Chapter Text
Mad About Miss Parker-Pretender drabble
The video was in the sale rack and Jarod seldom shopped sales on the Centre’s dime. The title caught his attention, so he picked it up to take a closer look. “Mad About the Mouse”, hmmm. Jarod was long past his early days of innocence; he knew what mouse they were talking about. He had a bit of a surprise a couple of years ago-- he picked up a video that he thought was a parody of a popular TV show and discovered that the porn industry liked to name their videos similarly. The video hadn’t been well acted; he’d been pretty disappointed. Though he could see the appeal, it was just a little too easy to ‘pretend’ himself into the film. There had been a leggy brunette in that video too; watching her had made him feel guilty somehow. He should stick with Disney. Actually, he found that he liked Bugs Bunny better, he thought Bugs would have made a good Pretender. Yes, it sounded like a good tape. He loved listening to Bobby McFerrin, he looked forward to seeing him, though he wasn’t quite sure why he was singing about cats, that particular movie must have missed him.
All in all, he thought, a good day. The pretend went off perfectly, and Lyle was the one with egg on his face, literally. Since the events of the island, he had been very careful to keep Miss Parker out of the line of fire. Which meant no more midnight calls to hear her voice and drop some hint. All his clues were dropped in front of Lyle, so Lyle caught the blame when they went wrong. He’d feed just enough to keep her involved, but not enough to endanger her. It was a fine balance, and one that was beginning to wear him down. He missed her. The sound of her voice, her face, her walk. Some days he’d almost sell his soul to see her smile. Definitely time for a video. And not that one that he had bought by mistake, and kept, almost in secret. Disney time.
What fun, he thought. He liked The Cars very much, and Paula was a real plus. He didn’t know the rapper, but watching him do “Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad, Wolf” cracked him up. Harry Connick Jr. was next; maybe he should skip to Bobby McFaren. The remote fell from his nerveless hand, the shock making the screen swim before his eyes. Two steps had him pressed against the TV screen reaching out as if to touch her. Because it was her, without a doubt, Miss Parker. Smiling with a joy he’d never seen before, not even when she was with Tommy. He couldn’t step away; he rewound the tape at the VCR and played the short song again. And again. And again. The sight of her long legs and flashing smile aroused him more than he thought possible, warring with a jealous rage, wondering who could have put THAT smile on her face.
Later that night, as he watched the downloaded scene on his laptop, he reached for the phone. He wasn’t sure what to say, he just wanted to hear the sound of her voice.
Her muffled “what” came out soft and sleepy, in almost a moan. He didn’t think it was possible to be harder, but it had been so long since he touched her. One hand caressed the screen while the other cradled the phone.
“I’m sorry I woke you”, he said softly.
“Jarod?” her voice was still gentle and he marveled at the sound.
When he didn’t answer, she continued, “Are you ok?”
“Yes, just thought I’d call an old friend.”
“Do you know any?” but her voice was light and teasing.
“Will you dance with me? Someday?” He wasn’t even sure he had spoken the words out loud, but her gasp confirmed it.
She was quiet for several moments, then asked him how the pretend had gone.
“I had fun, but I don’t think Lyle had a good time.” Her giggle delighted him, he really liked this softer Parker. He could almost picture her lying in bed talking to him. Hmm, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, his libido reminded him.
“Can you sleep now Jarod?” Her question surprised him, but he actually thought he could. If anyone could understand the demons that disturbed his sleep, it was Parker.
“Yes, thanks”
“Jarod”
“Yes?”
“Someday”
The dial tone was almost a relief, he didn’t think he would have been able to respond.
Someday.
The thought gave him comfort, and he drifted into dreams of dancing and soft laughter.