Page 583 of Rock Me All Night
"I'll get you some coffee." He slides me off his lap and pushes himself to his feet.
I play with my phone, staring at Madison's text. It's matter of fact. She's not a matter of fact kind of person. She's expressive, loud, joyful. Is she treading lightly or is it bad news?
Pete's footsteps come closer. He kneels in front of me and hands over my coffee.
I get lost staring into his deep brown eyes. He doesn't like me locking him out. He wants in my heart. I want in his.
How can this be casual?
I bury my thoughts in my coffee. It's sweet and creamy. Incredibly sweet and creamy. "You must think I'm a kid putting this much sugar in the coffee."
"Comfort food." He runs his fingertips over my knee. "Not gonna force you to do shit, Jess, but I'm gonna make sure your sister knows she hurt you."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Madison, right?"
"Yeah."
"If you don't call her, I'm gonna release a bonus song calledFuck you Madison. You better apologize to Jess for Hurting Her."
"That's a disgustingly long title."
"Eleven words? That's nothing. I can name twenty songs that are longer."
"I believe you." I down half my coffee in one sip. It's so sweet my teeth hurt, but the sugariscomforting.
"Look me in the eyes."
I do.
"Tell me the truth. Do you want to make up with her?"
"Yes. I miss her."
"Tell her that."
"But I… I'm still mad. And she hasn't apologized."
"Tell her that too." He slides onto the couch next to me. His fingers trail over my bare thighs. "I'll be right here the whole time."
"What if it's bad news?"
"You have reason to believe that?"
"Yeah… my dad. It could be something about him." I take a deep breath. "He has health problems." There. That's the truth even if it is lacking the critical detail of his health problems being ten years of enabled binge drinking.
Can I even talk to my family without falling back into those patterns? The second I hear their voices, I lose my spine. I want to do whatever it takes to make them feel better.
I've been protecting Dad and Madison for the last ten years. I don't know how to talk to them as equals.
"Don't want to stoop to bribing you with sex, but I will." He traces the outline of my phone, his eyes on mine. "Call her."
"What about the sex bribe?"
"Jess, if you want me, ask for me."
"Can we have sex after this phone call?"
