I pull up at her place, just as I do nearly every day, when Jackson has football training and Kaylah is stranded for a ride, only usually she’s standing out front waiting for me. My brows furrow, if she’s going to be late then she sends me a text with a turd emoji. I double-check my phone, maybe I missed it while I was driving. Nope, something’s up.
I get out of my car and make my way to the front door. I knock a few times and after hearing her yelling, “Go away,” from somewhere inside, I take it upon myself to see what’s going on.
I open the door, thankful at first it hadn't been locked, though we really need to discuss her leaving the door open when she's home alone. It's not like she lives somewhere particularly safe. We’re in fucking Haven Falls where there are mobsters, drugs, and probably a handful of rapists.
“Tiger?” I call, walking into her living room.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Kaylah grumbles from somewhere deeper in her home. “Of course you went and welcomed yourself in.”
What the hell has gotten into her? I find myself grinning at her attitude as I start searching for her. She’s so fiery, I absolutely love it. “Marco?” I laugh.
“Fuck off.”
I walk down the hallway toward her bedroom and stop at her door. It’s cracked just a bit and I give it a light push. The door slowly swings open and I find Kaylah glaring at me from her bed. “What’s up with you?” I ask with a grin, loving how cranky she appears.
“Don’t take another step,” Kaylah warns. “Or I’ll be forced to tear your ball sack from your body and feed it to you.”
I make a show of leaning against the doorframe, though I don't doubt that the amusement on my face is making things a lot worse. “What’s going on, babe? Are you sick? We have to leave or we’ll be late for school.”
“I’m not going.”
“Why?”
Her eyes flick away and her cheeks flame and when she looks back at me, her bottom lip is pouting and there are tears welling in her eyes. “It’s shark week and I’ve got no supplies.”
My face scrunches. “The fuck? I didn’t realize you were into that shit. If you wanted a chill day to stay home and watch ‘Jaws’ then you should have just said so. I could have brought popcorn.”
Kaylah’s head falls as her hands cover her beautiful face. “No, you idiot. You’re as bad as my brother.”
“Okay, you’re going to have to help me out here because I’m lost.”
“Shark week is another way of saying that I have my period without actually having to say it.”
Understanding dawns. “Ohhh,” I laugh before making more sense of her earlier comments about not having supplies. My eyes widen in understanding. “Ohhh.”
Kaylah keeps her head hidden in her hands, clearly embarrassed by her situation before wanting an extra layer of protection and pulling her blanket right up over her head. “Now that I’m utterly ashamed and embarrassed, can you go? Mom won’t be home till later this afternoon to save me, so we could hang out tonight, you know if you haven't run for the hills before then.”
“No way. I’m here for you, babe. What do you need?”
She drops her blanket just a smidge and looks up at me from under her lashes. “You’re going to go to the store to buy me tampons?”
“If that’s what you need.”
“You’re insane.”
“And you’re fucking adorable when you’re embarrassed.”
Her eyes shimmer with love. “Thank you. Any other guy would have been out the door in the blink of an eye.”
I grin. “Not me, personally, I think having your period is a beautiful thing.” Kaylah gawks at me as though I’m insane and I continue. “It confirms there’s no bun in that oven.”
“You’re an idiot,” she laughs.
I wink, knowing just how much she likes it. “So, just tampons? Is there anything else on your shopping list?”
“Nope.”
“You got it, babe,” I tell her. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
I skip out of her room feeling like a fucking hero being able to help her like this. If I don’t, she’s going to have a pretty shitty day, and I just can’t let that happen.
“Are you sure you know what you’re looking for?” she calls at my retreating back.
How hard could it be? “I’ve got it under control,” I tell her. There’s a sharp laugh coming from her room and I roll my eyes as I step out into the morning air.
I get into my car and within five minutes I’m pulling up at the store. After parking and getting my ass through the door, I go searching for the correct aisle and finally find it right toward the end.
