Walk Away from the Son
Parker Sister Saga continues – Season 2 of SoA
Chapter 4- Careless Whispers
By BG and Reaper
~ Just want to say THANKS for the wonderful, detail reviews you all have given us. It is very humbling! And a big thanks goes out to Prpldphn for her help in making Professor Connor come to life.
Half Sack's Initiative
With the majority of the work at the salon complete, Jaci had finally found time to work on her ever growing pile of ironing. I really need to stop buying clothes that require this shit. She'd think with a sigh, place the garment on the board and pick up the iron. The only things that kept her relatively sane while doing the chore were the glass of wine sitting on the end of the ironing board and the music cranking out of her iPod via her TV's surround sound system.
She was rocking out to Kings of Leon when the door bell rang once and then again. She sat the iron in its cradle, hit the pause button on her iPod and grabbed her wine glass. This better not be the Jehovahs. She opened the front door and found herself face to face with Half Sack. "Hey Kipp." Jaci said with a smile, "Fancy finding you at my door."
"Hey, J. Sorry to, you know, stop by without calling or something but I really need some help and you're like the only one who'd understand."
Jaci stepped aside and let the Prospect into the house. Her eyes quickly scanned the yard and street out of habit but not knowing what kind of help the MC's Prospect needed, she wanted to be sure there wasn't trouble nipping at his heels.
"Is your sister and Juice here?" He asked. "I, um, didn't see her car or his bike."
Jaci eyed him and wondered what was in the manila envelope he was carrying but didn't ask. "No…they're somewhere doing stuff I am probably better off not knowing about. Just me and the ironing pile here. You want to tell me what is going on because you're honestly acting a little jumpy."
"Well…you know 3 weeks ago, at um Bobby's Welcome Home party… when I mentioned wanting to go back to school?" She nodded as he continued, "Well, I was serious and you were the only one who didn't razz me. I looked into it… and I'm gonna do it."
Jaci smiled with surprise. "Wow…that is great, Kipp. It takes a lot of nerve to try something new. I am really proud of you!"
A huge smile bloomed across his face. "Thanks, J. And that is what I need help with… I have all this um, paper work to do and since the government is involved with the GI Bill it's complicated. So I was wondering… or hoping you might help me fill 'em out."
Inwardly Jaci was doing cartwheels. She was very PRO- Higher Education and all about bettering one's self. 'Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' was one of her Daddy's favored expressions. Helping with paperwork was totally up her alley. She smiled brightly at Half Sack. "Absolutely, I'm glad to help."
He grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks. There is so much red tape with this." He opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of papers and thin catalogs about 6 inches high. "Thanks a lot."
She eyed the pile, "Um, Kipp, when do you need this done by?"
"Well since classes have already started for Spring…" He held up his thumb and forefinger a smidge apart. "I have a tiny small little window."
'You do realize all those words mean the same thing, right?' She asked with a smirk.
He flashed her a huge, pleading grin and she groaned.
XXX
PORN PERKS
Juice kicked the door of his apartment closed with his boot. In his hands he balanced two 6-packs of beer and a large Tupperware container and under his arm he had tucked a non-descript brown bag. "Vix! Where you at, babe?" he called out.
"Bedroom!"
He set the container and beer on his coffee table and then walked around the wall of decorative screens that partitioned off the "bedroom" from the rest of his place. He found her laying on his bed typing on her laptop. "Still working on your paper?"
"Mmm hmm." She replied "but I am seriously ready for a break." She saved her work, closed it down and sat the computer on the bedside table. She turned around in time to see him toss something at her and instinctively caught it. "What have we got here?" She asked while eyeing the package.
"Perks of the new SAMCRO business venture." He said with a grin.
She unrolled the top of the bag and dumped the contents into her lap – 3 DVDs. She eyed them: Pride and Pervertedness… Hot for Teacher 12… Missionary, Accomplished. She glanced at Juice. "SAMCRO has entered the Porn industry?"
"Sorta helpin' a friend." He replied and plopped down on the bed next to her.
"Really? And how helpful are you being?"
"Not as helpful as you are hinting at." He grinned. "We're just protecting the assets."
She smirked "And how sweet are those ass-ets?"
"Not as nice as this one." He smartly replied as he slapped her ass and pulled her in for a kiss. "Pick one and we'll watch it with dinner. Gram sent up pot roast."
Vix cracked up, "Porn and Pot Roast?" Juice grinned and nodding happily.
XXX
The next day…
Jaci's cellphone rang in her cup holder and she glanced at the caller id before answering…Gemma. "Hello?"
"And how is my favorite Parker sister doing this afternoon?" Gemma asked brightly.
Jaci frowned. "Uh oh…blatant flattery, what do you need?"
"Well…Vix said to holler if I needed anything, so I am hollering. Where are you?"
"On my way to my second full time job of helping Vix with the salon. We're setting up the office today. Everything else is finished." Jaci explained.
"That's good. Can you swing by the garage on your way home today? I got a third full time job I need you to do."
Inwardly Jaci groaned. THREE jobs? I got nothing but time. Pile it on! Outwardly she just automatically answered. "Yeah sure." She knew no one was allowed to tell Gemma no. A second later though she thought back to Tig's explicit threats about staying clear of him and scrambled to try and work around her new restrictions. "Um, wait…I can't. I mean… it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Can you just meet me at the salon?"
Gemma frowned at the phone. "You avoiding this place because of Tig?"
"Uh…yeah, pretty much." Jaci drummed her fingers on her steering wheel as she drove. How do I put this diplomatically? "We sort of decided to steer clear of each other… like really clear. So dropping by his workplace would be a deal breaker." If any other guy had made those threats against her, she would have broken the rules without a second thought and told the guy to kiss her ass but this was Tig. She didn't have a clue how he would react but had a sneaking suspicion she didn't want to test him.
"You two talked?" Gemma asked. "When?"
Jaci let out a nervous laugh and clarified. "More like yelled…a while back."
"Hmmph." Gemma snorted. She didn't press for any further information but she could tell Jaci was leaving out a lot of detail. "Ok, fine. I'll bring the job to you. See you in a bit."
Gemma hung up the phone and gathered the stack of papers to take to Jaci. She took the garage exit from the office. Luckily Tig was standing close by and she didn't have to yell. She smirked at Tig, "How long you had this self created restraining order against Jaci?'
He smirked back proudly. "Month."
Gemma glared. "Cute. How's that working out for you?'
Tig smiled ruefully, "Like a charm."
Gemma smirked again, "Well it's a pain in my ass."
Clay walked over from across the garage. "The fuck do you care who he's seeing or not seeing?"
"I care when I got to spend time meetin' her half-way across town cause she's been effectively banned from the premises."
"Oh what else you got to do with your time?" Clay asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Lots." Gemma quipped. "So much in fact you shouldn't be surprised if I'm spending less and less of it with you."
Clay threw his arms up dramatically. "Well there's news worthy of the evening broadcast. Someone call up the local channel!"
"Fuck you!" Gemma hissed.
