Tim was woken up to the insistent ringing of his doorbell. “What the fuck?” He muttered as he stumbled sluggishly out of bed. He looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was one in the morning. Who the hell would be ringing his doorbell at this time of night?
The person ringing the bell was getting more persistent. Who ever it was, Tim planned on giving the son of a bitch a piece of his mind. He looked through the peephole to see Jake, looking pissed. Now what was this all about? Tim shrugged and opened the door.
He had barely gotten the door open when Jake’s fist flew connecting with his jaw. Tim was so shocked by the sudden assault that he stumbled to the floor. Jake’s eyes glittered with rage. “You back stabbing son of a bitch!” Jake stood over a stunned Tim. “Get up!” Jake demanded.
Tim swiftly got to his feet only to be knocked back down by another blow. “Get up you cocksucker.” Jake ordered again.
Now Tim was angry. Instead of standing up, he lunged forward and tackled Jake at the knees. Jake went crashing down on his back, which caused the wind to get knocked out of him in the process. Tim was able to get a punch of his own off before Jake was able to catch his breath.
The two men went blow for blow, knocking furniture over and breaking things. Only when they were both exhausted and panting did the punches stop. They circled each other like jungle cats, eyeing each other wearily. Tim wiped the blood from his mouth. “What the hell is going on?” Tim asked angrily.
“Don’t play dumb with me. You fucked her! You are suppose to be my friend. I can’t believe that you would dare to lay a hand on her knowing how I feel about her.” Jake accused.
Tim froze. “Narissa told you?”
“Yes, she did. I’m surprised I didn’t hear it from you, friend.” The way Jake emphasized the word friend made it obvious that he wasn’t feeling anywhere near that way towards Tim.
Tim sighed. He had actually forgotten about that incident. Narissa and he were friends and he wouldn’t change that for the world. Though that experience had been pleasurable, he recognized it for what it was: one human reaching out for comfort in another. “It wasn’t like that Jake.”
“And how the fuck was it then? When did this happen? Have you been sleeping with her this past year all along while I was pouring my heart out to you?” Jake asked uncaring of the blood that dripped down from the side of his own mouth.
“It was a one time thing. She was upset. I was there for her. It happened the night she left your house. Narissa was crying. She called out in her sleep. I went to her and it just happened. It didn’t mean anything to either of us.”
“If it didn’t mean anything to either of you, why would you keep it from me and why would she throw it in my face the way she did?” Jake asked.
“Under what circumstances did she tell you?” Tim asked.
“She found out about my company owning the Sierra Vista. Joe Nieman was at the restaurant and let it slip about my property development company. She didn’t take it so well. That’s when she told me about the two of you. She made it very clear that you two ‘fucked’, as she so delicately put it.” Jake glared at Tim in disgust.
Tim sighed heavily. He could imagine how upset Narissa was when she found out about Jake’s business. “You should have told her when you started dating. I warned you that it would be better coming from you then her finding out some other way.”
“You’ve got a lot of damn nerve to stand there and lecture me about what I should or shouldn’t have done. How about this, you should not have fucked my woman!”
“Like I said, it meant nothing. I’ll call her right now and we’ll straighten this whole thing out.”
“Ha! Just try. She made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with either of us.” Jake laughed humorlessly.
“I see.” Tim racked his fingers through his blond locks. “Look Jake, we’ve known each other for a long time, and you know I have never been the type to try and steal your women. I know how you feel about Narissa and I can imagine how it must seem to you but like I said, it was a one-time thing. Narissa was upset that night and I was there for her.” Tim explained calmly.
As angry as he was, Jake could see that Tim was telling the truth. He still was jealous as hell though. Jake wanted to be the only man to know Narissa intimately and it tore him up inside to think of her with anyone else. “Was there no other way to comfort her? Did you have to fuck her?”
“I don’t know. We were both caught up in the moment. Look, I didn’t mention it because one, after it happened I knew you would overreact. I mean look at us, we’re black and blue. Second, I never really gave it that much thought because it didn’t mean anything to Narissa or me. We are friends and you can believe me or not. I’ve never lied to you Jake.”
“Narissa hurled it in my face.” Jake pointed out stubbornly.
“Probably because she was hurt and upset and she wanted to hurt you back. People tend to lash out when they are hurting inside.”
“She never use to be that way.”
“Because she was scared of you, but she’s not anymore. Is that what you want, a relationship based on fear?” Tim asked incredulously.
Jake sighed. “No. I like the woman she has become. I use to think that loving someone meant being weak but the time I spent without her showed me how wrong I was. God I love her.”
“Did you tell her how you feel?” Tim asked shrewdly.
Jake paused for a moment. Had he told Narissa that he loved her? He may have whispered it to her after lovemaking long after she slept but he couldn’t remember telling her in any other circumstance. “I don’t think I have.”