I turn down the aisle and the further I get, the more daunting this task becomes. What the fuck did I just get myself into? There are rows upon rows of these things. Different colors, sizes, brands…wait. What the fuck is a diva cup?
I’m so out of my league.
I stop right in the center and try not to look frightened. I can do this. I don’t even have to talk myself up this much when I’m launching myself off the roof and into the pool or swinging from the second story chandelier.
Alright, Jess. You’ve got this. You’re a fucking legend. A tampon will not be your downfall.
I start looking over them, feeling completely lost. There are ones for ‘women on the go’ with a woman running on the front, clearly, this is for sports mode or there’s a woman in white, lazing about and that’s got to be for regular around the house type days.
I pull out my phone and ignore the text from Nate wondering why the hell I’m not at school.
Jesse – Do you plan on going into sports mode today?
Kaylah – What?
Jesse – Will you be working out or chilling at home?
Kaylah – Chilling at home??????
Problem solved. I go to reach for it when I notice there are sizing. What the fuck? I lean in closer, wanting to read all the options. Okay, we’ve got slim, regular, super, super plus, and ultra. Ultra? What? Surely, that must be for women who just had babies.
As for Kaylah…hmm. I glance down. I’m not exactly a small guy. I’d definitely consider myself a little more than regular, but the question is super or super plus? I grin to myself, feeling pretty fucking confident and grab one of each. After all, it’s better to be safer than sorry.
I start walking out of the aisle when I pass by the pads and just to be a fucking brilliant kind of guy, I figure I’ll grab her some of these too. I go to pick up a packet when something has me reaching for my phone again.
Jesse – Wings? What the fuck are wings?
Kaylah – …
Kaylah – What the hell are you doing in there? You’ve been gone for nearly an hour!
Jesse – So…no wings?
Kaylah – No wings.
Jesse – Wait…as in you want the ones with no wings or you don’t want them at all.
Kaylah – AT ALL!!!!!!!
I laugh to myself as I back away from the pads.
Jesse – How about a diva cup? Or liners. There are also period undies, though you’re really going to have to explain this shit to me when I get back because this is blowing my fucking mind!!
Kaylah – WTF! JUST GET THE TAMPONS AND LEAVE!!!!!!
Kaylah – Wait…get some liners too.
Jesse – You got it, babe.
I slip my phone back into my pocket and grab it all anyway. Kaylah can be a little indecisive at times and I don’t want to be accused of limiting her options. My girl deserves it all.
I put it all down in front of the cash register and the woman smiles at me and she rings it all up. “Are these for your girlfriend?” she asks, amused.
“Well, they’re certainly not for me.”
She laughs. “First time?”
“Is it that obvious?”
She looks over the selection before us. “You did a very thorough job,” she commends before nodding towards the aisle filled with candies and chocolate bars. “Do yourself a favor and grab som
e of that, a carton of ice cream, a few trashy magazines, and some painkillers.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m walking out of the store with four full grocery bags and feeling pretty fucking proud of myself. I get back to Kaylah’s house and barely get through the door before she’s tearing the bag with her tampons out of my arms and rushing off to the bathroom.
I walk down into her room and dump all the bags on her bed before heading back to the kitchen and pouring her a glass of water. I drop a few ice cubes in when I hear Kaylah calling out. “What the fuck is all this stuff?” she laughs. “There’s enough here to last me until next Christmas.”
I grin to myself and by the time I finish in the kitchen, she’s stepping out of the bathroom with the boxes of tampons in her hand. Kaylah beams at me. “Just curious, how did you decide on super plus?”
“Umm…isn’t it obvious?”
Kaylah shakes her head before walking back toward her room. “You’re such a guy.” She pushes through her door and I hear the excited gasps as she goes through the bags on her bed. Not a second later, she comes running out of her room making me wish I’d have picked up the sports mode ones.
Kaylah reaches me and throws herself across the couch, coming down in my arms with a beaming smile. “You’re the best, Jesse. Thank you.”
