Date Night (Wish Come True Book 1) (14 page)

She stood up with her hands squarely
on her hips and glared at her monstrously large brother. “What the
hell
do you think you’re doing Jared?”

“Get out of my way,” he said and
would’ve shoved past her if Derek hadn’t stepped in and restrained him from
behind. Jared was big but he was no match for Derek’s football build.

Leah stepped in front of Jared
between us and laid her hand on his arm. “Jared. Stop!”

“Not now Leah.” Jared’s eyes were trained
on me, but she held her ground and glared up at him.

“Enough,” I said, standing up and
placing myself protectively in front of Jordan.

“Don’t be an ass, JT. I’m not going
to hit my own sister. But I can’t promise the same about you.”

“Which is why you’re coming with me.”
Derek pulled Jared away towards his Camaro. “You need to cool off before you’re
going to be able to talk about this rationally.”

“I better see you two at home,” Jared
called out while he struggled against Derek’s strong grip on his arm. “Let go,
I got it.”

Leah walked over to Steve, who stood
still as a statue in a semi-state of shock. “Let me walk you to your car Steve.
Whew. Now that was intense—awesome date. Bet you want to do that again. Has
anyone ever told you you’re a dead ringer for that guy in
Pacific Rim
?”

As they walked away, Jordan came
around to stand in front of me and shook her head in disgust. I could feel my lip
swelling and it throbbed like a son-of-a-bitch. Pulling the tissue away I
tentatively touched it with my tongue. The blood had stopped flowing so it
couldn’t be that bad. For some reason I wondered if I should’ve taken the
beating from Jared because the fire shooting out of Jordan’s eyes meant there
would still be hell to pay and I’d much rather take it at the hands of my best
friend.

“What were you thinking storming out
here and making a scene like that?” she demanded as her pointy index finger
jabbed hard into my chest. “I’ve always thought you were a smart guy but
tonight you proved you’re nothing but a dumb caveman.”

For a moment I considered setting her
straight but then thought better of it. I had, in fact, acted like a dumb
caveman. What had I been thinking? This was not the way I envisioned Jared
learning about my feelings for Jordan. I’d mucked it up pretty bad. At least it
was out in the open now and we would all be able to move on. Hopefully.

“I’m sorry, babe,” I said, pulling
her rigid body into my arms. “You’re absolutely right.”

“Damn straight, I am,” she said
forcefully, but the heat of her words were somewhat negated by the way she
automatically snuggled her face into my chest. She was shaking. Whether it was
from the cool night air on her exposed skin or the rush of what had just
happened I wasn’t sure. But I wrapped my arms protectively around her and
rested my head on top of hers. I could barely make out her next words, they were
so soft.

“I thought he was going to kill you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
I chuckled as I pulled her face up by the chin to look at me. I knew she was
serious but I couldn’t help my reaction. “I am bigger than Jared you know.”

“But he was fueled by anger.” Her
shoulders jerked with a little shudder. “And you’re wracked with feelings of
guilt. I was worried you might actually let him beat you up.”

“You might be right about that,” I
sighed and kissed her on the head. I winced at the pain it caused, inhaling
sharply. “My body thanks you for coming to my rescue. Your brother packs a damn
good punch.”

“Come on,” Jordan said, grabbing my
hand and heading towards her car. “Thank God both Grannie and my mom are home
tonight. They’ll set Jared straight. Lord knows he won’t be in a mood to listen
to me.”

Jordan

“Don’t even go there.” I hissed at my
brother over my shoulder upon entering our house, wisely deciding to move the
argument into the kitchen and away from the concrete driveway.  “You’re my
brother. Not my father. How dare you try to tell me who I can or cannot date?
If I fall in love with JT, it is none of your damn business.”

“He’s
my
best friend,” Jared
yelled, clearly past the point of trying to reason with me. “You’re going to
screw that all up if you try to date him. This isn’t just about you and what
you want.”

