Had fun last night.

Jenny glanced down at the phone, a smile spreading across her face at the message. She typed a reply, her fingers flying across the screen.

Me too <3.

She hesitated. Was the heart too much? Yeah, probably. She didn't want Tyler to take it the wrong way and think she was declaring her love or expecting a commitment or something. She hit the backspace, deleted the heart, and replaced it with a smiley before hitting send. There, better. Nobody could freak out over a smiley.

"What's so funny?"

Jenny jumped, nearly sending her phone flying. She dropped it in her lap instead then turned, frowning at Jason. "What?"

"I asked what was so funny. You're sitting over there with a goofy smile on your face."

"It's not goofy."

"Yeah, okay." He dropped onto the sofa with a muffled sigh, the sound heavy and weary. Jenny watched him, frowning, wondering why he looked so miserable.

She should ask. He was her brother, she should show some concern, maybe try to cheer him up.

"What are you staring at?" Jason's question came out as a frustrated growl.

Okay, maybe she should just go to her room and hide, because he obviously wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

He grunted then slid to the edge of the sofa, stretching his legs out and propping them on the coffee table. Jenny watched, mildly surprised that he didn't slide completely off the sofa, then rolled her eyes when he scowled at her.

"Why are you so grumpy? I thought you had a hot date with your new woman."

He grunted again and crossed his arms in front of him. "I did."

"And? Didn't it work out?"

"Yeah—until I had to take her home."

"I thought she was staying here again."

"Yeah, so did I."

"Then why didn't she? Or did you do something to screw it up already?"

"No, I didn't screw anything up. Why would you even say something like that? I'm not a complete idiot, you know."

"Geez, excuse me. I never said you were."

"No, but you were thinking it."

"Really? You sound like you're twelve. Again."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Jenny gave him another eyeroll then shook her head. "Nothing. It means nothing. So. If you didn't screw up, why did she leave?"

"Her dad used to be a cop."

"Yeah? So?"

"And she still lives at home."

"Okay. And? Why was last night any different? She's been here almost every night this week." Which was fine by Jenny, because that gave her an excuse to be with Tyler on those nights. Not that Jason knew that—he thought she was crashing at a friend's place.

"Because…she lives at home. And her dad used to be a cop."

"Yeah, I got that. What does that have to do with…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes widening in horror. "Jason! Please tell me she's over twenty-one!"

"What?" He sat up so fast, he nearly slid off the sofa. Jason grumbled, straightened, and planted both feet on the ground. "What the hell, Jennifer. Of course she's over twenty-one. What the hell kind of guy do you think I am? Christ."

"I don't know. The way you're carrying on, saying she lives at home and everything. What was I supposed to think?"

"How about that I have some morals?"

"Whatever." Jenny's phone vibrated and she looked down, biting back a smile at the message flashing across the screen.

Want to grab dinner again?

Her fingers flew across the screen, her smile widening as she answered: How about dessert instead?

"Who are you talking to?"

"Nobody." Jenny hit the button on the side of the phone, locking the screen just in case Jason decided to get nosey. She had used a text smiley in place of Tyler's name in her contacts list, but if Jason somehow saw the number, he might recognize it. Better safe than sorry, just in case.

"Yeah? Doesn't look like nobody, not with the way you're grinning."

"It's nobody. Just a friend. Since when are you so nosey?"

"Since you're my baby sister, that's why. This friend doesn't have a dick, does he?"

"Wow. Real mature, Jason. God. I can't believe you said that. Do you always have to be so crude?"

"What?"

"I'm your sister, not one of your teammates. And please tell me you don't talk like that around Megan."

"Of course not. I'm not stupid."

Jenny just stared at him, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. He either didn't notice, or didn't care. Probably a little of both. And he didn't catch her subtle dig at the double-standard of his manners, either. It didn't matter, because it served to distract him, just like she hoped.

Jason heaved another sigh, this one heavy on the dramatics. Then he leaned forward, his clasped hands hanging between his legs, and nodded toward her laptop. "What are you working on?"

"Just my resume."

"I thought you already had a resume."

