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Sweet Dreams Are Made of These - 7
by Innuendo (keepsake411@yahoo.com)

***

Things are not _quite_ what they seem in the waking 
fantasy that Jahn's life seems to have become and an 
unwelcome visitor from the past awakens fear for the 
future. (FFM, rom, fantasy)

***

Chapter: July - "Stars in the Sky"

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle. Not just any puzzle, but one 
of those multi-thousand piece monsters littered with 
detail and colors. Getting started is no chore; all 
you have to do is start with the border and corner 
pieces, set the structure for the big picture. Sort 
out the colored tiles and find a few of the more 
obvious pieces. Problems quickly become obvious for 
the uninitiated... crossover colors, similar images in 
three or more spots, any other challenges the creator 
dreamed up for the truly devoted jigsaw enthusiasts. 
To paraphrase a Gumpism, life is a lot like that box 
of puzzle pieces – you might have an idea of the 
structure, the people in your life, and how those 
relationships connect, but working out the details can 
take a lifetime.

Greg Bartels stood in the doorway of the Reeds' home 
with a woman Jahn had never met before, and he 
couldn't begin to imagine what the hell the man wanted 
with him half a year since they'd seen each other 
last. They weren't friends. They weren't co-workers. 
They had almost nothing in common. At worst, the pair 
had been nemeses unable to stand the sight of each 
other, at best united only by their inability to 
successfully resolve a relationship with a woman they 
both wanted.  Truth told, for all Jahn cared, Greg 
could have dropped off the face of the earth.

From the expression on Fiona's face, it was clear 
she'd already made the connection whenever the scrappy 
tool had been introduced to her; and the brunette 
looked ready to forestall an argument between the two 
men. There was something else at play here, and he 
didn't like not knowing what it was.

Unable to mask the hostility in his voice, or even 
keep from raising it a notch, he asked, "What do you 
want now, Greg? Hell, how did you even know where to 
find me?" A reaction was immediate, but it didn't come 
from his former competition, it came from the woman at 
his side. For the first time, he took notice of the 
woman. She looked to be a few years older than Jahn, 
bearing an oddly tired look, as if the years had taken 
a toll. 

Her hair fell in long curls of a light brown that 
complimented round, dimpled cheeks. She was curvy in a 
classic way, though not overweight, and he thought she 
could be beautiful under the right circumstances, if 
it weren't for her eyes. Lord, those eyes. Colored a 
light green that looked like they could sparkle with 
laughter... but there was no laughter in them. Only 
stark fear, and of Jahn, of all people. All his fights 
had been grade school scraps, and he'd never raised a 
hand to another adult. A deep, cold sensation twisted 
his gut.

Jahn had never worked at a center for victims of 
domestic violence, didn't know for sure that anyone he 
knew was a victim of it, or how to read the signs. But 
a nasty certainty dawned on him; he was sure this 
woman had been abused, and badly. He hoped that Greg 
wasn't the piece of shit who'd done it, because it 
would change a lot of things he thought he knew about 
the man's relationship with Andrea.

Greg's mouth turned downward, as if he was working up 
an angry response to Jahn's outburst, but strangely he 
held his tongue, though his eyes broadcasted sheer 
outrage. Instead, he raised a calming hand to the 
woman's shoulder. The fear in her eyes subsided, and 
she seemed to relax. Jahn backtracked, with an apology 
that was as sincere as he could make it. "Sorry miss, 
Greg and I have some history. She nodded faintly, and 
he turned his attention back to the man. "Why are you 
here?"

Fiona said gently, "Relax, Jahn. He's here to see me 
and Jen."

Disbelief washed over his brain. What the hell was 
this, now?

Late to the show, Jen's voice piped up behind him. 
"What's up?" Peering over his shoulder at Greg and the 
woman beside him, she commented to his companion, 
"Say, you look familiar. You work at V&P?" She said 
nothing, but shook her head.

Fiona, ever diplomatic, took charge of the situation 
and said, "Greg has some things he needs to say. Let's 
have a seat, something cool to drink and talk about 
it, alright?" After getting everyone a chair in the 
kitchen, she poured lemonade, and got introductions 
out of the way. Greg's companion was Amelia Collins.

Visibly more relaxed, Greg kept a constant and 
reassuring hand on Amelia's arm as he began to talk, 
his story coming out haltingly.

