I Never Expected You

by Stefanie Jenkins

  “Hey!” Hails yells from my side.

  I put my arm around her, kissing her temple tenderly. “Babe, I love your cooking, but…”

  Before I can finish, she puts her forefinger in my face. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Zachary Jacobs!”

  Even though she narrows her eyes at me, I see the playful smile across her lips, so I bite her finger gently.

  Mom claps her hands together. “Okay, who’s hungry? We’ve got a full brunch spread made.”

  Mom walks over to the tray Kyler set down on the counter, unsure what to do with it.

  “Oh, I brought cinnamon rolls; they just need to be warmed up,” Dani interjects while wiping away her tears as she lifts the foil.

  Kyler coughs and raises his eyebrows at her. A weird exchange occurs between him and my sister, and I’m not sure what that’s all about.

  “Kyler made them.”

  “Well, then I’m definitely not eating them.” I grab a strawberry from the bowl on the counter and shove it in my mouth.

  Ky punches me in the arm and mumbles, “Asshole.”

  “Kyler! Language, please,” my mother scolds.

  I throw back my head in laughter and stick my tongue out at him.

  My mom hands me a plate of food to carry out to the dining room. “Go make yourself useful, Zachary. Shoo, get out of my kitchen.”

  She swats me with a dish towel, and I race out of the kitchen.

  “Damn, dude, these are delicious,” I tell Kyler as I pluck my second cinnamon roll from the plate and shove it in my mouth. I haven’t even finished chewing before I shout at him across the table. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me with your skills in the kitchen all these years.”

  Damn, if I knew he cooked this good, we wouldn’t have ordered so much takeout over the years.

  “Zachary Brian Jacobs, I know I taught you better manners than to talk with your mouth full,” my mother scolds.

  I look down at my lap as Dani and Haylee say, “Ooooooooooo,” at the same time followed by their typical giggling. I find myself smiling at how easy we all have fit back together; it’s as if no time has passed.

  “Nice to see you girls back to your ways,” my dad adds.

  Kyler grins at me. “Nah, man, I just had a good teacher.” He then turns toward Dani, wearing that same grin. “Dani even told me that next time she would teach me how to make that amazing veggie lasagna.”

  “Oh, now that sounds delicious.” Brian leans back in his chair across the table.

  “It’s no chicken parmesan that Ms. Natalie makes, but it’s definitely a top contender,” Dani adds before taking a sip of her drink.

  Natalie leans over with her elbows on the table. “Dani, we’re all adults now—I think we are old enough that you can drop the Ms. and just call me Natalie.”

  I used to think my sister made me look bad with all these manners, but once officially an adult, I got the same talk from her. Hopefully one day, I will just call her Ma as my mother-in-law. I push those thoughts aside. Today is not about that; it’s about my sister finally having the strength to come home, and everything feels as though it is back to normal, although one major piece is missing.

  “Okay,” Dani responds shyly down at her hands.

  Is it weird to realize that we’re all adults now?

  “I’m happy to hear you’re still creating in the kitchen though.” Natalie wears a proud expression on her face. My sister was the only one who picked up their talent for cooking and baking.

  “Of course, it’s my happy place. I found myself spending hours in my apartment creating new recipes and perfecting the ones you taught me over the years. I even used to make baked goods for two local coffee shops back in New Hampshire while I was waitressing.”

  “I would love to see these new recipes you’ve been working on.” My mom sits up straight in her chair, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

  “Maybe next time you guys can come to visit us, and I’ll make something.”

  Look at that—my sister is already discussing the next time she wants to see my parents. I would say that’s progress.

  “I’d love that.” Mom reaches over and grabs Dani’s hand.

  I can’t believe that neither my parents or the Hankses had driven to the house and barged through. If I were them, I’m pretty sure I would have.

  As small talk continues throughout the table, we are all back in our groove until in a flash my sister has pushed her chair back, knocking it over and rushing right out the back door onto the deck. What the fuck just happened? We all look around, unsure what to do. Kyler goes to get up, but my mom rises and puts her hand on his arm and smiles.

