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His eyes dart to mine and he doesn’t even attempt to hide the anger. “You went out with some guy you met online? Alone? Was Chloe at least with you the first time?”
“Calm down,dad,” I snap and his blue eyes darken and narrow in response.I didn’t call you daddy so don’t even look at me like that.
“That’s exactly what I said,” my father interjects and I snap my gaze to him who’s shaking his head at Jacob.
“Which is why you didn’t know until way after the fact,” I sass. “I am alive, you know. I’m fine. He wasn’t a serial killer. And for your information, Jacob. Yes, he and his friend met Chloe and I for dinner for us to meet for the first time… and the second time if you must know.”
“So, you met this joker online. He couldn’t meet a girl in person? Bad social skills?” Jacob asks sarcastically with a scrunch of his nose.
“Yes,” my dad pipes up without taking his eyes away from the screenagain.
“Kevin!” my mom exclaims at the same time I say, “Dad!”
“What? Miche, come on. And Whit, don’t act like you don’t know we feel that way. JP, wait till you meet this guy, he’s just so… not like us.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask.
“It is when he’s marrying my princess. He’s just so standoffish. Aloof. The guy barely speaks and he’s been around almost two years. I just don’t think he’s good enough for you, sweetheart. We’ve been back and forth about this so many times, my feelings aren’t going to change.”
“Kevin, enough.” My mother speaks before putting her hand over mine and squeezing. I look up at her. Eyes that match mine. Warm brown eyes that I’m fairly certain knows all of my secrets, even the ones I’ve tried to keep from her. She tucks a hair behind my ear before pulling me closer to her and wrapping her arm around me. “If Whitney is happy, we’re happy.”
I smile but it’s fake. My head is resting on her shoulder, so she can’t see my fake smile but Jacob can. He’s staring right at me like he can read every thought in my head right now.
“Well, I guess I have to meet this guy that has Whitney so happy then. When is he back?”
“Next week,” I answer.
Later that night, like a typical Saturday at my parents’ house, the small gathering of me and my parents, JP and the neighbor from down the street that they are trying to set him up with, grew. There are at least ten people here now. People from around the neighborhood, my brother has gotten here with a woman he sometimes hangs out with from time to time.Chloe and Trey have shown up and my paper has been long forgotten as I indulge in a few more drinks with Chloe. I’m not drunk and I’ve been very cognizant of how much I’m drinking in case I want to do any more work later. I’ve talked to Parker a few times throughout the day and I’ve been able to keep his accusations at bay at the idea of me being at my parents’ all day doing homework. I hadn’t really told him that me hanging out at my parents’ house had turned into this and I was starting to feel guilty especially since Chloe took a few pictures of us that I’m sure she’s already uploaded to her Instagram story. Now, Chloe, Trey, Jacob, and I,much to my reluctance, areoutside on the patio watching as the sun sets.
Chloe and Trey are in their own little world, her seated in his lap like she has been since they got here leaving Jacob and me alone to talk.
Except we’re not talking. We are sitting in silence just staring at the sunset. I guess at this point there is nothing left to say. I’m just about to get up to get a break from the tension flowing between us when my mother and Georgina make their way outside. They’re both more than a little tipsy and I wonder what is about to come of this. “Jacob, the four of us are going out to dinner tomorrow. It’s already been decided.”
I’m seated next to Jacob, my legs crossed and I find myself flexing my foot into a pointed toe like I used to do when I was seated and anxious. It’s getting dark, but the lights around my backyard give everything a romantic warm glow.
“Sure, sounds good. Tell me where to meet you.”
The words, ones that I didnotexpect though I should have, instantly tank my mood.No. I cannot be having what feels like a visceral reaction to Jacob going out with another woman. I’m engaged. I told him no. He told me he loved me and I said it was too late. He can move on. He can…
NO. HE. CAN’T.
I’m up out of my chair before I can hear my mother’s excited response though I can hear her chatting animatedly as I make my way into the house. I bypass the living room where my father is talking to Nick Barnes from next door about his new lawnmower or whatever the fuck and make my way upstairs toward my bathroom. I did actually need to go but I also needed a moment away from the chaos that I was barely staying one step in front of. If this were a romance novel, I had about five seconds before Jacob showed up at the door, pushing me backward into the bathroom and demanding me to explain why I’m behaving like a jealous brat.
My sex clenches at memories of him calling me that when he’d pulled me over his knee and spanked my bare ass.
Parker. Call Parker.
Fiancé. You have a fiancé.
I immediately pick up my phone and press his contact and I frown when it goes right to voice mail.Come on.I’m sending him a text letting him know that I called him when sounds of movement outside of the door sends every hair up on the back of my neck.No. No. No.I cross my fingers and pray. “Please be Chloe, please be Chloe,” I whisper.“Chlo—?” I ask nervously.
“Yeeessss?” she sings. “Let me in, I have to pee.”
A sigh of relief but also… what feels like disappointment floods me. I try to ignore the latter feeling and focus on the fact that temptation in the form of my ex and my parent’s best friend isn’t standing on the other side of the bathroom door.
I let her in just as my phone beeps in my hand and I expect it to be Parker, letting me know why he couldn’t take my call.
Jacob: I feel like you’re smart enough to realize you don’t have any reason to be jealous.
