For Crying Out Loud: The laugh out loud romantic comedy that everyone's talking about! (The False Start Book 1)

by J. Preston

  “I am, but the little buddy has a couple of broken bones. You’ll love him.” He smiles up at me. “Also, you’ll need to help me convince Jason that we need a dog in the house.”

  I laugh. That will not be a problem. Jason is a sucker for anything with four legs and fur. He once tried to bring home a skunk. He named him Stinky. Wonder why…

  We spend the next couple of hours shopping for essentials for the pup, and when five o’clock comes around, I find myself in front of the vet’s with Aide standing right next to me, smiling. Apparently I’m excited about the prospect of having a dog in the house, since my heart is trying to get out of my chest and my palms are sweaty. Aiden opens the door for me and I walk into the sterile office. A middle-aged man greets us and shakes Aiden’s hand.

  “Ah, you’re here!” He smiles warmly at Aiden. “He’s ready for you. Come back later this week so we can register him properly. But, for now, I’ll let you both get to know each other first.” He looks over at me and smiles as the double door behind him opens and a brown ball of fur comes out limping, a purple cast on his back leg. “I’ve got some antibiotics and pain medicine for him. You’ll need to monitor him, but he should be fine.” The man continues.

  The ball of fur looks at me and Aiden with its large brown eyes, then hobbles over timidly. There’s a line where the fur has been shaved off above the cast, revealing a skinny leg. I’m in love.

  I kneel and stretch my hand out. “Hey you,” I say softly as the ball of fur gets closer and starts sniffing at it. The tail wags three times before the dog whimpers happily and greets me, placing kisses on my arms and hair. I laugh. “Oh boy, do I hope you didn’t have poo for breakfast!” I stroke his brown fur.

  Aiden leans down, mirth in his eyes, pats the dog, and laughs. The dog starts going crazy for him, whimpering and licking and wagging its tail like a, well, a happy dog.

  Once both the dog and I calm down a little, Aiden exchanges a few more sentences with the vet and then we all pile into the Jeep.

  I insist on sitting in the backseat next to the dog and scratching him behind his ear throughout the journey. He’s got his face on my lap and is breathing heavily but contently.

  When we arrive at the house, Aide helps the dog out of the car, then grabs all his supplies. I’ve already opened the bag of treats and fed a couple to the pup, bribing him to love me more, of course. I know how this works.

  We walk into the house. Jason is on the sofa watching football.

  “Jason?” I say, smiling as the brown fur ball limps over towards him.

  “Mmmm?” Jason mumbles. The fur ball is now by the side of the sofa and putting his nose on the edge, licking Jason’s hand, the one that’s holding the remote. “Aaaah!” Jason shrieks, startling me and the dog. “OhmyGod! OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod! It’s a dog! Can we keep it?”

  I laugh and look over at Aiden. “I told you this would be easy.”

  “Yeah.” Aiden walks over to the couch. “We can keep him. We need to name him first though,” he says, setting the dog bed on the floor. Fur ball makes himself comfortable on it instantly.

  “Dibs!” Jason shouts. “I’m amazing at naming animals. Ask Jenny.” He’s shit… But I’ll let him off since we’re keeping the dog. “ I shall name you…Jacob Black! You’ll keep Edward some much needed company. He was getting lonely, that poor immortal schmuck.” I roll my eyes.

  “Seriously?” Aiden asks with disbelief. “You want to name our dog Jacob Black?” Jason nods.

  “How about Jake?” I interject. “We can shorten Jacob to Jake.” Jason nods excitedly, and the dog barks happily.

  “You see? Jake likes his new name, don’t you Jake?” Jason leans over and lets Jake lick his face. I decide not to mention the poo eating. Let the boy have his fun. Both of the boys…

  Aiden sits down on the sofa and pats Jake on his head. I join them, plopping on the coffee table. Jake quickly leaves Jason alone and tries climbing on my lap. I help him up. It looks ridiculous because I’m small and Jake is, well, a medium sized dog. But I’m happy and so is Jake.

  “Look, he’s a ladies man,” Jason notices just as Jake buries his nose in my cleavage. I laugh and scratch behind his ear.

