Chapter 30

About thirty minutes after she fell into a fitful light sleep, Jess woke up in need of the toilet again. While she was in the bathroom she also brushed her teeth and started to wash her face out of habit, but the bruises and little scratches on her cheekbones smarted at the touch of soap, so she settled for a splashing with warm water instead. She limped back to her bedroom and gingerly exchanged the skirt and blouse she'd fallen asleep in for an oversized Blue Oyster Cult tee shirt. Already she was starting to feel stiff and sore all over, even in spots that Angel's fists and feet didn't find.

The Pink Floyd record was still spinning on the turntable, the needle bumping over and over the grooves at the end of Side one, so she flipped it over and started Side two, hoping the epic 23+ minute "Echoes" would lull her back to sleep. As the intro with its distinctive quavery keyboards and spidery guitar began, she eased herself back into bed, noting that her bedroom clock read 11:08. I wonder what Stacy's doing now. Is he sitting in his room too, or did he find a party where he could down some beers and forget all about me? I wonder if he'll ever speak to me again, she thought dejectedly as a wicked icicle of anxiety pierced her heart. Well, there's no sense in dwelling on things now, she decided as she reached out to turn off her bedroom lamp, grimacing from the pain the movement caused her ribcage.

Just as her fingertips found the switch, she heard a gentle tapping on her window and froze with her hand on the lamp, suddenly heedless of her aches. For half a minute she didn't move, just waited and listened. The tapping came again, slightly more insistently. Jess slipped out of bed, crept up to her window and cautiously eased two slats of her blinds apart to peer outside. To her instant relief she noted the visitor was Stacy, and judging by the look on his face he was equally glad to see that it was her.

She opened the blinds and slid the window open and quietly as possible and wordlessly beckoned for Stacy to climb in. He did so with a modicum of grace and silence even though his feet had a bit of trouble finding purchase as he scaled the outside wall to reach the window sill. Finally he made it in. After turning around to shut the window and draw the blinds closed again, he turned around and opened his arms invitingly, his face a study of concern and apology. Jess gave a little moan like a wounded doe and stepped all too willingly into his embrace. For a moment they stood there in silence holding each other as Stacy caressed Jess' unbound hair where it fell over her shoulders and pressed his cheek lightly on the top of her head.

Then he pulled back a little and spoke for the first time since he arrived. "Jessica, I'm so sorry-"

She stopped him with a quick shake of her head and a palm against his chest. "There's no need to apologize. None of this was your fault. I feel like I should apologize for how my mom treated you-"

This time it was Stacy's turn to block her words, in his case with an index finger pressed softly against her lips. "Shh, her actions were none of your doing. I know you didn't want me to go," he assured her.

"Oh, the whole neighborhood probably knew, I yelled so loud," she quipped, smiling for the first time since the evening had gone so badly downhill.

Stacy grinned in response, happy that a little levity was making a return appearance. "Well, I'm back," he announced. "Miss me?"

Jess chuckled and playfully rapped her knuckles against his chest. "Stacy, you nut." Then she dropped her head and moved closer for another reassuring embrace, sighing as his arms gently encircled her slender, bruised torso again. "I was afraid you'd never talk to me again," she murmured into the fabric of his shirt.

Stacy dropped his arms and threw his head back, staring at the ceiling and rolling his eyes for a second in disbelief. "Did you really think that?" When she reluctantly nodded yes he gave an frustrated snort. "C'mon Jessica, have a little more faith in me, puh-leeze!"

She covered her face with her hands and spoke through them, her voice muffled. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you never did talk to me again, though," she confessed.

"Jess, Jess, Jess," Stacy sighed with mock exasperation as he stepped close and hugged her once more. "If anyone was entitled to not talk to me again, it was you."

"Aww, gimme a break," she sighed as she returned the hug. "I already said it wasn't your fault. And also – think about it – if this incident caused us to never speak to each other again, then Angel would have won in the end, you know?"

"Good point," Stacy replied as he slowly dropped his arms back to his sides and tilted his head to the side as he examined Jess' face in the dim lamplight.

"Bad, isn't it?" she asked with an anxious grimace, trying to fight the urge to bury her head under her pillow.

He smiled gently as he brought his hand up and traced her swollen cheekbone with the lightest of touches. "Not that bad. And it'll all heal in no time. You'll always be pretty to me, Jessica."

She flushed a bit under his praise and dropped her head again. "How come you call me Jessica and not Jess, anyway?" she asked, wanting to steer the subject away from her battered face and the whole evening in general.

Stacy flushed a bit as well, finally called to account for his private little quirk. "Hey, you know I'm a big Allman Brothers fan. Need I say more?" he quipped as he cast a slightly embarrassed glance at his feet. For a moment Jess was reminded of the first time they'd ever spoken, how shy he seemed then and how he had opened up when they talked about music.

"Ah, of course. Jeez, I could have figured that out," she quipped and Stacy met her eyes again.

"You don't mind being called Jessica, do you?" he queried a bit concernedly.

"Of course not, especially when it's you calling me that," she admitted in a sultry tone with a matching smile that made Stacy's heart start to rev.

He put his arms around her again. "Well, I'll make sure to keep doing it, then," he told her as he pressed his face against her hair again. As he pulled her closer he noted that she was trembling slightly and leaned back a bit, taking in her relative lack of clothing. "Hey, are you cold? Why don't you go get under the covers?" he suggested as he released her and stepped to the bed to pull down the covers for her invitingly.

