Jess walked into the kitchen at Rose's, the aroma of her cooking wafting through the entire house. She kissed Rose on the cheek before looking down at the stove in front of her as she leaned against the counter.
"Geez Rose, I don't eat that much," Jess joked, looking down at the half dozen pots and pans Rose had going. Rose smiled at her.
"Well I'm not used to cooking for two. I didn't really know how much to make," she responded. Jess bit her lip, her insecurities making her wonder if this was her aunt hinting that it's about time Jess found her own place.
"I'm gonna start looking for apartments on my next day off," Jess said in case Rose needed reassurances, "It's just taking longer than I expected." Rose frowned, looking back at her.
"No, that's not what I meant, baby girl," she said, "I love cooking for two, and you better still come over for dinner even after getting this apartment you're so determined to get." Jess smiled at her, slightly relieved, as she helped Rose load two plates full of food and walked it over to the table.
"So, have you heard from Daisy at all?" Jess asked hesitatingly as she ran her fork distractedly through her mashed potatoes. Rose shook her head, looking questioningly at Jess.
"Not since the last time you did," she responded. Jess frowned, staring down at her plate.
"I feel really guilty about that," Jess admitted, "About what I said to her."
"Why? It was all true," Rose told her firmly.
"Yeah, well I didn't think it would make her drop off the face of the earth for three years," Jess replied.
"My sister made her choices and they were bad ones," Rose told her, "There's no reason you should have grown up in foster care and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive her for that. She made her bed, she can lie in it for a while."
"Well Daisy thought I was going to grow up with a family," Jess reminded her, "She didn't know they would… you know…die." Rose frowned, shaking her head.
"We're your family, Jess," she told her, "I'm your family. You should never have been given to strangers in the first place. I would have taken you if Daisy couldn't be a mother. She knew that. That's why she kept you this big secret."
Jess shrugged, nodding to appease her aunt. She didn't like to think about it much – mourning the life she could have had with her aunt instead of in the system never did her any good.
"Well, have you made any friends since you been here?" Rose asked in a brazenly obvious ploy to change the subject. Jess nodded, welcoming the change.
"I've gone out for drinks a couple times with a girl I work with, Lux Morrow," Jess said, "I really like her. And there's some girls at work that I get along with pretty well." Rose smiled, nodding.
"Good," Rose replied, "That's good. You need to get out more. Young, pretty girl like you – shame to keep you hidden away here all the time." Jess smiled.
"Well I'm definitely happier here than I ever was in Santa Barbara," Jess told her. Rose smiled, nodding.
"Well I'm glad you're happy," she said, "You coulda been this happy 8 years ago if you'd just come to Charming when I first asked you to," she added teasingly. Jess grinned.
"Yes, you were right," Jess said, rolling her eyes.
"Ah yes, my favorite words," Rose replied grinning, "You were right."
SOASOASOASOASOA
Saturday nights were always Cara Cara's busiest and Jess was running late. She flew through the front doors, rushing to the back to put her purse up and get her section assignment. She quickly scanned the list, but after going over it several times she was sure her name wasn't on it. Frowning, she double checked the schedule to make sure she was supposed to work tonight, before shrugging at the mistake and heading towards Luann's office to figure out where she wanted her.
"Jess, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Luann called as she ran up to her. Jess nodded apologetically.
"I know, I'm sorry I'm late," she said. Luann shook her head dismissively.
"Oh don't worry about it. I've got a special job for you tonight," she told her, causing Jess to raise her eyebrows in surprise. When the owner of a strip club tells you she's got a special job, it tends to induce a slight panic attack.
"The Sons are coming in tonight," Luann said, "I need you to work the table. You're the best waitress we've got tonight." Jess was relieved that was all it was but still hesitated. She didn't really want to spend her night working only one table but she also didn't want to argue with Luann who, so far, had been nothing but amazing towards her.
"Trust me," Luann said, picking up on Jess's hesitation, "You will make more money working that one table than you would an entire section and, besides, they requested you."
"What? Why me?" she asked quickly.
"Well Lux requested you on their behalf," Luann corrected and Jess frowned.
