Chapter Four
January 2
Mia
“ S o he actually moved in?” Kami seems fascinated by my latest news as we enjoy our lunch in my office.
“Unfortunately,” I reply. Both of my hands support my chin.
Kami cocks her head to the side. “You don’t seem that excited.”
“Why should I be? He’s constantly in my face now that we live together. This is only Jonathan’s way of babysitting me while he’s gone.”
Her eyes widen. “Really? Of all the ways he could’ve done that, I’d think having his best friend moving in with you would be the last thing he’d think of.”
“My brother is underhanded. You don’t know him like I do. He’s always got something up his sleeve.”
Growing up, there was nothing in my life that Jonathan didn’t know about. He knew where I hung out after school, what kind of friends I had, and he paid special attention to the boys I dated. Ever since I moved back home after college, though his overprotective tendencies aren’t as crazy anymore, he still seems to know everything that goes on in my life.
“What’s it like living with Jake so far?” She smirks.
“It’s…odd. I’m not used to him being this close, much less sharing an apartment with him. I struggle with sleep knowing he’s in the other room.”
We’re only two days in, but he’s, so far, kept his end of the bargain. Not just with the ground rules, but with the way he’s promised to treat me like an adult. So if all seems to be going well, why am I so hyperaware of his presence? Why does my heart race every time he turns a corner and comes into view?
“Interesting you say that.”
I can see the wheels in her head turning. “What do you mean?”
She pauses. “Do you remember when Jake and I helped you move in?”
I nod. “How could I forget? He showed up unannounced when I already told him I didn’t need help, called me by his own personal nickname through the whole process, and then continued to annoy me about the furniture being too heavy for just you and me to carry.”
“He wasn’t wrong about that last part,” she points out.
Whatever. “That’s beside the point.”
“Based on what I saw that day, it looked as though you two were…vibing.”
What’s she getting at? “Vibing?”
“There was chemistry between you two.”
Younger me, who I thought was long dormant, emerges from her slumber at this news. I start to feel a sense of hope and excitement I haven’t felt in a long time. But no. This isn’t real. I shove those feelings back down as deep as possible. I was young and immature then. I’ve moved on.
I shake my head. “Sure we were arguing, but that doesn’t mean there was chemistry.”
She raises her hands in defeat. “I could be wrong, but I’m just saying.”
She has to be wrong. Jake has never, and never would, flirt with me. His teasing is only because he thinks getting under my skin is fun.
“How long have you known him?” Kami asks.
“Since I was a kid. He and Jake met in college. That’s how KH Industries was founded.”
“Wow. I’m surprised you’re not a founding member.”
I scoff. “By the time they started talking about it, I wasn’t even a teen. And even then, I was never part of any of those conversations.”
“Knowing him as long as you did, you two must have been close.”
I look back to memories I haven’t thought about in a long time. Memories I’ve never been able to forget.
“He spent most of his time with Jonathan. But there were times I watched a movie or two with them.”
“If you guys got along then, why aren’t you now? Did he hurt you? Doesn’t seem like there was any falling out.”
I sigh. “No, nothing like that. Time went on, I got older, and I went away for college.”
“Did you have a crush on him by chance?”
What makes her think that? Not that she’s wrong. “Yeah, but it was ages ago. A phase.”
“What makes you say that?”
Isn’t it obvious? “I was a teen when I realized my feelings were one-sided, and I moved on.”
“Are you sure it was one-sided?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. What’s with the questioning?”
“I’m just…thinking.”
“That sounds frightening.” I’m partially teasing, but I’m also cautious.
“I just think that if he didn’t feel the same way, he wouldn’t be living with you.”
“But that’s not why he’s living with me. He’s doing it because Jonathan told him to.”
She shakes her head seemingly amused. “Whatever you say.”
“You don’t believe him.”
“Just think about it for a second. Jake kisses you on New Year’s Eve, tells you that night he’s moving in with you, and does so just as Jonathan and Kiera leave for their vacation. Don’t you think the timing of all of this is a little suspicious?
The timing may be interesting but not suspicious. Jonathan could have easily told Jake to move in at the same time he left for vacation.
If that’s what Jonathan wanted, why didn’t he have him move in sooner?
He didn’t have to. Kami was living with me at the time.
Is Kami trying to say Jake has other motives for moving in? No. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Like Jake had said all those years ago, “She’s Jonathan’s kid sister. Nothing more. I don’t think of her like that.”
Any hope of otherwise, I got out of my system a long time ago.
“He kissed me because he had too much to drink. He moved in because Jonathan told him to look out for me. What’s there to be suspicious about?”