Seduce me, Jack... Ch. 12

Sunday afternoon, April 19, 1987, Amanda Lewis and Jack Nicholson were headed back down Routes 1 and 101, leaving Santa Barbara and headed back to Los Angeles. Jack had asked Amanda if she wanted to attend the Lakers' game with him that evening, since he had pairs of season tickets to all the home games, and Amanda had excitedly accepted.

The Lakers had been having one of their best seasons ever that year, despite the loss Friday night to the San Antonio Spurs... the first time that team had beaten them all season. Both Jack and Amanda had been disappointed when they'd learned of the loss late Friday night. But they were both sure they were in for a good game that evening, watching the Lakers play the Seattle Supersonics. Seattle had beaten the Lakers only once in their previous four games that season. Surely the Lakers would prevail once again, this close to the playoffs...

Jack was glancing at Amanda when he noticed that her head kept dipping forward tiredly and she could hardly keep her eyes open. "What's the matter, sweet girl?" he asked loudly over the wind and traffic noise. "Have I worn you out?" he added with a chuckle when she looked at him.

She smiled sleepily and replied, "Well, yes... but it also doesn't help that I didn't get any sleep last night."

Jack frowned slightly. "Why couldn't you sleep?" When he glanced at her, he saw the sheepish look on her face and he knew it was because she'd been too worried about what was going to happen between them. "Never mind, sweet girl. Why don't you put your seat back and relax and try to take a nap? We've got at least an hour and a half before we get back to L.A. and you look like you could use the rest."

Amanda leaned over and kissed his scruffy cheek, frowning as she smiled, wondering how she managed not to notice that Jack hadn't shaved all weekend. Then she reached down and reclined her seat and settled back comfortably to rest. She didn't think she'd be able to sleep, what with all the wind and noise, but at least she could rest her eyes and relax a little... Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

**********

The next thing Amanda was aware of was a loud honking of horns. She jerked awake and sat up, looking around. She instantly recalled that she was with Jack in his convertible sports coupe and that they had been on their way back to L.A. from Santa Barbara, and now she realized that they were pulling into the parking lot of The Forum in Inglewood where the Lakers played their home games. Car horns were blasting as Jack drove past lines of vehicles waiting to get into the main parking area on his way to the VIP parking section.

She put her seat back up and ran her hands through her hair after she released it from the ponytail she'd bound it in for riding in the convertible. She also wiped her eyes and patted her cheeks a few times to help herself wake up when she yawned.

Jack noticed her fidgeting with her hair and face. He reached over and caressed her left thigh gently. "You don't need to worry about that, Amanda. This is a basketball game... not the Academy Awards. It doesn't matter how you look... and, any way, you look beautiful." He threw a quick wolfish grin her way when she looked at him and smiled.

Jack pulled into his usual parking spot inside the VIP parking area that led to a separate entrance, which was used exclusively by season ticket holders, other VIPs and the players. Amanda couldn't help but look around in awe as she walked, hand-in-hand, with Jack Nicholson into The Forum arena, passing several other prominent and well-known people who waved at Jack in greeting. She didn't notice the surprised glances from those people as they took notice of her and the fact that Jack was holding her hand.

He led her up to his seats near mid-court, just a few rows up from where the Lakers sat on the sidelines. She was doing her best to quell her rising excitement, but she knew it wasn't working very well when Jack looked at her and chuckled as he grinned, saying, "Geez, Amanda, you look just like a kid in a candy store!"

She laughed and exclaimed, "I can't help it! This is the first time I've ever been to a Lakers' game! I was hoping to get to at least a couple of the playoff games... if I could get tickets... but you know how hard they are to come by!"

Jack leaned toward her and kissed her quickly as he put his fingers under her chin. "Well, now you don't hafta worry about that... you can come to the playoff games with me!" He grinned widely as her excitement, once again, registered on her face. "Now... are you hungry? 'Cause I'm starvin'! I'm gonna go get me a hotdog and a beer. Would you like anything?"

