“Jesus, Alixandra. There’s a time and place for everything. This is your parent’s house,” she snaps, staring daggers at Jesse who leans against the shower, running his hand over his face.
I turn to the mirror and begin combing my fingers through my hair. Is it hot in here?
“Perhaps you should invest in a lock,” I tell her, as a look of total shock and hurt flickers over her face.
“You know how I feel about locks.”
“I know, but is it really worth the trauma?”
In a huff, she storms from the bathroom and heads back down the hall. At least, I know she won’t tell Dad. God only knows what he’d do to Jesse if he was aware of what just happened. As I wet my hands and flick water on my face, Jesse’s phone goes off, filling the bathroom with an irritating, generic ringtone. He fishes it out of his pocket and brings it to his ear.
“Hello?” Pause. “I can’t, I have plans tonight.” His gaze flicks over me before falling to the floor. “Alright, fine. I’ll see you soon.”
Bummer. “I’m going to assume the remainder of our night is cancelled?”
He rakes his fingers through his dark hair. It’s becoming quite unruly, actually. I love it.
“Yeah, my father is in town, and he wants to have a meeting.” He drops his hand with a sigh. “Now.”
“Now?” Shit, he doesn’t waste any time. “Okay, let me tell my parents we’re leaving and you can take me back home.”
I exit the bathroom with false contentment. Inside, I’m disappointed. Tonight was supposed to be epic, but I know it’s an epic failure. Not to mention new ground was broken tonight in regard to my relationship with Jesse. Are we together? Yes.
No.
I don’t know.
Maybe… I told him he isn’t going to be my boss forever, but that can mean a lot of different things.
In the dining room, Grace is kissing my mother goodbye and I’m ruling tonight’s dinner as a fail. No one ate, everyone yelled, and Dad is drunk. Now that I think of it, I might start coming more frequently to my family dinners after all.
“We have to go too,” I announce as Grace gives Dad a hug I’m sure he doesn’t want. “Jesse has been called into a meeting.”
I glance at Mom and she gives me a look. The ‘I don’t believe a word you’re saying’ kind of look. Sadly, what I said was the truth. There’ll be no sex tonight which is subsequently the story of my fucking life.
I say goodbye to my family, give them all a kiss and a hug and then we leave. Out in the driveway, Jesse waits in the car while I talk to Grace. Despite my parent’s uproar, she hasn’t changed her mind.
“It’s what I want to do.” She states, as she shrugs on her coat and frees her trapped hair. “We’re in love.”
Who am I to argue with that? “I hope it works out for you.” I tell her.
She smiles down at me. It never sat well with me that my baby sister was taller… she still is. “If it turns out to be a bad decision, then it’s a lesson learned, but it could also be the greatest decision I ever make. It’s worth the risk, isn’t it?”
I can’t help but compare her words to my relationship with Jesse. It could be great. It could be everything I’ve ever wanted, but if it fails… I could lose all of the good things in my life. I don’t love him, but I like him enough to want to try.
“What about him?” Grace asks as she subtly flicks her head towards Jesse’s car. “He seems like a good guy.”
I smile, despite myself. “He is a good guy.”
“But?”
I exhale and nervously thread my fingers together. Grace always hears the implication in your tone even if you didn’t technically imply it.
“We’re not really dating—I mean, we are, but we’re not.”
Her face turns blank and she cocks an eyebrow. Oh, boy. How did this get so complicated?
“He’s my boss.”
Her mouth drops open, but I press forward before she can chastise me, or cut me off.
“I kind of blackmailed him into going out with me, to make up for a night of really, really shitty sex that we had before I even knew he was my boss. Only now, it’s complicated because he likes me and I kind of like him, but if work ever finds out who knows what could happen.”
I inhale a breath of air and desperately hope she can offer me advice—any kind of advice, I don’t care.
“Only you would get yourself into a situation like this…” she says.
And then she laughs.
She laughs and laughs and laughs as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. “Holy shit, Alix. I cannot believe you. You brought him to dinner? To meet our parents? Do you have a death wish? When they find out, they’re going to kick your ass.”