by Heather Long
“I know,” I told her, and since she was already pissed off, I kept a firm grasp on my temper. “I promise I do know.” I kissed her cheek on my way past to grab a drink. “And this wasn’t like the last set of fights. We were just boxing at the gym.”
Which was all true.
Her harsh exhale held so much relief, I frowned and glanced at her as I got the soda from the fridge. “Do you want anything while I’m in here?”
“I want you to come sit down and talk to me.”
With the way this week had been going, she probably wanted to tell me Dad wanted to come to my graduation or he and Klara wanted the girls for the summer. I popped open the drink and followed her out to the living room. The fidgeting as she sat and clasped her hands wasn’t her, and it put my teeth on edge.
“What’d he do now?” I didn’t mean to snap it out like that, but I couldn’t help it. Every single time she talked to Dad, she got like this. Dad spoke to the girls weekly, but I’d made a habit of not being around for it, and I thought she had mastered it, too.
“This isn’t about your father,” she said with a wave. “As far as I know, he is very happy where he is. Or as happy as he can be.” She gave a pained shrug and then waved me off. “No, I need to talk to you about Frankie.”
“What about her? I know you’ve been wanting her to come back over for dinner, but it’s just been really busy and she has that internship—”
“It’s not about dinner,” Mom said. “Jake, is she dating all of your friends as well as you?”
Lowering the soda, I met Mom’s gaze. Her eyes were a deeper gray with a faint hint of blue, depending on the light. Right now, they were storm clouds. “Not sure how that’s any of your business.”
“That’s a non-answer answer, the kind you use when you don’t want to confirm or deny anything.”
“It’s also the kind you use when you’re trying to be polite about telling your mother that your girlfriend and her life are none of her business.”
Mom pursed her lips. “I had coffee with Sara earlier this week. Then a very interesting conversation with Carly.”
“Okay.” I put the drink on the table and kept my gaze on hers.
“Jake, they both believe she’s dating their sons.”
I shrugged. “Mom…I’m not going to have this conversation with you.” I’d thought about it. What I’d do if she asked. But the simple truth was, I didn’t want to discuss Frankie with her. “I get that you’re upset, and I even get why. Things with Dad and—”
“Don’t,” Mom cut me off. “Don’t do that. Don’t dismiss my concerns. This isn’t about her or your father.” The fact that she couldn’t say Klara’s name told me it very much was.
Pushing up from my chair, I moved over to sit next to her on the sofa and then covered her hands with mine. “Mom, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you. I get that you might be gun-shy, but I’m not you. Frankie’s not Dad. Right now? I’m happy and exactly where I want to be.”
“Jake you have no idea, you’re still a baby. She’s a baby. What sounds so erotic and enticing when you’re younger doesn’t always stay that way. The naughty factor can be exciting, I get that…”
I grimaced. “Okay, I really don’t want to think about any of those words in relation to you or Dad or Klara, if you don’t mind. I’ve made it this far without needing therapy, I don’t think I need to start.”
She slapped my arm, but she laughed, even if her expression remained troubled. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
“Maybe, but would you want me to give you any details about what I find erotic and exciting?” It about fucking killed me to say those words to my mother, and her moue of distaste told me she was as fond of the idea as I was.
“I’m worried about you.”
I put an arm around her. “I know, but I’m happy, Mom.”
“You say that now, but what happens when you pick a college with her? That’s what you’re all doing right? You’re all trying to go to the same school?”
“To be fair, we wanted to be at the same college town, if not the same college, from the beginning. We weren’t dating when that became the subject.”
“But you wanted to date her,” she argued with me.
I shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I’ve been crazy about her for years. That hasn’t changed.”
“And what if you make all these decisions and it does change? What if she picks one of those other boys? Likes him more? What if you get an opportunity to do something, and she won’t go with you or support it because it would mean leaving them? What if you’re…”
“Mom,” I gave her a squeeze, then let her go so I could turn sideways and face her. “Stop.”
“Baby, I worry about you. You feel good now and things are great, but they can go so wrong so fast. You can find that everything you thought you knew… People grow. They change. Sometimes, they grow apart.”
“Yeah, then you fight to get back to each other,” I said. “I don’t know what happens tomorrow, I know what I’d like to have happen. I know what I want next week. The month after that. And next year. But none of it happens without a lot of work and time. From me. From her. There’s no such thing as a guarantee. It’s all work.”
With a sigh, she covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “And you’re all right with her seeing the others?”
I sighed. “I’ll talk to you about this once, exactly once, because you’re upset. But we’re not having this conversation again, and I’d very much appreciate it if you didn’t bring it up to Frankie…ever.”
She took something of a shaky breath and lowered her hands before she glanced at me. “That seems…reasonable…if a little harsh.”
“Take it or leave it, because I love her, Mom. I love you, too. I don’t want either of you to hurt.”
Her eyes glistened. “You really love her?”
“Yeah. She’s the one. Maybe I’m only eighteen and settling down is still a few years away, but it’s always been Frankie. I don’t want anyone else. She’s not Dad, Mom. I’m sorry about what went down with the three of you, I know you were hurt. But we’re not you.”
