#Luanne Kemp

[ozu-teapot]

A Christmas Carol (AKA Scrooge) | Brian Desmond Hurst | 1951

[jaxteller87]

Amber in Dreamland

Jax had taken the kids to his mom’s so I could finally get a much-needed break. Between illness and school, this mama was beyond grateful for the quiet. I was lying on the sofa with full intentions of catching up on my reading. Donna had given me this book called Battle Royale she told me to check out. I was a fan of The Hunger Games, and apparently, the book she gave me was one of the inspirations behind it. However, anytime I lay on that couch with the intention of reading, I end up just drifting off to dreamland instead.

I had just rolled in with burgers and sweets to surprise Donna, but she was busy. And then he walked in— Jax Teller, the one who got away.

“Hey there, Kemp. Long time no see,” he smirked.

That smirk. I’d been immune to a lot when it came to this man, but that smirk could still make me melt like butter in a warm cast iron pan.

“What brings you back to town?” he asked, sitting down beside me.

“Oh, nothing much, just selling my parents’ old place. It’s time, you know…” 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a burst of light, and then this little girl came running toward him.

“Daddy!!”

“There you are, squirt!” he said.

“Where’s Mama?”

Jax smiled. “With Grandma.” His teeth were so white that they glowed pleasantly.

“And who is this?” I smiled at the girl.

“Mary,” she beamed.

I glanced out the window to see Tara and Gemma walking towards the shop.

“Did you tell Daddy we’re ready for our little trip?” Tara smiled.

“No, Mama, I didn’t…”

“The club blew up the other day. Well, part of it, anyway,” Jax whispered.

There it was. The violence. Tara was always more suited to this life than I ever was. I don’t know how much truth there was to it, but the word going around says Tara has a body count of her own— and I’m not talking hookups. Apparently, she strangled Ima, one of the girls who used to work for Luann, for getting too cozy with Jax. Whether or not Tara was responsible is uncertain, but Ima’s dead body did wash up on the beach with hand marks around her neck. 

All I know is if Jax were my husband and that Ima skank started getting too comfortable around him— I’d like to think I’d do the same thing as Tara— allegedly, of course.

The next thing I knew, I found myself sitting at the town bar, taking some time to catch up with Donna while Opie was away somewhere with the kids.

And there he was again— Teller, sitting right beside me with his beer and that familiar smile. The scent of cologne and cigarette smoke was a comforting mix I never thought I’d like— let alone miss.

“The life we could have had if you’d come to NY with me after my parents passed,” I mused aloud.

“So, Kemp, how’s life going?” he smirked.

“Good. Work’s good. I have a boyfriend who treats me well. Life’s nice and quiet.”

“But he’s not me,” he added quietly. “What about you besides the club blowing up?” he asked, sipping his drink.

“Eh, it’s okay, I guess. A wife, a kid, everyone’s happy, everyone’s healthy— what more could you ask for?”

“Amber, I gotta ask you something, if that’s okay.”

I nodded.

“Do you think we get it right in the next lifetime… if you believe in that sort of thing?”

“I hope so,” I admitted.

We talked for a few more minutes, and then he left, kissing me on the top of my head. “I love you,” he whispered.

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet began to tremble, and before I knew it, I was shaking from side to side. All the people I was just talking to had disappeared. The bar, the clubhouse, the living room— all gone. Looking around, all I could see were blue skies and big puffy white clouds— and then there was me—  falling through it all. 

“Babe?” a familiar voice called out from the Heavens. “Amber?” It said my name.

“Huh? What?” I woke up on the sofa to Jax gently shaking me awake. I still had the copy of Battle Royale propped open on my chest. Page 7 was as far as I got, apparently, before I lost my standoff to Mister Sandman and fell asleep.

“Amber, honey,” Jax said softly, “you were having a bad dream.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, sitting up and looking around the room. “This isn’t a dream, too, is it?”

“I mean, it’s my dream— as in, I’m living the life I always wanted. I have you, and we have kids— and a dog with two cats,” he explained.

“So this isn’t a literal dream then? Is it real?” I tried to sit up, but my back was a little stiff— probably from falling asleep on the sofa again.

“Darlin’, this is reality, and you’re stuck in it,” Jax smiled and kissed my forehead. “Sorry, love.”

“Oh, good,” I said, grabbing his face and kissing it all over.

Later that night, Teller and I were snuggled up together in bed. I told him about my dream— it wasn’t a bad dream; it was more like a ‘right person, wrong time’ scenario— kind of like how Marvel Comics did the old What If series; like what if the Fantastic Four never got their powers, or what if Hulk was intelligent but his human counterpart, Bruce, was more of the neanderthal. My dream was exactly like that— what if Jax ended up with Tara. Usually, these dreams leave me in tears, but not this time. 

“Well, I gotta ask,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck. “Do you believe in the whole ‘multiple lifetimes with a person’ thing?”

“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t,” I chuckled. “On a bad day, I think, why would I want to come back here? But on a good day, sure, maybe I’d come back one day. If it’s true, then yes, I think you’re one of those people who’s been in my life every time, just in different roles.”

“Well, if it were up to me, you’d be my wife and baby mama every time,” he laughed.

“Is that so, Big Papa?” I cooed, snuggling closer.

“Yup,” he chuckled, giving my ass a playful slap. “Careful. You know what that does to me.”

“I know,” I smirked. “The kids are away, so the parents will play,” I teased.

“Should I get the genie costume out?” he joked, kissing my neck.