  “I’ve got this.” Placing her napkin down on her plate, she gets up and follows Dani.

  Quiet and awkwardness take over the room. Haylee reaches over and squeezes my thigh, giving me a reassuring smile.

  My dad is the first to chime in. “Why don’t we finish up here and you guys go relax on the couches while we clean up.”

  Ky, Haylee, and I look at each other before nodding. I try to focus on what’s going on outside, but I see that my mom and Dani have made their way down off the deck, I assume either for a walk or to sit down by the pool.

  I can’t find the appetite to finish the plate in front of me.

  Haylee leans over, forcing me to look in her direction. “Hey, you okay?”

  I shrug because honestly, I’m not sure. “Maybe this was all too much, too soon.”

  Maybe we had forced this all on her without her being ready.

  “She’s going to be okay. She’s so strong and has a heart full of love. Just like you.”

  I turn from looking outside at nothing back to my beautiful girlfriend and lean in, pressing my lips against hers. When we part, she blinks, staring up at me.

  “What was that for?”

  I smile at her, a genuine, honest smile that she is responsible for putting there. “For being you.”

  Once the three of us are done at the table, Dani and my mom still have not arrived back inside, so we move our conversation to the couches. Haylee and I take our usual spot while Kyler sits across from us. Not long after, my sister returns from outside, halting the side conversation Haylee and I were having. Her eyes are red, a visible sign of crying, but she has color in her cheeks and doesn’t look broken. Kyler leans in and whispers something, and she nods. She turns away from the conversation with Kyler to rub her hands over the couch.

  She’s going to be okay, and damn it if I’m not going to do everything in my power to make sure that statement is true.

  Cami: One more week till I’m back. Get excited biAtch!

  Me: Yay, I’ve missed you.

  Cami: I’ve missed you, too.

  Me: How’s lover boy?

  Cami: He’s not a boy. *winkface*

  Me: How’s lover man? Lol.

  Cami: Things are great. So much to fill you in on. His family is interesting, to say the least.

  Cami: Oh by the way, thanks a lot for ditching house sitting. *Eyeroll*

  Me: Whatever. When you originally proposed the idea, you just wanted me stopping by anyways. I stop by and get your mail after class.

  Me: It’s great being back in my own home though.

  Cami: Fill me in on what’s been going on?

  Me: There’s way too much to text, but here’s the cliff notes.

  Cami: You know I prefer cliff notes over the real thing anyways.

  Me: I think something might be going on between Kyler and Dani. They hang out a lot.

  Cami: No shit! Sex on a stick and the long lost sister? Damn, I miss everything.

  Cami: But how do you know they’re not just being friendly? Maybe she just doesn’t want to be a third wheel with you two – hello! Been there done that, so Ky is the only other option. Remember, Ky has been rocking the whole third wheel thing since the beginning so maybe he’s just tired of you guys.

  Me: I mean, I guess that could be, but it
’s the little things I’ve been picking up on that have my wheels turning.

  Cami: Like what?

  Me: Well, she never left the house, yet all of a sudden, he convinced her to go to dinner with him, Lauren and Kate.

  Cami: OMG! Did the Lawson twins eat her alive?!

  Me: No, that’s the thing. They hit it off great. Lauren even offered her a job at her school.

  Cami: Wow, I’m impressed. What else?

  Me: Dani invited him to brunch back in Annapolis when she was finally ready to go home and see her parents.

  Cami: I can’t believe I missed the big reunion.

  Cami: Maybe just for moral support?

  Me: No, something was weird about the little touches I picked up on.

  Me: Drinks when you get back?

  Cami: You betcha.

  Me: Well I need to get ready. We are going to Lucky’s for dinner and karaoke.

  Cami: And…now I want margaritas and tacos from there. Thanks a lot.

  Me: *wink face* Anytime.