"I wouldn't have dragged Amy along if I didn't think 
she needed to be here. I don't know either of these 
ladies..." he nodded towards Fiona and Jen, in turn, 
"... and I wanted to make sure they understood I'm not 
just talking a lot of shit. Amy will verify everything 
I tell you."

"Here it is: Amy's been in a couple of real bad 
relationships. You know the type, macho fuc-"he cut 
himself off, moderating his language, "-macho tools 
who like to use their fists, who think its okay to 
treat a woman like a punching bag."  There was anger 
in his voice, but his blue eyes were an expressive 
apology as he looked sideways at Amy, obviously not 
keen on sharing her personal affairs.

Thank you Greg, Jahn reflected silently. 

"I'm telling you this for a reason, not to get 
sympathy. Her latest boyfriend-"

Jen cut in suddenly, "Jake Edwards, right? I thought 
I'd seen you before." Unsure just who she was talking 
about, Jahn looked at her curiously, but Fiona beat 
him to the question. "That's the skinny guy with the 
long dark hair, isn't it? Works with you in Records?"

The blonde nodded, her mouth twisting in distaste. "He 
used to hassle me for dates all the time, hinted to 
people that I was his girlfriend. Stopped bugging me a 
few years back. Guess he got a gir-, right, okay," she 
stumbled over the response as a flush of embarrassment 
crossed Amelia's face. Greg's hand tightened 
comfortingly on hers.

"Yeah, that's him," he agreed. "I ran into Amy in 
Vander & Porter's cafeteria the day I broke up with 
Andrea. Recognized Amy – we both went to the same high 
school, though she was an upperclassman and we didn't 
really know each other. We talked for a bit, 
reminisced about the old days, all that good stuff, 
you know? She was the life of all the parties...," he 
trailed off in embarrassment, then took up again.

"Macho shows up, makes a big deal about his girl 
chatting with guys he doesn't know." Venomous contempt 
began to creep into Greg's voice, though he kept his 
tone even. "Seen that shit before, would have just 
backed off and went my merry way, rather than making 
trouble for Amy. But no, something she said set him 
off and he slapped her. In the middle of a _public_ 
cafeteria, for fu- goodness sake. You could have heard 
a pin drop in there."

He locked eyes with Jahn. "I've never hit a woman in 
my life, but when I saw him do that, I knew he'd done 
it before. Whole lot. Seen people do that before, know 
ladies who've let it happen to them. Pissed me off."

"I've never backed down from a fight in my life, even 
picked a few. Called him out, said a few things, he 
took a swing. Flattened that little shit, right 
there." No pride in his voice, just a flat statement 
of fact. "Nobody said a word. He had it coming."

"Took the rest of the afternoon off, told Amy that 
unless she wanted to live the rest of her life like 
that, she needed to let me help her. She agreed, thank 
God, but Edwards made that part pretty easy. She 
didn't have anything to lose by leaving everything 
behind."

"We got a restraining order against Edwards, and I'm 
giving her a place to stay while she gets her life 
sorted out."

Jahn interjected. "That's like... six months ago. How 
do Jen and Fiona fit in?"

Greg grimaced. "I went over to their place while 
Edwards was at work to collect her clothes. I guess he 
expected that. Some of his friends were waiting and 
beat the shit out of me. Lost a couple teeth, and they 
told me I'd lose more if I ever came 'round there 
again." Amelia's face contorted with unhappiness, 
tears forming at the corner of her eyes, and she 
ducked her head.

Jen rose and went to her. "We don't need to stay for 
this, Amy. Let me get you some Kleenex, and help you 
with that mascara." The blonde got up, and the others 
waited in uncomfortable silence as the pair climbed 
the stairs.

When they'd gone, Greg picked up where he'd left off. 
"...so I left. Told her it was fine, we could get her 
some new stuff real easy. She wanted to know what 
happened, made me tell her. So I told her he'd had 
some friends watching the place and let her work out 
the rest."

"Ever seen one of those movies, where someone delivers 
a creepy line and you know bad shit is probably gonna 
happen? It was exactly like that."

"He watches the girls too, she told me."

The bottom dropped out of Jahn's stomach, and he heard 
a low noise like rumbling that it took him a moment to 
recognize as bile rising in his throat.

Fiona must have seen his expression change, and turned 
to him with a look of concern on her face, "Jahn?"

"And the 'girls' were Jenny and Fiona," he croaked. 
"Right? Who were his friends? Skinheads?"