"Hmph, you'd better watch it…apparently you can't fit that into your precious schedule." Clay shot back as his wife.
Her cell phone rang a second later. It was Luann throwing a fit about Bobby's new administrative role at Cara Cara. Gemma stalked off to her SUV ignoring Clay's rants to stay put. She roared out of the TM parking lot. Clay took a moment to yell at Chibs and Juice as they returned from Cara Cara bodyguard duty and then took off after Gemma on his bike.
Tig watched the drama unfold and sighed. "I hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight." He headed toward his bike.
Chibs yelled in his direction, "Hey! Where you goin'?"
"To protect Clay." Tig replied smartly.
XXX
Food, Flirting, & Favors
A few hours later…
Jaci shook her head as she watched her sister spin around in the leather desk chair. "Weeeee!" Vix yelled for effect and then stopped abruptly. "Ok, whoa… the room is spinning very fast. Thank you for letting me splurge on the big, comfy, spinning one."
"Yeah well coming from someone who spends infinite amounts of time seated in office chairs… it is COMFORT over PRICE, baby." Jaci said as she fiddled with the label maker. "Ok…. so I've labeled all the filing drawers for you. And even took the liberty of labeling the folders in each drawer." She opened a random drawer to show off her handiwork.
Vix peered inside at the extremely neat and apparently color coded drawer. "Um, J… does this rainbow of colors mean something?"
"Did you not read my memo?" Jaci asked in all seriousness.
"You sent me a memo?" Vix asked in disbelief.
Jaci couldn't help but cracking up. "No… that was a joke. And the colors mean nothing. The NAMES on the folders MEAN EVERYTHING. I just figured you'd be more apt to actually file something if you got to look at pretty colors."
"What? I can't just toss everything in a file drawer called KEEPERS?" Vix asked with a devilish smile.
"Not if you want my fucking help you can't." Jaci said staring at her. "How are you doing in entering the vendor list into that new software Juice installed on the lap top?"
"Between my college learning and trying to wrap my head around this administrative shit… my brain is gonna explode with all this knowledge."
"Well brain splatter would match the paint in here. What color is this?" Juice asked from the doorway.
Vix spun around in her chair and smiled. "Hey baby! When'd you get here?"
"It's called Cherry Blossoms in the Snow, by the way." Jaci added while pointing towards the walls.
Juice nodded "Ah, this is the paint you had them mix to match your favorite nail polish…sweet."
"Move aside, move aside." Chibs hollered from somewhere out in the hall. Juice side stepped and the Scotsman entered the office. "This place is stellar… you should go into the remodeling business."
Both girls groaned and shouted, "NO!" but then laughed. They had saved a bundle doing things on their own and Vix was practically a wizard at procuring discounts from various vendors. And they knew the work was top notch because they'd done it themselves. Both were proud as hell of the outcome and just as tired.
Half Sack could be heard saying. "Coming through, hot food…cold drinks." He walked into the office, which was now filled to capacity, carrying a six pack of beer in each hand with three pizza boxes balanced precariously on top. He was proud not to have tripped coming up the stairs to the office.
"So when is the big day, Parker?" Chibs asked while nosing around.
"As soon as the damn code inspectors give me the green light." Vix replied with a sigh. "Know anyone with connections? This down time sucks; I could be open and making real money." She was still ever thankful for the little cash flow from the steady stream of loyal clients willing to have their hair done in Jaci's garage.
"This salon is nota SAMCRO venture remember, ladies?" Chibs reminded with a smile. "But we'll see what we can do." Juice shot him a surprised look and Chibs winked.
"Thank you… thank you … any thing you can do!" Vix exclaimed. "Oh my god that pizza smells awesome. I am famished."
"Well dig in." Kipp said with a grin. "Um, Juice got that Hakuna Matatapizza for you."
Vix cracked up. "Aloha Mahkana, you goof. Ha! Now I got that damn song from the Lion King in my head." She said while opening the box. "Yummy!" She glanced over at Juice. "Thanks, baby!" He just smiled in return.
Chibs glanced down at the pizza. "What the bloody hell is on it?"
"Sauce, mozzarella cheese, Canadian bacon, pineapple and mandarin oranges." Vix informed. "It sounds gross but it is sooo good."
"No it's not, it is God awful, don't let her fool ya. Hey V, I think there are some plates and stuff in the supply room." Jaci nodded towards the hall. "What's on the other pies?" She asked the Prospect.
"Veggie Deluxe for you and me and the other is Meat Lovers." Kip replied and then held up a six pack. "And we got ya Woodchucks."
Jaci grinned and gave a fist pound to Half Sack for buying her favorite beverage. "My man!"
Vix headed out to grab plates and utensils and gave Juice a quick kiss as she passed by.
XXX
The group lounged about eating and drinking and talking. About halfway through, Vix received a call telling her that her neon sign was ready and she needed to come give the final approval and set up delivery and installation. She and Juice finished their food and headed off to Stockton Signs and Banners.
Jaci, Chibs and Kipp polished off the rest of their meal and headed downstairs. Jaci put her extra Woodchucks in the fridge in the break room and bagged up all the trash from dinner to haul it outside to the dumpster, didn't need the salon smelling like greasy pizza.
Kipp jumped at the chance to carry the trash outside for her while Chibs messed around with the sound system. When he and Jaci were alone outside, he said, "Hey…one more thing about my school stuff. I have to have a résumé`."
"For school?" Jaci asked with a frown.
Kipp shrugged. "I know…I don't get it either but I have to have it and I've never done one before. I'd figured you'd be the expert." Kipp winced. "And I need it tomorrow."
"Well of COUSE you do!" Jaci started to try and rack her brain on how to pull off this latest favor. "Ok, I think I have all your dates of service and stuff from all the crap we filled out last night. Go home and email me everywhere you've worked and what all you've done with dates and shit and I will see what I can do."
"You're the best, J. I'll go do all that right now." Kipp said with a smile. He ran to the back door of the salon and hollered at Chibs. "Hey, I'm gonna take off. You need me for anything? You ready to go?"
"Nope, I'm gonna TOUR the facilities here; see what all the damn fuss is about." Chibs yelled back. He waved to the Prospect. 'But go on…get out of here. See ya tomorrow, Prospect."
Jaci walked back inside and grabbed the bottle of wine she had opened earlier out of the fridge; better just to finish it off tonight rather than have it start to go bad. She found Chibs spinning slowly in a salon chair, holding a bottle of beer and looking at the floor. "Nice tile job."
She laughed. "Oh THIS is actually original, what we did is upstairs. But let me just say that laying tile is a total bitch, man."
Chibs chuckled and nodded. "Ay, I am better at layin' pipe myself." Jaci grinned at the sexual reference and shook her head; he waggled his eyebrows at her. "So what is left to do 'round here? Looks pretty damn good to me."
"Not much… just really waiting on the inspectors. As soon as they say go, we can open for business." Jaci took a swig of wine directly from the bottle. Chibs gave her an odd look and she explained. "I just opened this before you guys got here. Don't want it to go bad overnight."