She kisses me deeply and I hold her tight feeling as though, at this moment, I’ve got everything that I’ll ever need.
Chapter 10
Kaylah
Jesse pulls me in hard against his chest and the movement has me waking way earlier than I had planned. We were out all night partying at Tyson’s place and only just got back two hours ago. I expected Jesse would sleep well into the afternoon, but here we are at 6 am and I’m about ready to kill him.
“Morning, Tiger,” Jesse murmurs in his sleepy morning voice.
I roll in his arms and hook my leg over his hip while snuggling deeper into his chest. “No,” I grumble, shaking my head and refusing to open my eyes. “It’s nowhere near morning.”
Jesse’s arm curls around me until his hand is firmly grabbing my ass. His chest rumbles with a soft laugh and I drift back off to sleep, absolutely loving being in his arms.
I wake an hour later to the soft sounds of the TV and reluctantly peel my eyes open to find Jesse sitting up against the headboard of his bed with his PlayStation controller in his hand. “How’d you sleep?” he asks, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.
I stretch my arms out as a yawn rips through me. “Like a baby,” I say through my yawn.
“You?”
“Couldn’t.”
My brows furrow as I grab my pillow and wrap my arms around it. “Why not?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. Probably had something to do with the girl who was sprawled out, diagonally across the bed.”
I hold back a smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m an angel to sleep with.” Jesse scoffs, clearly not on the same page with my comments. I nudge him with my toes. “You could have just pushed me over.”
“I tried,” he laughs. “You just kept coming back.”
I grin up at him. “What can I say? You’re irresistible to me, even in my sleep.”
A cocky smirk crosses his lips as he busily presses the buttons on his controller, deep in concentration. I roll my eyes, loving how much he likes to have his ego stroked…and other things.
I grab my phone and start scrolling through my Instagram and Facebook, not nearly ready to get out of bed. Photos from last night’s party are appearing on nearly every other post and I laugh as I scroll through them. There are pictures of Tora and Nate celebrating after shutting down Phoenix yesterday, Jesse being an idiot and flying Superman-style off Tyson’s roof, Puck and Courtney making out and Brylee dancing up against Tyson, though I don’t know what that’s about.
As I continue scrolling, one picture has me stopping. It’s me and Jackson at each other’s throats while Elle stands at Jackson’s side looking bored and Jesse at my back, glaring at my brother. I let out a heavy sigh. Jackson and I cleared the air a little while ago and while things have certainly been a lot easier, every time he sees me with Jesse, he can’t help but have something to say about it.
“So…I’ve been thinking.”
“Hmm?” he questions, still completely engrossed with his PlayStation.
“I think it’s time you made nice with Jackson and became friends.”
Silence. Complete and utter silence.
“Jess?” I ask. “Did you hear me?”
“Oh, yeah, I heard you,” he says. “I’m just trying to figure out which doctor to send you to because surely there’s something wrong with you. Maybe you’ve hit your head.”
I narrow my eyes at him but of course, he doesn’t see it. I sit up in bed. “Seriously? This is my brother we’re talking about. He’s one of the most important people in my life. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
Jesse scoffs and I sit up straight, pissed off with his dismissal. “I’ve made an effort with Nate. Why can’t you do the same for me?”
“Because the guy is a douche,” Jesse grumbles.
I clench my jaw, trying to hold back my anger but after spending the night drinking far too much, my hangover really isn’t helping. “You’re a douche,” I fire back at him, feeling way too defensive. “Jackson is an amazing guy and if you’d just give him a chance, you’d see that.”
“Sorry, Tiger. It ain’t going to happen.”
“What happened to all those promises you made me at the start about making it work with him? I believe what you said was, ‘If that’s what you fucking need from me, then that’s what you get.’”
