Page 170 of Now and Forever

He shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. Anyway, are you guys up to eat out or what? What’s the plan?”

“Your mom and I had something on the flight.” My grandmother yawned at the thought of dining out. With their long flight and the traffic they’d had to deal with, who could blame her? “I’m too tired, so I’m turning in for the night. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Same here,” our mother said before gazing at us. “Good night, you two.”

We both bid her good night before we watched her disappear into her own designated suite.

Well, Jackson and I were starving, so we decided to stay put and order room service.

While we waited for our food, my mind wandered back to the same person as always, and this time, my brother had to give some answers.

“Poppy’s legit now, then?”

“Yep,” Jackson responded with a popping sound.

“He’s fast.” It hadn’t taken him long to decide on her, while with me, it had taken him forever to even see me. Oh, well, there was no need to be so bitter about it. He had moved on … and that was that. “How is she. I mean, overall?” Was she a decent person at least? I didn’t have a clue.

“She’s nice.”

That’s it? What did nice entail? All sorts of things, which didn’t tell me much.

“Aren’t they all in the beginning?” I muttered as I pictured them both together. As hard as I tried, my mind always reverted back to that time when he had taken me in the game room. For a brief moment, I had thought he had forgiven me, only to crush my hopes the second he’d had me where he wanted me.

“He’ll come around, Chloe,” Jackson said.

My brother was simply trying to ease the pain by giving me false comforts. But what he didn’t know was that I didn’t have any designs when it came to Drew, not anymore.

“I’m not holding my breath. He’s not the only one moving on.”

“With who?” Jackson frowned at me. “Wait, don’t tell me it’s that biker guy who caused all of this?”

“He didn’t cause anything. It’s all on me. And he has a name—Cori. And he’s good to me, Jacks. He makes me laugh, and right now, that’s all I need.”

“That’s good, or else he’ll have to answer to me.” He smiled sadly at me. “Having your heart broken isn’t the easiest thing to get over, little sis.”

Well, I had lived with it all my life. It was nothing new.

“What would you know about heartbreak, anyway? From what I can recall, you’re the one causing it.”

He shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Jackson became solemn, which made me want to pry into his business even more.

“Enough about Drew. So what happened to Yvonne?”

“She got too close.”

I rolled my eyes, hating the typical male answer. “If you’d just going to stop being such a fuckboy, Jacks, maybe you would find someone worthy to get close to.”

His eyes darkened. “I’m not a relationship kind of guy. I doubt that’s going to change soon.”

“That’s what they always say until it bites them in the ass.” Good luck with that, brother.

After dinner, Jacks went wherever he went, and instead of going straight to the house, I actually called to see if Cori was available … and he was.

I found myself hailing a cab on my way to his place located in the Meatpacking District for the first time. He had a wide studio with a sixty-inch TV and a guitar sitting right next to his couch. The place was all male and very him. I had expected no less. It was a great place, and I found myself getting comfortable on the sofa while I tried my hand at playing the guitar.

“Netflix and chill?” He laughed as he joined me on the couch before handing me a beer.

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