CHAPTER 2
Derrick was quiet for the first part of the trip. While the others talked about music, Derrick thought about what had happened that morning. He couldn’t get it out of his mind. Consciously trying to forget the entire incident, Derrick stared blankly at the road ahead of him.
“Derrick?” Lance questioned, noticing the man’s empty gaze. “Is something wrong?”
“Huh?” Derrick broke out of his trance, then looked to his right. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about something.”
“Well, I was going to ask you about the details behind the tour we’re supposed to do later this summer.”
“Oh, yes, the tour.” Derrick brought his mind back to the present and, by talking about business, promptly forgot about Jennifer and JC.
**
Jennifer could not keep her mind on her classes. She went to all her lectures, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about the morning. Finally, she could go home. She knew she would be alone for a while, since Kathy had a late class that day. Jennifer got into her car and headed home.
The drive home wasn’t as relaxing as she had hoped. With no one to talk to, Jennifer’s mind kept drifting back to the embarrassing scene – Derrick walking in, JC lying over her, the shock and discomfort everyone felt. I can’t believe it happened. I shouldn’t have let it get so far with JC. I should have been more responsible. She then thought, with a smirk on her face, I should have locked the door.
“Get a grip, Jennifer,” she said to herself. “You need to fix this.” She thought back to breakfast, when she and JC had walked into the kitchen. She could feel the tension in the room. When she first felt it, she thought it was there because Derrick felt bad from walking in on a private moment. But the tension I felt wasn’t from embarrassment or remorse. Suddenly remembering something, Jennifer quickly pulled her car to the side of the road. Oh, no. She leaned on the steering wheel, her head in her hands. Derrick remembered.
**
JC sat alone in the conference room, lost in his thoughts. Derrick had briefed the guys about the deal, and then when they arrived at Trans-Con, he rushed to his office to take care of some paperwork. Justin had been called in to give an interview over the phone to some magazine. Lance, Joey, and Chris had gone into a recording studio to listen to some new material. They had invited JC to join them, but he declined, saying he needed to take care of something.
--
“Oh, come on, JC,” Lance persisted. “You’re the one who always wants us to focus on music.”
“I know, and you’re all doing better at that,” JC explained, “but I just have to take care of something, that’s all.”
“What?” Chris teased. “There’s something more important to you than music?”
JC exhaled quickly, wanting them to leave so he could have some time to himself. “Yes. I have to call Jennifer.”
“Oh, great,” Joey groaned. “They’re probably going to make kissy noises over the phone. Let’s leave him alone to do that.”
“Very funny,” JC muttered. “Now go take a look at the new stuff. I’ll see you guys at the meeting at one.”
“Okay. Later, man.” Lance left the room, followed by Joey and Chris.
--
Now, JC sat at the table, his head in his hands. He and Jennifer had come so far together. JC took his wallet out of his pocket and opened it. There, on top of everything else, were two pictures: one was of Jennifer, standing underneath a blossoming cherry tree. The other was of the two of them at the beach, their arms around one another, each gazing into the other’s eyes. I love you, Jennifer, he thought, almost speaking to her through the pictures. We’re going to get through this together. I’ve got to talk to Derrick. He closed his wallet and stood to leave and find Derrick’s office, but then Justin walked in.
“Hey, man, we were wondering where you went,” Justin declared, surprised to see his friend standing in an empty room. “It’s almost one.”
Shoot, JC thought. I forgot about the meeting. I’ll have to talk to Derrick later. “I must have lost track of time. Thanks.”
“That’s okay, JC. Let’s go.” JC followed the younger man out the door.
**
Jennifer walked into the house, emotionally drained. She had sat in her car at the side of the road for about fifteen minutes, sorting her thoughts. Could Derrick have remembered after all this time? she wondered. JC doesn’t know about what happened. I never told him. Oh, Lord, she prayed silently, please help me through this. Jennifer’s thoughts were interrupted by the front door. Glancing up, Jennifer saw Kathy walk into the living room.
“Hey, Jen…what’s wrong?” Kathy asked, seeing the range of emotions on Jennifer’s face.
