Brothers & Best Friends

by Rose, Ashley

  She nodded. "Okay."

  She made a face as the cold gel touched her stomach. She reached over to take Jess' hand. "We're about to find out."

  He glanced over at the screen.

  "Let me just move this, try to find the baby," Dr. Benson said.

  "Is it hiding?"

  "There," the doctor said, holding it still.

  Janine gasped as she looked at the screen.

  "This is the head," he said, gesturing to a spot on the right side of the screen. "And this other little circle here is its belly." He looked over the screen.

  "Jess," she said, squeezing his hand and looking up at him. "Do you see that?"

  Jess was awestruck. "Wow."

  "Isn't it amazing?" she said, looking back at the screen.

  He nodded, then asked, "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

  The doctor smiled. "Yes, we can. See right here," he said, pointing to a spot on the screen. "This is the little body part that tells us it's a boy."

  "Oh, Jess, it's a boy," Janine said, looking up at him.

  Jess smiled. "No Elizabeth."

  She laughed and looked back at the screen. "No Elizabeth."

  "Let me print out some pictures for you," the doctor said. "See his little arm? He's moving it."

  "Jess, look."

  "I see it, I see it," Jess said, smiling at her enthusiasm.

  "He's moving," she said, pointing to the screen with her free hand. "It's a little boy. He'll grow up to be just like you and...John." She frowned slightly. "Only maybe just a little bit different."

  He chuckled. "Should I be insulted?"

  "Of course not, I adore you both. I would just prefer to change a couple things in my own son, like maybe drilling it into his head that he has to tell me immediately if his girlfriend is pregnant and not avoid telling me practically until the baby is born."

  "You aren't due yet," Jess said. "When is she due?" he asked the doctor.

  "The beginning of March," Dr. Benson replied.

  She sighed. "He's so precious. I just want to stare at him all day."

  Dr. Benson smiled and took the wand off her stomach, grabbing a paper towel and wiping off the gel, then giving her one to finish the job. Then he walked over to the other side of the machine and printed out the photos. He handed three ultrasound pictures to Janine. "Here you go. Your little boy."

  Janine looked at her pictures and smiled. "Look, Jess."

  Jess leaned down a little and looked at the pictures. "I told you it was a boy."

  She rolled her eyes playfully. "You're always right. Happy?"

  He rested a hand on his shoulder and placed a kiss on top of her head, looking at the pictures. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I am."

  Chapter Eleven

  It was different.

  The initial shock at having Jess back was wearing off and things between them were starting to feel normal. Only they weren't quite. Before, it was just Janine and Jess, and they were in their own little world, safe away from the other world. In New York City, Janine hadn't even been the same person. She was always different around her mother, and the person she was around her mom was clashing terribly with the person she was with Jess.

  Around Jess, she felt like the world was at her fingertips, hers to do with what she pleased. She could feel the bright future that was all her own. The world had no limits. She was strangely independent, even though she wanted Jess at her side. Jess didn't interfere with her life and he didn't try to control it. He acknowledged that her life was hers and was content to share it with her.

  Her mother, on the other hand, was a completely different story. When she was at home around her mother, she felt the crushing weight of oppression, the dismal feeling that she might never get out. Instead of being happy about her future she only hoped to make it through the day, tomorrow be damned. She knew her mother didn't care to think of Janine's life being her own. Her life wasn't hers to do with as she pleased, not in Janet's eyes. If she wasn't making the choices that Janet thought were right, then she was making the wrong ones.

  Janet sat across from Janine at the table, staring a hole through her daughter.

  "'Fuck off, pervert'?" she repeated.

  Janine winced. "Well...he doesn't like him. Jess isn't Larry. He isn't going to suck up to you if he doesn't like you. You have always known that about Jess. He can be honest to a fault."

  "Janine, you can't go with him. This kid is not—"

  "He's not a kid, Mom."

  Janet rolled her eyes. "He's a kid."

