Date Night (Wish Come True Book 1) (5 page)

“Figures,” he scoffed and crossed his
arms lightly over his chest. “You’re a girl. My buddies and I are into Modern
Warfare 2 these days. The special effects are killer. Do you want to see?”

He phrased it more as a challenge than
as an invitation. Zachary offered it to me but I shrank back at the idea of
touching the DS after the booger episode. He hadn’t washed his hands yet. JT
walked up in time to save me from having to accept the DS and endure a lesson
in Modern Warfare. He quickly set down our food.

“I have a grilled chicken sandwich
for the lady and macaroni and cheese for the dude. Can I get you another glass
of milk? I mean Coke?” he stammered and then apologized profusely with his eyes
darting between the two of us. “Sorry. Really. I just came from a table with a
family of four kids. I’ve been fetching milk all night.”

I giggled and thanked JT for the
food.
Mistake my ass!
I took another sip of my margarita and frowned
when air whistled through the straw. JT was just keeping it real for me. I kept
the dinner conversation light and focused on topics that were sure to be of
interest to Zachary…the latest movies…his favorite games…work. After finishing
our meal and placing our dessert order, Zachary stood and turned to me.

“Pull my finger,” he said in all
seriousness.

My head buzzed heavily from the
effect of the triple shot. I had sucked up the sweet drink way too fast. Had I
heard him right? Was he trying to be funny? Oh what the hell. I gave it a solid
tug and was horrified when he lifted his left leg and let a juicy fart rip out.
I wanted to crawl under the table when the couple next to us looked over in
disgust. But the booger was hanging out under the table so I stayed put.

“Definitely a number two on the way,”
he said and made his way to the restroom with an undeniable pep in his step.

My jaw dropped and I stared after him
in wide-eyed horror. This one had definitely failed to launch out of boyhood
and into manhood. Pull my finger? Grabbing hold of the edge of the table, I
carefully stood and made my way back to the bar. I definitely needed another drink
to make it through dessert.

“Give me another triple strawberry
margarita, Mike.” I ran my hand through my long hair in frustration and resumed
my seat at the bar. With any luck I wouldn’t remember the whole date come morning.
That was my new goal.

“That bad?” Mike pushed another glass
in front of me. “I saw you heading over and took the liberty of making you one.
What did he do to top the present he left under the table?”

I rolled my eyes and reached for the
drink. “You have no idea.”

“Whoa,” JT said as he walked up and
leaned in to remove my drink. “You need to slow down Jordan. You’ll never make
it home if you keep this up. Christ I don’t even know if you’ll make it home
already. You’re such a lightweight.”

“He made me pull his finger and then
went to the restroom to take a dump.”

Mike roared with laughter and shook
his head as he walked to the other side of the bar to serve a new guest. I pushed
past JT’s arm and reached for the drink.

“Fine.” His shoulders shook with his
repressed laugh. “You deserve it after that. Wait at the bar for another hour
after your date and I’ll drive you home. Keep an eye on her Mike.”

Mike nodded his head in
acknowledgement from across the bar and they each took turns keeping me
occupied for the remainder of the evening. I hadn’t even bothered to go back to
say goodbye to Zachary. JT boxed up the dessert and split the bill in half but,
to everyone’s utter amazement, Zachary had paid the whole bill and left the
standard 18% tip. Apparently he wasn’t a complete dweeb.

“Shut the front door.” Chloe stared
at me with eyes bulging out of her sockets just as JT walked up to collect me
and drive me home.

“What’s up?” he asked with a raised
brow.

“Jordan was just telling me her
stupid date brings in eighty thousand per year testing out flipping video
games. He’s made a career out of playing with a joystick all day and he’s
rolling in the dough doing it. Excuse me while I go home now and cry myself to
sleep.”

“Damn,” JT said in a drawn out voice.
“Seriously? The kid’s not as dumb as he seemed. I’m not even going to start out
on that salary after obtaining a five year college degree.” He ruffled my hair.
“All right kiddo—it’s time to get you home and do some explaining. I called
your mom earlier and told her I’d be bringing you home.”

***

J.T.

I wrapped my arm around Jordan to
lend her support as we walked to her car. She stumbled along the way in her
high heeled shoes but somehow managed to make it to the car without significant
incident. It was a good thing she didn’t weigh much though. I’d have no problem
catching her if she fell.

“Did I tell you his mom still puts
cut up hot dogs in his mac ‘n cheese?” she said, giggling. “Too bad you don’t
serve hot dogs.”

I chuckled along—because I found her
giggle so funny. “No. You didn’t mention that fun fact. Where are your car
keys?”

