End of Day (Jack & Jill #1) (14 page)

“Restless … agitated … I don’t know.” Jackson rolled his neck.

“You need to get out of the house, have some fun. Get drunk with purpose.”

“And what purpose would that be?”

She jabbed at him, but he was too quick for her. “To get laid. You’re much more charming once you’ve had a few beers.”

Jackson landed a kick just below her ribs. “I think I wrote the book on getting laid.”

She swept his leg, landing him on his ass. “Don’t be cocky.”

He jumped back up. “You and I. We’re going out tonight.”

Jillian ducked and weaved to avoid the knuckles aiming for her jaw. “Can’t…” she breathed “…I already have plans.”

“Plans?”

“A date of sorts.”

He T’d his hands. “Timeout. A date?”

“Of sorts.” She guzzled down half her glass of water.

“With whom?”

“Cage.”

“The neighbor boy?”

“He’s a young man, but yes.” Jillian could see the lecture being composed in her brother’s incessantly churning brain. “And before you go off about it, I can assure you it’s nothing. He’s just showing me around town.”

Jackson cocked his head, hands rested on his hips. “Did he ask you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t remember.” Her grin called her out before Jackson had the chance.

“Liar. You asked him, didn’t you? Why? There has to be a reason. He’s not your type.”

Jillian shot him a scowl. “Then what type is he?”

“Young, weak, and not Luke.”

“He plays football. I’d hardly call that weak.”

“You know what I mean.”

She sighed, lips pursed.

“This is about AJ. You’re trying to piss him off by going out with his son. Or are you trying to make him jealous?”

“I think we both know Sarge isn’t going to be jealous.”

Jackson nodded. “Pissed. He’s going to be really pissed. But why?”

“We had another
moment
this morning.” She leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Was this before or after you got caught in the rain wearing only your bra and underwear?” He mirrored her stance against the opposite wall, a single brow peaked.

She bit her lip to hide her smile. “Somewhere in the middle.”

“Uh huh … I don’t know why you’re going down this road. It can’t end well.”

“Because he wears a uniform?”

“Because you’ve already lost control … reverted back to
old habits
.”

She stared at the floor. “I didn’t today. I didn’t even want to.”

“And?”

Jillian looked up, nose wrinkled. “And he has a date tonight.”

Jackson stood erect with a puffed chest. “You had sex with him this morning and he has a date tonight?”

“No! We didn’t have sex. I told you that earlier. We … ugh! It’s complicated.”

“Want my advice?”

She pouted. “No.”

“Un-complicate it.”

*

It may have
been obsession, compulsion, or just flat-out insanity, but for whatever reason Jillian wanted to make a statement. A tube top with a spaghetti strap tie around the neck, a good two inches of exposed abs, and a short flowing skirt said a lot. What? She wasn’t sure, but she’d know when AJ saw her.

“Hi, Sarge. Is my date ready?” Jillian threw down the gauntlet while batting her eyelashes when AJ opened the door.

“Excuse me?”

“My date … Cage. Is he ready to go?”

“He’s
your date?” Each word fought for air between AJ’s clenched teeth.

She beamed with delight that Cage hadn’t told his dad yet, and she was getting to see his initial reaction firsthand.

“Every young,
firm
inch of him.”

AJ stepped outside, closing the front door behind him. “What the hell is going on? Is this some joke?”

“It’s dinner, a private tour of Omaha, maybe a thank you kiss good night … second base tops.”

“Is this about this morning?” AJ leaned in closer, his voice low, the dam of control cracking. “Because I didn’t ask you to do anything for me—”

“Wow! Aren’t you the self-centered bastard. The world doesn’t revolve around you. I’m going out with Cage tonight because I want an evening out and he’s
fun
. Clearly something that is completely foreign to you.” Jillian stepped closer, not willing to back down for a second. “And as far as this morning goes, fuck you. Fuck you for being too stupid and stubborn to ask for help and fuck you for not having the decency to just say ‘Thank you.’”

Cage opened the door. “Is … everything okay?”

Jillian flipped in a single breath, finding her happy face for Cage. “Everything is perfect.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him out the door. “Remember what I said about you not getting lucky tonight?”

Cage took a nervous glance back at his dad as they walked toward his truck. “Uh yeah.”

“Well, I might just change my mind.”

*

Jillian liked Cage
too much to risk taking him to clubs or bars since he wasn’t twenty-one yet. After he gave her an hour tour of Omaha’s hotspots, they settled for casual dining on pizza.

“So starting quarterback, that’s pretty awesome.”

Cage had the most endearing blush. “Yeah, last year was my first season to start.”

“Are you hoping to go Pro or are you going to settle for a low-key respectable job where all the women aren’t stalking you.”

He laughed. “I’m not sure yet. I’m studying for a degree in elementary education, so one life would be polar opposite of the other.”

“Oh, that’s unexpected. I rescind my earlier comment. You’re going to have girls stalking you no matter what. Women dig strong, sexy guys with a soft side.” She chuckled. “And nothing says soft quite like the male elementary school teacher. Especially kindergarten or first grade.”

Cage nodded, face still rosy with embarrassment. “So what about you? What do you do?”

“Well as you know I help Dodge with Lilith two days a week and the perfectly trimmed yards in the development, which I’m sure you’ve noticed…” she winked “…are the fine work of yours truly. And I’ve also been doing some home parties.”

“Home parties?”

Jillian smirked. She knew Cage was about to go from rosy face to inferno red. “Have you heard of Lascivio?”

