Holding On (Memories) (7 page)

“
S'pose. At least he's trying though.” I shrug again.

“He's definitely trying,” she responds, following it up with a sigh. “
I just don’t know how we’ll get through this if we can’t compromise.”

“You always knew it would be hard.”

“Yeah.” She grins suddenly. “Well, I guess something in this relationship has to be hard, huh?”

I laugh out loud, and nudge her with my elbow. “You have such a dirty mind.”

“I learnt from the best.” She shrugs.

“In other words, you learnt from Alec.”

“Mhmm.”

“You know,” I muse as we stop at the bus stop. “It really is amazing you and Bing don’t get along. I mean, you have so much in common.”

Jen spins to me, her eyes spitting fire. “I have about as much in common with your brother as a rat does with a bluebird.”

“No, just listen,” I say, stifling my smile. “You’re both sarcastic, you’re both sexually obsessed with dirty minds, and you both have an irrational hate of each other. Actually, you’re a bit like an old married couple.”

Jen sputters, and it’s one of the only times I’ve ever seen her speechless. “You are kidding.”

“No.”

“I hate you.”

I grin and bump her with my shoulder. “Love you.”

~

“I’m not
Skyping, Carl,” Jen huffs down the phone. “Why? Because I don’t have the time… Yes, I know I’ve only been at uni for a day… And what’s your point?”

Bing appears in the doorway of my room, looks at Jen stretched on my bed, and smirks. I shoot him a warning look, shaking my head. He grins.

“Whatever… Yeah, you too.” Jen drops her phone on the floor. She lifts her head and stares straight at Bing. “Say one word, Samuel, one word, and it’ll be your bloody last.”

“Trouble in paradise?” he asks cockily.

“I warned you!” She sits up, pointing her finger at him.

“Hey!” He holds his hands up. “That was three words.”

She narrows her eyes at him, staring him down. “You, sir, are a berk.”

I smile, fighting my laughter.

“What the fuck is a “berk”?” Bing raises an eyebrow.

“You are a berk. A berk is you.” Jen shrugs. “I thought that summed it up.”

My brother frowns, staring at her for a second. He shakes his head, turning to me. “I saw that
berk
Adrian earlier.” He glances at Jen. “He kept questioning me about Alec.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

I groan, and drop my head to my desk. “What did he ask?”

“He wanted to know what Alec did, where he came from, and if he was, and I quote, “hard or a pussy boy with no balls”.”

“This coming from the guy who uses concealer?” I sit back up.

“Apparently,” Bing replies dryly. “I just thought you’d like to know. And, don’t forget, Dad’s birthday party this weekend. Mum has been texting me every ten minutes asking me if I’d reminded you yet.” He rolls his eyes.

“Why didn’t she ask me herself?”

“I don’t know.” He looks at me in exasperation. “I’m not a fuckin’ mind reader, Lex, and I am not an owl.”

“Did you just quote Harry Potter?” Jen laughs. “You did. Since when did you watch Harry Potter?” I grin.

“Bing has loved Harry Potter since the first book came out. It’s his secret guilty pleasure.”

“Not so secret anymore.” Jen smiles slyly.

Bing’s face hardens. “Jennifer Mason, you tell anyone about that and I swear to God, I will creep into your flat at night, and string your underwear across town.”

“Oh, honey.” She
tsks. “Get some originality. I mean, didn’t Vi already do that to you? Those pink boxers were hot, by the way.” She winks. I laugh and get up, grabbing my phone.

“I’m going to text Mum about our dresses, then call Alec.” I pat Bing’s arm. “Jen’s got you there, bro.”

“Wait, dresses?” Jen perks up.

“Yep.” I look over my shoulder. “Did you really think you weren’t coming?”

“But I have no-one to go with.”

I grin at Bing. He grits his teeth and looks at Jen.

“Surprise,” he forces out.

“What?!” She shrieks.

“I’ll, uh, be back… Maybe never.” I mutter, running away.

I stand, walking towards Bing. “Tell me this is some kind of ass wiping joke?”

“I wish,” he replies, looking down at me. “Believe me, spending my evening with you wasn’t in my plan.”

“So change it,” I hiss. “There is no way I’m spending all of Saturday night smiling and hanging onto your arrogant arm, Samuel!” Although, it is a very pretty arm.

He sighs. “Look,
Jennifer,
I don’t exactly want you on my arm, but it’s too late to change it. Mum has already ordered matching outfits.”

“Are you fucking kidding?” I deadpan. “Not only do I have to go with you, everyone will know I’m with you because, what? Your tie will match my dress?”

“Oh, and there’s the brains she used to get into university,” he responds snarkily. “Yes, Jen. My tie is the same material and colour as your dress. Believe me, I’m not damn happy.”

I heave in a breath. “This is
gonna be as about as successful as Hades in the North Pole.” I throw my arms up, and turn back to Lexy’s bed. I throw myself face down on it.

“I wouldn’t lie like that,” Bing says. “You have no idea what’s happened on that bed.”

I get back up, and growl. I push past him, moving to stomp down the stairs.

“Hey, I was just saying!” he calls, following me.

“Go away, Samuel. I want to see you as much as I want a shard of glass in my ass.”

I open a cupb
oard door, taking down a glass as the front door opens and shuts.

“Oh, Sam, Jen.” Emily smiles, unbuttoning her coat. “Sam, did you tell the girls?”

“Yes, Mum. For the thousandth time, I told them. Lexy is on the phone to Alec now. She said she’d text you.”

“Oh, well, maybe she did. I haven’t checked my phone since I text you.” She sets her coat on the back of a chair, and looks up at me. “Will you be there, Jen? Si would love to have you there.”

