My eyes widen as I suck in a deep breath, watching him intently. Did he just say that? “You love me?” I breathe, feeling absolute joy begin to fill me as all thoughts of my brother are completely forgotten.
“Unfortunately,” Jesse grumbles with an eye roll, watching me closely as he tosses the ruined PlayStation aside and stalks forward. A smirk plays on his lips and despite being so fucking mad at him, I can’t help the butterflies that swarm in my stomach.
God, why is it so hot?
“Shit, Kaylah,” Tora yells in a panic. “Run.”
“No,” I say, watching him cautiously with a wide, excited grin. “He wouldn’t. He loves me, you know?”
Tora and Nate laugh before I hear the sound of Nate’s bedroom window closing. I guess I’m on my own for this one.
Jesse gets to the edge of the huge pool and presses his hands against the pavement. With one swift move, he lifts himself out of the water, not once taking his eyes from mine.
I take a step back. Maybe Tora was right. Maybe I’m not as safe from his wicked games and charm as I thought I was. Jesse gets to his feet and takes a slow, purposeful step forward, making me shit my pants. “Jess,” I warn.
“Kaylah,” he shoots back just as his eyes flame.
Oh, fuck.
Jess takes off and I squeal, darting around the pool in terror. Shit, shit, shit. What was I thinking of throwing his PlayStation in the pool? What a stupid move.
Jesse races toward me and with the sunbed sitting right in the middle of the pathway, I’ve backed myself into a corner. I can jump over it but there’s still a bit too much alcohol pulsing through my veins to be able to coordinate such a leap.
Jesse’s arm wraps around my waist as he catches me and hooks his other arm under my knees, pulling me up into his arms. I cling onto him knowing that without a doubt, I’m about to get thrown in the pool just like his PlayStation was.
Jesse proudly strides toward the edge of the pool as I desperately try to claw my way up his body, but his hold is far too tight and I’m locked in his embrace without a snowball’s chance in hell.
He grins down at me and not a second later, I’m screaming out as I’m launched through the air. I go crashing down into the cold water and swim up to the surface as fast as I can.
As soon as I break the surface, Jesse is crashing down beside me, sending a wave of water rushing over my face.
I hardly have a second to catch my breath before Jesse is grabbing me. He tackles me into the water and I bark out a sharp laugh, desperately trying to get away. His arms snake around my waist and as much as I want to win this, I also don’t want to break out of his warm arms.
He loves me.
Jesse takes pity on me and I wrap my legs around his waist while holding onto him. He grins back at me. “I can’t believe you threw my PlayStation in here.”
“You kind of deserved it,” I laugh. “You were being an ass.”
“And you weren’t?”
“I just want you guys to get along.”
Jesse drops his forehead to mine. “I know,” he sighs, giving in. “Can we just take it one step at a time instead of diving straight into the deep end?”
“You had no issue throwing me in the deep end,” I laugh.
Jesse shakes his head. “You know I don’t mean literally.”
“I know you said that you love me.”
His eyes lock onto mine and soften as his lips do the exact same thing. “I did.”
I pull him in tight and brush my lips against his, unable to wipe the smile off my face. “I don’t know how it happened, but I love you too, Jess,” I tell him.
Jess beams back at me, crushing his lips against mine once again and before I know it, we’re in the pool house with all thoughts of PlayStations and brothers gone from our minds.
Chapter 11
Jesse
Fuck me. What am I thinking?
I watch as Jackson walks into the locker room after training and for some stupid reason, I follow the fucker in. How is it possible that being in love with a girl like Kaylah has me going against all my basic instincts?
The things a man does for his woman.
I make a habit of not coming in here. It’s not exactly my scene. Jocks getting naked in the showers together and whipping each other with towels. No thanks, if I’m going to fuck around with someone’s naked ass then it’s going to be Kaylah’s.
