Traffic Girl - Juliet Ch. 16

Author's Note: There's a lot going on right now, and this is going to be quite a time of drama and change for our group. Hopefully you'll enjoy as these changes transform them -- hopefully for the better.

* * *

And, just like that, I was back at the airport. The private jet went wheels up less than an hour after Kat had called. My hands were shaking, and my thoughts drifted back to the flight Kat, Jess, and I had taken when we got the news of Dr. V's unexpected death a few years before. Except this time I was all alone. Kat filled me in on the details.

After the party, Jamie and Katie were driving home. He got t-boned by a driver who ran a red light. Straight into the passenger side of his Bentley. Right where Katie had been sitting. The German engineering of the car had kept it from being a fatal accident, but Katie was in bad shape. Kat didn't have many details, but she said it was bad enough that they needed me home right away.

There was also a complication. The police had found cocaine in Katie's purse. This had all the makings of becoming a first-rate scandal for the Houston football team, just as it looked like it was on the cusp of sustainable success for the first time in decades. The media were already thrashing into a frenzy. There was no way Jamie wouldn't come back with some measurable BAC level. And we all knew what the toxicology texts on him and Katie would show. There were huge risks here. For Jamie. For Katie. And for Infinity.

Kat and Rita met me at the airport. Their eyes were red and puffy. I had sobered enough to drive, giving the girls a break.

"I'm so sorry we had to bother you, daddy," Kat said, her nose still stuffy -- and not from cocaine for once. "But we didn't know what else to do."

"No," I insisted, "you did the right thing. There's nowhere else I'd want to be."

They filled me in on the latest. Katie was in a medically-induced coma. They needed to bring down some swelling in her brain. She had a concussion, broken right wrist, a couple cracked ribs, and a broken ankle.

"They won't let us see them," Rita said, her voice shaking.

"They have Jamie handcuffed to his hospital bed!" Kat said, almost hysterical.

"It wasn't even much coke," Rita said angrily. "Like, who gives a shit?"

"We need to get home and get some xanax," Kat admitted.

"Did Jamie call a lawyer?" I asked. "Did Katie?"

"The team sent a lawyer for Jamie," Rita said. "A good one."

By the time we got home, the first articles had popped up on the local news. But it was obviously handled with kid gloves so far. It mentioned the Houston backup quarterback had been involved in a car accident, that it wasn't his fault, and that a passenger in the car had been seriously injured. There was no discussion of drugs, nothing about an arrest. Within ten minutes, I had gotten in touch with a great criminal lawyer I knew through my usual guy. We would have a call later in the day to discuss details.

"We need to get a lawyer," a scratchy voice came from the entrance of our bedroom.

It was Jess.

"Just finished that," I said.

"John!" she shrieked and ran to hug me.

She threw her arms around my neck and held me almost painfully tight for at least a full minute.

"This is trouble," she said. "I'm in trouble." She hesitated. "I'm sorry."

"Let's take care of this first," I said. "We can deal with the rest later."

But, as it turned out, there wasn't a whole lot to take care of. At least not after getting the lawyer on board. Katie stayed in a coma for a day. Then a second. We set up a shift system at the hospital. Days stretched into a week. And then, on a muggy, gray morning full of thunderstorms that thrashed rain against windows, Kat called from the hospital.

"Katie's awake," she reported.

The story had broken more widely by then, too. Jamie had been charged with driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. There was a moderate frenzy, especially in the local sports media, and they were clamoring for more details about the pretty young blonde in the car with the backup quarterback.

It felt like the world was spinning, and I couldn't control it. It sent shivers through me to see Katie awake again, and I adored seeing her smile. It was weak and drugged, but it still packed the electricity of her personality. There had been a time when I thought I'd never see it again. She was bruised and jaundiced. But she was healing. The doctors were optimistic for her recovery. She hadn't even required surgery.

My share of Homecoming's streaming rights had hit the bank account like Petey had promised. I didn't even have time to deal with it, but I confess to looking at my balance and simply staring in awe. But there was a more pressing issue.

