Chapter 13
Jayce
“And then,” Mom wheezed, curling forward and almost spilling her wine. “Charlie told him that he was just mad because he didn’t even have one hole to stick it in.”
Alana was trying to rein in her own laughter. She shot me a look and I shook my head with a smile. This was how things always were with my family. It was fun to be around now that I was older, but they were exactly the same when we were teens, which could sometimes be mortifying.
We didn’t have the nuclear family. When me and Jake were five, my mom and dad met Charlie. She was a junior in college and applied to be our babysitter since my mom was going back to work. Mom told her she couldn’t have the job because she would end up having an affair with the babysitter.
Long story short, she wasn’t kidding. Instead of hiring her, Mom and Dad asked her out. They’d always been polyamorous but had only been with each other since a few years before they had us. Six months later, Charlie moved in with us and they’d been together ever since. She was a mom to us and when I was a teenager, I sometimes confided in her more than my parents.
In school, people tried to give us shit for it, but we always let it roll off of us. I was never bothered by the dynamic in my house. It did lead to gossip about me, Jake, and Alana, which annoyed me more.
When I looked up, I found Charlie watching me. I raised a brow and she moved her gaze to Alana. I narrowed my eyes at her. Charlie was the only one who knew how I felt. I had no idea how she’d figured it out, but she told me about it during my freshman year of college. After I made her swear not to ever say anything about it, she only occasionally brought it up when we were alone.
“This wine is amazing,” Dad commended, swirling it around in his glass. “You’ve become a vintner in your old age.”
“Fuck off,” I laughed. “It’s just wine.”
“You could start selling it. Create a little nest egg for the future.”
“It’s more work than it’s worth. I just like doing it for myself.”
“And Alana,” Charlie noted with a smirk.
“I should’ve probably helped more,” Alana said. “I made him do all the work.”
“Jayce is good like that. If he ever finds himself a wife, she’ll be the luckiest, most spoiled woman alive.”
Shooting her a glare, I adjusted on the couch. “That just sounds like more to put on my plate. My job already steals fifty hours from me every week.”
Alana scoffed. “I never see you working. Any time I text you, you’re immediately down to hang out.”
“Priorities, Alana.”
“Must be nice. Although, I do get summers off. One day, maybe I’ll have enough money to start taking long vacations.”
“You could take a road trip,” Dad suggested. “You’d be surprised how much of the country you can see on a moderate budget.”
“Not alone,” Mom chided. “You don’t know who’s prowling the highways in search of a woman alone.”
I snorted a laugh, then smothered it with my hand. My mom read too many horror books. Besides, I’d never let Alana drive across the country by herself. There was only one person who was allowed to make her fear for her life.
I was on day three of making her sweat. She was on edge and even since she’d been here, I’d seen her look out the windows countless times. She knew that Erebus was still around but aside from the little gifts, she had nothing to go off of. I didn’t want to wait long enough for her to let down her guard, but I’d give it a little longer.
This weekend. That was when things would start heating up.
“Oh, there was something we needed to talk to you about,” Mom said suddenly. The mirth was gone from her expression, so I leaned forward and motioned for her to go on. “We had a conversation with a probate lawyer today.”
“A probate lawyer?” Alana repeated. I could see the apprehension in her eyes. Reaching over, I took her hand and squeezed it. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but that familiar feeling of dread was rising in my chest.
“Yes. We found out that Jake…” Mom took a deep breath and leaned closer to Dad. “He has a daughter.”
Alana tried to pull away from me, but I held her hand tighter.
“We know,” I said.
“You know?”
“Yeah, we found out because of the life insurance. He gave most of it to the kid.”
Dad nodded. “That’s partially what this is about, actually. We don’t know that much right now, but there have been some issues regarding who should control the money since she’s a minor.”
“Shouldn’t her mom do that?” Alana asked, sounding a little bitter.
“Her mom died recently. Not too long before Jake.”
That was news to me. When I found out about the kid, I didn’t give a shit about the details. Jake told me a little bit, but I only cared about him coming clean to Alana.
“Who has custody?” I asked.
“Her stepfather is her legal guardian. He doesn’t want us to have any contact with her because Jake was never involved.”
“What does this have to do with you guys?”
“Well…” He breathed a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “In most cases, the living parent would be appointed the custodian of a minor’s funds. Her mother appointed Jake, so upon her death, he had control of the money she left for her daughter. He appointed Alana.”
“What?” she shrieked. “I don’t understand. Why would he do that? How could he do that? I haven’t been told any of this.”
“The lawyer is supposed to reach out to you this week. It doesn’t mean that you have to be the custodian, which is why they spoke to us. We’re blood related, so the court could potentially see us as an option. Since Jake appointed you in his will, you’re the first choice, but the lawyer thinks that we might be better suited to it since she’s our granddaughter.”
“What about the stepdad?” I asked.
