“Well, good for her, I guess,” he says as he turns back towards the pile of dolls he was picking up. After a few moments of silence, he can’t seem to help but ask, “She didn’t ask about me at all?”
I laugh out loud, hard. “Nope, sorry. I did offer to help her with any of her little home projects she’s got going on. She didn’t say anything about having someone or not who can help her, but I wanted to be polite and at least offer.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Jake thundered back at me, his face starting to turn an angry shade of red.
“Think about what?” I ask, my defenses instantly on high alert.
“Going over there and sleeping with Erin!” he booms, eyes the same color as his sister’s boring hard into mine.
“What? Dude, I’m not going to sleep with her! She’s great looking and seems nice, but I’m not into her. She’s not the one I want.” Before I can stop the words from flying from my mouth, they are thrown out there waiting for Jake to pounce on them. He looks at me, huge questions written all over his face.
“Who do you want?”
“No one.” Time to redirect. “My point is, I don’t want Erin. She’s all yours. I would never do that to you, anyway; knowing that you kinda have a thing for her.”
Jake’s temper simmers down as he replies, “First off, I don’t have a thing for her. I’m not even sure I like her. She’s…I don’t know. She’s just not like anyone I usually date. And second, I know you wouldn’t try to move in on her. You’re a great friend. I know you wouldn’t do anything to break the guy code.”
Great. Now I feel like an even bigger pile of crap. I would never ever do anything to hurt Jake, but I can’t seem to walk away from his sister. I am breaking the unofficial guy code. But, there’s something there that just draws me to her. I have no response for him. Any way I respond, I’m lying to him. So, I decide to steer the conversation another direction.
“I can’t believe one little girl could have so much stuff,” I say as I throw the little plastic cups and saucers into the bag. “Seriously, I’ve never seen so much pink in my life.”
“And this is only a tiny part of it. You should see her room. By the way, you looked great holding that little pink teapot earlier. The guys at the station love it.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I already texted those pictures to the guys,” he responses with a huge grin. I sigh heavily. I just knew he couldn’t keep that shit to himself. Some friend. I can’t help but shake my head and laugh a little because I’m pretty sure I would have done the same thing to him.
*****
I grab the ice cream that I picked up on my way home from Jake’s from the freezer and head out the door. It’s only a few block walk over to Avery’s house, but I don’t mind. The cool night air helps clear my head, and as I discovered on the walk home very early this morning, it also helps wake me up.
After I knock on the door, it takes her a few moments but Avery answers the door looking a little disheveled. Her normally long, blond hair is pulled back in a crazy sort of bun thingy and she has a wild look of worry and fear in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I close the door behind me.
“Brooklyn has a fever. It just started a little bit ago along with this deep cough. I was just going to call you and tell you not to come over. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, babe. What can I do?” I lean down and kiss the crown of her blond head.
“I just dosed her with Motrin and am getting ready to put her in a lukewarm bath. She was fine an hour ago. And now she’s coughing and whining and has a one-hundred and three fever!” Avery starts to tear up as she recalls the past hour with Brooklyn. “I hate it when she’s sick. I feel so helpless.”
“Come here, babe,” I say as I pull her into my chest. She snuggles in close, resting her head on my chest, her hands around my waist. I feel so content with her pressed against me.
“What’s that? It’s cold,” she asks as she starts to squirm and pull away. I realize I still have the ice cream in my hand and just laid it against her back.
“Oh, that’s the dessert I brought for us,” I respond.
“Wait, you have ice cream? That might be good to help cool her.” She grabs the carton from my hand and pulls me into the kitchen.
“I’m going to go get her in the bathtub for a little bit. Can you dish her out a small scoop of ice cream, please?”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”