Jamie's Got a Plan

Submitted into Contest #170 in response to: Start your story with the line “I’ve got a plan”. ... view prompt

21 comments

Crime Thriller

This story contains themes or mentions of sexual violence.

“I’ve got a plan.”

“Your plan is what got us into this mess!”

I looked around the room looking for some way out of this. It was a mess. The chair next to the vanity was overturned, the mirror was smashed, and a naked man in his 40s sat slumped unconscious, but still breathing, on the floor between the bed and the wall with a large butcher knife in his chest semi covered with my bedspread.

My original plan was to get the naked guy, who used to be my best friend Renee’s step dad, over to my house, get him in a compromised situation, and then Kevin and Jason would burst in on us exposing him as a pedophile and then we could blackmail him for money.

I don’t think Mr. Thomas was a total perv but he was always making suggestive comments to me and Renee whenever I was over to spend the night and Renee once told me he liked to hug her from the side with his hand high up on her side so his fingers could touch the under side of her breast. I flirted with him a little last week when I was over at Renee’s, you know, laughing at all his jokes and making eye contact while I sucked my Chupa Chup sucker. He was totally into it so I figured maybe the boys and I could scare him enough to leave Renee alone.

So, last night, Renee, me, Mr. Thomas, and Renee’s mom are sitting at their table eating pizza and I casually mention I’ve been having car trouble. There’s some talk about what’s wrong and whether my dad had a chance to take a look. I mention he’s out of town for the week so I’ve been walking everywhere. Renee’s mom suggests Mr. Thomas give me a ride home later which I accept gratefully but not with too much enthusiasm. This is only a test after all.

Anyway, Mr. Thomas gave me a ride home without saying much along the way. I made sure I cross and uncrossed my legs under my short skirt a number of times on the way home and caught him out of the corner of my eye catching a glimpse. He fiddled with the radio but didn’t really find anything to fit the mood and eventually turned it off. After he pulled into the driveway, I sat for a minute to give him time to think about what he could be doing. My heart started to beat a little hard because once I made my move, there was no turning back and if he wasn’t the perv I thought he was, this could be very embarrassing.

After what seemed like an eternity, which was probably more like a couple of minutes, I saw him look in my direction so I quickly turned toward him, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “Thanks Mr. Thomas!” I said quickly, then opened the car door, and hopped out before he could say anything. The rush was incredible. I can’t believe I did it and as I’m replaying it my head, I start giggling to myself as I walk around the front of the car.

I didn’t even hear the driver door open but the next thing I knew, Mr. Thomas was out of the car and heading me off at the porch. “Hey, what was that about?” He wasn’t angry sounding, more like curious, so I smiled innocently as if to say, “What do you mean?”

“A girl could get herself into a lot of trouble promising things like that and then just walking away.”

Oh…so he was a perv. Great. Well, I don’t have my plan fully formed yet nor do I have back up at this point so I buy a little time. “Well, I wasn’t sure if you were, you know, interested.” I leave the statement hanging in the air and wait for his response.

“Yeah…I’m interested. Renee can’t know anything about this, of course.”

“Of course,” I say. “I wouldn’t want her to know. Too embarrassing for sure.” He doesn’t say anything about his wife not knowing, the creep. He probably does more than hug Renee too close and he doesn’t want her tattling on him to her mom if she finds out about me. Gross. It only makes me want to this even more.

“You say your dad is out of town this week?”

“Yeah, away on business.” He doesn’t want to waste anytime I see.

“Okay, how about I come over tomorrow night to work on your car?” He says suggestively. I guess “work on your car” means he hopes to penetrate whatever hole is available as soon as possible.

This is a dangerous situation I’ve got myself into and if I can’t get Kevin and Jason in on this, I’m going to have to come up with some way to get out of it. “Okay. See you tomorrow.” He’s on the hook. Without waiting for a response, I head up the porch steps, unlock my front door, enter, and lock the door behind me. My heart is beating so hard I can barely breath and I am so turned on, I drop my stuff right at the door, go straight to the phone hanging on the kitchen wall, and dial Jason’s number.

