After spilling our guts out to each other we rolled out of bed and headed back to Scott's. I was sad that our alone time was over, sad that the dream I'd had about Ainsley had only been a dream. And I was really sad that in three more days Ainsley would be gone. I dropped her off at Scott's so she could get ready with Katie and then I left. I didn't have a particular place in mind to go, but when I looked up, I was home.

I sat in the driveway for a while and stared, not thinking anything. I saw movement at the front door and glanced up. My mother was standing there, holding the door open.

I swallowed back the stinging coming from my eyes and got out of the car.

"Hello, cucciolo, come in."

"Ma," I nodded to her as I made my way up the front steps. I was passing by when she grabbed me and gave me a hug. I slowly wrapped my arms around her and returned it. It had been years since she'd hugged me. I would spray all over the place like one of my sisters if I didn't break the tension. "Easy, ma, I'm fragile."

She pulled away with a grunt. "My boy is a bull." She slapped me on my chest and I welcomed it, it was just what I'd needed to soak the tears back into my sockets. "Did you come for dinner?"

I scratched my head as I entered, the familiar smell of beef, onions, garlic, and tomatoes in the air. "No. Is Dad home?"

She nodded and motioned to the TV room. "He's in there. I'll set another place for you."

I would protest but my stomach rumbled, making its feelings known. "Thanks, Ma." I stepped into the TV room and took a seat on the couch. My dad was in his recliner, his eyes glued to the baseball game.

"Come to eat free food?"

"No. I thought about begging for my job back. But I don't think I want it back."

My dad turned off the TV and turned his attention to me. "Then what the hell do you want?"

Ainsley. I swallowed hard and glanced up. The living room was filled with our families’ achievements. My sisters’ dance recital pictures, wedding pictures, baby pictures. The wall was almost full. But there was one spot still open. One frame that used to be filled with a picture of me and Grace that was now empty. I never realized that it bothered me so much until just then. I got up and grabbed the frame and took it off the wall. "I want to move to Vegas. I'm moving to Vegas. And I'm going to need a reference."

"Vegas?" My dad snorted. "Yes, that figures."

I frowned as I looked up. "What figures?"

"Lots of pretty young girls in Vegas." He shook his head and turned the TV back on, his disapproval evident. "Don't tell your mother until after dinner."

"I'm not going to Vegas for the pretty girls, Dad." I felt my fists clench tighter around the frame. "I'm going for one pretty girl. And I hope that I can convince her to move back here with me, or I did. I wanted to be close to the rest of family. I guess now it excludes you. Sorry I didn't grow up to be some CEO or a fucking GQ model. I'm a fuckup and a jokester. A disappointment. I get it, Dad. Maybe if you'd have opened your fucking eyes you would've realized that I was just trying to compete with your fucked up idea of masculinity."

His eyes shot to me, burning with hot emotion. "You didn't need to compete. You're my son."

"The son you never took with you to the stadium. The son you never beamed about to your friends."

He cursed and shook his head. "James, you fucking idiot, you didn't like the stadium. I bought season tickets every year for four years. You went for the stadium songs and I could never actually enjoy the game because you were always running off during the plays. I tried my damnedest to do right by you. I gave you a fucking job when you needed one. I supported you living here until you could see what we all know you are."

"Yeah? What's that? A fucking loser?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He stayed like that for a long minute. I was about to walk away. I didn't need this shit. My mom stood in the doorway, one hip leaning against the frame. "An entertainer, son. We were so glad when your band did weddings. We hoped it would be lucrative for you. We hoped you would enjoy it. We loved seeing you up there on stage at Janine and Janie's weddings. You found the one piece of the puzzle. But you needed to find the other. Love. You need to find your soulmate." My mom walked to my dad and stood next to his armchair, reaching out for his hand. They stood there, holding hands, staring at me.

I snorted. "Come on. Love? Love isn't for everyone. It's for you two, sure. And for Janine, Janie, Julia, and Jessa. But it's not for me. I tried that once, remember? Wasn't for me."

"James, you have to get back up on the horse. You've been licking your wounds for long enough. Get your shit together and go to Vegas. And don't come back without the girl."

Well, fuck. He made it sound so easy.

I grinned as I quickly penned Ainsley's name on the card and stuck it to the top of the box. She would love what I'd found for her. I couldn't help thinking about how good it would look on her body. I also couldn't help thinking about all the other dudes at the reunion that would be checking her out. It was inevitable.

The front door opened and I snatched up the box and hid it behind my back. "Ainsley, baby, I've got a surprise for yo--" the words died in my throat as Scott, with a look of confusion and disdain, stared at me.

"Ainsley baby?"

"Hey man!" I carelessly tossed the box onto the couch and closed the distance standing between my best friend and I. I went in for a bro hug and slapped him hard on the back. My mind was racing for an excuse as to why I'd be calling his little sister baby. "How was work today?"

"Good. I got a nice bonus."

I stepped away and nodded, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Sweet. So dinner is on you tonight?"

"Maybe." Scott's gaze bounced between the couch and me. "Ainsley, baby, huh?"