"I do. I'm tweaking it and submitting it to some more places." Which was true—except she was starting to lose hope. She hadn't heard back from any of her previous interviews yet, not a single one. Not even to tell her she didn't get the job. There had to be something out there, though. She wasn't picky, she'd settle for anything.

Well, almost anything.

Jason didn't say anything, just made a mumbling sound. Then he leaned back against the sofa and stretched his arms out along the back, still watching her. Now it was her turn to sit back and frown at him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Just trying to figure out what you're up to, that's all."

"Up to?" Was guilt showing on her face? No, it couldn't be. She didn't have anything to be guilty about. Well, except the time she'd been spending with Tyler. And okay, maybe they were doing a little more than just spending time together but still—it wasn't anything to be guilty about.

Except that Tyler was her brother's teammate.

Okay, but besides that, she didn't have anything to feel guilty about.

"Yeah. Up to. You still haven't told me what's going on."

"Nothing is going on."

"Really? Then how come you quit a job you loved to pick up and move down here? You still haven't explained that."

"This again?" She rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh, infusing it with as much impatience as she could muster. Jason wasn't the only one who could put on the theatrics. "I told you—there's nothing to explain. I just needed a change of scenery."

"You know I'm not buying that, right?"

"Don't know why, because it's the truth." And it was—as close to the truth as she'd ever tell him, anyway. She pushed away the niggling guilt that crept around the edges of her conscience. No, she wasn't lying to Jason—she just wasn't telling him everything. And she never would. It was too embarrassing. Too personal. Too painful. And her mother was in agreement: better to just try to bury what had happened, to forget about it and move on.

Because that was pretty much the only thing she could do. Nothing else had worked—they had tried that already.

Her phone vibrated again and she glanced down at it, unlocked the screen to scan the text message. Not one, but three.

Dessert sounds perfect.

Whip cream and chocolate happen to be favorites if you're interested.

Meet at 6?

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Huh?" She looked over at Jason, praying her face wasn't as red as it felt. "Um, meeting some friends again."

"Oh."

"Why'd you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're disappointed or something."

"No, I'm not. I was just going to ask if you wanted to go to Mystic's for a little bit. I'm meeting Megan over there later. Some of the guys will probably be there too."

"I thought you didn't want me hanging around your teammates."

Jason frowned then muttered under his breath. "Yeah, you're right. Scratch that. They're all pigs. Stay away from them."

"Do they know you talk like that about them?"

"Hell yeah. They'd say the same thing, too. Do you need to borrow my car?"

"Would you mind?"

"No, but you're going to need to drop me off."

"I think I can handle that."

"Have you given any more thought to what I said earlier?"

Jenny frowned, tried to give him a fierce scowl—which he completely ignored. How many times had they this conversation in the past week? Too many. "You're not helping me buy me a car, Jason. I told you, I have money in savings. I just want to wait until one of these jobs come through."

"If one comes through."

"That's not fair—"

"I know. I know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I was being a jerk." Jason pushed off the sofa and headed toward the hall leading back to the bedrooms. He hesitated, then reached over and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. Jenny looked up at him, not bothering to hide her confusion.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, looking embarrassed. "Just felt like it, is all."

"Oh."

"I really do want you to get to know Megan better, though. Maybe tonight isn't good, but soon. Okay?"

Jenny shifted on the sofa, curling her legs under her and studying her brother. Really studying him. "You really like her, huh?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Good. I'm happy for you. Even if you are a big goof."

"Yeah, love you too kiddo." He took another step, hesitated, stopped once more. "Jenny-Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever it is, whatever happened back home—you can talk to me when you're ready. Okay? That's what I'm here for. I—I just want you to know that."

Jenny nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. Did Jason see the tears welling in her eyes? God, she hoped not. He wasn't that observant.

Then again, maybe he was.

But he didn't say anything, just gave her a lopsided grin and disappeared down the hallway. She sat there for a long time, staring into nothing, trying to figure out why she felt so sad at his parting words.

And wondering if Jason would be as understanding as he claimed if he really knew what had happened back home.