Chapter Twenty: Outlaw

Rick sat on his side of the bed, completely mystified as he watched Jo mindlessly fidget on her side of the bed.

Honestly, what the hell is going on here? He wondered. He thought back to the phone call he had gotten from her and everything he'd done for her and gone through only for her to tell him she wanted nothing more to do with him.

He had lied to her family and friends for her, given her a large sum of money he had no idea was for, traveled a great distance to surprise her and not to mention, postponed a few of his gigs to be able to see her and she was acting like none of it mattered.

He expected that kind of selfish behavior from Blair maybe but he was surprised to see it from Jo.

Jo quickly got up from the bed. "I'm just gonna go check on Blair," she said to Rick. "Ya know…make sure she's OK and all." She then gave him a small wave, chuckling awkwardly.

"Yeah…sure…fine," Rick said to her coldly, rolling his eyes. "Sure. Go ahead and interrupt the princess's beauty sleep."

Jo cut her eyes at him, instantly wanting to retort back at him for the insult he made about Blair but thought better of it. Instead, she left the room and walked down towards Blair's room, relieved to finally leave Rick.

She had finally arrived at Blair's door and just as she raised her fist to knock at the door, she heard muffled voices; one female and one male. She then heard laughter coming from Blair and the unmistakable sound of a bed squeaking.

Jo put a hand over her mouth in shock. That can't be what I think it is, is it? She thought in disbelief. She felt like she'd swallowed a huge brick. I saw Cody leave. Who else would Blair have in her room?

Jo immediately felt tears spring to her eyes. I can't believe I'm standing here, crying over somebody who never even wanted me to begin with. Who am I compared to fuckin' Cody Weston?

Jo turned around dejectedly, walking back to her room with Rick.

Blair laughed and clapped her hands with delight as she watched Cody jump up and down on her bed with a towel tied around his neck like a cape.

"Why, it's faster than a speeding GTO, able to leap tall blonde babes in a single bound…"

Cody then leapt from the bed onto the floor at his feet, standing proudly in front of Blair. He then grabbed her hands and brought her into a standing position and wrapped his arms around her waist. Blair wrapped her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair.

"Thank ya, thank ya very much,"Cody said, deepening his voice, doing his best Elvis impression.

Blair cracked up laughing. He really is the greatest man alive, she thought happily. Out of all the men she ever dated, Blair couldn't think of one who made her laugh like Cody could. However, there was something about him that gave Blair pause.

Cody then began sniffing Blair's neck like a dog, causing her to giggle.

"Cody, stop, stop!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

She tried to catch her breath. "Now…who are you?" She asked him. There was something she felt she needed to know about Cody. She realized then that as much as she liked him, she knew very little about him.

Cody continued sniffing Blair's neck. "Why, I am the Great and Powerful Oz!" He deadpanned.

"Cody! C'mon, tell me," Blair persisted, pouting. "I know you're not some schoolboy. Nobody ever tells me shit. Tell me."

She sat back down on the bed, waiting for a response from Cody.

Cody's eyes widened in surprise. "What makes you think that I'm not a schoolboy?" He asked, sitting next to her on the bed.

Blair gave him a look. "Oh, please, Cody. You've got that 'runaway' look all over you."

"Well, Blair, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm just a guy. A guy whose parole officer is probably throwing a hissy fit right about now."

Blair gasped in surprise. Parole? She thought in shock. Out of all the things she had been waiting for him to tell her, she never expected that.

"Wait, what?!" She asked, her eyes widening. "Parole officer? You mean…you're a criminal?"

Cody only shrugged. "Well, truthfully, I was but not anymore. Except for busting parole, Blair, I haven't done one wrong thing."

"Well, what did you do?" Blair asked curiously.

"I'm a robber," he told her.

Blair's mouth flew open. "A bank robber?" She questioned.

"Nah, I've never robbed no fucking bank," he said.

"Well, what, then?"

"Well…let's see…I robbed a gas station once. And I've robbed a few liquor stores and some convenience stores. That's about it."

The more Cody divulged about his crooked past, the more intrigued Blair became. She'd never met a real-life robber before. He was different from all the men she'd ever met ever.

"How?" Blair found herself asking him.

"Well, I was down on my luck and it just seemed like something I was good at so i_" Cody began.

Blair shook her head, cutting him off. "No, I mean how would you do it? Rob something, I mean. Do you just sneak in really fast or hide out until the store closes? Like how?"

"Well, sugar, that would be burglary. Burglary is for wusses. I've never been arrested for that. If you're gonna rob somebody, you have to go right up to 'em and just do it. Just take their money. Now that's robbery. Whole different ball game."

Blair's eyes lit up with excitement. "Tell me," she said eagerly, laying on the bed on her stomach and propping her head with her hand.

Cody couldn't believe he was telling somebody, let alone a prissy girl like Blair Warner, how to rob a store. Am I in the Twlilght Zone? He wondered.

"Well…first you gotta pick your place, obviously. Then I'd just sit back and watch it for awhile. You really gotta wait for just the right moment. That's something you have to know instinctively – that can't be taught. Then I'd just mosey on in and say…"

Cody made his thumb and pointer finger into a make-believe gun.

"'Now, alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's see who's gonna win a prize for keepin' their cool. Simon says everybody lie down on the floor. If nobody loses their head, then nobody loses their head. You sir…will you do the honors of emptying that cash into a paper bag and you'll have an amazing story to tell all your friends. Unless you want a tag on your toe. You decide.' Then I'd take the dough and split. Easy peasy."

"Well, gosh, you sure are gentlemanly when you do it," Blair remarked in awe.

Cody gave Blair a boyish grin, brushing his hand across Blair's cheek lightly. "Well, in my opinion, if done right, armed robbery doesn't have to be a totally unpleasant experience," he said.

"Wow…you're a real-life outlaw!" Blair said, her mouth hanging open.

"Well, I may be the outlaw but you're the one who just stole my heart," Cody proclaimed.

Blair let out a giggle. "You're smooth, boy, so smooth," she said.

"Don't I know it, babe," Cody remarked, crashing his lips upon Blair's in a deep kiss.

Rick had given up trying to communicate to Jo. When he saw her come back to their room, he noticed how pitiful and dejected she looked and he wondered if Blair had something to do with it. However, Jo stubbornly refused to admit to him that anything was wrong. So he gave up and went to bed.

When Jo was sure he was asleep, she went to get herself ready for bed. She put on one of her raggy old nightshirts and walked over to her purse. She pulled out one of the bottles of Southern Comfort Blair had given her. She sat down in a chair and glumly stared out the window.

What did I do to deserve this? She thought, tears spilling from her eyes. Stuck with a man I don't love, in love with a woman who doesn't and never wanted me and to top it off, we're both fleeing from the fuckin' law!

She took a drink from the bottle, gulping down as much of the whiskey as she could.

If I get drunk enough, I can stop myself from getting so emotional about everything. Emotions suck.