Chapter 31

Stacy woke around 6:30am in the habit of the Southern California Surfer, blinking sleepily in the grey light peeping in through the blinds. For a moment he was confused about his location, but as he returned to wakefulness he became aware of Jess' sleeping form beside him and everything from the night before came crashing back into his consciousness. Jess was on her back with her head turned slightly away from him. He gingerly sat up and leaned over a bit to inspect her face properly, frowning at the sight of her now fully livid bruises and the myriad cuts that decorated her cheekbones and nose. She also had a bit of a shiner, he noted. Although he'd never raise a hand to a female except maybe as a last-resort tactic in self-defense, Stacy suddenly wished he'd had the chance last night to pop that bitch Angel one right in the kisser. Such a coward, he thought angrily about Jess' primary assailant. Why don'tcha try fighting someone who knows how to fight back? Jess wasn't a scrappy street fighter type in the slightest, which was one of the reasons he'd fallen for her. Dogtown girls might be tough out of necessity, but he preferred the more gentle girls who weren't likely to start shit. I'm sure glad I didn't bring Camille out to POP and the shop very much, he reflected as he watched the steady rise and fall of Jess' chest underneath the bedclothes. The same thing was just as likely to have happened to her.

A sudden itch in his calf made him twitch and bend over to scratch it, inadvertently pulling the sheets down off of Jess and making her eyelids flutter open. For a few seconds she looked as confused as he had been a few minutes before. Then her gaze focused on Stacy's face and she smiled Mona-Lisa-like. "Good morning," she whispered in a slightly cracked voice.

"Morning," Stacy replied, sitting back up and leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"Time's it?" she breathed sleepily. When he told her she ran one hand heavily over his chest, pushing him back down toward the bed. "Go back to sleep…" she softly commanded, already taking her own advice. Stacy shrugged and laid back down.

When he woke again about ninety minutes later, he found he was alone in bed. The sun was shining in earnest through the slats of the Venetian blinds, casting narrow dust-mote laden beams onto the nearest wall and the carpeted floor. His vision was caught by the slowly opening bedroom door and his pulse shot up – what if it was Sandie?

It turned out to be a shyly smiling Jess, still in her BOC shirt and now a pair of grey gym shorts with the initials of what he guessed was her old high school back in Jersey.

"Hello again," she said as he sat up and stretched his arms and back against the headboard, then reached out to her. Jess slipped onto the bed and crawled into his embrace. "Mom's at the studio putting in overtime, so we're safe," she informed him.

Stacy exhaled in relief. "How ya feeling now?" he asked as he peered down at her and brushed the hair off her face.

"I feel ok, actually," she told him as she pulled her hair back down, preferring to hide the bruises.

Stacy raised one wheat-colored eyebrow. "Really? You're not even sore…anywhere?"

Jess shook her head resolutely. "Nope," she told him with fake bravado. In truth several key places were throbbing a bit, but waking up beside her wonderful new boyfriend made the pain so negligible that it wasn't worth complaining about.

"Liar." Stacy lifted his arms and stretched again.

Jess giggled a bit and shifted herself down so the side of her head rested just below his collarbone. She could hear his steady heartbeat and decided to see if she could make it speed up by lightly running her nails across his bare abdomen. Her little experiment was a success, but the sound was drowned out a moment later by his growling stomach.

"How about some breakfast?" she inquired and got an enthusiastic nod.

"We don't have much but I'm sure I can whip up something halfway ok," she informed him as she sat up and got out of bed. Stacy followed suit, stopping to scoop up his jeans and tee shirt from the floor and get dressed before left the room and joined Jess in the kitchen.

"You don't have to help," she told him as he came up behind her and slinked his arms around her waist. At the moment she was cracking eggs into a stainless steel bowl. "How many and how do you like them?"

"Um, three scrambled?" he requested and kissed the back of her head.

Jess' hand flew up to the place he had just kissed. "Ouch," she protested, rubbing the spot absentmindedly.

Crestfallen, Stacy stepped backward a bit. "Sorry. Um, was it from something we did last night, or…"

"The bitch knocked my head against the wall," Jess stated in a flat tone as she whisked the eggs.

"Ooh, sorry," Stacy said again as the anger welled up again. He pushed it back down just as quickly. "You sure I can't do anything?"

"You can make toast and pour the juice, I guess," Jess directed.

Once the somewhat piecemeal breakfast of eggs, cereal, toast and juice was put together, they took it into the living room and watched Land of the Lost as they ate.

"Sleestacks kinda skeeve me out," Jess confessed between mouthfuls of Cheerios.

Stacy laughed. "You're kidding me, right? Those have got to be the lamest costumes ever. A three year old wouldn't be scared by them!"

"It's the noise they make," Jess declared, resolutely sticking to her position.

Stacy chuckled again. "Well, how else do they know when one is coming?" he shot back.

Unfazed, Jess started on her toast. "Well, I don't care what you say, they freak me out."

"They sound sort of like cicadas, don't you think?"

Jess thought for a few seconds. "Yeah, sorta. Man, that's one thing I miss about visiting Georgia. You always hear them in the summertime."

"We have them here too, but I'm sure they're more common in the South. So when's the last time you've been back there?"

"Last October." Jess finished off her toast. Guess I don't need to call Dad and ask him if I can live out there anymore, she ruminated. Things are ok with Stacy. Now I just need to bring Mom around.

"Are you planning to go back anytime soon?" Stacy queried, then drained his orange juice.

"Maybe in the summertime. You want some more of that?" She reached for Stacy's empty glass and started to stand up, but Stacy pulled her back down onto the couch.

"I'm ok, thanks. Hey, does your Dad happen to live anywhere near Macon?"