“What are you doing home so early?” Jennifer asked, avoiding Kathy’s question.
“My afternoon class was cancelled. Now tell me what’s wrong.” Kathy sat down on the couch next to Jennifer.
“Well, it started this morning. JC and I were in bed together…”
“You two were in bed? Together?” Shocked, Kathy cut her off.
“Yes. So anyway…” Jennifer tried to continue.
“No, wait. You’re telling me you and JC were in bed together?”
“Yes, but…”
“You and JC were in bed together!”
“YES!” Jennifer said loudly. “Now can I please continue?”
“Just one question. Were you two…?”
“No. Well, kinda…but…oh, maybe I should just start from the beginning.”
“Just tell me what I need to know.”
“Okay.” Jennifer took a deep breath and jumped into her story. “JC and I had almost done it last night, but then we stopped ourselves because of our beliefs about the subject, you know?”
Kathy just nodded, waiting for her friend to continue.
“So anyway, he asked me to sleep with him. Not like sleep-sleep, but just sleeping. So we fell asleep together in my bed.”
“Go on.”
“So then we woke up this morning, and we were holding each other pretty tight. I guess this situation just got to us or something…”
“Define ‘the situation got to you.’”
“I’m getting there! Anyway, we were in bed together, and things got pretty hot. But before anything really happened, Derrick walked in.”
Kathy’s jaw dropped. “Wait, wait, wait,” she said, trying to make sense of everything. “Let me see if I understand this. You and JC came close to having sex last night, but then called it off because of the way you two feel about premarital sex, right?”
“That’s right,” Jennifer confirmed.
“Okay. So then you two wake up together this morning, and you let your hormones run wild…”
“We didn’t…” Jennifer tried to defend herself.
“Oh, don’t give me that crap about you two not doing anything. You came really close to having sex, didn’t you?” Kathy asked.
“Well, yeah.”
“So you let your hormones run wild. Anyway, you’re about to do the deed when Derrick walks into your room. Did I get that right?”
Jennifer only nodded.
“So what’s the problem? I mean, so everyone’s a little embarrassed. And you and JC need to discuss your physical relationship, but I don’t see the problem.”
“Kathy, think back to when I was going out with Dave,” Jennifer reminded her.
“With Dave? I don’t…oh.” Kathy closed her eyes, remembering what had happened to her friend. “You don’t think…”
“Yes, I do. Derrick remembered.”
**
JC had hurried out of the meeting the minute it was over. He wanted to find Derrick as soon as possible in order to get everything settled. It couldn’t wait a minute longer. JC ran down a hallway, scanning the doors for Derrick’s name. Finally, he found Derrick’s office. JC glanced through the window and saw Derrick sitting at his desk, talking on the phone.
Derrick saw JC at the window. After a quick pause, he waved to JC, signaling for the man to come inside. Derrick pointed to a chair, then mouthed, “Just one minute.” JC sat and waited for Derrick to finish his call.
“Yes, we’ll send out the paperwork as soon as possible. We’re just waiting on a couple of signatures,” Derrick explained to the caller. “Yes, they should be ready by the end of the week. Yes, thank you. Have a good day. Goodbye.” Hanging up the phone, Derrick turned to JC. “Hi.”
“Hi,” JC replied.
“So…what’s up?”
“Listen, Derrick, I have to talk to you about this morning.”
Derrick turned back to his computer. “I don’t think there’s anything to talk about. I shouldn’t have walked in like that. I apologize.”
“No, we shouldn’t have been doing that in the first place.”
“Look, whatever you do in your personal time is your business.” Derrick’s voice raised with hostility.
“Derrick, what is wrong with you?” JC stood in front of Derrick’s desk until Derrick looked at him. “As soon as we walked into the kitchen, I felt like you wanted to kill me. What’s going on?”
Derrick stood to look at JC, eye to eye, and asked evenly, “Did you hurt her?”
“What?” JC was shocked that Derrick would ask a question like that. “Of course not! I could never hurt her!”
Derrick just studied JC with his cool glances. “Just look me straight in the eye and tell me you didn’t do anything to her.”
