Ripe: A Stepbrother Pregnancy Romance (31 page)

Maybe she just didn’t care about him as intensely as he did her.

Chapter Fifty

When Jesse came home from running errands with Isaiah, he found Elise sitting in the living room with her head in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately concerned.

“Nothing,” Deanna spoke up. “We just got done watching a really sad Lifetime movie, that’s all. What about you guys? Did you have fun at the aquarium?”

Jesse hesitated before responding. His kept his gaze steadied on Elise, and when he finally got her to look up at him, he returned his attention to Deanna. “We had fun,” he said, glancing down at his son. “The exhibit was really cool, wasn’t it buddy?”

Isaiah simply shrugged his shoulders, yawning as he climbed onto the couch beside his mother. He rested his head in her lap and she brushed his hair back away from his face.

“Tired?” Elise asked her son.

Before Isaiah could respond, Jesse interrupted and asked Elise if he could talk to her in the kitchen for a minute.

Elise didn’t like the sound of that. It made her feel immediately on guard. Still, she followed Jesse anyway, raising an eyebrow when he led her out onto the sun porch and slid the door shut for more privacy.

“What’s going on?” Elise questioned, taking notice of Jesse’s anxious expression. Now she felt even more nervous.

“I had to discipline Isaiah,” Jesse blurted out.

“What?”

“He wandered off after we left the aquarium. I turned my back for one minute to buy him a drink, and just like that he was gone. I couldn’t find him for a good twenty minutes. It freaked me out badly that I grabbed him up and yelled at him as soon as I found him. He talked back and I…I gave him a spanking.”

“Jesse,” Elise said, speaking evenly. “You did the right thing. He knows better than to wander off by himself.”

“Still…” Jesse groaned and rubbed his face. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with him. He won’t even talk to me now.”

Elise shook her head. “Jesse, this is just another part of being a parent. One of the more difficult parts, I’ll admit, but a part all the same. He disobeyed you. Now he’ll never do it again. If you want him to think of you as his father and not just his friend, you’re going to have to do stuff like this every now and then.”

“You really aren’t mad?”

“Are you kidding?” Elise couldn’t help but laugh at him. “I’ve had to do this more times than I can count. I’m actually kind of glad that you finally got to experience it. Trust me, by the time Isaiah wakes up from his nap, it’ll be like nothing even happened. Kids have the quickest rebound ratio out of us all. They snap back like it’s nothing.”

“Yeah but he looked so...”

“Betrayed?” Elise laughed once more and shook her head. “Yeah, I’m sure he is. You’re probably the last person he ever expected to punish him like that.”

“It’s not funny,” Jesse stated, pretending to be hurt.

“Jesse,” Elise said, suddenly serious. She took a step towards him and reached for his arm. “Give yourself a little credit, would you? You’re an amazing father. You love Isaiah, and trust me, the responsibilities attached to that aren’t always easy ones.”

Jesse looked surprised as he stared at her. “I thought for sure you were going to be pissed off at me.”

Elise shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “You did the right thing.”

Jesse couldn’t believe his ears. He looked deep into Elise’s eyes, and she didn’t so much as flinch beneath his gaze. Something about it scared him. He cleared his throat and took a step back. “Well, uh…I’m gonna go rest for a bit. I’m pretty drained.”

“Yeah, okay,” Elise stammered, turning to look at him as he slid open the door.

Later that afternoon, Elise sat on her bed and watched Deanna pack her suitcase as Isaiah played with his action figures on the floor. Just like Elise had said, he was already over the incident with Jesse.

“God, I wish you could stay longer,” Elise spoke up.

“Me too.” Deanna smiled over her shoulder. “But I had a really nice trip, and I’m glad to see things are working out so well for you and Isaiah.”

“Yeah.” Elise nodded. She wasn’t in the mood to get into another longwinded conversation about Jesse. “I at least wish I could drive you to the airport,” she continued, changing the subject and nodding at her ankle.

“Oh please.” Deanna waved a hand in the air. “Jesse assured me that he doesn’t mind. I’ll be in good hands.”

When Elise didn’t say anything, Deanna stopped folding her clothing to study her. An air of sadness practically exuded off of her. Deanna walked over to her and placed a soft hand against her cheek. There was one last thing she needed to say to her before she left. If she didn’t, she’d be kicking herself her entire flight.

“Stop fighting it.”

It only took looking into Deanna’s eyes for Elise to know what she was referring to. “Deanna it’s not…I just…never mind.” Elise sighed and shook her head.

“It’s not what?”

“It’s not about
me.
”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Deanna took Elise by the hand and forced her to meet her gaze. “This has always been about you. You’re the only one in charge of your fate. Not Jesse, not Isaiah, not me.
You.
”

“Yeah well…it’s too late,” Elise began, trailing off when she saw Isaiah staring up at her.

“You love him,” Deanna said. “It’s never too late.”

