Jayson: A New Adult / Coming of Age Romance (17 page)

“
L
et
’s all agree to be on our best behavior for company, guys!” I stress the words “best behavior.”

Castiel looks up innocently from the sweet potato pie he’s drawing a penis shape onto with whipped cream. “Why would you even have to say that, Jayson? I am always on my absolute best behavior, and I’m appalled that you would suggest otherwise.” Devon snorts at the blatant lie, and Ashby nods obliviously, ever the sweet kid.

Momma shuffles out of her bedroom and walks across the open front room to my kitchen with difficulty. I rush to give her a chair so she can sit down off her bad back, as Cast hurriedly sprays cream all over his artwork to hide it. Chuckling, I shake my head at him.

“You know why. You damn hooligans would scare off the devil, himself, if he showed up.”

“What time did you say she’ll get here, Jay?” Momma asks.

I consult my phone for the last text from Kit. “In about another thirty minutes.”

It’s the week before Christmas. I invited Kitrina over to my place so she can meet my family. After that, we plan to go Christmas shopping together. I survey the house one last time to make sure everything is in place, feeling nervous about having her over. If push comes to shove and the boys—namely Castiel—act up too badly, we can cut the meet-n-greet short and hit the shops.

My brothers clear out of the kitchen and get engrossed in a video game, but I’m too antsy to play. I sit at the table with Momma. “You’re getting serious about this girl, aren’t you?” she says with a grin.

I hesitate to answer. Am I serious about Kit? I like her a lot. Maybe I even love her. But I get the feeling Momma means a hike down the aisle kind of serious, and I’m not even close to that. “We’re still getting to know each other. She’s a sweetheart, though. Just don’t get any ideas. You can’t marry me off that easily.”

Momma chuckles softly. “I’m only asking ‘cause you’ve never brought a lady friend over for me to meet like this. I figure it must be something special.” It occurs to me she’s right. None of my exes had the privilege.

“Eh, you probably wouldn’t have liked any of the other girls anyway,” I reply.

“What about this one? You think I’ll like her?”

I can answer that with certainty. “You’ll love her.”

When Kit knocks at the door a half hour later, Momma sees for herself. Kitrina walks into my apartment, greeted by the pack of wolves known as the Zephyr brothers. Ashby pushes to the forefront. “I’ve been just dying to meet you, Ms. Schneider!” He pumps her hand up and down excitedly, and Kit laughs, overwhelmed.

“You must be Ashby,” she deduces. “Pleased to meet you.” I help her out of her coat. She’s dressed in a red sweater, snow-white leggings and knee-high black leather boots. She looks like a Christmas angel. Her white blond hair falls around her smiling face in loose curls. Devon whistles appreciatively.

“Knock it off,” I say out of the corner of my mouth.

“You lucky bastard,” he whispers with a grin.

As expected, my mother takes to her immediately. “Hi, I’m Sabine,” she introduces, shaking Kit’s hand. “And, you’re even prettier than everybody said! My, if I were a day or two younger, you might be a little competition.” Kit chortles.

“Why, Sabine, there’d never be any competition. Clearly, you’re the winner,” she responds in kind. I fall in love with her a little bit for the indulgence. Momma rarely gets to entertain the gentler sex, surrounded by all boys as she is. “Pleased to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you, Sabine. Jayson thinks the world of you,” Kit replies softly.

“Don’t tell the rest,” Momma says in a stage whisper that everyone can hear, “but he’s my favorite eldest son.”

“I thought I was the favorite,” Dev feigns heartbreak.

Momma laughs teasingly. “Oh, you are! You’re my favorite third son. Cast is my favorite second born, and Ashby is my favorite youngest.” Kit giggles in amusement. I stand back and try not to get in the way. There’s a lot going on, with Devon going back to the game, Ashby hovering around mother’s recliner and Castiel wiggling around by the Christmas tree like a two-year-old.

“What in the world are you doing, boy?” I ask.

“Waiting my turn to have an audience with the duchess.” He holds up a wrapped box. “Hey, Kit, I got you something to remember us by.” I quirk a brow. He didn’t say anything to me about giving Kit a gift. A chill of possessiveness tries to unfurl, but I push it aside. It’s only Castiel. It’s probably a gag gift anyway.

Kit excuses herself from talking to my mom. “I’m afraid to see what it is,” Kit says wisely. Castiel plops down on the sofa next to her and gleefully helps her unwrap the box. I lean forward to get a peak. Kit’s laughter fills the room. “A power drill?” she shrieks.