"Why doesn't Lux just wait on them?" Jess asked, hoping the question came across as confusion and not insubordination.
"Lux tries not to work on nights they come in. Her dad and brother think it's weird to be here when she's working, even if she's not a dancer," Luann explained. Jess finally nodded, feeling the butterflies form at confirmation that Jax would be a part of the party.
"Okay, then," she finally said, walking towards the table as she waited for the Sons to get there.
It was hard not to notice them walk in – a herd of burley looking men, all wearing the same leather vest. She noticed people in the club walking up to greet them as if royalty had just walked in.
"Or the mob," Jess said out loud, finding it strange for people to react like that towards a club. Hadn't Lux told her that all they do is sit around and talk about motorcycles? The group finally made their way to the table and sat down as Jess took a deep breath, preparing to walk over to them. She suddenly found them extremely intimidating. She shook it off, reminding herself she was just their waitress and they were just a table. She'd been doing this for 8 years. It was nothing different.
"Hi, I'm Jess," she told them as she approached their table and they all turned to look at her. She felt her face flush and tried as hard as she could not to make eye contact with Jax, knowing if she did she would stutter over every word she was about to say.
"So what can I get you guys to drink?" she asked, starting with an older man leaning back in his chair, puffing on a cigar. He had the exact same eyes as Lux and Jess knew right away this had to be her father, Clay.
"Just a whiskey," he said. Jess nodded, going around the table, beaming shyly despite herself when she got to Jax. He ordered a beer, giving her a wink and she looked away quickly, afraid of making a complete fool of herself. She turned to the next guy at the table – a younger guy with a mohawk and tattoos on either side of his head. He glared at her pensively, stroking his chin.
"A'ight, I want a whiskey," he said. Jess nodded, about to turn to the next person when it seemed that he wasn't finished, "And I want a little tequila mixed in. With some grenadine. And lemon juice. And a splash of V8." Jess stared at him, tilting her head.
"Are… are you sure?" she asked, knowing that combination would be terrible. Rob the bartender was going to kill her. The mohawk nodded.
"Yeah, and throw a cherry on it," he said. Jess raised her eyebrows but shrugged, pulling a note pad from her back pocket to jot his requests down before turning to the next son. He seemed to be slightly younger than The Mohawk, but was the largest at the table.
"I'll get a shot of tequila," he said, "And two Budweisers. And a guiness. 4 shots of vodka. And…. A frozen margarita." Jess raised her eyebrows, writing it down.
"You know I will be back," she said jokingly, grinning at him, but he just stared stonily back at her.
"I want it all now," he replied. She bit her lip, nodding as she turned to the next.
"Alright I want a Black and Tan. But instead of the ale, I want whiskey," the next guy said in a strong Scottish accent. There were several snickers from around the table and Jess stared at him for several moments, trying to figure out if he was joking or if maybe she had misheard due to his accent.
"You want a Black and Tan and a whiskey?" Jess asked hopefully, but The Scot shook his head.
"No, I want the Black and Tan made with whiskey," he said.
"I'm pretty sure whiskey won't layer the right way…" Jess said, her voice trailing off.
"Did I ask your opinion!?" he shouted at her. Jess shook her head, her eyes widening as she took a step back.
"Nope, okay. One guiness and a whiskey then," Jess mumbled, scrawling it on the pad, sighing as she looked at the last guy at the table – this one older with dark curly hair and mischievous blue eyes. He glanced up at her.
"Alright, I want an ice cold Budweiser," he said and Jess sighed with relief at the simple order, scrawling it down, "BUT," he continued and Jess stared back at him, wondering what weird request he could possibly have for her, "I want it in a hot glass." Jess raised her eyebrows but wrote it down.
"Oookay," she muttered, hurrying off to bring the orders to the bar. Rob the bartender glanced down at the ticket she handed over, shaking his head.
"You've got to be shitting me," he said, "There's seriously a person out there who wants whiskey with tequila, grenadine, lemon juice, and V8?" Jess nodded, shrugging.
"And don't forget the cherry," she said as she stepped behind the bar to warm a glass up for the curly haired Son.