  “I wish girls did that whenever I put my face in their boobs...” Jason trails off.

  “Me too,” Aiden agrees.

  I roll my eyes and hug Jake closer to my body. It’s been a while since I felt this happy.

  17 Grow A Pair Pendejo

  I’d have a longer attention span if there weren’t so many shiny things.

  - Jenny

  Aiden

  Jake slept in Jenny’s bed throughout the night… Oh, how I envy the furry bastard. The smug look on his brown face said it all when I fed him in the morning. He knows exactly that we’re both fighting for her affection; he’s miles ahead and he’s not afraid to play dirty.

  I sigh.

  “So she likes you more,” I say, looking at him. “Stop rubbing it in or I won’t take you for a walk,” I gripe. Jake just cocks his head to the side and smiles wider, sticking his tongue out at me. “Fine, I’ll take you for a walk. But you need to be careful. No running or jumping.” Seems Jake managed to wrap every single person in the house around his paw, me included. “Want to come to the Centre? Meet my little brother, Benny?” I ask him. Jake wags his tail in response. “Let’s go then, bud,” I say, grabbing his lead and heading outside.

  Jake hobbles next to me, never straying further than two steps behind. I smile at him, opening the door to the back seat and helping him up. He sits patiently while I walk to the driver’s seat and settle in. It dawns on me that the bloody dog is allowed to sleep in Jenny’s bed while I’m not. There should be a house rule, no dogs in bedrooms. I am the only male who should ever be allowed to sleep in Jenny’s bed while she’s there.

  Shit, that makes me sound like a territorial asshat…

  I think back to the night before. How she looked in that Mickey Mouse sweater and those damn yoga pants that made her butt just so edible. I wasn’t joking the first day I saw her again or that time at the beach. Her arse is killer and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do just to take a bite.

  Shaking my head, I try to concentrate on the drive to the Youth Centre, which is conveniently only a block away from campus. The autumn day is perfect for a walk in the park; it’s sunny with warm gusts of wind and there are golden leaves scattered beneath the balding trees.

  When I park, I spot Benny straight away, he’s sitting on the stone steps outside the main entrance. His slight frame is unmistakable, there’s no other thirteen-year-old like him. He’ll grow into a heartbreaker one day, no doubt about it. At the moment, he’s long and awkward, but his face is angelic and his messy, dark brown hair paired with his long, black lashes and olive skin already make the girls notice him. He’s looking around, shading his brown eyes from the sun with one of his hands. I notice he looks tired and anxious, but he relaxes as soon as he spots my Jeep. I start to feel anxious. Why would he be so cautious? Is something wrong? I start feeling shitty for not seeing him these past few weeks while I was in London. I haven’t even had a chance to properly speak to him on the phone since my father made sure I was constantly busy, and now I have that distinct feeling in the pit of my stomach, like something is wrong.

  “Hey, bandito.” I wave at him as I get out. My little brother is currently learning Spanish, so I like to throw in a few words here and there, as limited as my Spanish is.

  “Aiden!” Benny runs towards me. “I thought you were going to bail on me again!” he says, stopping in front of me and playfully punching me in the arm. My heart squeezes for him, but I pretend like everything is just dandy.

  “Ouch, man! You getting stronger or something?” I say. “Show me the muscles!” Benny grins at me and flexes his small bicep. The scars on his lower arm glow in the sunlight as the sleeve of his shirt rolls up on his skinny arm. “Nice!” I say as he consciously pulls the sleeves down. He’s grown to be a lot more re
laxed around me, but still gets wary about the scars in public.

  “Who’s that?” Benny asks, peering behind me and pointing at the dog. I turn around and look at Jake, who’s currently licking his balls on the backseat. He is talented. I open the door to the car and lean over to help him out. I notice writing in a red marker pen on Jake’s cast. Jenny+Jake 4eva and a small heart. My vision narrows to those small red letters, written in Jenny’s handwriting, and a red haze consumes me. I clench my fists until I suddenly realise that I’m jealous. And it seems I’m jealous of a dog. That’s new.

  “This is Jake,” I say, shaking myself out of the feeling. “I was thinking we could take him to the park for a walk and you could tell me what you’ve been up to these past few weeks?”