Juliet. I missed her. She missed me. She begged me to come back to LA, but she also understood I needed some time. I floated the idea of her coming to visit us in Houston, but she shot that down. It made sense. She didn't need to be anywhere near a whiff of scandal. But we needed to get together. So after Katie woke up, Rita told me to get my ass on a plane. I protested, but she knew it was half-hearted. I still hadn't talked to Jess about the Tommy incident. Or whatever it had been.

So I got on the plane. Katie was in good hands, and there was only so much I could do there. LA felt like more of an escape than ever. But I knew something was up as soon as I stepped out of the cabin in Van Nuys. Juliet was there, waiting for me.

Our hug was familiar, our bodies melting into one another. The welcome back kiss was as warm and endearing as ever. We made small talk in the car, mostly about Katie. Hearing Juliet react to all of it, even though we had talked on the phone and texted about it, made me realize that her compassion and empathy was part of what made her personality so magnetic. She was being genuine.

"I'm really glad you came out," she said, removing one hand from the steering wheel of her BMW convertible and putting it on mine. "I've missed you so much." She hesitated, and I knew there was something else.

"And?" I added, expectantly.

"And we need to talk," she said.

There it was.

"About?" I said, unable to hide the reticence in my voice.

"Let's get to the house first," she said.

It was good and natural being back with Juliet. The drive to our house in the Hollywood Hills barely took thirty minutes.

"Champagne?" I asked when we got inside.

Juliet grinned at me. She wore baggy white pants and a midriff-revealing blue shirt. Her hair was tousled from the drive with the top-down. She was gorgeous.

"Yes, please," she said.

I gave myself a mental pat on the back for keeping the fridge stocked with bubbly at all times and popped a bottle of Bollinger before pouring out two generous glasses. I raised my glass to Juliet's. Standing across the bar from her, I made a point to hold eye contact with her. Her blue eyes sparkled and danced. They always did, but there was a new depth and magic to them right now.

"I'm really glad to see you," I said, and the crystal glasses clinked musically.

"I've got so much to tell you, John," Juliet said.

Did I detect a crack in her voice? She hooked a ringlet of blonde hair behind her air and looked down. Then she bit the corner of her lower lip and looked back up at me.

"I don't think I've been this nervous in a long time," I admitted. "Just say it. Whatever it is, it's not a big deal."

Juliet rolled her eyes dramatically.

"God, you are such a boy sometimes," she said.

Then silence passed over us and, for the very first time ever, things felt awkward between us. I took too-fast sips of Champagne and grinned like a fool. She smiled back at me hesitantly.

"This is weird," I said. "I'm kind of going crazy."

Juliet took a deep breath. She smiled, and it was an actor's smile. Too generous because it was forced. And like a wind gusting through the room, she spit it out in a rapid gush.

"I think I'm falling in love with Melanie, John," she said. "I never thought it would happen. It's just that I realize we have lived such a shared existence. We've had so many of the same experiences, and it's, it's really amazing to meet someone who has gone through the same trauma and pressure and been chewed up by this wicked system. I can't help myself, and I know! I know! It's insane, but I can't deny it, and I won't apologize for it, and, well, yeah, that's where I am right now."

"Wow," I said while holding my breath.

"I know it's a lot, and, god, my stomach has been in knots knowing I had to tell you," her voice trailed off.

My brain was behind in processing the eruption of words that flew at me. I thought about Melanie. I knew how profoundly her ex-husband had manipulated and emotionally abused her. She had been broken when she reunited with us after her divorce. And her immediate connection with Juliet was obvious. We all saw it. They didn't try to hide it. So, slowly, my brain caught up. I inhaled through my nose and let out a long, controlled exhale. Memories flashed through my head at light speed. I thought of how improbable even meeting Juliet in the first place had been. I thought about Melanie and how much I admired her devotion and innate decency.

"I'm so happy for you, Juliet," I said. My sincere smile drove home that I meant it.

"Oh, John," she said and put down her glass almost too hard on the bar, slid off the stool, and ran around to me.

She flung her arms around my neck and kissed me over and over.

"I was so scared to tell you," she said. "I'm not trying to hurt you or make you mad."

"You're not, Juliet," I said, holding my hands on either side of her waist.

