See Part 1 for full disclaimer.
I Would Remember Something Like That, Epilogue
By Ginger
*What a dream!*
Jarod thought cheerily as he ascended into consciousness, feeling more relaxed after a night's sleep than he had in a very long time. With a long stretch he yawned then groaned and rubbed his jaw.
*I didn't dream that part.*
Blinking his eyes open, he propped himself up on his elbows and glanced around the large, sunny room. Shifting his weight to one elbow, he ran a hand over his face and through his disheveled hair then took a deep breath. Furrowing his brow at a strange sensation in his navel, which fell somewhere between an itch and a pin prick, he probed his belly button to produce a small, round object that caught the light when he held it up. His eyes grew wide and his face erupted in a joyful grin.
"I hope these are non-toxic," he muttered with a sigh. He was sure he'd ingested at least a dozen.
Quirking an eyebrow, Jarod took a moment to survey his appearance, which was in *disarray* to put it mildly. He was sprawled naked on a bed that looked as though it had been in the path of a cattle stampede. His skin shimmered in the sunlight as he now appeared to be the one wearing at least a half ton of body glitter, not to mention a few additional rhinestones trapped in the hair covering his chest and running in a seam to his navel... and beyond.
Smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary, he plucked out the rhinestones one by one then shifted his weight to his other arm when he became aware of something stuck to his elbow. Tugging at the small piece of silver cloth in the shape of a star, he emitted a soft yelp as the adhesive pulled at the hairs on his arm. Glancing warily around him, he mused,
*I can only imagine where the other one is stuck... unless I swallowed that too.*
Jarod noticed the lipstick stains in rather indiscreet locations, as well as marks of a more permanent nature, and shrugged. It was only fair really; he most certainly left a few marks of his own. He flopped back onto the mattress and grinned up at the ceiling then sighed heavily.
He knew she was long gone because he'd have been were he the first to wake. A night of unbridled passion was one thing, facing each other the morning after was another, and neither of them would want to risk doing or saying anything to tarnish the perfect memories they had created. Jarod closed his eyes and smiled dreamily.
*Wow, that was fun!*
In fact, he could not recall ever having as much fun, not in a single evening anyway. She was amazing; a force to be reckoned with. He'd always been acutely aware of her passionate nature but he'd forgotten how playful she could be and, now that they were all grown up, those characteristics combined to create an experience beyond his wildest dreams. He chuckled softly when he recalled how, at one point, she'd rendered him stunned and speechless, not to mention more than a little winded. Noting his look of surprise, she had kissed him tenderly then grinned triumphantly. Having earlier breathed a warning into his ear that it would be a whole new experience with her, she was true to her word.
With another wistful smile and heavy sigh, Jarod opened his eyes and blinked into the light streaming in through the window. He had slept away most of the morning and needed to get moving in order to reach Baton Rouge at something approaching a reasonable hour. As it was, he'd probably have to wait until the next day to pay a call on his little brother. He slowly sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed, wincing when the tight muscles in his lower back made their presence known.
*Maybe she was trying to kill me after all,* he thought wryly as he stood and wrapped a sheet around his waist. It was all a bit of a blur, but if memory served then his clothing was to be found somewhere in the vicinity of the sofa. That's the direction he headed, stopping off in the bathroom on the way to take care of a little business.
A towel having replaced the sheet around his waist, a freshly showered Jarod ambled into the living room and shook his head at the sight of his clothing in a neatly folded pile on the couch. Lying on top of the pile were the keys to her rented sedan. He drew in and released a deep breath then slowly began to dress. When he was finished, he picked up his leather jacket to reveal a videocassette with a note attached, reading:
*Play me.*
Glancing around, he noticed the television and VCR for the first time, which was strange considering they were in a cabinet against the wall facing the sofa. Shrugging he crossed the room, popped the tape in, and turned on the set. It was the local morning newscast and didn't appear to be significant until, a minute or so into the tape, the anchor announced,
"We're going back to Lucia Perez who's been following a bizarre story all morning."