“Of course.” I smile sweetly. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“I presume Bing has told you about the escort situation?”

Escort? Isn’t that like Billie Piper in Diary of a Call Girl?

“I told her,” Bing grinds out.

“I hope its okay,” Emily pushes on. “Lexy said Carl wouldn’t be able to get up, and since Samuel didn’t find himself a date, I found him one.”

“I highly doubt he couldn’t find a date,” I reply, turning. “He probably just pissed her off by not calling her back the next day.”

Emily’s mouth twitches in an effort to fight her smile, and I can feel Bing staring daggers in the side of my head.

“Yes, well,” she manages. “I’ve saved him the job. Your dresses will be ready to pick up tomorrow. I will get them at lunchtime. Also…” She turns to Bing. “…When your sister appears, let her know your father called me and said someone named Adrian called him today.
He said he was a friend of Lexy’s and couldn’t find her number, and since your father had heard her mention him, he handed her number over.”

I click my tongue against the roof of my tongue. “
Oopsie.”

“What?” Emily turns to me.

“I wouldn’t wanna be Si when she finds that out, that’s all I’m sayin’.” I shrug.

“Samuel? Explain,” Emily demands.

“Adrian doesn’t just know Lexy, Mum.” Bing leans back and crosses his arms across his chest, making those muscles flex. I blink and look away. “Adrian wants in her pants. Bad.”

“Oh!” Emily squeaks out. “Oh, dear. Well, it’s not going to happen. She and Alec are as strong as the next couple. It’ll be fine, dears. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go call the caterers. I’ll see you at dinner.”

She sweeps from the room with an elegance I’ll never achieve. Bing walks towards me, reaching around me for another glass. I raise mine to my lips, and raise an eyebrow at him.

“I saw you checking me out, Jennifer,” he whispers, smirking.

I snort. “Right. In which alternate reality was that, Samuel?”

“Sarcasm to your defence,” he quips. “Admit it, Jen, you think I’m hot.”

I look at him with disdain. “If Antarctica is hot, then yeah, smokin’.”

He fills his glass up, and stops as he’s about to pass me. “Its fine,” he says quietly, his face close to mine. “I check you out all the time, you’re just too busy being
gobby to notice.” He looks at my chest and back up. “And I don’t mind that at all.”

My mouth drops open, and he saunters towards the kitchen door. “
You chauvinistic, arrogant, perverted, fat-headed bastard!” I yell, grabbing a teaspoon and throwing it in his direction.

He laughs out loud, moving faster to avoid my makeshift weapon.
I narrow my eyes and growl, putting my glass on the side. I continue my barrage of insults at him in my mind, the most prominent being “pillock,” “asshat,” “small-tooled prick,” and “man-boobed moron.”

The last one is, of course, totally irrelevant, considering his abundance of bodily muscle and lack of fat. I’ll still use it, though.

Thinking about his lack of fat annoys me even more. Thinking about him annoys me. I’ve long since accepted my attraction to my best friend’s brother, I’ve just chosen to ignore it. But that was before I came to London, and before I was forced into being his date for the evening this weekend.

Goddamn his annoying, tight ass.

My sister’s best friend is fucking hot when she’s angry.

That sounds like the title of a really corny movie, but it’s true. Jennifer Mason is the only girl I’ve ever met – besides Lexy – that will give as good as she gets. She’s not fazed by my charm or my looks, and she couldn’t give a crap about annoying me.

And I
have to admit that I like it. A lot.

I like it more than I should, since she’s actually not available
– and in an odd kind of way, I’m not either. But that just makes me want her more, because wanting what you can’t have is both the best and worst thing in life. Jen definitely has the potential to be the best and worst thing in my life.

And I don’t know what to make of that.

Gram said it was time for me to “find a nice girl” before she died. Hell, maybe she’s right – but there’s no nice girls around here. At least, none that are capable of seeing past my dick. I’m pretty sure that’s the number one reason Heidi keeps coming back.

I knock on the door to
Lexy’s bathroom.

“What?” she hollers.

“Is Alec comin’ over?” I yell through the door.

“Any minute. Why?”

“I need a work out,” I answer.

“Jen get you riled up?”

“Always.” I turn away, knowing if I stay there any longer my sister will get ideas in her head. Hell, after my performance the other night at dinner she probably already has ideas and the fucking plans to go with them.

I slam my door, change my clothes, and make my way downstairs as Alec walks through the front door.

I motion for him to follow me, and he does without question. We pass down into the basement Dad converted into a mini-gym when I hit puberty, and I head straight for the punching bag in the corner. Alec stand behind it, grabbing it and holding it still for me.

I work out my frustrations, one punch after another, letting out my frustrations. I let out all her sarcastic comments, her biting insults, her hard looks, and her disdainful attitude towards me.

And as much of a git as it makes me sound, I’m not used to wanting someone I can’t have.

Lexy purses her lips, and slams her phone on the side, screen down. I raise an eyebrow.

“He will not leave me alone,” she grinds out. “Jayna is coming to the party tomorrow night because her parents know mine, and Adrian is her date. Which he keeps reminding me about.”

“Well give Polly a cracker,” I spit out. Lexy smiles slightly. “Your friends are assholes.”

“Yep,” she agrees. “This is gonna be a disaster, isn’t it? Adrian is gonna do everything he can to get under Alec’s skin.”

“Then we have to keep him calm.” I shrug. “Number one, keep him away from Twat One and Twat Two. Number two, make sure Bing is around because he can calm Alec down – failing that, smack Adrian himself. And number three, keep me around.”

“Why?”

“Because…” I grin. “…If
Jayna tries anything I will go country bumpkin ninja bitch on her ass.”

Lexy laughs. “Country bumpkin against a city… A city what?”