“No, it’s not,” JT threw in, pulling
up the rear of the group with Derek as we all entered the kitchen. “I think I
have a say in this as well.” Derek just nodded his head in agreement.

Jared’s face contorted with anger as
he glared at JT. “You’re supposed to be on my side here, JT. You stinking
traitor.” He placed his hands on his hips to pause a moment while closing his
eyes. “I
can’t
believe you want to date my sister. I mean, that’s just
gross. You’re like her brother.”

A deep chuckle rumbled in JT’s chest
at the absurd comment. He shoved his hand through his hair and it seemed like
he wanted a shot at decking Jared. “Well I beg to differ. I promise you my
feelings for Jordan are far from brotherly.”

Jared’s eyes popped wide open and he leaned
forward, ready to lunge at JT again. Derek quickly placed himself between the
two men. I was glad Derek was smart enough to know my mother would be pissed if
we trashed her house. I violently shook my head at JT to knock it off. I had
just convinced Jared that JT hadn’t
nailed
me yet. Why stir the pot?
Jared’s biggest issue seemed to be his fear of losing JT as his best friend. As
far as I was concerned Jared could still be JT’s best
boy
friend and I’d
be his best
girl
friend. And I had no intention of
messing it up
with JT. I was keeping him for life.

“What in the world is going on in
here?” Grannie demanded as she and my mom rushed into the kitchen from the
basement. Grannie gasped at the sight of dried blood pooled on JT’s split
bottom lip. It had grown to three times its normal size. “What happened to your
lip?”

I pointed my finger at Jared, “He
happened to it. Jared attacked JT out of nowhere.” I walked to the pantry to
fetch a zip lock bag for ice.

“Whoa! I didn’t attack out of
nowhere.”Jared said and then pointed a finger at JT. “He was acting like a
jealous prick all night at the pool hall. And didn’t even try to deny that he totally
has it bad for you. My sister. Come on Grannie, I know you have my back on this
one. Mom? JT
can’t
date Jordan.” He paused to clear his throat and made
a small gagging noise. “I mean, they’re like brother and sister.”

“Oh my,” Grannie sighed and hid her
facial expression with her hand as she turned to share a knowing look with my
mom. I smiled behind Jared’s back. I knew exactly what was going through
Grannie’s mind. Jared would flip out if he knew Grannie was in cahoots with me
to snag JT. Perhaps I should have sought Grannie’s advice on how to break the
news to Jared lightly. It probably wouldn’t have mattered because I couldn’t
have anticipated the guys crashing my date and JT losing his cool.

“See.” Jared turned to me with his
hands planted squarely on his hips and his head bobbing back and forth with
serious attitude. “I told you Grannie would see it my way. She’s going to
totally set you two straight.”

Grannie and my mom burst out laughing
and all eyes turned to stare at them in shock; everyone’s except for mine, of
course. Jared was going to be sorely disappointed when he learned that the two
women couldn’t be happier that JT and I were finally going to be a couple. I
felt giddy with anticipation. Poor sucker.

“Jared, my love,” our mom said while
wrapping her arms around him. Her head fit neatly into the crook of his
shoulder. “I hate to disappoint you but you could not be further from the
truth. Grannie and I are ecstatic that Jordan and JT are falling in love.”

“What?” The disgust dripping from his
word was nearly visible. He reared back out of our mother’s arms. “Have you two
lost your minds?”

My hand flew over my mouth. I could
not believe he had just said that. Oh, crap. The shit was about to hit the fan.
Nobody talked to my mother and Grannie that way. And Jared was no exception. It
didn’t matter that he towered in height over the two women. He was going to
wish he’d kept his fat trap shut. By the look of dread that came over his face,
he was probably beginning to wish it already.