Greg eyed him. "Wouldn't have known by looking, but 
yeah basically. I pressed her for details, asked her 
who these pricks were, who the punk was watching. Amy 
said they were part of some Purity group that Edwards 
was in and doing somebody a favor

Jahn closed his eyes, a wave of nausea roiling in his 
gut.

"I told her we needed to let these girls know about 
it, so they could get a restraining order or 
something. Don't know why he was watching them, what 
he wanted. Maybe he's just a pervert, but you can't 
take chances with a guy who pounds on people he claims 
to love."

"That's why I'm here. I'd have passed it along to you 
instead, if I'd known Fiona was your girlfriend." Jahn 
didn't care to explain the relationship, and let it go 
at that.

***

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. 
Click. Click. Click. Click. Puzzle pieces suddenly 
begin to fall into place, a picture begins to form.

"got friends on the outside keeping a close eye on my 
little girl for me."

"long list, kids who got shown the door."

"Margrave" 

"used to run off any kids that gave Jen a hard time"

"Jake Edwards"

"asked me for dates all the time"

"watches the girls"

Donovan had friends, good friends who knew he wasn't 
ever getting out of prison. He asked them for a favor, 
and what greater favor could somebody do for a friend 
than make sure his little girl had someone looking 
after her? Sure, the half-breed was a fly in the 
ointment, but if his kid adored her half-sister, 
allowances could be made. There was something about 
that that didn't quite fit, but the picture was there.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

Two attractive girls lived alone, not just any girls, 
but sisters. Both charismatic and intelligent women, 
both well into their twenties. Virgins, too. One as 
lusty as any guy, the other somewhat reserved, but not 
so shy as to be a wilting lily. Falling for and 
falling into bed with a guy just out of a failed 
relationship, after only a few weeks of dating. The 
guy looked a little like an old movie star, but 
really? What were the odds?

"had boyfriends before... they just never seem to 
stick around long"

"was supposed to be my first"

"hinted that he was my boyfriend"

How many people did Jen and Fiona have looking out for 
them? A neighbor across the street. A co-worker. 
Perhaps fellow students or a teacher? Somehow, Jahn 
had slipped under their radar, but had passed whatever 
test Donovan had concocted in his head and was left 
be.

Someone to look out for you, that was a good thing, 
right? Friends who cared, kept an eye on family to 
make sure things were alright, but Jake Edwards was 
another matter altogether. What kind of crap could he 
get up to, if Donovan's friends decided he'd make a 
good boyfriend for Jen? Fiona... how would someone 
like Edwards look at a woman like her? Another 
punching bag to add to the list? Gotta keep the 
girlfriend in line somehow, right? Even Donovan only 
showed her the barest respect.

Click.

***

Greg talked for a while longer, speculating on what 
Edwards was up to, but Jahn was pretty sure he already 
had all the answers that mattered. Amy and Jen finally 
returned, and while there was still some pensiveness 
on the older woman's face, she looked far more 
positive and Greg's expression softened at the sight 
of her. As he got up, ready to leave, Jen hustled over 
to his side to whisper something in his ear. The look 
he gave her was odd, but when he turned his attention 
back to Amelia, color was high in her cheeks, a smile 
on her face.

After they'd gone, Jahn turned to Jen. "What was that 
all about?"

Breezily, she responded, "Oh, Amy just wanted him to 
make a move and was a little timid about asking him to 
do it."

"Whatever. She could probably find better than 
Bartels."

In an unexpectedly sharp tone of voice, Fiona 
interjected, "Don't be a dick, Jahn." That language 
was surprising from her, and hurt too.

Before he could say anything, Jen piped up 
indignantly. "He's been a perfect gentleman to Amy.  
He's given her a place to stay, made sure she has 
whatever she needs, got her a job.  She has no friends 
left, and he's been everything the two assholes she 
went out with before weren't. Both of them were awful 
to her, treated her like trash. Greg's the only one 
that showed her any kindness _at all_. Amy knows he's 
sweet on her, but he's left her alone because he's 
afraid to hurt her. She feels the same way about him."

"Okay, fair enough," he said slowly. Greg was beside 
the point. There was a bigger issue at hand. Emotion 
boiling over inside him, he continued, "We need to 
discuss your father."

Jen's naturally pale skin went a shade whiter with 
outrage, as the blood drained from her face. "Don't 
you talk about my daddy-"

Looking on in silence, it seemed that Fiona had made 
some of the same connections as Jahn and she finally 
spoke up. "Jenny - chkt." Jahn wasn't sure what that 
meant because it didn't even sound like a word, but it 
stopped her sister cold.

