First Kiss (Heavy Influence) (46 page)

“Man, Aly, that didn’t look goodm” Mike said as he scraped Nadine’s hands off his arm and stepped over to meet me as I came up the stairs. “Shit, your face is really red.” He reached out grabbing my chin and turned my face to the side to get a better view. My stomach flipped when his fingers made contact.

I stepped back. “Yeah, I need to get ice on it, this sucks.” I tried to laugh it off.

“I can cruise home with you…guys.” Mike offered. His eyes searched my face and my bikini-clad body. I became uncomfortable. He glanced at Nadine. Her eyes tightened, her demeanor shifted instantly. She was wise to his game.

I was confused. Mike was complicating things for me, and I didn’t want to be a bitch to him. I actually liked him.
I stepped away dialing Jake’s number. Mike continued to look at me thoughtfully. Nadine stepped in front of him grabbing his attention.

The call rang to voicemail.

44

Jake

             
My mother silently paced back and forth in front of me and it made my hands tingle, ignoring Aly’s calls made it worse. The adrenaline pumping through me left me light headed. I knew there was a possibility she would find out about the hotel charges, but I was hoping it would have been one of those things that slipped by, seeing she only audited from time to time. There were plenty of times I would charge high priced items like gear for the band, and she never said a word. I was about to get a shellacking.

             
“So that’s it, you stayed at this five start hotel,
alone
? Is that what you’re telling me, Jake?”

             
Her nostril flare indicated she was forcing herself to stay calm, but her rage was clear in her flushed cheeks. Her normally neat attire was rumpled and her white sleeveless blouse was halfway un-tucked as she swung a thin black belt from side to side, as if waiting for the perfect moment to lash out and snap me with it.

Finally, I spo
ke. “I had some friends come by,” I stammered. “Mom it was an effed up day for me. I needed to just get away from the band.”

             
She stood with her arms folded tight against her chest and her French manicured nails disappeared into her flesh. “I’m giving you a chance to tell me the truth, Jake, I know there was more than one person who stayed in that room.”

             
I gulped as my temperature rose and heat seeped out of my skin. She had me backed into a corner. I needed to make a choice and fast. Lie to her and lose all trust for the foreseeable future if she found out or tell her the truth and dive into the unknown abyss of repercussions.

             
“Mom, just friends, all the usual suspects and yes, Aly was there.” I danced carefully with my explanation, praying she would let it be.

             
With another deep breath loaded into her lungs she was about to unleash on me again. I closed my eyes. Before she spoke another word, a knock came at the door.
There is a God
, I thought as I sprang up from my seat. I was quickly pushed back by her bark.

             
“No! You sit there, I’ll answer it.” She pointed angrily at me before she sped off to see who was bothering us. Looking at the clock, Aly had another half hour of volleyball practice. Maybe I could make it.

             
I tiptoed over to see who could possibly be at the door, and my heart sprung up into my throat when I saw Aly standing next to my mom in the foyer. Kate was holding Aly’s head, looking at the side of her face.

             
God, this isn’t really happening, is it?
I thought to myself. I quickly turned, stepping away, back to my original position. Maybe my mom would turn Aly away after her inspection and maybe Aly would leave.
Please God, let me off this one time and I promise I’ll do whatever my mom wants without being a dick.

             
I’m never praying again.

             
“Hey, Aly,” I said, as I continued to curse God in my head. I attempted to act as casual as possible.

              My mom saw right through me and rolled her eyes, looking back at Aly. “Jake, please go get an ice pack for Aly. Apparently she got a ball to the face, real good by the looks of it.”

             
“Shit, what happened?” I said, quickly moving to her side. “Aw man, your eye’s already bruised.” I reached out gently touching the injured area.

             
“Ah, ouch, it really hurts.” She coiled back.

             
“Hold on.” Dashing into the kitchen I rummaged through the freezer looking for the blue icepack beneath the frozen chicken and fish, I couldn’t find it. The seconds ticked away as I pictured Aly spilling her guts about our hotel romp. Tossing packs of frozen peas and green beans it finally dawned on me to use one of them.

             
“Here you go,” I called out, attempting to stifle their imagined conversation. “I have a bag of frozen veggies, they’ll do the trick.”

             
My mom huffed. “Jake, if you would have taken another second, it’s in there. I just saw it this morning.”

             
As she disappeared into the kitchen, I unloaded, breathless and low. “Mom found out about the hotel. Don’t say anything. I’ll take care of it.” A petrified expression spread across Aly’s face. I held the cold bag to her eye and her hand covered my own, pressing tighter. Our foreheads rested against each other. “Trust me I’ll take care of it,” I whispered. “What are you doing here, anyway?” I said and wrapped my good hand around her neck. My fingers weaved gently through her hair. I was lost in her scent of sunscreen and fruit. Shock waves went through us upon hearing my mother’s voice, propelling us three feet apart.

              “Ok, this thing with you two…we need to talk,” Kate said waving her hand at us. She walked over, taking away the frozen veggie bag and replacing it with the blue ice pack I failed to find. “Aly, seeing that Jake can’t play straight with me, I need to ask you...”

             
I jumped in front of Aly in an instant, interrupting her. “No, no, don’t drag her into this!” I said firmly, standing in between them to protect Aly from my mother’s third degree. “I told you what went down.”

