Kiss This (27 page)

“Okay. So you don’t think I need to tell
Jackson yet?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Camryn sighed.
“You shouldn’t keep it from him.” Camryn could see the wheels
turning in her sister’s head and she hoped she wasn’t thinking of
deceiving Jackson even further. “And I hope to God that you’re not
even considering making him think it’s his, Melanie!”

Just that look on her sister’s face was
enough to confirm it.

“Oh my God,” Camryn moaned.

“I was just
hoping
it was his, Cam!
I’m not that evil!”

“I surely hope not.”

“Well you really have a lot of faith in me,
don’t you,” Melanie scoffed.

“So who do you think the father is?” Camryn
asked, ignoring the accusation. “Who have you slept with in the
last month or so?” That sounded so slutty and Camryn hated having
to ask it. But the judge and jury role needed to be avoided and she
quickly dismissed the thought.

“Jordan Meyers,” Melanie said quietly.

Camryn narrowed her eyes. “The drummer for
Lynn’s band?”

Melanie nodded and Camryn felt sick to her
stomach. But she wasn’t going to comment on Jordan, as creepy as
she thought he was. Just the fact that her sister had slept with
him made her want to throw up.

“Well,” Camryn sighed. “Why don’t we—”

The lock clicked on the apartment door and a
man entered. Camryn thought if this was Jackson, her sister did
well in the looks department. But all of her assumptions about what
an architect would dress like were immediately challenged. He was
wearing worn jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of black biker boots. His
light brown hair was sort of spiked in different directions, he had
piercings on his ears and eyebrow, and tattoos on his arms.

Okay, now
this
guy seemed more like
Melanie’s type.

He paused when he saw the two of them
sitting at the counter. “Oh. Hello.” He looked from Melanie to
Camryn as he realized who the visitor was. “You must be Camryn?” he
tried. He came across the room with a smile and held out his
hand.

“Yeah, I’m Camryn,” she replied, returning
the handshake. “Jackson?”

“Yes,” he bobbed his head. “Nice to meet
you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hm, I bet,” she replied dryly.

He lightly laughed. “Good things, of
course.” He looked at Melanie and said, “I’m gonna go take a
shower. I’ll let you two visit.”

Camryn watched him kiss the top of her
sister’s head and leave the room.

Okay, now that was kind of weird. The total
biker type that Melanie consistently drooled over, but nice and
polite was not usually included in the package.

“See, he’s sweet,” Melanie stated, noticing
the look on her sister’s face. “Don’t judge a book by the
cover.”

“Or his career, apparently.
He’s
an
architect?” she asked, jutting her thumb towards the hallway.

“Yes,” Melanie frowned. “What, you think I
was lying?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just…” She sighed
and shook her head. “Okay, so back to our conversation, Mel. What
are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, let me get this straight. You
want
to have this baby?”

“I’m not having an abortion,” was the choked
reply. “No way, Cam. That is a hell no for me.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that. I was asking more
about your state of mind. So say Jordan wants nothing to do with
the kid—or whoever it belongs to—and maybe Jackson doesn’t either.
You are willing to raise him or her on your own?”

Melanie bit her lip and shrugged. “I’m not
sure if I can handle a baby. But I just… I don’t know what to do,”
she sniffled, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I guess if no one
wants me then I—”

“It has nothing to do with someone not
wanting you, Melanie. This is a serious life-altering thing. Yes,
Jordan—or whoever—needs to man up to his end of it, but Jackson…
You can’t hold it against him if this changes things between you.
You barely know each other and he could very well bail before he’s
in too deep.”

“I know.”

“You need to tell him sooner than later. In
fact, I’m going to stay here while you do, just to make sure you’re
okay.”

Melanie wanted to argue, that was easy to
see, but Camryn wasn’t leaving this apartment until her sister told
Jackson the truth.

“Okay?” Camryn asked, sensing her agitation.
“I don’t know this guy, Mel. Please let me look out for you.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “I just… I don’t know
what to say to him, Camryn.”

“Just tell the truth.”

“I will,” Melanie growled.