Folding her arms angrily beneath her breasts, "Okay, 
say what you have to say."

So he did.


***

It took them nearly an hour to get Jen to calm down 
after _that_ fiasco. Denial, rage, tears, the 
gauntlet. Two more hours burned before he could 
convince her that he should call Donovan. Jen had 
suggested they confront Edwards, but he was pretty 
sure that would end about as well for him as it had 
for Greg and told her so. With some reluctance, she 
agreed.

Turns out that getting a prisoner on the phone without 
a drive-up appointment was a real pain in the ass; he 
made the mistake of not having Jenny make the call and 
got a ridiculous run around before contact was 
arranged. When Donovan finally picked up, Jahn was 
seething.

"Why the hell are you calling me?"

"You ever raise a hand to your wife? Make sure she 
knows her place, that kind of shit?" Fortunately, Jen 
wasn't in the room, and he let his mouth run. "Black 
eye to remind her she's been told once already?"

The other end of the line got quiet, and he could 
practically feel a chill radiating from it. "Kid, I 
don't know what the fuck your problem is, but say 
what's on your mind and be done with it."

"It's about these people you have "looking out for" 
Jenny."

Warily, Donovan responded, "That's not your business, 
kid."

"I got one in particular in mind. Name of Edwards, 
Jake or Jacob."

"Randall's boy? So what?"

"So he beats the shit out of his girlfriends."

There was a moment of silence. "That's personal, kid. 
I don't hold with that kind of crap and it ain't 
right, but that's not your business either."

"Stow it, Donovan. He's told people in the past that 
Jenny's his girlfriend. You like the idea of Jenny 
being this shithead's punching bag? Or traumatizing 
the hell out of her when he decides to do it to her 
little half-breed sister instead? What do you think of 
that, Donovan? I think I'd like to kick his worthless 
ass, but I have it on good authority that he has 
'friends' covering for him."

The silence extended well after Jahn's rant ended, but 
he could hear the man's breathing. Still there. Chew 
on it.

Then finally: "Okay, I'll see to it that he stays away 
from them."

"Do better than that, man. Get him a transfer out of 
V&P to another branch in another city, and make it 
clear that if he ever goes anywhere near the girls, 
it's his head on a platter."

"Kid, your mouth is gonna get you... no, you're 
absolutely right. Edwards is gone, and they'll keep an 
eye on him to make sure he keeps his hands where they 
belong."

"Mind this, boy,you aren't off the hook. That's my 
girl, and I don't trust you enough to watch her by 
yourself. Clear?"

"Clear. Sir."

***

Confirmation came from an unexpected source a few days 
later. As he pulled into the driveway, Margrave 
appeared, though there seem to be no change in his 
typically sour disposition.  Jahn waited as the big 
man crossed the street to approach him.

A bass rumbled that took a moment to register as a 
voice issued from the man. "Edwards got his transfer. 
Gainesville. We got people there, but he shows his 
face 'round Jenny, you let me know."

Grudgingly, Jahn nodded. "Thank you, and tell Donovan 
I said thanks as well."

Margrave gave him an unreadable look, but nodded and 
left.

I don't speak their language, but the message seems to 
have gotten through, Jahn thought, the burden of worry 
finally beginning to lift from his chest.

***

A few weeks of reflection seemed to be the 
prescription for easing the tension that had arisen in 
the house, but it wasn't that easy. Sniping and 
arguments had taken place at first, not between Jenny 
and Fiona, but between himself and them, and in 
retrospect, he'd been embarrassed to admit that he was 
at fault for most of it. His unwillingness to simply 
let the matter of Greg's apparent decency as a human 
being drop, coupled with Jenny's resentment of the 
situation with her father had created a toxic 
atmosphere.

Over time, though, Fiona had finally gotten fed up and 
told him point-blank that had Greg not intervened, 
something could have happened to her, Jenny, or both 
of them. That stopped Jahn cold, because there had 
been a certain low-level fear in his gut that he'd 
refused to acknowledge since the first time Donovan 
had threatened him with broken arms and legs, one that 
had sharpened into outright terror when Greg had told 
them about Edwards. 

Self-preservation could be overlooked, or ruthlessly 
shoved aside, but an inability to protect people he 
loved could not. A wire had tightened around his 
heart, and it relaxed when that problem had been 
corrected, but it took Fiona's sharp insight to cut it 
loose. The understanding seemed to lift a dark cloud 
from his perception of his former nemesis.