Cage choked on his pizza as he pressed his napkin to his mouth.

“So you have.” She smiled.

Cage nodded while he cleared his throat. “Sex toys?” he whispered.

“I like to think of them as PPDs: personal pleasure devices.”

“Uh, how did you get into that job?”

She twisted her lips. “Just by chance … luck of the draw, you could say.”

“Do you
like
your job?” He risked a glance up from his plate.

She shrugged. “There are worse jobs. I mean, I could have been a barnyard masturbator.”

He snickered. “Really? That was on your list of dream jobs?”

Jillian grinned thinking it was on a
list,
but not her dream job list.

“A kid in my Poli-Sci class has an uncle that does that.”

She licked some sauce off her finger. “I bet they’re in high demand in these parts.”

Cage stirred his straw, poking around at the ice. “My dad likes you.”

Fiddling with the corner of her napkin, she met his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

“You irritate the hell out of him.”

“And that equates to him liking me?”

Cage nodded. “He suffers from PTSD. The migraine this morning … that’s part of it. Doctors say they’re stress-induced. Anyway, he only lets people he likes get under his skin—me for instance. Everyone else he deems not worthy of his time, attention, or reaction. But you…” Cage shook his head and whistled “…you are thoroughly under his skin. I’ve never seen anything like it. You were gone by the time I got back this morning, but he didn’t even go into work and he’s been a hair trigger all day.”

Jillian let his words simmer for a few minutes before she decided to ask the question that had been on her mind all evening. “His date tonight … is she—”

“Serious? No. She’s the sister of one of his buddies from work. They go out maybe once or twice a month. I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t call it serious. I think he uses her for a convenient hook-up, but don’t tell him I said that.”

Jillian didn’t know how she felt about AJ hooking-up with a woman ten hours after he’d stared at her naked body.

“Excuse me.” Cage held up a finger as he answered his phone. The confusion in his face and clipped, one-sided conversation led her to believe he was talking to someone about later that night. “Uh … I sort of have plans.” He looked up at her.

She reached across the table and patted his hand. “I should get back,” she mouthed.

“You sure?” he whispered, holding the phone away from his mouth.

Jillian nodded.

“Okay, sure. In about an hour? Cool. See ya then.”

When they arrived back home, Jillian hopped out of his truck. “Thanks, young buck. It was fun.” She blew him a kiss and smiled.

Cage shifted the truck into reverse before she shut the door. “Probably means I’m not getting lucky now, huh?”

Jillian grinned. “Depends. Who are you going to meet up with?”

Cage smirked. “Good point. Good night.”

The dangerously sexy neighbor waved as the innocent young man backed out of the driveway. His fading taillights were replaced with blinding headlights. Jillian squinted against them as they drew near. The moment she recognized the Jeep, she wished she would have hurried inside. AJ stared at her, devoid of any discernible emotion like he was looking at a lamppost. She was too busy playing her lamppost role to question why he parked in the driveway or notice the passenger door opening at the same time he opened his.

“Jillian,” AJ greeted in a monotone voice.

That’s when the woman from the passenger side walked around the front of his Jeep and slid her arm behind his waist. Jillian smiled at her,
not
him.

“Lovely evening. You two just get back from dinner?”

The blonde with
plenty up top and a spare shoved in the trunk furrowed her brow at AJ then met Jillian’s pointed gaze again. “Um, yes. Do you live here? AJ didn’t tell me he had new neighbors. I’m Carin … with a C.”

Jillian stepped into the grassy easement. “Nice to meet you, Carin with a C. I’m Jillian with a J.” She shook her hand.

Carin homed in on Jillian’s biceps. “Damn girl, you’ve got some serious arms. I’d kill to have those.”

AJ frowned at Jillian. Jillian smiled at Carin. Truthfully, Carin’s body was beautifully all woman: nice curves, soft, and feminine. Jillian’s curves were rigid and defined lacking any sort of softness. She had sex appeal but lacked that classic graceful beauty.

“Are you married?” Carin asked.

“Yes, to my brother.”

AJ shot Jillian a raised brow that she opted to ignore.

“Oh … um … I didn’t realize that was legal.”

Jillian slipped off her heeled sandals, relishing the feel of the cool grass as she curled her toes into its soft blades. “It’s not, but we’ve been together since … well, birth so we consider it a common law marriage. Neither one of us had to change our name, and I don’t know if it was a sharing the womb thing or what, but the sex is …
incredible
.”

AJ rolled his eyes and it was the closest thing to showing a side of humor that Jillian had ever seen from him.

“That’s well … I mean …” Carin looked like someone just shoved the end of a shovel up her ass so Jillian decided to put her out of her misery.

“I’m bullshitting you.”

An uneasy smile touched Carin’s lips as she looked up at AJ, who had yet to join the conversation.

“Oh, you had me … that’s funny … I think,” she mumbled.

“Carin, why don’t you head inside. I’ll be in, in just a minute. I have a neighborhood matter to discuss with Jillian.”

“Oh, sure. Well, it was nice to meet you.”

Jillian winked. “You too, Carin with a C.”

AJ wasted no time before his face transformed into a scowl. The kind that could be molded into a villain’s mask for Halloween.

“Oh stop!” Jillian shook her head. “You’re such a killjoy. You have no idea how bad I want to wipe that ridiculous frown off your face, and don’t think I can’t.”

“You took my son on a date and then insulted mine.”