This is a new story not related to my other "Crazy" submissions about Melissa, Kristen and the ongoing affair with her father. If you enjoy this one, I will consider writing a continuation, just please leave me a comment to let me know, thank you.
The Game and the Girl
The pulsating tune came blasting from somewhere within the contents of my purse. Abandoning my lips half coated in Revlon Crushed Velvet, my toe snagged the corner of the bed-frame in pursuit of my cell phone. Screaming in pain from my little toe, I went down on my knees and grabbed my foot with both hands. By my head, my phone still played one of my favorite pop songs that I had programmed to play when Zack was calling. Now suddenly it was the most annoying song in the world.
Leaving one hand to attend to my throbbing toe, I knocked the purse over with the other. Rifling through the coupons, sticks of gum and other various contents that cluttered the bag, I found my phone and flipped it open before it the voicemail would pick up.
"Hey," I said in a less than excited voice.
"What's wrong?" Zack asked, detecting my frustration in one word.
"I slammed my toe getting to the fucking phone! That's what's wrong!" I screamed at him without much thought.
"Ouch, that sucks, you OK?"
"How the hell do I know? It could be broken!" I yelled again.
"Oh man, does it hurt?" he asked.
"Does it hurt? Are you are friggen moron! It's killing me!!"
"Why are you yelling at me like it's my fault?" Zack asked innocently.
"Because I wouldn't have hurt it if you hadn't called!" I shot back immediately.
"Oh, forgive me, I didn't know I had to use telepathy now to contact you!" Zack said defensively. The pain in my toe, while still throbbing, was easing a bit now, and bending it with little pain told me that it wasn't broken. I realized I was probably taking my clumsiness out on him, and decided to change my attitude before I ruined our evening planned together.
"I'm sorry, it just really hurt that's all, I'll be fine," I said in a calmer tone. "I just hope I'm not limping in the heels I'm planning on wearing tonight."
"Well Jess, you're toe may not hurt you too much after-all then," he replied in an uneasy voice.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel, I have to work."
"What?? What do you mean you have to work? This is your night off!" my blood began to get hot once more.
"One of the guys called in sick, has the flu or something, they need me to cover, I can't get out of it," Zack said sounding not nearly as upset as I wanted him to sound.
"Well you GET OUT OF IT!" I screamed again.
"I CAN'T! I ALREADY TOLD YOU!!" he shouted back, raising his voice for the first time. Then calming himself a bit he added, "my sergeant is being an asshole, you want to call him and ask him for me?" he said sarcastically.
"You SUCK, you know that?" I shot at him upset.
"I'm sorry Jess, I'll make it up to you next week I swear."
"Whatever," I moped as I clipped the phone shut.
With my plans blown for the night I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, drowned in disappointment. We had plans to go out to this new restaurant that opened downtown, and then maybe catch a movie. Now my night looked to be shot.
Quickly I thought of an alternative, and grabbed my cell phone again. In seconds I was listening to my friend Kellie's recorded voice telling me to leave a message. She was out with Eric already; I figured it was too late to catch her.
Over the next few minutes I tried dialing several girlfriends of mine, without any hope. I only got through to Brianna, but she was on her way to a wedding reception for a cousin of hers, and despite her disinterest in it, she was obligated to go.
Facing a night of total boredom, I stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser, and wiped off the lip cream that colored half my lips, then I went into the bathroom to wash my makeup off. Not bothering to change any longer, I went downstairs and found my father in the kitchen. He was busy filling bowls with chips and dips, and taking bottles of liquor out of one of the cabinets.
"Hey Daddy, what are you up to tonight?"
"Oh hey darling," he smiled, mildly surprised to see me in sweats and a t-shirt this late in the evening, "got a card game tonight. Aren't you going out with Zack?"
"He has to work," I pouted.
"Shot you down huh? I'm sorry honey. Why don't you call one of your friends?"
"Called all of them, they all have plans, so I guess I'm doing nothing tonight," I said with a look of despair. "You don't have to do nothing sweetie, do you know how to play cards?" he suggested.
"That's OK Daddy, I know how you and your friends like to play for money, and I don't know how to play well enough to be betting," I said with a sigh.
"You don't have to use your money Jess, I'll put it up for you if you like."
"That's OK Dad, I'll just put on a movie or something I guess."