Chibs wasn't sure if he found the sight of Jaci swigging wine straight from the bottle sort of hot or sort of desperate. "Good idea to be drunk and working with power tools and whatnot?"
Jaci shrugged and answered honestly, "I do everything else sorta half lit these days, why should this be any different?" She took another pull from the bottle and then tilted it toward him.
"No argument there." He took a drink and nodded. "That's pretty damn good."
"Should be; its $18 a bottle." She replied as she took the bottle back.
He laughed, "Ooh fancy drunk are ya?"
She smirked and sat down in the nearest salon chair. She pointed out all the changes they had made in the main salon room as they passed the bottle of wine back and forth occasionally. The wine mixed the Woodchucks she had drank and she had a good buzz going.
Chibs suddenly asked. "How the fuck did you get those tanning beds upstairs?"
Jaci smirked, "Show some cleavage, flirt a little bit...you wouldn't believe what a couple of delivery guys will do for you." She sighed, "Sometimes you just gotta shake what your mama gave ya."
"Ay, to be a fly on the wall during that." Chibs mused. "Flies do get laid don't they?"
"I have no idea Chibs...but they certainly get swatted." She replied playfully.
"I'm not opposed to rough stuff."
"I bet you aren't." Jaci quipped and took another drink.
"So you ready to head home?" Chibs asked.
"Not really. Vix and Juice will probably head to our place after messing with the sign. I think she's homework free tonight so that means they'll mess around and I really don't want to hear it.
Chibs laughed. "Ay, they're like a gaggle of rabbits, fuckin' all the time eh?"
"I think gaggles are for geese."
"Oh."
"At least I'm pretty sure... but yeah they are, well when they're not fighting - which they seem to do a lot lately. If they aren't banging doors, they're banging each other, either way gives me a headache and drives me insane. Having to listen to that shit… it's goddamn unfair." Jaci complained.
It took a moment for her comment to dawn on him. "Ooooh...so since you and Tigger split up...you haven't...there hasn't been anybody...?" Jaci shook her head. He teased her. "But what about that handsome college boy from the bar a while back? Should ring him up; I'm sure he'd love to help you out."
"No way in hell." Jaci replied.
He raised his eyebrows and grinned, "Well ya know...you could always..." He made a vibrating noise.
She laughed. "Ah, no...I'm not a do it yourself kinda girl"
He leaned his head back on the chair and looked at the ceiling as he blew out a breath. "Two months...geez, I think I'd die if I went that long without getting laid."
She laughed and played along with his unfounded typical male paranoia. "Oh you wouldn't die…your dick might shrivel up and fall off…but you wouldn't DIE."
Chibs continued to lounge in the chair and thought about the woman sitting across from him. He took a pull from his beer and then smiled at her. "Well…I'll be completely honest with ya, luv. I'd be more than happy to end that little dry spell of yours…if it weren't for your past history with a certain brother of mine. Cause if word of our little tumble in the hay got back to said certain brother…he'd remove my dick with a blunt object."
Jaci gave a sly smile at Chibs' offer and flirted back. "You're assuming I'd say yes to you."
"Ay…I can be very convincin'…you'd say yes, trust me. Matter of fact you'd probably scream it." Chibs replied with a wink.
XXX
Chibs took off a half an hour later when the wine bottle was empty. Jaci felt a bit weird about talking so candidly with him but she had a feeling he wouldn't go running and telling Tig anything that she had said. Tig wouldn't give a shit anyway. It was clear he was a thousand percent over her. She grabbed her car keys and headed for the back door, only to hear a knock at the front door. She turned and walked back in that direction and saw Gemma on the other side of the glass door. Shit…third job, totally forgot about her.
Jaci unlocked the door and let Gemma inside. "It's late. Did you get a little distracted on your way over?"
"Something like that." Gemma replied but didn't share the drama about the screaming match she had gotten into with Clay at Cara Cara. "I can't stay long…just wanted to give you this." Gemma thrust a manila envelope thick with papers at her.
"I'm beginning to hate these things. Everything someone hands me one, it means a shit ton of work for me." Jaci replied.
"Well you won't be disappointed then. Need you to do the taxes for the guys in the Club. That's all of their W2s and any info I thought you might need. If you're missing anything, just call the guy and grill them."
Jaci winced as she thumbed through the papers. "Don't you have someone that does this already?"
Gemma smiled. "Well of course…but we had to PAY him. Why do that when we could just put that precious Accounting degree of yours to work for FREE?" Gemma patted Jaci on the shoulder. "The guys are getting a little antsy for their refunds, so you might want to jump on this."
"Will do." Jaci planted a big fake smile on her face as Gemma breezed out of the salon. Filing income taxes wasn't actually a hard task but it damn sure was a time consuming one, especially when she would be doing it for at least eight people. She thought of all the drama, Piney would have medical bills; Op would have kids and a dead wife to deal with…damnit. She pursed her lips as she wondered if she could throw enough flags on Tig's return to force an IRS audit.
XXX
Naked résumés are better
Jaci yawned as her alarm rang the next morning. She laid in bed, still tired from staying up late and trying to organize her newfound tax task. She couldn't decide if Gemma was trying to keep her close by giving her an odd task or if she was just being used by the Club as slave labor. The truth was probably a little of both. Jaci started to think about what she had to do at her REAL job that day; that job that actually paid the bills. Something was bothering her, there was something she was forgetting but she just couldn't put her finger on…
"HOLY SHIT!" Jaci exclaimed. "KIPP!" She threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. She had totally forgotten about working on his résumé the night before. "Shit, shit shit!" She ran down the hall to the kitchen table and scooped up the notes that she and Kipp had scribbled for his other paperwork. She ran back down the hall and pounded on Vix's door. No answer. She opened the door and found the room empty. Her sister must have stayed the night at Juice's place which sucked because Jaci was really hoping to have Vix type the résumé while she dictated. Résumés were a giant pain in the ass; she would rather do TEN tax returns than just one résumé due to the level of concentration and wordsmithing that had to be done.
"Okay okay. I can do this." Jaci muttered. She got her laptop up and running on top of her bed and checked her email. Thankfully Kipp had come through and actually sent her a list of past jobs and details. She pulled up a résumé template and typed in his basic info and then rushed to take a shower.
Once she was out of the shower, the real whirlwind of activity began and it was a good thing she was home alone because she spent the next half hour rushing around completely naked. She brushed her teeth and put on her makeup while trying to think of ways to make military combat experience translate into viable work experience and ways to make repo-ing cars and pretty much being a go-fer bitch at Teller Morrow sound exciting and important. She typed a section and then ran to blow dry her hair and cursed herself for letting it to grow long, she would have happily traded for Vix's short hair that morning just to curb the prep time.
She pretty much finished the résumé after twisting Kipp's involvement with the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club into sounding like community involvment. She then tried to remember just where in the hell she might have hid fancy résumé paper in her house as she flat ironed her hair. Her lack of concentration on the task at hand resulted in a scorched fingertip but there was no time to whine. She suddenly remembered seeing a certain box in the garage so she literally dropped the flat iron and ran for the garage.
