Chapter Twenty-Two #2
JT nodded. “Got it. I have no intention of hurting your sister. In fact, I’ve been running around helping her get her stuff put away so her house can feel like a home.
Where have you been? Hooking up with that chick you met the other night?
Not a lot of concern for the fact that your sister has been living with boxes in every room because maybe divorce is hard, and especially when your mom is constantly reminding her that she was better off with dipshit Kyle.
But you weren’t so concerned about your sister until you found out she was spending time with me. ”
JT stood.
“Look. I love you like a brother. And I like you more than my actual brother most of the time. But right now, you’re being a dick.
I didn’t have to tell you about Ali. It’s really none of your business, but I did because we’re best friends.
But apparently you think I’m a massive flake.
Good to know.” She tossed some money on the table for a tip, grabbed her coat and stomped out the door ignoring Tommy’s calls to come back.
She sat in her car, seething. Fucking Tommy.
His lack of faith in her hurt. But worse than that, a piece of her couldn’t shake the idea that maybe he was right.
She wasn’t someone who had long-term girlfriends.
She had girlfriends who were fun for a little while and who got bored of her, or she got bored of them.
It was fine. She was young and meeting new people and having fun was what she wanted. Mostly.
But to hear Tommy throw that back in her face as evidence of the fact that she shouldn’t be trusted with his sister hurt more than she wanted to admit to anyone. Too bad she couldn’t hide those feelings from herself.
She pulled out her phone.
Saw your brother. He asked about driving you home the other night. I told him we kissed
She sent it and waited for the fallout. Ali was going to be mad at her. But she owed it to her to be honest. Tommy was her brother and if he knew that they kissed, Ali should know so she wouldn’t be blindsided if he asked about it.
Three dots appeared and JT’s nerves cranked to eleven.
How did he take it?
Oh he took it great. Basically called me a fuckboy
The three dots were back almost immediately but then they disappeared and her phone was ringing in her hand.
“He said what? I’m going to kill him.”
JT laughed. “Thank you.” The sound of Ali’s voice and her anger on her behalf soothed JT more than she could have imagined.
“Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with him? He scuttles off to hook up with some random woman and then has the audacity to question who I kiss? I’m going to murder his stupid ass.”
“No, it’s fine. He wasn’t talking shit about you.”
“JT, it’s not okay for him to talk shit about you either. What did he say, exactly?”
JT paused. She didn’t want to say it out loud. She didn’t want to tell Ali that Tommy had laid out all the ways she was a terrible girlfriend, an unserious person, not someone who would be a good choice for anyone, let alone his sister.
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t get between you two. I just wanted you to know he knows we kissed so if he asks about it you won’t be surprised.”
Ali huffed a frustrated breath. “Where are you? I can come to you.”
JT shook her head and then realized Ali couldn’t see her. “I’m fine. It’s fine.”
“If you say fine one more time…”
JT laughed. “Okay. Maybe it’s not fine. But I’ll be okay. It’s not like it’s the first time someone has told me I’m a joke.” JT paused. “Look, I’m going to head home. I’ll see you tomorrow? We’ll build some bookshelves before our next competition?”
Ali made a noise JT couldn’t decipher. “Would you stop here on your way?”
JT wanted to see Ali so badly, but she wasn’t sure it was a good idea. She might fall apart if she saw Ali. If Ali was sweet to her, if she gave her a hug and took care of her, JT might dissolve. If she went home and crawled into bed, she could try to ignore everything that happened.
“Please?”
How was JT going to say no to that? To this woman? “Okay. But only if you really want me to. I’m fine—”
“No, you’re not. My brother was an asshole and I will deal with him, but tonight let me deal with you.”
“Okay,” JT said, her voice barely a whisper.
The drive was too short and too long all at once. She knew she wanted and needed to see Ali, but she also knew that the second she did, she wasn’t going to be able to shove her feelings away anymore.
Ali was waiting for her in the doorway when she pulled into the driveway. “Come here,” she said and wrapped JT in a hug. She pulled her inside out of the cold. “I’m sorry, JT. I really am. This is all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If I hadn’t kissed you, you wouldn’t have been having that conversation with my stupid little brother and you wouldn’t be hurting right now.”
JT tried to wave it all away. “I’m fine.”
Ali pulled out of the hug to look at her. “I swear to god if you say that word one more time…”
JT forced a smile and then made herself ask the question she was terrified to have answered. “Ali. Do you regret kissing me?” JT braced for the answer. Of course, Ali regretted it. How could she not?
“Not for one second.”
“Really?” JT didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the thought escaped her head through her mouth before she could stop it.
“Sorry. Forget I asked.” JT wasn’t a needy person.
She didn’t cling to women or ask them to constantly reassure her.
This was embarrassing for her. She hated feeling so unsure of herself and now she’d shown that to Ali.
Ugh. How was it possible that she kept making this worse?
Ali’s eyes blazed fiercely. “No. I won’t forget it.
I understand that my brother was completely out of line tonight, but please try to ignore him.
I know he’s your best friend, which only makes it worse if you ask me, but he doesn’t speak for me.
I don’t regret kissing you. I don’t regret spending time with you.
I’ll regret it if me kissing you has fucked up your life.
” She smiled. “But honestly, as much as I don’t want your life fucked up, I really like kissing you.
I would like to do a lot more of it. But I also understand how important Tommy is to you.
I know you two have a forever bond. But I’m still going to kill him for making you feel like this. How dare he?”
JT rested her head against Ali’s shoulder.
“He cares about you and he’s afraid I’m a flake.
Also, I told him he should be helping you with your house and he probably didn’t like that either.
” Ali wrapped her arms around JT and squeezed her.
JT turned her face into Ali’s neck, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and skin.
Her heart slowed, and her anger dimmed from a blaze to a few embers.
Tommy wasn’t wrong about her, but he wasn’t right either.
That didn’t change how shitty she felt, but knowing Ali didn’t regret her choices when it came to kissing JT helped more than she could express.
She stepped back. “I should go. You’re already in your pj’s and I busted in here to ruin your night.”
Ali shook her head. “You didn’t ruin anything. I was having a cup of tea and reading because someone told me to take a night off and not give in to the temptation to unpack more boxes. Honestly, it felt luxurious.”
“You deserve it. I’ll let you get back to your book. See you tomorrow?”
Ali nodded and squeezed JT’s hand. “Yeah. Promise me you’ll put Tommy out of your mind.”
JT didn’t want to lie so she tried to make the truth sound as good as possible. “I’ll do my best.”
She drove the short distance to her parents’ house feeling slightly reassured that at least some of the things Tommy had said weren’t true.
She couldn’t change the kind of girlfriend she’d been in the past, but when it came to Ali, she knew she’d do better.
The person she had to convince was not Tommy—it was herself. She could work on that.