“It’s a possibility. Neither of Alicia’s parents designated him and he’s had issues with finances before. The court wants to ensure that a responsible party has control of the money.”
“Tell them to use a court-appointed custodian. None of us know this kid.”
Mom frowned. “She’s your niece, Jayce.”
“She was hardly even Jake’s daughter, so I don’t see how that matters. Alana shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. He already fucked her over with this bullshit.”
“I understand that he made some mistakes and I’m not condoning anything that’s happened, but this is a child. Your brother’s child. We should all want what’s best for her.”
“Maybe her stepdad is what’s best for her. He’s the only dad she knows, I’m sure.”
“Maybe, but if they’re going through the trouble of reviewing all of the options, I want to be involved in that. She’s a part of him and we were never given the chance to be involved.”
“I need some air,” Alana blurted before she stood. I watched her flee out the front door and fought the urge to follow.
“Jayce,” dad said.
“Look,” I sighed. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to be a part of her life, but she’s nine fucking years old. She doesn’t know any of us exist. Do you think it’s best for her to go and blow up her life by throwing three grandparents, an uncle, and an almost stepmother at her? I just don’t see what good it will do.”
Mom stared at me with a furrowed brow. “How do you know how old she is?”
God damnit. That was the second time I had a slip of the tongue because of this situation.
“I found out before Jake died,” I admitted. “I told him he had to tell Alana about it. He never did.”
“Fucking Christ,” Dad huffed. “Why the hell wouldn’t you tell us?”
“Why is everybody angry at me for not saying anything? I’m not the one who cheated or kept a secret for a fucking decade.”
“You should’ve said something,” Mom said softly.
“I’m tired of answering for Jake’s sins. If he’d just died earlier, maybe things would be a hell of a lot easier.”
“Jayce,” Charlie scolded.
Getting to my feet, I grabbed my jacket and moved toward the door. “Thanks for coming, guys. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like.”
When I opened the door, I deflated. Alana’s taillights were already fading into the distance. Now I wasn’t just annoyed. I was pissed.
I closed the door and returned to stand behind the couch. Curling my fingers over it, I took a deep breath.
“Whatever you guys need, I’ll do it. I’ll speak to the court if they want, talk about your character. Anything. If you want to bring her into our lives, I’ll be the coolest uncle she’ll ever find. I don’t want control of the estate, so that whole thing is on you guys, but I’ll support you. I just don’t want Alana to have to deal with any more shit because of what he left behind.”
“Neither do we,” Charlie replied. “She’s family and, believe me, I was pissed when I found out about all of this, but Alicia didn’t ask for this either. We’ll do what we can for Alana. Always.”
With a nod, I grabbed my wine glass and carried it to the sink. It would be nice if I could just focus on my game with Alana, but the universe kept dropping more shit on us. She was going to be even more fragile. Maybe I could make that work in my favor. She needed something to lean on, a release.
Soon, baby. I would give her one hell of a distraction.
*****
Alana’s phone wasn’t active, so I was pretty sure she was asleep. I closed the front door as softly as I could. Glancing around, I was surprised that there weren’t beer bottles or an empty fifth lying around. I was glad for it. Stress drinking at our age quickly turned into alcoholism.
I carefully made my way down the hall and pushed her door open a little further. She was on her stomach with her face turned in this direction. Her nose was squished against the pillow and her lips were parted. It was fucking adorable.
Her blanket was thrown off to the side, giving me a view of her in just a pair of cotton underwear. I wanted to run my tongue in the crease between her ass and thigh. It was right fucking there, calling my name.
Just a few days. Then, I would give us a proper introduction.
I left her there and went to the kitchen. Quietly, I opened the fridge and took out her coffee creamer. I returned to the hallway and peered through the door as I pulled my cock free. Just staring at her ass was enough to get me hard within seconds.
With every stroke, I imagined pushing deeper inside of her hot cunt. I pictured how her pussy would look wrapped around me, stretched until she was red and swollen. When I made her squirt for me, I’d drink every drop, then let her taste herself. Maybe I’d add that to her coffee next time.
The thought of her drinking her own cum made me suck in a breath. I positioned the carton at the tip of my cock and held it there until my orgasm faded. I set it down and dragged my index finger through the last bit of it on my tip. Taking a few steps into the room, I stared down at her while she slept.
I crouched beside the bed and softly traced her lip with my cum. Her brows pulled down before she turned to the other side. On my way out, I opened one of her drawers and pulled out a pair of her underwear. Next time, I’d return it and get hard from the knowledge that she’d be walking around with my cum between her legs.
After I returned the creamer to the fridge, I looked around. I tossed the chocolate in the air and caught it as I tried to decide where to leave it. I set out her favorite coffee mug and left the kiss beside it before I left the apartment.
I hated all Hershey’s chocolate, but she loved these. I wondered how many I’d have to leave before she finally decided to eat one. Stubborn little brat.