Jaci bent over and rummaged through a storage locker with her naked ass in the air and prayed that her sister didn't pick this moment to pull up and use her garage door opener. She found the paper she needed and jogged back inside to her bedroom. The printer for the house was actually in the spare bedroom. Jaci grabbed her laptop and ran to that room, hooking up to the printer with a USB cord and then had to JUMP over the cord when she realized she had forgotten the paper back in her bedroom. She took a quick peak at the clock and let out a squeak of panic. "Hurry hurry hurry!"
She hit print for a rough draft copy of the résumé and sprinted back to her room to get dressed. Of course today was the day she couldn't find one of her black shoes so she ending up stripping out of the entire outfit and switched clothes so she could wear brown shoes instead. She ran down the hall to proofread the résumé and quickly fixed a few mistakes and formatting problems. Finally happy, she printed a few copies and shoved them in a file folder.
She slammed her laptop closed, headed out of the room and… promptly tripped over the printer cord that was stretched out in front of her. She hit the carpet floor and cursed the day she didn't buy a wireless enabled printer. Jaci scrambled to her feet while letting loose a cursing tirade that would have made a sailor blush and rushed around to grab a few things before heading out the door.
She took one quick last look in the mirror. Fine, good to go…no… wait a second. There was something off about her appearance. It took a moment but she finally realized the problem. Oh fuck me! She hadn't applied eye makeup to both eyes. One eye was beautiful, complete with shadow, liner and mascara, the other eye…not so much. "Goddamnit!" She exclaimed a loud and skirted back to her bathroom to finish her face.
Jaci jumped in her car a few moments later and roared toward Teller Morrow without thinking. She came to her senses down the street and quickly called Half Sack. She verified that he was at work already and asked if Tig was there yet.
Half Sack seemed confused. "He's not here. Why?"
Jaci tried to explain as she sped down the road. "'He and I can't be in the same place at the same time...it causes problems."
"Oh…I'm sorry. Wait…what kind of problems? You guys were ok at Bobby's party…"
"No, there's big problems now…like crossing the beams in Ghostbusters." Jaci warned.
"Oooooh, ok." The Prospect mused. "Well he doesn't usually get here till like 8:15."
Jaci thought for a moment and decided, Fuck it. She was helping a damn member of the Club. If Tig wanted to get pissed and throw a fit, he could just do it and look stupid. "Cool. I'll be there in five. Be outside and ready to grab this shit."
XXX
Work at Teller Morrow had not really started yet and the guys that were there were just milling around. Jaci roared into the lot and parked her car but left it running and took off running toward Kipp, which was comical to watch since she was wearing heels.
Vix had followed Juice to work from his place and was hanging out with the guys for a few moments before she had to head off to school. "Morning, sis!" She yelled brightly.
Jaci scowled at her and shoved the folder of résumés toward Kipp. He grinned, "Dude! A folder, I didn't think of that!"
"Of course you didn't. You're welcome." Jaci smirked. "And take pride in the fact that your résumés were probably the only ones printed by a hot naked chick this morning."
Bobby raised his eyebrows at that statement and listened as Jaci gave the Prospect a thirty second run down of his résumé. "Here's your high school stuff, here's your military training, Iraq stuff and you're work stuff from here."
Half Sack's eyes were wide as he scanned the info. "Damn this is GOOD."
Bobby snatched the résumé from him and read it. He whistled. "Second only to my divorce settlement, this is the best bullshit I've ever read."
"Great, thanks!" Jaci took a tiny bow and then turned to head back to her car. "Late for work...gotta go!"
Half Sack yelled after her, "Thank you! Uh…you look nice today!' Jaci kept running but flipped him off for the hell of it.
Jax pulled into the parking lot on his bike just in time to see the handoff and Jaci running back to her car. She tossed a wave in his direction and he did the same with an amused smile on his face. Jax was still smiling as he walked over to Juice and Vix. He tossed a thumb in Jaci's direction. "She's gotten flightier, man... what's your sister up to lately?"
Vix grinned. "Nude résumé building." The expression on Jax's face was priceless. Vix grinned and asked, "Sorry you asked?"
"Not at all." Jax replied as he sort of enjoyed the mental picture. "She could probably make a lot of money doing that."
Vix walked off to say goodbye to Juice and Jax nodded toward the Prospect. "So what you need a résumé for? Tired of being our bitch?"
Half Sack shook his head. "Umm, no... I just thought I would like broaden my horizons with you know… a college degree?"
Jax nodded along. "Sounds great but you'd better check with the Big Boss first... prospecting is a 24/7 gig, man."
Bobby pointed towards where Juice and Vix were parting ways for the day. "And as those two are finding out the hard way, climbing the ladder of success is a time consuming and risky thing."
"Why what's wrong with the golden couple?" Jax inquired. He'd been so wrapped up in his own drama lately that he was a bit out of touch.
Chibs laughed. "Ay, 'cordin' to Jaci they can't seem to find a middle ground these days. They're either fuckin' or fighting and judging by Juice's moodiness I'm guessing MORE of the latter."
Jax shook his head and then looked at Half Sack. "Check with Clay before you make your big plans official."
"Yeah, ok no problem. Thanks." The Prospect muttered.
XXX
Morally Ethical
Vix wandered into her Morals and Ethics class and found her normal perch about mid-way up the stadium-seated lecture hall. She took out her lap top and located her notes file on her memory stick, then opened up her E-text book and pulled out a note pad and pen. She still found the need to scribble some notes down "old school style". She glanced at the chalk board and jotted down the quote that today's discussion would be based on…
"You are who you pretend to be." – Vonnegut, Jr.
She pondered the various ways that those words could be interpreted as the class began to file in around her. Most of the students were chatting amongst themselves; one chick is ordering airline tickets off the internet on her laptop, a few were watching movies or watching videos on Youtube. Vix had been taking classes at San Joaquin Community College for a while now, yet from time to time she still got that Dorothy-waking-up-in-Oz feeling.
Professor Connor suddenly walked in; he strode across the front of the hall to the desk and podium. He was tall and lean with dark hair that liked to flop in his eyes; he was forever pushing it back off his forehead. While not classically handsome, in Vix's estimation, he was certainly cute and someone who demanded attention. He slipped his aviator sunglasses in his bag and took a swig from a steaming Styrofoam cup then began speaking.
Vix flipped on the sound recorder that Juice had installed on her lap top to aid in her studying.
"Buddah once said, 'Those who have failed to work towards the truth have missed the purpose of living." Connor began.
Vix glanced around at her classmates and watched them digest the information. The girl next to her leaned over and whispered, "Professor McHeartthrob… is he for real?"
The girl seated to the left of the question asker whispered back, "I heard he might not get tenure – he is a bit wild."
The first girl nodded, completely enthralled. "Cool."
