Date Night (Wish Come True Book 1)

by R. C. Matthews

  “It’s going to be strange not having Derek around all the time,” I said as I tightened the lug nuts on the tire. “I guess he’s growing up.”

  “Funny how that works,” Jordan said. “We all have to grow up sometime. Who knows where I’ll end up? I have a few interviews in the Metro-Detroit area but if they don’t pan out I’m going to have to broaden my search.”

  I gazed at her over my shoulder from my crouched position. “Well, then I hope you find something around here. It’d be a real bummer if two of my favorite people in the world left me high and dry.”

  The thought of her leaving town to pursue her career bothered me more than I let on. If she left town, then how would we ever pursue a relationship? We should be the ones to decide whether or not to date. Not some stupid job. She had to find something in the area. When I finally lifted the flat tire back into my trunk, I breathed out a heavy sigh and wiped a drop of sweat from my brow.

  “Whew.” I said, smiling down at her. “Thanks for the help, Jordan. Man, I need to get home and jump in the shower. I stink. I didn’t realize changing a tire was so hard.”

  Jordan leaned in closer and took a whiff. “Probably a good idea,” she said and coyly gazed up at me. “Need any help with that? I’m real good with a bar of soap in my hands.”

  I barely managed to contain the gasp that threatened to escape but could do nothing to prevent the thick bulge rising quickly in my pants at the image of her soapy hands washing my body from head to toe. Trying to prevent it was impossible; but the cover of darkness hid the evidence of her effect on me. The little vixen knew what she was doing. Did I even stand a chance of fighting her off?

  “That’s a mighty tempting offer,” I said, smiling back at her. “But Derek is at home right now.”

  “Hmmm,” she murmured, gazing into my eyes. “Saved by the little brother.”

  “Or cursed,” I returned, cupping her face. I leaned down and brushed my lips softly against hers. The feather light touch was all it took to send blood coursing through my veins. Lord, how I wanted her. I pulled back and rubbed my thumb gently over her cheek.

  “Goodnight, Jordan.”

  “Goodnight, JT.”

  Chapter Eight

  Chocolate Fudge Sundae

  Jordan

  I ran my hand along the smooth black vinyl arm rest and felt a twinge of jealousy. Grannie had been right—Derek’s Camaro was beautiful and the previous owner had treated it with loving care. Someday soon, after I got a job and saved enough money, I was going to buy myself a Camaro. Although blue was my favorite color, after seeing the stunning burgundy of Derek’s car, I might have to reconsider my color choice.

  “This car is sick, Derek,” I said with a wide grin. “Your friends must be insanely jealous.”

  “Epic, right?” He smiled over at me. “Let me show you what this thing can do.”

  “Should I have brought my helmet?” I giggled.

  “Nah,” he laughed. “Grannie would be pissed if I got into an accident. And then JT would beat my ass. I’m not an idiot. This right here is my freedom.”

  He pulled out of my driveway and made his way onto I-696 where he could let loose on our way to Somerset Mall. I cranked up the music and rolled down my window to get the full effect of the wind blowing through my hair. I could ride like this forever, lost in my own thoughts.

  “Hey,” Derek said as he pulled into the parking lot. “Thanks for coming with me to pick out a gift for JT’s birthday. I finally have a little cash and I want to get him something special. It’s not every day you turn the big two five.”

  “That’s your graduation money,” I said, getting out of the car and resting my purse strap over my shoulder. “He wouldn’t want you to spend it on him. You know that, right?”

  “Too bad.” Derek opened the door to the mall entrance. “It’s my money and I can do what I want with it. Our dad had a saying: ‘If you can’t pay cash, then you can’t afford it.’ Well I have cash now. I’m working too, you know. JT has to learn to let others love and appreciate him. He’s done so much for me in the last five years and now I finally get to give some back.”

  “You’re right,” I acknowledged. JT struggled terribly with accepting gifts from others. “But go easy on him. I think he’s struggling with the fact that you’ve grown up and maybe don’t need him as much anymore.”

