Page 25 of Valentine Dare

11

Prent

It was weird, I wasn’t a jealous type of guy. When I was younger, sure I used to be jealous of the fact that neither Trent nor Brent had dyslexia but I did. It was as if I the cursed one. Trent was the athletic one, smart one. Brent, well he was just Brent. And I had no clue where I fit in the grand scheme of things, that was until I started to cook. Fuck, I love culinary things and being in the kitchen, experimenting and discovering new spices and flavors. It became my passion in life, even though everyone used to mock me about being the skinniest chef in the world. Well, my brothers did, Mom never.

Brent and Trent seemed to be spending a lot of time with Jenny, and sometimes it just annoyed me, and as I left my room, I noticed both Jenny and mom sitting in the kitchen. I felt good knowing my brothers weren’t around. Trent was at practice, and Brent was working a full shift today.

“Good morning. What can I make for you ladies?”

They both turned to face me, as if they were discussing something and I’d interrupted them.

“Hey, Prent.” Jenny smiled.

“Morning, Prent. You had a good sleep?” she quizzed as she stood up to face me.

“Yeah, it’s Saturday. No school tomorrow, so I slept like a log,” I said as I kissed Mom on the cheek.

I turned to face Jenny who was wearing a pink dress which showed her ample breasts. She’d really flowered in the last couple of months since she had been here. The move seemed to have done her some good.

“It’s just I get nervous when I have exams, and I don’t sleep.”

“Oh. Well, as you said it’s Saturday, so you can take your mind off it for a couple of days, right?”

I nodded, thinking neither of them answered my question.

“Breakfast anyone?” My eyes darted to the table to see they’d only had coffee, and both cups were empty.

“Refill?” I offered.

Mom hesitated, but then she said, “No. I need to go to the office and see Russell. Jenny’s dad is out, and I may have some good news, but I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“You want me to come along?” Jenny said as she sprung up. Maybe the idea of having some good news put a spring in her step.

Mom shook her head as she adjusted her white shirt and jeans. “Nope. He said we should talk alone and besides, I told you he’s not to be trusted, so let’s see what he comes up with. This is the first time he’s been in contact since he’s been out on bail.”

Her eyes shifted to me as she put her arm around my waist.

“Besides, Prent can make you one of his mean pancakes. You tried them?”

“No,” she said, and I could see the disappointment on her face.

“I’ll make you some with chocolate syrup from scratch. You won’t regret it,” I promised As I moved to the other side of the kitchen.

“I’m not that hungry,but the mention of chocolate has got my mouth watering. You guessed it. I have a sweet tooth too.”

Jenny smiled as she moved to the tabletop and sat on the stool.

“Good. Keep your spirits up. I won’t be too late, and we have to sort out a phone. I’m not sure why I never thought about it before. You need a phone right?” Mom asked Jenny.

I interjected. “No worries. I’ll get one for her today. We’ll get it after the pancakes.”

Jenny winced. “I never thought about a phone because, well, not having one has been good. I don’t find myself on it just for the sake of it. I’ve read more books during the last few weeks than I have all year.”

Mom shook her head. “That’s the right attitude, but seriously, reading is important.”

I smiled. “So you keep telling us. Go to work and stop being a lawyer in the house.”

She waved her hand in the air as if to surrender and then grabbed her keys and case, and within a few seconds she was heading out of the door, leaving Jenny and I facing each other.

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