I turned my attention to the two nicer girls. “You get picked on again, come tell me, okay? I’ll deal with it for you. Tomorrow, next month or a year from now, don’t be shy, as long as I’m here, I’ll take care of it for you. Nobody deserves to be spoken to like that.”
I would know. I’d been through it enough. In return, I got two blank looks, but whether it was in alarm or what, I had no idea, before both girls nodded, fast, fast, fast.
And I smiled at them, to tell them it was okay. I had their backs. Not everyone was terrible, but the bad ones made it easy to forget that. I should know.
But then I glanced back at the two little shits and let the smile fall away as I focused in on their petty-ass faces. “And you two, I catch you doing that again and I will open a can of whoop-ass on both your rude—”
“Jasmine!” I heard a familiar male voice yell from close, but not that close.
Sure enough, glancing up, I found Ivan down the hall, one hand against a wall. He was too far for me to see more of him, but I knew from the shape and length of that frame it was him. That, and I’d recognized that voice anywhere.
“Let’s go, I’m hungry,” he called for no reason, I thought, until it hit me.
He’d heard me. That’s why he had yelled and stopped me from calling these girls motherfuckers like I had planned on.
It wouldn’t have been a good idea, but, well, whatever. They deserved it.
“Don’t be jerks,” I pointed at the two rude shits, then turned to the other girls and said, “and tell me if they pick on you again.”
When I got two nods in response, I made sure to give the other pair a nasty look like I was onto them before heading down the hall toward Ivan, who was still standing there waiting, except I could see him shaking his head from a few feet away. The second I was close enough, I realized he was grinning. Those straight, bright white teeth were all out there as he asked, “Is today your day to pick on little kids?”
I rolled my eyes as I stepped in front of him, having to tilt my head back to look up at him. “Those are monsters, not kids.”
Those eyes were focused on mine as his grin only grew and he said, “What I want to know is…”
I blinked, not sure what he was about to ask.
“What is a can of a whoop-ass and where can I get one?”
I didn’t mean to smile, and I sure as hell didn’t want to.
But I couldn’t help it.
I smiled so wide my cheeks instantly hurt and said the only thing that came to mind, “You’re an idiot.”
An hour later, I was heading down the stairs at my mom’s house, trying to wring more water out of my hair so that it wouldn’t soak into the light, tank dress I’d put on. I hated washing my hair every day—and my hair hated me washing it every day if how dry it was said anything—but with how much I was sweating with two-a-day practices, it just got way too greasy if I went longer than twenty-four hours without a wash. I was going through a bottle of conditioner every two weeks.
By the time I made it to the bottom landing, I could hear the voices in the kitchen. When we’d pulled up to my house half an hour ago, there was Jonathan’s and Aaron’s cars in the driveway. I hadn’t asked what my sister or brother were up to, but I’d seen both of them a few days ago when they had dropped by randomly for dinner.
I’d only gotten a chance to give my mom a kiss to the right of her bruised and swollen nose before Jojo’s dramatic ass had gone off with, Jas, how could you not call and tell me about Mom’s accident? I almost threw her under the bus and said that she didn’t want me to say anything… but I was no snitch. So I told him it was because I’d been too tired the night before to deal with his shit. That had gone about as well as I’d expected, and I ran up to get a shower five minutes later, watching Ivan shoot me a curious look that said he might have been putting the pieces together from what happened last night to what he was seeing on my mom’s face.
And… I didn’t care if he did.
Making my way across the living room toward the kitchen, the voices became clearer and louder. I recognized the sound of my sister and mom laughing… and thought I heard a light chuckle from Ivan mixed in there. Thinking about the moment in the hallway with the girls made me smile again, but I wiped it off. He really was an idiot.
“…did they make you tape everything up?” I heard Jojo ask.
Oh God.
“Jonathan,” his husband hissed. “What does it matter?”
