Part 2
Jenna listened to Kasey�s breathing as he slept next to her. She couldn�t believe she was lying in bed next to the man of her dreams and was actually going to do what she was about to. She eased herself into a sitting position very carefully so as not to wake him up. Looking at the clock, she knew she had to leave now or else she was never going to.
�Is that clock right?� she asked. �There is no way it is already 5 AM.�
�It�s right,� he said. �But who cares? I have off until after the holidays and so do you. Sleep here for a couple hours and then we can go get brunch and I�ll take you home, if you want. But I�m not done yet.�
She didn�t think it was possible, but sex with him was even more amazing the second time around. God, what am I doing? she thought. Not only did she go home with Kasey after just meeting him like the NASCAR Hoes she went out of her way to make fun of, but she was about to leave before he even woke up, the ultimate slut move.
She crept out of his bed and picked her shoes and undergarments up off the floor. Slipping her bra and panties back on, she paused to look at him before making her way downstairs to hunt for the rest of her clothes. He�s perfect she said to herself with a sigh, quietly closing the door to his room. And that was why she had to leave.
Please don�t let Kale walk in before I find my stuff, she pleaded to the fates that brought her and Kasey together that night, as she made her way down the stairs. Jenna couldn�t take that embarrassment this early in the morning. Finding her clothes was no easy task but she managed to find every piece. She threw them on, grabbed her purse and walked out into the sunny Carolina morning.
She reached into her bag for her cell phone and realized she had no idea where she was. As Jenna walked down the street, she knew what she must look like; her bed head and wrinkled clothes that were obviously not meant for a 7 AM stroll, would have been more in place on a college campus littered with beer cans than this beautiful street lined with tall trees and huge homes. She couldn�t find any sort of street sign letting her know where she was and to top it all off, Kale could be arriving home any minute, catching her in her walk of shame. Walk of shame? I am 24 years old, she thought, my last walk of shame was supposed to be four years ago!
After what seemed like forever, Jenna spotted an intersection. She hurriedly dialed the number to her and Amy�s condo.
�Jenna, where the fuck are you?� Courtney�s voice came over the line.
�Court, I need Amy to come get me like right now.�
�I don�t think Amy�s going to get up any time soon, let alone drive a car.�
�Shit! I need her to come pick me up. I must look like some kind of hooker walking down Kasey�s street right now. Can�t you come get me?�
�Your forgetting that, number one, I flew down here, and number two, I live in Ohio! Just call a cab.�
�You�re right,� Jenna said as she crossed he street to avoid walking past a man who was out watering his lawn. �A cab will get here sooner anyways.�
�You know I expect a full report as son as your slut ass gets in this door.�
�When have I ever not given you a full report? Have some green tea with honey ready for me in like 20 minutes. I gotta call a cab.�
Jenna spotted a bunch at a bus stop just as she found the number for a cab in her phone. �Hi, I need a cab ASAP.� She rattled off the name of the intersection where she was and waited. Too bad the buses didn�t run on a normal schedule on Sunday, she�d be right on time for the 7:45 if they did. As it were, the next one wouldn�t be there until 10AM.
Sitting there waiting for her cab to come and praying that no one she knew drove past, she thought about the previous night�s events.
�Well, Miss DiBenedetto, you obviously know enough about me to fell comfortable letting me slip into your bed every night while you sleep, so don�t you think I should know a little about you?�
�Well, Mr. Kahne,� she shot right back, �it was the shy rookie with the baby blue eyes who came into my dreams every night, but I�m beginning to think that it is the arrogant man right in front of with the mischievous glint in his eyes that I want in my bed tonight��
Did she really say that to him? It sounded like a line from a porno movie!
Thankfully, she didn�t have time to brood too long because a cab pulled up right in front of her. She got in the back and gave the driver her address in Charlotte, leaning her head back against the seat.
�Yo, do you live around here?�
OH NO! It was the cabbie from last night.
�No, I was just visiting.�
�You�ll never believe who I had in my cab last night! Kasey Kahne, man!�
�Is that right?� Jenna asked. It was either listening to him, or replaying in her head each and every slutty thing she�d said to Kasey last night.
�You know who he is, right? I can�t believe he was in my cab! I have been scanning all the calls waiting for another one in this area. No offense, but I was hoping it would be him again.�
�None taken.�
�He was with this FOINE lookin� honey! Man, I�d kill to have hot chicks like that throwing themselves at me. You know he�s gotta be taking a different one home with him every night. I bet girls just throw themselves at him!�
Was this for real? �I bet they do.�
�Yeah man, those NASCAR girls are freaks. Those guys are like rock stars, man! Now that�s what I call livin. L-I-V-I-N.�
Who did this guy think he was? This Wooderson act worked for Matthew McConaughey, not some smoked out cab driver that wouldn�t shut his damn mouth!