“I’m just saying that it’s not going to be
easy any way you do it, so just stick to the truth.” They were both
silent for a minute as they took sips of juice. Melanie finished
hers first and got up to toss it into a recycle bin. She didn’t
miss Camryn’s surprise that Jack recycled.

“Don’t judge the book,” she playfully told
her sister.

Camryn held up her hands and laughed. “Okay,
okay.”

Jackson came out a few minutes later, his
wet hair messy but not spiked with any product. He was wearing a
pair of baggy sweats and a different t-shirt, and it caused Camryn
to glance at the time on her phone. It was almost eight p.m.

She watched Melanie and Jackson interact for
a few minutes. It seemed really normal to Camryn, like they’d been
in a relationship for a while. And her sister seemed…different.
More mature, even. Normally Melanie flittered around everywhere,
giggling and joking about silly things or what a cute guy said to
her at the coffee shop that day. But tonight she was mellow and
pensive. Granted she was about to drop a huge bomb on her new
boyfriend, but to Camryn it seemed like they interacted this way
all the time.

When Jack was about to head for the front
room to watch TV so the girls could visit, Melanie asked if she
could speak with him. His surprise was obvious but he agreed.

Melanie glanced back at Camryn like she was
heading to be slaughtered, but what could Camryn do? This was her
sister’s mess, and even though she loved her and would do anything
for her, right now she could only be there to clean up the shit
after it hit the fan.

It was painful to hear Melanie build up to
her pregnancy confession. Camryn remained in the kitchen and could
hear them in the adjoining living room just fine. Melanie was
already crying. It was hard not to watch them, so Camryn studied
Jackson’s expressions and body language along with every word he
spoke.

He was a bit stunned, to say the least. At
first he didn’t say anything, but finally he rubbed his face and
leaned onto his knees. “So what’s gonna happen, Melanie? Who’s the
father and what are your plans?”

“I don’t have any plans,” she answered right
away. “I only found out this morning. I realized I was a week
late.”

“And what about the father? You need to
figure it out and let him know.”

“I know. I will.”

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through
his damp hair. “Okay, so…figure it out and… Well, you’re welcome to
stay here if you need to.”

“So that’s it? We’re done?” Her voice was
listless, like she knew the answer.

Jackson stared at her for a moment and then
shrugged. “I don’t know, Melanie. If there’s a way the baby’s dad
could be a part of your life, then I won’t stand in the way. But if
that’s not an option for you, I’d rather we not be over. But either
way… You’ve got to at least figure out who knocked you up and talk
to him.”

Melanie was optimistic. “But you’re not
completely against, um…?”

“Dating someone that’s pregnant? No, I
wouldn’t consider myself the type of guy to kick you out because
you’re pregnant.” He sighed, and with a shrug said, “We have time
to talk about it. Maybe after a few more weeks we won’t even be
able to stand being around each other.”

His smile was reassuring and it made Melanie
relax a little. Camryn was impressed with the guy, if she were to
be honest. He actually reminded her a lot of Teague, and it made
her wonder if that kind of personality was like a life-changing
magnet to the Jacobs’ sisters. Maybe Melanie had the same kind of
instant connection with Jackson as Camryn had with Teague.

But unfortunately the mood shifted when
Melanie mentioned she had one more thing to tell him, and when she
finally got around to admitting her actual age, Jackson looked like
someone had punched him in the face.

He stood up from the couch and took a step
away from her. “Are you…? Are you kidding me? This is a joke,
right?”

He waited for Melanie to answer but all she
did was shake her head.

“Holy shit,” he exhaled with disbelief. He
ran both hands over his head and kept them there. “My instinct told
me you weren’t being honest about that, but my brother vouched for
it. Are you telling me he lied, too?”

Melanie bit her lip and looked down at the
floor. “Um, he probably does think I’m older…”

He was speechless as he stared at her.
Finally his arms dropped and he sighed. Pointing to the front door
he quietly said, “I want you to leave. Grab your things and get
out, please.”

“Jack, please,” Melanie cried. “You’re
acting like I’m underage or something!”