“Uh, I’m curious. I looked up the magazine this week. I didn’t see a hint of balls or anything in those pictures, and it doesn’t seem possible from the angles the pictures are taken at. I don’t care how tight anybody’s ball sacks are, it isn’t physically possible for there not to be a tiny sign of nuts somewhere. Get what I’m saying?”
They were talking about the photo shoot for the Anatomy issue, and of course it would be Jojo asking that.
“Maybe I need to get that magazine when it comes out—” my mom started to say before Ruby and Jojo almost wailed, “Stop!” and “Nobody wants to hear that!”
“You two are so sensitive,” my mom muttered, but didn’t continue with her sentence. “I have eyes. You have eyes. The human body is a wonderful thing, isn’t it, Ivan?”
There was no hesitation from Ivan when he responded with, “It is.”
“I’m sure Grumpy looked beautiful.”
But there was a pause before Ivan asked, “Who is Grumpy? Jasmine?”
“Yes.”
No one said anything for a second before Jojo butted in. “She hated Snow White when she was a wittle baby.”
“Why?”
It was my mom who answered. “Because she… what did she used to call her? A lazy fart that took advantage of men?”
Jojo burst out laughing in that way that made me smile. “She used to get so mad watching it. Remember? She would sit there in front of the television talking smack to herself. She hated it, but she’d still watch it over and over again anyway.”
Then it was Ruby that started laughing. “She would walk around saying that Snow White wasn’t that pretty, and even if she was, she needed to have a little respect for herself. She didn’t even know what that meant, but she heard you, Mom, say that once and it stuck.”
Then my mom started laughing. “That’s why we started calling her Grumpy, because she said he was the only smart one of all the dwarves because he knew he had a reason to be in a bad mood. Work in the mine all day and then have to take care of some girl that didn’t do anything.” Her laugh went higher. “Oh, that girl. You can all blame yourselves for how she came out. She picked it up from you all. Ivan, it’s their fault.”
There was another moment and then, “She’s my idol” from Ruby, which earned a husky laugh from what had to be Aaron.
“That’s my girl,” my mom echoed.
My nose itched, and my eyes might have begun stinging a little.
Okay, more than a little.
I had to blink and listen to them laugh while I got my shit together and felt that nice, warm feeling in my chest growing, growing, growing. It made me feel… better. Better than I’d felt the night before after Ivan had been so kind.
After a couple more swallows and blinks that made sure I was back to normal, I headed into the kitchen and found everyone except my mom’s husband around the island. Ben was busy stirring what I knew was a giant pot of his awesome chili on the stove, with his back to the group. There was one seat empty between Ivan and my sister, and another seat open between Aaron and Jonathan.
I went for the one next to Ivan.
And for some reason I wasn’t going to overthink, I snuck my hand from my side over to the thigh closest to mine and gave it a squeeze. Not a mean squeeze, just a normal one that wasn’t too hard or too loose. Friends did that, didn’t they?
“Jas,” Ruby started to say as she leaned forward over the island and shot me a careful smile that made me wary. “I know you’re really busy—”
Why did my
stomach flip?
“—but remember we talked about you watching the kids for us a few weeks ago? Do you think you still can?” She smiled. “It’s okay if you can’t.”
My stomach clenched. It was too soon. It was way too soon. But I could handle it. I would. I could be better.
“I didn’t forget,” I told her, trying to ignore the tension right around the center of my body. “I can watch them.”
“Are you sure? Because—”
I tried to give her a smile. I tried to tell her that I loved her and that yeah, I loved her kids too. I’d do anything for them. But instead, I said as softly as I was capable of, “Yes. I’m positive. I can watch them.”
“We can watch them too,” Jojo piped up.
I shot him a look. “No. I can babysit them. Find your own niece and nephew.”
Jojo rolled his eyes and turned back to Squirt. “I can watch them anytime you want, Rubes. They don’t need Rosemary’s Baby over there rubbing off on them.”