I’ve never really understood the whole ‘being in a sporting team’ thing. To me, nothing could possibly sound worse. When I was younger and way too much for my mom to handle, she tried putting me in sports. She tried everything; martial arts, swimming, and football. Hell, she even tried putting me in dance at one stage, but nothing kept me interested. At least, not until I turned fifteen and tried wakeboarding. It was fucking epic, but it’s not exactly an easy sport to get out and do every day. I need a driver, an observer, all my fucking gear, and a speed boat, though luckily for me, Nate has recently gifted me one after I saved his life during that fucking boat shed fire.
That fire was a fucking nightmare and I can honestly say that I have never been more terrified in my life. I thought I was losing my big brother. Nothing can possibly prepare a person for having to perform CPR on someone they love while watching the life slowly fade out of them. It was simply horrific and it’s still something that shows up in my dreams nearly every night, though Nate doesn’t need to know that. He has enough on his plate to have to worry about me too.
Upon noticing my presence, the football players instantly turn on me. “What the fuck do you want?” one calls out as another questions if I’m lost, making me wonder if I made the wrong decision coming in here. I could have just waited for Jackson outside but then that would require patience and that’s not something I come equipped with.
The football team and I aren’t exactly tight, especially after the all-out brawl that happened when Jackson first moved here. It was pretty fucking bad. Tora and Nate ended up with suspensions while the rest of us had to deal with parent meetings and on-going lectures. I won’t deny it, as much as I hated that Tora got hurt, it was kind of fun.
Jackson stands by what I’m assuming is his locker and at all the scoffing and smartass comments, he finally turns. He instantly takes me in and as I stride toward him, his eyes narrow in suspicion.
He’s on edge and I don’t blame him, I would be too if roles were reversed. Though he has an extra reason to be pissed off, I’m the guy who’s currently sleeping with his baby sister, but if he wants to get technical, he was fucking Phoenix when he first moved here and she’s sort of my sister. A shiver filled with disgust travels through my body. That is so not the same thing.
I place myself in front of Jackson, not once moving my eyes from his and despite what I’m here to do, I find it impossible to wipe the heavy scowl off my face. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I came to talk about Kaylah.”
Fire flares in his eyes and he grabs me as a deep snarl comes tearing out of him. Jackson slams me up against the lockers, making my head rebound off of them. “You don’t get to talk about my fucking sister. Keep your hands off her.”
Wrong fucking move, douchebag.
Screw trying to make peace with this dick, if he wants to go a few rounds, then I’m down. At least I can tell Kaylah that this fucker was the one to start it this time. “The fuck is wrong with you?” I say, shoving him hard in the chest and watching as he falls back into the lockers opposite his.
His teammates circle around and start chanting for a fight and Jackson is more than happy to give it to them. He swings at me and I duck, narrowly avoiding a broken jaw. I dive into him and we go down hard, crashing into a row of metal benches on our way.
Punches get thrown and knuckles are bruised. My jaw is hit and I retaliate by splitting his brow. All too quickly, the coach is rushing in and pulling us apart. “You two dickheads get out of here and get your asses to Principal Watkins office now,” he roars, his face turning an angry
shade of red.
He orders a few of his players to walk us to the office to ensure we get there and by walk, what he means is drag us while we struggle to quit knocking each other around. Jackson spits a mouthful of blood and I find myself grinning with pride. There’s nothing quite like seeing proof that you’ve done some damage.
We’re thrown into Principal Watkins’ office and the second we cross the threshold, we’re finally able to gain control of ourselves. Jackson drops down into the chair with an annoyed scowl while I pace back and forth through the room, waiting for Watkins to show up.
My head spins. How am I going to explain this to Kaylah without her hating me? I’m screwed. The last thing I want is for her to be angry with me while I was attempting to do the right thing. Don’t get me wrong, an angry Kaylah is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. She’s feisty and stands tall. She absolutely dominates and can shut anyone down with a sexy as hell grin on her face.
