He had showered and put on a pair of jeans and a red shirt. He left the collar open and rolled the sleeves up as usual. Terri and Mark had just walked over to Jesse’s and Rusty arrived shortly after. She was wearing a blue jean skirt with a white-laced t-shirt and white heels. After Adam talked to her they decided to go over there too.
He could tell instantly the minute he walked in the house that the party was different than others. The crowd was younger, livelier and the music was louder. He noticed food trays set up all around with different snacks, dips, and appetizers. Also both the outside bar and inside bar were packed with people around them. He saw that Jesse did have several of the bartenders from work there, but that was the only help she had hired for the night. He also noticed through the patio door that the pool was full of people as was the backyard. Some of them dressed, half-dressed or naked. He introduced Rusty to several people he knew, but he found that she knew even more people than he did.
He was standing with his arm around Rusty when he finally spotted Jesse in the living room standing next to Doug. The way she looked now, he thought, she could almost be in college. Jesse had on a pink denim skirt, very short, and a pink halter-top. She also had on gold jewelry, which he could tell was very expensive. Her hair was lose and flowing, sexy as usual, he thought. She also was barefooted, as usual.
She was holding a glass of wine and talking to Doug, who stood very close to her. Richard was sitting in the white leather chair near by talking to a blonde girl that he didn’t recognize. He ordered them a drink and glanced back at Jesse. She was looking at him and she seemed to have a mischievous expression on her face. He heard her name called but before she disappeared, she smiled at him.
Adam and Rusty went outside briefly and he laughed, seeing Terri already topless in the pool. Several people came up to him asking where Jesse was and Rusty finally laughed.
"Don’t you think you should introduce me to my competition? “ Rusty asked. “ I didn’t know you were involved with our hostess. “
"And I suppose now you’re going to tell me I’m the only man in your life? “ He teased.
"You know me better than that. I have a man in each city I visit, pretty similar to the women in your life. “ Rusty laughed. They went inside and he saw that Jesse was sitting on a bar stool at the bar with Doug standing next to her. There also was a small group of other people around her and they all were drinking shots. They went up to the bar and Jesse looked up at Adam smiling that certain way that got to him every time.
"Adam, nice to see you again. “ Doug said right away and extended his hand.
"How’s it going? “ He said, shaking Doug’s hand. “ Rusty, this is Doug and this is our hostess, Jesse. “
"Nice to meet you both. “ Rusty said.
"Nice to meet some one so beautiful. Here have a shot. “ Doug said to Rusty, handing them each a shot glass with peppermint schnapps in it. Doug stepped aside to let Adam stand next to Jesse. “ Don’t mind me, I was just keeping her company until you got here. “
"No problem. “ Adam said, baffled by Doug’s comment.
"Rusty, what an unusual name. What is it that you do? “ Doug said and the two of them began talking. Adam was standing next to Jesse and she stood up slightly to reach for her drink and the barstool went to tip. He quickly put his arm on it so that it wouldn’t. She laughed and sat back down, but he decided to keep his arm there just in case.
"So are you going to drink that? “ Jesse asked and he saw that familiar twinkle in her eyes.
"No, I’m not too crazy about the stuff. Why don’t you drink it? “ Adam handed it to her and she quickly drank it. She introduced him to several people who she said she had gone to college with. They were staying with her for the weekend and she was happy for the distraction from work for a couple days.
Shortly, someone announced that they were going to have a contest in the backyard, a wet T-shirt contest. Most of the group at the bar disappeared including Doug who had talked Rusty into joining the contest.
"You’re not going to be a good hostess and join the contest? “ He asked her.
"I’m not wearing a T-shirt, but don’t let me stop you from going to watch Rusty. She’s very beautiful. I just don’t want to go outside. “ She answered, but didn’t look up at him.
"Still don’t want to get thrown in the pool? Any new reasons why not? “ Adam asked smiling at her.
"I think I’ll ignore that comment. “ This time she laughed looking at him. “ It’s more fun when I push someone in the pool if you know what I mean. “
"Yes, that’s not something I could forget even if I wanted to. “ He smiled, recalling their pool incident. Jesse put her empty glass and her shot glass down. This was the first time he could tell that she was in the mood to drink and it gave him an unsettling feeling. The bartenders were very busy, and after several minutes of not getting waited on, she stood on the footrest of the barstool. She leaned way over the bar trying to reach for the bottle of schnapps. She leaned so far over; he could even see the pink panties she had on underneath her skirt.