There was that enchanting adoration that only she could muster.

"It's just, this is so unexpected," she said. "And it's not like this really means anything between us changes. I think we just have some extra things to navigate."

Hearing that gave me an unexpected sense of relief.

"I love Melanie," I said. "We love Melanie. She has become part of our family." I paused and took a slow breath again. "And so have you. How could I be anything but elated for two of my favorite people finding a connection like that with each other?"

The more I talked about it, the more I realized it was true. And that I believed it. What had I thought would happen? That Juliet would be taking me to red carpet events? That's never how it had been between us. It's never how it could have been.

"We don't play that expectations game," I said. "We never have."

"I know, but," Juliet swallowed her words then reasserted her voice. "It's not like it was when we first met."

"Of course not," I said and kissed her. "It's so much better. And anything that makes you this happy? You are obviously so fucking happy! Anything that makes you feel like this I'm going to support. We're all going to support."

"Oh, John," Juliet said, her eyes moistening again. "You really are too good for this town."

"I don't know about that," I said, grinning and letting my hands move down to her ass.

"Yeah, you're right," she said. "Your perversions certainly meet and maybe eclipse your goodness."

"What can I say?" I said, lewdly fondling her now. "I'm insatiable."

"I can feel it," she said, her hand cupping my crotch.

"Hey, are you sure you should be doing that?" I said.

Juliet smiled and licked her lips. She let out a little laugh.

"Babe," she said, "Melanie and I aren't lesbians. We are going to need some dick. Probably on the regular, too."

"Mmm, fuck," I said through our kiss.

"That's a good idea," she said. "Let's go fuck."

I don't know what I had expected when we had sex that day. Part of me -- a large part of me -- I think presumed it would be melancholy, a kind of mechanical last hurrah that was a tribute to the past. But it wasn't like that at all. Juliet was as sensual as ever, as attentive as ever. I kept searching for signs of detachment, for anything that was different.

It wasn't. It was, if anything, more intense than ever. Juliet pinned me down on the bed and took control, riding my cock deliberately. Her pussy was wetter than I'd ever felt it, drooling down my shaft and over my balls. I could feel the wet spot growing beneath us.

My eyes remained riveted on Juliet. She rode with purpose, her eyes staying closed most of the time. I watched her, and it was almost an out-of-body experience. I had an angel bouncing on my cock. Her breasts were a perfect handful, and the nipples were the most beautifully pink, upturned pencil erasers you could have imagined. Her mouth formed a determined "O." Her pussy had every nerve-ending in my cock on call. And then she said it.

"You didn't think I could give up this dick, did you?" she whispered.

"I hoped not," I said.

"I love you, John," she said. "But I figured if anyone could understand how much love you can fill your life with, it would be you."

"I understand," I panted.

"We'll just have to make some adjustments," she said.

"I'm getting close, babe," I said.

"Good," Juliet said and flashed her movie star smile. "Do you know what I'm going to do after you fill my pussy with cum?"

"What?" I asked.

"I'm going to go back to my place," she said. "Melanie is waiting for me. She's going to eat every drop of you out of me, and then we're going to make out until all of it's gone."

"Jesus, Juliet," I said, grunting as my orgasm took me by surprise and shot inside her.

"There you go, good boy," Juliet said with satisfaction. "And when Melanie and I are done playing? You can take us out to dinner."

"That sounds fantastic," I said, putting my hands on Juliet's ass as I sat up on the bed.

"Thank you for understanding," she said, looking at me seriously.

I could see it in her face. She was grateful. She had been worried that I would get mad, which was both cute and funny at the same time. It made me proud of how I'd handled my reaction because I truly did only want Juliet to be happy. And I could sense it just from holding her close to me that she had reached a level of peace greater than she ever had before.

"I'll always fight for you to be happy," I said. "You deserve it."

And I meant it. Because something new had clicked inside me at that moment. I didn't need to feel pressure about anything anymore. We had accumulated enough money to reliably have a multi-million dollar income every year based on interest alone. I could focus on bigger things. Like true happiness. And bringing happiness to the people around me. That, more than anything else, had tremendous appeal. The good life lay before me, stretched out ahead.