Principal Watkins comes striding through his office door and the second he sees us waiting, a scowl crosses his features. He takes in the red mark on my face and the cut above Jackson’s brow and lets out a heavy sigh. “Why am I not surprised?” He crosses the room and drops down into his desk chair. “Dare I ask what the hell has been going on here?”
I drop down into my seat as Jackson decides to be a hero. “The only issue, Sir, is that you have dickheads attending your school.”
“Yeah, no shit,” I grunt, looking at Jackson. “I’m looking at one of them right now.”
Jackson’s hands ball into fists but before he has a chance to clap back, Principal Watkins speaks up. “Enough of that. What’s going on here? And this time, one of you better give me a straight answer.”
I roll my eyes and lean back into my seat. “I’m dating his sister and she wants us to get along, so I went into the locker room to clear the air, and this fucker lost his shit the second I mentioned her name.”
“Clear the air?” Jackson scoffs. “That’s bullshit. You went in there to cause shit just like you always do.”
“Really? Do you remember what I said when I first walked in? I wasn’t the one causing shit. I was trying to put it to bed. Your boys were the ones pushing for a fight, and you were the one who went off the fucking handle.”
Jackson’s eyes narrow in deep suspicion. “You want to put this shit to bed?”
I nod. “Whether you like it or not, Kaylah is my girl. I fucking love her and if making nice with you is what makes her happy, then you better fucking believe that I’m going to do it. Kaylah fucking loves you and if you were half the guy she keeps making you out to be, then you’d want that too.”
Jackson scowls and I don’t doubt he’s on the verge of telling me to shut the fuck up for suggesting that I know what’s best. “You love her?”
“I do, and there ain’t no way I’m about to let her go.”
“It sounds like you boys have a lot of issues to work through that all stem from a lack of respect,” Watkins says. “And whether you like it or not, you’re going to be involved in each other’s lives more than you had anticipated. It’s time to bury the hatchet and get over it. It would make life a hell of a lot easier for everyone, especially me.”
“Got it,” I say, getting up, more than ready to leave.
“Not so fast, Mr. Ryder,” Watkins scolds. “You two need to work out your differences and the only way to do that is by learning to communicate.”
“And how the hell do you expect us to do that?” Jackson questions.
Principal Watkins grins and my stomach sinks. “I’ve been waiting for this,” he says, making me realize that whatever ‘this’ is, I’m not going to like it.
He ducks down beside his desk and I hear a drawer being opened. “You two,” he says, straightening himself back up and placing one of those baby dolls that are used in Early Childhood classes down in the center of his desk, “are going to co-parent. For the last two weeks of school, you are going to love this baby, you are going to care for it, feed it, and change its diaper. I will be able to see the results of this experiment, and if you fail, you will continue for a further two weeks. This pattern will continue until you can learn to be in the same room as each other and show respect, kindness, and friendship.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” I scoff.
Jackson shakes his head. “This is ridiculous. Do you realize that I’m a senior? After this next two weeks, I’m out of here.”
“So be it, but I’ll be discussing this punishment with your parents, and after having to deal with them so regularly, I’d believe they’d be more than happy to continue this into your summer.”
“Fuck.” He’s right. Mom would be so down for this.
Watkins grins to himself, clearly very proud. He grabs the baby doll and goes quiet as he gets it set up for the next two weeks of hell. A minute later, the baby starts crying and he looks up at us expectantly.
I let out a sigh as I reach for the stupid thing. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I grumble under my breath.
Principal Watkins stands and Jackson and I raise to our feet as the baby screams in my arms. “You’re going to want to settle that baby,” he warns. “This will show up on your report.” I scowl and curl the baby into my arms, giving it a soothing bounce as I go.
Watkins looks thoroughly pleased and waves his arm toward the door, dismissing us. “Stop by Mrs. Greyson’s classroom. You’ll need to pick up a bag of supplies to be able to achieve satisfactory results. Oh, and one more thing.” Jackson and I look back at him, each of us more pissed off than the other. “Your baby is going to need a name.”
