Page 69 of Myself

I leave her staring down at her bracelet and make my way up to the back deck just in time to see my brother talking to Jaycent.

Jaycent places his hands in his pocket, still standing by the railing. “I need to talk to you,” he says, and my heart rate picks up.

“Okay,” Ryder says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jaycent goes to open his mouth, and I run up behind them. “Ry.” I put a fake smile on my face as my brother turns to look at me. Then I look at Jaycent, and it drops.

I try to think of something to say when he thankfully he beats me to it. “Where’s Ashlyn?”

“In the kitchen cooking.”

“Why?” he asks as if that’s insane.

“Because she wanted to,” I say simply, and without another word, he walks off to go to her.

I turn on Jaycent. “What in the hell was that?” I demand.

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I have to tell him ...”

“We’ve talked about this,” I growl.

“No. You continue to ignore me when I try to talk about it.”

I bite my bottom lip, trying to keep my mouth shut. He walks up to me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Becca, we have to—”

“No!” I shove him away. “Why are you doing this?” I ask as those angry tears start to sting my eyes. “Why is it so important to you to ruin everything between us?”

His face falls, and his eyes soften. “I don’t see it that way,” he says softly.

“I do,” I say, looking way from him. “I see you destroying our relationship because you feel guilty. It’s our time, Jaycent. We’ve waited long enough to get here, and now, you just want to let it go.”

“No, no, no,” he says, quickly shaking his head. “That’s not even close to what I’m thinking.” He pulls me in and sighs as he hugs me. “I’m sorry. I’ll drop it. I promise.” And with that, he kisses my forehead as if that’s him sealing his promise.

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JAYCENT

When we finally pull into port, Becca and Ashlyn are laughing, and Ryder turns to look at me. “What did you want to discuss earlier?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing important.” Those words are hard to say. Because Becca is the most important thing in my life. But I finally understood why she’s not ready to tell him. She kept telling me, but I didn’t realize just how important it was to her. And I choose her side in this. She wants to wait, so we’ll wait. I’ll take the consequences of possibly losing a best friend when we get there. ‘Cause we will. He’ll be hurt, and I’ll be the bastard, but it’s a small price to pay to keep her happy.

“Hey, Ry?” Becca says as she opens the back door of her ride home. “Mom kept calling me last night.” She swallows. “Over Vicki.”

He nods. “She kept calling me too. I turned my phone off,” he informs her as he walks Ashlyn over to her car door.

She smiles in relief. “Can you continue to ignore her? For me?”

He was kissing Ashlyn goodbye but pulls away when she asks him that. “Why? Something wrong?”

She looks at Ashlyn who is looking down at her bracelet then back at him. “Not if you continue to ignore her.”

He looks down at Ashlyn, and she’s oblivious to anything that is being said. She’s too wrapped up in a bracelet on her wrist. He smiles at his sister and nods as if he gets it. If he takes his mother’s call, it’s gonna do nothing but cause problems. If only he knew that she meant for me and him as well.

I get into the front seat while the girls climb in the back. I rode out here with Ryder yesterday, but he has to go to his office for work when we get to the city, so he suggested I ride back with them. As soon as we got back to their apartment, Becca and I took showers and got ready. We left Ashlyn back at the apartment while we went into town and got Becca a new phone.

We arrive back at their place, and Becca is laughing about something I said when I walk in and come to a stop. “What the hell is that?” I ask, looking down at what looks to be an alien. It’s got no hair and wrinkly skin with these big ass ears. I think they’re satellites.

“Oh, that is Harry,” Becca says as she bends down and pets him. He arches his back as he makes a crying sound.

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