  “True dat,” he said. “I need to have another talk with him and convince him to pay off some of his debt with my college fund. Why can’t he see that I got this football scholarship because he sacrificed and wouldn’t let me work? He would’ve been done with school a long time ago if it wasn’t for me.”

  I snorted, recalling the push back JT had given Grannie about her generous check. “Good luck with that one.”

  Derek gave me a sideways glance and scrunched up his nose. “Actually, I was hoping you might want in on that conversation. JT cares about you and you’re a woman. He gave into Grannie’s demands. Maybe with both of us there we can finally talk some sense into him.”

  “I don’t know,” I paused and bit my lip in thought.

  JT would be pissed having us gang up on him like that. He was fiercely protective of Derek and would not allow anything to screw up Derek’s chances for a bright future. But Derek had a valid viewpoint as well. The football scholarship covered a large portion of the tuition and living costs so there would be funds left over in the end. Why not look at the college fund as one big pool that both children could benefit from?

  It was logical—yet I knew JT wouldn’t see it that way. He harbored strong feelings about right and wrong. And if the will said that an equal amount was left to each child for college tuition, then by God he was going to follow what his parents had laid out in the will. His words the other night invaded my thoughts: ‘If you didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it.’ JT had earned this by working while going to school so his brother could pursue football. If we could get JT to see the wisdom of using the money to pay down his debt, it would relieve the financial pressure he was feeling in the coming year even more. And remove another barrier to our pursuit of happiness.

  “If we do this, it has to be in a public forum,” I said. “It’ll reduce the chance of him blowing up or storming out on us. And you have to get the ball rolling. I’ll show up and swoop in to have your back. I don’t want him knowing I was in on this from the start.”

  “Deal. We meet every Tuesday for lunch at Panera. Can you be there shortly after noon?”

  “Actually, that’s perfect,” I said. “I have an interview late morning and I’ll drop by as if by coincidence.”

  “Thanks, Jordan.”

  “No problem. Now let’s go find that gift.”

  Derek dropped me back off at home and agreed we’d all meet at Tequila Blue on Saturday night at eight o’clock for dinner to celebrate JT’s twenty-fifth birthday. It was a late dinner but ideal, because by the time we finished eating the night club would be filling up. I couldn’t wait. My whole family was going to be there for dinner, including my cousin Tyler, and Leah was meeting us afterward in the dance club.

  JT would be surprised…and pissed that Derek and I had planned a surprise party behind his back. But like Derek said—too bad. JT deserved a night on the town and I had every intention of dancing with him. A little bump and grind would definitely help the cause. I would have to make sure Leah kept Jared occupied on the dance floor so he wouldn’t catch onto me and JT.

  I rushed back to my bedroom. I had just enough time to get changed for my Friday night ‘flavor of the week’ date. It was so wrong of JT to name my dates after food but it was hilarious none-the-less. Please, please, please let it finally be chocolate fudge sundae date night. There had to be one decent guy who’d signed up at this dating service. That’s all I needed; just one to make JT nervous and force him into a decision.

  I was certain he loved me. The way he had gazed into my eyes the other night at the bank, and then kissed me ever so softly on the lips, was raw
emotion not hot desire. But he needed a tiny bit of encouragement to admit it so we could start our happily-ever-after. With that in mind, I searched through my closet for just the right outfit.

  ***

  J.T.

  I sensed her presence before my eyes made contact with hers. It was her fragrance that gave her away; seductive with its undertones of vanilla and some flowery scent that lured instead of overpowered. Breathing in deeply as she sashayed past me with her latest date, I closed my eyes for a moment to savor the feeling of having her wrapped around me. Even if it was just her scent.

  When I opened my eyes again, my jaw fell open and likely scraped against the restaurant floor but I was too distracted to know for sure. What did she think she was doing wearing that outfit? On a first date. Well on any date for that matter. Did she think she was fooling anyone with the tiny innocent flowers sprinkled throughout the material of the flowing pale yellow skirt that stopped a few inches above her knee and then swept down at an angle to rest softly against her calves? I didn’t usually equate flowers with sexy, but combined with the brown leather cowboy boots, she was as hot as chocolate fudge on a sundae.