  Me: Tell the professor I say hi.

  Cami: Will do. Tell Zach the same. Love you.

  Me: Love you too!

  “That was a cruel joke you played on your sister. You know that, right?” I ask Zach once he and I are alone at the table at our favorite dive bar, Lucky’s.

  Kyler, Zach and I discovered this place not long after we moved into the house. We all have a love for tacos, tequila, and karaoke. And that’s where their joke on Dani comes in. When we brought Dani here tonight, she apparently didn’t know that tonight was karaoke night. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, and the color drained from her face when Scott got on stage and announced they were ready to start karaoke. Dani has a fantastic voice, but it’s been years since I’ve heard her sing.

  Earlier tonight, Kyler and Zach tricked Dani into agreeing that she would get up to sing if they did. She easily agreed to it. I had to fight back the laughter as she thought she’d won; they’d played her so well, having convinced her that they didn’t do this regularly. I have seen these two perform songs such as “Islands in the Stream,” “You’re the One That I Want,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

  The joke was on her when they got up on stage and had the crowd pumping as they sang “When the Sun Goes Down” by Uncle Kracker and Kenny Chesney.

  “Hey, she got up and sang, didn’t she? And you heard her—she said she hadn’t felt that alive in so long. So ha!” A smug smile spreads across his face as he sits back in his chair, crossing his arms. After a moment, he reaches for his drink from the table and sips the last of his margarita. “And look she’s even dancing,” Zach says while looking around for the waiter to order another round.

  I look over to the makeshift dance floor where, just moments ago, Kyler led Dani, and my eyes go wide at what is unfolding in front of me. If I had had a drink in my hand, I definitely would have dropped it.

  Would you look at that? I so should have called that. There was no way those flirty looks exchanged between them earlier were just my imagination.

  “Yeah, babe, I don’t think dancing is the only thing on in her mind at the moment.”

  Zach finally turns to see what I mean by that only to see our best friends wrapped up in each other, and yep, his tongue is totally in her mouth. Sweet Jesus, they keep this up, and they’ll be fucking in the middle of the bar.

  “What the…” Zach leans forward on his chair. He looks over at me in shock before looking back at his sister and Kyler again.

  I lean over to Zach and whisper in his ear, “Go pay the bill.”

  “What?”

  I raise my eyebrows at him. “I said go pay the bill. Come on—I want to spend our last night at Cami’s, just us. And clearly…” I nod to the couple just a few feet ahead of us. “…they should get some alone time.”

  Zach cringes, and with the tequila flowing through my veins, I let out a loud snort.

  Zach goes off to pay the bill and returns just as Dani and Ky are making their way back to the table.

  Zach helps me into my jacket as Kyler approaches. “Leaving already?”

  “Yeah, well, I found myself ready for bed all of a sudden,” Zach responds before turning to me, a grin all over his face.

  Nice cover, babe. I decide to go along with it. I let out a fake yawn and giggle. Kyler keeps looking at us as if he’s trying to figure out what’s going on.

  “We’re gonna head out. Bill is paid—you got next time.”

  Kyler nods. “Thanks. See you at home?”

  “Nah, I think we’ll be staying at Cami’s tonight. She gets back in town tomorrow, so we’re going to take advantage of her place for one more night.” Zach waggles his eyebrows.

  Not to mention if what we witnessed on the dance floor is any indication of what is about to happen at home, we want to be nowhere near the house.

  “See you both in the morning.” He points between the two of them, and that’s my cue to get us out of here before he does or says something stupid.

  I reach for his jacket and pull him out of the bar. Before we get to the front door, I look back toward the table and see Ky whispering something in Dani’s ear from behind. The smile on both of their faces puts a smile on my face. It’s nice to see both of my best friends happy.

  I walk out into the kitchen and find Zach halfway in the fridge. Since I moved back home, I haven’t restocked the refrigerator, so I have no clue what he’s going to find. I hop up on the counter wearing only the button-up shirt Zach wore earlier tonight to Lucky’s. He hasn’t noticed me yet.