  "No, he's not." Janine replied firmly. "You just don't like him because he's not fake. Unlike some people, he isn't willing to look the other way, keep secrets, and pretend everything's fine. If all you want to do is sit here and belittle Jess, I don't want to have this conversation. I don't have time."

  "I am not belittling him, I am merely pointing out that he isn't ready for this kind of responsibility."

  Janine shrugged. "Mom, that really isn't up to you to decide."

  "He's too young," Janet stated. "It will never last, Janine. You're too young. Do you have any idea how many young marriages fail?"

  "Okay, first, we aren't getting married. He hasn't asked me. Even if he did, it depends on the people. You can't decide whether or not we would make it based on a statistic. I'm not a statistic. Well, I am," she amended. "But not that kind. I'm a person, and just because some people make bad decisions doesn't mean I would. For that matter, do you have any idea how many marriages fail, no matter what the age? It isn't about how old you are. I'm going to be a parent. I think I can start making my own decisions."

  "You're too young to be making these decisions."

  "No, I'm not."

  "Yes, you are," Janet replied. "You haven't been with Jess long enough, either. You can't run off with someone you've only dated for a couple weeks."

  "It isn't like that," Janine said tiredly, shaking her head. "You know it isn't like that. Nothing you say can change my mind. I want to be with him, and he wants to be with me."

  "He doesn't know what he wants, Janine. He's young. He is not old enough to settle down, and while he may not realize that now, he will in time, and then you'll be in much deeper."

  "Mom, Jess wouldn't make a move to settle down if he wasn't ready. He's already lived quite a life. Maybe that's why he's ready to settle down younger."

  Janet rolled her eyes. "I'm not getting anywhere with you. Fine, even if Jess is old enough to settle down—which he's not— you are not old enough to settle down. You have never even had another boyfriend, Janine. I know you think he's the only one in the world for you, but he's your first love. You're too inexperienced to know what love is. This is puppy love. It has always been puppy love, and puppy love will not last, Janine."

  Janine sighed in frustration. "It is not puppy love, Mom."

  "It is puppy love. Believe me. I thought my first love could rope the moon, too."

  Janine shook her head. "That's not what this is. I don't need or want someone who can rope the moon. I just want Jess. I want everything he is. I love him. I want him to be my baby's father, and any babies I may have from here on out. I want to share my life with him, to fall asleep next to him every night and wake up with him every morning. I want all that. It isn't puppy love. I know it isn't always going to be easy. We're going to fight, and he's going to annoy me. I'll probably even be a nag on occasion. It isn't going to be perfect, but it is what I want. I am going with him, Mom. I love the city. I love his apartment. I love him. I'm going. I want to get settled in. I want to be able to work for a while before the baby gets here.

  Janet just shook her head.

  "I need to go change into some pajamas. Jess can stay here tonight, right?"

  "On the couch," Janet replied tersely.

  "There's plenty of room in my bed," Janine said hopefully.

  "Absolutely not," Janet replied.

  Janine pouted a little, but she really hadn't expected to win that battle anyway, so she nodde
d before opening the back door.

  Jess and John both turned to look. "Hi," she said.

  Jess half smiled. "Hi."

  "You guys about done with your talk?" she asked.

  Jess shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Yep. Are you?"

  She nodded. "All's clear. Are you two done fighting like an old married couple?"

  John snorted and Jess shook his head. "I'll show you an old married couple," he said, trekking back to the house.

  She smiled and waited, and he gave her a long kiss when he got to her. "You know, I don't think that's an old married couple. Maybe newly married, though," she said.

  "Ah, as in right before the honeymoon?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  "Don't get your hopes up. My mom has relegated you to the couch."

  He sighed. "I figured as much."

  She nodded, then whispered. "But maybe I can sneak you up when they're all asleep."

  "Won't you get in trouble?"

  She smiled. "Live on the edge, Rossini. Anyway, what's she going to do, ground me for the rest of the weekend?"

  "Ooh, rebellious Janie," he teased.

  She rolled her eyes. "An oxymoron if ever I heard one." She leaned in and gave him another kiss. "Are you and John all better?" she asked hopefully.