  My eyes were glued to her as she took her seat. In fact, to my dismay, every eye in the place was glued to her. And then I finally saw how the strapless dress clung to her body from the waist up and framed her voluptuous chest, with a hint of soft roundness pushing up over the edge. Hadn’t she brought a sweater for Christ’s sake? It was still chilly in the evenings. I’d have a talk with Grannie and Mrs. Billette about this. Seriously. Letting her leave the house dressed that way.

  I cleared my throat and took a calming breath, trying to remind myself I wasn’t her father, and didn’t have a right to tell her how to dress; though I felt just as protective of her. Damn it. Where was Jared when I needed him? He wouldn’t have let her go on a date dressed like that. I walked to the table and put on my best welcoming smile, but I felt the corners of my mouth turn down as I laid eyes on the flavor of the week.

  “Hi Jordan,” I said and then acknowledged her date. “Good to see you again, Steve.”

  “You two know each other?” Jordan asked with a cocked brow.

  “Hey, JT,” her date said, reaching out his hand to shake with me. “Great to see you, man. It’s been a while. I didn’t know you worked here.”

  “Yeah,” I said, lightly folding my arms over my chest. “I have one more year to wrap up my Master’s degree and then I’ll be starting a full-time public accounting gig. How’s your cousin Erik doing these days?”

  “Good, good,” Steve said, nodding his head lightly. “He moved to the Houston area last month. Got a great offer there he couldn’t refuse.”

  “Huh, I didn’t know that,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I guess it’s been a while since we talked.”

  “How do you know Jordan?” Steve asked casually but I could see the flicker of curiosity in his eyes. Did he think I was the competition? Damn right I was.

  “She’s Jared’s kid sister,” I said and then nearly winced at the daggers shooting towards me from Jordan’s eyes. What? It was the truth. If she didn’t want to be treated like a kid, then she needed to stop acting like one. That dress was meant to make me jealous. And damn it all if I wasn’t. Steve would be ogling her breasts all night, which really irked me.

  “Oh right,” Steve said, relaxing against the back of the bench seat. “I remember your best friend. Small world.”

  “Yep,” I smiled and shook my head at the irony of it all. “So what can I get you two started with?”

  I pounded the order into the kiosk and cursed under my breath. Steve was a good guy. I had met him on several occasions hanging out with my high school buddy Erik. If I recalled correctly, Steve had gone to Grand Valley State but I struggled to remember what his degree was in. Crap. Jordan and Steve were going to have a lot to talk about. Not to mention that Steve was smooth with the ladies and had always scored a date whenever the guys went out clubbing together.

  Well I’d asked for it. This was it. A fair test of the budding feelings that we had for each other. A trickle of sweat rolled slowly down my back. If it came right down to it, Jordan was going to have to kiss Steve to truly assess her feelings one way or the other. I shoved my hand through my thick mat of unruly hair. Damn it. Why couldn’t she just give me some time? I just needed time to get my life in order. This was ridiculous. Even if she did hit it off with Steve, there was no way he was proposing to her in a matter of a few weeks and marrying her within two months. That would be insane. She shouldn’t be dating anyone else if she cared about me; even if I had pushed her to do it. Jordan was a headstrong girl with a mind of her own. In this instance I wished she had used it.

  I tried my best to ignore their table as much as humanly possible after I witnessed the way Steve’s eyes dropped down to Jordan’s chest while she was focused on the menu. I could hardly blame the guy when I found my own eyes repeatedly drawn to the expanse of bare flesh above her bodice. Just one more hour and it would all be over—unless she actually liked him and Grannie gave the go ahead.