"Umm, I don't think so," Jess replied after giving it a little thought. "Isn't that south of Atlanta? Dad's up in Athens, teaching at the university."

Stacy nodded in comprehension. "Ah, too bad. I'd love to visit Duane Allman's grave someday," he said longingly.

When breakfast was done they carried their plates and glasses back into the kitchen. Stacy gallantly offered to wash up, but Jess waved him away and did it herself while he leaned against the counter and looked on. When she was done he went to her side and took her shoulders gently in his hands, leaning down for a kiss.

"Hate to eat and run, but I should probably take off soon," he informed her reluctantly.

Jess nodded sadly, knowing he probably had a lot to do on a warm Saturday, and none of it involved lingering in bed like a lazybones. "I understand," she told him, standing on tiptoes to return his kiss, which led to a second and then a third, each one deeper than the one before it. By the fourth one Jess felt the evidence of Stacy's arousal pressing against her when he brought his hands to her hips and pulled her close.

He came up for air and gently pushed her away. "Oh man, better not start something we can't finish," he said, breathing hard.

Jess gave him a wily grin. "I don't mind if you don't mind," she suggested gamely, but he shook his head.

"I know you have to be sore already, Jessica. I don't want to make it wors-"

His protestation was cut short when she stretched up and kissed him again. "If you're really really gentle, I bet it'll be just fine," she assured him, her voice seductive and full of promise. "Please?" She licked and kissed his neck just below his jawline, making him throw his head back so his hair spilled well past his shoulders. "Pllleeeaaase?" she asked again, playing with the golden strands and kissing him some more while she pressed her pelvis against the front of his jeans.

"Oooh, god, all right!" Stacy half-shouted. "And if you keep that up I'm going to take you right here on the floor," he threatened, making Jess laugh mischievously.

"If I weren't so sore from everything last night, I'd take you up on that offer. But I think it'll be a little more comfortable on a nice soft mattress. C'mon." And with that she took Stacy's hand and led him back to her room. They climbed onto the bed and made out with a vengeance, stripping each other off without losing contact with their lips.

"I'll go real slow," Stacy promised as he gently pressed Jess down on her back to the mattress. It took a lot of patience and restraint, but Stacy managed to keep it gentle.

When they were finished he lowered himself down on his elbows and kissed her lips, then rolled over on his back, smiling at the ceiling in satisfaction. "That didn't hurt, did it?" he asked her in a delicate tone.

"No, it was fine," she replied truthfully. Nothing related to her bedroom activites was causing her any pain, but her bruises and scratches were throbbing hard now that her blood was pumping properly for the first time that day.

"Gotta use the john again," Stacy mumbled as he gave Jess one last lingering caress, then left the bed and headed to the bathroom. On his way back to Jess' room it occurred to him that he'd completely forgotten to use a condom either time he'd had sex with her. It was an awkward topic but he felt compelled to bring it up, since "become a father" wasn't exactly on his current Things to do in Life list. His shoulders sagged in relief when she informed him that she was taking the Pill every day like clockwork.

"I should have told you earlier, but I didn't really think you'd care," she admitted with an embarrassed shrug.

Stacy gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "It's ok, I know now."

Jess grinned at him. "Hey, I'm going to take a quick shower. Care to join me before you go?"

Stacy weighed his options for a moment. "Yeah, sure. I kinda don't want to go home all sweaty anyway." And reeking of sex, he mentally added. His parents certainly wouldn't assume he'd been at a Boy Scout meeting all night, but at the same time he didn't want to flaunt his sexual activities in front of them – or anyone else, for that matter. When it came to locker room banter he always listened more than he talked. It was a great way to pick up a lot of tips and get practice in detecting lies.

Once in the shower they washed with a minimum of hanky-panky, although Stacy couldn't resist running a hand down her slick, soapy back to caress her bottom just once. When they got out he thought about trying to dry Jess off by licking her all over, but decided that particular endeavor could wait for another time and settled for using a towel instead. He was careful with her bruises and she luxuriated under his touch, deciding that a little pampering could definitely go a long way with her.

Once they were done and dressed, Jess walked Stacy to the front door with a minimum of fuss, all too aware that she'd taken up enough of his time already. Before he walked out he gave her one last lingering kiss. "I'll call you later…oh wait," he started to say, but stopped himself when he realized that his name was still mud as far as Sandie went.

"Can I call you tonight instead?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, that'll be fine. Like around seven and maybe we can figure out a way to spend some time together without your mom catching on," he suggested, then he told her goodbye and quickly walked out the door and away from the house.

After he was gone from sight Jess leaned her back against the door and slowly slid downward until she was sitting on the floor with her legs splayed out in front of her. That…was the craziest night I've ever had, she reflected, closing her eyes. But it's going to be hard to sneak around with him behind Mom's back. I get the feeling that Stacy probably wouldn't put up with that for long, she thought glumly. I'll have to bring her around somehow.

She slowly stood up, trying to ignore her now-aching inner thighs and various fight-derived wounds, and went back to her room. I hope Mom won't be able to tell that I did anything, she worried as she studied her reflection in her full-length mirror. Except for the wounds incurred from the beating, she decided that she looked about the same as always. She focused on her chest region for a moment. Hmm, is the Pill making my boobs bigger? After a prolonged visual inspection that included feeling herself up, she was still undecided. Well, maybe, she mused as she pulled her shirt down. Not that I'd complain if it was. I can use a little more in that department.

With a little sigh Jess laid crosswise on her bed on her back and wondered how to spend her first day as both an 18-year-old and a nonvirgin and began preparing a mental speech for her mother's return. God, I hope I can convince her to let Stacy back in the house, she mused. I don't want to lose him now…