Page 24 of Worthy Now
“Fine,” she reluctantly gives in. “I’ll play nice, but the second she steps out of line, all bets are off. I may be tiny, but I know how to throw down.”
“Alright, Ronda Rousey,” I chuckle, slinging an arm around her to steer her toward the backyard. “Let’s keep those fists at our sides for now, shall we. By the way,” I say. “Some guy called earlier, asking for you.”
“Who?”
“Not sure,” I admit. “Told him if he wasn’t gay or calling to extend an invite to bible school, you weren’t available. I hung up when he started to stutter.”
“Oh my God, Jake,” she groans, like having me as a big brother is the worst form of punishment. “You’re so embarrassing. What if it was someone I like?”
“Then he’ll call again. Don’t make it too easy for these little shitheads. You gotta make them work for it, or they’ll be onto the next chick without giving you a second thought.”
“Is that how you were when you were my age?” she asks, flashing me a cheeky grin.
“You don’t want to know how I was, Anna Banana,” I tell her, peering down at her upturned face. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one with a protective streak in this family.”
Anna rolls her eyes and shrugs my arm off her shoulders before she strides back to the table to finish her dinner with a little less attitude.
Sixteen
Tessa
Jake and I fall into a comfortable routine over the weeks that follow. I’ve started on a new book—a second-chance romance—and since I’m currently living one in real-time, the story is all but writing itself. To say my budding relationship inspires me is an understatement.
When I’m not spending time with Jake, I divide my time between my laptop and my mother, who I routinely accompany to chemo treatments. On the rare days she has extra energy, we squeeze in as many day trips as possible to make up for lost time. A shopping trip to the mall, a relaxing day at the spa, anything that gives us an opportunity to reinforce our mother-daughter bond.
Since moving back home, I’ve noticed how much I missed my parents, and how much I’d hurt them by not visiting more often. I’m determined to not repeat my mistakes.
Jake goes to work each day, and we spend most evenings together. I usually end up staying at his place overnight, and even though Anna is still leery of my intentions toward the brother she so obviously adores, she seems to be warming up to me. A couple of nights ago she took me by surprise when she suggested a movie night, going as far as asking my opinion when she couldn’t choose between two romcoms. It’s Saturday evening, and Anna asked permission to go to a friend’s party, which left Jake and me to our own devices. We ordered Chinese and binge-watched half a season of Vikings before Jake suggested we should take advantage of the empty nest and head up to bed.
Several hours and multiple orgasms later, I’m well and truly sated, and so damn exhausted I don’t even notice when he sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night. I jerk upright when a loud thump echoes through the otherwise silent house, followed by male cursing and high-pitched giggles. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stretch out an arm to reach the bedside lamp and wait for the fog to clear to help me figure out what’s causing the ruckus in the stairwell.
“Jesus Christ, Anna. How the hell did you get this wasted so damn fast? I talked to you an hour ago and you were fine.”
More giggling. “I don’t know how it happened,” she replies in a loud whisper, slurring her words. “I swear, I didn’t mean to. I was just having fun, and then someone dared me to do something called a beer bong, and before I knew it, my vision went all funky. I kinda feel like I’m floating.”
“Funny, because on my end, it feels more like I’m dragging a waterbed mattress up the stairs.”
“Oh, shut up,” Anna grumbles, slapping him upside the head as they pass by our bedroom door. I’m not usually one to eavesdrop, but this is just too entertaining, and before I know it, I’ve already slid out of bed to tiptoe down the hall. Anna’s room is empty and dark, but the ensuite bathroom is well-lit, giving me a clear view of what’s happening inside. I watch as Jake unceremoniously dumps his baby sister on the closed toilet lid, holding her up with one arm, while he fills a glass of water with the other.
He rummages around the medicine cabinet and produces a bottle of ibuprofen, shaking a couple into her open palm.
“Take this and drink as much water as you can,” he orders, nudging her with his foot when she continues to nod off. “Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better for it in the morning.”
“You should know,” comes Anna’s slurred reply a second before she pops the offered pills into her mouth and chases them with a full glass. Jake immediately refills it and urges her to drink a second.
“You’re the expert, after all. I’d be smart to heed your advice. You probably know all the tips and tricks. If I ever have questions on how not to overdose, I know who to ask.”
Jake’s head snaps toward his sister, and even from a distance, it’s hard to miss the hurt in his eyes. “Wow, Anna. Low blow. I’m going to ignore that because you’re wasted. But don’t talk about things you don’t understand. You have no idea what I was dealing with.”
“That’s ‘coz you never tell me anything,” she shoots back, swaying from side to side and holding on to her brother’s forearm to steady herself.
“I’ve kept things from you to protect you. Because it wouldn’t do either of us any good if you knew all the gory details. Besides, all of that’s in the past and has been for a while, so let’s not stir shit up. Especially not in your current state. If you still have questions in the morning and have the balls to ask while you’re sober, I might consider having that conversation. But tonight is most definitely not the time for a heart-to-heart,” he tells her with a stern expression. “We’re also going to have a talk about the condition you’re in. I don’t appreciate having to pick up my sixteen-year-old,inebriated sister in the middle of the night, and I didn’t like the way that guy was manhandling you when I arrived.”
“You didn’t have to scare him like that.”
“Then he shouldn’t have grabbed your ass in front of me. He’s lucky I’m so damn zen these days. A few years ago, I would’ve kicked his fucking teeth in,” Jake replies in all seriousness.
“I feel kinda funny,” Anna says with a frown, only seconds before her eyes pop wide, and she slaps a hand over her mouth.