He shook his head and took another step
away. “I’m willing to understand mistakes and fuckups—I’ve
certainly had my share of them—but I cannot stand being lied to.
Get your things and leave. Now.”

Melanie turned on her heel and hurried for
the hall, crying as she refused to look at her sister on the way
by. When she disappeared into the bedroom, Camryn silently walked
to the recycle bin to drop her plastic bottle into it. Jack was
watching her, and she could tell he was really uncomfortable.
Whether it was because of her presence or Melanie’s confessions—or
both—she couldn’t blame him one bit.

He watched her walk across the apartment and
stop at the couch. They looked at each other for a few seconds
until Camryn finally said, “I’m really sorry.”

He was clearly surprised by her response. “I
don’t really understand,” he finally said carefully. “She called
you…why?”

Camryn licked her lips and took a deep
breath. “For two reasons. One, I’m the only female family that she
has; the only one she can count on. And two, she likes you so much
she was hoping I could magically fix this so you wouldn’t boot her
ass out.”

He didn’t respond because Melanie came down
the hall, bag slung over her shoulder and other miscellaneous items
clutched in her arm. She didn’t look at either of them as she
opened the apartment door and disappeared into the hallway.

Camryn turned to Jack and said, “Look, I
know how pissed you are, and you have every right to be. Melanie is
just… She’s my sister and I love her, but even though she does
careless shit like this, she really doesn’t mean any harm. I know
that’s not an excuse, but there’s more to her than this.”

She grabbed her phone and keys from the
kitchen counter and headed for the door.

“Camryn,” Jack called, bringing her to a
halt. She turned around to face the sad smile on his face when he
added, “I really do know there’s a lot more to her.”

She met his gaze long enough to determine he
was being sincere. She nodded and then shut the door on her way
out.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Despite the circumstances, Teague was so
happy to see Camryn that night. Kellie was home too when the girls
arrived, and she showed Melanie a spare bedroom she could crash in
for the night. When Melanie was taken care of, Teague looked at
Camryn and watched her shoulders drop with a very defeated
exhale.

“Come here,” he said, stepping towards her
to gather her in his arms. Kissing the top of her head Teague
murmured, “I’m so glad to see you. I know the reason sucks, but I’m
glad I got to see you a couple of days earlier than planned.” He
pulled back to look at her, placing his hands against her face. Her
green eyes were dark, almost mossy, and he could tell how stressed
she was. “You want to go take a bath with me?” he smiled, eyebrows
raised. “I’ll make it worth your time. Or I could just leave you
alone and let you relax if that’s what you need,” he added.
“Whatever you want is fine with me.”

“A bath
with
you sounds amazing.”

“Perfect,” he grinned. “But first… I just
want to kiss you.”

He pressed his lips against hers and held
them there for a moment. Then he began to work them over with his,
taking his time to make the reunion sensual and meaningful. Teague
used his hand against the back of her neck to assist in his gentle
assault, loving the taste and feel of her lips, and the way her
fingers slid up his shirt to touch his skin.

“If I could choose one thing to do before I
died, it would be kissing you,” he spoke softly.

Camryn froze. Teague pulled away to see what
was wrong, but she swallowed and forced a smile. “I’m ready for
that bath, I think,” she told him, pulling away entirely. “How
‘bout you bring a couple of drinks for us and I’ll get it
running.”

She kissed him once more, just a solid smack
on the lips, and headed for the hallway.

“What the fuck?” he whispered to himself as
he watched her leave. But then he considered his choice of words.
Had he really said something about dying? Was he that
insensitive?

When Teague entered the bathroom a few
minutes later, he studied her carefully. But Camryn was already
giving him her classic beautiful smile as he set two drinks on the
ledge of the tub. Then she surprised him by roughly shoving him up
against the wall.

“How bad did you miss me?” she asked,
pressing her lips against his neck. Kissing a path to his mouth,
she rubbed against his lower half.

“So bad I popped a boner while I was sitting
in traffic tonight.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead as she
laughed. “It fucking sucked,” he added with a smile. “All I could
think about was your face in my lap like at the park last
week.”