Saving Moxie

Jack

Jamie was still asleep when I woke up the next morning. It was completely quiet and peaceful in the studio, rays of sunshine flowing through the windows onto the bed. At some point during the night, he had rolled us into a spooning position and covered us with a quilt. It was a sweet gesture. It was even sweeter that he didn't take off in the middle of the night and make me wake up alone.

I leaned over and kissed his shoulder happily, then his cheek, and finally his lips before his eyes fluttered open slowly. A smile crossed his face that I had never seen before.

"Good morning, handsome." I said softly, pushing his hair up off his forehead. He yawned and stretched like a cat, bumping his forehead against mine tiredly.

He kissed my eyelids again, then my lips, the way he had the night before. He was kissing me again, and slipping the large shirt over my head. His strong and gentle hands began to rub over my body, his hands, his lips, his tongue dancing over my skin as if tracing each tattoo on my neck and shoulders.

His touch was gentle, innocent. Not like I had experienced in the past. Jamie knew what he was doing and while my inner voice screamed to push him away, I felt my n*****s harden, and it startled me.

"Mox," Jamie whispered, "Just relax and listen to your body. Let me take care of you." His fingers danced over my c**t, slow, rhythmic, gentle, moving until my body shook and my breath became ragged.

"Jam-" He kissed me then, swallowing my words before they could even reach the surface. My eyes opened, studying his face as my body rocked against his fingers, my lips quivering as he slid a single digit inside of me. He growled, pushing me back fully and moving to look down at me.

"I want to take you on a date. A real date. Have dinner with me." He whispered, pushing his fingers deeper and deeper inside of me. "I want to know everything about the last ten years."

I gasped, nodding, wrapping my legs tightly around him as I came undone, my hips bucking to milk every ounce of pleasure from his fingers.

I spent the majority of the day telling myself that the sick feeling in my stomach was because I was hungry. Something about the whole way to work felt off. I wasn't actually scheduled to work, but I needed to pick up my paycheck and Jen said Mrs. Lake was getting her final session of ink so she figured I would want to be there to see the finished product. Jamie actually didn't have plans for the day either so he swore he would be waiting for me to come back. He had originally offered to give me a ride, but it was so nice outside that I couldn't imagine not walking. It had been difficult to untangle myself from him, but I figured if I were really going to tell him everything tonight over dinner, I would need some time to myself to mentally prepare. The last thing I needed was for Jamie to go racing off to kill Jack or for him to feel more pity for me than he already did. He couldn't have changed anything and I wanted him to understand that.

"Yo, boss lady. How's it going?" I called to Jen, moving behind the front desk to rummage through the envelopes of checks. Thankfully, Jen paid me under the table for my work, so my envelope just had cash. I knew it was probably stupid and unsafe to have an envelope hanging out in a desk for anyone to steal, but I needed to keep my head down in case someone told Jack I was cashing checks regularly.

"Hey, Mox. Come take a look. Nell is pretty much done." She called over the buzz of the tattoo gun, tipping my head to signal me over. "It looks awesome."

As I looked over the black and white ink on Mrs. Lakes light skin, I couldn't help but smile at the way my art was showcased so perfectly.

"I love it, Moxie. You did such a good job. Thank you." Nell said from the chair, wincing occasionally as the tattoo gun buzzed. "Damian wanted me to invite you to brunch to thank you. Bring Jamie too! You're living back at home, right?"

I nodded wordlessly, offering a small smile in her direction. There was no way I would be attending brunch with a cop and his wife, no matter how nice they were.

"Great. I'll see you around noon tomorrow then? I know it's short notice, but Jen said you have tomorrow off and Jamie knows how to get to our place. It will be so nice to catch up."

Somehow I knew catching up meant completely different things to us. She may have heard plenty of stories from Jamie over the years, but I barely knew this woman.

"Of course. Make sure you keep that baby clean so it heals nicely." I said shortly, glancing at Jen with a silent look of anxiety before walking out of the tattooing area.

"Oh, Mox, some guy was in here. Real hot. Left a note for you on your desk." She smiled at me as panic settled over my face. "Don't worry so much, b***h. I think he just left his number. I didn't recognize him. You're hot and in high demand."

My shoulders relaxed slightly. Of course Jen wouldn't let any of Jack's friends in here. I thanked her, grabbing the note off my desk and pulling my eyebrows together as I looked at the scrawled message on the paper.

Alley.

"What did the guy look like again?"

"Tall, maybe six foot, short blonde hair, lots of tattoos and this sexy five o'clock shadow. Why? Everything okay?"

All at once my shoulders stiffened again, panic coursing through my veins. I knew the man she was describing as a partner who worked with Jack's employers. We hadn't met more than a few times, but he always seemed a little too interested in 'testing the merchandise' as my father would say. If it were up to him, my body would be for sale to the highest bidder, but I drew the line with disgusting talk like that. I may be rumored to be a slut and a druggie, but I was not a prostitute. How had he convinced Markus to go in and leave me a message with no strings attached?