At the front of the hall Connor continued, "The first duty of man or woman, must be politically correct nowadays, is the seeking after and the investigation of truth, so said Cicero. The discussion is now on… victim number one occupies hot seat 102."
Vix groaned internally and quickly glanced to her right at the little metal number plate attached to that seat, it read 103. Mothershitfuck, Vix cussed under her breath. She cleared her throat and tried to force some saliva as her mouth was suddenly struck dry.
"Ah, yes... Miz Parker." Connor smiled up at her. "What says you on the subject of truth? And do try to be entertaining, I believe the coffee house slipped me a decaf this morning." He winked at her.
Vix wanted to sound intelligent, wanted to sound like she belonged and could hang with this crowd but all she could think of was that child hood chat Liar, Liar, pants on fire. FUCK! That won't do. Suddenly the image of Father Carlin came to mind. The last time she had managed to wake up in time to attend church with Ms. Ruby and Henry Darling the whole thing had been about this subject.
"Um, well if you're going to go with quotes on the subject, why don't we just pull out the big guns? Jesus, Moses, God, Satan, the Twelve Apostles, the Ten Commandments, the Seven Deadly Sins." Vix mentally checked herself and prayed she'd gotten the right numbers assigned to the correct list of rules. Dyslexia could be a total bitch at times.
"Biblical...interesting way to take this topic, proceed." Connor said as he took a seat in the front row and turned to listen.
"Well, you know, everyone wants you to believe that the world is all ordered and manageable…with laws and punishments to fit the level of crime committed. We all know the thou shalt nots... ya know kill, steal, commit adultery but there is like no, thou shalt not lie in the 10 Commandments. Well, they sorta allude to it with the whole bearing of false witness thing but there is no out and out No Lying commandment. And well, don't you think if it were important it would be one of the Big Ten?"
"Interesting." Connor replied and stood but then he noticed the look on her face. "Oh, you weren't finished."
"I… I could be." Vix said to a chorus of chuckles from her class mates.
"No, no go on…I'm intrigued."
"I just think maybe it's because there are levels of truthfulness. You know, there's fibs, white lies, half-truths, stretching-the-truth, cock n bull stories, and even if you tell an all out whopper of a lie, that doesn't make you unadulteratedly evil. Everybody Lies… wait ok, that wasn't a Biblical quote, that was from House, MD."
Laughs abounded.
Vix continued, "If you can talk, it's unavoidable. Everyone in the universe does it… from the simple telling someone they look great even though they've packed on 50 pounds to oohing and ahhing over someone's baby when they really just look like a little hairless monkey. Or telling the boss you're sick when all you really want to do is spend the day eating popcorn and watching the Home Shopping Network. Everyone in the universe lies – it's a human condition."
"Well done, Parker, well done." Conner said with a smile. "Ok, next victim occupies hot seat number 57." A groan was heard from the front of the lecture hall."
XXX
Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah… Inspector Gadget
Jaci walked back in the office from her lunch break. The office secretary held up a message slip. "You missed a call."
"Inspect Gadget?" Jaci read from the slip with a frown. The secretary nodded and Jaci laughed as she headed to her office. "Um ok." The message and phone number were probably totally bullshit but she dialed the number anyway.
"This is Jaci Parker…returning a call from an Inspector Gadget." Jaci could barely keep from laughing at the absurdness. She blurted out her suspicions. "Is this a joke? Chibs is that you?"
"I assure you it is not a joke. I am the San Joaquin County Building Inspector and for your information it is NOT pronounced Gad-jet. It is Ga-jay, this number was listed as an alternative contact for VIXSIN, Inc. doing business as TWISTED SCISSORS SALON and DAY SPA. I am just calling to inform you that I will be at the location in Charming within the hour."
The man's stern reply snapped Jaci to attention. "Within THIS hour?" Jaci asked, startled.
"Yes." The gentleman replied flatly. "And I will require the presence of either Victoria Parker or yourself at my inspection."
"I'm in Oakland right now and my sister has class today."
"Ms. Parker, for reasons unbeknownst to me, your application was bumped to its current spot on my extremely long list. If one of you is not present within the hour, it will go to the bottom of that list."
"Well then I guess I will see you within the hour, Inspector Gadget!" Jaci said with fake sweetness and hung up.
XXX
The Proposition
Vix was packing up her things when the professor approached her. "Vix Parker, very proud of you today."
She nodded and smiled. "Thanks! I can BS with the best of 'em."
"No, no… your thoughts were very well formulated, hard to argue with Biblical quotes." He chuckled.
"I did manage to toss in a pop culture reference." Vix added and laughed.
"Yes, quoting House, nice touch." He cocked his head. "So… I was hoping you'd join me for lunch so I could proposition you."
"Excuse me?" Vix said, startled.
"A bit of humor, lighten up, geez. What I really want to do is take you to lunch and beg you to audit my class on Free Will and Philosophical Thought."
Vix frowned. "You've got to be kidding me right? I am up to my eye balls in this school shit… mid terms are coming up and what exactly do you do when you audit a class anyway?"
He smiled. "You'd get to spend the class in a movie theater and take notes for me to discuss later."
"Are you kidding me? And I get credit for that?" Vix held up a finger. "Wait, how many credits is that class? I am tapped on student loans, man. And I'd have a devil of a time convincing my family that …"
Conner waved her off. "It's part of a free senior seminar, no cost but the movie ticket, which I will gladly cover along with popcorn and ridiculously over priced candy if you'd consider it."
"Lunch, movie, popcorn, candy, and credits towards graduation?" Vix looked at him skeptically. "Sorry, teach but don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining. There ain't no such thing as free. Last time I had anything nearing that level of nicety, I had to seriously put out and then the dude wanted me to blow his two best friends. So don't think so but thanks for the offer."
"See? THAT is what I am after." Connor said with a grin.
"What is?"
"The raw vision and analysis of the project. I don't want the cookie cutter answer I know I'll get from any one of these other students."
Vix sighed. "Ok… just for shits and giggles, what is the film we are even talking about?"
"Kiss Me Deadly; classic example of 50's film noir." Connor replied and raised his eyebrows. "What do you say?"
"I don't know." Vix said with a shrug. "I liked the song."
"Song?"
Vix rolled her eyes and sang quietly, "Lita Ford? I went to a party last Saturday Night… I didn't get laid, I got in a fight..."
Connor cracked up. "I love that… and I will pester you endlessly until you say yes. So gather your things and meet me in the parking lot in ten minutes."
XXX
…a MILF a day…
"They went to Manteca on a parts run." Gemma said into the phone. "Not sure... maybe they're in cell hell right about now. Ok, yeah, I'll tell him as soon as they get back. Be good at school, Vix."
Gemma hung up the phone as the Jaguar purred its way into the parking lot. Its sleek form glistened in the late-morning sun. Ooh, showy! was Gemma's first thought at seeing the car. Stunning! was her first thought at seeing the woman who slipped out of the driver's side door.
She watched the woman glance around and take in her surroundings… from the line of Harleys framing the lot to the open garage bay doors revealing the auto repair that seemed to have stopped upon her arrival and then over to the group of men gathered around picnic tables under a pavilion area, who also seemed to be paused and watching her.