“In…my…pocket,” she slurred and then
giggled when my hand reached around her from behind and slid into her jeans pocket.
“That really tickles, JT.”

“You’re drunk,” I whispered in her
ear, enjoying her lighthearted mood.

“I know.” She leaned back onto my
chest to snuggle her head into the crook of my shoulder. The sweet smell of the
strawberries in her margaritas lingered. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d spilt
some on herself in her inebriated state. Mrs. Billette was probably going to
tan my hide for letting Jordan get this drunk.

“You smell so good,” she said,
turning around in my arms and smiling sweetly up at me. She buried her nose in
my chest for a moment and inhaled deeply. “I like the way you smell, JT.”

I stared down at her and felt utterly
entranced. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

The corner of my mouth curved up as
surprise registered in her wide-eyes. I held her close to me and could feel the
thunderous beat of her heart through my thin shirt. It mirrored my own. I loved
the feel of her warm body pressed tightly against mine; it was soft and
moldable.

“I didn’t get to kiss a frog
tonight,” she whispered while gazing at my parted lips. Her hands reach out tentatively
to rub slowly across my chest and I felt a slow burning heat settle into my
veins.
Walk away.
It would be the gentlemanly thing to do. But I
couldn’t resist her.

“Is that so?” I chuckled, letting the
flirting continue just a little longer. A little flirting never hurt anyone.

“Mmm…hmm,” she said in a hoarse voice
before running her tongue along her bottom lip. “Maybe you’d like to show me
again how it’s done.”

“Are you sure?” I asked while I slid
my hand into her thick hair at the base of her neck and tugged until she was
forced to meet me eye to eye.

“Use your tongue this time.”

Every ounce of blood drained from my body
and flooded to that traitorous appendage between my thighs. I knew the second
she felt my need. “God help me,” I sighed and crushed my mouth down on hers,
immediately seeking entrance with my tongue and boldly claiming what she so
casually offered. She met me stroke for stroke…feeding my momentary frenzy. She
tasted every bit as sweet as I knew she would. With a herculean effort, I pulled
back and set her aside knowing that it was wrong of me to take advantage of the
situation. She was three sheets to the wind. Yet I had no excuse.

The little moan that escaped her
throat was almost my undoing. Closing my eyes I took a deep, cleansing breath
to clear my mind of the vision that her moan had conjured. A vision of Jordan
lying on my bed beneath me, head thrown back in pleasure, flashed in my mind. I
resolutely unlocked the car and opened her door.

“Get inside.” It came out sharper
than I had intended and I cursed under my breath. I got behind the wheel of her
car and adjusted the seat to my much longer legs.

“Are you mad at me?” Jordan asked
with her head leaning against the back of the car seat and her eyes shut.

Her voice had a dreamy quality to it.
It was a bitter reminder to me that she was, in fact, drunk and would probably
forget the entire evening ever happened. Maybe that was for the best. I’d be a
fool to try and deny how badly I wanted her. The rock hard bulge in my pants
was all the evidence I needed. But I simply couldn’t afford to go down this
path with Jordan right now or maybe ever.

“No.” I stared at the steering wheel
for a moment before glancing over at her. The sultry eyes gazing back at me
took my breath away.

“Why didn’t you make out with me at
the movie theater, JT?”

A deep chuckle reverberated in my
chest. She was so stinking drunk. The fact that she’d probably forget the whole
night ever happened suddenly made me bold too.

“Believe me Jordan, I wanted to so
badly. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about pulling you onto my lap
and making out like teenagers. But you’re my best friend’s sister.”

“Mmmm…” she murmured and a gentle
smile spread across her face. “I like your way even better. I had you leaning
over in my daydream.”

“Kind of like this?” I leaned over to
kiss her soft lips.

She parted them immediately and slid
her tongue into my willing mouth. Her tongue was pure silk on mine, sliding and
licking and plunging. We made out better and longer than any teenage session I
could recall.

“Yes,” she sighed when I pulled back
for a breath.

I smiled and traced the outline of
her closed eyes, letting my finger travel lower across her cheek and then along
the edge of her jaw. She was quite beautiful. A delicate snort suddenly passed
her open lips. She had fallen asleep. Shaking my head I leaned over and clasped
the seatbelt over her shoulder. Great. What did that say about my kissing? I
pulled out of the parking space and drove home in silence, with just my own thoughts
for company.