“Well I think you should.”
“But she hates my guts now.”
“Give her some time. Show her how you feel about her.”
“I’m new to this love thing. What am I suppose to do other than shower her with expensive gifts and make sure she has everything her heart desires?”
Tim thought for a moment. “Give her the thing that you value the most.” He answered finally.
Jake looked at his friend and it suddenly dawned on him what Tim meant. “No. I can’t do that.”
“If you love her you will. You have to give a little.”
Jake sighed. “You’re right.”
There was a brief pause before either of them spoke. “Hey let me get you some ice, you’re going to be sporting a nice shiner tomorrow.”
“So will you.” Jake smirked.
“Yea, I know.” Tim grinned sheepishly heading for the kitchen.
“Oh, and Tim,” Jake halted him. Tim turned around. “If you ever touch her again in any circumstance, I’ll rip your heart out.” Jake said with a smile on his face, but meaning every word.
“You can certainly try.” Tim smiled back, equally serious. After that, the incident was not mentioned again.
* * * * * *
Narissa was sure that she would have to get her head examined after tonight. Not a week later from when she vowed that she would have nothing to do with Jake, she found herself driving to his house. She had just come from another fruitless day of job hunting.
When Narissa found out that Jake was responsible for her having her job, she asked her supervisor for some leave. In that time, she began an extensive job hunt. There weren’t a lot of jobs out there that were comparable to what she currently had. To top that off she needed to find a job that paid slightly more than what she was making because she planned on moving and she wouldn’t have the huge discount she had now on her apartment. There was no way she was going to remain under Jake’s thumb in any capacity.
She had come home with her answering machine blinking. She wasn’t surprised to hear Jake’s voice. He had called her every night since she walked out on him at the restaurant. The message was usually Jake imploring her to pick up the phone so that they could talk. This new message had been different.
“Narissa, this is Jake. You don’t have to pick up the phone, but please listen to me before you erase this message. For some perverse reason, I never told you about my property development business because I wanted you to like me when you thought I was just some guy involved in the adult industry. In my mind, I thought that if you cared for me thinking that was where my income came from, you would accept other aspects of my lifestyle. Soon, it was never really worth mentioning. When you left my home over a year ago, I knew you didn’t have a place to live or a job to go to so I talked to Stan, your supervisor because I knew that he was looking to fill the position you are currently in now. All I asked him was to give you an interview. Believe me------” Beeeeeep. The answering machine cut him off.
The electronic voice came on announcing the next message. It was Jake again. “God I hate answering machines but I will leave you a thousand messages if I have to. As I was saying, you know what Stan is like. He would not have hired you if he didn’t think you were up to the job. The only strings I pulled was getting you the interview. I swear. As you know, the apartment comes with the job so everything you’ve done this past year was all you. I had nothing to do with your success this past year. I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but I would like to see you. Please come to my house on Saturday. There’s something I have to give you. It will be yours to do what you wish. If after coming to see me, you don’t want to have anything more to do with me, I’ll understand. Seven o’ clock Saturday, and Narissa, I lov----” Beeeeeep.
Narissa stared transfixed. Was he telling her the truth? She didn’t know if she could put herself through another encounter with Jake but on the other hand, she didn’t know if she could move on with her life if she didn’t see him with one last time. Narissa didn’t want to worry about what ifs for the rest of her of her life.
Now, here she was driving to Jake’s house with a feeling of trepidation, not knowing what was in store fore her. When she arrived a shiver ran up her spine. This was the first time she had been to Jake’s house since over a year ago.
Jake answered the door when she rang the bell. A look of relief washed over his face. “You came.” He smiled opening the door to let her in.
She paused for a second. Jake had a huge black eye. What the hell happened? No, she didn’t want to know, because if she asked she just might end up caring so she pretended as if she didn’t notice it. “Yes, but I’m not staying long. What is it that you wanted to give me?” Narissa asked wearily.
“Would you please follow me?” He asked.
Narissa shrugged as she followed him through the house. When he started up the stairs she paused. “Why do we have to go upstairs?” She asked in alarm.
“Because what I have to give you is upstairs.”
“I’m not going up there Jake.” She stated firmly.
Jake saw the determined look in her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Stay here. He went up the stairs. When he was gone she felt something wet on her leg. She looked down to see Rusty licking her leg, wagging his tail enthusiastically. “Rusty!” She knelt down next to the slightly overweight golden retriever. “You remember me.” She stroked his furry head. Rusty licked her face enthusiastically. “I missed you boy.” She hugged him affectionately.
“He missed you too, and so do I.” Jake said from above her on the stairs. Narissa glanced up. In his hands he held a pair of handcuffs and the whip she had become all too familiar with. She stiffened. Was this some kind of trick? She stood up causing Rusty to whimper.