She suddenly seemed to notice Gemma standing in the doorway of the shop office and turned in her direction. Long strides carried her across the parking lot. Her full, red lips were held in a pout-ish way. She was wearing form-fitting black slacks and a long-sleeved white blouse that was tucked in at her slim, belted waist. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she walked. As she neared Gemma, another word came to mind, statuesque. The woman was 6 feet tall if she was an inch.
Gemma glanced from the approaching woman, her eyes scanned those present and everyone with a Y chromosome seemed to be enthralled. It was all that Gemma could do not to get her hackles up. She forced a smile on her face at the vision of feminine loveliness before her. The woman smiled and in deep-throaty voice said, "I am some kind of happy to see you, darlin'."
It wasn't the Lauren Bacall factor of her voice that stunned Gemma, it was the fact that this woman sounded like one of the Parker girls…she was Southern.
Gemma smirked. "And how is that, darlin'? Cause by the sound of your car, that ain't where your trouble lies." Gemma glanced once again in the direction of the clubhouse and saw that the boys were in obvious discussion about a certain classy little chassis and she'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the body being analyzed didn't run on a 4.2 liter, V8 or have 420 horsepower at 6 thousand RPMs.
"Oh, good heavens no!" The woman breathed. "I'm here looking Kipp Epps."
"You're here for Kipp?" Gemma questioned and was slightly amused/bemused as she took in the woman's French manicure, flawless makeup and perfectly coiffed shoulder-length auburn hair. "Well, Koo- Koo Ka-choo, Mrs. Robinson. He's out on a business matter. You're welcome to wait if you want, preferably in here... so maybe my guys COULD GET SOME WORK DONE'!" Gemma yelled for the benefit of the crowd of gawkers. She kicked the office door shut for emphasis.
The woman smiled. "I know what you're probably thinking... it happens more often than not but I assure you that you're entirely mistaken, darlin'.'"
"Am I now?"
"Yes." The woman nodded and smiled, barring a set of teeth so white the gleam off of them was practically blinding. "I'm Kipp's mother." She slipped off her sunglasses and revealed a set of eyes that could have been plucked right out of the Prospect's head.
Gemma took a closer look at the woman standing before her and suddenly certain familiar features began to emerge, "Well, whatever beauty routine you got goin' on, I'd stick with it. I'd never have guessed you had a kid, let alone one that age."
"Well I appreciate that. Thank you for letting me wait. Kipp usually goes out of his way to avoid all contact, so this visit is a bit unannounced on my part."
Gemma nodded, "No problem. So, Mrs. Epps, can I get you a drink?"
"First of all," the woman smiled, "The only Mrs. Epps I know is my ex-mother-in-law... a woman who sobbed through her baby boy's wedding from start to finish and hers were NOT tears of joy."
Gemma almost laughed as she watched the woman take a seat in the nearby chair and cross her long legs as she continued, "And it gives me an enormous amount of pleasure to report that MRS. Epps went to her heavenly reward quite a few years back."
That time Gemma couldn't help but laugh. The woman joined her as she begged with sarcastic dismay. "So please let THAT woman rest in peace. My name is Martina, but I'd be quite pleased if you'd call me Marti."
"Gemma." She replied with a nod and a smile. "Kipp never mentioned he was half-Southern... we've currently have a few Alabama girls in our midst."
"Doesn't surprise me - he's always been a bit standoffish when it comes to family details and dealings. Alabama, hmm, Crimson Tide, I'm a Tarheel through and through - born and bred in Charlotte...transplanted to San Francisco. I've been there longer than I care to admit, but it'll never be home."
"So Marti... can I get you a drink? Burnt coffee? Weak tea? Something with a bit more kick?"
XXX
Gemma left the woman in the office and crossed the lot to the clubhouse. Clay nodded towards the office, "Your new BFF... quite the looker."
Gemma rolled her eyes, "Yeah, if you're into trophy wives."
"Which I most certainly am, I got the Triple Crown, right here." Clay grinned and winked.
"Nicely played." Gemma smirked and thought he must be still sucking up for his irrational behavior the other day.
Tig nodded from his perch atop one of the picnic tables, "Married, huh? I got no moral indifference to bangin' married chicks." He cracked his knuckles. "And it's been a LONG time since I fucked a woman any where close to my own age but I'd take a run at that."
Chibs nodded, "Aye, shakin' it like that…looks like she knows what she's doing." He punched Tig on the shoulder. "She might teach you a thing or two."
Tig scoffed and shoved at Chibs. "Shit, you can't teach the MASTER, bro."
Gemma listened to the guys ramble on in explicit detail about the woman. It suddenly dawned on her that she was the oldest 'old lady' of the SAMCRO crew. That used to be a matter of pride with her but suddenly she thought it to be a liability. What if Clay ever found out what Weston and those men had done to her? How quick would he drop her for a life like Tig's or Chibs'…no restrictions or responsibilities, able to fuck young pussy at anytime. She shook off the thought and plastered a smirk on her face. At least she could bring the men down a notch or two right now.
"Tsk, tsk…you boys may want to reign in the MILF thoughts. The Prospect's been all up in there." Gemma advised with a grin.
"The fuck you talkin' about? The fuckin' Prospect couldn't touch that ass with both hands, a road map and a compass." Tig said with an annoyed shake of his head. He laughed and took a pull off his beer bottle.
"I didn't say a word about her ass... but he's been up close and personal with other parts of her nether regions…when she gave birth to him."
The startling revelation had its desired effect… all three men were stunned speechless.
Chibs was the first to recover. "That's the prospect's mum? Mama Half Sack?" He asked in disbelief.
"Oh Jesus Christ!' Tig said with a shudder as he shut down all the illicit thoughts he had going about the redheaded woman. He stood up and started to look around. "We got any bleach? Shit, I need to dunk my fuckin' eyeballs in it man? Are you serious?" Gemma smiled and nodded.
"Damnit." Chibs mumbled.
Tig headed to the clubhouse for another beer. "I'm gonna go cut my dick off for even thinking about fucking that woman." He scowled and pointed toward his belt buckle, muttering. "Bad penis … bad penis!"
XXX
Kiss Me Deadly
Vix was waiting by her car when Connor came walking out of the building and across the lot. He'd changed clothes and was now wearing black pants and a retro-looking black and white checked button down with it's sleeves rolled up a bit, same aviator glasses, same messy hair.
Vix shook her head and called out. "Well don't you look nice?" She slid off the hood of her car. "Are we swinging by an Abercrombie photo shoot on our way to lunch?"
Connor chuckled but dismissed her comment. "You're in luck... well, we're in luck. You said Mondays were the only day you have available, I was able to score two tickets to the 1:30 showing."
"1:30 today? As in an hour?" Vix asked glancing at her watch. "How long is the movie?"
"Little over an hour and a half, give or take depending on the projectors functioning properly. Why? Is now a bad time?"
