9781618857958KissMeLikeYouMeanItLeveyNC (6 page)

Outside,
the guys pounded on the door. He ran his hand through his hair, slid his laptop
back into the carry case and left the room.

“Fuck
man. Took you long enough.”

“Suck
me, Shea. Now that you have permanent pussy you’ve become as pansy ass as
Garrick.”

“Don’t
hate. One day you’ll be in the spot we’re in and won’t be complaining, trust me
on that.”

“Says
the man who buys tampons and
Midol
for his woman.”

“Nothing
wrong with taking care of my girl. Besides, having a woman by your side day and
night means less masturbating and limitless fucking. Get with the program.”
Garrick winked.

“So
where are we headed?”

“A
spot to stay out of trouble for a few hours and just relax.”

“We
decide what to do tomorrow?” Jackson leaned back in his seat. “No more throwing
my ass under the bus with random shit.”

“C’mon,
taking front stage didn’t kill you. The ladies loved it. You know you have the
pipes to sing. Don’t know why you hide behind that guitar. Besides when was the
last time you played piano?”

Jackson
lowered his eyelids into slits. “Piano was a lifetime ago my friend. Let me
play my bass and compose in peace. Just because I like to write ballads doesn’t
mean I want to perform them. Now let me take over Depraved Indifference.”

“Damn.
Don’t go all pussy on me. Just good to know if I fall sick you can take over
vocals for the show, but DI
is all
me. Good try.”

Jackson
shrugged. “How are we getting into this private party?”

“I
was given directions to the Special Ops Forces compound. One of the SF guys we
met at lunch will be waiting at the gate to let us in.”

“I
was expecting like a cool code or some BS to tell people back home when they
ask what we did on downtime.”

“Dude,
we’re doing what we normally do on downtime. Relaxing and hanging out with some
bad ass fuckers.”

“
Hooah
.” During their walk, Garrick practiced saying the
word making Jackson crack up. He followed his friends for a night out in the
country full of debauchery or some shit kicking fun.

* * * *

Morning,
came too soon, reminding Jackson that they were due to board a
helo
for a meet and greet. Hung over and sleep deprived, he
rounded up the guys to make the trek back to their lodgings. Their night out
left them without time to grab a bite or a cup of coffee at the chow hall.

Instead,
they stopped off in the wagon wheel, the section on base holding the barber
shop,
Taco Bell
and
Burger King
for some instant crap, paid,
and dragged ass to the meeting spot.

They
arrived a short flight later to the base, each one of them carrying a small box
of merchandise to sign and hand out and set up at the Chaplain’s area.

“Good
Morning, Camp Sentinel. We heard there were some amazing soldiers who couldn’t
make the show. Unfortunately we can’t bring the show to you. Hope our ugly mugs
will do. We have an hour to sign autographs and shoot the shit before we’re due
back for our flight to the US. Let’s get this party started.” Garrick knew how
to deliver a line to rev everyone up.

For
the next hour, they handed out T-shirts, signed CDs, took photographs, and
enjoyed their moments visiting.

Chapter Three

Jackson woke to the
feeling of suffocation. Blurry eyed, he looked up into the angry face of his
friend with a hand wrapped around his throat. He curled his forearm around the
wrist blocking air from his lungs and pried it loose with leverage, clipping
Garrick in the chin with his elbow. He took out his ear plugs and focused on
his friend, not the loud plane motor heading to Germany.

“What the fuck is your
problem?” Jackson wheezed his question.

Garrick cracked his jaw
and tackled him over the seat.

“The fuck. Friends
don’t lie to each other. What the fuck is going on back home with my sister?” Even
up close and personal, he could barely hear Garrick’s rant.

“Man, calm down before
they land this bitch and throw us off the fucking plane.” Shea pointed to the officers
taking interest in their argument. With the noise, they couldn’t hear what was
going on and if his boy didn’t chill out, there would be a situation. Jackson
sat up and passed an irritated gaze to his other bandmates. At least they were
alone in their own section. Garrick cupped his hand to his ear and spoke loud.

“My voicemail is full,
my text messages are full. My family is in an uproar and no one knows where the
hell my sister is. Dude, I swear if she’s hurt somewhere I’ll pound your ass
into the ground, friend or not, and then I’ll pound the rest of you for keeping
me in the dark,” Garrick railed, pointing a finger at each one of them.

“And you wonder why we
didn’t tell you in Afghanistan? Seriously? We have seven hours left on this
damn plane. The last thing we wanted was you going all
Hulk
on us.”

“I don’t go that far. What
is all this shit online about Carlie?”

“Why are you asking me?
And why the hell are you attacking me?” Jackson snarled, removing his seatbelt.
“Get out of my face.”

“Shit is getting real.”
Shea grabbed Garrick by the back of his arms and pulled him out of Jackson’s
personal space. “Take a time out, bro.”

“Told you both we
should’ve told him on the base.” Jimmy moved over to help Shea handle their
front man. Him being the voice of reason annoyed the hell out of Jackson.

“Carlie made a mistake
while she was on break from school and it’s caused a huge stir back home.”

“What kind of mistake?”

“Nothing bad. Well by
my definition at least. I mean she’s a college girl and college girls like to
experiment and figure out things themselves. That’s what happens when anyone
moves away from home for the first time. She just happened to do something
publically that got her expelled from college.”

“Carlie is responsible.
What the hell could she have done that has my entire family screaming at me
through my phone?”

“No one has told you or
shown you?” Jackson couldn’t believe that.

“No. Everyone is giving
me cryptic texts, not telling me a damn thing. When I called they all evaded every
question I asked and it’s pissing me the hell off. I want to know right now. ”

“Like I said…we have
seven hours left on this flight and another eight hours from Germany to home.
Why don’t you go back to sleep and we can hash over the details of what
happened once we land safely in Germany.”