I could feel the wad of cash tips in
my back pocket and knew it would be just enough to pay the bills when added to
the rest of my earnings from the week. If Derek and I put in enough hours this
summer, we would be able to pay the running costs of the house and car while
managing to eat cheap junk as we studied in the next school year. The five
dollar Hot ‘n Ready pizza was a life saver. Just one more year; that’s all I
needed to survive before I would start my career with the largest public
accounting firm in the world. Then I would be able to afford to support a
girlfriend…fiancée…or wife. But not now. I couldn’t screw up this last year of
my studies. My life and Derek’s life literally depended on my success.

I pulled into the driveway and
silently watched Jordan sleep. There was time. If the last few weeks had
convinced me of anything, it was that the likelihood Jordan would find a fiancé
in time for the wedding date was remote to none. Let her continue her harmless
dates in an effort to fulfill Grannie’s wishes. There was still the small
matter that she was my best friend’s sister. Jared. Yeah, that was going to be
a problem but it wasn’t insurmountable. It would just require careful thought
over the course of the next few months.

I jumped out of the car and opened
her door, giving Jordan a little shake on her arm. “Time to wake up,
sleepyhead.”

She groaned but otherwise ignored me.
There was no help for it. I leaned in and gathered her up in my arms, grunting
under the dead weight of her body. She was a lot heavier than I had thought
just looking at her. But I was sober enough to know it would be best not to
share that thought with her anytime soon. When I arrived at the door I found it
being held wide open by Mrs. Billette. She flashed me an inquisitive brow. I
grinned back and shrugged my shoulders.

“Meet me in the kitchen after you
tuck her in,” she said with a soft chuckle.

I laid Jordan down on the bed and
gently pulled off her shoes. The contented little sigh she let out as she snuggled
into her pillow warmed my heart. I found the crocheted blanket that Grannie had
made her hanging over the foot of the bed and fanned it out over her body being
careful to cover her from head to toe. I leaned over and gave her a peck on the
cheek and then left to head toward the kitchen.

It was time to pay the piper and
admit my transgressions. Well not all of them. But I would at least confess to
my part in allowing Jordan to become inebriated during her horrendous date.
Surely her mother would forgive me after hearing the gory details. How she
would feel about the heated kisses in the parking lot of the restaurant I
couldn’t be sure. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Jordan

I rolled onto my back and released an
exaggerated yawn as I stretched my arms and legs out across the bed, but
immediately regretted the movement. It produced an excruciating pounding in my
head. Thank goodness I had eaten a full meal to mitigate the effect of the alcohol
at least a little. Mike’s suggestion to throw back a raw shot had seemed like a
good idea at the time. Not. If only I could forget the whole thing. Except for
the kisses I had shared with JT. Or was that a dream?

I cautiously opened one eye to peer
at the alarm clock. It was already ten o’clock in the morning. A glass of water
and two aspirin awaited me on the nightstand along with a hastily written note:
“Don’t forget you promised to come by at noon! Take this. I’m sure you’ll
need it. JT”
A slow smile crept over my face as I swallowed the pills,
recalling one of Grannie’s favorite quotes from Ernest Hemingway which she
shared with me on my twenty-first birthday.
“Always do sober what you said
you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

I should’ve listened to JT and slowed
it way down last night. Today was Derek’s high school graduation party. Jared
was coming along as well to help set up the tent, tables and chairs and I had
agreed to be in charge of decorations. I had to get up and shower if I wanted
enough time to stop by the grocery store first to pick up fresh ingredients for
the dishes Grannie and my mom planned to bring to the party.

Everyone had gladly offered to bring
a dish to pass knowing that JT would be hard pressed to throw a lavish
graduation party for his brother on his own. Although I was certain he’d have
figured out a way to afford the party if my mother hadn’t come up with the idea
of the pot luck style menu. JT was proud of his brother and did everything in
his power to ensure Derek had as normal a life as possible under the
circumstances.

It was hard to believe that Derek had
graduated from high school. I had always thought of Derek as a little kid as we
were growing up. But he wasn’t so little anymore. In fact he stood well over 6’
3” with broad shoulders and thick muscles that had earned him a partial
scholarship to play football at Wayne State University. Yet he was still JT’s ‘little’
brother—by about an inch.

A warm flush flooded my cheeks as my
thoughts drifted to JT’s tall frame and the way he’d held me tightly against
him the night before in the parking lot of Big Ben’s Brewery. No doubt I had
been drunk. But not drunk enough to forget the bold challenge that had passed my
lips nor the hungry response I had received in return. My tummy tingled with
the memory of his velvety tongue rubbing against mine.
God help me.
The
words reverberated clearly in my head.

