Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Jenna Galicki Read Free Book Online Page B

The harsh alcohol burned her throat but it tasted good.  “I’m ready.  What do I have to do?”
    After Alyssa donned a pair of black plastic gloves, she made Jessi stick her tongue out and marked it.  She fastened the small rubber band onto the end of the forceps in order to keep them closed and clamped it onto the end of Jessi’s tongue.
    It felt weird and awkward and Jessi fidgeted on the barstool.  She should have taken a few more shots of the tequila, because she was losing her nerve.  Her eyes darted to the long needle in Alyssa’s hand.
    “Are you ready?”
    Jessi clamped her eyes shut. The sensation of the needle puncturing her tongue was foreign and uncomfortable, but it was quick and relatively painless.  Seconds later it was over, and she had a tongue stud.
    “How does it feel?  And don’t clang it against your teeth.”
    Jessi rolled it around in her mouth like a piece of hard candy stationed in the center of her tongue. “It feels wike I’m gonna swawwow it.”  Her fingertips flew to her lips.  “I can’t twawk!”
    Alyssa laughed.  “It just takes a little getting used to.  Tomorrow you’ll be fine.”  She ripped off her gloves and held up her shot of tequila.  “To Damien.”
    “Thamien?”
    “Yep.  Being married to a recovered alcoholic and drug addict makes you walk a very narrow line.  I can’t shoot tequila around him.  I can barely sip a glass of wine when we’re out to dinner once in a while.  I need to show Damien that I support him.  I rarely get a chance to have a couple of drinks.”  She tossed back the shot of tequila and poured another one.  “Tonight I’m going to enjoy myself.”
    Jessi still wasn’t used to the metal bar and ball inside her mouth.  Instinct was to rub it against the roof of her mouth.  She had to make a conscious effort not to do it, and she still had trouble speaking.  “Thell me about Thamien.”
    “What about him?”
    “How can he stay sober with drugs and alcohol around all the thime?”
    “He has no choice if he wants to stay married to me.  I don’t care how much I love him, I won’t put up with that shit.  I’ll kick his butt and throw his ass out.”  She pursed her dark red lips together and poured another shot. “Damien had a hard life before I met him.  He basically grew up on the streets.  It’s a really ugly story.  Maybe one day I’ll get into it, but it’s too fucked up to talk about tonight.  We’re supposed to be having a good time.”
    After a few more shots of tequila and a pizza delivery, Jessi’s eyes started to close.  She looked at the time on her phone and wondered why Tommy hadn’t called yet. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.  “I’m going to bed.  Are you all settled in the guest room?”
    “Yep.  You’re talking better.  I told you that you’d get used to it.”
    Jessi set the house alarm and ascended the long staircase up to the second floor.  She stuck her tongue out in front of the mirror in the master bathroom.  It looked funny and a little swollen.  She worried that Tommy would be mad she didn’t discuss it with him first, until she brought him to blow job heaven.
    She climbed into the oversized bed and pulled the lush down comforter over her legs.  It was a vast empty space without Tommy and Angel.
    The familiar ring tone of an Immoral Angel song announced Tommy’s long awaited call.  She jumped to a sitting position and pressed the answer button.  “Hi, baby, I miss you!”
    “I miss you too, hon.  I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but we got dragged into a press conference as soon as we landed.  We needed an interpreter!  It’s been crazy over here.”  He was excited and he was rambling.  “We’re constantly getting mobbed by fans.  It’s so bad that we needed to take security with us when we went to dinner.  I crashed as soon I got back to the hotel room, then we had an early morning interview.  I haven’t stopped running around since we got