Chapter Seven
Hutch
Jillian spent the wholeday at my apartment. We made breakfast together which was something I absolutely enjoyed doing. I had never had a girl sleep over, never mind cook breakfast with me, so I guess it was many firsts for me. After she went home for a shower and to change, she came back to my place so we watch murder documentaries on Netflix until dinnertime. It was probably the best day I ever had in my entire life. I wanted to ask her to stay, but she said Sunday dinner with her mom and sister was important to her, which meant she needed to be at her place, but she did promise that she would see me tomorrow.
Pat showed up around six with a pizza so at least I didn’t have to spend too much time alone. Although I knew that meant he had questions. Ones I didn’t want to answer.
“What are you doing?” he asked once I had placed a beer in front of him.
I grunted as I took a bite of the pizza and chewed as slow as humanly possible. “Eating,” I answered.
Pat popped his jaw. “You know that’s not what I meant, dick.” He reached for his beer. “I’m talking about with Jillian.” He watched me for a second, and when I didn’t answer, he sighed. “Seriously, she’s—”
“Too good for me?”
“That’s not what I was going to say, and you know it.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Spill it.” I leaned back against the chair to stare at my brother. I knew Pat was only trying to be nice. Looking out for me and for Jillian, but this wasn’t up to him.
Pat wiped his hands. “Don’t get mad at me. I’m your brother, and I love you. She’s going to be leaving in a few weeks, and you’re only going to end up getting hurt. That doesn’t mean you can’t do long distance, but Hutch, man, think about it. Do you see yourself going to New York? Visiting her? Living there?” My throat felt like it might close up in shock. “I didn’t think so,” he said when I didn’t answer.
“You’re just...you’re only saying this because you want me to push her away,” I hissed.
Pat shook his head. “I would love nothing more than for you and Jill to fall in love, man. You, of all people, deserve that, but it’s not going to happen with her. You’ve got things locked up in your head that you need to deal with first. Things you won’t tell me or Mom or Dad about.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m just being honest!”
I resisted the urge to throw the box of pizza across the room because I knew what a mess that would make. I didn’t want to spend all night cleaning the grease from the walls or floors. “Go.” I pointed at the door.
“Hutch,” Pat objected, “instead of you pushing me away, let’s talk about this instead.”
I jumped to my feet. “I don’t want to fucking talk about it!” I shouted. “I want you to fucking go!” This time, I grabbed my beer and smashed it against the sink. “You don’t shit about me or Jillian. She’s the only one. Now, just leave,” I said again and turned away. Once I heard the sound of the door shutting behind him, I sat back down. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent a text off before I could stop myself.
Hutch:You busy?
Jillian:Not when it comes to you.
Shit, what was I supposed to say to her? That Pat just shit all over any thoughts I had for our future. Did we even have a future?
Jillian:Are you alright?*smiley face emoji*Do you need me to come over when I’m done practicing for tomorrow? Or I could come over now and finish at your place.
Was she serious?
Hutch:Really? You don’t mind.
Jillian:Let me just pack a bag in case I fall asleep again.
Not even fifteen minutes later, there was a soft knock at my door. When I opened it, Jillian was standing there, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt, black leggings, and white leg warmers, with her hair up in a tight bun. Just the sight of her, although fully clothed, made my cock stir in my pants. She wore no makeup, but was nonetheless stunning. I reached for the small bag Jillian held her hand as she stepped inside. Her eyes instantly went to the broken bottle and spilled beer on the floor that I hadn’t bothered to clean up yet.
“What happened?” She looked concerned.
I shook my head. “Nothing, I just...” I stopped so that I could run my hand down my face and when I met her searching gaze, she had her eyebrows raised. “Pat came over. We argued.” I suddenly felt ashamed and couldn’t look at her.