She sniffed. “I’m just scared for you. Because it can seem like everything, and it could go so wrong.”
“Name me a single relationship that can’t go wrong, even if it’s just two people?” I hadn’t been able to make a single relationship work because I hadn’t wanted them to work. They’d all just been placeholders and barely that. “I know it won’t always be easy. It’s not easy now.”
Her frown deepened.
“But it works. What we have works. I don’t want to change it or her. And I get it, if you’re not comfortable with it, I won’t force us on you.”
“That’s not what I meant by this,” she said, then leaned sideways against the sofa and propped her head against her hand. “You all need to tell the other parents.” When I would have argued, she held up her hand. “Baby, there are things that I know without a shadow of a doubt. When you keep secrets from your family, you’re telling them you’re doing something wrong. I didn’t tell Sara or Carly about you dating Frankie, but they are both crazy about her and…while I admit to some reservations about the idea she’s dating the three of you…”
Fuck it. “Four,” I corrected.
Mom closed her eyes and turned her face skyward, like she had to ask for patience, before another sigh escaped her. “The four of you then. I at least have some context for a less than conventional relationship. They don’t, and there could be blowback if they find out accidentally. Your father’s parents never forgave him. I swear, your grandmother still prays about it, and she calls me more than she does him, which I tried for a long time to fix it, but she is convinced she did something wrong where he’s concerned. And… Look, that’s neither here nor there. The point is…don’t hide it from them. Give them a chance to understand.”
“We’re not hiding it.” Then it was my turn to hold up a hand to stave off he
r comments. “We’re not. Just…Frankie’s working on her emancipation to get free from Ms. Curtis. We’re all eighteen, except Frankie. She will be in a couple of months. After we graduate and our college plans are locked in…”
“Dear God, Jake, you planned to ask for forgiveness once it was a done deal? What, drop it on everyone at the going away party?”
“Well…” I made a face. “We hadn’t discussed it specifically. We just have a lot of stuff to do. Honestly, I don’t want to have to defend what we have. I don’t want them to have to, and I sure as hell don’t want Frankie in that position.”
“I may regret asking this, but how firm in this relationship are all of you?”
“Are we having sex?”
She made a face, and I laughed.
“You’re the one asking.”
“I am… I just want all of you to be safe.”
“We’re being models of safety. Everyone has had health checks. We know what we’re doing, and we’re all talking to each other. No one is under any misconceptions or being kept in the dark.”
“Except your families…”
“And I would remind you that it’s none of your business.” I tried to keep it gentle, but I needed Mom to get this. “You love me. You want to protect me. I love you, too. But this is my relationship. I’m good. Trust me? If you trust nothing else, trust me? Please?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I Hate Everyone (And They Hate Me)
Frankie
After the meeting with Maddy, the next week kind of flew by. Archie took me to my internship on Friday and picked me up. I never saw Mr. Standish if he was in the building. Not that I was complaining. After the showdown at Wittaker’s office, I was fine with a break. As it was, Friday night we spent at Archie’s place, and then I worked Saturday. Sunday, I had to pick up the girls to go shopping.
Trina had been invited, but she blew off my text. Becca, Blake, and Louisa were all excited when I got there, but Jake had followed me in and they scowled.
“I’m not going with you,” he said. “I’m taking Mom out to lunch, and you three are not going to drive Frankie nuts. Got it?”
“We’re not going to drive her nuts,” Louisa countered with a roll of her eyes. “She likes us, and we’re not boys. We know not to fart in the car.”
I probably shouldn’t have laughed as hard as I did, but Jake’s eyes flashed amusement. Alicia surprised me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then she admonished the girls to behave and told me she’d given them their own money. They were not to ask me for anything.
After a few more eye rolls and hugs, we were off. The next four hours were hilarious and busy. Becca had a list of places she wanted to hit. Blake complained at every single one of them, nagging her sister until we moved on, and Louisa basically hung out with me, particularly when we got to the clothing stores.
“You don’t want to try stuff on?”
She had her phone in hand and snorted. “I’d rather go to the dentist than do the clothing swappity doo. I’m kind of hoping Blake bitches Becca out about the hair and nails thing.”
“Pedicures are kind of fun.”
Louisa shrugged. “I’m gonna be trying out for a soccer league in a couple of weeks. I don’t need to worry about pretty pink toenails when I need to kick the ball.”
“That’s new. I thought you were more into gymnastics and dancing.”
“I am,” she said, “but I like soccer. I like sports. More than they do. And I think with Jake finished with football, Mom won’t mind if I shake things up. She already said I could try out and then we’d discuss it. ’Cause, it’s a commitment you know.”
“Yes it is…” Then I laughed. “You wanna know a secret?”
“Sure, I know how to keep one. As long as it isn’t something about my brother, because that’s just gross. I still can’t believe you kiss him.”
I chuckled. “I promise, it’s not about Jake. I’m not big on all the girly froufrou stuff either. I can barely do my makeup.”
“You’re not wearing any.” The sage wisdom of being eleven years old.