JC stared directly into Derrick’s eyes and said, “I didn’t do anything to her.”
Derrick raised an eyebrow, then sat down. He watched JC stand in front of him, not saying anything in response to JC’s statement.
“Derrick, what is this all about? How could you think I could ever hurt Jennifer?” JC asked.
Derrick sighed. “She never told you about the incident with Dave, did she?”
“What incident?” JC’s body had tensed at the mention of Dave’s name.
“Have a seat, and I’ll tell you about it.” As JC sat, Derrick began telling him the story of the incident that occurred about two and a half years ago.
--
Jennifer ran into her bedroom to escape. Dave had come over unannounced, completely drunk. As soon as Jennifer had opened the door to find him standing there, Dave had pulled Jennifer to the floor and started running his hands over her. She screamed and ran into her room, throwing herself against the door to try to keep it shut.
Dave began banging on the door. “Open the door, Jennifer.”
“NO!” she screamed. “Leave me the hell alone!”
“Come on, Jennifer. It’s a boyfriend’s right to enjoy a physical relationship with his girlfriend.”
“NO! I swear to God, if you try anything, I’m going to call the police!”
“Don’t be a bitch, Jennifer. It’s time you gave me what I wanted.” He broke through the door and grabbed her.
She screamed, fighting back. “Let go of me, you bastard!” She yelled for help, but no one came.
Dave threw her onto the bed and held her down. She tried to hit him, but he grabbed her hands and held them over her head. Jennifer’s anger turned to fear as he reached to unbuckle his belt. Oh, God, she thought, close to panicking, he’s going to rape me. She began to cry, and Dave slapped her.
“Stop crying, bitch. You’re going to love it.” He took his belt off and slipped his hand under her shirt. She twisted away from his touch, and he dug his fingers hard into her side.
Closing her eyes again, she prayed silently. Please, God, please send someone to help. When she heard nothing, she cried harder and expected the worst.
Meanwhile, Kathy and Derrick had arrived with the intent of asking Jennifer if she wanted to go out to dinner. They knocked, but since it was ajar, the door swung open. Kathy and Derrick looked in to find Jennifer’s living room a complete mess. Lamps were knocked over, magazines strewn across the floor, and pieces of a broken chair scattered everywhere. They looked around in shock.
“What happened here?” Kathy asked.
“I have no idea. Where could Jennifer be?” Derrick wondered aloud. Suddenly, they heard screams for help coming from the bedroom. Kathy and Derrick took one glance at each other and ran towards the screams.
Jennifer was kicking her legs, terrified of what might happen. Dave was about to hit her again, harder so she would be quiet, when Kathy and Derrick rushed in. Derrick immediately pulled Dave off of Jennifer and punched his face. “Damn you, bastard. Go to hell,” Derrick yelled, punching Dave again.
Kathy hurried to the bed and helped Jennifer sit up. Jennifer began weeping, grateful that her friends came to help. “Derrick, get that son of a bitch out of here. I’m calling the police,” Kathy said.
“Glad to,” Derrick replied. He dragged Dave out of the room. Dave was yelling profanities back at Jennifer. When they reached the front door, Derrick punched Dave once in the stomach, knocking his breath out of him. “Stay away from her,” Derrick threatened, “or I swear I’ll get you.” Dave turned and left without another word.
Derrick ran back to Jennifer’s room. Jennifer was still crying, so he asked Kathy what happened.
“She said Dave tried to rape her,” Kathy told him.
“Damn him. How did he get in?”
“I don’t know. Jennifer just kept saying he tried to rape her.”
“Well, let’s get her to the doctor, just in case.” Derrick went to Jennifer’s other side, and together, Kathy and Derrick lifted Jennifer and walked outside.
--
JC just sat in shock. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Why didn’t she tell me?” he wondered aloud.
“She doesn’t want to remember it.”
“Still, she should have told me.” JC was fuming on the inside. Damn it, she should have told me.
“Yeah, well…she isn’t ready to talk about it. She never mentioned it after it happened.”
“I see…so is that why you were upset with me earlier?”