Jesse groans, pausing for a moment to have some ridiculous ninja fight on his PlayStation. “I’m not denying that I said that. I stand by it completely, and I have. I’m mostly chill with your brother. I’ve backed off but I’m not becoming his best fucking friend. It’s never going to happen, babe, so you might as well forget about it.”
I fly to my feet. “Why do you have to make this so difficult for me? Do you have any idea what kind of position you’re putting me in?”
Jesse leans over, trying to see his TV screen around me. “Chill out, babe.”
“Chill out?” I screech in anger. “I’ll give you chill out.”
Jess scoffs again and in the blink of an eye, I spin around and rip his PlayStation away from the TV. “What the fuck are you doing?” he yells.
I don’t wait around.
I run for my fucking life, out his bedroom door, and down the stairs. “You sleazy, little, cock sucker,” I scream over my shoulder as Jesse comes bounding out behind me.
I throw myself out the backdoor, making sure to pull it closed behind me before hurrying into the pool area. Jesse comes storming out, standing at the opposite side of the pool. “I told you. I’m not going to fucking do it,” he roars, even more pissed off now that I currently have his PlayStation hanging out over the water.
“I swear to God, Jess,” I growl. “Do it or the stupid thing gets it.”
“Don’t you dare,” he panics, slowly walking around the pool, though with every step he takes, I do the same. I narrow my eyes at him, letting him know just how serious I am. It’s time for the two men in my life to make it work.
“Babe,” Jesse says, trying to calm me, flicking his eyes between me and his beloved PlayStation. “Quit messing around.”
“I’m serious,” I tell him. “I want you to fix it.”
“Do it,” a familiar voice comes from the second-story window. I glance up to find Nate and Tora hanging out his bedroom window, both with amused grins, egging me on.
“Dude,” Jesse calls in outrage to his brother. “You’re not fucking helping.”
“Yeah, well this is what you get when all your bullshit wakes me up. Do it, Kaylah.”
Jesse’s eyes flick back towards me while shaking his head in fear. “Babe, come on,” he murmurs low, just for me to hear. Quietly begging
for the safety of his PlayStation.
Tora calls down to us. “What the hell are you guys even fighting about?”
A smirk crosses my lips as Jesse continues glaring at me. “She wants me to make nice with her brother.”
Tora laughs softly. “I think it’s a great idea. Jackson is pretty cool once you get to know him.”
“Geez,” Nate scoffs. “You’re taking it a bit far, don’t you think?”
I scowl up at him, but Tora is the one to jump to my brother’s defense. “He is cool,” she says with a slight shrug.
“For a douchebag,” Nate grunts, making me roll my eyes at how the brothers’ comments are so similar.
“Will you two shut up?” Jesse scolds, glancing back up at them. “I’m trying to save my PlayStation here.”
“There’s only one way for you to save this stupid thing,” I remind him, giving the PlayStation a wiggle while the muscles in my arm begin to strain.
“Over my dead body,” Jesse demands.
“Have it your way,” I tell him, watching him blanch as I pretend to drop the stupid thing.
Nate laughs. “I’ll make good with your brother if you throw it in.”
I glance up at him. I mean, I’m so down for Jesse to make this happen, but Nate making nice with Jackson would also be incredible. “Really?” I question, suspiciously. Nate nods and I give him a bright smile. “Okay.”
Jesse sucks in a sharp breath, knowing this time I won’t be fucking around. I bring my arm back and launch it forward, letting the PlayStation fly through the air.
“No,” Jesse screeches, throwing himself off the side of the pool towards the falling PlayStation.
Oh, Shit. Did I actually just do that? He’s going to kill me.
Jesse catches the PlayStation just as his body crashes into the water but he’s completely parallel, so no matter how high he reaches above the water, they’re both going down.
“Fuck,” Jesse roars as his body crashes down into the water. He holds the PlayStation up above his head but it doesn’t change the fact that water is currently rushing off both him and the machine. “You’re so fucking lucky that I love you.”
Jesse: Broken Hill Boys (Novella 5) Page 6
