“Seriously. Anything,” Brennan echoed, and Jessica knew her siblings were true to their words.
“Thanks, guys.” She blinked back the tears welling in her eyes.
“Now tell us about the guy,” Brennan said, taking a dramatic sip from his margarita.
Jessica groaned. So much for keeping this thing between her and Mark under wraps. First the girls had interrogated her, and now her siblings were doing it too. There was no such thing as privacy in this town.
“It’s Mark, right?” Nicole asked.
Jessica nodded.
“Mark?” Brennan glanced between them, an incredulous look on his face.
“Yes, and I know it’s a terrible idea. It just…happened.”
Nicole shrugged. “Mom and Dad might be a hard sell, but I say give him a chance. What happened between you guys in high school was a lifetime ago. I assume he’s done a lot of growing up between then and now.”
“The Army has a way of doing that to a person,” Brennan agreed.
Jessica drained her glass, enjoying the fuzzy aftereffects of the tequila. “He’s a great guy. He always has been. The problem is, he’s just…not there emotionally. And I don’t think that will ever change.”
“That probably comes from growing up on his own,” Nicole said, looking thoughtful.
“I’m sure it does. It’s awful what he’s been through, but he’s got to let me in if this thing between us is ever going to work.”
“Well, you know I’ve always had a soft spot for him,” Brennan said. “I don’t think I ever told you this, but Mark was the very first person I came out to.”
Jessica gaped at her brother. “No, you definitely did not ever tell me that! Why Mark? Why not one of us?”
“I was sitting out back one night, sweating buckets over the thought of telling you guys I was gay.”
“Bren, how could you possibly doubt we’d be there for you?” Nicole nudged him with her shoulder.
“It’s hard to explain how it felt, but I was fucking terrified. Dad’s such a…you know, he’s an All-American Guy, watch football, drink beer. At the time, he’d been pushing me to follow in his footsteps and join the Army after high school. I was so afraid he’d be disappointed in me.”
“Oh, Bren.” Jessica put down her drink to give her brother a hug.
“Anyway, there I was sitting out back, having a mini panic attack, and Mark came outside. He was sneaking off to smoke a joint so I bummed one off him, and then I just blurted it out. And he just shrugged and said, ‘That’s cool, man.’ And we smoked a joint together like it was no big deal, but it was…it was a big deal to me, and I’ll never forget it.”
Jessica wiped away the tear that had splashed over her cheek. “I’m sorry you ever had to feel that way, Bren.” And it didn’t surprise her a bit that Mark had reacted the way he had. He’d never been judgmental, not even in high school. Still, she felt a new warmth bloom for him in her heart, for having helped Brennan at such a pivotal time.
“So Mark’s a great guy, but he doesn’t open up.” Nicole sipped from her margarita thoughtfully. “You could just keep doing what you’re doing, sleeping with him and hiding your relationship because you’re convinced it’s going nowhere…”
Jessica winced.
“Or you could start nudging him in the right direction. He may need some help, Jess.”
“How?” Jessica walked to the kitchen for another margarita, butwhoa…she needed to think about eating something too because she was ridiculously wobbly on her feet right now. She filled her glass and rummaged in her freezer for one of the TV dinners she kept for just such an occasion. She warmed up a tray of fettuccine Alfredo in the microwave and brought it back into the living room with her second margarita.
“I can’t believe you eat those things,” Nicole said.
She shrugged. “It’s organic. Sometimes I get home too late to bother cooking.”
“So back to Mark,” Nicole said.
“What do you think I should do?” Jessica spun fettuccine around her fork and took a bite.
“Maybe you could take one of his survival classes.”