“You sit your butt down, boy.”
Grannie glared at him and he immediately sat down, assuming a proper and
respectful facial expression. “You think you can talk to me that way?  Clearly
you
have lost
your
mind. Don’t you dare forget that I’ve got one foot in the
grave and I have no problem cutting you out of my will if you keep up this
childish behavior. I’ll give every last dime to your sister and JT. You just
watch me.”

“And I’ll kick your butt out of this
house so fast it’ll make your head spin,” our mom added with cocked brows. “You
may think you’re an adult but you’re still my kid and I’ll treat you like one
when you act like one.”

“I’m sorry,” Jared said and even
managed to sound contrite. “I don’t know what came over me. It’s just been a
shock I guess. Cut me a little slack. It’s not every day my own sister and best
friend betray me.” The sullen look on his face must have tugged at our mother’s
heart strings because I perceived a noticeable softening in her body language.

“Why do you consider this a
betrayal?” our mother asked while rubbing Jared’s arm gently. “It shouldn’t
change anything for you. You’re both grown men now with full-time schedules.
You’ll still work out together and hang out when you have free time—which quite
frankly isn’t often these days.”

“Yeah, I know.” He tapped his finger
randomly on the table. “It’s just. Well. You know, he is my best friend.”

“Awe,” Derek teased. “That’s so
touching, man.”

“Shut up!” Jared shot back and ran
his hand through his hair. “I tell JT everything. You know I’m surrounded by
women here. I won’t be able to do that now. He’ll just blab it all to Jordan.
You think I want my sister knowing all my sh…sorry, stuff?”

“And here I thought you were trying
to protect my virtue,” I said drolly. “The ugly truth comes out.”

“Jordan,” my mother said in a warning
tone. “Jared has a valid point and I can understand why that would be
upsetting.”

I sat next to Jared and leaned back
in my chair. “Well no worries Jared. I don’t want to hear about your stuff
anyway. JT can gladly keep that to himself. It goes both ways, you know. I’m
not worried about JT dishing to you about everything I tell him.”

Grannie smiled at JT and shook her
head in sympathy. “You sure you know what you’re getting yourself into? There’s
still time to walk out the door. I won’t hold it against you.”

“Grannie!” I furrowed my brows as my
mouth dropped open. Was she out of her mind? How could she joke like that after
everything I had gone through to finally get JT to admit his feelings for me?

“Oh hush,” Grannie laughed and patted
the seat next to her for JT to sit down. “I’m just teasing the boy. Let me see
your lip. Must smart pretty bad, huh?”

“Can’t say I’d want to do it all over
again,” JT grinned and then groaned for his effort. “Derek and Jordan saved me
from a worse beating. No hard feelings Jared. If I had a younger sister, I’d
probably have reacted the same way.”

“Sorry, JT,” Jared said sheepishly.
“Well, not really. But you know what I mean.”

Grannie reached out to gently touch
JT on the shoulder. “And I’m sorry too. I didn’t expect Jared to face plant you
to the ground. Guess I screwed that one up. It wasn’t in the plans.”

“What are you talking about?” Jared’s
face was a mask of confusion. JT and Derek sent equally confused glances
Grannie’s way.

“Since we’re having a Kumbaya
moment,” Grannie said with a chuckle, “I may as well take this opportunity to
come clean. I can’t take my sins with me to the grave.”

I opened my mouth to stop Grannie
from going any further but was silenced by the look she tossed my way. She
meant to say her piece and nothing was going to stop her. Well then, so be it.
Although why Grannie didn’t chose to make her confession at church where nobody
needed to be any wiser was a mystery. I definitely would’ve taken the easy path
out.

Grannie gazed around the room at all
the eyes trained on her. “I know every one of you thought I might have gone a
bit loopy when I asked Jordan to start dating men twice a week in the hopes of
finding her soul mate so I could watch her walk down the aisle. And I don’t
blame you if you did.”