"Jesse, what the hell are you doing? Sit back down here before you get hurt. “ He said, pulling her back to her seat. He reached the bottle for her pouring her a shot. “ There, is that better? “
"What about my drink? “ She asked and her smile told him she had just manipulated him and was extremely pleased about it. He shook his head acknowledging to her he knew this. He walked around to the other side of the bar.
"And what would the lady like? “ He asked.
"The usual. “ She said smiling.
"Coming right up. “ He quickly poured her a glass of wine, refilled her shot glass and went back to stand next to her. “ That stuff is pretty potent, I hope you know what you’re doing. “
"I always do. “ She teased, and quickly drank the shot. She got off the barstool and holding her drink in one hand, she took his hand with the other. He smiled, not surprised by her behavior. She started introducing him to more of her friends from college. He enjoyed listening to some of their stories about Jesse and it amused him but not surprised him that she had been a great party giver even in college.
After awhile, she had to put more food out and she called Richard to help her. He went outside and saw Rusty in the pool wearing just her panties like many of the others. He stood at the bar and it wasn’t long before the blonde girl Richard had been talking with walked up to him.
"Hi, I’m Sandy and you must be Adam. “
"Nice to meet you, Sandy. “ He smiled.
"You too. “ She laughed, flirting with him. “ We all have heard so much about the new man in Jesse’s life. We were all dying to come here just to meet him. Seems you have made a real hit with Jesse. “
"Oh really? “ Adam asked, surprised.
"Most definitely, and now that we’ve seen you, we want to know where there are more of you. “ Sandy flirted, much like Jesse herself. “ Jesse’s a terrific person. I’m actually happy she has someone in her life. I have always worried about her. “
"You know her pretty well? “ He asked.
"I was her roommate during college. She had a beautiful house and I lived with her and Richard. “ Sandy said.
"She had a lot of parties too, I gather. “
"Pretty much most of the time, when we weren’t studying and going to class that is. She was a very serious student, and she did really well. She has always done well at things. If it weren’t for her I probably wouldn’t have made it through college. She tutored me many times. “
"Yes, she is definitely good at teaching people things. “
"Oh you, “ Sandy slapped his shoulder in a teasing fashion. “ I bet she doesn’t have to teach you a thing. “
"Oh, I wouldn’t put money on that. “ Adam flirted back with her.
"Well, with all those awful things that have happened to her, I never thought she would get close to a man. “
"I’m still getting to know her. She hasn’t told me much about her past. “ He said, although curious to find out what Sandy was talking about.
"I’m surprised you haven’t heard the stories. It wasn’t bad enough that she lived with that awful stepfather, but what happened right before we graduated college was even worse. She almost died from being beaten up so badly and the police wouldn’t do anything about it. “
"What did happen to her? “ Adam asked now very curiously.
"She was on her way home from work. She worked part time at the company. We had no idea where she was for almost a week. We couldn’t even get anyone to help find her. She still wouldn’t trust a cop, if you ask me. “ Sandy said.
"Probably not, but they aren’t all like that. They’re a lot of good honest ones. “
"I tried to tell her that many times, but I don’t know if she believed it. I finally got a call from someone who worked at the hospital and who knew Jesse. She told me where she was. I hardly recognized her when I saw her in the hospital. She was talking but not making much sense, but they finally convinced me to get her out of there. Jesse kept telling us that they were coming back and going to hurt her. That he was making them keep her there. I’ve assumed she meant Gerald, although she never did say who he was. “
"You believed her? “ He asked, trying to picture what she said.
"The person that called me did and Jesse almost seemed like a crazy person, with her accusations and hysterics. Be glad you didn’t have to see her like that. “
"I’m not sure I could have handled that. How was it that you got her out of there? “ Adam asked, not liking what he was hearing at all.
"I called Richard and told him to come get her and take her home. He was so relieved that I found her, but he was one pissed mother, excuse my French, when he saw her. He even had me scared. He immediately removed the IV she had in one arm. I had no idea he would even know how, but I guess I should of. “
"Then what happened? “ Adam asked.
"He told me to get her stuff and he wrapped a blanket around her, picked her up and carried her out. I just followed him. Several nurses asked what he thought he was doing and he yelled at them to get out of his way. He swore and even threatened them that if they didn’t get out of his way he would be wrapping them in a blanket and putting them where no one would find them. He was really angry. “ Sandy said.
"What about hospital security, didn’t they try to stop him? “