My brain fogged as I took off toward the alley, my blood running cold as my footsteps echoed down the concrete enclosure, eyes narrowing on Jack standing in the middle of the alley. A thousand questions flooded through my mind of how he could have found me so quickly. Of course he was smart enough to send someone neutral into the shop to look for me. Jen may have only met Jack a few times from our childhood, but she knew his type.

"Hey, dad."

He jumped slightly as he saw me, as if he didn't expect me to actually show up.

"Hey, kiddo."

I sighed at the greeting, almost wishing it didn't have a million strings attached to it. I craved a normal father daughter relationship, but knew it would never be possible with this man. I had given up trying to change our dynamic years ago.

"I'm in trouble, Moxie. It's big this time. I need your help."

I sighed, rolling my eyes at the statement. I had heard this exact statement of desperation so many times in my life I could repeat it in my sleep. I backed myself up against the concrete wall, hoping to give us some distance. Unfortunately, all I actually managed to do was block myself from a quick exit if things went south. I was getting soft.

"And what do you expect me to do to help you this time? I'm broke."

"You have a job, don't you? You've been gone for almost a month! I know you stash your cash like a f*****g chipmunk, but I didn't find s**t at your old place." Anger crossed his face face making him look twisted and dangerous. "Where is it, Moxie? I need two hundred thousand dollars by the end of the month or our ass is grass."

"You mean your ass is grass." I mused. "I'm broke, Jack. I got nothing for you."

I watched without fear as Jack brought his hand across my face, the sting of his palm feeling more familiar than anything I'd experienced in the past few weeks. Blood filled my mouth as my lip split and began to throb. He shoved me then, hard, making my bag drop and my belongings scatter over the concrete. I saw the envelope fall out of the bag before he snatched it from the ground, eyeing the cash inside with a dirty smile on his face. I wanted to cry at the injustice. That cash was my ticket to freedom. I had planned to save up enough for plane tickets for Jamie and I and maybe have enough saved up that we could get a small apartment somewhere safe. I had dreamed the night before of running away with Jamie to a place where no one knew us that we could start over together. Without cash, that was entirely impossible.

"Are you done now?" I spit out, feeling warm blood trickle down my chin.

"Listen, you little b***h! You owe me!"

I frowned, shaking my head and pulling my hair over my shoulder to hide the hickey on my neck. I didn't need a reason for my father to dig in my life looking for loose ends to use against me.

"Who do you owe, Jack? I'll get you the money." I sighed, rubbing my arms against the chill in the air. "Maybe they'll give you an extension if I can get you some cash up front."

He laughed, bitter and frustrated, running his hands through his hair in a way that looked like it hurt.

"I don't need money, Moxie. I need you to come home." He short me daggers was he waved the envelope of cash at me. "You've been holding out on me, kid. All I've ever done is take care of your ungrateful ass!"

At once, his hands were balled like he was going to hit me again, but he didn't.

"Sorry." I said softly, closing my eyes to try to escape.

"Just come home. I'll give you a couple days to get your s**t straight. After that, I'll start sending messages." He shook his head, scratching at the sores on his cheek. "I own you!" He reminded me, shooting me another glare before walking away from me and disappearing from the alleyway.

My knees buckled beneath me as I slid down the concrete until I was sitting, the foul smelling liquid on the ground soaking into my jeans and shoes as tears free fell down my cheeks.

Pulling my fingers away from my swollen cheek, Jamie gently pressed the bag of peas to my skin, forcing a hiss out of my lips.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jamie demanded, though his anger was not directed at me. I knew he had an idea of who gave me the bruise and busted lip.

"Would you believe me if I said I fell?"

"No. You're clumsy but not enough to do this much damage." He kissed my forehead gently. "You promised to be honest with me from now on, Mox. Remember?"

"Damn." I gave him a blank smile, but winced as it ripped my lip back open. "Well, then I guess I'd have to say it was the visit from my dear old dad."

He was silent for a moment before his hand raised to cup my cheek tenderly, brushing over the skin like butterfly wings. I wanted to freeze this moment.

In the back of my head Jack's words echoed: 'A couple days, then I start sending messages.'

Jack was a lot of things, but he always delivered when it came to threats and deadlines.

"What did he want? Why did he beat you up?"

"He just wanted some money, said he owed some guy a few bucks."

I placed my chin on his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his hair brushing against my uninjured cheek. Before I could pull completely away from him, his strong arms were pulling me into his lap, into his warm embrace. I let the tension flow from my muscles as my head rested on his shoulder, his fingers aimlessly running through my hair.

"Moxie, where did you go when you needed someone?" He asked then, softly, as if it hurt him to ask.

"What do you mean? I didn't go anywhere."

"When you were younger and your dad beat you up or your mom made you feel like s**t, you used to come climb in my window." I nodded at the memories. "But once you left... why didn't you come back? Why did you stop letting me protect you?"

I thought about my answer for a moment, knowing nothing I could say would ever really explain the situation. How many times had I sat on the roof of our dumpy apartment building, staring at the stars and hoping Jamie was too?

"I just looked at the stars."