Hands All Over

Ch. 38 Tag-along

Juice waited anxiously in line for the payphone. The dark hallway made him nervous as did the lack of any real supervision. Memories of his prison shivving from a few months before flooded into his head putting him even more on edge. The only thing keeping him from bolting out of there was the number he kept reciting to himself. Her number.

Once it was his turn, he almost sprinted towards the payphone at the end. He quickly punched in the number before planting his back against the wall so he could see all the other prisoners around him. His heart was beating fast in his chest as he listened to the phone ring. Once, twice...shit, if she didn't answer, he didn't know what he'd do.

"Hey you," her voice finally answered over the phone. "How are you?"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Hey baby," he replied, tilting his head back against the cold wall behind him as he relaxed. It'd been ten days since he'd last seen her, since he'd last heard her voice. "I'm all right," he answered vaguely. "How about you?"

"I am just finishing up preparing Mr. Wilson."

Juice chuckled. "Sexy," he commented, picturing her in her scrubs and protective gear. The bejeweled Bluetooth headset he'd gotten her in her ear. "Guess who my cellmate it?"

"Who?"

"Your cousin."

Her laugh had his heart doing flip flops. God, he missed her. "Shut up. No, he's not," she said, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Oh yeah. He most definitely is," Juice replied, laughing himself. He couldn't believe his luck when the Tacoma Killer walked into the cell, kicked him out of the bottom bunk, and told him to shut the fuck up.

"Guess that means I shouldn't send you dirty pictures, huh?" she teased. "Too bad. El got a bikini shot the other day when we went to the pool."

He swallowed hard at the thought of Angela in her silver bikini. Now that was an image he loved. He didn't need a photograph to picture it; that image would forever stay in his head. "Damn," he said under his breath. "You been keepin' busy without me?"

"Too busy," she said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit, Juice. With my job and dealin' with my Ma and Aunt...something always comes up. Now with your damn weed shop, I barely have time to think. But that's what you want, isn't it? For me to be busy?"

Juice chuckled, of course she saw through him. When the guys from the dispensary he usually went to for his weed told them they were thinking of opening a dispensary and colonic shop in Charming, he'd jumped at the chance to get a piece of it. He'd worked hard on the planning, scouting locations, etc. but had gone inside before anything really started happening. Now the set up was left in Angela's hands, and he was glad for it. Keeping her busy meant he didn't have to worry as much about other things. "Maybe," he answered, smirking to himself. "Don't worry about visitin'. Got a few more days before we can have a contact visit anyways. I don't like the idea of seein' you through glass."

"Fair enough. Hap doesn't want me and Elena visiting either," Angela commented. The line went quiet for a few moments, and Juice wondered if she'd hung up. Then he heard her sad sigh. "I miss you, Juice."

The soft sound of her voice just about broke his heart. He wished he could be there right now, wrap his arms around her and reassure her everything was going to be okay. "Yeah. Miss you too, Angel," he murmured back because he really did. He missed her more than he ever thought he would. Not just because of the physical stuff either. He missed their conversations that lasted long into the night, he missed playing video games with her, and the way she looked when she was cooking him breakfast. Everything.