Rob begrudgingly made the drinks and Jess took out a Budweiser, slowly pouring it into the hot glass and grimacing as she knew it was warming up the beer. She sighed, picking up the tray with all of their drinks and brought it carefully over to the table. She set them all down in front of them, waiting to see if they needed anything else.
The Mohawk took one sip of his drink before spitting it back into the glass, staring back at her.
"This is disgusting!" he yelled, holding the glass out to her. 'Yeah, of course it is,' Jess thought to herself, struggling not to roll her eyes as she took the glass back, attempting to look apologetic.
"Yeah, and I ordered 4 Budweisers and 2 vodka shots," the larger one next to The Mohawk said, "And you brought me 2 Buds and 4 vodkas."
"Sorry about that," Jess said, knowing he was wrong, "I'll get you two more Buds. You can keep the vodkas on the house."
"My beer's hot," the curly haired Son said but before Jess could respond, the Scot spoke up.
"And this is not a Black and Tan," he said, pushing the glass towards hers. This time, Jess couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Yes, your beer's hot because it's in a hot glass," she said to Curly before turning to The Scot, "And that's not a Black and Tan because you ordered a Guiness and Whiskey!" All 4 of them broke out laughing, obviously not being able to keep up the charade anymore, as The Mohawk shot her a grin, shrugging.
"We were just fucking with you," he said and Jess couldn't help smiling back at his goofy grin, her shoulders sagging as the tension left them.
"Well thank God for that," Jess responded, causing them all to laugh once more. They each ordered a beer and Jess, shaking her head, walked off to grab it.
"Behave, boys," she said as she set their beers on the table in front of them. Curly grinned at her, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"I've been bad," he said, "You might have to spank me." Jess smiled.
"Oh, don't tempt me," she said. The Scot grinned, shaking his head.
"Jesus, Tig, stop before you scar the girl for life," he said jokingly.
Jess finally chanced a glance across the table at Jax, who she had been trying to ignore for fear of melting, and found him staring back at her. Well, at her tits, but it was close enough. She smiled at him and he beckoned her over with his fingers. She felt her heart stop momentarily in her chest as she walked around the table towards him and he pulled her on his lap. She laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder to keep her balance.
"I was lonely," he said, smirking at her. She grinned, licking her lips subconsciously as she looked down at him.
"Well I'm very sorry about that," she said, "But I do have to work." He shook his head, running his hand along her waist, causing goose bumps to run all over her body.
"You are working," he told her, "Keeping me company is part of the job." She laughed nervously, shaking her head.
"I don't know, Luann might disagree with you there if she saw me," she told him.
"Well you know, the Sons own part of the club, so technically, I'm your boss," Jax told her, winking and causing Jess's heart to beat a little faster.
"Well in that case," she said, "I shouldn't be in such a compromising position with my boss." He grinned.
"Nah, we encourage that kind of behavior around here," he said lowly in her ear. Jess briefly thought she might throw herself at him right then and there until Lux's dad, sitting next to them, turned to Jess.
"I need another whiskey," he said and Jess immediately hopped off of Jax's lap, running off to get his order, relieved to be given an out because she did not have enough willpower to get off his lap herself.
Jax turned to look at Clay, glaring.
"Just because Gemma'd have your balls if you got any pussy around here doesn't mean I can't," he growled. Clay shrugged.
"I'm not keeping you," he replied and Jax rolled his eyes.
Lux bounded up to Jess as she set the glass down in front of Clay, smiling broadly at her. Jess turned to look at her in surprise, thanking God she hadn't come in two minutes prior when Jess had been making herself cozy on her brother's lap.
"I thought you weren't working tonight," Jess said. Lux shook her head.
"No I'm not. I just came up to have a drink with you," she replied. Jess glanced back at the table.
"I'm working," she reminded her. Lux rolled her eyes, grabbing her hand and turning to her dad.
"Jess is going to have a drink with me so don't bother her for a while," she said. Clay raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, ma'am," he said sarcastically and Lux grinned. Jess shook her head, wondering what it must have been like for Lux, growing up around guys like this.
