His tone was serious, but loving. How could I not listen to him?
“You’re not into threesomes? You two would be hot together,” I joked, garnering a look from him. “Guess not,” I gulped.
Once my robe was removed, he slipped us both under the covers of the bed, and we allowed the comfort of the mattress to swallow us whole. Maybe Jett was right; the mattress Diego gave me was piss, but it was nothing compared to the mattress over at Rex’s place.
The thought of Rex made me sad, but I didn’t dwell on it because, not only did Jett not want us talking about other people, but he would flip shit if he knew I was thinking about Rex. Not a smart move on my part.
“What are you thinking about?” Jett asked, as if he could read my mind.
Racking my brain for something, I shouted the first thing that came to mind, “Leprechauns!”
Leprechauns? Seriously?
“That’s slightly random,” Jett stated, while chuckling.
“Yeah, you could say that, but my train of thought would tell you otherwise.”
“Oh, yeah? What was your train of thought?”
Shit…
“I don’t want to bore you with such trivial things.”
“Enlighten me,” he said, while pulling me in close to his body, making sure our skins touched.
Fuck…
“Well, I was just thinking about mattresses and how sometimes they’re hard and sometimes they’re soft, and then I thought about how manufacturers made the mattresses so soft. I mean, were they quilted by bears, like that toilet paper? Maybe there was a different animal in charge of mattresses. You know, bears have toilet paper covered, geese monopolize the pillow district, and then maybe kangaroos are in charge of mattresses. But then a kangaroo being in charge of a mattress made no sense at all, I mean, how fucking silly is that?”
Jett looked at me confused and said, “Silly.”
“I know, right?” I stated, getting more into my story. “Like, uh, hello Mr. Kangaroo, if you were in charge of anything, it would be pockets, am I right?” I asked, while nudging Jett’s side. “So then that left me wondering who is really in charge of the mattresses. Well, mattresses are soft and cloud-like and then, bam, I thought unicorn.”
“Naturally,” Jett laughed.
“But what does a unicorn have?”
“Too much glitter?” Jett asked.
“No! Well, I mean, yes, they fart glitter, but no, they have horns,” I said, while forming one with my hand and connecting it to my forehead. “Horns can poke right through mattresses, so that wouldn’t be safe, so they would have to hire someone to make the mattresses, since hooves and horns can’t quite sew pockets of floating ecstasy. And who are unicorns friends with?”
“The Easter Bunny?” Jett teased.
“No!” I said. “They are friends with Leprechauns!”
“I see,” Jett nodded, taking in my ramble. “I don’t think I will ever ask you about another train of thought again. I don’t think my brain can wrap around it.”
“Takes a special kind of mind,” I stated, while patting his face.
“Apparently.” He took a deep breath and then said, “Goldie, I need to talk to you about something.”
Yeah, I didn’t like the tone of his voice. Whenever he became serious Jett, not dominant Jett, but serious Jett, he was always about to tell me some bad information. Right now, I could only imagine what it would be, most likely how he wants to be with me, but can’t, the same old routine that we’ve been going through since I showed up at the Lafayette Club.
“Why do I feel like I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell me?”
“Because you probably won’t…”
“No,” I said while sitting up. “I refuse to listen to you turn me down once again. What is it this time? Not man enough to handle me? You have another business deal in the works, and I’m not good enough to go to your parties with you? Are you starting another club and need to spend time with those ‘Jett girls?’ God, I’m such a fucking idiot. Why do I keep coming back to you? Thinking things are going to change? Well, fuck this shit,” I said, while scrambling to get out of bed.
“Goldie, stop,” Jett stated in a commanding voice. “This has nothing to do with our relationship. But it’s comforting to see what kind of faith you have in us.”
“Do you blame me?” I asked, feeling like an ass. I got back under the covers, but kept my distance, something Jett let me know was not acceptable by pulling me in closer to him.
“I don’t,” he answered honestly, “and I get that it’s going to take time to earn your trust back, but please give me a chance to talk to you before you go running off. Promise me that?” he asked, while rubbing my cheek with his thumb, a loving gesture that calmed my heart.
“Promise.”
“Good,” he kissed my forehead softly and pulled away. Looking me in the eyes he said, “I need to tell you that I’ve shut down the Toulouse Room.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused as to what he was trying to tell me.
“The Lafayette Club will no longer be offering presentations.”
“Why?” I asked, lifting off the bed. “What about the girls? What about me?”
I needed to pace, I needed to think about the ramifications of what Jett was telling me. I wanted to do my own thing, but knowing I still had the Lafayette Club was a good back up plan to have until I solved my future plans.
Once again, Jett grabbed ahold of me and lowered me back down to the bed.
“It’s time to offer something new to the girls. I’ve decided to close the doors of the Toulouse Room and open up new ones,” Jett stated soothingly.
“Where?” I asked, trying to let his warm hands that were rubbing my back relax me.
“Lot 17. I will be offering up a community center where the girls will now work, as well as Kace. We will be offering free classes to the community and the girls will help teach them. They will be able to apply the education they’ve been earning during their years with me to help those in need, those who also need a second chance. I’ve also made connections with local businesses, which will be providing educational classes as well, to help those get back on their feet. Kace will be offering classes in self-defense, boxing, and general exercise. There will be housing in the back for those who might need a place to sleep at night, and a soup kitchen as well.”
Oh, fuck…my heart was a puddle in my chest for the man right in front of me.
“After Katrina hit, this whole city was rolled over. A lot of people, including yourself, lost everything they ever had, and they lost hope. I want to help bring back that hope, to help those who might have lost everything land back on their feet. My mission is to make Lot 17 into a place of refuge, a place of rebuilding, and a place of challenge, but I can’t do it without you, Goldie. I need your help. I need your bright, shining personality to help encourage people to turn their lives around, to find a new hope to strive for.”
Shaking my head, I asked, “How can I help them?”
“Art therapy,” Jett said, smiling sweetly at me.
No, this was not how it was supposed to happen. I’m supposed to figure out my own life, not let Jett figure it out for me.
“No,” I shook my head. “You can’t just come swooping in here with your amazing ideas and figure everything out. I need to figure out my own life; I can’t rely on you anymore.”
Perplexed, Jett studied me for a second and then said, “Little One, it’s my job to protect you, to provide for you, to make you happy. I wouldn’t be doing my job as your dominant, as your boyfriend, if I wasn’t doing those things. Let me love you and care for you; it’s what I strive for…what I need to do. It’s a part of me.”
Damn it…damn it!!