Elise didn’t refute her words. Her eyes were still fixated upon her son. How could she
not
love the man who had a hand in making him possible?

“You know what you have to do,” Deanna said, resuming her packing. “You just have to stop being scared.”

When it was time for Deanna to depart for the airport, Elise was surprised by how hard it was for her to say goodbye. She held onto her tightly and Isaiah mirrored her actions, giving Deanna a big hug and kiss before allowing his mother to lead him off to bed.

The ride to the airport was a quiet one. Deanna was exhausted and anxious about making it through customs, and Jesse wasn’t all that talkative either.

“Thanks again for bringing me out,” Deanna told him when they pulled up to the terminal. “It felt so good to see them again.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jesse said, keeping his eyes on the flow of traffic in front of him.

Deanna could tell by his tense body language that he wanted to avoid another in-depth conversation about his relationship, or lack of one, with Elise.

After securing a spot near the curb, Jesse hopped out of the car and retrieved Deanna’s luggage from the back. “Want me to help you bring it in?” he offered.

“I’m fine,” Deanna said with a shake of her head. “Thanks though.”

Jesse didn’t argue. He held out his hand for Deanna to shake and she pulled him in for a hug instead. As they broke apart, she reached up and touched the side of his face.

“Don’t give up on her,” Deanna said, speaking seriously. “She might never admit it, but she needs you just as much as he does.”

“I don’t know what you mean…” Jesse trailed off.

“Don’t lie to me, Jesse,” Deanna warned him. “I’m not a fan of that, remember?”

Jesse smirked and gave Deanna one last hug before returning to his car. He thought long and hard about her words his entire drive home.

Chapter Fifty-One

Jesse arrived home from dropping Isaiah off at school just as Elise was contemplating whether or not she should wash his sheets along with her own.

“Elise?” Jesse said as he came up behind her in his bedroom. “Do you need something?”

Elise jumped at the sound of his voice. “Oh, hi,” she said, turning to face him. “I was just going to wash your sheets. I was doing all the other bedding so I…I just figured I’d throw yours in, too.”

“That’s alright. I’ll wash them later.” 

Elise was about to respond, but a sharp pain shot its way through her ankle before she could. She sat down on Jesse’s bed, gripping hold of it until it finally passed.

“You okay?” Jesse questioned, taking a seat beside her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Elise assured him. When she caught a glimpse of a small jewelry box on his bedside table, she raised an eyebrow and met eyes with him. “What’s in there?” she questioned without thinking, nodding at it.

Jesse followed her gaze and scrambled to come up with a response. “Uh, nothing,” he said. “I—I was going to take it back to the store, but I lost the receipt.”

Elise raised an eyebrow. Jesse’s odd behavior only made her all the more curious about what was inside the box. She stared at it long and hard, and in a matter of seconds, it clicked that it was something for her. She met eyes with Jesse as the realization settled upon her. Suddenly, she had all the motivation and courage she needed to tell him how she felt.

“Jesse, I…”

“Look, Elise, I know you…”

They began speaking at the exact same moment.

Elise hesitated for a second before shaking her head. “Never mind. I’m sure you’re tired from being up so late last night. You should get some rest.”

Jesse stared at her for a moment before relenting. “Yeah, okay,” he said, forcing a yawn. “You’re probably right.”

Elise nodded and stood up, making her way towards the door. “Jesse,” she spoke up, hesitating with her hand on the frame.

Jesse swallowed hard as he waited for her to speak, but the words never came. When he noticed the defeated look on her face as she limped away, his heart tightened up against his ribcage. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to follow her.

A few hours later, Elise was walking out of the kitchen when Jesse made his way downstairs with bloodshot eyes and clothing wrinkled from sleeping.

“I’m gonna go pick Isaiah up from school,” he noted, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. “Did you want me to grab anything while I’m out?”

“No.” Elise didn’t think over her next words for very long before blurting them out. “The only thing I want is you.”

Jesse knit his brows together in thought. He was sure that he’d misunderstood her. “What?”

Elise swallowed down her pride and took a step towards him. “Jesse…I…I know you said you couldn’t do this anymore…but I’m asking you to reconsider.”

“What?” Jesse asked again, shaking his head in confusion.

“Jesse, I love you,” Elise admitted. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come around. I was just scared. But I…I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep tiptoeing around my feelings for you.”

Jesse stared at Elise as though he was lost in her eyes. The expression on his face was impossible to gauge. “I—I’m going to be late,” he finally found it in himself to say. “I’ve got to go get Isaiah. I hate being the last parent in the carpool...”

Elise’s breath caught in her throat as she watched him walk out the front door without any further input. Had he really just rejected her? Ignoring the throbbing pain in her leg, she began to busy herself with tiding up the house, but the encounter wouldn’t stop replaying in her head. She didn’t even have it in her to be angry. The entire experience had left her feeling defeated and hollow.

It was time for her to face the truth.

She’d waited too long.