"So how's it going?" Lux asked as they took a seat at the bar as Rob the bartender set down a couple of beers for them.
"It's fine," she said honestly, "A few of them gave me ridiculous orders to screw with me, but I caught on. Eventually." Lux rolled her eyes.
"Lame," she said, "That's the best they could come up with?" Jess laughed.
"What, did you put 'em up to it?" she asked. Lux shrugged.
"I mighta told 'em to fuck with you. And they failed," she said, looking up at the stage where Ima and another girl were doing a double set, "I should've known they wouldn't be able to come up with any good ideas with tits flying around." Jess laughed.
"That must be it," she replied.
"They been behaving other than that?" Lux asked. Jess nodded.
"Sure," she said, glancing back at the table, "It doesn't hurt that some of them are really hot."
"Getting a little hot and bothered there?" Lux asked, grinning as she wagged her eyebrows suggestively. Jess laughed, shrugging noncommittally.
"So which one is it?" Lux asked, leaning forward excitedly. Jess laughed nervously, not really wanting to tell her that all she wanted to do was rip her brother's clothes off. She and Lux weren't quite there yet, so she just shrugged again. Lux rolled her eyes.
"Come on, which one?" Lux said, "As long as it's not Tig," she added quickly, "Because…. He's freaky." Jess raised her eyebrows.
"Really?" she said doubtfully, "Tig's the only one you'd have a problem with?" Lux shrugged.
"Well, not my dad obviously, because Gemma would end you," Lux said, "and not Piney because… ew. And he's not even here. And not Bobby. Unless, you know, that's your thing. Then more power to you. And him, for that matter." Jess laughed, a little more than slightly relieved that Jax wasn't on that list.
"I can talk to him for you if you want," Lux said.
"Talk to who?" Jess asked quickly, afraid she'd said something she was thinking about Jax out loud.
"Whichever one you want," Lux responded. Jess laughed.
"Well thanks, but I really don't need you pimping me out," she responded.
"Well technically," Lux said, her face stone straight, "I'd be pimping them out… Them's my hoes." Jess burst out laughing and Lux's face broke into a grin.
"You know I'm not going to stop asking until you tell me," Lux said as Jess glanced back at the Sons' table, inadvertently catching Jax's eye. He grinned a complete panty-dropping grin at her and she blushed, turning back to Lux, who looked back and forth between the two.
"Oh my God, it's Jax isn't it?" she asked, "I should've known. Everyone wants my brother. I just don't see it, but that might come from growing up watching him try to light his farts on fire." Jess crinkled her nose in disgust.
"Come to think of it, that was last week," Lux added and Jess laughed, shaking her head.
"Would that… you know… would it bother you?" Jess asked nervously. Lux shook her head.
"Nah, I don't care what he does, s'long as it's not Ima," Lux said, "And just so long as you know he's mostly a 'hit it and quit it' type guy. Don't go getting any romantic fantasies going on." Jess laughed.
"Trust me, my fantasies about him are not even slightly romantic," Jess said and Lux laughed.
"Okay, good. Well I better get going. We should get together tomorrow since we're both off," Lux said. Jess nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, just give me a call," she told her. She watched Lux walk away before heading back to the Son's table, where Jax promptly pulled her onto his lap again.
"Miss me?" he asked, smirking that same cocky, sexy smirk. Jess grinned, nodding.
'Jessica Tyler,' she thought to herself, 'You are so fucked. There's no possible way you could turn this one down.'
Author's Note: Thank you so so much to all who reviewed our last chapter! We really appreciate hearing what you guys think and it really makes us smile :)
We've decided that on top of posting our chapter every Sunday (which we will continue to do no matter what), We'll also post an additional chapter on Wednesday if we get a good response! We don't have any kind of set numbers of reviews/alerts in our mind, but it really motivates us to write more when we hear that people are liking the story, thus giving us more material that makes us feel comfortable posting more often and still have chapters backed up to make sure we can post regularly.
We of course always like constructive feedback as well, as it helps make our writing better! So just let us know what you thought! We really enjoy hearing what you think :)