  “Sure,” Benny replies quietly and, as I set Jake on the ground, Benny leans over and pats his head, an action met with licking attempts. My phone buzzes, and I quickly check the caller ID. My father. I let it go to voicemail like I did the other five calls from him this morning. “Ignoring your Dad’s calls will not make him go away, hermano.” Benny looks up at me. He’s right, but I seriously can’t take another call about electing my major.

  “Since when do they make thirteen-year-old’s so clever, huh?” I shove him playfully.

  Benny sighs. “Since I found out that most twenty-year-old’s have shit for brains.” He sticks his tongue out at me. I’d reciprocate, but the boy’s got a point. I’ve been acting like a brainless idiot these past couple of months all because of a certain short girl with the bluest eyes, long brown hair, and the most amazing arse situated right on top of toned legs. Legs I can’t help but imagine wrapped around me… Yup, shit for brains. I exhale and follow the smartarse.

  When we get to the park, we walk around for a little while, catching up on the basics and admiring the beautiful scenery. At one point, Jake gets overly interested in a certain lady poodle, so I decide it’s time for us to choose a bench to sit on and extract ourselves from the female doggie population in the park before he fathers any pups. God knows he’s willing…

  “So, what else have you been up to? How’s school? How are your grades?” I ask. I like to ask him about school. The boy is practically a genius, and the topic always makes him smile.

  “Grades are good. School is easy.” Benny grins, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. Instead, he quickly looks down and starts wringing his hands. “I’ve been staying at the Youth Centre this past week though…” he breathes.

  That’s new. Why wouldn’t he be at home? I look at him questioningly. He takes a deep breath, rubs his neck, then looks straight into my eyes. “My cousin is out on parole.”

  I stiffen, cold dread seeping into my bones. “Has he tried to contact or find you?” I ask him. “You know you can stay with me, right?” I try as hard as I can to mask the panic in my voice.

  “Yeah, I’m good for now, I guess. He doesn’t know about the Centre.” He looks down at the ground.

  “Benny, does your mum know?”

  “You know her. She thinks my cousin can do no wrong. I left last weekend as soon as I heard he’s out, and she hasn’t even tried to contact me.” I clench my fists, seeing the sadness in his big brown eyes.

  “My door is always open for you, bud, okay?” I put my hand on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, sure.” He shrugs me off. “Thanks.”

  He’s not going to take me up on my offer. He never does.

  “Tell me, what’s up with you? Did you get that chick you’ve been pining over?” Benny asks, smoothly changing the subject. I get it though. It’s a tough subject for both of us, and pressuring him to talk is the worst possible thing I can do.

  “Pining over? Really?” I laugh. “We are…friends,” I say. Jake starts barking at something hiding in the nearby bush.

  “Friends, huh?” Benny says, kicking a stone on the ground. “Did you tell her how you feel? I mean, you’ve got love written all over your face.” He makes a heart shape with his fingers in the air, then makes googly eyes and kissing noises at me. I shake my head. “You need to grow a pair, pendejo, and tell her she’s the one. Chicks love that stuff.”

  “Oh, do they?” I look at him playfully.

  “Yes.” He nods knowingly.

  “And you know this how?”

  “I just know, trust me.” The little shit grins at me.

  “Well, I told her. But she wants to be friends for now. What should I do with that?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

  “Be her friend. Be the best friend she could ever have, and when she least expects it…BAM! You make it happen! Easy.” Benny shrugs his shoulders. The boy’s got a point. I see merit behind that plan. Plan ‘Get Jenny Back.’

  “Right.” I laugh. “How about you? How’re the ladies?”

  “You know my heart belongs only to Miss Fernandez.” Benny puts a hand over his chest. “That woman could make algebra interesting. She’s incredible.” He trails off wistfully. “Hey!” Benny suddenly shouts and breaks into a run. “Jake!” he yells. I look around and see Jake limp-running towards the edge of the park.

  “Jake!” I scream and run after Benny. When we finally get to where Jake disappeared, I look around frantically. Where the hell is he? It’s not like he can or should run far with his back leg in a cast.

  The laughter trickles in from behind the trees that separate the park from the pavement. Happy dog yelps follow soon after. I’d know that laugh anywhere. My heart picks up its pace.