Amanda asked him for the same and sighed softly when he kissed her once again before he got up and walked down to go out to the concession area. She continued to look around excitedly as people filtered into the arena. It was just after six o'clock, so they still had a little while to go until tip off at six thirty. She began to wonder which other celebrities she might see that evening and how they'd react to seeing Jack with a strange and much younger woman. She was musing over that thought and didn't notice a rather short man stop beside her seat and stare down at her.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't sit here. These seats are reserved for season ticket holders and I believe you're in one of Mr. Nicholson's seats."

She looked up, startled at first by the gruffness of the man's voice, and then barked a laugh when she realized she'd recognized the voice and saw the amused expression on Danny DeVito's face. "Yes, I know, Mr. DeVito. I'm here as Jack's guest this evening."

"Well, well, well... so you're the flavor of the month... eh?" he asked suggestively, looking and sounding just like his former TV alter ego, Louie De Palma on Taxi as he sat down next to her. "Just how long have you known Jack?" he asked curiously as he eyed her up and down.

Amanda shifted nervously in her seat and looked down at her clothes to make sure nothing was out of place as the diminutive actor's eyes slowly roved over her body. Her knit top was plastered to her breasts and she was horrified to discover that her nipples were clearly evident poking forward through her bra and shirt. She tried to casually cross her arms over her chest as she started to answer his question, but he smirked at her in understanding.

"Uh... I just met Jack a couple days ago, Mr. DeVito, and he very kindly invited me to tonight's game when he learned I was a big fan and had never been to a game before... since I only moved to L.A. just a few months ago."

"Uh huh..." he muttered gruffly. "And just HOW did you meet Jack and WHY was he so anxious to invite you to a Lakers game?" he questioned suspiciously. He knew this girl had to be Jack's latest conquest even though she seemed reluctant to admit it, as his horny friend was not usually in the habit of inviting some woman to a game if he wasn't getting what he wanted from her...

Amanda blushed but continued to stare into the man's dark, twinkling, mischievous eyes. She suddenly grinned and chuckled when she realized that Danny DeVito was just trying to good-naturedly tease her because he knew what Jack was like. And she could try to side step giving up any details as to the "nature" of her relationship with Jack, but he knew that Jack had already fucked her. She decided to see if she could turn her embarrassment around on him.

She lowered her arms from in front of her chest and reached her hand over to squeeze the man's knee and leaned close to him as she said quietly, "Well, Mr. DeVito, Jack rescued me Friday afternoon when my rental car broke down not far from his house. And he took me home with him so I could call for another car... which didn't work out... and I needed to get to Santa Barbara for the weekend, so Jack very kindly drove me up there and stayed with me and now he's brought me to this game before he takes me home as a reward for fucking him all weekend!!!"

Amanda couldn't help but snort with laughter at the look that came over Danny DeVito's face. "Why so shocked, Mr. DeVito? You knew damn well that Jack had to have fucked me or I wouldn't be here with him!"

He started to snort with laughter, too. "Well... Yeah... but I didn't expect you to just put it out there like that! But... I guess I deserved that for trying to make ya feel uncomfortable. How about we start again... I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, here. You know who I am but I don't even know your name. You are...?" he asked sincerely as he offered her his hand in greeting.

"Amanda Lewis, Mr. DeVito. And I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, but I'm just trying to make myself get used to people looking at me like that when I'm around Jack," she said with a slight laugh as she shook his hand.

His eyebrows went up in surprise as he asked, "Oh... Jack has already indicated that he wants to see you beyond this weekend?" Then he winced and frowned as he added, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean that the way it sounded... And please, call me Danny."

"Of course, Danny," she replied smoothly as she smiled at him. "And I can imagine your surprise at hearing that Jack would want to spend more than just a weekend with someone like me... a non-celebrity, I mean. I didn't think I was the type of woman that would normally catch Jack's eye, but... here I am! And, yes... he's already indicated that he would like to keep seeing me..." Her voice trailed off as she saw Jack approaching with their food and drinks. She glanced at the man beside her. "Here he comes now," she said as she nodded her head toward Jack, who was already grinning as he arrived.