I shrugged. "We have little pet names for each other. I call her baby. She calls me donkey dick. It's fun."

His jaw twitched in anger. "Donkey dick?"

I shrugged again. "You know that high school immaturity we used to partake in?" I waited until he nodded. "Well, I still partake. I did the old banana penis flash on her a few times. That's how I got the nickname."

His eyes flickered to the box decorated with roses and hearts and shit. "What's that?"

"A gag gift. She's going to her reunion tomorrow night, and I bought her a pair of clown shoes." Good thinking.

"Really?" His lips broke out into a wide grin. "That's kind of fucked up, but let me see." He stepped around me and I quickly retrieved the box and held it behind me.

"No. She'll know if someone opened it. I used a lot of tape."

"All right." His brow flashed his disappointment. "Have you had dinner yet? I'm fucking starved."

"Uh, nope. Haven't had dinner yet."

"Let me take a shower and we can go get some Thai or something. I know how much you like flirting with the Asian waitresses."

"Uh-huh, okay."

Scott smiled at me and then closed his bedroom door. Once I heard the shower running, I switched to full on panic mode. I grabbed for my phone and pushed the button to light up the screen. But it didn't light up. I tried a dozen more times with the same result. I raced to the wall and plugged my phone in. I stood beside the TV stand and stared at the phone, waiting for the little apple to pop up.

The shower stopped and still no apple. Fuck.

I went to the window and cursed again, wondering when Ainsley would come back with Katie. I didn't even stop to think about Scott or Katie being home. I had my eye on the prize and just jumped right into the fucking pool with my clothes on. I jumped back and paced the room.

Fuck.

I grabbed onto the roots of my hair and gave a tug. Work, brain, work! I grabbed the box for Ainsley and was about to go stuff it in the coat closet when the front door opened.

"James, hey, we're home!" Ainsley called out, a big gorgeous life-giving smile on her face. Her eyes found me immediately, and she came tromping in, swaying a bit, clearly she was a little drunk.

Fuck.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down, I was weak. I kissed her. We kissed. I bit her lower lip teasingly as I pulled away, the box between us preventing our bodies from coming in full contact, which we both were craving.

"Is this for me?"

I nodded and for a moment I forgot all about Scott and Katie. I wanted to see her face when she opened it. A throat cleared and my eyes shot up to see Scott standing in his doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

Fuck.

Ainsley's eyes turned to her brother, and she smiled at him. His stoic expression didn't fade.

"Hey. How was work?" Ainsley asked. So innocent. Bless her heart.

Scott's eyes flickered from Ainsley to me and I felt like the lowest of the low. Ainsley's eyes bounced between me and Scott.

"What's going on? Are you two having a fight?"

"Not yet," her brother said.

Her brows scrunched up, and she shook her head. "All right. Well, I'll be right back. I need to go pee."

I said a little prayer that she didn't kiss me or pinch my ass. I swallowed hard as the door clicked closed behind her.

Fuck.

"What the hell is going on, James?"

"Um..." What did I tell him? That I had sexual feelings for his little sister? Fuck no. He would disown me and kick my ass. I glanced at the bathroom door before stepping over to Scott. "Look," I said, my voice low so Ainsley wouldn't overhear the blasphemy I was about to impart. "I've agreed to help Ainsley out."

Scott's jaw clenched tightly, his eyes steeling. "Help her out?"

I held my hands up. "Woah, no. Stop right there. You know as well as I do that Ainsley is not my type. I like the big boobs and the tiny little waists and the legs for miles. I just helped her feel better about herself. I helped her with her hair and the clothes. And..." I leaned in a little closer. "And yeah, I maybe flirted with her a little." I heard a little growl in his throat so I backed up. "But it was just innocent and just to help her with her self-esteem. That's it. Swear to god." Scott's eyes left me and settled on something behind me. I felt the blood leave my face, it felt like everything had been sucked out of me. She wasn't standing there, please, tell me she wasn't standing there.

"So that was it then? You were just pretending?"

I spun around and shook my head. "Ains. Come on. We both knew what this was. It was fun." I winked at her, hoping she understood that I had to lie to her brother, hoping she'd play along.

The anger and pain on her face nearly stopped my heart from beating in my chest. I stepped closer, arms outstretched to hold her and my nose met with her fist. "Fuck you!"

I held my nose and doubled over. Girl had some power behind her fist. "Ainsley!" My voice was croaky and pathetic. She slammed Katie's bedroom door, and I heard the click of the lock. "Fuck." I slowly stood up and bent my head back, pinching the bridge of my nose to stop the bleeding. Scott was glaring at me as he moved to the door and stood in front of it, guarding her.

"Get the fuck out, James."

I groaned. "Scott! I'm hurt! This..." I motioned to the door with my free hand, "this will blow over. She'll forgive me."

"Maybe. But until then you need to get the fuck out. I'll have your shit packed up tonight. You can come by tomorrow and get it."

I glanced from Scott to the door and back again. "Okay." There would be time to call Ainsley later and explain myself. Once she knew the dynamics and everything involved, she'd forgive me. And we could figure it out together.