In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (26 page)

We
talked on the phone each day that week. Friday morning came with the
good morning message I was starting to count on. I'd even sent a few
messages on my own. They were usually silly and during his meetings.
He never seemed to mind. I'd agreed to spend the evening with Chris.
I was off all day, but Chris had taken the day shift for a friend of
his. We hadn't seen each other outside of work all week, and he
didn't have his little girl. He wanted to check out a new club not
far away. I called Jackson's phone, hoping he wasn't in a meeting.

“
Hey
there,” he answered. “Are you okay?”

“
Hey,
Jackson,” I said. “Very funny. How's your day going?”

“
Okay,”
he said. “How about yours?”

Something
was different about him. His voice was low and the happy tone was
gone.

“
Okay,”
I answered. “Are you busy? Maybe I should let you go.”

“
No,”
he said. “I'm happy you called.”

“
You
don't sound like it,” I said. “What's wrong?”

“
Nothing,”
he said.

“
Don't
give me nothing,” I said. “Tell me. Do I have to fly to
Florida and kick some ass?”

“
You
have no idea how good that sounds,” he said.

“
Whose
ass?” I asked. “I'm ready.”

I
heard a small laugh from across the line. Something was wrong, and I
felt horrible for not being there to make it better.

“
I
meant you being here,” he said. “I want to see you,
Tiny.”

I
thought for a moment before saying anything. Would I scare him away
if I admitted the truth? I thought about what my mom said about being
happy.

“
I'd
like to see you too, Jackie,” I said.

I
heard someone say something to him in the background.

“
Okay,”
he said. “I'll be right there.”

“
I'll
let you go. I just wanted to let you know I'm going out tonight with
Chris. He wants to check out a new club and is complaining that I
haven't had time for him. I think he's a bit jealous of you. I told
him not to worry. You're just fine where you are. He's afraid you're
going to steal me away from him. He doesn't understand. I told him
I'd go to the club. I'll probably stay at his place tonight. It's
around the corner from where he wants to go. I didn't mean to
interrupt your day of important meetings. Kick some ass, Jackie.”

“
What
did you mean he doesn't understand?” he asked.

I
heard someone talking to him again and knew he needed to go.

“
Never
mind,” I said. “I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“
I
miss you, Tiny,” he said.

“
I
miss you too, Jackie.”

He
sounded sad about something. I didn't know if it was about work, or
me, or what. He said he wanted me there. He wanted to see me. My
phone beeped with a text.

Chris:
Looking forward to hanging with my best friend tonight.

I
put my phone down and got up. Jackson seemed very busy, and I was
pretty sure I wasn't going to be hearing from him. I turned my laptop
on and decided to take on my bills. They were going to be pretty
large from my visit to Florida, and I wasn't looking forward to
paying them. The worst was going to be my credit card. It had the
plane tickets, car rental, and hotel bill on it. The hotel bill was
going to be the worst. I'd charged everything from the bar that night
to the room. Chris had ordered a decent amount of drinks, but mine
were even worse. I think there might have been some room service in
there as well as a few things from the fridge in the room. I couldn't
even imagine what Chris added when he went down to the club after he
had taken me to the room. He knew the weekend was on me, and I was
pretty sure he took advantage of that. Not to mention the guy that
ended up in the room with him the one night. I could have been paying
for his drinks too.

I
paid my cell phone bill, rent, and other small bills before taking on
the credit card. I took a huge breath in and out before typing in the
password and pressing enter. The amount that came up wasn't that bad.
Something was missing from it. I opened the statement so I could go
through it. The plane tickets were there as well as the rental car.
When I got to the hotel portion, I had to look twice. There was a
charge for the initial room. Then there was a credit for the same
amount. They hadn't charged my card for the stay or for any of the
extras. I jumped up from my chair and went to my room. The receipt
that came under the door the night before check out was still in my
bag. I hadn't wanted to face it until I needed to. I unfolded the
paper, and my mouth dropped open. The total bill was a thousand
dollars. What the hell did we drink, I wondered? I wasn't expecting
it to be that high. Maybe Chris had decided to have even more fun
that last night while I was in Jackson's room. I took the bill with
me back to my chair and went through the statement from the card
again. It wasn't there. When I looked back at my receipt from the
hotel, I saw it. There was another credit card number there with
Jackson's name. He'd paid my hotel bill. How the heck had he been
able to pull that off, I wondered?

My
head fell to my hands, and I couldn't take it anymore. He was so damn
busy taking care of everyone else. It was time someone did something
for him. I knew he had done some things for my mom and dad for the
wedding. He'd sent my brother on a trip. He'd paid my hotel bill when
he thought I was there with my boyfriend. He'd made the comment on
the phone about liking the idea of me being there. Then he'd said
that he wanted to see me. I needed to find out the truth. Was he
blowing smoke up my ass, or did he mean it? I was going to take the
risk. I was going to be the one to take that first step and put it
all out there. It would be up to him to decide what to do next.