"Hey, Danny! I see you've met Amanda. I hope you've been behaving yourself!" he laughingly teased as he handed Amanda the cardboard tray containing their hotdogs and beer. "How have you been, my friend?" he asked sincerely as they slapped each other on the arms.

"Doin' good, Jack," he replied. "Yeah... I introduced myself to Amanda, but... I didn't exactly behave. But she figured out real quick how to put me in my place! She seems like a smart girl... too smart, in fact, to let herself get tangled up with the likes of you!"

Amanda sat and listened as Jack and Danny talked, joked and laughed together for a few minutes until Danny left to return to his seat, but not before he took Jack aside for a moment to tell him something privately. She briefly wondered what it was about, but figured it was something that was simply none of her business. She wondered again when Jack returned to his seat with a slight frown on his face, but she wasn't about to question him and seem like she was already interfering in his life. She was sure if it had anything to do with her, Jack would've said so.

He seemed to get back to his easy-going manner again as they ate their hotdogs and drank their beers and talked about the various players' stats when they came out to warm up before the game started. They were just finishing their beers when they noticed that Kareem was nowhere to be seen. Jack and Amanda glanced at each other with frowns as they both had the same thought...

That's not a good sign...

Almost from the opening tip off, they could tell that the Lakers weren't playing up to their usual par. During the first several minutes of the game, the Supersonics seemed to be outmaneuvering them with almost every move. The Lakers were keeping up, but with the vast difference in the two teams' records that season, the Lakers should've been far outpacing them. By half-time, Jack and Amanda were looking perplexed and wondering what was going on with their championship-bound team...

Amanda pointed out to Jack that the player who'd been performing the best for the Lakers so far that game was Byron Scott, although Magic and Mychal Thompson also seemed to be doing as well, except Mychal had been committing more turnovers and personal fouls. Jack was, once again, impressed with how much attention she was paying to the game, but he couldn't shake the growing feeling that the way this game seemed to be going was a bad omen regarding their potential future together...

Not to mention the fact that the Lakers had also lost to San Antonio, a team who had not beaten them all season, the night he and Amanda met... And he knew that he was using this superstitious bullshit thinking to cover up the real reason why he was having second thoughts about their future... because of what Danny had told him. How the hell would he ever explain it to Amanda?

He figured it would be best if he could convince her that their getting together had thrown the universe off kilter and that was why the Lakers were losing!!! Maybe she'd buy it...

Oh, Jack... that is just soooo fuckin' lame! Just tell her the truth...

ARE YOU FUCKIN' NUTS!!! You can't possibly believe that she would understand or accept the truth better than this "bad juju" excuse...

Jack... Amanda seems to be a very mature and understanding woman... I think she deserves the truth... that she would want the truth...

NO FUCKIN' WAY!!! She doesn't want the truth... no woman wants the truth... they can't handle the truth!!!

Jack shook his head and tried to drive his confusion away. It would be ridiculous to try to convince Amanda that their relationship had created some "bad juju" for the Lakers. It was only half time and the Lakers were down by only a few points. They could very well come back out and completely turn things around during the second half... but that didn't happen.

The Lakers lost to Seattle, 104 -- 110... Jack Nicholson and Amanda Lewis were stunned. They just sat in their chairs, staring into space for several moments after the final buzzer sounded. They finally turned to look at each other, their utter shock and bewilderment plastered all over their faces.

"I don't believe this..." Amanda muttered, and then her voice grew more frantic as the facts hit her in the face. "The first chance I get to see a Lakers game during one of their best seasons... and they lose?!!! Two games in a row now they lost?!!! To San Antonio and Seattle... two of the worst teams?!!! They haven't lost two games in a row all season!!! I just don't understand what happened..." she muttered again.

Jack frowned as he made a decision... "Amanda... I don't usually like to believe in 'coincidence' or... 'bad luck' or... 'bad juju'... But I can't help but think that it seems awfully strange that this happened... THIS weekend... the night you and I met... and the day we'd decided to see how a... future might work out for us. Doesn't that sound a little... too coincidental to you?"