“She posed naked in a
magazine,” Jimmy supplied.

Jackson growled and
shot him a scathing look. “Thanks, dickhead.”

“Stop lying to me, what
really happened?” Garrick shot Jimmy a shut it glare and sat back down, putting
his head in his hands.

“She really posed for
this guy in Mexico, but, bro, she was beyond wasted drunk when she signed the
consent. I’m sorry, but really your family is overreacting.” He wanted to add
so is your sister.
Instead he remained
wisely silent while Garrick processed.

Instead of talking,
Garrick withdrew and leaned back in his seat. “I have a baby coming soon, what
the fuck am I going to do with a second out of control sister?”

“One drunk mistake
doesn’t make her irresponsible. Don’t judge her. I think the rest of your
family is doing enough of that, so much so she won’t go home.”

“I just want to know
she’s okay so my family can calm down.”

“Remember when we were
caught with open containers and drunk out of our minds doing donuts on the
ATVs. The park ranger didn’t put us in jail. He hauled us into his office, gave
us all coffee and then called my dad. We got off lucky, and we haven’t had a
drink unless we know who’s driving or keep our own keys since. Lesson learned.
We were lucky because we weren’t signed yet with the label.”

“Yeah. We’ve been some
wild assholes and we’re okay. But fuck, she is my baby sister, who wants to
think of their sister posing in some trashy magazine?”

“Who wants to see their
brother’s drunk pasty ass fucking a slut against an alley wall? And there was
video of that too. Your dad got over it. I’m just
sayin
’
perfect princess is going to need her brother’s support not another warden
ready to slam her in solitary.”

“Why are you taking her
side in this?”

“Someone has to.”
Jackson didn’t want to let them know Carlie was at his place suffering through
depression alone. He’d hoped her time there would give her some perspective and
she’d drag herself out of the funk. She had too much fight in her to go the
dramatic route, like her twin would.

“You’re into her.” It was
a statement, not a question.

“Hell no. I don’t do virgins
or friends’ sisters. That’s just crossing the line of no return.”

“I heard that.” Shea
popped him in the back of the head.

“If the shoe fits.”
Jackson smirked. Shea and Carrie belonged together, everyone knew it.

“Cut it. Every time
someone mentions her name you act all funny, and now you’re all on my case for
being concerned and pissed at her.”

“Dude, I’m not
explaining myself to you and you aren’t acting mad or concerned, you’re acting
like a douche dick, as if you’ve never done a stupid thing in your life. Big
difference.”

“Good. Keep your mind
games away from my sister.”

Anger surged through Jackson.
Garrick pulled no punches but when he was right, he was dead on. “I don’t want
your sister.”

“Until you convince
yourself you do. Like what was her name, Kellie. Yeah, you didn’t want that
barely legal girl and you still fucked her and left her the next day after
spending a day talking yourself into her bed.”

“She was no innocent
flower. And I never lie to my lovers. They know my game and choose to suck me
or let me fuck them, no strings, no seconds, if they get attached that’s on
them.”

“Just keep your dick
away from my sister.”

“Don’t get all hostile.
I told you I’m the last one you should worry about popping that sweet virgin
ass. Now can I fucking go back to sleep?” Jackson grabbed his pillow, the
blanket and turned his back on his mate. He didn’t really want Carlie. If she
got someone else to fuck her first, maybe then. He didn’t want the
responsibility of being the first, there were always emotional repercussions
with that. He believed if he told himself those words enough times, they’d ring
true.

“When we land I’m
taking two weeks to go home. Goodnight.” Jackson closed the world out.

* * * *

The
smell of ocean welcomed him. He stepped out of his service car, hoisted his
backpack and clicked the handle on his suitcase. Why carry something that had
rollers. The house was dark in the early afternoon, making him wonder if he
still had a houseguest.

He
entered and placed his things in the foyer. Emotions long forgotten tugged at
him. Every time he stepped foot in his childhood house, he expected to see his
mother come down the stairs to greet him with a warm smile on her face,
smelling like an afternoon spent baking. And, as always, reality cruelly crashed
down, reminding him of fate’s viciousness. With a sigh, he looked toward the
staircase.
Carlie
. Carlie. Carlie.

Jackson
walked up the stairs, toward his bedroom, noting how everything looked to be in
in place, as if
Carlie
didn’t dare disturb anything.
He passed by his mom’s bedroom, now a guest room. He ruminated on things, what
to say, what would her reaction be to seeing him?

What
he loved most about flying was sleeping, but thanks to one overprotective
brother he barely rested at all, with his mind obsessing over the sweet woman
in his bed.

A
foul odor hit his nose upon opening the door to his bedroom. He ignored the
stink and approached his bed covered in chocolate wrappers, empty bags of fast
food and the girl sleeping on top of the covers in the same clothes he saw her
in online while he was in Afghanistan.

Garrick
always boasted of his ‘sleep like the dead’ sisters. He decided to test out the
theory. He tapped her and got nothing. He picked her up. Her head lolled over,
a halo of hair fanning out. A loud snore popped out of her mouth. He tried to
smooth her tangled hair out of the way and carried her into his bathroom. With
one hand, he turned on the shower and stepped into the cold water fully dressed,
holding her.

Carlie
screamed. Her beautiful eyes popped opened as she came to and began thrashing
in his arms.

“Sorry,
princess. You need a shower, you stink.” Jackson whipped her soaking wet shirt
over her head and unsnapped her bra with one hand while she shivered and glared
daggers at him. He bent down and whisked off her leggings and thong, and then
threw all the pieces out of the shower.