Clearing the air versus me being alone with Jason. Eventually, he said, “Do you promise to call me if he gets out of line?”
I meant to answer right away. Instead, I took a minute to cement the memory of how ridiculously sexy he looked first thing in the morning.
Another shiver.
No, Ellie. You don’t have time to drag him back to bed. Yet.
The first day people found out about our relationship was supposed to be different. Full of relief, with Drew and I celebrating by holding hands in public, and having guilt-free sex, not avoiding contact with the outside world.
“Ellie?”
“I promise.”
He leaned down to kiss me, his lips lingering on mine a touch longer than I could cope with. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
I was half tempted to wait until Drew was outside, close the door on both of them and hide until they sorted their differences out for themselves. When Drew turned the doorknob though, the hostility between the guys made it clear that wasn’t an option. Without a word, Drew left, and headed down the corridor to his room. Drawing in a deep breath, I turned my attention to Jason. “Come in.”
He stepped inside, not a trace of smugness on his face about getting his way. “What the hell’s going on, Ellie?”
Well, there’s nothing like getting straight to the point. But if that’s the way he wants to play it.
“I’m in love with your brother.”
Jason choked out a bitter, hollow laugh. “In love? With Drew? Come on, Ellie, be serious.”
“I am being serious. I’m in love with him.”
“No.” He shook his head. “If you’re screwing around with Drew, that’s your choice, but don’t try to tell me you two are in love.”
“Since when have I ever screwed around?”
He paused to ponder my question, his eyebrows knitting as if I’d asked him to figure out a tough maths problem. In this case, one and one most definitely equalled two.
“How long has this been going on?”
“About a week,” I replied, sinking onto the bed. The duvet was a crumpled mess from scrambling to get out from underneath it. I longed to throw it over myself, to block out the already awkward conversation with Jason, and hide until the gossip died out.
“Oh please!” Jason spat, pacing the floor. “It doesn’t work that way, you don’t just decide to fall in love with someone and you, Ellie, you don’t fall for people so quickly, especially not people you’ve known your whole life. Not someone like Drew!”
Not someone like Drew. The words echoed in my head, infuriating me. I missed the days when Jason thought his big brother was cool, someone to look up to, instead of… whatever he saw now. Years had passed since then, and the saddest part was, the more respect Jason had lost for Drew, the more respect I gained for him. I got closer, was allowed a little bit further into Drew’s mind with every one of Jason’s screw-ups, and I learned how much more there was to him than the nag Jason always said he’d turned into.
Being with “someone like Drew” made me proud.
“It might not make sense to you. You’ve been too busy promoting lies, getting drunk, and shagging anything that moves! In the real world, where the rest of us live, Drew and I make perfect sense.”
Jason flinched as if he’d been slapped. “You lied to me, Ellie.”
The first glimpse of hurt shone through his rage, and my stomach clenched. “Do you think the lies weren’t hard on us? I didn’t enjoy keeping it from you, but we weren’t ready to tell yet. It all happened so fast, and-”
“You didn’t think I had a right to know about it straight away?”
“No more than anyone else.”
There were certain - albeit rare - times when the similarities between the brothers were astonishing. Jason’s face hardened, his eyes shut down.
“When did I stop being important?” he asked, and my insides twisted again, tying themselves into a knot of guilt.
“You didn’t. We-”
“No. When did I stop being important? It used
I meant to answer right away. Instead, I took a minute to cement the memory of how ridiculously sexy he looked first thing in the morning.
Another shiver.
No, Ellie. You don’t have time to drag him back to bed. Yet.
The first day people found out about our relationship was supposed to be different. Full of relief, with Drew and I celebrating by holding hands in public, and having guilt-free sex, not avoiding contact with the outside world.
“Ellie?”
“I promise.”
He leaned down to kiss me, his lips lingering on mine a touch longer than I could cope with. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
I was half tempted to wait until Drew was outside, close the door on both of them and hide until they sorted their differences out for themselves. When Drew turned the doorknob though, the hostility between the guys made it clear that wasn’t an option. Without a word, Drew left, and headed down the corridor to his room. Drawing in a deep breath, I turned my attention to Jason. “Come in.”
He stepped inside, not a trace of smugness on his face about getting his way. “What the hell’s going on, Ellie?”
Well, there’s nothing like getting straight to the point. But if that’s the way he wants to play it.
“I’m in love with your brother.”
Jason choked out a bitter, hollow laugh. “In love? With Drew? Come on, Ellie, be serious.”
“I am being serious. I’m in love with him.”
“No.” He shook his head. “If you’re screwing around with Drew, that’s your choice, but don’t try to tell me you two are in love.”
“Since when have I ever screwed around?”
He paused to ponder my question, his eyebrows knitting as if I’d asked him to figure out a tough maths problem. In this case, one and one most definitely equalled two.
“How long has this been going on?”
“About a week,” I replied, sinking onto the bed. The duvet was a crumpled mess from scrambling to get out from underneath it. I longed to throw it over myself, to block out the already awkward conversation with Jason, and hide until the gossip died out.
“Oh please!” Jason spat, pacing the floor. “It doesn’t work that way, you don’t just decide to fall in love with someone and you, Ellie, you don’t fall for people so quickly, especially not people you’ve known your whole life. Not someone like Drew!”
Not someone like Drew. The words echoed in my head, infuriating me. I missed the days when Jason thought his big brother was cool, someone to look up to, instead of… whatever he saw now. Years had passed since then, and the saddest part was, the more respect Jason had lost for Drew, the more respect I gained for him. I got closer, was allowed a little bit further into Drew’s mind with every one of Jason’s screw-ups, and I learned how much more there was to him than the nag Jason always said he’d turned into.
Being with “someone like Drew” made me proud.
“It might not make sense to you. You’ve been too busy promoting lies, getting drunk, and shagging anything that moves! In the real world, where the rest of us live, Drew and I make perfect sense.”
Jason flinched as if he’d been slapped. “You lied to me, Ellie.”
The first glimpse of hurt shone through his rage, and my stomach clenched. “Do you think the lies weren’t hard on us? I didn’t enjoy keeping it from you, but we weren’t ready to tell yet. It all happened so fast, and-”
“You didn’t think I had a right to know about it straight away?”
“No more than anyone else.”
There were certain - albeit rare - times when the similarities between the brothers were astonishing. Jason’s face hardened, his eyes shut down.
“When did I stop being important?” he asked, and my insides twisted again, tying themselves into a knot of guilt.
“You didn’t. We-”
“No. When did I stop being important? It used
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