“Can you and Kevin come over? I need help with something.” They’ve been into my plans before but this one was definitely over the top crazy. “30 minutes? Cool. Bye.” 30 minutes was just enough time to calm myself down with a little pot and formulate the beginning of a plan to shake down Mr. Thomas and make a little money.

The next day, I was wearing a cute short bouncy little black skirt, with a very snug white cotton tank top. Underneath I wore a black bra and white cotton underwear. I curled my hair in big soft waves, smudged some black eyeliner around my eyes, and applied a soft pink lip gloss to my lips. I looked like I had just rolled out of bed. I was checking myself out in the full-length mirror in my room when I heard a knock at the door downstairs. This is it, I thought. This better work or we’re all in trouble. And I mean all. I checked the clock radio on my night stand. 8:00 on the dot. Who goes over to someone’s house at eight o’clock at night to “work on a car”? I mean, it was summer after all and the sun didn’t usually set around here until nine anyway.

I bounced down to the front door in my bare feet and opened it to see Mr. Thomas standing there carrying a tool box. “Ready to show me what’s wrong with the car?” Did I read this wrong? I thought that was a euphemism for having sex?

“Um, sure!” Sure, I can show my car that has literally nothing wrong with it and was a ploy to get you here.

“I’m kidding. I know there’s nothing wrong with your car. I just brought the tools with me in case one of your neighbors notices me coming over.”

The perv who thinks of everything. Gross. I wonder if he’s done this before? “How did you know?”

“Come on, Jamie, the laughing at my jokes, the sucker…you’re very good at sucking by the way.”

I chuckle nervously hoping I can go through with this and that the boys show up on time. I look past Mr. Thomas down the street to my left and then to my right. No one is outside so no one has seen him talking to me on my porch. He didn’t even park in front of my house.

“You gonna let me in, Jamie girl?”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, Mr. Thomas.” I say as I move out of the way, he comes in, and sets his tool box down next to the door.

“Nice place. I don’t think I’ve been here before. Why don’t you give me a tour?”

This might not be my best plan. It feels like he’s done this before and I am beginning to feel outmatched. All I have to do is play nice until the boys get here at 8: 30 pm which will be—check the clock on the mantle – in exactly 26 minutes. I can small talk and whatever for 26 minutes. Heck, I talk all day, what’s 26 minutes?  

“Here’s the living room, which you are in,” I say sweeping my arm like Vanna White. “Over here is the dining room, the door to the kitchen, and a guest bathroom.” I put on my hostess thinking cap. “Would you like something to drink?” I say as I make my way to the liquor cabinet in the dining room. I don’t give him time to answer and just grab two cups from the shelf, open the first bottle of alcohol closest to me, and start pouring. I’m going to need this drink more than him to get through this.

“Here ya go.” I had him the drink and he smiles at me like he knows I’m nervous and the look in his eyes change a bit like me being scared turns him on or something. I should’ve had the boys already here hiding in the next room or something. I take a big gulp of the amber liquid as I walk back toward the living room. It burns a little going down but then a warmth hits my cheeks and I think I’m going to be okay.

“How about a tour upstairs?” He asks as he sets his drink on the dining room table. He didn’t even take a sip.

“Upstairs? Oh, that’s just bedrooms. And a bathroom. We could stay down here for a while, if you want.” I’m already standing at the foot of the stairs sort of blocking the way up when he begins to walk toward me.

“I think you would be much more comfortable upstairs. In your bedroom. Don’t you think? A little more private?” He’s standing right in front of me now and I’m frozen in place. I glance at the clock – 8:10. 20 more minutes before the boys get here. I’m not sure I can hold Mr. Thomas off. I thought we would sit and talk on the couch, maybe let him kiss me or feel me up or something right before the boys got here to make it look good but this guy isn’t wasting any time. Maybe I came on too strong too soon. Either way, my heart is pounding in my throat and for once I’m at a loss of what to say.