Jenna spent the whole ride home hearing about how �pimpin�� Kasey was and how �crazy� female NASCAR fans were. Fans like her�
She was just about ready to jump out of the moving vehicle when he pulled up in front of her condo.
�Just think, you can tell your friends you rode in the same cab as a NASCAR superstar.�
�Don�t you mean rode a NASCAR superstar?� she said under her breath.
�What was that?�
�Nothing, I just said �Wow, a NASCAR superstar!� Isn�t that something?�
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�So let me get this straight�, Val said. The four friends were sprawled out around Amy and Jenna�s living room. Jenna and Courtney were sitting on the couch. Val was sitting on the floor painting her toenails. And Amy; Well, Amy was reclined in the chair with a bright blue cooling mask over her eyes.
�You tell Kasey Kahne that you want him in your bed, suck his dick up against a wall in his living room, have crazy animal sex with him-�
�Two times!� Amy piped up from under he cold compress.
�Two times,� Val repeated. �He mentions brunch, you sneak out of his house before he gets up, and you�re worried that you came across as a NASCAR Hoe?�
�Oh, god!� Jenna said, burying her face in a pillow. �Is it really that bad, guys?�
�Not bad if you don�t mind him expecting you to show up a the track draped all over half his friends next week!� Val exclaimed.
�Jesus, Val! Shut the fuck up, will ya?� Courtney said, her eyes shooting daggers at her best friend. �Jenna, it isn�t as bad as she is making it out to be. I mean, you didn�t expect to go home with him and fall madly in love or anything. You had a good time with a hot guy, that�s all. It doesn�t make you a NASCAR Hoe.�
�Yeah, but Kasey doesn�t know that,� Amy added.
�What is wrong with the two of you?� Courtney shot off the couch and stood in front of both of them with her hands on her hips. �Jenna is young and beautiful and intelligent and SINGLE. Why shouldn�t she screw a random guy she meets in a bar? So what if he just so happens to be famous. I didn�t see either of you stopping her last night!�
Neither Val nor Amy had anything to say to that.
�Look you guys, I don't want us to fight about this,� Jenna told them. You�re all right. I did have a good time with a hot guy and it isn�t like I, or any of us for that matter, haven�t done it before. But Val and Amy have a point too. If I didn�t want Kasey to think I was some NASCAR Hoe, I shouldn�t have peaced out at 7 AM.�
�Jen-�
�No, let me finish, Val. I didn�t want Kasey to feel like he was obligated to me in any way. I don�t want a relationship with him, but it was important to me that he knows that I�m not just some slut who will screw anything in a racing suit. Maybe leaving like I did wasn�t the right way to dispel that image, but I honestly believe that even though I pulled a sleazy move like sneaking out of his house before he got up and told him I wanted him to fuck my brains out, I�m not one of those NASCAR Hoes and that came across to him while we were talking.�
�Jenna, I�m sorry,� Val said getting up to hug her. �I didn�t mean that like it came across. You know I love you.�
�And I love you too, Jenna,� Amy said from her chair. �Even if you are a Skank-a-whore-us Rex!�
�You bitch!� Jenna laughed as she pulled the lever on Amy's recliner causing her to fall out of the chair. She grabbed Jenna and pulled her down with her and Jenna grabbed Courtney who in turn grabbed Val. The four girls were piled up on the floor laughing like hyenas. Jenna didn�t know what she would do with out them.
�So, I want to hear more details, Jenna,� Amy said from her spot on the bottom of the pile. �Down to the exact noises he made. That boy is HOT!�
Val squirmed her way out of the pile and looked at them with a stern look on her face and said, �And did you actually tell Kasey Kahne that you wanted him to �fuck your brains out�?�
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The sunlight coming through Kasey�s window blinded him as he opened his eyes. Ugh, bring on the Alka Seltzer, he thought groggily. �So, how about-� he stopped as he rolled over and realized Jenna wasn�t lying in bed next to him. He might have been pretty drunk but he knew he didn�t imagine her being there.
"...He sat there and just looked at her. Silver jewelry sparkling, her bra was still pushed to the side, her breasts still exposed. Her lacy black v-string thong sat low on her hips. Complimenting the arousing picture in front of him was the fact that her black stiletto shoes were still on her feet. He�d be content sitting there looking at her for the rest of the night."
No, that image of her was going to be etched in his mind for a long time. He definitely didn�t imagine her.
