Stronger with You (With You Trilogy)

by R. J. Sable

  “Game or not, you don’t hit a woman.”

  “It’s only yellow car, Jason,” I said gently, taking his hand.

  “You don’t hit a woman,” he repeated.

  “She was sleeping, Matt,” Ian intervened, resting his arm on Matt’s shoulder. “It doesn’t count.”

  Matt looked like he might protest but he shot Jason a final pissed off glare and followed Ian to get a coffee.

  “Looking after me as always?” I grinned up at Jason.

  “Someone has to,” he frowned.

  I leaned up to kiss him chastely on the lips. “Do you think you could do it a little more diplomatically?” I teased, squeezing his hands gently.

  “I don’t really do diplomatic,” he grinned, relaxing a little.

  “One of the things you’re not good at?” I goaded him.

  “Made up for by the things that I am good at,” he smirked with a gleam in his eye.

  “Very true,” I nodded.

  We joined my brothers at the coffee shop and Ian called Jake to let him know when we’d arrive as the others ordered coffee.

  “I got it,” Jason nodded, putting his card into the slot.

  “Damn straight,” Karl nodded.

  “You owe us a lifetime supply of coffee,” Danny added.

  “Oh?” Jason said, cocking his head at Danny. “And why’s that?”

  “We’re letting you have Jelly,” Rick shrugged, as if it was obvious.

  “Letting me?” Jason scowled. “That choice is Jamie’s and Jamie’s alone.”

  The twins laughed and shook their heads, retreating to the end of the coffee bar to fetch their drinks.

  “It was the best choice I ever made,” I grinned at him, hoping to ease the tension in his shoulders. “You’re going to die of stress if you don’t stop taking everything they say so seriously, Jason.”

  He smirked at me as he collected his coffee and handed me mine. We sat on the last two chairs at the table, the twins on my left and Craig on Jason’s right.

  “What did Jake say?” Karl asked Ian.

  “That if he wakes up tied to a tree tomorrow he won’t be impressed,” Ian grinned.

  “Not a bad idea,” Karl laughed.

  “I was going to suggest a lamppost,” Danny smirked.

  “I thought trees and lamp posts were for twenty-fifth birthdays?” I chuckled at them.

  “Nope, twenty-fifth is the mysterious bus trip,” Rick said, grinning maliciously at Craig.

  “Bus trip?” Jason asked.

  “Yep,” Danny nodded. “I woke up in Dover,” he scowled, looking thunderous at the memory.

  “Aberdeen,” Rick grimaced when Jason looked in his direction.

  “If I end up in Skegness you’ll regret it,” Craig scowled at the twins. He’d be turning twenty-five in September.

  “What about thirty?” Jason asked.

  I looked up at Ian expectantly. He was the only one that had reached that milestone. He was also the one that thought up the stupid pranks they put each other through.

  “It’s a surprise,” he smirked wickedly at Matt and Karl. They did not look happy.

  “What was eighteen?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t remember,” Rick said, looking thoughtful.

  “How can you not remember?” Danny scoffed.

  “We’d be happy to give you a reminder tonight,” Ian offered.

  “Oh, shit. I remember now,” Rick grimaced.

  “What?” Jason asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  “The naked one-nighter,” Ian answered.

  “Do I want to know?” Jason asked, his eyebrow raised.

  “It involves waking up with a fugly-ass girl and finding that your clothes have disappeared,” Craig shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that girl Jake ended up with was a dude though.”

  My brothers all laughed evilly. I shook my head at them. Sometimes it felt like they went out of their way to humiliate each other. It almost made me glad we didn’t celebrate my birthday.

  “At least you all woke up in a hotel room,” Karl scowled.

  “Would you rather I left you with another woman?” Ian grinned.

  “No, but the car park was a bit extreme. Brought a new definition to the term blue balls,” Karl grumbled.

  “You guys are evil,” Jason grinned.

  We finished off our coffees during the birthday prank banter and returned to the cars. I kissed Jason before he got into the car and held my arms around him tightly, even when someone tried to pull us apart.