“Do you really want Shrek Junior over here to be what Benny wakes up to?” I asked my sister, shooting my brother a look.
“I’m average height,” Jojo claimed.
“Sure you are, boo-boo,” I returned, smiling at him for real. “Either way, you didn’t say you don’t look like Shrek, so….”
Jonathan decided to scratch at his forehead. With his middle finger.
“Would you two stop?” Mom finally sighed.
“You don’t really look like Shrek, Jojo,” Ruby added. “More like Donkey, I think.”
Jonathan just blinked over at her before sliding his eyes to me and saying, “You’re the worst influence.”
“Your mama.”
My brother looked right at Ivan beside me, his middle finger going back up to his forehead—for me of course—and said, “Ivan, if you accidentally trip and fall doing a lift with her, none of us would blame you. Really.”
The side of a thigh touched my knee, and a second later, so did the palm of a hand I knew very well. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe during an exhibition after worlds,” my partner offered.
And I couldn’t even be mad or butt-hurt.
Chapter 13
“You don’t have to come with me,” I told Ivan as we got out of his car, subconsciously rubbing at the weird tingle in my throat that had been bothering me all day. I blamed it on leaving my water bottle in the car and not having a chance to run back out to grab it, or else face the wrath of Nancy Lee.
He huffed, and I swore to God he rolled his eyes. “I already said I would.”
“I know that, smart-ass, but you can still back out. My sister or her husband can give me a ride later, if you want to leave,” I suggested, waiting for him on the path up to my sister’s house since the passenger side was closer to the curb.
Ivan shrugged and shook that black head of hair. “I’m not backing out. It’s just… how long did you say it would be? Three hours?”
“Four hours,” I corrected him.
He seemed to think about it as he came up beside me before tipping his head to the side, coming to whatever conclusion he had gotten to. “I’ve put up with you for four hours, this is just two kids, it can’t be that hard.”
Obviously this man had never babysat before if he thought it wasn’t that hard, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. I was kind of looking forward to seeing him deal with a toddler and a baby. “All right, don’t say I didn’t give you an out.”
Ivan scrunched up that perfect, symmetrical face as we stopped in front of the door. “Give me some credit, we’re only babysitting. It isn’t rocket science.”
I nudged him with my elbow right before reaching up and knocking on the door.
He elbowed me right back.
How the hell had we gotten to this point?
My damn car hadn’t started. Again. And my uncle hadn’t answered his phone when I’d called, and I couldn’t exactly afford to call a tow truck driver. There were plane tickets and hotel rooms I was trying to save up for, and groceries, insurance, an electric bill I paid as part of my “rent” and other random expenses I had every month. Right around the same time that I was debating who to call to come pick me up, came the obnoxious toooooooot that lasted maybe ten seconds and made me jump when it had first rang through the air, coming from a classy black car. Following the toot was a driver side window being rolled down and a very familiar face peering out from over the edge of the glass.
“Car trouble again?” Ivan asked from his spot behind the wheel with his sunglasses covering his eyes.
I sighed, then I nodded.
“You need a new one.”
I just looked at him. “Okay, I’ll get on that.”
He made a face right back. “Get in.”
“I’m not going home,” I told him.
Those black sunglasses were aimed right at me as his jaw did this tick thing. Then, “What? You got a hot date?”
“No, numbnuts. I’m babysitting tonight.”
The expression on his face instantly changed, but I didn’t think anything of it.
“I’m going to my sister’s,” I finished, reminding him about what Ruby and I had literally talked about in front of him a week ago.
Ivan shoved his glasses just above his eyes with the tip of his finger. “Get in then.”
“It’s further away than my mom’s.”
“How much further?” he asked slowly.
I told him what side of town, and watched as he made a face.
“How long are you supposed to babysit?”
“About four hours,” I said, hearing the hesitation in my voice, mainly because I wondered where the fuck he was supposed to be going that he was worried about how long it would take.