“Open it up,” Cast rubs his hands together. Still laughing, Kit opens the box. Instead of a drill, she pulls out a company t-shirt, one of our Zephyr Brother’s baseball caps and a framed photograph of all the guys who worked on her house. I smile in surprise. I had no idea Cast was taking that picture just to give it to Kit.

“Oh, Castiel!” she coos in sincere appreciation. She spontaneously reaches for him and hugs him. I give them five seconds hugging before I playfully tap him on the shoulder.

“Alright, time’s up,” I tell him. Castiel pulls back, chuckling at me marking my territory.

“Wait a minute. While I have you here, Cast, I need a favor,” Kit says.

“Is it anything I can help you with?” I interject. She waves me away.

“No, only Castiel can do it. It’s about a Christmas gift for someone very special to me,” she says. I back away, realizing she’s probably planning some sort of surprise for me. Castiel leans in, all ears. Kit laughs as I sullenly walk a short distance away. It’s fun and games. I’d trust Castiel with my life.

The rest of the afternoon is spent with everyone trying to talk over each other as we dig into the food my brothers and I prepared. The perfect hostess, Momma plays her part keeping my unruly brothers in line. Ashby is at Kit’s every beck and call, keeping her glass full and making sure she doesn’t need anything. I envisioned a melee—something catching on fire or somebody getting their eyeball poked out—one never knows what will happen when the four of us boys get together. Instead, it turns out to be a lively, enjoyable family dinner.

Kit doesn’t want to leave when it’s time to go. “Can’t we stay a few hours more?” she whispers to me as I usher her to the door. I smile in pleasure at the thought of her taking to my family the same way they took to her. It’s readily apparent she fits in here. The uncomfortable thought of marriage crops up, but I ignore the outlandish idea. Just then Castiel accidentally spills a glass of soda all over the floor right beside her. I pull Kit away just in time to keep her from getting splashed.

“There is a such thing as too much of a good thing,” I say with a laugh.

We take my truck downtown where the best of the holiday lights are on display, and I listen in quiet contentment as Kit relays to me how her finals week went. It’s been days since I saw her last. I pulled away to give her enough space to focus her attention on school. “So, all in all, my grades were a fraction lower than usual, but I passed everything with no less than a C. And, I only got a C on that first test that I actually thought I had failed. Normally I’d pitch a fit about a C, but I was happy as hell to get it this time. The rest were A’s and B’s.”

“So, you’re completely done with everything, right?”

“Almost. I still have to finish a mock-up to submit with my internship application.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.”

“Well, the good news is that I didn’t forget about it. Not this time. I’ve been working my butt off to get back on top of things, and I’m hoping for a better spring semester. But, tonight, darling…” She leans across the seat and rests her head on my shoulder. “I want it to be about me and you.”

“Let’s go walk off that meal, shall we?” I park the truck and go around to her side to gallantly open her door. Hand in hand, we drift from store to store picking up gifts for friends and family. We pass carolers, and Kitrina makes me pause to hear her favorite, and then we get hot cocoa from a street vendor. We watch the dusk fade into night. We do a lot of talking. We do nothing out of the ordinary. It just feels different, good to have someone like Kit at my side. It occurs to me that even if we weren’t dating, we’d have a pretty solid friendship.

“Okay, don’t laugh, but I used to be terrified of Santa Claus,” she confesses as we walk past another Santa ringing a bell. I laugh softly. “Don’t laugh!” she reiterates, giggling.

“I can’t help it. Scared of Jolly Ole St. Nick?” I chuckle and shake my head. Kit grabs my hand again and swings our hands to the sky. “Alright, alright. Tell me another secret. I promise I won’t laugh.”

Kit dips into silence, contemplating. I glance over at her, marvel at the lights glinting off her hair. The cold makes her cheeks rosy. I put my arm around her for good measure, and she rests her head against my shoulder. “I enjoyed spending time around your family today. I wish my family were more like yours…Another secret? I haven’t seen my grandparents on my mom’s side but once in my life.”

“Why is that?” I ask. The conversation takes a turn for the serious.

“Because my mother’s holding a grudge. She does it very well, by the way. She’s still mad at me for keeping the house. Anyway, her parents were wealthy, busy people. She felt neglected by them. She was raised by nannies.”

Suddenly it makes a little more sense why Mrs. Schneider takes such an active role in Kitrina’s life. “That had to be hard for her,” I murmur understandingly.

