I'm With the Band Ch. 07

The three of them were seated around the small breakfast table near the kitchen island, with Jess and Jordan furiously devouring the eggs, bacon, and toast Kyla had prepared for them that morning. Kyla had managed to get out of bed first and threw on a pair of gray booty shorts, and nothing else. Jordan quickly followed suit and put his pajama pants from yesterday back on. Jess had to be shaken awake by Jordan, however. She tried pulling him back to bed, until he reminded her that they all had work that morning -- including Jess. She put on her panties and followed them down the stairs, pulling Jordan's undershirt on over her head along the way. It hung low and loose on her; the straps of the shirt didn't quite cover her large nipples.

"You horny idiots forgot to eat dinner last night, didn't you?" Kyla mocked. Jess and Jordan both blushed at that, but continued eating. Jess sipped the coffee Jordan brewed, and her eyes widened.

"Dude, this is amazing! How did you...?" Jess trailed off and stared down at her cup.

"Coffee is life. We don't do bad coffee in this house," Jordan proudly said.

"Same goes for weed," Kyla added. Jordan nodded in agreement.

"As for how, well, a master never reveals his secrets," Jordan winked. He looked at his phone, "And we better put that in a to-go cup if we're gonna get you to work on time."

"Ooh, speaking of weed, you wanna take some home with you? My treat," Kyla offered.

"I'd never say no to free trees. You sure?" Jess asked.

"Mm-hmm. Come on, it's up in my room," she nodded to Jess, then kissed Jordan and said, "Go get ready, stinky." Jordan retorted with a slurp of his coffee and a flick of her exposed nipple. Kyla squeaked in delight and led Jess back upstairs.

"This way," Kyla said and opened one of the side doors. Kyla's room was a bit smaller than the master bedroom, but it still had room for a king-size bed made with white and pink linens, a desk and office chair, and two sturdy-looking armoires standing side-by-side. There was a closed door next to them that Jess believed may have been a walk-in closet. Kyla opened the rightmost armoire to reveal a whole host of glass and ceramic pipes, bongs, and other types of equipment Jess had never seen before.

"Did I move my humidor or something? Hang on," Kyla muttered. The interior of the armoire was softly lit with white LEDs that only turned on when she opened it. She walked over to the other armoire and opened it. Red light spilled out from it, and Jess saw hanging from the doors a collection of chains, handcuffs, and whips. She peeked around and saw other pieces of leather and metal equipment folded up and hanging up within.

"Nope, not there either," Kyla said and went back to the pipe collection to move some objects around. "Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed as she produced a wooden block the size of a large shoebox. Jess noted it had a nice lacquered finish as Kyla set it down on the bed. She opened it up for Jess.

"Take your pick," Jess heard Kyla say. Cradled within the purple velvet interior of the box were several sealed bags, each containing a different variety of cannabis as denoted by the professional-looking labels stuck to each one.

"I-I'm sorry, I have two questions, if you don't mind," Jess meekly said, pointing a finger at each armoire.

"Hm? Oh. Those are both from work."

Jess glanced at the cabinet containing the S&M gear she saw earlier. "So you work as...?"

"You know Queen K's? The fetish shop over on Jefferson? I'm Queen K," Kyla said with some pride and mimed a regal curtsy. "I also own two dispensaries: one downtown, and one just off the highway. You heard of Club JK?"

"The one with the schoolgirl logo? Yeah, I bought there a couple of- those are yours, too?!"

"Lemme guess, you thought Jordan had all the money, and I was the lazy housewife who just spent it all and fucked whoever she wanted?" Kyla asked with a fiery smirk and a hand on her hip.

"N-no, I didn't-" Jess said defensively.

"Relax. He helped finance my first dispensary, but I'm the one that ran it and made it successful. So much so that I was able to fund my little passion project," she said with a glance at the red-lit armoire.

"That's really cool!" Jess grinned.

"Mm-hmm. So, something you're gonna hafta get used to when you go out with him to nice restaurants, or high-end shopping centers, hotels, and all that: people are gonna look at you like you're just a trophy wife, that you're the arm-candy. But what you gotta remember is we ain't the arm-candy -- he is." She winked and added, "'Cause we're boss bitches up in here."

Jess was stunned by the overflowing confidence of Kyla. She seemed so self-assured and comfortable with who she was. She was everything Jess felt she wasn't: confident, easygoing, successful, fulfilled, and comfortable in her own skin.