Then he made a thoughtful face and said, “Okay. One second.” He must have reached for his phone, because the next thing I knew, he was focusing on his lap and saying, “One more second.”
Who was he texting? And what was he texting?
I’d barely started to wonder what, when he glanced back up and said, “Okay. If it’s only four hours, I can drive you there and drop you off at home afterward.”
Wait. Afterward?
“You’re going to drive back and pick me up?” I asked with a frown.
He pinched his mouth in that way that used to drive me crazy because it looked like he thought I was an idiot. “No. That’s the other side of town from where I live, genius. I’ll babysit with you, and after that, I’ll drive you back home… as long as it’s only four hours. I need to be home after that.”
What did he have to be home for? Was someone waiting for him? Did he… have a girlfriend?
“You getting in?” he kept going.
It wasn’t any of my business. None.
Nope, none of my business.
If the swallow I took felt tight, I wasn’t going to overthink it. “You can just drop me off and one of them can take me home after.”
I didn’t have to see his eyeballs to know he was rolling them. “Shut up and get in. I can take you as long as it doesn’t run too late.”
He had a girlfriend, didn’t he?
“You don’t need to stay—” I started to say before he cut me off.
“Get in, Meatball,” he’d demanded, already rolling the window up.
And with a dirty look and a reminder that whatever he was doing afterward had nothing to do with me, I got in. And he drove us to my sister’s, which was where we were, with me waiting on the paved sidewalk, arguing with Ivan after we’d bickered over whether he drove slow or I drove fast.
He drove slow.
That was how I found myself in front of Ruby’s house with Ivan beside me.
“Coming!” I heard my sister call out from the other side of the door. All of a second later, the door opened and she was there, already beaming that great big smile that made me feel like I’d kill someone for her and eat their heart too. “Jas.” She hesitated only a second before taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around me.
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I hugged her back, deciding to keep my mouth shut about the pause she had taken before touching me. Had I ever not wanted her to hug me? I couldn’t remember, and the possibility that I had once made her think twice about doing something like hug me, made my stomach tighten.
I could fix this. I could work on it.
Pulling back, I tipped my head toward Ivan at the same time her eyes strayed to him. “I brought reinforcements to take care of your gangsters.”
My sister’s face turned pink instantly, and she nodded tightly, her eyes shifting from me to him and back again. “Hi, Ivan,” she managed to squeeze out.
Ivan smiled gently. Then, because he held his hand out toward her, and when she did the same, he took it and gave it a soft shake. “Nice to see you again, Squirt.” He gave her a charming smile that made me uncomfortable for some reason. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”
My sister blinked, and so did I. But I knew her reaction wasn’t because Ivan was handsome or anything like that. Her husband was smoking hot in a completely different but equal way as Ivan. And she was madly in love with him.
She was just shy.
And no one called her Squirt but family. At least as far I knew, not even Aaron called her that.
“I don’t mind,” she pretty much whispered, her eyes darting to me, and then back to him. “You’re almost family now, right?”
Almost family? I shoved the idea aside just as Ivan nudged me, and I elbowed him right back.
“Come in,” Ruby said, taking a step back. “We’re ready to go. We’re just doing dinner and going to a… eh, store afterward.” By store, I’d bet my kidney she meant a comic book store, but I knew she wasn’t admitting it because Ivan was right there. “We shouldn’t be gone long.”
I shrugged and stepped into the house I’d been in plenty of times over the last year since she’d moved back to Houston after spending the last four years living in Washington with her husband while he’d been in the army. He had rushed through a degree over the last few years, and gotten a job at a VA hospital doing…. Something with veterans. I was a shitty sister-in-law not to know what he did exactly. I really needed to ask Ruby. “It’s fine. Do whatever you want. I don’t have anything else to do besides go to sleep,” I told her, purposely not mentioning that Ivan had to bounce after four hours to go do whatever it was he needed to do.
From Lukov with Love Page 27