Chapter 12
Jesse
I glance in the back of my Range Rover, looking at the baby in the car seat who’s finally sound asleep. That thing has been crying all afternoon, but lucky for us, Elle has already completed this course in her Early Childhood class and was able to show me how to get it to sleep. Though I’m dreading when it wakes up again. Jackson and I have already had three arguments over this shit, and two of them include how to put a diaper on a baby.
The next two weeks are going to be awful.
I don’t know what Principal Watkins was thinking of pairing me and Jackson up like this. I don’t know what’s worse, having to parent this loud as fuck doll for two weeks or having to do it side by side with Jackson Millington.
I pull into my drive and hash in the code for the gate as Jackson pulls in behind me. The massive gates open and as I slowly make my way down the drive, I find my eyes on the dick behind me.
This is going to be interesting.
How the hell am I going to make it through the next two weeks? Hell, and to think if we don’t pass we’ll be repeating this shit over and over until we can get it right. I have to give it to Principal Watkins. Up until now, his punishments have seriously been lacking creativity, but I can’t fault this one, this is the act of a desperate man who’s begging for peace within the walls of his school.
I bring my car to a stop right by my front stairs. I jump down from my Range Rover and hurry around to help Kaylah who’s struggling to get the baby out without waking it. I grab the bag of supplies from the backseat and we make our way up to the house with her brother wordlessly trailing behind us. Seeing mine and Kaylah’s relationship up close in person like this probably isn’t going to be a walk in the park for him, but I don’t really care. In order for the next two weeks to work, he’s going to need to get over it.
We’ve only had this baby for two hours so far, and they’ve been some of the most challenging hours of my life. Just trying to settle on a name for this baby with Jackson was torture. He wanted Lucy while I like Christy. I can just see it now, it’s going to end up with a hyphenated first name and last name; Lucy-Christy Ryder-Millington. It’ll be horrendous.
We make our way into the house and Kaylah lies the baby down on the couch before pulling a rug over it and making it a nice little bed, and in our desperation not to wake it, we crack the window of the
den and make our way outside to lounge around the pool. I keep my hands off Kaylah for the time being just to make shit easier, but it’s killing me. I hate having her so close and not being able to touch her.
I’m not going to lie, chilling here with Jackson is certainly not my idea of fun and it doesn’t go unnoticed that Kaylah is always right there, acting as a buffer between the two of us. Kaylah babbles about random shit, trying to keep the peace, but the scowl on both mine and Jackson’s faces aren’t going anywhere.
“Do you guys need a drink?” a voice calls out from the backdoor, making relief surge through me, knowing that Nate and Tora are here and can help in some way to make this afternoon a little more bearable.
I fly up off my feet as I glance at Tora. “I’ll come help.”
I take off after her through the backdoor, more than happy to put this strange awkwardness behind me.
I get into the kitchen to find Tora reaching for the glasses on the top shelf and I shake my head. She’s been here enough to know that she can’t reach that shelf, hell she even lived here for a while. I reach over her and grab the glasses she’s after. “Thanks,” she murmurs as she heads to the fridge.
I place the glasses down as Tora starts filling them with soda. “I, um…wanted to talk to you,” I say, wondering how to approach this topic.
“I’m not taking your baby if that’s what you’re about to ask,” Tora comments with an entertained smirk.
“No,” I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Nothing like that. Don’t get me wrong, I thought about asking you but I figured Nate would rip me a new asshole.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” she tells me. “What do you need?”
I pause, studying her out of the corner of my eye. “Kaylah doesn’t think you like her.”
“What?” Tora grunts, stopping what she’s doing and facing me front on, looking hurt. I hope I haven’t offended her, but Kaylah needs this and Tora’s strong enough to deal with everything that comes at her. “I like her. Why would she think otherwise?”
Jesse: Broken Hill Boys (Novella 5) Page 7