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Rusty crosses his arms but stays silent. Smart man.
“The world we live in is filled with women who want different things, Rusty. Some women want to wait until they’re married. Others want to fuck constantly and never get married. And then there are a million levels in between. Guess what is on none of those levels? Room for a man’s disapproval. You wanna have opinions about shit? Be my guest, but keep them to your own damn self. I’ll be over here, enjoying the choices I make, without consulting you.”
Part of me wants to get up and storm out of the bar, but I know that’s not fair to Jackson. I can’t just leave him here to get reamed out by my brother. We hooked up together. We can deal with my brother’s asshole-ish response together as well.
Rusty sits staring at me for a long minute before he turns to look at Jackson.
“And what do you have to say for yourself?”
Jackson shrugs a shoulder. “Is there anything I can say?” he asks. “It seems like you’re going to be pissed no matter what.”
Rusty looks from Jackson to me and then back to his friend.
“You swear you didn’t know she was my sister?”
Jackson shakes his head. “I didn’t know…” he says, pausing.
I want to slap my hands over my face when he continues.
“…the first time.”
Rusty’s body goes rigid. “What?”
Jackson takes a deep breath. “We also hooked up earlier today,” he says, glancing over at me before returning to focus on my brother. “You’re my closest friend, Rusty. If you’re upset about something, I need to be completely honest with you. I know how important the truth is to you, and that’s the truth.”
I bristle a bit, realizing the power dynamic has shifted. When Rusty first got upset about this, it felt like it was me and Jackson versus my brother. I thought he was on my side. Now, though, I’m realizing he’s loyal to my brother first.
Which, I guess, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rusty and I have had a lot of loss in our lives, parents and friends alike. If he and Jackson are as close as it sounds like they are, the last thing I want is for something to come between the two of them.
Rolling my eyes, I decide to add my own two cents.
“Look, Rus, it was just a little lust, okay? We hooked up last night and then today. It’s out of our systems now. All right?”
I studiously ignore Jackson, focusing all my attention on the man who has spent his entire adult life sacrificing for me. Even though I’d love nothing more than to have a fun fling with the man sitting to my right, my undying love and loyalty is owed to the man on my left.
Rusty sits silent for a long moment, looking between the two of us with an unreadable expression on his face. Then he looks at Jackson.
“If you’re here to invest in the brewery, you’re here for the brewery, and that’s it. Got it?”
Jackson doesn’t say anything at first, and for a minute, I wonder if he’s going to tell my brother no. Tell him he’s too interested in me to promise nothing will happen between us.
And I’m honestly startled by how much I enjoy the thought.
But then I see Jackson nod in my peripheral vision.
“Got it.”
“Let’s just…pretend none of this happened,” Rusty says, picking up his half-empty beer and downing the rest in one go.
I glance over at Jackson just for a second and find him looking at me as well.
Sure. Pretend it never happened.
Easier said than done.
chapter six
Jackson