"Um, no... I guess not." Factoring in travel, movie time, likely some sorta discussion afterwards and hopefully they'd multi-task and eat while discussing the movie, she was not going to make it back to Charming shy of at least 7pm if not later. "I... I just have to make a phone call."
Connor nodded. "I'll bring my car around."
Vix dialed her cell phone as Connor walks towards the faculty parking lot. She got Juice's voice mail again and decided to leave a quick message explaining that the last minute school stuff she had was going to take longer than she had told Gemma. She'd be home sometime this evening. She was just ending the call when a Bentley rolled to a stop in front of her. The driver's side window rolled down to reveal Connor sitting in it.
"You drive a Bentley?" Vix said, stating the obvious.
"Points for observation, Miz Parker. Now climb in, down town traffic can be awful this time of day. Bring your lap top. You're going to want to take those notes we talked about." He grinned as he rolled the window back up.
She grabbed her stuff and slid in the passenger seat of Connor's extraordinarily exquisite ride. She glanced around nervously. "This is very nice... I'm damn near afraid to exhale to deeply in this thing."
"Thanks…I think. But please do keep breathing."
Vix nodded. "Ok, I will. I didn't know college professors at state schools made enough dough to afford..."
Connor cut her off. "This was my father's car, I inherited it when he died.."
"Oh, I'm sorry.
"Don't be, I'm not. He was an extraordinary bastard. He loved this car more than my mother and certainly more than me. Some days it is all I can do to NOT send it careening off the highest cliff I can find."
"Well that's comforting... ya know… being that I'm currently a passenger." Vix said with a laugh. "But we got something in common …my car... it was my dad's too. Got it when he died. It was nothing more than a shell and a bunch of boxes of parts. My daddy was the King of unfinished projects. Me, my uncle and some friends of his, we re-built it from the tires up. She's my baby"
Connor smiled over at her. "Ok, I will pose a question I've always had to an obvious car enthusiast... does she have a name?"
"Of course." Vix smiled. "Her name is Cecelia ... but don't ever call her that - she gets cantankerous. She likes to be called Ce-Ce."
He shook his head and laughed. "Of course she does. Now why are cars always girls?"
Vix smiled. "If you have to ask the question, you're not ready to know the answer. Come on Connor... smokin' hot chasis, smooth lines and curves in all the right places... sleek interior... and not to mention whatever is going on under the hood. How could that possibly NOT be a girl?"
"Wow." Connor replied with a smirk. "That was practically erotic."
Vix laughed. "Speed is an aphrodisiac, Connor. I love fast, loud, shiny things... give me a heartbreak Harley or a supped-up muscle car... beautiful things, man." Vix glanced out the window as they drove on. "So where are we headed?"
"Stockton Empire Theater, over on Pacific Ave."
The Stockton Empire Theater was redone old theater house and now only ran art films and hosted lectures and benefits. The viewing room was small and just exuded intellectualness. The floor was covered in stale popcorn and cigarette butts. To Vix's delight you could still smoke inside this theater, continue on the road to lung cancer with a side of popcorn and RC Cola.
"Cloris Leachman? Wasn't she just like on Dancing with the Stars?" Vix leaned over and whispered to Connor as the movie began.
"I believe so, but this is from back in 1951, when she was young and hot." Connor leaned over and replied.
"You know she moved pretty good for an old lady." Vix laughed before settling in to watch the film and type notes. The movie was black and white and opened with a shot of some deserted highway and the sounds of a woman sobbing in the background. The picture was grainy and the sound quality was horrific and more than a bit muffled but Vix was hooked immediately.
XXX
Juice and Half Sack finally rolled back into the Teller Morrow lot from their parts run. They walked toward the garage bays with their arms full of boxes just as Gemma and Marti stepped outside to greet them.
"MOM?" Half Sack breathed with surprise and scrambled to grab a box he had nearly dropped in surprised. "What are you doing here? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, dear." Marti soothed. "Haven't seen you in a while, thought I would drop by and maybe take you to lunch."
Half Sack's forehead creased with a deep frown. He shook his head. "Sorry…I can't go. We're way too busy today. You should have called."
"So you could look at the caller id and ignore it?" Marti asked.
Juice stood frozen by his friend's side and glanced at Gemma, unsure what to do since there seemed to be a family argument about to bloom. Gemma jumped to action, recognizing that same Leave me alone, Mom annoyance she saw in Jax sometimes. "Come on, Kipp. The garage can survive without you. Your mother has been here getting ogled by every man on this lot for long enough. If she wants to treat you to a meal, it's the least you could do for her trouble. You're little parts run sort of put an end to lunch, go have an early dinner instead. Take the rest of the day off."
Kipp started to protest but one look from Gemma told him it would be a worthless fight. He sighed. "Alright, alright." He lifted the boxes in his arms. "Let me put these up first."
He squared away the parts and then left for lunch with Marti in her car.
Juice stood in the garage organizing the parts they had just brought back. Gemma walked up to him. "Vix is looking for you."
He snorted and then mumbled. "Yeah I know, got her voice mail… same shit different day."
The ogling of Marti from earlier by the other guys and now Juice's blatant disregard of Vix was too much for Gemma. They all need to show some damn appreciation for what they had in life. She stepped closer to Juice. "You ever stop to think that YOU may be the reason she's taking on all this shit? She is trying to build a life here. But she doesn't have to... Abel is getting better every day; she and Jaci saw him thru the storm. They could bail on this town any day. She is staying for YOU, Jaci is staying for her. So when you're tossing blame around for her so-called neglectfulness... make damn sure some of that lands on you."
Juice looked and Gemma and couldn't think of anything to do but blink. Her little tirade had taken him by complete surprise. Gemma didn't wait for a response, just turned and headed back into the office, slamming the door. Juice frowned as he held a tail light in his hand and began to really think about the truth of Gemma's words.
XXX
Welcome to Misunderstanding Dinner Theater
Kipp's mother had picked an older restaurant in Stockton for their dinner date. It wasn't too crowded and they were seated and eating quickly. Kipp had been doing his best to just answer any of his mother's inquiries about his life with nods or grunts or shrugs. He was shoveling a fork full of salad into his mouth when heard a familiar voice. He smiled, Vix's southern twang was hard to mistake. He was getting ready to say Hi when he watched the hostess walk by, followed by Vix and a man Kipp didn't recognize. Kipp shrank back into his seat.
As they walk past, he heard Vix say "I still don't know what to make of that movie, Connor. It went from a simple detective story to some weird-ass, sci-fi apocalypse thing."
Kipp chewed and swallowed hard. He paused with his fork halfway between his plate and watched as the hostess seated Vix and the guy in the booth directly ahead of his. His mother watched him intently. "Is everything alright, Kippy?"
He nodded but remained silent. He could see the Connor guy and immediately didn't like the looks of him and listened intently to the conversation taking place at the next table.
"So…" Connor said with a smile. "…you're glad you came out with me then?"
"It's definitely not some place I'd have ever went to on my own... don't think any of my friends would have either... maybe my sister." Vix answered.