  He sighed. "Yes, we're all better. He's still a jerk, though."

  "I know," she said, giving him a pacifying nod.

  "He didn't give you my messages," he continued.

  She sighed. "We've just got to let that go. Anyway, we should probably get settled in for the night. Are you hungry?"

  "Nah, I'm okay."

  "All right. Well, do you think we should go back in, or should we go out somewhere and kill a couple hours?"

  "Well, since I have a car we could pack up some of your things to take back with us when we go."

  She glanced toward the driveway. "I never realized you had a car when I was there."

  He shook his head. "Not my car. I borrowed it from a friend."

  "That was very nice of your friend. I do have some stuff that I have accumulated over the years for when I get my own apartment."

  "Good thing, too. We hardly have any domestic stuff."

  She nodded. "I know. I think you have eight cups in your whole apartment."

  He smiled. "Probably."

  She grinned. "Let's go out to the garage and get a few boxes."

  "Wait. Did you talk to your mom? She's okay with it?"

  "No, she thinks I'm making a huge mistake, but she really can't stop me." She half smiled. "I'll go get a coat," she said, turning to walk back in the house.

  ***

  Janine looked up at her bedside clock and saw that it read 1:08. She walked softly to her door and opened it, then walked down the hall as quietly as she could.

  "Where are you going?" John asked.

  She gasped and turned to look into John's room. "Hi."

  He raised an eyebrow. "Go to bed."

  "I will...in a minute."

  "Mom said he wasn't allowed to come in your room, Janie."

  Janine sighed and her shoulders slumped as she walked into his room. "I miss him. We won't do anything dirty, I promise. We'll be as chaste as monks, with just the smallest amount of kissing. I promise. I won't even think an impure thought."

  He sighed and glanced at the hallway leading to Janet's room. Then he motioned for her to continue down the hall.

  Janine grinned and continued down the hall and down the stairs.

  Jess was lying on his side on the couch, his feet hanging over the arm. He was propped on his elbow watching television. She smiled and walked softly over to the couch.

  She smiled. "Hi." Then she glanced at the couch. "Comfy?"

  "Oh yeah," he said sarcastically. "Especially this tattered half of a blanket. Do you think your mom found it in the middle of the road just for me, or has she had this old rag for years?"

  "You know, my bed is nice and big, and it has a nice, clean blanket. I promise to keep you warm if you come upstairs with me."

  He gave her a mock offended look. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

  She chuckled. "You're a slut, and don't try to pretend otherwise. I knew you in your teen years. Now come on."

  "If you insist," he said, turning the television off and climbing off the couch.

  "Be really quiet though," she said, pausing on the stairs. "My mom would kill you before she'd let you in my bed."

  They walked quietly down the hall, but John stopped them.

  "If I hear anything I shouldn't hear, I'm going to come in there and kill your gigolo," he warned Janine.

  "I feel so cheap tonight," Jess said.

  Janine grinned. "I promise we'll be good," she said.

  "How good?" Jess asked.

  "Virgin Mary good," she stated.

  He sighed. "Okay."

  John smirked. "Bye, Joseph."

  Jess flipped him off before following Janine into her room.

  "Now that wasn't very biblical," John said as they walked away.

  "Which side of the bed do you want?" Janine asked as they entered her bedroom.

  "I don't care. It's your bed," Jess answered, flinging himself backward onto the middle of the bed.

  Janine giggled. "Well, if you're sleeping right there, I'm going to have to sleep right on top of you."

  "Do you see me complaining?" Jess wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, but scooted to one side of the bed anyway.

  Janine pulled back the covers on the opposite side. Smiling happily, she slid into bed and scooted to lay her head on Jess's chest. "I've missed you so much," she whispered. Jess wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

  "I've missed you, too."

