Jake smiled fondly at his Batman costume as he pulled it from the back of his wardrobe.
He's had this thing for years. In fact, he remembers the first time he wore it so well. He was Batman, and Adam was Superman.
They bought it the same year that some of the DC movies came out. Marvel was the better film franchise, but they loved Batman and Superman the best. There was no doubt in his mind that they were the best-selling costumes for the year. Nearly everyone at the Hughes house party wore similar outfits. It didn't matter that the films wasn't great; they both loved the characters and the universe so much that they didn't care.
Adam would tousle Jake's hair and pretend to shoot him with lasers from his eyes, which obviously Jake would dodge in just the nick of time, in true Batman fashion. They were like two kids again when they put these costumes on. The worries of young adult life would leave them, and they'd just joke around. This would earn an eye roll from Adam's mother as they bounced around her living room. "You two are nuts." She would say it with a smile, which made Jake and Adam do it all the more.
He put it on now, and it still fits the same as it did then. Only now, the design on the padded chest was fading, and a few holes were starting to appear in the tight pants. But he refused to throw it away or wear anything else while it was still wearable.
Emily came into the bedroom, sporting her tight black leather catwoman outfit. Jake raked his eyes up and down her body. She looked so good, there was no denying it. But he couldn't ignore the fact that his heart rate didn't jump at the sight of her or the fact that he didn't find himself wanting to stay home to slowly reveal what was underneath it.
In fact, he couldn't wait to go to see if she would turn up.
"Are you still wearing that old thing?" She asked, barely giving him a glance as she walked past him, her gaze heavy on the floor-length mirror, admiring herself once more. She adjusted her mask and wiped a little bit of lipstick away from the corners of her lips, then she continued to examine herself.
Jake didn't respond. He just stuck his cape on the velcro spots on his shoulders and headed into the kitchen. He packed the bottles of spirits into bags and also chucked some pyjamas in there as well. Grace had asked them to stay the night. She would make a spare room available for them.
Once it was all packed, he waited for Emily to finish whatever it was that she was doing.
It felt weird waiting for her while his mind constantly thought about Jess instead.
Would she turn up?
What would she be wearing if she did?
His mind thought of very naughty costumes that he should not be thinking about, but then he remembered how she told him that she always tried to get her costumes to match her name.
He remembered that Jessie costume from Toy Story, and he ached at the memory, wishing he could turn back the clock.
***
The music was pumping as they walked up the front steps to the house.
Before he had time to even knock, Grace swung the door open and practically forced him into her arms. "Jake, oh, I'm so glad you could make it." She announced, her voice tinged with a slight squeakiness that was her give-away; she was already merry. She squeezed him tight, like she always did whenever she hadn't seen him for a while.
He hugged her back, feeling right at home in her warmth. She had always been like a mother to him.
Growing up, Jake didn't have the best of childhoods. His parents were always off their faces—drinking, drugs, whatever they could get their hands on—to try and fade away from the world. He was never physically abused; not even a bad word was said to him, but they didn't look after him like they should have. He was very skinny, eating whatever his parents left behind after their meals. Some of the kids in school wouldn't go near him because he hadn't washed in days, sometimes weeks. His clothes had holes and stains all over them. He doesn't think he ever owned a pair of new clothes back then. They were all hand-me-downs.
He was simply unwanted. Forgotten.
But all that changed when he met Adam. Suddenly, he was important. When Adam brought him home for the first time, Grace greeted him with a warm smile. He wasn't used to that. She cooked him up a big pot of corn beef stew and gave him three slices of bread. He lapped it all up, like he had never eaten before.
Even to this day, he swore it was the best meal he had ever eaten in his whole life.
She didn't mention his family or even ask about them; she just saw him and understood. When the playdate was over, she packed him up some clothes (most of them new with tags on) and some snacks and sent him home.
Not long after that, the police and social services came and took him away from his parents.
He remembered that his parents didn't even cry. They didn't even try to fight it. They just watched him go, without a care in the world.
His foster family was nice, but he was hardly there. He spent most of his days and nights at Adams after that. He was sure it was Grace who reported it, but deep down, he was grateful, not angry. He dreaded thinking about the person he would be today if she hadn't done that. Would he have followed in his parents footsteps?
He never looked for them. The thought sometimes crossed his mind, but he always pushed it away.
They were probably dead by now, at the rate they were going.
Jake pulled back and gave Grace a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Thanks for having us."
She waved him off and beckoned them in. "Hush, you know, this is practically your home too, Jake. You know where the spare room is. Take your things up; I'll keep Emily company until you get back."
Emily eyed him nervously, but he just smiled at her and walked up the stairs.
He headed straight to the spare room. It was unchanged. They even kept up the posters he and Adam had hung up years ago.
He sat on the bed for a moment, running his hands over the soft blanket. There are so many memories here, all good ones. Leaving his and Emily's bags on the floor, he stood up and opened the door to head back downstairs.
But when he did, Jessica was there in front of him.
His eyes widened at the sight of her. She had her red hair softly curled to one side, letting it hang over her left shoulder in waves. She had purple eyeshadow on and thick black eyeliner, making her doe-like eyes hooded and heavy. Her lips were bright red.
His eyes trailed the rest of her. She had elbow-length purple gloves on, which looked like a soft silk material. She was wearing a long red sequined dress that clung to her curves seductively. Dangerously. The corset-like top of the dress was pushing her breasts up, making him swallow hard.
Jess looked like every teenage boy's dream. He knew exactly who she was meant to be before she even told him.
Jessica Rabbit.
Fuck.
With her looking like this, it was going to be one hell of a long night.
His pulse pumped in his throat as he eyed her. The more he looked, the more he felt his desire grow.