Mr. Thomas puts his hands on my shoulders then brushes them down my arms very gently. I’m frozen in place. He takes the cup out of my hand and puts it next to his on the table. He returns to me, takes my hand in his, and leads me up the stairs. “Which one is yours?” He asks softly. I really didn’t think this thing through. I raise my other arm pointing to the second door on the left. He leads me to it, opens the door, and ushers me in closing the door behind us. I’m trying not to panic but the boys won’t know we’re up here and it might take them awhile to figure it out. My clock radio says 8:12. Did time stop or something? Why is everything feel like it’s happening so fast but time is going so slow?

“You have a cool room.” He says as he sits on my bed. “Cozy. Come here.” He’s still holding my hand so he pulls me close to him, between his legs, and looks up at me. “You’re so pretty, Jamie, I like you. I like you very much.” He lets go of my hands and starts caressing my bare legs. My short skirt was a bad idea. I should’ve worn jeans. Very tight and hard to get off jeans.

“I like you, too, Mr. Thomas.”

“Do you like what I’m doing, Jamie?”

“Sure.”

“Tell me Jamie. Tell me how it feels. Come on.” He whispers as he caressing my legs. His breathing becomes shallow as he slowly works his hands up under my skirt and I feel his thumbs just inside my thighs. He gives me a squeeze and it takes my breath away. I can feel my body betray me as my underwear becomes a bit wet. He leans his face into my crotch and takes a deep breath. “You smell so good, Jamie.”

“Mr. Thomas…it’s my first time.” I whisper with a bit of a whimper. It isn’t but I thought it would buy me some time and I’m really started to freak out thinking this is going to go further than I planned. I’ve had sex with a couple of older guys before but that was for money and I never saw them again. This was different. This was Renee’s stepdad. What if he wanted more? Even worse, what if I liked it and wanted more? Where are Kevin and Jason? How much time is left? I check the clock on the nightstand. 8:16 pm. 14 minutes.

“Come on, Jamie. I know you’re not a virgin.” He slips his hands up my skirt and pulls down my underwear.

The rest happens like a blur in my mind. I remember him taking off his shirt and laying back on my bed to undo his pants and slip them off. I remember him getting centered on top of my bed and pulling me to get on top of him which I did. I hovered over him on my knees waiting for the boys to burst in but no one came. My body was betraying me. I wanted Mr. Thomas inside me. I could feel how hot and wet I was as he reached up to feel my breasts over my top. My heart pounded. His hands were on my hips and I felt a rush of adrenaline as he slowly eased me down onto him. He began rocking me back and forth so I reached out with my right arm to steady myself.

That’s when I felt the handle of the butcher knife I kept under my pillow in case of emergencies when my dad was out of town. As I rocked back and forth on top of Mr. Thomas, he started groaning in pleasure, and something clicked in my brain. I sat back, taking him in deep, and with both hands on the knife, I plunged it into Mr. Thomas’ chest.

He yelled out and pushed me off of him. I fell backward off the bed as he rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed. He grasped for air trying to call my name but I just sat there. Just then, Kevin and Jason came through the door.

“What the fuck, Jamie?! What the fuck?!” They said almost simultaneously.

Mr. Thomas was still alive and stood up to grab at Jason for help but they spun around and Jason pushed Mr. Thomas off causing him to topple the chair and fall back into the vanity mirror smashing it. Kevin grabbed me out of the way of Mr. Thomas who kept grabbing at us for help and trying to get a breath at the same time. After a 10 seconds or so, he just fumbled backward until he hit the wall and slumped down.

“It all happened so fast! I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what happened!” I cried. “He was inside me one minute and the next thing I knew I… I had the knife…”

“Jamie, he was inside you? The fuck? I thought you said you were just going to tease him a little. Jesus, fuck, Jamie!” Kevin said with an anger I hadn’t heard before.

“I’m sorry, Kevin.” I said as I started to cry. The adrenaline was pumping so hard through me I thought I would pass out. I slumped down to the floor and leaned against my bed. My underwear still crumpled on the floor where Mr. Thomas had dropped them. I think I may have killed someone tonight. I had to think.