             
Kate’s eyes flashed wide as she stepped back from me. “Jake, don’t you dare do this again.” She pointed angrily at me. “I have a right to know what the hell’s going on.” She walked over to the coffee table grabbing a small pile of papers. “This bill is over six hundred dollars! Bad choice, my dear, not to mention the possibility of inappropriate behavior going on,” she said pointing directly at Aly. “Aly, did you stay the night with Jake at Shutters?”

             
“Don’t!” I yelled, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears. “Don’t answer her,” I said facing Aly. “I need you to go home, please.”

My eyes pleaded with her.

              “Aly,” my mother tried to regain her attention and I wedged in once more.

             
“This is none of your business!” I yelled louder, moving closer to her face.

             
Daggers flew out of my mother’s eyes. “This is my business.” She said waving the papers in my face. “How dare you!”

             
Slap.

             
I was shocked into submission. We all stood there, silent. I tried to grapple with the fact that my mom just hit me. She’d never laid one hand on me in my entire life.

              “Aly, please, go home,” I said, calmly. My eyes were locked to my mother’s. She was as angry as I’d ever seen. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her eyes darted between Aly and me.

             
“Aly, I need you…”

             
“No, you don’t need anything from her.” I said once again, more firmly.

             
We were at a standoff. The air was so thick with tension we all stood paralyzed by it. My mind scattered in a million different directions. I quickly moved to Aly and grabbed her hand, dragging her through the foyer and out the front door. I was surprised Kate didn’t shout out or come after us.

             
“Oh my God, Jake.” Aly sighed, desperate. “What’s gonna happen?”

             
“Don’t worry about it,” I reassured her taking her face in my hands and planting a hard kiss on her lips. “I don’t know when I’m going to call you. She’ll probably turn my phone off.”

             
I stood watching Aly run across the lawn and I wanted to take off after her and keep running. Turning to walk back into the house, I caught my mother’s image in the window. There was no doubt she saw our whole exchange. Sure enough, as soon as I closed the door, she was standing right there following me back into the living room.

             
“You leave me no choice, Jake.” She stood shaking her head with her shoulders slumped.

             
“No choice for what, mom?” I said smartly. “All you do is poke your nose in shit that has nothing to do with you. I’ll pay for the goddamn bill, alright? Now just drop it.”

              She took a step back and her stature hardened.

“If
you ever,” she paused and her voice trembled, “
ever
raise your voice at me like that again and blatantly show disrespect. You can move out of this house and forget any further support. I’ve had it with you.” She pointed angrily at me.

             
The weight of her words sat heavy on my shoulders. She was right. I knew I was out of line. I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but I couldn’t help myself.

             
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Look, I know I have some things to work on and I’ll sell something to pay for the bill…”

             
“Something that I paid for!” she yelled. “You don’t get it do you?…”

             
“No, I don’t get it!” I raise my voice again, but caught myself. “What? You think what I’m doing here isn’t work? That I don’t deserve what you’ve given me? All I do all day long is work for my future and by the way, I
am
making money, if you’ve forgotten. My music,
my
money.” I was so angry I had to remind myself to breathe and to try and remain calm. “You know, I never asked for you to turn this into a business. If I knew one day you’d throw this shit in my face…” I stopped mid sentence, not wanting to say anything worse than I already had. I buried my head in my hand while my broken one ached. “Look, I’ll pay for the bill,” I said, defeated. “Please, can you just drop it?”

             
She searched my face and sadness painted hers. “Jake, you asked if I believed in you after your father passed away. You asked me if I would keep supporting you in your music, this isn’t just about the money.” She lingered in front of me, finally sitting down on the sofa grabbing the pillow next to her.

             
I sighed deeply. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I really am.”

             
She looked bewildered and this pulled at me. I fought the guilt that crept in, reminding myself that while she was right about a few things, she had no business butting in my relationship with Aly.

             
She must have read my mind.

“I thought the whole thing with Aly was cute in the beginning. I thought she just had a little crush on you. Then all the antics started, and bad choices.
You telling me you’re
in love
with her?” she spoke slowly and pulled at the corners of the pillow that sat in her lap. “The unrest with the band, now Mike’s gone and now staying in hotels with Aly, it’s just too much. She’s too young for you.”

             
“Mom, she didn’t stay with me at the hotel.” I lied before I realized it. Without another word, she rose walking toward the front door. “Where are you going?” My heart raced. Fuck, I thought. “Alright, stop!” I shouted, but she didn’t stop. “Mom, alright, she stayed with me.” I admitted standing, quickly running toward the door.

She slammed the door shut.

              I was frozen for a moment, picturing her telling Aly’s parents everything. I ran out the front door and she was already half way across the front lawn.

             
“What are you doing?” I said running in front of her stopping her in her tracks. She attempted to move around me.

             
“Jake, I want to talk to Aly…”

I grabbed her arm tightly, desperate to stop her. “No,
you’re not gonna to talk to her,” I said firmly.

             
She gasped. “Let go of me, Jake.” Jerking her arm away, she pushed past me. “We’re all gonna have a little talk.”

             
“No,” I said loudly, “Stop!”

             
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would have done what I did. Grabbing my mother, I clumsily picked up her small frame, with my hand now throbbing beneath my cast, and threw her over my shoulder. She yelped, kicked and screamed, pounding at my back for me to put her down.