Amanda forced herself not to look any more shocked.What the fuck is he saying? Is he seriously trying to back away from me because he believes we've jinxed the Lakers somehow?!!! He can't possibly believe that!!! Can he?!!!

No... that can't possibly be it... There's got to be some other reason he'd be trying to back out now... Maybe he's just offering me a last second "out" if I still have too many fears and doubts... Yeah, that sounds reasonable...

But what if there's more to it... something he's not telling me... something he doesn't want to tell me... Maybe it has to do with what Danny told him earlier when he took him aside... But what could he have said to make Jack reconsider pursuing a relationship with me? Who knows... But I have to try to figure out why he's doing this...

"Jack... do you really believe that your meeting ME may have JINXED the Lakers somehow? How could that possibly be? As big of fans as we both are, I would think it would've done just the opposite..."

"But that didn't happen, though, did it?" Jack jumped in, frowning even harder. "These last two games were the worst they've played all season!" he stated emphatically. And then he added softly, "I'm not saying it's YOUR fault... it may just be something about... the two of us... being together... Maybe it just isn't... right. You yourself were still having reservations about a... future for us... weren't you?!!! And now... this... has made me stop to think that... maybe you were right..."

Amanda swallowed and blinked her eyes as she tried to stay calm.He wants to back away for some other reason and he's trying his best to convince me that I was right to believe that he would eventually break my heart... OK... I'll play it his way...

She bit her lip and nodded her head reluctantly. "Maybe you're right, Jack... maybe this just wasn't meant to be. I'd probably have made you miserable constantly wondering and worrying when you'd get around to screwing around on me. And I don't think I could be as understanding about it as Anjelica has all these years."

She couldn't help but notice him flinch and wince when she mentioned Ms. Huston.Oh, God... this probably has to do with her... and he doesn't want to tell me... Goddamn... I should've known... They've been together for years and he'd said that they were just "off" again at the moment... It obviously wasn't permanent...

Well... what the fuck were you expecting, Amanda? You said from the beginning that you were perfectly willing to walk away from him when this weekend was over...

But that was before he went and fell in love with me, goddamn it!!! HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!!! AND HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE CLAIMED MY SOUL... Now what the hell do I do?!!

You let him go. You know he loves you... If it was EVER truly meant to be, he will be back...

Amanda took a deep breath as she stood and looked down at Jack. "And besides... I really couldn't forgive myself if the Lakers ended up blowing the championship because of... us!" She barked a harsh little laugh to cover up a sob that was trying to form. She cleared her throat and held her hand toward him. "Let's go, Jack. I need to get home... I'm really tired now."

**********

Jack kept glancing at Amanda as he drove her home, but he couldn't see her face as she kept it turned away from him, staring out the passenger window. The air temperature had cooled somewhat, so he had put the top up on the convertible before they left The Forum. It would've been easier for them to talk now, but... what was there to say?

He could tell from the way she had quietly accepted the "bad juju" excuse as the reason for their parting that she knew the real reason... Amanda was an intelligent and reasonable woman and she would never willingly accept something like that. Danny had informed him that Anjelica had been looking for him over the weekend... and that could mean only one thing... she wanted a reconciliation. Amanda must have picked up on his reaction to her statement about Anjelica and, true to her word, she was letting him off the hook.

But there still remained the possibility that she was already carrying his child... and they had to talk about that. "Amanda... I know you're not very happy with me at the moment, but we have to talk about what we're going to do if you're pregnant."

She took a deep, ragged breath before she turned to look at him. "I know... and I want you to understand that I am leaving the decision as to how involved you would want to be completely up to you. I am perfectly prepared to raise a child on my own... both mentally and financially. While I would greatly appreciate and invite it, I do not have to have your moral support, nor your money and I would welcome your involvement in the child's life. I will try to let you know as soon as I do whether we'll even have to worry about this..."

Amanda turned to look out the car window again. She was doing her best to stick to her original plan... but that plan had gone awry as soon as Jack Nicholson had told her he needed her... that he loved her.Damn him... How could he have fallen in love with me if he still has feelings for Anjelica? I just don't understand... Why does he even care about me at all? This is soooo NOT what I expected with him...