In this one respect I gladly accepted
the consequences of my drunken folly. Alcohol had fueled my behavior, giving me
the courage to do that which I would only dream of sober. There was no doubt in
my mind now. JT wanted me as badly as I wanted him. What I didn’t know is
whether his wanting me transcended physical desire; and whether he would potentially
risk damaging his friendship with my brother to find out.

God help me!
I
thought with my heart hammering in my chest. I truly hoped so. JT was
everything I could ever want in a husband: open-minded, caring, loving,
hard-working, intelligent, empathetic and funny. Not to mention he set my
panties on fire. When had the cute guy from high school grown into a drop-dead
gorgeous man? And while I had always liked my brother’s best friend, it was our
bonding over the past four weeks since I’d started my dates at Big Ben’s that
made me appreciate just how wonderful JT really was.

I sat up slowly and gingerly swung my
legs over the side of the bed, hoisting myself into a standing position. The
throbbing in my head was now a dull ache. Quite manageable; and likely much
better than I deserved. I switched the showerhead onto massage mode and reveled
in the hot water pounding on my neck and shoulders, erasing the remnants of my
headache.

Sunshine streamed into my bedroom,
warming my exposed skin as I gazed out the window. It was going to be a perfect
day. I couldn’t be happier for Derek. He deserved it and Mother Nature
apparently agreed. It would be a casual affair so I threw on a pair of dark
wash jeans and clingy cowl neck sweater. The mid-length sleeves were perfect for
the late spring weather and the shade of light blue contrasted nicely with my
dark brown hair, which lay straight down to nearly the middle of my back.

“My, don’t you look pretty this
morning,” Grannie said from her seat at the kitchen table, her coffee cup
perched at her lips. A delicate snort shook her shoulders. “I’m glad to see you
decided to join us for the party after all. I heard you had a rough date last
night.”

“No joke,” I chuckled on my way to
grab a cup of coffee. I could afford a few minutes of caffeine with my favorite
grandmother. “Boogers, farts, and video games don’t score high on my list of
‘must
haves’
for my future spouse.”

“It’s not a total waste of time.” A
knowing smile crept over her face as she gazed at me over her coffee cup. “You’re
learning what you do and don’t like in a partner. Kind of makes you appreciate
someone special when you meet them. You want a man who is considerate and
caring but also knows how to make you laugh and has a backbone and a brain when
he needs it. Someone who makes you smile on the inside every time you think of
him.”

“Yes,” I reflected. “That’s true. Do
you know anyone who meets those criteria, Grannie? So I can stop with these
awful dates and get right down to business?”

“It doesn’t matter who I know or what
I think.” She pushed a small piece of paper in front of me. “Do you know anyone
who meets those criteria? You need to follow your own heart and I think it has
a sturdy compass to point you in the right direction. The real question is—will
you follow it?”

I opened the piece of paper.
Justin
Theodore Murphy—Party List.
Yes. My compass was directing me due North
towards JT. And I had every intention of following it even if the path there
might be an uphill battle full of treacherous rocks and potholes.
God help
me.
Those were the words of a man desperately fighting against his own
feelings…a man fighting an inner battle of wills. I only wished I knew exactly
what barriers JT saw to our relationship to give me a chance of breaking them
down.

“I made a grocery list for you,”
Grannie said. “So you won’t forget any of the important ingredients.”

I stood up and leaned in to kiss
Grannie on the cheek. “I’m on it.”

After dropping off the groceries back
at the house I walked over to JT’s with Jared. My tummy was humming with the
excitement of a swarm of bees in a hive. How would JT react to seeing me this
morning? I bit the inside of my lip to contain the sudden giggle threatening to
erupt when I recalled our playful banter. Jared would expect an explanation for
my mirth and I wasn’t able to put together a coherent thought at the moment.

A fresh display of spring flowers
around the trees and along the path to the front door greeted us when we
arrived. JT hadn’t planted flowers in a very long time. Five years to be exact.
It was an expense he simply couldn’t afford or maybe the reminder of his
mother’s favorite activity was too painful. Either way I was surprised.

JT stepped out of the garage as we
approached with a smile spreading across his face. His eyes lingered on mine
for a moment. “Ready to get to work or are you too hung over?”

“I’m ready,” I smiled up at him,
drinking in the sight of his ratty jeans hugging his body and the tight white
t-shirt clinging to his well-defined chest muscles. I was tempted to reach out
and wipe away the tiny smudge of dirt on his cheek just above his full lips. He
was sexy even when he was filthy.

 “By the way, thanks for the
aspirin.” I raised my hand to block the sun from my eyes as I examined JT’s
handy work closely. “The flowers look fabulous, JT. It must’ve taken you all
morning to plant them. Great idea.”