“I used to wonder why she didn’t just talk to them about what happened in the past. I felt like she was making the situation worse by shutting them out of our lives. As I got older, I realized my mom was too proud to do that.” Kit shakes her head. “People who love each other shouldn’t keep secrets like that. Pride is hardly a good reason for it. I feel like I can talk about anything with you, and I’ve only known you a few months. She’s known them a lifetime.”

I swallow uncomfortably and gaze ahead. Though the situations aren’t parallel, I’m keeping a secret from Kit and damn near for the same reason. I haven’t told her about my past because of my pride. I want her to continue to think the best of me. It would tear me apart if she learned the truth and didn’t think as highly of me.

“Maybe someday she’ll tell them,” I reply.

As the night deepens, I take her back to the truck so I can drive her over to my place and get her home. It’s late.

“You following me home?” she asks when we arrive at my apartment.

I reluctantly respond, “I want to, but you still have that project to work on.”

“Not tonight,” she says as she climbs into the Fiat. She stares at me suggestively. “I told you tonight is about me and you.”

Giving in to her seduction, I climb back into my truck and follow her home. But my fears follow me, too. What will happen if Kitrina learns the truth about me? After hearing how she feels about keeping secrets, how she feels she can talk to me about anything, I wonder if a belated confession will damn me. I change my mind about waiting until she can accept my past. I resolve not to tell her anything about it at all. There’s no other way for her to find out. The secret is buried in a criminal record nearly a decade old. Pushing the thought from my mind, I zip down the highway in pursuit of her Fiat.

We might not even have a future together, I remind myself. After all, I’m just a contractor. Girls like her don’t marry guys like me.

I
get a little misty eyed
, looking around my house at the Christmas tree, the wreaths, the lights. Scent satchels from Devil in the Details give the place the homey aroma of fresh baked apple pie. Added to that, the smell of the meal I had catered fills the lower level. Grace, Castiel and Jayson gaze back at me as I get ready to announce my surprise. Littering the floor is torn giftwrap. We’ve already opened our gifts, but I have one more present to dole out.

“Whoops! Before you start, I have to go potty,” Cast announces.

I wink with a giggle. This is part of the plan. He ducks out of the living room. I turn back to Grace and Jayson. “I just wanted to let you guys know how happy I am to have you here. Grace, I know you have a flight to catch in the morning. I promise I won’t keep you up too late.”

She laughingly holds up the earplugs I got her as a gag gift. “Hopefully I’ll sleep soundly thanks to these.” I giggle at our inside joke about bumping and grinding.

I use my remote and turn on my new stereo as I talk. “Jayson, I know you thought Castiel and I were putting together something special for you. I regret to inform you that we weren’t, although I do have a surprise for you upstairs,” I say mysteriously.

“Well, now I’m curious to know what you and he were planning,” he says with a laugh.

Out of sight, Castiel taps on the wall near the door that leads to the staircase. “Ready for me?”

“Yeah, gimme just a second. Uh, Jayson, that’s our cue to leave.”

Grace looks at me suspiciously. I struggle to contain my excitement, and I grab Jayson’s hand, dragging his nosy ass out of the living room to give my bestie privacy. When we pass Castiel waiting in the hall, Jayson clamps his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming with laughter. “Shhh!” I hiss.

The music I set up in the living room starts to play. Castiel shimmies into the front wearing a firefighter helmet and yellow firefighter pants held up with red suspenders. All I hear is Grace shrieking in amusement from the living room. I finally let out my own laughter as Jayson and I sneak a peek from the hallway.

“How the hell did you convince him to do this?”

“It’s a long story. Basically, Grace and Castiel have been sparking at each other ever since we ran into you guys at that nightclub. Remember the night we kissed? Well, I had been prying and prying to find out how serious Grace was about him. She finally confessed right after final’s week that she was totally into him, but she told me Cast can be such a clown that she never knows when to take him seriously. Once I told him how she felt about him, it didn’t take much to convince Castiel to put on a show. I’m pretty sure he’s into her, too. Maybe this will convince her to give him a shot.”

“Now,” he says, “about that surprise you have waiting for me upstairs…”

“Oh, that,” I say. I turn my back to the door to the living room where Castiel and Grace get through a comical striptease full of laughter and raunchy hip swaying. I clasp the lapels of the dress I’m wearing and rip it open with a pop of several buttons. Only Jayson can see I’m wearing a lacy red corset and thongs underneath. His jaw drops.