"So you admit it was fun then?"
"Ok, yes... I had a very nice time. And thanks for the movie, the popcorn, the soda, the M&Ms and Twizzlers."
"And now lunch and credits towards graduation. All that and you don't even have to fuck me or blow my best friends... unless you want to of course." Connor replied with a swarmy grin.
Kipp's jaw dropped open as he heard the explicit talk. He didn't even realize he was holding his breath until the lack of oxygen began to make him dizzy. He sucked in a huge breath of air and took a big drink of water.
His mother stared at him. "Are you certain you're alright?"
He missed Vix's reply to the guy's proposition, as it was drown out by his mother's inquiry. Kipp nodded emphatically and had to fight the urge to shush his mother as he strained to hear the conversation that had gotten a bit quieter.
"I don't something about watching those grainy images made me feel like part of a bad dream. Nothing went right for those people... and everyone was rotten, and disloyal and murdering everyone around them."
Kipp listened as Vix and the Connor guy ordered drinks, he got wine, she got a Captain and Coke. The guy teased Vix, "What no wine before um, 7?"
"8, actually." Vix said with a laugh and Kipp cringed.
"But Captain Morgan Rum and Coke is fine for consumption at any time?"
"You got it."
Connor laughed, "You are something else, I must admit." Kipp scowled and stared down at his plate.
XXX
Kipp continued to listen to Vix and her lunch date banter back and forth. He listened to them the best he could but often missed chunks of their conversation due to his mother rambling on about family news. He heard bits about a term paper about appearances versus reality and something about planets that was funny enough to have the Connor guy choke and spew wine out of his nose.
Vix confessed to getting Plato and Pluto a bit confused. "But then this really smart chick I know pointed out that the planet, that isn't even a planet anymore, is called Pluto. Well crap I thought that was just Mickey's dog."
"You really are one of a kind aren't you?" Connor asked with a smile.
"I'm an original." Vix replied.
Kipp's mom declined dessert from their waitress but Kipp shook his head violently and point hurriedly to a picture of pie. He slowly ate the dessert just to have an excuse to stick around the restaurant and eavesdrop some more.
The noise level in the restaurant rose suddenly and Kipp missed Vix thanking god for her sister and how she was really smart and would get along great with Connor. Vix even offered to set them up. Kipp also didn't hear Vix bragging on Juice and how he was genius level smart and she wondered why he was with someone like her, who was clearly the OPPOISTE of smart.
Vix took a large sip of her drink. "I suppose for argument's sake, he could be with me for my looks. I am damn cute aren't I?" Kipp only caught the last bit of that sentence which made it sound like Vix was fishing for a compliment and the asshole with her was happy to give her one.
Connor nodded. "Exceedingly so... but you are far mistaken if you deem yourself UN SMART. You appear to be naive and unschooled."
Vix laughed. "Oh I don't just appear it honey... I flunked the 2nd, 3rd and 9th grade before they figured out I was dyslexic. Dropped out of school at 16, I got sick of struggling. I used to hide my tests and report cards like other kids hide porn. My Uncle and Aunt finally just agreed to let me take my GED. Honestly I think we were all just worn out."
Kipp stabbed another piece of pie with his fork and wondered why the hell Vix was spilling her life's story to the guy.
Connor continued his flirting and compliments. "You have a skillful mind and you see things in a unique way."
"Thank you." Vix said before he cut her off.
"In addition... you appear to be a woman who takes her beauty for granted."
"Are you calling me vain?" Vix asked with a laugh.
"I'm calling you enchanting." Connor corrected.
Vix downed the rest of her drink. "And I'm calling it a day. Enough fun for one afternoon, would you kindly take me back to my car? I'll proof those notes on the movie and email them to you. By Thursday be good?"
Kipp missed the bit about notes and email and only heard her mention Thursday being good. He saw Connor slid out of the booth and Kipp promptly pushed his fork into the floor under the booth so Vix wouldn't see him as she walked by. He shook his head in worry as he waited for them to walk past him. This might possibly be the weirdest dinner he had ever had.
XXX
It was near 7PM when Vix got back to Charming and Juice was on guard duty at Cara Cara. He was a bit less pissy than normal when she called to check in, which was a nice change from the norm. He wouldn't be able to leave until later that night so Vix just decided to head to Parker Place and catch up with Juice tomorrow.
Jaci was just about to sit down to eat her dinner of macaroni and cheese in front of the television when Vix trailed into the living room. She nodded at her sister. "So today was a long day at school? Are you still struggling with that paper?"
Vix grinned proudly. "No, I was asked to audit a class on Free Will and Philosophical Thought."
"Yeah right." Jaci mumbled through a mouth full of macaroni. She chewed and swallowed. "Well if you don't want to tell me fine. Hey, you want to go see a movie or something? It being Monday night, shouldn't be too crowded. I wanna see that one that just opened about…"
"I went to the movies this afternoon." Vix stated and cut her off.
Jaci slammed her fork into her bowl and scowled. "I knew it! Fuckin' lying bitch!" She exclaimed playfully. "I had to leave work early to meet the code inspectors at YOUR SALON..."
Vix shook her head. "I wasn't lying! I really went, it was at The Empire in Stockton and it was oddly terrific." She looked at Jaci who was casting a curious stare at her. "What?"
"Since when do you go see art films?" Jaci asked. "That's all they show at the Empire."
"I know. I TOLD you… it was for that class. Now do you believe me?"
"Well it certainly tests the theory of FREE WILL, you voluntarily going to see an art film." Jaci shrugged and starting eating again. "Ok, so who in their right mind would have a first year student audit a class?"
"Professor Connor said he was looking for an honest and unique perspective, not just some suck up telling him what they think he wants to hear. I went to the movie and then typed notes during our discussion."
"Your discussion?"
"Yeah over… well it was sorta almost dinner." Vix explained.
"Sorta almost? So what was the film?"
"Kiss Me Deadly."
"Never heard of it… good song though." Jaci replied with a smirk.
Vix smiled and shook her head. "So wait…the inspectors showed up today?"
"Yep…Chibsy wasn't joking about greasing some wheels apparently."
Vix held her breath. "Aaaaaand?"
"Aaaaannnndd…" Jaci mocked but then smiled and gave her sister a thumbs up. "We're good to go. Green light for the grand opening." Vix squealed with happiness.
XXX
The Dilemma
Half Sack paced around the floor of his apartment. He had been lost in thought ever since roaring out of the Teller Morrow lot after his mom had dropped him off from dinner. He kept thinking and analyzing seeing Vix with that other man, Connor. He hadn't liked the conversation he had heard or the way the guy had leered at Vix, laughing and flirty with her.
He bit his thumb nail as he pulled out his cell phone. He called Juice and waited impatiently has the phone rang and rang and finally went to voicemail. Half Sack cleared his throat, "Hey dude, its Sack, I need to talk to you. Call me."
** Be sure to check out who we cast as Mama Sack and Professor Connor, links are in our Family Album at Tig Nation or in the author profile here at FF