Follow You Down (24 page)

“Damn it, guys! Again! Put some fucking clothes on. Your mom and Jason are right behind me.”

“Shit!” I jump off the counter sliding my shorts back on while Lucas buttons his pants as quickly as he can.

“Where the fuck is my bra?”

Jasmine coughs and points to the fruit bowl beside me where my black lace bra is resting on top of an apple. I grab it and hurry to put it back on along with my shirt just in time for my mom to walk in with Jason right behind her.

“Lucas, you’re still here. Does that mean you two made up?”

Jasmine laughs awkwardly. “Yeah, they did.”

I shoot her the best death glare I can muster. “Yeah, we did, Mom. We’ve decided to work things out.”

Lucas looks down at me with a beaming smile. “Thanks for calling me, Gail. It was the kick in the ass I needed.”

“Well, I’m glad things worked out for y’all,” Jason walks toward us, “but Lucas, you hurt her again and I’ll break more than your nose next time.”

Jasmine, my mom, and I all look confused. Jasmine speaks first, “Wait? You broke his nose? When did this happen?”

Lucas answers for him. “I deserved it. It doesn’t matter when it happened. I won’t hurt Dani again so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Jason smiles and nods, pleased with his answer, and reaches for the fruit bowl, grabbing the apple my bra was resting on not moment before.

“No!” Lucas, Jasmine, and I all scream simultaneously, stopping Jason before he takes a bite.

“What the fuck is wrong with y’all?”

I grab the apple from him and throw it in the trash, along with all the other fruit in the bowl.

“It was all bad. I’ve been meaning to throw it out. Sorry!” I shrug it off like it’s no big deal. Jason looks confused but doesn’t argue.

We all begin to walk back toward the living room, but I stop Lucas, holding him back.

“Lucas, I—”

He cuts me off before I even get a chance to finish, “I love you too, Red.”

“Here ya go, Red.” I place her coffee, with an obnoxious amount of creamer and sugar, and Diet Coke on the bathroom counter. She is in the middle of singing the song she is currently obsessed with, “Follow You Down” by Seether. She says it reminds her of us, and I guess I kind of agree. Hell, anything is better than the Taylor Swift bullshit she usually listens to.

“Hey.” She sticks her head out of the shower right as I am about to walk out the door. Her hair is wet and stuck to her head, and knowing that the only think separating me from her naked body is a thin shower curtain, makes me want to rip the damn thing down just to fuck her against the shower wall.

“Are Jasmine and Ryan up yet?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t heard any movement from the spare bedroom.” Last night was the first time Ryan and Jasmine had officially met. They had seen each other in passing a few times, but last night they both volunteered to help us unpack our new house. We had an unpacking party as Jasmine called it. That meant that Ryan and I moved heavy shit all night while the girls drank wine, hung up pictures and organized our pantry. Ryan and Jasmine flirted all night, and when Dani and I woke up this morning, Ryan wasn’t on the couch and the door to the spare bedroom where Jasmine had slept was locked.

“Do you think they, ya know?” She shrugs, trying to imply what she refuses to say.

“Do I think Ryan and Jasmine fucked last night? Um, yeah, probably.”

“Well, good for them if they did. Poor Jasmine can’t even breathe the same air as anything with a dick without Jason having a fucking fit. She deserves some fun.”

“You’re right and Ryan deserves it too. He spent the last week moving stuff into your old apartment and he finally got a personal trainer job he’d been wishing for.”

When Dani and I decided to buy our own house, we struggled on whether to sell her apartment or rent it out. It just so happened that Ryan was wanting to move out of the house he shared with my brother Logan and his girlfriend Molly, so he asked if he could rent from us. It worked perfectly. Dani had been worried about who would live next to Jasmine, and you couldn’t pick a better neighbor than Ryan.

Dani and Jasmine had a big-sister-little-sister relationship, especially because Jasmine’s older brother Jason was severely overprotective. Jasmine came over bitching about Jason on an almost daily basis. Dani had wanted Ryan and Jasmine to meet, hoping they would hit it off and be friends so Jasmine would have a new neighbor to go to when her brother flipped his shit. I don’t think either of us expected them to spend the night together, but hey, everybody’s gotta get laid sometime.

“Well, we just have to make sure that Jason doesn’t find out about this. He would flip his shit.” With this statement, she flashes me a smile and closes the shower curtain, continuing her shower singing.

I walk out of the bathroom and make my way into our new kitchen, eyeing the shiny counter tops and thinking of the ways I will fuck Dani on those when Ryan and Jasmine leave.

“Dude, does Dani always sing in the shower?” Ryan comes walking into the kitchen, sliding a shirt over his head and looking slightly hung over.

I laugh at his question. “Yeah, dude, she does, and she’s a morning person on top of that. So there is always lots of early morning shower singing.”

He chuckles. “Lucky you!”

“So, you weren’t on the couch when we woke up. You, uh, hang out with Jasmine a little last night?”

“A grown-ass man does not kiss and tell.”

“Is she awake yet?”

“Yeah, why?”

I shake my head at him because he has no idea. “Dude, I would bet my life on the fact she is sitting on the bathroom counter telling Red all about it. Those two tell each other everything!”

“Well, ain’t that some shit.” He sighs and shrugs slightly. “Yeah, we slept together. It’s not a serious thing though. We just get along and we both needed to get laid. No big deal.”

“Dude, y’all are neighbors. You don’t think it will get complicated?”

“Naw, man, I really don’t. Jasmine’s a cool girl. She isn’t looking for anything serious either.”

“All right, man, if you say so. Just make sure her brother doesn’t find out. He’s a little overprotective of her.”