"You're right," he admitted, with sincerity this time, 
rather than grudging reluctance, though the heat of 
embarrassment over his behavior seemed to inflame his 
cheeks. "I should thank him for that, but I deleted 
his number after Andrea."

Fiona's mouth curved in a satisfied smile. "Jenny's 
got Amy's number. Guess you should go talk to her, 
hmmm?"

Oh. You clever little minx, he marveled inwardly.

***

When he knocked on Jen's bedroom door, he got a 
grouchy "Come in" for his trouble, but she seemed to 
brighten when he came in. 

"Hey," he said awkwardly. "I figured I owe Greg some 
thanks for what he did for us. Fiona said you have 
Amy's number...?"

Looking somewhat disappointed at his response, she 
said, "Y-yeah. Hold on."

Standing, she moved to the dresser to pick up her 
cellphone, hunching over the device as she pressed 
buttons. He saw her shaking, and thought it the 
movement of her hands for a moment before he realized 
she was crying.

"Hey, Jenny, it's okay, I'm here for you. I'm not 
going anywhere." Moving forward, he embraced her 
tightly, holding her to him. Unable to contain 
whatever emotion she'd built up over the weeks, the 
reservoir broke. Jahn stood with her in his arms until 
she finally subsided.

What seemed like hours later, she spoke, stumbling 
over the words between sniffles, "I know I never g-get 
around to saying it, b-because it's so much better to 
show you how I feel. Y-you turn me on, and I l-love 
being with you. I l-love that you care, that you try 
and show it as much as possible, even with Fiona in 
the picture. I might not say it, but I _love_ you 
Jahn. I really do."

"I know," he said quietly. "You already told me. I saw 
it on your face when you told your mother about me."

"But I love my daddy too, and it tears me up that you 
hate each other."

"I don't hate him, Jen. Whatever world he's made for 
himself, whatever hatred he wraps himself in, is his 
problem. But it scares that hell out of me that his 
world could get either of you hurt."

"I kn-know. I've never had to face the dangerous side 
of his life, but I know it's there. It's why he's in 
prison."

His girlfriend stared up at him with vulnerability in 
her large watery blue eyes, and he leaned in to kiss 
her on the forehead. Wrapping her hand fiercely into 
his t-shirt, she pulled him further downward, to kiss 
her on the lips instead. Not one of their usual 
tongue-wrestling matches, or passionate lip-lock, but 
an exchange of intimacies.

"Make love to me," she whispered. He understood what 
she was asking for. Like the kissing, not their usual 
bedroom antics and wild sexy play, but togetherness. 
Their clothes seemed to be swept away like dust on a 
breeze, and he touched her over and over, his hands 
gentle travelers, not exploring new territories, but 
natives walking through well-known and loved 
homelands. From hills of her lips, to the gentle slope 
of her throat, the steep mountains of her breasts and 
flatlands of her stomach, they made their meandering 
way to the wet valley between her legs. 

Jen responded in kind, her hands everywhere, not 
groping, but touching... _feeling_ every part of him. 
There was a tightening, his arousal as hardness 
overtook him, and yet more of that tightness, his 
entry between her legs. The blonde gave a low cry of 
pleasure, pulling her head back as he penetrated her, 
and he could see a smattering of tears on her face. 
Concerned, he began to withdraw, but she clutched him 
all the more tightly to her.

"Good, it's so good..." she murmured. Embracing the 
fullness of himself within her, he set a rhythmic pace 
that was slow and gentle. There were sounds that might 
have been the occasional groan from himself or a 
breathless moan from her, but the coupling was 
comfortably quiet, he in her, taking incredible 
pleasure from the motion of his sex within hers. When 
they finally came together, there were no words, only 
an explosion of breath and release, his seed spilling 
into Jen, mingling with her own liquid passion.

***

The difference had to have shown on their faces when 
they came downstairs, because Fiona looked up from the 
mail, contemplating the pair only briefly before 
gifting them with a smug, self-satisfied smile. The 
brunette casually displayed what appeared to be a pair 
of cardboard tickets.

"Mom sent us our birthday present a bit early so that 
we could plan ahead. What do you think about a trip to 
Florida?"

To be continued...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's okay to *READ* stories about unprotected sex with
others outside a monogamous relationship. But it isn't
okay to *HAVE* unprotected sex with people other than
a trusted partner. 4-million people around the world 
contract HIV every year. You only have one body per 
lifetime, so take good care of it!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kristen's collection - Directory 72