Jarod crossed his arms and watched intently, occasionally shaking his head and chuckling softly.
"And the plot to this already bizarre tale thickens. Just a few minutes ago, we received a report that one of the three men found early this morning chained to the flagpole in front of Ross Norton Recreation Center - one of several facilities in town that serve as 'Project Safe Place' sites for in-crisis and runaway kids - is under investigation for running a teen porn ring. The other two gentlemen are described as 'associates.' Authorities say that charges against all three are pending."
"Lucia," the anchor broke in. "Has there been any explanation as to how the men ended up in such a predicament?"
"I spoke to one of the first officers to respond and all she could tell me was that they were, indeed, discovered tethered to the flagpole wearing, and this is a direct quote, 'very little.' Another source reported that, prior to being taken to Plant Hospital for examination and toxicological screening, all three were muttering incoherently about, of all things, a vigilante stripper. What can I tell you, Steve, this just gets weirder. I'm sure the authorities eagerly await the results of those tox screens."
"Thanks, Lucia. I know you'll keep us posted with any new developments."
Jarod switched of the set and retrieved the cassette, feeling a mixture of pride, admiration, adoration and, yes, just a hint of unease with how well she'd done her first time out. Narrowing his eyes and smirking, he conceded out loud,
"Damn, she's good!"
He shrugged then turned to swiftly cross the room and grab his jacket. He was halfway out the door when something occurred to him and he stopped, turned, and headed back toward the bedroom, returning quickly as he slipped a few tiny mementos into his pocket. In doing so, he noticed two slips of paper and retrieved them both. One was the address she had given him the night before; the other was a note bearing a lipstick mark of the same shade as those he'd just scrubbed off his body. It read:
*Until next time... Miss Starr*
Jarod grinned all the way to Baton Rouge.
FIN
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Thanks for the fabulous feedback...;-)
I Would Remember Something Like That, Epilogue
By Ginger
*What a dream!*
Jarod thought cheerily as he ascended into consciousness, feeling more relaxed after a night's sleep than he had in a very long time. With a long stretch he yawned then groaned and rubbed his jaw.
*I didn't dream that part.*
Blinking his eyes open, he propped himself up on his elbows and glanced around the large, sunny room. Shifting his weight to one elbow, he ran a hand over his face and through his disheveled hair then took a deep breath. Furrowing his brow at a strange sensation in his navel, which fell somewhere between an itch and a pin prick, he probed his belly button to produce a small, round object that caught the light when he held it up. His eyes grew wide and his face erupted in a joyful grin.
"I hope these are non-toxic," he muttered with a sigh. He was sure he'd ingested at least a dozen.
Quirking an eyebrow, Jarod took a moment to survey his appearance, which was in *disarray* to put it mildly. He was sprawled naked on a bed that looked as though it had been in the path of a cattle stampede. His skin shimmered in the sunlight as he now appeared to be the one wearing at least a half ton of body glitter, not to mention a few additional rhinestones trapped in the hair covering his chest and running in a seam to his navel... and beyond.
Smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary, he plucked out the rhinestones one by one then shifted his weight to his other arm when he became aware of something stuck to his elbow. Tugging at the small piece of silver cloth in the shape of a star, he emitted a soft yelp as the adhesive pulled at the hairs on his arm. Glancing warily around him, he mused,
*I can only imagine where the other one is stuck... unless I swallowed that too.*
Jarod noticed the lipstick stains in rather indiscreet locations, as well as marks of a more permanent nature, and shrugged. It was only fair really; he most certainly left a few marks of his own. He flopped back onto the mattress and grinned up at the ceiling then sighed heavily.
He knew she was long gone because he'd have been were he the first to wake. A night of unbridled passion was one thing, facing each other the morning after was another, and neither of them would want to risk doing or saying anything to tarnish the perfect memories they had created. Jarod closed his eyes and smiled dreamily.