After a minute of just standing there looking at everything in awe and fear of what to do next, Jason broke the silence. “Well, now what? Call 911? I mean, the guy’s still breathing? We can’t let him die.”

Think, Jamie, think. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Your plan is what got us into this mess!” Kevin hissed at me.

“I mean, I have a different plan.”

“Well, if it’s anything like this one, count me out.”

“It better be good Jamie. I don’t think we have much time.” Jason added.

We ended up driving Mr. Thomas’ car to the street next to the hospital and put him in the driver’s seat. Then called 911 to report an injured guy in a car. They got to him just in time. He ended up taking a job in another town a few months later. Renee stayed behind with her mom to finish high school. There were some rumors about what happened but no one suspected us. The three of us haven’t been the same since. 

November 05, 2022 03:54

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21 comments

Lily Finch
00:21 Nov 10, 2022

I like the flow it is shocking like the act - it mirrors what she goes through. Well done. Are we slamming the teen slasher or are we slamming the perv step dad or both? It seems that you have struck a nice balance in this one. Both are equally represented and they are both equally dealt with appropriately. Again, well done. Only a few minor errors maybe? See below. ” I had him the drink and h y is everything feel like it’s happening as he caressing my legs. I’m really started to freak out thinking Thank you for the read. It was enjoyab...

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Jeannette Miller
00:34 Nov 10, 2022

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! I think it's a balance they both aren't exactly angels, are they? Thanks for catching the error! I'll have to fix it later.

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Lily Finch
01:33 Nov 10, 2022

I liked it. Thank you. No, neither one is an angel. LF6

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Tommy Goround
23:56 Nov 07, 2022

"the last seduction" becomes "Last tango in Paris." The writing is clear. The flow would be really fast if it wasn't so shocking. "Your first use of penetration" probably stopped my flow. Um... Yeah that was a thriller. And then it was kind of super wrong sexy. Ok. Would this same story work for senior citizens? It's just a safe zone compared to high school girls. Their age is not really specified.. But if you tell me that they're both 19-year-old freshman in college. OH YEAH. :::; Kill him again::::: I wanna watch :::: give me that ...

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Jeannette Miller
15:54 Nov 09, 2022

This cracks me up! Okay... I'm super excited you got so much from it and, yeah, it's supposed to be sexy and wrong. I'm glad it came across that way. I don't know if it would work with senior citizens...but I am curiously intrigued by this idea. I think I could write something for their age group that could be similar in a way but maybe not as smooth... Jamie is 17. Her friends are 17. They're all seniors in high school. That's why it's creepy and sexy and wrong. They have to be young in order for it to be justified in her mind. If they're ...

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Tommy Goround
17:03 Nov 09, 2022

I got a kid that is 17 right now and so... But hunting for older ladies is usually... Sporting. Unless they're in a coma, slight senility... That's not sporty at all. Tarantino is a bad dude for his kill Bill volume 2. Let me walk you through it.... All the ladies at Happy Slappy rest home... Are super rich widows that don't actually care about money. They care about principles. So there's this Rockstar type orderly that shows up. He's touching their tatas for no reason.... Always tries to steer the conversation to their wealth... And the...

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Jeannette Miller
00:30 Nov 10, 2022

I love it! Maybe I'll try working with this idea while I'm traveling this weekend. Tarantino is a favorite of mine. I'll keep your ideas in mind. :)

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Tommy Goround
00:56 Nov 10, 2022

But he raped the pretty actress while she was asleep in a coma. Uma Thurman. It's not very sporting. I don't even think that the orderly paid his taxes on that transaction. I'm suggesting you go after really smart old people that do crossword puzzles and let them kill the orderly. Or they could just keep him change up in the basement.

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Jeannette Miller
15:46 Nov 11, 2022

I was thinking the same thing! Great minds think alike. Although, in this case it might be twisted minds.

