Page 30 of Reckless Rebel

“I picked up everything I know online, I’m sure he owns a laptop,” I say calmly, ignoring the blush that is yet again making an appearance on my face.

“Is that the thing where you always stick your butt in the air?” Sofia questions, and my mom laughs.

“Well, in that case I would definitely like to see it.” Jace tells her with a little tickle to her side, and I’m grateful for her squeal as my blush deepens. Thankfully I am saved from saying anything else when he adds on, “Is there anything I can do to help, Ava?”

“No thank you, Sweetheart, Gerry and I are on it, you kids sit down, catch up, have fun.” She smiles at him so easily, before she heads over to help my dad.

Sofia forces both Jace and I to her art table that my dad brought outside earlier, and we sit on the grass and each paint our own picture. I try to concentrate but find my eyes constantly flicking between Jace and Sofia. They both have the same concentration frown on their face as they study their pictures closely, swiping their brushes and then dipping for more paint. You’d think they’d known each other their whole lives with how similar they are. That usual pang of jealousy I have become accustomed to in the past couple of weeks feels more like a dull ache now. Instead I find myself smiling at the two of them, at how seriously Jace is taking this and at how comfortable Fia seems to be with him.

Sofia paints a rainbow that of course has her and Jace smiling next to a pot of gold, with me nowhere to be seen which I roll my eyes at. I paint an abstract sort of self portrait that is just something I like to do when I’m feeling creative, and when Jace is finished he shows off a very wonky looking page of blue splodges.

“What is it?” Sofia asks with a frown, cocking her head to the side.

I hide my smile as Jace scoffs, “It’s a waterfall obviously.”

Now I cock my own head trying to see what he’s seeing, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he snaps with a huff. “I like waterfalls,” he adds with a shrug.

“Me too,” Fia chimes in, still staring at the picture in his hand. “And that definitely isn’t a waterfall.”

“Right that’s it.” Jace dives towards her and she squeals as she rushes to dash away from him in excitement.

He chases her around the garden and I can’t help but laugh as I watch the two of them. Sofia and I have always been close, I loved her from the moment my mom and dad brought her home, I never imagined she was missing out on anything. But watching her now, with her brother in tow, I realize just how much he can change her, shape her into the woman she will one day become. How she will look up to him, turn to him for advice. I just hope he is ready for the responsibility of being a big brother.

* * *

Sofia pretty much doesn’t leave his side for the rest of the day which is how Jace finds himself with her sleeping across his legs as the day turns into night. We’ve all eaten our body weight in delicious food and now we are sitting on the patio enjoying the gentle summer evening. The soft tones of some of my parents' music floats from my dad's phone and when the song switches to their wedding song he smiles, standing and holding his hand out to my mom.

They begin to dance around the garden in a show I’ve seen multiple times throughout my childhood, but that isn’t what has me smiling. No, it’s when I look over at Jace and see him watching them with a strange look on his face.

“Are they always like this?” He asks, his stare on them completely unwavering.

I sigh, understanding that not everyone is into this much PDA, especially from parents. “Pretty much, I know it’s a little embarrassing, but...”

He cuts me off. “No, it’s awesome. Imagine being so in love even after all this time.”

He still doesn’t look my way and I find myself watching them through his eyes as I tell him. “You know they fell in love when they were our age, can you even imagine that?”

I think about what Rick and I have, how I have always pictured us ended up like this, from friends, to lovers, to family. The perfect love story, just like theirs. Yet right now it seems hard to imagine, hard to even see us making it that far, and I’m not sure why. I mean, I love him, right? I shake my head a little to try to get rid of the thoughts gathering there, of course I love him, he’s my boyfriend, we are good together, and yeah he has been a little off lately, but with the stress of everything going on, who can blame him.

Jace laughs, bringing my attention back to him as he rolls his eyes. “I live with a couple so trust me I can imagine.”

This is the first bit of personal information he has offered me about his life outside of the Playboy Rebel I see at parties, and the big brother role he has slipped into here. And even though it isn’t exactly something I hadn’t guessed myself, I still can’t help myself from fishing for more information. “Elle, right?”

Jace nods, shifting towards me and moving Sofia’s head so she is lying comfortably on the patio sofa beside him. “Yeah she’s engaged to my brother Marcus.” He must see the alarm in my eyes because he quickly adds on, “Not my real brother, I met Marcus and Lincoln in foster care a few years ago and we just hit it off. They’re the only family I had after I lost Rachel, I guess it's grown a little in the last year.”

I hold in my intrigue when I think about what it must have been like to grow up in foster care, and not have a real family, and instead focus on the other thing he said. “Aren’t they a little young to be engaged?” I’m not one to judge, but I am genuinely curious about what he calls his family and their dynamic.

“I guess.” He shrugs, “I’ve never really been one to buy into that happy ever after, soulmate kind of shit, not for me anyway, but for other people, sure.” He nods at my parents as an example before sighing, “Marcus and Elle have something so unique that I can’t even describe it, it’s like they are two halves of the same person. Broken right down the middle and only full functioning when they’re together.” He shrugs again, “I don’t know, I guess if you go to hell and back with someone then you know you’ll survive everything together, even marriage, and despite everything they are in love and happy, it’s as simple as that.”

I nod as his words resonate into my chest, they just scream truth and I wonder if Rick and I could weather any storm sent our way, including one in the form of a South Side Rebel. I push those thoughts aside and smile to myself as I take in the expression on Jace’s face when he is done talking about his family. It’s clear they mean everything to him.

He pulls his phone from his pocket and opens Snapchat and starts filming my parents dancing. “Elle will love this.” The smile on his face is so genuine that for the first time I can truly see why girls are enthralled by him. It isn’t just that bad boy facade with his tattoos and the six pack I got a glimpse at, but his personality. The bad boy is somehow sweet and kind when he wants to be.

He fires off the video to Elle and then I see endless unopened snaps lingering on his phone. “That’s quite the fan club,” I muse, and he glances at me and follows my gaze to his phone.

“It’s only you who doesn’t wanna fuck me, Red. And to be honest I think you are just lying to yourself, and me.” He showcases that insufferable wink and I laugh.

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