Jess immediately obliged. "Please don't leave me yet," she implored as she pushed her feet well down beneath the green checked bedding and pulled it up to her ribcage. Stacy set her pillow upright against the headrest for her to lean back on, then sat on the end of the bed near Jess' feet.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to," he assured her. "I just wanted to make you comfortable before I gave you this-" as he spoke he delved a hand into his jacket pocket and brought out a small giftwrapped box as Jess' eyes widened in surprise and delight.

"Oh Stacy, you didn't have to…" she breathed as she took the present and began carefully tearing the paper off one corner.

"Of course I did," he countered with another shy blush. "I really hope you like it…"

His voice trailed off as he watched her gleefully upwrap the gift and carefully open the box to reveal a sterling silver snake chain necklace with an ornate Victorian labradorite pendant that reflected the lamplight with bright flashes of iridescent cobalt. Pure joy suffused her face as she looked up from the box in her lap. "It's beautiful!" she told him in the loudest whisper she could dare without her mom hearing.

Stacy's shoulders sagged as he exhaled in relief. "You really like it? It came from a gift shop in Venice. I thought it would sort of go with your eyes," he told her as she lifted the necklace from the box and held it close to the lamp, turning it this way and that to make the little blue reflections blaze intermittently in the light.

"I don't like it…I love it," she told him with a sly smile, then reached out to grasp his hand and pull him into another embrace. Right now she couldn't get enough physical reassurances, even if they did cause the bruises and scratches to throb anew. What little pain Stacy's hugs caused was more than wiped out by the pleasure of feeling his arms around her and the knowledge that he was still there for her, still cared for her, still believed in what they had going.

Jess let Stacy go and put the box on her bedside table, then leaned back against the pillow, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Are you tired? Should I let you get some rest now?" Stacy asked solitcitously.

With her eyes still Jess replied, "Please stay a little longer – if you want to." The last part was delivered as she raised her lashes and let her grey gaze meet Stacy's blue one. At his nod of assest she boldly patted the mattress in a silent invitation for him to sit next to her on the bed. He kicked off his sneakers and took her up on the invitation, resting his back directly against the headboard while she pushed her pillow flat and rested her head on it, rolling on her side facing him. He smiled down at her and reached out to stroke her hair lightly for a minute.

Jess reached out and idly played with the seam of Stacy's jeans where they ran down the side of his knee. "Are you tired?"

"No, kinda keyed up still, to be honest," he admitted.

Jess laughed a bit cynically. "It was a hell of a night, huh?"

Stacy just shook his head so his blonde mane swung freely at his shoulders. "I'm just glad you're going to be ok." He gently traced the outside of Jess' ear with his fingertips and she closed her eyes with pleasure.

"I…I guess so. Physically, at least. Mentally I'm going to be kinda…shaken up for a while," Jess whispered sadly, her gaze resting distractedly on Stacy's back where it rested against the headboard.

"Oh, baby, it's all going to be ok," Stacy breathed as he eased himself downward until he was lying on his side facing Jess. Catching her chin in his hand, he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, glad that none of Angel's blows had landed there. They traded closed-mouth kisses as he resumed stroking her hair and the unbruised parts of her face which were mostly her chin and forehead. After a few minutes of this Jess heaved a little sigh as her body relaxed and their kisses began to get deeper and longer. Stacy's fingertips automatically crept down to Jess' shoulder and onward to her ribcage, causing her to push herself instinctively against his hand, willing him to go on. He had her tee shirt pushed up high enough to expose the lower part of her breasts before he caught himself. "Heh, sorta forgot myself there, sorry," he murmured as he started to pull her shirt down, but she stopped his hand from moving by pinning it down with her own.

"Stacy, it's ok. I want you to," she told him, her voice husky with desire.

Stacy bit his lower lip, thinking things over for a moment. "Jessica, I'm not sure you're in the best shape for anything phys-" he started to caution, but she silenced him with another deep, hungry kiss that left him lightheaded and slightly flushed (and instantly hard as diamonds, but he'd better be careful on that front, he warned himself as he tried to discreetly scootch his lower body a few inches away from hers).

Jess ended the kiss and gave him a scorching look of lust. "I had already made up my mind earlier today that I was going to sleep with you tonight. And nothing is going to screw that up, not even crazy bitches who try to jump me," she informed him, her voice low and demanding.

At this Stacy's eyes grew wide and his lips parted in surprise, but he didn't speak at first, just scanned her face searchingly as though he was trying to ascertain the veracity of her words. Then he pressed his lips together and swallowed hard. "Are you…you're sure?" he asked when he seemed recovered. "I mean, in any other circumstances I'd be all for it, don't get me wrong. But you're hurt, Jess!"

"Oh pff, it's just a few scratches," she replied dismissively if not entirely accurately. "What would really hurt would be you turning me down," she added with a little pout while looking over her shoulder at the bedside clock, which now read 11:25. "It's still my birthday," she reminded him. "And the only present I was hoping to get from you was…you know…" she finished the sentence by raking him from head to toe with her gaze, lingering pointedly on the area just below his black leather belt. Her forwardness turned him on even more. He not-so-discreetly brought his hips and thighs forward so they pressed against hers.

"And who'm I to deny a lady her heart's desire on her birthday?" he replied with pretend chivalry, then covered her mouth with his again.