  ***

  Grannie

  Grannie struggled to keep a straight face while Jordan and JT bickered back and forth about the qualities of the chocolate fudge sundae, Jordan’s chosen name for her flavor of the week date, which clearly didn’t sit well with JT. It had been his idea to name the dates, he argued, so he should be the one to pick the name. She should jump in and break it up before either one of them said something they were going to later regret. But she couldn’t resist observing their obvious attraction to each other for a while longer. Why did they resist each other so hard?

  “I can’t understand either one of you two when you talk over each other like that so everyone calm down.” Grannie finally bellowed.

  JT turned to stare at Grannie with clenched jaw. He wasn’t done having his say but there would be time for that. She first wanted to hear Jordan’s perspective. Then she would know how to react.

  “Well, Jordan?” Grannie asked and clasped her hands lightly in her lap. “By the way, you look lovely tonight, dear. How did the date go?”

  Jordan cocked her brow at JT with an ‘I-told-you-so’ expression written all over her face, which only earned her the rolling of his eyes. Grannie was all smiles on the inside but maintained what she hoped was a schooled, bland expression on the outside. Apparently the dress and boots had gotten exactly the reaction Grannie had expected when she encouraged Jordan to wear it tonight. The poor boy didn’t stand a chance. He should just give in immediately and be done with it.

  “It was the first decent date I’ve had since this whole thing started.”

  “Ouch. That stings. I seem to recall you enjoying yourself at Canterbury Castle,” JT said, resting his arm on the counter and leaning in closer to Jordan. “Especially the part where we posed for pictures.”

  A pretty shade of pink flushed Jordan’s cheeks and she punched JT in the arm. “You know I’m talking about the dating service. You were a perfect gentleman at the reception hall, but that wasn’t an official date.”

  “I didn’t know you two posed for pictures,” Grannie interrupted. Based on Jordan’s reaction to JT’s comment there was definitely something going on that Jordan hadn’t filled her in on. “Where are the pictures?”

  “The photographer said he’d get back to me,” Jordan said. “I haven’t heard back yet. Anyway, Steve was a nice guy. And we have quite a bit in common. He got his teaching degree from Grand Valley State as well but he’s four years older so we weren’t there at the same time.”

  “Oh,” Grannie said in surprise. She hadn’t expected Jordan’s date to amount to anything. This could be a bump in the road of her well laid plans. “What does he teach?”

  “Seventh grade Geography at the middle school in Royal Oak. And he’s going to put in a good word for me before my interview at Oak Ridge Elementary on Tuesday.”

  “Well that’s wonderful, honey.”

  “Y
eah,” JT sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “anything to help land you a job in town is welcome. He’s a good guy from what I remember. But smooth with the ladies—always landed a date when we had boys’ night out.”

  He turned a stern eye to Jordan. “So watch yourself.”

  “Well he didn’t land another date tonight,” Jordan said sassily back at him.

  JT stood up and walked over to give Grannie a hug goodnight. “All the more reason to be cautious, Jordan. If he wanted to get in your pants, he’d have already made his move. Three days. You’ll get the call. I saw the way he looked at you tonight, honey. Steve means business.”

  And with that JT shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out of the kitchen to leave. Something about the way he bowed his head to stare at his feet as he went tugged at Grannie’s heartstrings. This was not supposed to happen. Go after him she wanted to scream at Jordan. But she fought to keep quiet. Grannie had meddled long enough with these two and now it was up to them to work it out.

  ***

  Jordan

  “JT wait,” I cried out into the night but to no avail. He was already halfway to his house when I finally caught up with him. Staring straight ahead, he continued with purposeful strides without acknowledging my presence. His aloofness stung my heart and I felt a sudden bolt of panic zing through my body. Why was he acting like this?

  When we arrived at his house he stepped through the threshold and spoke to me at last. “You should go home, Jordan.”

  “What’s going on?” I demanded and pushed my way through into the entrance. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

  “Look,” he said, exhaling a deep breath, “it was clear that you had a good time on your date. I could tell from your body language. You were completely at ease with Steve. He has his shit together Jordan; a good job and connections that can help you.”