  “What are you doing here all by yourself?” I see her rubbing Jake’s belly. He’s on the pavement on his back, all four legs in the air.

  “Hey,” Benny says in his flirty voice. “That’s Jake. I’m Benny, and this is my big brother, Aiden.”

  “Big brother?” Jenny shields her eyes to look closely at Benny. She’s probably trying to pinpoint any similarities between the little dude and me. I smile at her, getting a confused expression in return. I’m not surprised. Benny has more mixed blood in him than most people. His father was half Italian, half Guatemalan; and his mother is a quarter Mexican, quarter Vietnamese, and half American. That’s a strong mix.

  “Little Brother-Big Brother program at the Youth Centre,” I clarify.

  Jenny smiles and gets up, getting a disapproving sneeze from Jake. “Hi, I’m Jenny,” she says, walking over to Benny and shaking his hand. The little shit just stares at her boobs, mesmerised. Can’t really blame him for that, they are pretty awesome.

  “Miss Fernandez, forgive me,” he whispers. I burst out laughing.

  “Benny, this is Jenny, Jason’s little sister and my roommate,” I say, grabbing Jake and attaching the leash onto his collar.

  “Ooooh.” Benny’s eyes widen. “So this is Jenny… Nice!” He winks at me.

  Jenny laughs. “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment. So, what are you guys up to except not taking good care of Jakey, here?” She leans over the dog and pats his head, giving me a glorious view of her cleavage.

  “Just catching up,” I reply, putting my arm over Benny’s shoulder and pulling him into me as soon as I notice he’s been staring at the exact same spot.

  “Which reminds me.” Benny wriggles out from beneath my arm. “I’ve got some homework to do.”

  “I’ll walk you back,” I say.

  “May I join you?” Jenny asks hesitantly.

  “Sure,” Benny exclaims. “Maybe after, Aiden can give you a lift home, or you could go for a coffee, or a romantic dinner. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Jenny blushes and I shoot an annoyed look at the irritating cupid.

  “There’s this nice diner around the corner,” Benny continues, ignoring my death stare. “Their burgers are to die for, Jenny. You have to try them!” he exclaims, flinging his hands in the air.

  “Well, if I have to, I guess I’ve got no other choice, do I?” She smiles at Benny sweetly. Did the little devil just score me a date?

  “Let’s go then,” I say, shaking my head.

  Benny takes Jake’s leash from me and
walks off ahead of us. I take a good look at Jenny. She’s wearing grey jeans and a large, pink tank with ‘Nobody puts baby in the corner’ written in sparkly letters on it. I can see the strap and the side of her pink bra underneath it. And when she bends over and picks up her bag, which looks heavy, I get another look at her cleavage. My jeans tighten and I curse myself silently. Like a gentleman, I walk over to her and take the bag out of her hands, trying to forget about the ever growing hard-on I’m currently sporting, courtesy of the sexiest woman alive. The bag weighs a ton. What the hell does she keep in there? Bricks?

  “Thanks,” she mutters gratefully, pushing her hair out of her face. She’s got freckles now and a bit of a glow to her skin. The sun reflects in her eyes, making them impossibly blue. California looks good on her.

  “C’mon, kitten, let’s go before Benny steals our dog,” I say, liking the taste the word ‘our’ leaves on my tongue. Like me and Jenny are together and have things that belong to us and only us. Like we’re a couple, like we’ve got a future together. I peer at her from the corner of my eye. “Are you parked around here?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “I walked to the library. The day is so gorgeous.” She smiles, tilting her face up, soaking in the last of the autumn sun.

  “So, do you want to grab something to eat?”

  “Sure,” she says, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She shivers a little, so I take off my hoodie and put it around her shoulders. She smiles and, for a second, I think she’s sniffing it, but then I realise that can’t be right. We’re just friends. Right? Too soon, we are back at the Youth Centre. We say goodbye to Benny, and I help Jake into the car. Jenny settles herself in the passenger seat, and I can’t help gaping at her. The sun behind her head makes her look ethereal.

  “Everything ok?” she asks.

  It would be if you were mine, I think, but nod instead.

  18 Basically Straddling Aiden