I glanced around surreptitiously and
caught the smug looks of all the boys. The big dummies. Didn’t they know
Grannie was setting them up? I wasn’t going to fall for it. Of course I had the
benefit of knowing that Grannie had been in it for the journey of planning a
wedding and not the expectation of being at a wedding. Still. I couldn’t wait
till Grannie laid it all out.

“But that just goes to show you don’t
know your head from your arse!” She smiled at the collective jaw dropping
around the room. “Did you honestly think I would let Jordan marry someone after
knowing him for just a couple of months? Or that her mother would allow such a
scheme?”

I saw the recognition in each of the
boys’ eyes; they hadn’t been smart enough to come to that conclusion on their
own. But then what was with all the dating? The question lingered on their
faces.

“I didn’t ask JT to watch over our
girl to keep her safe from predatory males. I expected them to fall in love
with each other in the process of being thrown in each other’s company so
often.”

Shocked silence settled over the room
for nearly a minute as everyone took in her response. Me not withstanding. What
the…? What happened to the part about going on the journey of planning for a
wedding? But my own shock was far surpassed by that of both Jared and JT. I
observed my mother’s casual smile. So she had been on it from the start as
well? It was Derek who recovered first out of the group.

“O.M.G.,” Derek snorted and held his
fist out to Grannie for a bump. “That’s so awesome. You’re a genius. How did
you know?”

“I didn’t,” she confessed. “More like
hoped. They’re both wonderful people and so dear to my heart. It was worth a
try. There was no way either of them would pursue a relationship on their own.
Because of you.” Grannie focused directly on Jared. “So I had to fabricate a
reason to put them in each other’s way. Nature did the rest.”

I gazed over at JT and returned the
gentle smile that suddenly began curving up the right side of his lips. The warmth
in his eyes permeated my whole body. I wanted so much to go sit on his lap and
let him hold me while Grannie talked. But Jared was probably still smarting,
especially now that he knew his own grandmother had orchestrated the demise of
his friendship with his best friend.

“Maybe it was wrong of me to meddle
this way,” Grannie said, reaching out to grab one of my hands and one of JT’s
hands. “But I’ll bear the heat of your collective judgment on my actions
because I will feel so much better knowing my Sweet Pea is being taken care of
by a wonderful man after I’m gone.”

“Thanks a lot Grannie,” Jared said, having
finally found his tongue. “And here I thought you were going to have my back.”

“You should thank her,” my mother
said. “People often grow apart as they get older and start their own families
Jared. Who knows if you and JT would’ve eventually grown further apart as time
passed? If they get married, then you’ll have gained a brother.”

“Exactly my point mom,” Jared said.
“With
if
being the operative word.”

“Not
if
,” JT corrected him and
gazed into my eyes. “
When.
”

Tears flooded my eyes as I burst out
of my seat to plant myself squarely on JT’s lap. He loved me. He loved me. He
loved me. It was clearly written all over his face. Jared was going to have to
get used to it. So he may as well get started now. After JT’s sweet words I
didn’t want to be anywhere else but in his arms.

Jared immediately began making
horrific gagging noises which set Mrs. Billette and Grannie into a fit of
laughter with everyone eventually joining in. Even Jared. A few tears rolled
over JT’s cheek. I wasn’t sure if it was from the joy of laughing so hard or
because laughing so hard had caused his lip to begin bleeding again which
caused him pain. I jumped up to grab another tissue.

Jared got hold of his senses. “Was
Jordan in on this from the beginning?”

JT stopped dabbing at his lip and glanced
curiously at Grannie over my shoulder. He seemed quite interested in knowing
this tidbit.

“No. She was just as clueless as the
rest of you.”

“Hey.” I whipped my head around to
stare at Grannie “Give me a little credit. I started to catch on pretty fast
that you were up to something. Of course I didn’t know the full extent of your
guilt, but after about three weeks, I started to get the feeling you were
hoping I might like JT. I got clued in after he agreed to pretend to be my
fiancé at the Castle. You kept saying what a great fiancé he’d make some lucky
girl someday.”