll just tend to the food," he said sarcastically, grinning as Roger flipped him off before slamming the door.
Nothing was said as Jen took a seat on the bed and pulled her feet underneath her. Roger sat next to her and dug around in his drawer, finally pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. After a few drags, Jen looked back at him. "That's so bad for your health."
Maybe I'm addicted, I'm out of control
But you're the drug that keeps me from dying
Maybe I'm a liar, but all I really know is
You're the only reason I'm trying
He grinned and rubbed her back. "I know." He put it out as she laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling—at the water spot in the corner, the cracked paint. She rested her head on the pillow and Roger turned onto his side, staring at her and holding her hand. "Jen?"
"Yeah?"
"We don't have to do anything. We can just lie here for a while. Ignore Mark, okay?"
She nodded but shook her head at the same time. "I want to. Really, I do. What do you want?"
Roger stretched out next to her. "Whatever you want. I mean, it's only been a little over a week. Whatever you're comfortable with. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"You don't make me uncomfortable."
"Okay."
She turned onto her side and rested her head on his chest as he made circles rubbing her back, down her shirt and her jeans. "Roger?"
"Yeah baby?"
"What's the one place you want to visit that you haven't been to yet?" she asked. Roger kissed her forehead and pulled the comforter over them.
"I think Italy. Never been there. It's supposed to be romantic," he grinned. "We could go and make it even more romantic." He started playing with the rings on her finger. "What about you?"
"Paris. I know that's clichéd, but I'd love to do this whole European tour. Italy, Paris, London, Moscow. But with the right person you know?" she teased.
He squeezed her hand as she pressed her stomach into his side. "Am I the right person?"
"I hope so," she laughed. "Morris?"
He laughed and rested his hand on her hip. "Yeah Screech?"
"Let's tango."
"Tango? That's a new one," he laughed, kissing her temple. "You sure?"
"Uh huh."
I am wasted away, I made a million mistakesAm I too late?
There is a storm—
It rains on my bed when you're not here
I'm not afraid of dying
But I am afraid of losing you
He nodded and slipped away from her to stand up. "I uh—you know, gotta get them from the bathroom. I never put them in my drawer."
Jen nodded. "Okay. That's fine." She heard him open the door and close it behind him again and closed her eyes.
Roger slipped out into the hallway and headed for the bathroom.
"You both okay in there?" Mark asked. He was sitting at the counter reading a paper and watching the food out of the corner of his eyes.
Roger nodded. "Yeah. Just don't interrupt us or anything, okay? I think she's a little uneasy about it still, even though she says she's fine."
Mark nodded. "Not that I would want to see your naked ass anyway. I'll shut the burner off on the stove and take off for a bit."
"Thanks Mark. I don't mean to kick you out."
Mark grinned and turned the flame off before putting on his coat. "No problem. Don't worry about it. Just don't keep your girl waiting."
Jen sat up some as Roger came back in with the box of condoms. He set them on the nightstand. "Sorry. I was talking to Mark."
"That's fine," she whispered. He turned the lights off in the room and climbed back on the bed.
"You're really sure?"
"I am." She pulled him on top of her just as he started kissing her neck and running his hands along her body. Roger kissed down her stomach. He gently lifted up her shirt and pulled it over her head as she leaned into him.
"When did you get your bellybutton pierced?" he asked, pausing to play with it with his fingers. She arched her back as he slid off her pants and shrugged. "A few months after Abby was born."
"I like it," he said quietly. He pulled himself on top of her. Kissing the side of her neck again, her unhooked her bra. Clothes were shed and thrown into a messy pile at the side of the bed as their lips crashed together. A giggle as the box was knocked to the floor as Roger blindly reached for it, another kiss, and a low moan as their hips met finally.
"I love you Jen," he said as he linked their fingers together. "I never stopped."
She ran her fingers through his hair and nodded. "I love you too."
_______________________________________________________________________
[A/N: Yeah, who doesn't want a piece of that guitar player?]
Lyrics are: "Addicted" by Enrique Iglesias. Whoa, heard it today and thought of Roger automatically.