"Jake!" She exclaimed, shocked, as he opened the door. "Jesus, are you trying to scare me?"
"Umm, no, just coming out of my room." He replied, trying to stop himself from looking at her amazing, full breasts. He was sure a soft breeze would threaten to free them from the tight dress. He kind of hoped that they would. Was there a window he could open?
"Oh, I didn't realise this was your room. Grace just sent me up to claim one of the rooms. "
"You're staying the night?" He asked.
She nodded and made her way down the hall to one of the other rooms. She rested her hand on the doorknob of the room next to him. "Guess we're neighbours for the night, huh?" She teased him, letting herself in and closing the door behind her.
He went back into his room, trying to calm himself down to make his clearly evident cock go back down to its resting state. It wouldn't be hard to spot with these tight ass pants.
With her looking like that, he was in deep shit tonight.
***
Back downstairs, Jake and Emily leaned against one of the walls in the main room while everyone danced around them. His eyes were focused hard on Jessica as she jumped and swayed to the music. She looked like a dream.
She looked so good. He was sure it should be illegal to look that fucking good.
It wasn't fair to every other female on earth, and it wasn't fair to every other male here.
She was just out of this world.
He was safe from over here, against this wall, to admire her. Now that he was slightly more adjusted to what she was wearing, his hard-on didn't come back just by looking at her. It wasn't normal that she had this effect on him.
"Jake!" Emily shouted at him. He glanced down at her. For a second, he had forgotten she was here at all.
"Hmm?" He asked, glancing at her quickly before going back to look at Jess.
"I'm getting a drink. Do you want one?" She asked, annoyance clear in her voice.
He looked down at her again. He was here with her. She was his fiancé, for fuck sake. He had to stop ogling another woman. Even if Emily wasn't in the picture, he could never have Jessica anyway. He knew that.
But he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He glanced at her again, and her eyes met his. They sparkled to life with the lights around her. She waved him over to join her. He mumbled something to Emily before he was gone, chasing Jess through the crowd like some lost puppy.
He couldn't help it. She was intoxicating. She was everything.
He met her in the middle of the crowd as 'Do you love me' by The Contours played through the speakers. She grinned at him, pulling his face down to hers so she could shout in his ear over the music. "I'm so glad I came."
"I'm glad you came too." He shouted back.
Then they were dancing together, both getting lost in the music for a moment. Her body, so close to his, was dangerous. She was so so close. He could hear her pants as she gasped for air. He could feel her heat radiating off her body.
Damn.
It felt good, like old times. It felt like at any moment, Adam would join them, and they would be like the old gang once again.
She stumbled as she slipped on the fabric of her dress and grabbed his arm for support, sending a spark through his entire body from her touch.
Her eyes darted to his at the contact.
Did she feel it too?
The song came to an end, and she dropped her hand and gaze with it.
"Jake, here's your drink." Emily said from behind him.
Her face was hidden behind her mask, so he couldn't tell if she noticed the moment between him and Jess.
He smiled at her and took the drink from her outstretched hand.
"Emily, you've met Jess before, right?"
She nodded and gave her a tight smile. It was one of her polite smiles. "Yes, once before, I believe."
Jess nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere was suddenly very awkward.
"I just wanted to say—" Emily started, and Jake knew exactly what she was going to say, and it made him want to put his hand over her mouth to stop her. "-how sorry I am about Adam. I can't imagine how you must be feeling coming to his family's party when he's not here anymore."
Jess froze where she was standing.
Jake watched her—the way she nibbled on her bottom lip, the way her happiness just faded away at Emily's words.
"Excuse me," She whispered and disappeared through the crowd.
Jake starred after her. She pushed her way through the crowd and then rushed upstairs.
He spun around and found Emily staring after her too, though she looked quite pleased with the outcome of her words.
"Did you really have to say that?" He spat.
She stared at him wide-eyed. "What do you mean?" She asked innocently.
He groaned, "You know exactly what I mean."
She frowned. "I just apologised to her about Adam. I haven't seen her since he died; I was just being nice."
"No!" he shouted, which caused a few people around them to look in their direction. "There was nothing nice in what you said. You were trying to make her feel guilty for being here, like she didn't belong here without Adam."
She shrugged. "It seems like you were thinking it too." She mumbled.
"Oh, Emily," he sighed, trying not to cause a scene. "You really can be such a cold bitch sometimes."
She gaped at him, shocked that he had spoken to her that way. Then her face turned hard and cold. "No, if anyone is the bitch here, it's her. She came to her deceased husband's family home dressed like that. Practically begging for attention... It's pathetic."
Jake didn't point out that she too was wearing a tight, leather cat suit that left nothing to the imagination.
He realised in that moment that he hated her.
He hated the woman he was supposed to be marrying.
He realised that as he glared down at her, seething with anger.
He truly hated her.
"She's my friend, Emily. I won't let you speak about her like that." He didn't tell her that he would probably sell his soul to be more than friends with her. "I can't do this with you right now; I think you should leave." He told her, crossing his arms over his chest to stop himself from dragging her out.
"Really, you're taking her side and not mine? I'm your fiancé."
"Yeah, I am taking her side. And maybe..." He paused, thinking hard about his next words because once they were said, there was no coming back from them. "Maybe we should just drop that altogether." He continued
She froze for a moment before she pushed him hard in the chest, making him stumble back. Taking off her engagement ring, she threw it at him. It bounced off his padded chest and flew into the crowd.
There goes a thousand pounds, he thought as he watched it disappear on the floor.
"Fuck you, Jake." She swore and pushed past him. "Good luck finding someone as hot as me again." She scowled once more, and then she was gone.
He rolled his eyes at the comment.
Without even thinking, he chased after Jessica.