JENN
I spent most of the next morning after our bowling trip sitting in the bathroom, nauseous. It had to be the pizza because that was the only thing I had eaten that could have made me sick. When I finally made it downstairs, no one was home. Dad and Mom had gone to work and Tyler was nowhere to be found.
“Tyler?” I called a couple more times but got no answer. I went to the kitchen to see if he’d left a note or explanation. His note simply said, “Out with Stacey.” I read it again to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. He had just told me he didn’t care about Stacey and was done with her. How did she get back into the picture so quickly? Was he lying about their relationship so he’d score? I was about to pick up the phone and curse him out when I realized I knew the exact way to get back at him.
I picked up my phone and dialed the number I had been given from the night before. “Jason?” I said into the mouthpiece. You’d have thought he’d won a lottery. “Want to hang out?”
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll pick you up?”
“Sure, about an hour?”
I got off the phone and took a quick shower. Luckily, my stomach had calmed down. I had no more bouts of nausea except when I gargled while brushing my teeth. I made a mental note to avoid gargling while brushing, and no more eating pizza in bowling alleys or even being too close to Lauren when she cooked.
I dressed in a simple outfit- a pair of jeans and plain sweater- appropriate for wherever Jason wanted to go. I was thinking of going to the movies, but I would leave it up to him in case he wanted to strongly go somewhere else. When he arrived, the way he looked at me spoke more than his words ever could.
“You look nice,” he said as he escorted me to his car.
“Thanks.”
“Where’s Tyler?”
“Out with some girl,” I said. Even though the words rolled out of my mouth, the realization that Tyler was probably somewhere fucking some other girl was just too much to bear.
“Oh, yeah, Tyler’s the ladies man.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this revelation, so I sipped the water I had been carrying and did what came naturally, which was an awkward mix of laughter and crying.
“You okay?” Jason asked.
I nodded and added, “I just drank way too much water too fast.”
“Oh, okay,” he said as he opened the passenger side door of a car that looked like it cost a fortune, something Tyler never did. I guess Tyler had was used to thinking of me as his stepsister so he didn’t really know what to do with me being his fuck mate. The only thing that really changed in our relationship is what we did for each other in secret and at night, not how he felt about me.
I didn’t realize Jason was talking until he touched my arm, cutting off my thoughts of Tyler. “You sure you’re fine?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I was just wondering if I had locked the door after we left,” I said.
“Want to go back and check?”
“No, I think I did. I just worry a lot sometimes.”
“That’s okay, so do I. So where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere,” I said.
“Have you ever been to Broadway?”
“No. I spend way too much time in California. I never get to do much when I’m in town.”
“Well, let’s change that,” he said as he speed dialed a number and a man I quickly learned was his father’s assistant came on the line. He instructed him to book a late lunch and an early Broadway show and we headed to the city. We talked about nothing serious as we drove. We exchanged stories of our childhood. I learned his family owned half the city, which hadn’t been apparent from his common last name, Scott.
“Must be nice!” I said as he talked about some of his more exotic adventures.
“Yes, it is. I’d like to take you to some of those places one day. Maybe when you come back to town?” he said as he placed a hand on my thigh. At first, I didn’t realize what he was doing until he squeezed my leg.
“What are you doing?” I asked with a smile.
“Sorry, that was inappropriate. It’s just that I like you,” he said. He smiled and removed his hand.
I smiled and tried to wipe away what had happened as a lapse in his judgment.
“So, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked as the silence grew heavier and more uncomfortable.
“Not really,” I said. I wanted Tyler to be my boyfriend, but that was never going to happen.
“You’re such a nice girl. I’d do anything to make you my girlfriend.”
I was speechless for a few moments; his words had been unexpected. He must have realized I was uncomfortable with what he had said because he stammered and tried to cover up with more words.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that you are so damn hot, like I told Tyler, and I’d….”
“Wait, you told Tyler I was hot?” I asked, my ears picking that part up.
“You are!”
“It’s weird to talk about me with my brother,” I said. It was probably not weird. I’m sure boys talked about their sisters between each other, but it just seemed weird that he was talking about wanting to be my boyfriend with a boy I was fucking almost round the clock.
“Not really.”
“So what did he say?”
“He said you weren’t interested in men?” The statement was really a question.
I started laughing. Tyler was probably so afraid other men would come on to me that he thought he had to chase them off with lies.
“Is that true?” he asked.
“Of course not,” I said, smiling.
Tyler was crazy, I thought, grinning, and in that instant, I missed him. I wanted my first experience at a Broadway show to be with him. We had been talking about doing it for years, and he’d be disappointed if he wasn’t the first one to accompany me to my first Broadway show. Suddenly, I wanted to be with him at that precise moment. Even if he was with Stacey, I knew he’d not hesitate to dump her for me. If I wanted him, I guess I had to show it.
“Can we take a turn here?” I pointed to a street in front of me. “I want some ice cream,” I said to Jason as we passed a familiar street.
“Sure,” Jason said, eager to please me. I felt bad for him. He had no clue I wanted to go to that ice cream shop because I was hoping Tyler would be there.