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Delbert Griffith
15:00 Nov 05, 2022

I don't know how the other Reedsy judges will look at the explicit parts, but I thought that the story was bold and fantastic! I've always been a sucker for exploring the gray areas of good and bad. Jamie (the not-so-good) versus Mr. Thomas (definitely bad) and all of the moral ambiguity associated with it makes for a riveting tale. I really liked the last line, for it was so telling. Jamie and her friends might not be above a little prostitution and blackmail, but they definitely have morals when it comes to (almost) killing someone. I res...

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Jeannette Miller
23:31 Nov 05, 2022

I wasn't sure how the judges would respond to the explicit parts either and I'm a judge myself! I even cleaned it up a little. The boys don't know about her prostitution. They were okay with the plan thinking it wouldn't actually get that far sexually. I feel like Jamie has a few secrets not even her best friends know. Thank you for mentioning the tense error! I had a totally different story I was finishing up when this one came to mind. I started writing it about 3:30 pacific time and submitted it literally five minutes before the deadli...

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Delbert Griffith
23:38 Nov 05, 2022

I'll read 'Stella.' I have a female serial killer in my mind also, and have written a short story about her for another contest a couple of years ago. Maybe I'll get an idea or two from your writing; I usually do. Keep writing, Jeannette! I love your stuff and I need to check out your website.

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Jeannette Miller
23:45 Nov 05, 2022

I'll be curious to learn what you think about it. My website is mostly reviews of film and live theatre. It also has some links to Zoom theater we did during the first year of the pandemic. I haven't added anything new to it in quite awhile. I suppose I ought to do that :)

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Ron Davidson
15:00 Dec 19, 2022

I was disgusted by this, but couldn’t stop reading it either! 😂 My mind was shouting, “Don’t do this!” Then when she got into it my mind was asking, “What in the hell?” I found it interesting that the mere mention of prostitution shifted my position on what was happening and made the friend’s dad look more like a victim. I think this made the subject matter a brilliant choice!

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Jeannette Miller
18:24 Dec 19, 2022

Haha! So glad it brought out so much emotion for you :) It's a twisted tale for sure. Thank you reading it and commenting!

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Tommy Goround
07:23 Dec 19, 2022

You coming back?

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Graham Kinross
01:09 Dec 06, 2022

Wow! That was all kinds of messed up. The sex and then the stabbing, ouch for both of them. I don't see why they left him in the car. I'd expect them to either let him die or call the police first. Feels like she really underestimated everything here. Not quite the vicious genius kid gets rid of the perv thing that people might imagine. Grim. She'll be all kinds of scarred for life.

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Jeannette Miller
16:29 Dec 17, 2022

Underestimated is an understatement, haha. I guess for them being teenagers, leaving him in the car to be found near the hospital somehow made then think they wouldn't be found out? They weren't prepared to answer any questions by police or hospital staff. The adrenaline from everything made them reactive instead of proactive at that point? I'm guessing... It's weird. Most of the time, I don't know the backstory or reasons why my characters do things. I just write what they want people to know and that's what ends up in the story. A part o...

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Graham Kinross
06:50 Dec 18, 2022

I was a dumb teenager who thought he could get away with things as well. Things that seem to ridiculously stupid for anyone to do are common.

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Mike Panasitti
01:14 Dec 04, 2022

As Lily Finch says, this was a shocking read. I agree with Tommy Goround that most submissions to Reedsy lean toward a PG rating, so this was a welcome change. Both characters are morally compromised, and that makes identifying with either of them either easier or more difficult. None of us are morally pure, but perhaps most of us aren't as sketchy as either Mr. Thomas or Jamie. This fact creates dissonance, but dissonance, as well as sick sexiness is not necessarily a bad thing and allows for vicarious experiences through fiction - wh...

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Jeannette Miller
16:21 Dec 17, 2022

Sorry for the late reply! I've been away. Wow! Thank you! I knew it was on the edge... my brain is a little dark. Thank you so so much for reading it and sharing your thoughts. It means a lot to me. :)

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