*Wow, that was fun!*
In fact, he could not recall ever having as much fun, not in a single evening anyway. She was amazing; a force to be reckoned with. He'd always been acutely aware of her passionate nature but he'd forgotten how playful she could be and, now that they were all grown up, those characteristics combined to create an experience beyond his wildest dreams. He chuckled softly when he recalled how, at one point, she'd rendered him stunned and speechless, not to mention more than a little winded. Noting his look of surprise, she had kissed him tenderly then grinned triumphantly. Having earlier breathed a warning into his ear that it would be a whole new experience with her, she was true to her word.
With another wistful smile and heavy sigh, Jarod opened his eyes and blinked into the light streaming in through the window. He had slept away most of the morning and needed to get moving in order to reach Baton Rouge at something approaching a reasonable hour. As it was, he'd probably have to wait until the next day to pay a call on his little brother. He slowly sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed, wincing when the tight muscles in his lower back made their presence known.
*Maybe she was trying to kill me after all,* he thought wryly as he stood and wrapped a sheet around his waist. It was all a bit of a blur, but if memory served then his clothing was to be found somewhere in the vicinity of the sofa. That's the direction he headed, stopping off in the bathroom on the way to take care of a little business.
A towel having replaced the sheet around his waist, a freshly showered Jarod ambled into the living room and shook his head at the sight of his clothing in a neatly folded pile on the couch. Lying on top of the pile were the keys to her rented sedan. He drew in and released a deep breath then slowly began to dress. When he was finished, he picked up his leather jacket to reveal a videocassette with a note attached, reading:
*Play me.*
Glancing around, he noticed the television and VCR for the first time, which was strange considering they were in a cabinet against the wall facing the sofa. Shrugging he crossed the room, popped the tape in, and turned on the set. It was the local morning newscast and didn't appear to be significant until, a minute or so into the tape, the anchor announced,
"We're going back to Lucia Perez who's been following a bizarre story all morning."
Jarod crossed his arms and watched intently, occasionally shaking his head and chuckling softly.
"And the plot to this already bizarre tale thickens. Just a few minutes ago, we received a report that one of the three men found early this morning chained to the flagpole in front of Ross Norton Recreation Center - one of several facilities in town that serve as 'Project Safe Place' sites for in-crisis and runaway kids - is under investigation for running a teen porn ring. The other two gentlemen are described as 'associates.' Authorities say that charges against all three are pending."
"Lucia," the anchor broke in. "Has there been any explanation as to how the men ended up in such a predicament?"
"I spoke to one of the first officers to respond and all she could tell me was that they were, indeed, discovered tethered to the flagpole wearing, and this is a direct quote, 'very little.' Another source reported that, prior to being taken to Plant Hospital for examination and toxicological screening, all three were muttering incoherently about, of all things, a vigilante stripper. What can I tell you, Steve, this just gets weirder. I'm sure the authorities eagerly await the results of those tox screens."
"Thanks, Lucia. I know you'll keep us posted with any new developments."
Jarod switched of the set and retrieved the cassette, feeling a mixture of pride, admiration, adoration and, yes, just a hint of unease with how well she'd done her first time out. Narrowing his eyes and smirking, he conceded out loud,
"Damn, she's good!"
He shrugged then turned to swiftly cross the room and grab his jacket. He was halfway out the door when something occurred to him and he stopped, turned, and headed back toward the bedroom, returning quickly as he slipped a few tiny mementos into his pocket. In doing so, he noticed two slips of paper and retrieved them both. One was the address she had given him the night before; the other was a note bearing a lipstick mark of the same shade as those he'd just scrubbed off his body. It read:
*Until next time... Miss Starr*
Jarod grinned all the way to Baton Rouge.
FIN
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Thanks for the fabulous feedback...;-)