My dad looked upset to see me in this predicament. Ever since my mother walked out on us 5 years ago, he knew his little girl was a busy bee. He knew how extremely popular I was in school, and how I was usually always out with either my friends, or my boyfriend Zack. It was like him to try to entertain me if he could.
I went into the living room and clicked on the tube, and began flipping through the channels. I finally settled on a re-run of Road Rules when my father came in from the kitchen.
"Hey Jess, I called my friend Will, and I think I may have a solution to your loneliness tonight," he said in a hopeful manner. "You remember Will right?"
"I'm not sure Daddy, I've met a lot of your friends," I said. My father had many buddies that worked with him in the firehouse. His friends were the nicest group of guys, and all rather handsome older men. Being firefighters made added to their sex appeal, even if most of them were married and in their 40's.
My father usually played cards while at the firehouse, but being on temporary leave due to a small injury he had sustained while on the job, many of his friends decided to move the game to his house for the time being.
My father attempted to describe his friend, but he could tell it wasn't clicking with my memory. "Well Willie's got a daughter about your age, she's got nothing to do tonight either, he was thinking of bringing her tonight, maybe you can watch a movie together or something?"
"Oh that's ok, he doesn't have to drag his daughter here on my behalf, " I said.
"He doesn't mind honey, and I think you two will hit it off, I've met her, nice girl," he added.
I wasn't sure if I was in the mood to play host to someone I didn't know. I was dressed for comfort, and I wasn't about to make a new friend the way I looked. On the other hand however, I could definitely use the company, since I knew my father was probably going to pay little attention to me once his game got started.
"OK Daddy, thanks, it's cool," I said with a smile. "Great honey, I hope this makes your night better, and her name is Holly," he said as he returned to the kitchen.
"Oh Daddy?" I called into the kitchen, "when are they coming?"
"They should be here in about 20 minutes."
I almost sprang from the couch when he said that. It was like my dad to try to help me in anyway he could. My dad and I had always had a great relationship between us, and our bond only grew tighter when my mother left, but my father failed to realize that women liked to be presentable.
I ran up the stairs taking two at a time with bare feet, my little toe no longer in pain. At the top of the stairs I ran to my room pulling my shirt over my head in the process. Knowing my father was preoccupied with preparations in the kitchen, I didn't bother to close the door as I searched my drawers for a bra.
Over the next fifteen minutes I got dressed in a nice pair of jeans, and nicer shirt. I ran into the bathroom and reapplied my makeup and lipstick. It wasn't the way I had planned on spending the evening, but if I was going to spend the night in the company of firefighters, even if they were my father's age, I wasn't going to look like a slouch.
Suddenly the doorbell chimed and I heard my father greeting someone downstairs. I remained in my room for a few more moments as more of my father's friends arrived. Then I heard my father call for me, which must have meant that this girl had arrived.
When I made it down to the living room again, I was greeted by several familiar faces I knew from my Dad's firehouse, and then my father reintroduced me to Will and his daughter Holly.
She was a very pretty girl just about an inch shorter than me, with long straight brown hair, that came to a rest just below her shoulders. She wore a low cut shirt that displayed a decent amount of cleavage. She had larger breasts than I did, and apparently she liked to flaunt them. She was also dolled up like me, I was glad I had changed.
"Hey Holly, I'm Jessica, it's nice to meet you," I said with a smile. We shook hands awkwardly for a moment before Will began feeding me with information on his daughter.
"...she went to Central, so she wasn't in your district..." he went on without notice that I really wasn't listening.
Eventually after all the introductions, the men settled into the dining room where the card table was set up. Holly and I remained in the living room where I clicked flipped through the channels like I had earlier. "So I heard your boyfriend cancelled on you?" Holly said with a kind smile.
I laughed and responded, "Yep, got the shaft, he's gotta work."
"That sucks," she said, "does it happen a lot?"
"No, actually this is the first time he's been called in, " I said.
"What does he do?"
"He's a cop," I said.
"Oh really? That's ironic, my boyfriend is a cop too!" Holly said surprised.
"That
is
ironic, isn't it," I said interested. "Did your boyfriend have to work too?"
"Yeah, he's working tonight, but he was scheduled tonight, I had plans with a friend of mine, but she got sick," she explained.