“Max? What are you doing here? How long? Oh...um...were you …” he rambled, unable to finish his words, scratching his head.
I could have told him a lie and embarrassed him, but I decided to be nice, especially since I didn’t have time to joke around. I needed to get back to work to get to a meeting on time.
“Don’t worry. I just got here.” I shrugged it off, pretending I didn’t hear a thing, and I wished I hadn’t. It was bad enough that I had heard my parents when I was in high school, but it was just as bad hearing my younger brother have sex. Grabbing the glass of water, I walked out of the kitchen. Poor Jenna, she must be getting the flu. It was going around in the office.
Jenna had taken off her coat and tossed it behind the chair. Placing her head down on the dining table, she seemed out of it. With her hair tousled like she didn’t care, even when she was sick, she was still sexy to me. Wearing a black pencil skirt and a red long-sleeved blouse, she looked completely edible. I wanted to do what I enjoyed doing with those buttons on her blouse: rip them off with my teeth. Jenna had to replace some of her other ones, but I knew she didn’t mind. She loved it when I did that.
“Babe, drink some water.” I helped her take a sip and guided her out of the chair. “Let me take you to bed.”
“Is Jenna sick?” Matthew asked just as Becky came out of her bedroom.
“Jenna, Max.” Becky cleared her throat, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She had a long white robe on. “How long were you …” I heard her smother some swear words.
Before she could turn even a darker shade of pink, I intervened. “We just stepped in. Jenna isn’t feeling well, so I brought her home.”
“Does she have a fever?” Becky adjusted her robe, took a few steps toward us, and then stopped.
Becky looked at Jenna strangely, arching her brows with a questioning expression. In reply, Jenna shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Then Becky gave her another scorning glare. There were no words, but those looks alone told me something wasn’t quite right. I swear, women could talk in secret codes with expressions alone. Then Becky gave her a disapproving look, the way a mother would scold her child.
I had no clue what they were talking about, and Matthew and I gaped at their silent communication. It was the strangest thing.
With a final shake of Jenna’s head, she headed toward her bedroom.
“Everything okay?” I asked Becky.
“Everything is fine.”
When she nodded with a smile, I grinned to accept her answer, and headed to Jenna. However, before I did, I twitched my brows and gave Matthew my little smirky grin, indicating I had heard them in the bedroom. He understood my meaning. Instead of looking embarrassed, he plastered a cocky expression on his face. Yup, that was my brother. Though he tried not to show it, he was embarrassed...this was his way of playing it off. I knew him too well.
I didn’t like how it had seemed that Jenna was backed into a corner with Becky’s questioning look, and my mind reeled with questions as to why they both appeared so intense. By the time I got to Jenna’s room, she had locked herself in the bathroom. The first thought that came to my mind was that she either had the runs or food poisoning.
I knocked softly. “You okay in there?”
“I’m fine, Max. I just need to use the restroom.”
After I heard the toilet flush and the sound of the water from the sink being turned off, Jenna walked out the door. “Max, were you waiting for me by the door the whole time?” She had already changed into my white T-shirt that covered her cute, tight ass. I loved it when she wore it. It reminded me of the time when we were at the New York Fashion Show. I had never seen a woman get so red from drinking alcohol, and I almost took her to the hospital. It was the first time she’d worn my T-shirt to bed; the first time I had ever laid there watching a woman fall asleep. I knew back then that I was in trouble—I was falling fast for her—and here we were.
I followed behind her. “You know how I am. I don’t like you being sick, and I will be all over you.”
“You’re too good to me, Max.” Jenna smiled weakly and crawled into bed. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes. “I’m so tired.” She paused. “I’ll be fine. Go back to work. Becky is home. She’ll check up on me.” Her words mumbled in my ear.
“Jenna, I don’t think you should go to Las Vegas. You might get worse.”
She reached for my arm and gripped it lightly. “I just need some sleep. Then I’ll be as good as new.”
“Maybe I should go with you, only to take care of you. I’ll stay out of the way.”