He heard noises coming from the kitchen and figured she must be down there. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants from his drawer, not even bothering to put on underwear, and walked downstairs. �Damn,� he said tousling his hair even more as he walked into the kitchen. �Maybe I should start dancing to keep up my stamina because you wore me out!� Only when he looked up, it wasn�t Jenna standing there; it was Kale, trying not to choke on his orange juice.
�Fuck! Kale! I thought you were Jenna.� Kasey sat down at one of the chairs in the breakfast nook.
�Sorry, Big Bro,� Kale said as he shut the door to the sub-zero fridge. �And by the way,� he said joining Kasey at the table, �I don�t think you�d look as good as she probably does in a tutu.�
Kasey reached over and punched Kale in the arm. �Is she down here?�
�Nah,� Kale said. �I rolled in about twenty minutes ago and didn�t see her. Although I wouldn�t have minded seeing her sweet ass first thing in the morning.�
�Kale! Have some fucking decency, will you?�
�I man it, man, she is hot! And from the looks of you, she�s smoking OFF the dance floor too.�
Kasey smiled at that one. Oh she�d been hot off the dance floor, all right.
�So you�re telling me that you, my brother, the famous Kasey Kahne, got humped and dumped by a Kindergarten teacher?�
�You said it yourself, man. She isn�t some normal Kindergarten teacher. Could you imagine if she taught high school? God, I�d have been having wet dreams during class.�
�I don�t know, Kasey. I seem to remember you getting your fair share under the bleachers while you were supposed to be in class!� Kasey chuckled to himself as he got up to grab a bagel out of the freezer.
�But that�s besides the point, bro,� he said to Kale. �She just walked out of here with no note, no giving me her number, no �Hey! Thanks for the fuck!� Nothing.�
�What? You don�t like it when someone does that to you, Mr. King of the AM Exits? You used to pull that shit on chics all the time.� Kale watched Kasey as he popped the bagel into the toaster. Kasey usually only looked as beat as he did now when he climbed out of a racecar. That girl must have been something else.
�Besides, Kase, you should be happy she don�t stick around here like fly paper on your ass. Tryin� to make you eat breakfast in bed with her and shit.�
Sure, there was merit to what Kale was saying, Kasey thought. But he didn�t have Jenna pegged to be one of those clingy girls. He also didn�t expect her to be the kind of girl who screwed a guy picked up her stuff and high-tailed out of his place, either. She�d said it herself: �I just want you to know that I�m not just some NASCAR Hoe. I don�t do this all the time.�
�I guess I just didn�t expect her to pull a disappearing act, that�s all. Shit!� Kasey said, dropping his hot bagel onto the counter.
�She must have a hell of a good lay, Kasey,� Kale said watching his brother fumble around their kitchen. �Or else you really like this one.�
Kasey didn�t know what to say. He could definitely attest to the first part of Kale�s statement, but it was the second part that caught him off guard. He�d just met the girl barely 12 hours ago and he�d spent a good amount of that time banging the hell out of her. That was hardy grounds for anything more than just random sex. Deciding not to worry about it, he carried his bagel back over to the table.
�Man, Kale, you have no idea just how good��
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Jenna could hear her friends laughing at something on the TV when she got out of the shower. They�d always spent the Sundays after a night out piecing together the previous night�s events as they pigged out on greasy food and watched stupid movies on TV. She�d just put on sweats and a t-shirt to go join them when her cell started ringing. Who was calling her now? Her parents should have been on their plane to the Caribbean an hour ago, and her three closest friends were there. Oh my God! she thought diving across her room for her cell what if it�s Kasey? The number on the caller ID wasn�t anyone in he phone book. What do I say to him? How do I explain peacing out at 7 AM? she thought, his face looking out at her from the Kasey Kahne calendar on her wall. But I didn't even leave him my number, she thought deflatedly. She took a deep breath and flipped her phone open. �Hello?�
�Well, if it isn�t Miss Dixie herself, Jenna DiBenedetto!� the voice on the other end boomed across the line. There was only one person in the world who talked like that; Neil Black, her agent from when she�d spent that summer on tour.
�Why Neil, how in the world did you ever track me down?�
�Honey, you know there�s nothing stopping this diva when he�s on the hunt!�
Neil was one of the most exuberant people Jenna knew. He�d seen he dance at a competition in New York City one time and made it his mission to book her with his agency. She made it perfectly clear to him that she wasn�t interested in any sort of permanent career performing, but he convinced her that someone with her talent couldn�t �hade it under a bushel forever.� She was surprised that he was interested in her. His agency was one of the biggest in the music biz and she was sure he wouldn�t want anything to do with her once he found out she was going to go to college to be a teacher. But he was nothing if persistent. He was the one that got her the gig on Christina Aguilera's first tour during the summer after her freshman year at college. They�d lost touch when she moved to down to North Carolina.