Kyla nodded to the box and said "Now, pick your strain so we can get outta here. I got shit to do."

"Yes, ma'am," Jess replied.

+++

"Hey, you mind if we stop by my work on the way? I gotta open it up for the manager," Jordan asked Jess as they drove into the city limits.

"Yeah, no prob. It's not gonna take too long, is it?"

"Nah, just a few minutes," Jordan assured her. He turned right off the main drag and drove a couple of blocks before pulling up in front of a small, white building. The dark black sign read "Crits and Class" in white calligraphy, and was bordered by depictions of dragons and medieval armaments. "You wanna come in real quick?"

"Sure."

Jordan pulled out a second set of keys and unlocked the front door. Coffee cup in hand, Jess followed him in and saw shelves lining the wall, each filled with different board games and books. In the middle of the carpeted store were a few tables and chairs, and two white micro-fiber couches next to a coffee table. Jordan punched in the security code and turned on the lights. The smell of the books and the overall vibe of the store reminded her of when she would hang out at the library in elementary school.

"Come on, just need to unlock the back office, and then we can go." Jordan led her around the counter to a door in the back and unlocked it.

"So, a gaming store? This is how you can afford your life?"

"Partially."

One man cannot have this many layers to him. There has to be something else -- something I'm missing, Jess pondered.

"Hey Jordan!" In walked a tan, statuesque, seemingly-ageless blonde woman who Jess assumed was a coworker. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Jess, my girlfriend," Jordan said with a light smile. Jess was taken aback by his forthrightness about their relationship. She rhythmically tapped her nails on the cup and meekly waved.

The woman paused for a moment before gathering herself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Marie, the manager here." Marie quickly glanced back and forth between Jess and Jordan.

"Don't worry, she's met Kyla already," Jordan said with a knowing look.

"Okay, good, you're learning!" Marie playfully mocked. She patted Jordan on the arm as she walked past him.

"Yeah, yeah. Anything you need, let me know, alright?"

"Will do!"

"Alright," he said, turning to Jess. "Let's go?" They walked out to the car.

As they got in, Jess fidgeted with her cup and said, "I don't wanna pry or anything, but you two seemed very 'familiar.'"

"You're wondering if I slept with her?" Jordan asked as he started driving.

"Uh..."

"No, and I'll tell you why," Jordan said. "One, she and her husband are very committed to each other, and I would never mess with that. And two, I don't sleep with employees."

"But she said she's the-"

"I own 'Crits and Classes.' It's my store."

Jess couldn't believe that's all it was. Myriad thoughts raced through her head: There has to be more. Just owning one store doesn't pay for that house, that property, and that car. People who own a store usually don't have time to be a working musician and hold down two relationships at the same time. Something doesn't add up here. Is it drugs? Mob connections? Weapons dealing? I should probably ask-

"This is your office, right?" They were already parked in front of the main lobby of her office building. "You've been staring at it for about a minute now."

"Oh," Jess blinked a couple of times. "Hey listen, Jordan, um-"

"You have about a thousand questions, don't you," Jordan guessed. "How late are you, by the way?"

Jess checked the clock on the dash. "I've got a few minutes," she said.

"I'll walk you to the door, then," Jordan suggested, and they both got out. "So, remember the Batman thing?" he asked as they walked.

"Y-yeah?"

"Part of it was true," he said, looking straight ahead. His breath was pluming from his mouth and nose, and his black peacoat was wrapped tightly around his bulk. "My parents did die when I was really young."

Jess said nothing, and went to sip her coffee as she waited for the punchline. Once Jess realized there wasn't one, her face turned and she lowered the cup again.

"It's okay. Like I said, I was really young -- around two years old. My mom and dad decided to have their first date night since they had me, and dropped me off with my aunt and uncle. I guess they went to an early evening showing of some movie, and by the time the credits rolled, it was dark out and the roads had frozen up."

Jess felt it get colder in that moment, and wrapped her arms tighter around herself.

"And yeah, you can probably figure what happened next. The cops' best guess was they hit a patch of black ice doin' about 70 miles an hour. Car rolled across the lanes, hopped a guard rail and smacked into a tree."

"Oh my god," Jess quietly said.

"My aunt assured me they didn't suffer, that they died on impact, blah blah blah. That doesn't answer the question that everyone always asks: where does Jordan's money come from?"

Jess looked around and tried to avoid his eyes.