“Santa, baby, hurry,” he groans.

We race up the stairs to take advantage of the loud stereo downstairs that will drown out the sound of us having hot holiday sex. He takes me from behind on the edge of the bed. It’s quick and rough and infinitely satisfying, but when he moves over me for round two, I halt him. “We have guests downstairs,” I remind him with a chuckle at his randiness. The stereo has gone silent, and I hear the faint sound of Castiel joking with Grace beneath us.

Jayson reluctantly rolls over to lie at my side, staring down into my face with a bemused expression. “You’re a constant surprise, Kit Schneider,” he replies.

“All the better to keep you on your toes, my dear. You’ll get to see more of this red number when we have the house to ourselves. About Christmas, I’ve been meaning to ask…” I hesitate.

“What?”

“Well, I kind of told my mother you were coming to a Christmas Eve dinner at her place with me before I thought to ask if you were free that day. She was trying to get a head count.” Jayson sits up, a closed expression on his face. I stammer, “I-if you have something to do, it’s not a problem. I know it was inconsiderate of me to make plans for you like that.”

“It’s not that. I wonder if you might be pushing things with your mom. I mean, we both know she doesn’t really care for me.”

“Right, and I intend to talk to her about that, too. Her reasons are groundless. Once she meets you, she’ll see.”

“No, Kit. I don’t think it’s such a good idea to do this during a major holiday. I’m sure there will be other guests present. She may get upset, and I don’t want you two arguing in front of everybody. This is the time of year where we’re supposed to set our differences aside and come together in happiness. If I go, I can’t see that happening. I think the sort of meeting you have in mind is best left to an intimate occasion between just the three of us in case things get heated.”

“But, Jayson, I met your family without any problems,” I point out. I don’t understand what the big deal is. Whether Mom likes it or not, she has to accept that Jayson and I are going to be together. Christmas is as good a time as ever.

“Darling, don’t be consciously naïve. You’re a grownup. You know how these things work. My family doesn’t look down on you the way your mom looks down on me. We’ve been average, ordinary people our whole lives.”

“What are you trying to say?” I cringe at his choice of words. Sitting up angrily, I pull my dress closed and scoot off of the bed. “Fine, you don’t have to go.”

Jayson stands and forcefully readjusts his pants, exhaling harshly.

“Why do we have to argue about this?”

“I’m not arguing with you!” I retort louder than necessary.

“Yes, you are, and you don’t have to raise your voice to talk to me. I can hear perfectly fine. By the way, Kit, I didn’t make this problem between your mother and me. She did! She took one look at me and decided I was too common for her company. Why you would even tell her I was coming over for dinner is completely beyond me.” He snatches up his shirt and puts it back on.

“Are we arguing?” I ask in a small voice. Tears spring to my eyes. He’s right, but I’m right, too. My mother started this feud, and she’ll keep it going for God knows how long. I’m just trying to make things easier on us all. I’m sick of not talking to my mother. I’m tired of Jayson having to feel slighted by her. I just want us all to sit down to a lovely Christmas dinner and talk to each other like sensible damn adults. How does that make me the naïve one?

Jayson crosses my bedroom in two big steps and grabs me. He kisses my eyelids, murmuring soft words of comfort. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I shouldn’t take it out on you.” He wraps his arms around me, and I lean into his chest, trying to stop the tears. Our first argument. It hurts to be mad at him. He lifts my chin and kisses my lips. “I want to make you happy, Kit. I’m willing to go with you to the dinner on one condition.”

“What condition?” I ask brokenly. I revel in the feel of his warmth. It feels good to make up.

“Promise me, no matter how she acts, you won’t let her get under your skin. I can handle being snubbed. Like I said, I don’t want everyone to witness you two falling out. It’s nobody else’s business. I feel, over time, Candace will probably open up and accept us being together. But this dinner isn’t the place for that battle. If I’m going, I’m just another family friend. I’m not your boyfriend there, understand?”

“You’re asking me to treat us like a secret. That goes against everything I stand for.”

He sighs, drops his head atop mine. “Some secrets have to be kept for the greater good of our relationship. If I didn’t think this was necessary, I wouldn’t put you in this position. If we go in there holding hands, playing kissy face, your mother will feel like you’re flaunting our relationship and making a mockery of her. I don’t know her as well as you do, but I definitely don’t think I’m wrong about this.”