�I don�t know why you would move from dreary old Ohio down to dreary old North Carolina. Imagine my surprise when I heard that Miss Thing left the boonies to move to the sticks!�
Neil could never understand why Jenna didn�t just pack up her life and move to New York. He thought it was the best place in the world and didn�t mind letting everyone know.
�Do you know how hard it was to tack you down? I called Kitty and Biff�s house only to have some maid tell me that they were away on a Caribbean cruise until February and she didn�t think she should be giving out your number. Can you imagine? She can tell me that there is nobody home in that huge pile of brinks just waiting to be robbed out there in BFE, but she can�t give me your phone number?�
Jenna laughed. He always had a flair for drama. After he met her parents for the first time, he�d dubbed them �Kitty and Biff� saying they looked like the kind of people who sat around a country club in the suburbs of Ohio critiquing everyone�s perfect lives. And he was right on. Jenna loved he parents and knew that they couldn't help who they were. Her father was a successful CFO of a major beverage company and her mother was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth from day one. But unlike a lot of Jenna�s other friends from when she was growing up, including Amy, they�d made her the center of their universe as soon as she was born. To them, any decision she made was the right one and they�d be there to back her up and cheer her on. That was, unless she dropped all thoughts of college and became a back-up dancer for the rest of her life. As much as Jenna hated to admit it, they were right to push her to get her education.
�So, Sherlock Holmes, how�d you find me?�
�Let me tell you, Jenna, it wasn�t easy. After Alice the Maid wouldn�t tell me where you were, I called the school you used to work at and told them that you were applying for a job and I was checking your references. Luckily the secretary had a thing for gossip and said �But didn�t she take that job at the performing arts school in Charlotte.� BINGO! I hit the jackpot! So I got out my orange IMAC and looked up the schools in Charlotte.�
�But, Neil, that doesn�t explain how you got my cell number.�
�Well, honey, you�re forgetting you work in the dance department of a school. Some man with a voice as gorgeous as Bad Pitt�s answered when I called your office and a little bit of Neil charm and an explanation of who I was and who I worked for did wonders.�
�Oh, Neil, you should see Frank. He has to body to go along with that voice and females need not stand in line for that ride.�
�I just might be able to arrange that if you listen to what I am about to say.�
Jenna sat don on her bed and waited for what he was about to tell her. He always called her about one audition or another, but they usually required living on a tour bus for months at a time; something she could never do.
�I just got a call from my good friend Robyn, who just happens to be the founder of the hottest new dance act, The Pussycat Dolls. You do get E! down there and know who they are, right?�
Of course Jenna knew who The Pussycat Dolls were. Everyone from Jessica Simpson to Christina Applegate had performed with the group of girls whose racy shows combined burlesque dancing, a sassy attitude and perfectly choreographed routines. Plus, being from Ohio herself, Jenna�s local newspaper ran a huge story on them when Carmen Electra got involved. �Neil, it isn�t like I am out in some backwoods-hick-town! And you know US Weekly has always been my favorite gossip rag. Of course I know about The Pussycat Dolls.�
�Then, be ready to kiss your Auntie Neil as soon as you see him because you, my dear, are going to be one of them!�
Jenna almost fell off her bed. Her? A Pussycat Doll?
�Robyn called me because they want to expand the PCD brand to the East Coast and most of her girls refuse to leave La-La Land. And I got you an audition with her!�
�Neil, look, I am flattered and all, but are you forgetting that I have a job? I am a teacher. I can�t afford to traipse up and down the coast to perform. Let alone take time of from work to do it.�
�Ahh, but that is he beauty of it, my dear. There will be about 20 girls in the East Coast company, and they only need about five at most performances. You�d get to choose which ones you could go to, and your travel would be paid for.�
�I don�t know, Neil. I am a teacher. Don�t you think his might be a little too racy for the school�s image?�
�Now Jenna, don't be such a prude! Schools like yours encourage outside perfuming by their faculty. And I checked out the links to some of your coworkers� web pages that were listed on the school�s site, which you definitely need to get by the way, and saw pictures of some of their out of school performances. Who knew schools in the South employed teachers who spend their extra time covering themselves in chocolate body paint on stage in the name of art!�
He had a point there. Dean�s CAPA School was way more liberated than most schools in the area. Parents from all over the country sent their kids there to be molded into dancers and singers and actors and sculptors or one of the other million tracks Dean�s offered. It was considered to be of he best creative and performing arts schools in the nation. And as much as Jenna loved teaching dance, being on stage the other night had rekindled her desire to perform. She wanted to do it.
�So, Auntie Neil, where are my dancing shoes taking me and my headshot for this audition?�
�Jenna my dear, how does New York City for the holidays sound to you?�
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