  “I love you,” I grinned up at him.

  “I love you too,” he answered, kissing my nose.

  “Cut it out,” Matt warned, successfully pulling me away this time.

  I rolled my eyes at him and ducked into the car before he could get me back. The moment he got into the car he reached over and pinched my arm twice.

  “Once for the eye roll, once for trying to get away,” he grinned.

  “If I pinched you guys every time you rolled your eyes, how would you feel?” I frowned.

  “Like I wanted payback,” Matt warned. “It’s disrespectful, Jelly.”

  “Then how come you all get to do it?” I asked. I knew I was pushing my luck but I was trying to make a point.

  “Because we’re older,” Matt shrugged as though it was a sufficient answer.

  I sighed inwardly and clamped my mouth shut. I’d been lucky to get away with challenging him on it in the first place, I wasn’t about to test my luck further.

  “Are you really going to tie Jake to a lamppost?” I asked Ian as we pulled back onto the motorway.

  “We’ll see,” he shrugged. “I’m thinking Grey’s monument.”

  “There’ll be a lot of CCTV cameras there,” Karl said, shaking his head gently.

  “True,” Ian shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  I shook my head at them. I definitely wouldn’t choose to spend a birthday tied to a statue.

  I listened to the three of them talking as I idly watched the cars go by. I spotted four yellow cars before Matt but he spotted a mini and two others. He hit harder so I’m pretty sure that counted as a win for him.

  My eyebrows rose as we pulled into the car park of the hotel. It was a very modern, white brick construction with impressive long glass panels defining the façade. It was stoic, looming, and totally dominated its surroundings. It fits my brothers perfectly, I mused to myself, watching the BMW pull into the bay next to us.

  I hopped out of the car and walked over to Jason, pulling him away from my brothers so that we could talk without them sticking their noses in.

  “The drive okay?” I asked, wincing a little and hoping my brothers hadn’t give him a hard time

  “It was fine,” he chuckled. “Were you worried about me?” He cocked his head with an amused grin.

  “A little,” I admitted, my cheeks heating up.

  “I can handle myself, Jamie. You don’t need to worry about me,” he smiled, brushing my cheek with his finger.

  “So you keep saying, but it’s two-nil to them so far,” I frowned.

  “I haven’t fought back so far,” he reminded me.

  I sighed and leaned into his chest, breathing him in and relaxing a little. I didn’t really want to think about that.

  “The trip was fine, Jamie. I chatted with Craig most of the way,” he reassured me.

  “Good. I’m glad you two get along okay,” I smiled.

  “He’s alright,” Jason smiled back and leaned down to kiss me. A soft, gentle kiss which was probably intended not to affront my brothers too much.

  “You need a reminder of the rules, Reed?” Craig shouted over at us.

  Jason pulled away from the kiss and sighed deeply, resting his forehead against mine. “Can I retract that last statement,” he smirked, pulling back away from me.

  “Nope, too late,” I grinned. “I wish you could be with me today,” I added, my shoulders sagging.

  “Me too,” Jason fro
wned. “I won’t be far if you need me though.”

  “I’ll be with my brothers, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me,” I smiled.

  Jason raised his eyebrow and gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe that one little bit, but he wisely kept quiet.

  “Jelly!” Ian called. “Get your ass here.”

  I sighed inwardly and gave Jason another kiss, a little more intimate this time to compensate for its brevity. “I love you,” I breathed against his lips as we broke it off.

  “I love you too, little squirrel,” he smiled, taking my hand and walking me to where Ian and the others were waiting. “Have fun, say happy birthday to Jake from me.” He nodded to my brothers before hugging me one last time, his warm breath against my hair.

  “Later, Reed,” Craig grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the hotel.

  “Jesus, Jelly,” Matt rolled his eyes. “Anyone’d think you weren’t going to see each other again for a year.”

  Chapter 13

  Saturday, 26th January 2013

  I followed my brothers to reception, admiring the modern décor. Ian shot the orange-tinted, perfectly made-up receptionist his winning grin as he handed her a printout of our reservation.