  Zach finally backs up out of the fridge with a jar of jelly in hand.

  “Whatcha planning to do with that?” I ask.

  He spins around, clutching the jar of jelly to keep it from falling. “You scared the shit out of me.”

  “Seriously? It’s a studio apartment, babe. How did you not hear me?”

  “I don’t know. You know how I get when I’m hangry. There’s like no food here.”

  I throw my head back in laughter. This man is always hungry; if it’s not for food, then it’s for me.

  “Um, yeah. Maybe because you showed up here all caveman-like demanding I come back home and I haven’t been here to restock it. I didn’t have a reason to leave food here when Cam wasn’t living here. I still don’t know what you’re going to do with that jelly since I’m pretty sure there’s no bread… that’s at least not growing something on it.”

  Zach has since moved over to the pantry. “Aha!”

  He brings the jelly and peanut butter over to where I am sitting on the counter. Setting the jars down, he nudges my legs open and slides between them. Reaching up, he brushes the hair out of my face before leaning in.

  I can feel his hot breath against my lips as he says, “I love seeing you in my clothes. You are so sexy, Haylee Hanks.”

  I run my hands up and down his sculpted chest. A growl erupts from his throat moments before slamming his mouth against mine. After a few minutes of kissing—damn, I will never tire of kissing this man—we part, entirely out of breath. His hands seductively trail up my thighs. I wonder if he will take me right here on the counter.

  His voice is deep and full of need. “You know what I want, baby girl?”

  I place another brief kiss on his lips before I lean back on the counter. The shirt rides up, and a deep groan emits from him. I look up at him through hooded lids and bite my lip. Reaching between my legs, I open the drawer under where I’m sitting and pull out two spoons. His eyes light up, and his smile widens.

  “Damn, I love you.”

  This man seriously has no idea how much I love him back.

  Passing the jars back and forth, Zach and I sit on the counter enjoying each other’s company, eating peanut butter and jelly with spoons.

  “You know, I’m going to miss this little apartment,” Zach says, looking around.

  I look at him with shock. “What? You hate this place.”

  I take a spoonful of peanut butter
before handing him the jar.

  “No, I hated you living here.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  Zach sets the peanut butter down on the counter and hops off before settling back between my legs. “The difference, baby, is that you belong with me. You being here meant we weren’t together.”

  I go to interrupt telling him just because I wasn’t living with him didn’t mean we weren’t together, but he presses his fingers against my mouth to stop me as if he could sense what I was going to say.

  “What I mean is, I’ll miss having a place of our own. Maybe one day soon, it’ll be just you and me. Ky and Dani might get their own place. Kyler doesn’t really date, so this must mean something to him. They both looked pretty happy with each other. Speaking of which, did you have any idea they were a thing?”

  “No. Yes. I don’t know.”

  “And you didn’t tell me? What the hell, Hails!”

  “No, I mean, I didn’t know anything, but I kind of picked up on something. You didn’t?”

  “What? When?”

  Is he seriously that oblivious that he missed all the looks they gave each other when they thought no one was looking or the way that he touched her leg at brunch? Hell, he got her to join him and the girls for dinner when we’ve been trying for weeks to get her to come out with us.

  Zach shrugs. “I guess it makes sense. Now that I think about it, how did we not see this coming? I don’t know why I didn’t think of it first.”

  He pouts toward the bed. I hop off the counter and quickly put the food away. I can’t wait to go home tomorrow and get the scoop from her. And if Dani thinks she’s staying quiet…oh, that girl has another thing coming.

  There is no sign of Dani or Kyler when we return home the next morning. Zach and I are sitting at the island sipping our coffees when they finally emerge. No one says anything as they fix their coffee.

  Zach is first to break the ice. “Well, I’m headed to the gym this morning. You up for a workout this morning? That is unless you already got a workout in.”