“Lily, why is there men’s cologne in your bathroom?” Lucas asked, walking back into the living room.
Shit.
I thought I hid everything Jacob in my house. He was adamant that all his stuff was staying in my house. We had talked about it, and we weren’t ready to tell anyone yet. We wanted to enjoy being together without having it be ruined by my brother, especially on my birthday weekend. I had picked him and Alex up from the airport. They were staying in my guest bedroom for the next two days. Mason was with his mom for the weekend to my disappointment, I miss my little dude.
“What?” I played dumb.
“The cologne, Lillian. Who’s is it?”
I looked around the room, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Bo!” Alex yelled at him, slapping him in the chest. That had been her childhood nickname for him. “Leave her alone. She’s twenty-three, she’s allowed to have sex.”
“The fuck she is,” he roared.
The front door opened at that exact moment, and of course in walked Dylan and then Jacob, both not bothering to knock. All three of them built like mountains, making my house look tiny. I was saddened Austin couldn’t make it. He was stuck in New York, saying something about his girlfriend Briggs. Although, nobody knew if they were actually together or not, they had the craziest relationship. He texted me a picture of his new tattoo on his arm and it warmed my heart as soon as it appeared on my phone. He had gotten a tattoo of one of my random drawings I used to draw with a marker on his freckles as a child. Austin was covered in tattoos now and my design seemed tiny in comparison to his others, but I loved the gesture.
Jacob picked up Alex from the floor, squeezing her tight in his arms. “Look at you, Half-Pint, all grown up.”
She laughed as he set her back down. “You say that every time you see me. I’m digging the beard.” She tugged on it.
Yeah… me too.
“Hey, bro,” Jacob greeted Lucas. They hugged, smacking each other’s backs.
Dylan came over to me and did the same thing to me that Jacob had done to Alex. “Hey, there, rock star. Can’t wait to see you perform. I hear you’re a big deal around these parts.”
I smiled as he set me back down on the ground. “Yeah, I do what I can,” I replied, grinning.
Jacob mischievously looked at me. “I don’t get a hug, Kid?”
“I see you all the time,” it slipped from my lips.
“You do?” Lucas questioned, grabbing Alex from behind around her waist. “You mean, old man Jacob here isn’t working his life away anymore?”
I bit my lip.
“You know your baby sister, Lucas. She’s hard to ignore.”
“No shit. So who’s the fucker she’s seeing?”
Jacob cocked an eyebrow.
“You met him yet? Do we need to pay a little visit?” Lucas added.
“Yeah…” Jacob nodded. “I’ve seen him around a few times in passing. She always has this smile and glow about her when he’s around. I haven’t met him yet, though, but he makes her happy, Lucas, and at the end of the day isn’t that all that matters?”
“Who the fuck are you? And what have you done with, Jacob?” Dylan argued, making me laugh.
“Why does everyone keep saying this to me lately? You’re right. Let’s find him and lay him the fuck out, Special Agent McGraw,” Jacob mocked, only looking at me.
“Oh my God,” Alex chimed in. “We just got here. Can we eat before you guys start plotting out ways to end up in jail? I’m starving.” She linked her arm with mine. “Or you know what? You guys can stand here and continue playing G.I. Joes. Lily and I will go to lunch. I’m sure we can find someone who will hang out with us.”
Lucas picked her up off the ground, throwing her over his shoulder. “Nice try.” He smacked her ass and she yelped. “Let’s go, Half-Pint’s hungry and you know how she gets.”
She giggled and winked at me as he carried her out the door, and I knew Jacob was dying to do the same to me.
These goddamn good ol’ boys with their caveman tendencies.
I took them to my favorite diner to grab some lunch. I hadn’t been there since Jacob and I went on our first morning together. I sat us at a booth, sitting down next to him, Alex and Lucas across from us, and Dylan at the side. Jacob squeezed my thigh as soon as I sat down because of the seat I had picked. I glared at him while everyone looked at their menus and he didn’t pay me any mind, looking over his own menu.
“This damn table, I barely fit,” Jacob said, trying to nudge it but it wouldn’t budge. The table being so long that the boys all looked uncomfortable while Alex and I were just fine. I laughed at the thought.
“What time does Aubrey get in?” I asked Alex, Dylan pretending like he wasn’t listening to every word.
“Umm… I think she said four this afternoon. Something with Jeremy’s schedule, I don’t know, it didn’t make sense, but they had to change their flight,” Alex replied, sipping her cherry coke.
“God, they’ve been together forever now. How are they doing?”
She shrugged. “I guess good. I don’t see them very often.”
“You live in the same town.”
She shrugged again.
“You chasin’ any pussy while you’re here?” Dylan asked Jacob, wanting to change the subject. Except I was the only one who knew why.
“Not chasing,” he simply stated.
Alex narrowed her eyes at me with a questioning expression, and I looked down at my menu. Jacob’s hand quickly found my thigh again, rubbing it up and down, close to my panties. I tried to move his hand away, but he wouldn’t budge, only squeezing my thigh to get me to stop.
I cleared my throat to avoid yelping.
“You okay?” Jacob asked, knowing damn well I wasn’t.
“Mmm hmm…”
If he was trying to make his presence known, then he was doing a damn good job of it. Dylan and Lucas might be clueless enough not to notice it, but Alex… no way in hell she missed it.
“Wow, the man who’s one step away from being a manwhore, suddenly has very few words for his latest putang? I call bullshit,” Dylan laughed, never one to hold back. “Must be someone special.”
“You could say that,” Jacob retorted as he cupped my sex, and I gasped.