  I barely resisted rolling my eyes when Miss Orange fell over herself trying to be helpful to Ian. I scanned the foyer, taking in the clean space with it’s bold but sympathetic photography and artwork.

  I spotted Jake coming through the main doors with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He looked great in worn denim wash jeans, a white, V-neck t-shirt, and a smart, black blazer. I nudged Craig and nodded in Jake’s direction.

  “Jake’s here,” Craig announced, already grinning with a glimmer of mischief in his eye.

  “Jakey-poo!” Danny called.

  Jake’s cheeks were already burning and I saw his eyes dart to the door. He was no doubt contemplating whether it was worth making a break for it.

  “Alright,” Jake nodded at them awkwardly, standing a few feet away.

  The twins circled round so that he was trapped between them and my other brothers. I avoided his eyes. He was probably worried enough about what the others were planning, having me here must really have been putting salt on the wound

  “What time is it?” Karl asked, looking at Matt conspiratorially.

  Matt cottoned on quickly and smirked. “I’d say it was time for birthday bumps.”

  Jake shook his head emphatically, his eyes darting around looking for a means of escape but the others had him surrounded.

  When we were kids, birthday bumps were done the traditional way but as they’d gotten older and heavier, they’d turned it into an excuse to give each other a dead arm.

  Jake made a break for it; he obviously thought his chances were highest with Karl because he darted in his direction. Karl was the biggest of my brothers, but a little slower for it, and Jake was his exact opposite. He was usually very quick. Today, though, he wasn’t quick enough. Matt caught him as he tried to bolt between them.

  “So, twenty-one,” Matt grinned, pinning Jake’s hands behind his back. “There’s five of us,” he nodded round at my brothers, not counting Ian who was still talking to the receptionist. “That’s four each,” he grinned. “And one for Jelly.”

  I shook my head so hard I thought it might fall off but none of them noticed. They were too busy closing in on Jake. There is no way I’m participating in this. Matt held both Jake’s arms still and he squirmed with everything he had but he wasn’t getting anywhere. Eventually, he let his shoulders sag and gave up.

  “Fine,” he spat through clenched teeth. “Just get it over with.”

  “There you go, Jake,” Karl goaded. “Just go with the flow, it’ll be a lot easier on you that way.”

  Jake made a little snorting noise but didn’t reply.

  “Chip and Dale,” he nodded to the twins. “You’re up first.”

  “With pleasure,” they grinned. They closed in on Jake who shrank back into Matt as best he could.

  “Left or right?” Danny asked.

  “Left,” Jake grumbled.

  “Right it is,” Danny nodded.

  “You know how it goes, Jake,” Karl encouraged. “Count ‘em or we start over.”

  Jake nodded glumly and counted out the twins’ eight blows, wincing as each landed. I was pretty sure the twins pulled their punches a little. That’s something, I guess. Jake still looked less than pleased.

  “Craig,” Matt nodded.

  Craig didn’t say anything but punched the exact same spot four times over in quick succession. He definitely pulled his punches, although I doubt Jake noticed. He looked like he was fighting hard not to cry. His voice sounded close to breaking as he spat out the twelfth count.

  “Switch,” Matt gestured his head towards the twins who took over restraining Jake.

  They were all crowded around him and the foyer was otherwise empty. Not that Jake would make a fuss. We’d all known it was coming and the others would give him grief for years if he didn’t just take it. They all had.

  Matt went next and he didn’t hold back. I almost asked him to stop, it was painful to watch. I could see Jake clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and his eyes were clenched shut.

  Matt paused a little between each blow, making Jake say the count over again if he didn’t deem it loud or clear enough. By the time it was Karl’s turn I was extremely impressed that Jake wasn’t bawling his eyes out and begging them to stop.

  I wasn’t sure how hard Karl hit him but I think it was past the point of being important. I doubted he could feel the blows anymore.

  “Jelly,” Karl beckoned me over.

  “I’m not going to hit him,” I shook my head adamantly.

  “Yes, you are,” Karl said firmly, a flicker of irritation crossing his brow.