  She turned to face him, chastely pushing her lips against his. As she made to pull away, Jess pulled her closer. He kissed her again, his lips gentle against hers. An involuntary moan escaped Janine. She brought her hand up to Jess's cheek, her lips slowly parting to accept his tongue. Propping himself up on one elbow, Jess puled Janine closer. His free hand wrapped around her waist as he slipped his tongue past her lips. As the kiss deepened, he moved his hand to Janine's ass and pulled her closer to him.

  Janine could feel his arousal against her thigh, and another moan escaped her lips. Jess pushed himself against her and moved his hand to the inside of her thigh. Janine stiffened, closing her thighs on his hand. She wasn't ready for this. What if she was bad at it? What if John heard them? Even worse ,what if her mother heard them? What if he's just using you, a tiny part in the back of her brain whispered. Janine shook her head to rid herself of the thought. That was ridiculous. Jess wouldn't have come all the way to her house if he only wanted sex. Still, it wasn't the right time, and it definitely wasn't the right place.

  "Jess…" Janine gently pulled his hand from between her thighs. She couldn't help but notice the small sigh that escaped him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  "We won't do it if you're not ready," he said, his lips brushing hers as he spoke. "I have to admit that I'm disappointed, though."

  "I know, Jess, but what if someone hears us?" What if you leave me alone afterward? she thought.

  "You're right," he sighed. "The last thing we need is for your mom to storm in here and throw me out of the house."

  Still, he couldn't help but press his arousal against her thigh once more before rolling onto his back.

  Janine sighed and rested her head on his chest. His erection was clearly visible from this angle. She involuntarily licked her lips and felt her left hand inching down his stomach. She trailed the tip of her index finger along the line of his waistband. "Just because I'm not ready to be touched"—she slipped her fingers slowly under his waistband as she spoke—"doesn't mean I don't want to touch you."

  Jess shivered at her touch, but tilted her chin up so her eyes met his. "You don't have to do that, Janie. I'll be fine. I can wait as long as you need me to."

  "I know I don't have to. I want to," she said, u
sing her hand to pull his waistband down around his arousal. She kissed him as she trailed her fingertips up and down his length. He twitched beneath her touch and moaned into her mouth.

  Suddenly, she pulled her hand away. "One second," she said, rolling over to pull open the drawer on her nightstand. Grabbing a small tube of hand lotion and a couple of tissues, she rolled back toward Jess. She handed Jess the tissues and began opening the lotion.

  "What is this for?" he asked.

  "Well, I don't want you, um, releasing yourself onto sheets," she stated matter-of-factly.

  "Ah…yeah, gross. But, uh, are you sure about this? I feel like I pressured you or something, Janie."

  "Jess ," she said, slight exasperation apparent in her voice. "I want to make you feel good." She rubbed the lotion between her hands to warm it up, then tentatively wrapped her hand around Jess's arousal. "Is this okay?" she asked.

  "Mmmm…yeah."

  Janine slowly stroked up and down, resting her cheek on Jess' chest and watching him slide in and out of her hand. She couldn't help but feel a twinge between her legs as Jess moaned and entwined his fingers in her hair.

  "Janine, that feels so good."

  Biting her lip, Janine found herself clenching her thighs together, a move that caused her panties to put pressure on her most sensitive spot. Discovering this, she found herself clenching and unclenching her muscles. She tightened her grip on Jess and began to stroke him faster. Jess showed his appreciation with a gasp. He began moving his hips to her rhythm, thrusting himself in and out of her hand.

  "Janine"—his breathing was labored—"if you don't slow down, I'm going to—"

  She pressed her lips against his, finding his tongue with hers. She stroked him faster, clenching and unclenching her muscles. A feeling she wasn't used to quickly built between her legs. Before she was even sure what was happening, Janine was feeling wave after wave of pleasure, her body jerking against Jess' side, her mouth moaning into his as she came.

  When Jess realized what was happening, it sent him over the edge. His cock began to pulsate in Janine's hand. Pulling away from her lips, he said, "Janine, I'm going to…you should move your hand…" He reached down, prepared with the tissues. Janine looked down, surprised but strangely thrilled as she watched his release begin. She moved her hand quickly as Jess's body tightened and he moaned a final time.