Alex’s gaze shifted back and forth between us.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jacob asked again, and I could feel him grinning.
I wiped my mouth. “Yep. Just kicked the table by accident.”
“Are you next, bro? Does Alex need to start planning a wedding? You know she’s going to jump on that shit,” Lucas laughed, kissing the top of her head, but Alex didn’t answer. She was too busy piecing together the puzzle that sat in front of her.
“Is she coming out?” Dylan questioned.
“How do you know she’s not here right now?” Jacob beamed as I bowed my head again, trying to fight him off under the table.
“Maybe she’s sitting at this table,” Jacob stated, and I just knew everyone was looking at me.
What the hell is he doing?
I looked up with a smile. “You know he’s fucking with you right?”
“My baby sister is too damn smart for the likes of you.”
“Is that right?” Jacob chuckled, squeezing my leg one last time before finally letting go.
I could breathe. “In other news… I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
I got out of there faster than a bat out of hell.
I knew it was out of character for me to purposely provoke her, especially in front of Lucas, but at that moment I didn’t care if he found out. I was over them fucking with me. Knowing I was going to have to spend the entire weekend out of Lily’s bed just added to my agitation, and frustrated the fuck out of me. We finished lunch and then Lily took us to her bar, Lucas and Dylan wanted to check it out before tonight.
I sat with Alex at the bar while she showed the boys around. There were pictures of her all over the walls, and I could tell by the look on both their faces they were extremely proud of her.
“How long?” Alex asked, taking me away from my thoughts and making me look at her.
“How long, Jacob?”
“Since I’ve been here.”
Her eyes widened. “That was almost five months ago!” She slapped my chest. “Neither one of you have said a word.”
“You’ve had your own shit to worry about, Half-Pint. How’s that going?”
“The same, but you’re changing the subject.”
“Hey… I guess I’m just dying to be an uncle.”
“Does she know?”
I knew what she referred to and I shook my head no.
She sighed. “Jacob… you can’t not tell her.”
“I will. When the time is right, I will tell her.”
“Have you spoken to him? Your dad?”
“Off and on,” I simply stated. It was the truth.
“Your mom is doing great. I stop by and check on her at least twice a month.”
“I know.”
“This…” She looked over at Lily. “It’s different this time, right? Because I swear, Jacob, if you hurt—”
“I want to marry her.”
Her head jerked back, stunned.
“I would marry her right now if I didn’t have to deal with your husband.”
She sighed. “Yeah…”
I watched as Lucas pulled Lily to him, kissing her on the head and looking down at her with such love and adoration.
“He’s going to fucking kill me.”
She nodded. “Yeah… Lily has been through a lot these last few years. You know that. It’s one of the reasons she moved here.”
“I know what you’re doing, Half-Pint, and yes it was one of the reasons, but we both know the truth. She left because of me. No one else.”
“It’s in the past.”
“Sometimes. Other times it’s blatantly right in front of me when she looks at me and tries to look past what I did.”
“Jacob, it was a lot to take in. Anyone would have done what you did. I honestly think if you told her it would bring you closer. It would give both of you closure, and she wouldn’t look at you that way anymore.”
The guys came back before I could answer. I didn’t take my eyes off Lily, silently praying that Alex was right.
I played my last set of the night. I requested to only play a few sets that weekend so I could party and enjoy the time with my family. Alex was trashed, I had never seen her that drunk before, and she and Lucas were practically making babies on the dance floor. Dylan and Aubrey spent the night on opposite ends of the room than us, and with the way Jeremy was acting I don’t even know why they even bothered to come.
I wanted to have a minute to talk to Aubrey alone, and with Jeremy hovering over her the whole night I figured my best bet was the ladies room. She excused herself and Jeremy quickly followed her once again. I waited a few minutes for him to return then I made a run for it. I opened the bathroom door and gasped, locking it behind me, rushing to her immediately.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Aubrey? This shit is still going on?” I yelled, wetting paper towels under the faucet to bring them up to her bloody lip.
She hissed. “I fell. It’s not what you think,” she replied in a monotone voice.
“I’m sure you fell, right onto Jeremy’s fist.”
“Lily…” she pleaded.
“What, Aubrey? I’ve kept your secret, okay? Doesn’t mean I have to fucking like it. I can’t believe you’re still letting him do this to you. He’s a piece of shit.”
“He’s stressed out with work. He doesn’t do it that often anymore. I swear.” She was lying, I could see it all over her face.
“Why are you still with him? You know Dylan would have him behind bars in no time, all you would have to do is say the word.”
She shook her head. “I’m not involving Dylan, Lily.”
“He loves you. He fucking adores you, Aubrey. He wouldn’t have kept this secret if he didn’t. Don’t you see this goes against everything he believes in for Christ sake? He puts people like him away where they belong.”
She looked down at the ground. “Please don’t say that,” she whispered so low, the agony in her voice apparent.
“He can’t keep doing this to you. You don’t deserve it.”
Tears fell down her face. “I deserve this and more, Lily. Don’t talk about things you don’t know.”
“I don’t understand. Help me understand. Let me help you. Let the boys help you.”
She immediately stood. “No!”
“Aubrey, he’s going to fucking kill you one day and you’re letting him. This is nothing compared to the shit I walked in on that night, and something tells me when you went home it was—”
“It’s none of your business. Not everyone gets their happily ever after, Lily.” She tore the paper towel from my hand and looked back at the mirror, wiping off the blood from her lip.
“You’re wrong.”
She looked at me through the mirror.
“You couldn’t be any more wrong. I hope by the time you realize that… it won’t be too late.”
She looked at her lip.
And I left.