  “I won’t,” I shook my head and took a step back, straight into Craig who was stood behind me.

  Craig gave me a gentle shove forwards and Karl pulled me over to Jake’s side.

  “I’m not going to hit him,” I whined, trying to pull away from Karl’s grip.

  “If you don’t, we’ll start all over again,” Karl grinned.

  I saw Jake’s eyes flash up at Karl in horror. I doubted he could force himself to go through it all over again.

  “Karl, I-” I started to beg but Jake cut me off.

  “Just fucking get it over with, Jelly,” Jake grunted at me through clenched teeth, his eyes not meeting mine.

  I took a deep breath and resigned myself to the situation.

  “And, Jelly,” Karl grunted, getting my attention. “If you don’t do it properly… we’ll start again anyway.”

  I swallowed and nodded my comprehension. He knew Jake hated me, why did he want to make the situation worse? I drew my arm back and hit Jake’s poor, battered arm with moderate force, feeling more than a little guilty.

  “Twenty-one,” he grunted, sighing with relief and pulling away the instant the twins released him. He held his elbow, just below where we’d hit him and glared at us all.

  “And one for good luck,” Ian grinned, landing a quick, sharp blow on Jake’s arm as he came up behind us.

  “Fuck!” Jake cried, his left hand shooting up to cradle his arm. “Bastard!”

  “Watch your mouth, birthday boy,” Ian warned, ruffling Jake’s hair.

  Jake shot him a glare that usually had me running to hide in the bathroom but Ian just laughed and nodded back to the receptionist.

  “Kelly’s got your room keys all sorted.” He grabbed a selection of card keys out of his back pocket. “Matt and Karl,” he nodded to them and handed them a key each. “Room 207”

  The two of them accepted their room keys and sauntered off towards the lifts with their bags.

  “Chip and Dale, 208.”

  The twins followed suit and I started getting worried, are we all sharing rooms? It hadn’t really occurred to me. I sent up a silent prayer tha
t Jake wasn’t going to get stuck with me.

  “Craig,” Ian turned to Craig and handed him a key before turning to look at Jake and I. His eyes flicked back and forth between the two of us, as though he was deciding which of us to choose. “Jelly, you go with Craig. Room 206. Jake and I will be in 205.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief as I followed them to the lifts. If I had gotten to pick whose room I slept in then it would have been Craig’s. I usually got along with him.

  “Back down in the lobby in fifteen,” Ian said as Craig opened the door to our room.

  “Least I ended up with you and not Jake,” Craig scowled once we were alone.

  “He snores,” I nodded my agreement and Craig chuckled.

  “Are you actually going to be sleeping here tonight?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

  “What do you mean by that?” He smirked.

  “I just assumed you’d find some random girl,” I shrugged.

  “You calling me a manwhore, Jellybean?” Craig frowned, taking a few steps closer and trapping me between him and the bed.

  “Your words not mine,” I grinned. Oh dear, I hope he takes that as a joke.

  Craig looked amused but made a grab for me anyway. I ducked under his arm and rolled over the bed so that I was on the other side.

  “I was only kidding!” I exclaimed as he came around the bed. “I’m sorry!” I bit my lip nervously and backed up against the wall next to the bed, my body starting to tremble.

  “Hey,” Craig frowned. “I was only messing with you.” He stopped a few feet short of me and sat down on the bed.

  “Sorry,” I said uncertainly. “I thought you were angry with me.”

  “You worry too much, sis,” he smiled. “I liked the spy-style duck and roll across the bed though, that was a nice touch.”

  “Thanks,” I grinned at him, relaxing somewhat. “But seriously, are you going to leave me on my own tonight?”

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” he grinned, kissing me on the head and making for the bathroom. “Get ready to go.”

  I switched my ankle boots out for a pair of trainers as per Ian’s instructions and removed my jewellery.

  We joined the others in the lobby. Jake was stood with two guys who I didn’t recognise, looking fairly relaxed. Once we were all together, Ian guided us out to the front of the hotel where a gargantuan, black, Hummer limo was waiting.