I close my eyes and let out a sigh, because that means he definitely knew I was off today, and decided to stop by my place, probably to catch up. And I didn’t tell him I had plans…
“I had a meeting with a client this morning,” I say.
“I thought you were off today…”
“I was. I took this gig at the last minute. Bella called in a favor.”
Noah shifts on the couch, letting out a sigh of his own. “Ah, the Queen B calls.”
“Quit calling her that behind her back. It’s rude.”
Noah rolls his eyes. “No, it’s not. Sheisthe queen. She’s your top client, Jake.” I don’t miss the hint of animosity in his voice, almost as if he’s jealous or something, which is insane because he has nothing to be jealous of. Considering he’s actually had sex with her before. I know, I was there.
It was awkward as hell, but the money was definitely worth it, and though I probably should have felt weirded out seeing my brother fuck someone in front of me, honestly, it didn’t feel all that different than when I used to work at the club, when I used to give lap dances to couples. “I know. And she knows what she’s asking is a huge favor. She even dropped off a gift bag for me to say thank you.”
Noah purses his lips. “Oh… is that where the Peach Rings came from?” he says as he plops one into his mouth with a grin.
“Asshole! Those are mine!”
Noah laughs. “Well, if you would have been here you could have saved them from my mouth,” he taunts, and I huff out an annoyed grunt.
“Where are you, anyway?” he asks between a mouthful of candy.
I seethe, feeling my temperature rise. No one knows how to push my buttons quite like my twin.
“The store. I have some errands to run before I get home to get ready for this date. The favor for Bella.”
His expression shifts and he moves the phone as he sits up, leaning forward.
“Usually you put Bella on the calendar.”
“It’s notBella.It’s for a friend of hers. Her neighbor’s cousin.”
“Oh,” he says, his voice distracted. He looks off screen.
“Everything okay over there?”
“Yeah, sorry, just uh… nevermind. So when you coming home?”
“Couple hours, tops, why? You planning on staying?”
“I mean, I kinda thought we could play Mario Kart and eat candy and just, I don’t know…” Noah gives me a half-smile, and I note it looks sad. “But you sound busy, so maybe I should head out.”
His dejected voice cuts through me like a knife. Which makes me feel like even more of an asshole. Which I totally am. He just broke up with his girlfriend. I’m sure he’s feeling like crap, and I’m being insensitive as fuck because I’m feeling out of sorts about everything with Aaron and this date tonight.
“No, no, it’s fine, I’m notthatbusy. I’ll be an hour..” He purses his lips.
“I literally just pulled into the store to grab stuff for the week. You want me to pick anything up? Some Skittles or ice cream or—”
He looks up at me with weary eyes. “Skittles sound good.”
I give him a half smile. “Skittles it is, then.”
He smiles this time and I know it’s genuine. “I can order us some pizza for lunch?”
I nod. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”
He nods and a second later, the call ends.