I
threw on some clothes, grabbed a bag, and shoved as much in it as I
could. Hopefully there was at least one matching outfit in it. Then I
collected up the necessities like a brush, deodorant, and a
toothbrush. I grabbed my phone and e-reader along with their
chargers. I had my license and credit cards. That was all I needed.

I
got to the airport and paid an obscene amount to fly out on the next
flight. Then I hurried through security and ran through the airport
like someone you'd see in of a movie. Once I was on the plane, I sent
a quick text to Chris and another to my mom asking her the address
where Jackson worked. Then I sent Jackson a text.

Me:
Are you at your office all day today?

Jackson:
Sure am.

Me:
Don't work too hard.

Jackson:
I'll try. I'll talk to you in a bit.

Then
I shut my phone off and closed my eyes. I think I fell asleep before
the plane even left the ground. I was definitely exhausted and so
afraid he was going to turn me away.

Jackson

By
Thursday night, I couldn't take it anymore. Everything Tina's mom had
said was right. I needed to figure out what I wanted. Tina was it for
me. I didn't want to let her go again. When I'd typed out that text
and sent it earlier that week, I knew what it said. That was when I
realized I was in deep. It took some time for me to pull myself
together. When she didn't text back, I knew I had to call her and
play if off like I'd never sent it. I didn't want to scare the shit
out of her.

It
took everything I had to knock on Tim's door that night. When he
opened the door, he had the nastiest look on his face. I walked by
him and turned back to face him. Renee smiled and got up from the
couch to leave us alone.

“
What?”
he asked. “What do you want?”

My
fingers ran through my hair. I didn't want to lose my best friend,
but I was willing to face whatever was to come of what I had to say.

“
I
love her,” I said.

That
dirty look left his face for a moment before showing right back up.

“
You
need to stay away from her. I can't believe you slept with my sister
after I asked you not to. You were supposed to be my best friend,
Jackson,” he said.

“
I
know that,” I said, as I walked over and sat down on the couch.
“I didn't do it to hurt you. I swear I didn't. I've liked her
since I was fifteen. It was probably even longer. That was when I
realized it. I tried to go out with girls and do the whole dating
thing. It never changed anything, Tim. I threatened any guy that even
thought about asking her out. I even came home from school to visit a
couple of them. That night we were talking. It just happened. When I
realized what I'd done to you, I left. I made sure not to talk to her
after that. I stayed away from her. She was all I thought about. I've
not had a serious relationship. You know that. I know you don't think
I'm good enough for her. You're probably right. I'm sure she deserves
a man so much better than me, but I love her.”

“
I
don't want her to get hurt, Jackson. She liked you a lot back then.”

“
I
won't hurt her, Tim. I want to be with her,” I said, as I
stood.

“
Are
you saying that no matter what I say, you're going to be with her?”
he asked.

“
I'm
hoping we can still be friends. You're my best friend. You're my
family.”

“
If
not?” he asked.

“
I'm
still going to show her how much I care about her,” I said. “I
can't walk away from her. I regret so damn bad that I didn't fight
for her then. I should have come clean with you, but I shouldn't have
given up on seeing what I could have had with her.”

Tim
stood there not saying a word. I walked over to him and stopped.

“
I'm
hoping you can forgive me, Tim. I came here to talk to you before I
go after her, but I am going after her. I'm not letting her go this
time. Let me know what you decide.”

The
next morning, I felt bad about the way I'd handled it with Tim. He
had every right to be mad. I was pissed that he was still judging me,
like any other guy in the world was more fit for his sister than me.
I couldn't help the way it made me feel. Her own mother didn't feel
that way towards me. Why did he? Ten years had gone by. We were all
grown adults. She'd lived on her own for so long. I didn't understand
how he could still act like that towards me. I'd made something of my
life. I knew I could give her more than any other man, and I loved
her. I hadn't even told her that yet. I told him first, and he didn't
respond the way I had hoped he would. If he thought I was such a bad
guy, I wasn't sure I even wanted to talk to him anymore. Tina had a
point. If he thought I was so bad, why did he go on the vacation that
I paid for?

I'd
just gotten out of a shitty meeting and was still thinking about Tim
when Tina called me. Just the sound of her sweet voice had my mood
changing. When she mentioned getting on a plane, I almost felt like
making something up just to get her to come home for the weekend. I'd
have bought her a ticket if I thought she'd really show up. I was
shocked when she said she wanted to see me too. It was rare for her
to open herself up like that. She had her heart locked tight. The
thought of that being my fault was awful.

I
sat through another meeting with my mind on her. The thought of her
going out with Chris to a club was driving me up the wall. She said
she hadn't been with anyone else in two years, but that didn't mean
she wouldn't fuck me out of her mind that night. I knew that shit
from experience. I'd done that myself more times than I'd like to
remember over the years. He wouldn't be watching out for her. He'd be
looking out for himself. She didn't need to be staying with him
either. By the end of the meeting, I couldn't do it anymore.

I
went back to my office, booked a flight, and told my assistant Andrea
that I was leaving and would be reachable by phone for the weekend.
She did her usual once over of me before smiling.