“Nope,” I said. “So go for it with the soccer, and I want to hear all about it. If you don’t want to do the pedicure thing, what do you want to do?”
“There’s a Wide Event place here,” she glanced up, her pale blue eyes filled with animation for the first time since I picked them up. “They have everything from batting cages to hoops to places where I can practice my kicks.”
“Sold.”
She froze and glanced toward the changing rooms, where Becca and Blake had vanished to try on new jeans and shirts. “It’s expensive. I don’t know if I have enough…”
“Between you and me, I’ll cover it. It sounds like fun, and I suck at shooting hoops. But I’ve never been that good at kicking a soccer ball. At least when your brother and Coop weren’t around to make fun of how bad I am at it.”
Snickering, she glanced at the changing rooms, then back to me again. “Well, if you really don’t mind…I probably have enough for most of a ticket.”
“My treat,” I offered, and pulled out my phone to check the place. “We can drag them with us and make them do something we want. After all, girls’ day should be for all of us.”
“You rock,” Louisa said with a little fist pump. “I swear my brain cells are dying the longer we do all this girly girly crap.”
I probably shouldn’t have laughed, but I did. “You know, some of that girly stuff is useful to know.”
“But not all of it, right?” Louisa said, and we shared a look. The girl was taller than me already, but I didn’t care. We fist bumped.
“Right.”
Twenty minutes later, accompanied by a harried Blake and Becca, we paid for a few rounds in the soccer arena. Bless Louisa, she beat the pants off of all of us, but I hadn’t laughed that long or hard in a while. Especially when Blake humdinged a ball at the goal, and it bounced off and hit her back. I managed two goals, so I’d call that a win. Becca managed three, and I was pretty sure the third one was purely from her need to beat Blake.
“You know…” Blake said when we got back to the car. “We took a vote before we came out today.”
“Blake,” Becca snapped. “Don’t.”
“Nah, Frankie’s cool.” Blake leaned against the backdoor of my car, Becca had already claimed shotgun, and Louisa had her door open but she stared at her sisters with a resigned look. “We know about the dating all the boys thing and we weren’t sure we were cool with you doing that, but you’re cool. Just…you gotta promise to pick Jake if you have to pick any of them. ’Cause he’s way less a pain when he’s with you.”
Louisa stared at the sky, and Becca sighed.
Sucking on my upper lip a second, I studied them. While the sun was out, the air was not balmy. If anything, the wind had just grown more bracing. “I love your brother,” I told them, and didn’t even mind when Louisa grimaced, but Becca grinned.
With a knowing nod, Blake said, “We figured that out.”
“Shut. Up. Blake.” Becca pushed each word out between her teeth while still smiling. Impressive technique.
“I’m just saying that I love him and I have no intentions of ever hurting him. I like all three of you, too. And I suppose…” I paused to consider them. “You’re all right, too.”
Becca snickered, and Blake grinned. “See, I told you she was cool.”
Overall, the day had been a blast. My only regret was Trina hadn’t come with us. I’d like her to be friends with Becca and Blake. The idea that Coop and I were leaving her behind when we went off to college had begun to nag at me, especially after that last conversation.
Maybe next time.
The whole drive back, we turned up Torched, and I was thrilled that they liked the music almost as much as I did. When I admitted we’d gone to a concert while in Colorado, I winced at their yowls of disbelief.
Oh, I was gonna owe Jake an apology. I had a feeling his sisters would be blowing up his p
hone. His SUV wasn’t at their place when I dropped the girls off, so I fired off a text to the guys to let them know I was done and heading home. I was beat, and I still had a crap ton of homework to do before the week started.
Ugh and we needed to grocery shop this week. I probably should have made a list before I went out, but I’d do it tonight and maybe bribe one of the guys into going with me after school on Monday. That triggered thoughts about actual homework and what projects I needed to get ahead on, followed by the fact that Bryan and I had been given actual homework for our assignments this next week.
We were going to be working in finance. I wasn’t sure whether the prospect excited or terrified me. Probably both. It was a lot to absorb, particularly because the prospectus they’d given me had to be eight hundred pages.
Archie had flipped through it and then grinned almost crookedly before offering to bring over the latest stockholder’s projections from their last meeting.
And here I thought he loved me. He’d laughed so hard at me.
Ass.
Speaking of asses, I needed to call Rach. She’d been ducking my calls the last three days. That, or she hadn’t come up for air from her latest conquest. I probably shouldn’t think of them that way, but I was still bummed about her and Skylar.
Not that I was the one who needed to be made happy in that situation.
Still, I was worried about her.
Coop’s car was in the lot, and so was Ian’s bike, but Jake’s SUV and Archie’s Ferrari were both absent. I grabbed my phone after I parked, but Trina was standing out in the cold, arms tucked around herself without a jacket, and I frowned.
Worse, her eyes were red-rimmed like she’d been crying, and her face was all kinds of splotchy.
I shoved out of the car in a hurry. “What’s wrong?” Worry threaded through me. “What happened?” I would have given her a hug, but she backed off and glared at me, nostrils flaring even as she sniffed. It was like she couldn’t make up her mind whether she was angry or sad.
