Jayded (23 page)

My dad takes a sip of his whiskey before responding to her.
“
That works for me. Connie, when are you planning this luncheon for the announcement?
”
he asks my mother.

“
I was thinking Wednesday, and then you could leave that night or Thursday night. What about your assistant? When is she planning on heading here?
”
she asks.

Max finishes chewing her salad. Junior is still stuffing his mouth.
“
Actually, I
’
m going to speak with her tonight about coming this weekend. She most likely wants an apartment. She likes to be able to call someone if something needs fixing. And I figure if I can
’
t find a house, I can throw my things in storage and bunk with her until I do.
”

“
That actually sounds like a great idea. You don
’
t want to rush into buying a house. It
’
s one of the biggest decisions you
’
ll make in a lifetime, so it needs to speak to you. It has to be perfectly right,
”
Mom explains.

“
And Connie would know. It took us nine months to find our
‘
perfect
’
place,
”
my father adds, full of sarcasm. He takes another sip of his whiskey.

The waitress comes in our direction, carrying a huge tray of delicious-smelling plates. She places a folding table between my father and I before passing the dishes out.

My mother smacks him on the arm.
“
Oh stop! We
’
ve lived in that house ever since, so it was obviously worth the time,
”
my mom says with a smirk, standing by her decision. I see my father grinning because he knows she is right. He just likes ruffling her feathers once in a while.

“
I know, love. After renovating to our liking, we ended up with a great house that we still enjoy today,
”
my father admits. My mother gleams. She loves being right, but what woman doesn
’
t?

“
We
’
ll have to have you over for dinner one of these nights,
”
my mom says, inviting Max.

The waitress passes out our plates. I ordered the fettuccini alfredo with chicken
—
my favorite here. My father and mother got their usual: prime rib. Junior got his gnocchi, and Max has chicken French. The waitress leaves after checking that we
’
re all satisfied.

“
I would love to! Let me know when, and I
’
m there,
”
Max agrees. She then turns to Junior.
“
Those look amazing. One of my all-time favorites, but I had to cut myself off
—
gnocchi go straight to my thighs!
”

Junior laughs.
“
Yeah, I
’
ll be working them off at the gym in the morning.
”

“
You
’
ll have to tell me which one. I need to get back to it once I get settled in. Once you get past the thirty-year mark, it takes a little more work to maintain the physical appearance,
”
Max explains with a smile.

Junior finishes chewing.
“
I don
’
t think you have anything to worry about,
”
he tells her. My radar goes off. Is my brother flirting? Yeah, this is not going down in front of me.

“
I totally know what you
’
re saying! Of course, I would give up my right pinkie if I could be in my early thirties again,
”
Mom says, letting out a boisterous laugh.

“
Yeah, me too. I would give up my pinkie to have you be thirty again,
”
my dad jokes. My mother gives him the death look. He holds up his hands.
“
Okay, okay, I was just agreeing with you. Geez!
”
My mother rolls her eyes.

I listen while filling my mouth with fettuccini. There
’
s no way I
’
m jumping into this conversation. When it comes to age and weight with women, men will always lose, no matter what we say. I
’
ve learned this from watching my father and mother over the years. I know once those two words are mentioned, it
’
s time to change the subject. I
’
ll be damned if I end up in the doghouse with Max so soon in our rendezvous. I
’
m enjoying what we have too much for it to end.

“
You
’
re lucky I stuck with you during my younger years, honey. I was a hot commodity,
”
Mom rubs in Dad
’
s face. She then turns to Max.
“
Greg, here, had to chase me down a while before I was willing to settle down. I was a wild bachelorette.
”
This time it
’
s my father who rolls his eyes.

“
I have a visitor
’
s pass you can use for the gym while you
’
re here. Just let me know, and I can grab you on the way,
”
Junior offers Max. My whole body tenses. He
’
d better stop while he
’
s ahead.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Max

I can see Kyle
’
s protruding jaw muscles and flaring nostrils, and I know something
’
s wrong. He is definitely bothered by his brother
’
s offer, but he really needs to stop. Junior hasn
’
t done anything wrong. He
’
s just being thoughtful.

“
Yes, that would be great. I wouldn
’
t mind going this weekend.
”
I
’
m not one for dealing with jealousy. I dealt with enough of that when I was with Cody.

I put down my fork and knife. I
’
m stuffed. Greg signals the waitress over for some to-go boxes.