He nods and grabs a mug from the cabinet, sidestepping me to get to the coffee pot.

“So tell me about your new job, man?”

He stands up a little straighter and I can tell he’s proud of himself.

“I start Monday, man. I’m pretty fucking pumped about it. I’m head trainer for Slade Fitness. It’s a fucking dream job for me.”

I spit my coffee out slightly, chocking on it. “Did you say Slade? As in Jason Slade?”

“Uh, yeah, he’s my boss. Well, he and his sister, but apparently, she is just a silent partner. She doesn’t really have anything to do with the business. You know Jason?”

He just fucked his new boss’s little sister. Hell, he just fucked his new boss! As I am about to break the news to him, my front door swings open and Jason walks in.

“Lucas, where the fuck is Jazzy?”

“Talking to Red. What’s up?”

He walks in the kitchen, sees Ryan standing there, and falters a step. “We had a breakfast meeting this morning and she didn’t show up.” He glances between Ryan and me. I notice Ryan looks really confused, and then confusion morphs into a look of panic.

“Wait, Jasmine is your sister?”

Jason gives a no-shit look. “Yeah, how do y’all know each other?” He waves between Ryan and me before turning his attention back to Ryan. “Wait, how do you know Jazzy?”

“Oh, shit.” Ryan looks like he just got hit in the gut with a bag full of bricks. “Jason, I didn’t know she was your sister. I swear.”

Before Jason can respond, Jasmine comes strolling in the kitchen with Dani right behind her. Red’s eyes instantly double in size when she sees Jason, but Jasmine is paying so much attention to Ryan that she doesn’t even notice her brother.

She strides right up to Ryan, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Morning, handsome.”

“What the fuck, Jazzy?” Jasmine jumps at the sound of Jason’s voice. “You fucked Ryan last night?”

“Wait, how do you know Ryan?” Jasmine is the one who looks confused now.

“He’s the new trainer I hired yesterday. I was going to tell you about it over breakfast. You know, the one you missed this morning because you were up late fucking him.”

“Jason, man, I did not know she was your sister,” Ryan pleads with Jason.

Jason snaps back at him, “Did you even ask her last name?”

The whole kitchen becomes deathly quiet as Jason closes the space between him and Ryan. Physically, Ryan is larger than Jason, but the rage burning in Jason’s eyes makes me think he could royally fuck him up right now if he wanted to.

Jasmine steps in between Jason and Ryan, facing Jason. “No, he didn’t ask my last name, and I didn’t ask his. And yes, we fucked last night. We’re both consenting adults. Chill the fuck out.”

“No, I won’t chill the fuck out, Jazzy. Do you understand that not only did you behave like a cheap whore by fucking a guy who is basically a stranger, but he works for us? That means you’re his boss.”

Jasmine puts her hands on her hips and raises her eyebrows at Jason. “I understand what ‘he works for us’ means Jason.”

“Do you, because it means that you can’t sleep together. He signed a contract with us and inside that contract is a no fraternizing policy. That means that if you two do anything like this again, he’s fired. Do you understand now, Jazzy?”

“You can’t do that!” Jasmine is challenging Jason. She does this all the time, and I don’t know why. She never actually wins; she just pisses him off. A lot.

“Yes, he can,” Ryan finally speaks up and takes a step away from Jasmine. “I read the contract. It said there will be no physical relationships between members of the company. You and I are both members of the company.”

“You can’t be serious, Ryan.” I can’t tell if Jasmine is angry or hurt, but I would assume it’s a combination of both.

“I am, Jasmine. Last night should have never happened and it will never happen again.”

He walks out of the kitchen slipping on his boots and grabbing his keys before addressing Jason, “Mr. Slade, I am very sorry about all this. I had no idea, and I know that doesn’t make it better, but it will never happen again. You have my word.” He looks at Dani and me who are standing to the side of the kitchen, still both in shock after what just happened. “I’ll come by after work tomorrow and see if y’all need help with anything else.” He smiles and walks out the door.

“Damn it, Jason!” Jasmine shoves her brother in the chest, hard, but Jason doesn’t even budge. “Why did you do that?”

“Me! Why did you fuck a guy you don’t even know? And why didn’t you show up for our meeting this morning. You know, Jazzy, you say you want to be more involved in the company, that you are mature enough to handle it, and then you make dumb-ass decisions like this and I realize you aren’t ready. You still act like an immature child. Get your shit together and get to your apartment. I’ll be waiting for you there. We need to have a serious talk about your actions.”

Jason storms past Dani and me, and slams the door when he leaves.

Jasmine huffs and storms off to the spare bedroom, grabbing all of her stuff before telling Dani and me good-bye.

“Huh?”

“What?” Dani looks at me.

“I wonder which will be more awkward. Jasmine being the boss of the guy she just fucked or being his neighbor.”

Dani laughs and shakes her head at me. “I don’t know, but luckily, we keep a lot of wine around and have a spare bedroom. I have a feeling she will be using it a lot in the future.”

“Yea, and good thing we put your stripper pole in our bedroom this time.”

If I thought Jasmine was around a lot already because of Jason, the fact that she just spent the night fucking her neighbor/new employee means she will never leave.

“This is going to be a giant clusterfuck, isn’t it?” Dani looks at me with questing eyes.

“Oh, yeah, get the popcorn ready, Red. Cause shit is about to get crazy.”

My amazing husband Tyler, thank you for listening to endless story lines and loving me enough to tell me if they were terrible. Thank you for dealing with me not cooking or cleaning for days at a time in the name creativity. Thank you for taking care of our sweet girls just so I could finish one more chapter. I love you more than you will ever know.