“You could.”
Then Jaylen takes a deep breath and lets it out. “But I’m not going to do that,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. I don’t really know where this is going, but so far, I like the direction.
“If it were up to me and my feelings, I’d pop you in the mouth again,” he says.
“Like I said, if you wanna fight–”
“That’s the thing, Ash. I don’t want to fight. Not with you. Not with my sister. I talked to Harper. Well, she talked to me…after she chased me down.”
“Sounds about right,” I say, biting back a smile.
“She made me realize something. In all the years I’ve watched over her as her older brother, I have never, not even once, seen her like this,” he says.
“Seen her like what?” I ask.
“This energetic. This happy. At first, I thought it was the job, you know? Not waitressing for that douchebag anymore. Then, I realized it’s you. You’re the reason she’s so happy, and that hit me hard, and not in a good way,” Jaylen admits.
“I’m sorry?” I say, not entirely sure how I’m supposed to respond to that. But Jaylen smiles momentarily.
“No. Don’t be sorry. It was just a massively hard fucking pill for me to swallow. I realized I’ve never seen her in love before. And, for it to be with you…” he trails off.
“Yeah. I can’t imagine,” I say. “You have to believe I never meant for this to happen, and that’s the honest truth. Falling in love wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do in my life, especially with your sister. I have no intention of hurting her. I’d rather die than see her get hurt by me or anyone else.”
“I believe you,” Jaylen says. “I suppose for a while I didn’t want to believe you because that meant admitting you might actually be good for her.”
“No one is good enough for her,” I say.
“Exactly,” he agrees. “But I guess if it has to be someone…obviously it does…I’d rather it was someone I trust and respect.”
I take a breath and let it out. “I have to admit, Jay, this is not the direction I was expecting this conversation to go.”
“Oh trust me, this is not a conversation I was expecting to have,” he says. “I do think we need some ground rules.”
“I think we need a drink…at least I do,” I say, reaching into the bottom drawer of my desk and pulling out a bottle of whiskey.
“Fair enough,” he says, and I pour us each a glass. We take a sip, and he sucks his teeth before going on. “One, I don’t want to fucking see it.”
“See what?” I ask.
“Anything. No kissing, no ogling, no grabbing her ass…stuff like that. Just because I am okay with all of this, and I use that word loosely, does not mean to go crazy with the PDA. Keep it in your pants. In the bedroom. Away from me. At least for now.”
“Done,” I say, holding back my amusement and any snide remarks that come to mind. I’ve got a few of them.
“Speaking of the bedroom…I don’t want to know. She’s obviously not a virgin anymore. Even though that wasn’t her plan, I guess sometimes plans change. Since that is the case now, leave me out of it.”
“No locker room details on hooking up with your sister. Got it,” I say. He looks at me with disgust momentarily before going on.
“I guess the last thing is…take care of her. You know? She’s not just my sister; she’s my best friend. My other best friend. I don’t have to tell you this, but she’s been through hell. And yet somehow, she’s come out on the other side: happy, vibrant, strong, and spirited. Don’t let anything change that. Ever.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say soberly. “All of that is why I fell in love with her in the first place.”
“Alright,” he nods. “Then I guess you have my blessing,” he says as he raises his glass.
“Thank you, brother, I appreciate that,” I say.
“Don’t fuck it up,” he warns me with arched eyebrows.