He stared down at his shoes for a
moment and I was sure I detected a slight flush in his cheeks. Why would he be
embarrassed about planting flowers? It was an incredibly sweet gesture to make
the home welcoming for his brother’s graduation party.

“Damn right it did.” Chloe said
breathlessly, stepping out of the garage where she had been bent over cleaning
up the remnants of the flower containers. “But it does look fabulous, doesn’t
it? I told JT it would. He didn’t want to spend the time or money. So I had to
take matters into my own hands. It’s my graduation gift to Derek.”

I stared at Chloe in surprise. What
was she doing here? JT hadn’t mentioned inviting her over to help prepare for
the party. This was supposed to be our gig—JT, me and Jared. Had she just shown
up on her own to plant the flowers despite JT’s objections? Granted the flowers
did look fabulous but who was Chloe to insert her will?

Derek probably would have appreciated
a card with cash more than flowers, but I kept my mouth shut. So much for being
in charge of the decorations. If I was honest, it pissed me off that I hadn’t
thought of planting flowers myself. I forced a smile and fought to appear
relaxed.  JT and Jared knew me well enough to detect a display of jealousy and
I wasn’t ready to attack that part of my uphill battle yet.

“Great job.” I bumped my shoulder
against my brother’s side and tried to appear jovial. “It looks just like it
did in the olden days, doesn’t it?” 

In the days when Chloe wasn’t around
to stand there beaming at her work and at JT. Her work was done. Why didn’t she
go home now? The party wasn’t starting for a few more hours.

“Sure, whatever,” Jared said,
clasping JT’s hand for a rough shake. “Where’s that good for nothing brother of
yours? We have a tent to put up before people start crashing the party in a few
hours.”

“He’s in the house.” JT walked to the
front door and opened it wide to let us all pass through. “We’re going to have to
drag him out of bed.”

“Typical teenager,” I said, laughing
and then paused so as not to knock Chloe down in the hallway when she suddenly
bent over to pick up a duffle bag off the floor.

Chloe walked towards the bathroom,
acting like she owned the place and looked back over her shoulder. “Hey JT, I’m
going to jump in the shower to get all of this dirt off of me. I’ll join you
guys outside in 30 minutes.”

JT nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah,
fine. Thanks again Chloe for planting the flowers. Derek will appreciate it.
They do make the house much more inviting and more like a home.”

The round cheeks in Chloe’s heart
shaped face glowed with a pretty shade of pink at his praise and her eyelashes
fluttered up at him. “Anything to help out.”

I inhaled deeply while moving past
the living room and into the kitchen where I could safely roll my eyes,
wondering secretly if my own behavior towards JT was as obvious as Chloe’s.  I
hoped not. Otherwise I was going to have a lot of explaining to do to my
brother by the end of the day. What nerve the woman had bringing her stuff over
to shower. Were the two closer than I realized?

“Sure you don’t need to jump in the
shower as well, JT?” Jared joked quietly once Chloe was safely behind the
bathroom door.

I whipped around to catch JT’s
reaction to the jest, unable to staunch my deep curiosity. Sparkling blue eyes
met mine dead on as a slow smile spread across his face. He chuckled and asked
Jared a question of his own.

“Wishing you had come over earlier to
help out in the garden Jared?”

“I wish,” Jared snorted. “Give me a
chance and I’d be all over that action. But her eyes are all for you man. She’s
yours for the taking.”

“No way man.” JT shook his head
vigorously and rubbed absently at the back of his neck as if he had a headache
just thinking about it. “Too much on my plate: getting Derek settled into
college, working at the restaurant to make enough dough to survive this last
year and keeping up my grades so I don’t screw up my job offer. The last thing
I need is to get involved in a committed relationship to take my head out of
the game.”

“Who said anything about commitment?”
Jared asked.
            “Don’t be such a jerk.” I shoved my brother out the back door while
JT went to wake Derek.

Maybe I should lay-off my brother. If
he hadn’t been such a cad I might not have gained so much insight into what JT
was thinking. His words had been in response to Jared’s comment about Chloe but
I couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d been meant for me. I needed to find an
opportunity later in the day to pull him aside and talk about last night.

It was tight but the five of us
pulled off the preparations with enough time for JT to shower and change before
the first guests arrived. And what an arrival it was. I flashed Grannie a full
white-toothy smile as she rolled up into the driveway in a burgundy 1970 Camaro
with broad white stripes down the hood. Music was blaring out of the sound
system through the wide open windows. She had even gotten the radio station
right.