“Just seeing you two like that made me remember. I’m like Jennifer’s big brother, and I just don’t want to see her hurt. That’s why when I saw you two together, I got upset.”
“Derrick, I’m not Dave. I would never hurt Jennifer like that. I love her with all my heart.”
Derrick studied the man before him before saying anything. He saw the sincerity in JC’s eyes and decided to forget his anger. “I know you’re not Dave, but I’m just watching out for Jennifer.”
“I promise I’ll do my best for her. I’ll treat her right, the way she deserves to be treated.”
“You better, because I’ll be watching you,” Derrick warned.
“I promise,” JC stated again. He turned to leave and said under his breath, “I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to let her see him again.”
Derrick overheard JC’s muttered words. “Wait,” he called to JC, “what did you say?”
JC turned back around. “Didn’t anyone tell you?” JC asked.
“Tell me what?”
“Oh, man,” JC said as he sat back down. “Dave is coming to Orlando on Saturday, and he called Jennifer, wanting to see her.”
“WHAT?” Incensed, Derrick jumped up from his chair. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”
“Well, he called yesterday afternoon, after you had called to ask us to pick you up at the airport.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he needed to talk to Jennifer about something important.”
“And she turned him down, right?”
“Actually, she agreed. She’s meeting him Saturday in the park downtown at one in the afternoon.”
“Why the hell is she meeting him?”
JC sighed. “I don’t know. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said she needed to tie up loose ends or something like that.”
“I’ll have to talk to her tonight at dinner,” Derrick concluded. “Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem, man. So are we cool now?” JC asked.
“Yeah.” They shook hands, and Derrick’s phone began to ring. “I better get back to work,” Derrick stated.
“I’ll see you later, then.”
“Okay. Bye, JC. Thanks again.”
“Sure.” JC turned and left.
**
Derrick and the rest of the guys came home around six. Kathy and Jennifer heard Derrick’s car pull up and went outside to greet them.
“Hey, there,” Kathy said.
“Hey,” Derrick replied. “What’s up?”
“We were about to get dinner. Neither of us wanted to cook, so we thought we’d order in. What do y’all want?” Kathy asked everyone.
“Let’s order in some pizza and watch movies tonight,” Justin suggested.
“That’s cool. Lance and I can go rent the movies, and someone else can get the pizza,” Joey added.
“Okay,” Lance agreed.
“I can get the pizza,” Kathy offered. “We can all go in my car.”
“Jen? Is that cool with you?” Joey asked. He didn’t get a reply. “Jen?” Everyone looked at Jennifer. She and JC had kissed each other in greeting and had yet to release each other. “Well, it looks like it’s okay with her. Let’s go.”
Kathy, Lance, and Joey hopped into Kathy’s car and drove off. Derrick, Justin, and Chris went inside to relax. When JC and Jennifer separated, they found themselves standing alone outside.
“Did you talk to Derrick?” Jennifer asked.
“Yeah, we’re cool now.”
“Good.” She smiled, and they walked inside the house.
Derrick looked over at the pair as they entered the living room. Just before they sat down, Derrick stood and said, “Jennifer, could I talk to you in the kitchen? I have to ask you about something.”
“Um, sure,” Jennifer replied. She looked at JC as she walked away. He just shrugged.
Derrick turned to Jennifer as soon as she walked in. “What the hell were you thinking when you agreed to meet Dave?”
Jennifer closed her eyes. “How did you know I was going to meet him?”
“JC told me, since you didn’t seem to think I would care.”
“I’m sorry, but I know you don’t like Dave…”
“I don’t just don’t like him, I think he should go to hell.”
“Derrick, please, I’m just going to finish things with him once and for all.”
“That shouldn’t matter! You shouldn’t do this, Jennifer.”
“I have to. For my own sake.”
“No. I can’t let you do this.”
“I’m going to do it whether or not you say it’s okay. I need you to be there with everyone, though. You’re all going to watch in case anything happens.”
“Well, if he does try anything,” Derrick threatened, with a look of murder in his eye, “he’s mine.”
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
![[Don't Forget to Login]](http://209.185.130.250/adgraph/hmtlogin.gif)