“
What the fuck is that face for?
”
Junior snaps at Kyle. I look to Kyle, confused.

He
’
s clearly annoyed.
“
What face?
”
Kyle spits out.

“
You have a pissy-bitch face on.
”

“
Knock it off, you two!
”
Connie whispers.

“
Knock what off, Ma? I didn
’
t start this. He did,
”
Kyle states, nodding his head in Junior
’
s direction. I keep my mouth shut.

“
That
’
s just like you to wiggle your way out of shit. I
’
m not stupid. I know exactly what that look was about,
”
Junior says with wide eyes.

Kyle laughs.
“
You
’
re out of your fucking mind, Junior. Get over yourself.
”

I give it to Kyle. He
’
s keeping his cool
—
even though he just dropped the f-bomb. I understand where Kyle
’
s tension is coming from, and I
’
m not about to call him out on it. It
’
s as though Junior is purposely looking for a fight, which is completely absurd. Dinner
’
s gone great so far, so why ruin it?

“
We
’
re not doing this here,
”
Greg growls. The waitress brings the check.

Kyle stands up and turns to me.
“
Are you ready?
”

He pats his dad on the back and gives his mom a kiss.

“
I can drive you back to your hotel if you want to stay for another drink,
”
Junior offers to me.

“
No, that
’
s alright. Thanks for the offer, though. I
’
m exhausted.
”
I get up and say goodbye to them all before there
’
s any more trouble.

We get in the car. Kyle is quiet. I decide to give him a moment to gather himself. I know he
’
s upset about what just went down, and I want to make it known to him that it wasn
’
t his fault. I
’
m actually glad he took the initiative to leave when he did.

Kyle starts the ignition and reverses out of the parking spot. We head in the direction of my hotel.
“
Are you okay?
”
I finally ask after a couple of minutes have passed.

He blows out a much-needed breath to release his built-up stress.
“
Yeah, I
’
m fine. I
’
m used to this. It
’
s no surprise. Thanks for leaving with me.
”

I grab his hand and place it in my lap.
“
I told you I would,
”
I say softly.
“
Well, besides the last ten minutes, I had a good time! I enjoyed your family.
”

“
Most of the dinner was nice. I just hope someday we can alleviate the tension. Did they ask you what took so long in the bathroom?
”

I look out the window, watching the houses in the suburban area slowly give way to tall, lanky buildings. Downtown swallows us into a hidden blanket of shadows and steel. Unsure if I should even answer his question, I decide to just negate the truth. Not lie
—
but just go around it.

“
I don
’
t think anyone suspected anything,
”
I answer. The straight truth is that Junior asked me if I had gotten lost
—
jokingly, of course, but with underlying concern. I just told Junior I had to wait for a stall to open up, and he dropped it at that point. So I really don
’
t see the point in making Kyle even more upset than he already is.

He pulls up to the front of the hotel and finds a parking space.
“
Do you want me to come up?
”
he asks.

“
Do you want to?
”

“
Yes,
”
he replies.

I smile.
“
Then, please, come up.
”

I feel comatose. Between Cody, my brother
’
s call, and now this thing with Junior, I am emotionally drained. We get to my room, and the first thing I do is slip my shoes off. I then put my phone on the TV dresser and head to the bathroom to wash my face with a nice hot washcloth.

The steaming water melts away my tension. I hear my phone ding, signaling a text. God only knows who it could possibly be. Kyle is now sitting at the end of the bed, flipping through the TV channels. I look at the text and see one message from Cody.

“
We
’
re not over.
”

I stare at the text for a moment, a little shocked. It sounds so creepy. I know he can be over-the-top, but this? I really don
’
t know this side of him. I can
’
t decide if I want to respond or just leave it alone. I look up at Kyle who is looking at me. I decide to leave it alone.

“
Are you okay?
”
he asks, looking from my phone to me.

I put it back down, but turn it to silent.
“
Yeah, it was just my brother. I
’
ll give him a call tomorrow.
”

Kyle slides his shoes off and backs up to the head of the bed. He pats the empty space on the bed next to him. I put my finger up for him to wait a minute, and then I go through the dresser drawer. I unbutton my pants and slide on my sweatpants. I notice Kyle is enjoying every minute of it.

“
Can you do that again?
”
He pretends to joke, but I know he would most certainly like for me to do it again and again.