"Turns out my parents owned a small chain of restaurants around here. You've heard of the Shrimp Fry?" he asked. Jess nodded. "That was theirs. So, their will stated that if I wasn't old enough to take over the family business, that it would go -- along with me -- to my aunt and uncle. They, in turn, decided to sell it and put most of the money in a trust fund for me. Tack onto that, Mom and Dad also prepared a small trust fund for me before I was born. So yeah. I'm literally a 'trust fund kid.' Twice over."

"I'm sorry, Jordan, I really didn't-"

"I know. I've told the story so many times it doesn't really get to me anymore. And I know I always have to tell it at some point, because everyone has the same questions. So, it's fine. Really," he said, looking around. Jess could tell it wasn't really fine, and that it did still get to him. She felt she may have just stepped on a landmine with him.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're cool," he said quickly, and kissed her on the cheek. "I gotta go back to work. I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah. Okay," she said and watched him get in the car and drive off.

An authoritative voice interrupted her reverie. "Welcome back, Jess. Glad you're feeling better." It was Loretta. "You know him?"

"Yeah," Jess said. "Yeah, I think I do." Hopefully I didn't just lose him.

+++

Over the next few days, Jess made attempts to reach out to Jordan. She would ask how he was doing, if everything was okay, if he needed anything, if he was busy, and if he wanted to meet up. His answers were always short, sometimes single-word sentences. Jordan claimed he was busy with practice, work, and an upcoming show, but he still seemed more distant than usual to Jess. She opted to give him space in the meantime.

The following Saturday was the night of Kuhani's show. As much as Jess wanted to see him, she thought it might be best to just stay at home and take some time for herself. She drew up a hot bath and pulled from the kitchen a bottle of cheap blanco tequila, a bottle of margarita mix, and threw some ice in a glass. Freshly-made, low-effort margarita in hand, she slowly got in the steaming tub; the combination of the hot water on her dark skin and the chilled booze in her mouth was refreshing. In that moment, Jess felt a brief semblance of balance as gooseflesh prickled its way up her arms. Fifteen minutes later, her doorbell rang.

Jordan? No, he's playing tonight. Unless it got cancelled?

She hopped out of the bathtub, put her half-empty glass on the bathroom counter, and wrapped a towel around herself. The doorbell rang again.

"Coming!" she called out. She unlocked and opened the door, and looked up with an expectant smile; there was nobody there. She looked back down at eye level and saw Kyla standing there in jeans and a t-shirt, holding a brown paper sack in one hand, and a white plastic bag filled with food and bottles of water in the other.

"Hey, sorry for showing up unannounced," she apologized. Kyla tried to look Jess up and down without Jess noticing, but failed. "Want me to come back later?"

"Uh," Jess didn't quite understand what was going on, but she came to the conclusion that since they had let her stay the night at her place, it was only fair that she let Kyla in for a bit. "No, uh, come in. Let me get dressed. How'd you know where I live?" Jess walked back to her bedroom to throw on some shorts and a t-shirt.

"Jordan. He told me where he was going when he came here. It's kind of a thing we have, just to keep us safe," Kyla said, closing the door behind her.

"Sure, totally get it. More importantly, what are you doing here?" she called out from the bedroom.

"Jordan's been acting weird lately, and hasn't really talked about you all that much. Like, way less than before."

Jess halted with her shirt halfway on. "So what does that mean?"

"It means you asked him about his money. Am I right?"

How in the hell...? Jess thought as she finished getting dressed and walked out to the living room. Kyla was sitting on the couch laying out the contents of the plastic bag. "I take it this has happened before?"

"Just about every time he starts to get close to someone, yeah," Kyla said with a look of disapproval. Jess felt that she had done wrong by asking him, but Kyla continued: "Relax, you didn't do anything wrong. He has this weird hang-up about where his money came from and the success he's had. He feels guilty about it. Like, he says he hasn't earned what he's got."

"Like impostor syndrome?"

"Kinda. It's more like... he knows what it looks like from the outside: straight, white male has success, but only 'cause of mommy and daddy's money. He's worked to make that gaming store stable and successful, he's worked to keep his band going, and he's worked to keep me happy. I know he's worked for what he has now.

"His parents fucking died when he was a toddler, and his aunt and uncle fucking sold off the business without his say-so." Kyla pulled a clear, sealed bag of weed out of the brown paper sack and put it on the table next to the food. "Like, he had no say in anything until he moved out on his own. You got glass and a grinder, right?"