“You’re probably right,” I have to concede. I can picture my mom taking obvious PDAs as a personal affront. Anyway, I told her we’e just friends, I think guiltily. It’s not like Jayson’s caution is unwarranted. I sigh and move out of his embrace. “I guess we better run downstairs and see how the two lovebirds are doing.”

He smiles at me. “I think you just want to see how your matchmaking skills fared.”

“That, too.”

We tiptoe downstairs and peer into the living room from a safe angle where Castiel and Grace won’t be able to see us. My best friend smiles at Jayson’s brother as they talk quietly, sitting close together on the sectional. For a change, Castiel seems to be talking to her seriously instead of playing the jester, and she seems to be hanging on his every word. Jayson clears his throat loudly to announce his presence as he walks into the room. “Glad to see all those dance lessons I gave you when we were kids paid off,” he jokes.

Castiel grins. “Boy, you wish you had moves like me.”

Grace and I make eye contact. She flashes me a thumbs up. I giggle as I walk over and sit next to her, and Jayson parks his butt next to Cast. Castiel, still shirtless, doesn’t seem to have lost his pants at any point. Just as I figured, he’s Gracie’s kind of guy—the right mix of charm, unaggressive seduction and laid-backness. They’ll do nicely together, I predict. “Do I deliver, or do I deliver?” I gush.

Grace giggles. “I’ve been asking for a firefighter for, what, two years now? It’s about damn time!”

“Glad I could make your Christmas wish come true,” says Cast. “Well, ladies and gent, it’s late. I guess I better skedaddle on over to my place now that my work here is done.” He leans over and boldly kisses Grace on the cheek. She visibly blushes and looks down sheepishly. I smile, feeling sentimental. Not long ago, that was me and Jayson in la-la-land. Now, here we’ve had our first argument. I share a look with him.

“Let’s let them say their goodbyes,” Jayson murmurs, beckoning for me to follow him. Grace and Castiel walk outside, and I show Jayson the mock-up I’ve been working on for the internship application.

“Do you think we’ll make it?” I ask. Something about having a disagreement puts me on edge. He caresses my face tenderly.

“Of course, baby. I’ve made it through worse. You have, too.”

Next to the mock-up is a printout of my transcript, the grades for fall semester reflecting a GPA lowered by a few points, but still a 4.0. I think about the past few months, some of the worst. Yet, I survived them. I kept my job, kept my house, kept up my grades and still managed to keep this relationship.

“We’ll make it through this meeting with your mom, too. I’m gonna make that woman love me, one way or another,” he boasts confidently. I see a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. I know how tough it is being underestimated. Mom thinks he’s not good enough for me because he doesn’t walk around in a lab coat or a business suit. She thinks I’m a dreamer.

Later that night while Jayson sleeps on my pallet in the bedroom and Gracie sleeps downstairs in her wrought iron bed, I tiptoe out to my balcony and give Candace a call. I know she’s up. She’s a night owl.

“Hello?” she answers, laughing lightly. I hear a male’s voice in the background. I pull away from the phone in surprise.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything!”

“Oh, don’t be silly. I’m just hanging out with…a friend. What is it, Kit? Why are you calling so late?”

“Er, I wanted to talk to you about bringing Jayson over to dinner for Christmas. You never told me. Is it okay if he comes? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable in your own house.”

“Bring your pet, dear. No one will pay him any mind. Why should he make me uncomfortable?”

I frown. “Well, I want to make sure you don’t—you know—treat him like he doesn’t belong.”

“He doesn’t. Kit, I don’t have time to teach you what you should already know. I’ve done a little digging into your boy. Let me just tell you this. Anytime you try to bring someone like him into your world, he’ll be treated like he doesn’t belong. Could you picture him at the country club? Ha! Laughable. You picked him as your friend, Kitrina. You deal with the consequences when you bring him around.”

“I thought we could be adults about this.”

“Darling, we are. Real grownups don’t sugarcoat shit. You still seem to be trying to do exactly that, for all your airs. But, I’ll show the truth about him when you two come to the dinner. Someone has to save you from yourself. Until then…maybe you should ask
Jayson
if there’s anything he wants to tell you before I do.”

I hang up the phone, feeling disoriented and suspicious. What on earth was she talking about? I reenter the bedroom and crawl into bed next to Jayson. He stirs. I want to ask. But I don’t. I’m sure whatever it is, he’s already told me. My mother doesn’t have anything on him. She can’t possibly.