"I do, yeah," she answered and went out to her balcony. Jess returned with said pipe and grinder, and her coffee mug ashtray.

"Damn girl, you need an ashtray."

Jess gave a knowing look and said "Jordan said the same."

"Wise man. Fucking dumb when it comes to interpersonal shit, but wise in so many other ways. Now come on, get your laptop or somethin' so we can stream something stupid and medicate."

Jess walked back to her bedroom and grabbed her laptop. "Why are you doing all this for me? And why are you telling me all this?"

"A few reasons. One, you're pretty. Two, you seem alright, and I like you. And three..." Kyla paused until Jess returned with the laptop.

"Yes?"

"Three, the way he talks about you, and the way he looks at you -- not just in person, either. I've caught him staring at that phone background a few times with a dopey grin on his face. He likes you. Like, a lot." Kyla got to work grinding and loading the pipe. "And I want him to be happy. Which means I don't want him to push you away. Because if he torpedoes this, he won't be happy. And if he ain't happy, I ain't happy."

"That's good," Jess said, sitting down next to Kyla on the couch. "Because I like him a lot, too. I just hope he knows it."

"He does, I'm sure," Kyla assured, then offered up the loaded pipe and lighter to Jess. "You want first?"

+++

Three hours, two bowls, two bags of chips, and a pint of ice cream later, the sun had started to set. Jess's head was resting on Kyla's shoulder as they watched old episodes of Seinfeld together. In between giggle fits and philosophizing about the chaotic energy that Kramer brings to the group, they talked about their jobs, and how Jess wanted to visit New York someday.

"We actually stayed there for a few days once. Stayed at a decent hotel, did all the typical touristy crap. Highly recommend," Kyla said.

"God, I'm so jealous."

"Well, maybe the three of us could go together. Somewhere down the line."

"Really?!" Jess exclaimed -- louder than she meant to. Kyla didn't flinch, however.

"Yeah. I'll talk to Jordan about it. Oh, speaking of!" Kyla reached for the laptop. She opened up another tab on the browser and said: "Jordan's show's about to start. Wanna watch?"

"They're streaming it?"

"Yeah, let me... here it is!" The streaming window loaded and showed an empty stage with the Kuhani flag in the back, and Jordan's polyamory pride flag hanging in its usual spot. "Notice anything different?"

Jess looked closer at the stage. The Kuhani flag had a headshot of a collared black priest wearing traditional African face paint. It was one of Jess's logo ideas. Jess's eyes began to well up, and her lower-lip started to quiver.

"Told you he liked you a lot," Kyla said. "And it looks good, not gonna lie. Lotta impact. I like it."

"Thanks," Jess said, her voice slightly breaking as she put her head back on Kyla's shoulder. The lights went out, and the show started as it always did. Eventually the usual crash of sound and flare of lights hit. They watched Kuhani perform for a bit.

"God, he's hot, isn't he?" Kyla swooned.

"Yeah, I know. Just wish he wasn't so... guhhhhh," Jess groaned.

"Hey, I know what we can do to pull him back to Earth."

"Hmm?"

Kyla suddenly stood up. "Let's go to your closet; we gotta be quick, the show ends in less than an hour!"

+++

Somewhere between the nightclub and the city limits, Jordan found himself looking up at the black city skyline, searching for stars. He couldn't tell if it was overcast, or if the city lights were drowning out the natural glow of the cosmos. He started to reminisce: he remembered sharing a small, two-bedroom house with his aunt and uncle; he could see the burden they carried, having to raise a child they didn't want; he could never forget how they looked through him when they spoke to him. Their parenting was, in Jordan's mind, the absolute bare minimum. They went through the motions of being a family.

Marrying Kyla was a no-brainer for Jordan. When she fell in love with him, no one outside of his aunt and uncle knew of his impending wealth. When she mentioned the idea of giving and receiving love with more than one person, he didn't need any further convincing to open their relationship. Working through jealousy was difficult at first, but he came to understand with time and many talks that Kyla was reliable and stable with him; she was his rock, his constant. Once he had that understanding, her happiness became his happiness, and his became hers.

Once Jordan's headlights became the only unnatural light in the area, he pulled over and shut off the engine, then got out and leaned against the radiator. It was near-freezing outside, but Jordan wanted to look up and see the stars. He knew Kyla would be home, but he wanted to stargaze in solitude this time. When he did, swaths of white stars were streaked against the pitch-black sky. He was instantly reminded of when he first looked into Jess's eyes backstage.