Page 13 of The Runaway
Panting harshly, I held myself on trembling arms above Joci as she writhed in pleasure. Her soft thighs clung to my hips, and I reached under to squeeze her ass cheek greedily. The need throbbing through me was almost painful, and Isavoredthe friction of us rocking together. Licking up her neck, I groaned at her taste as she arched into me with a breathless gasp.
Fuck… she was so damn delicate and sexy and—
All of it came to a screeching halt at the hard knock on my front door, and I ducked my head into Joci’s neck to groan. I knew it was coming, but the disappointment was still potent and real. Her legs around me slackened but didn’t fall, and I sucked in a hard, loud breath through my nose.
“I told you so.” My murmur earned me a soft chuckle, and I smiled as nimble fingers searched my sides. “My mom has a key. She’ll let herself in.”
“You did told me so.” Lifting myself up to shake my head, my lips picked up wide, and I peeked over the top of the sofa. The doorknob started to turn right in that moment. My mom didn’t waste time, her face twisting in surprise when her eyes found mine. My own surprise nearly choked me when my aunt slipped through the door behind my mom.
“Shit— Mom, youandAunt Jess?” My complaining earned me a hard look, and my mom blinked a few times before shuffling into the living room. “You couldn’t call first? I need a warning before an intervention.”
“Jacob, you can’t just abandon him because he’s a little annoying. We’re going to discuss this like adults—” Scoffing lightly, I frowned darkly as I climbed off the sofa to run both my hands through my hair and down my neck. Arching sharply, my sternum popped beneath my skin, and my mom took off her coat with a grumpy expression.
“Where’s Caleb, then? There’s you, Aunt Jess, me… but the person that this is about isn’t actually here?” Irritation sharpened my tone; I’d been dealing with this for two years, but only now were people taking me seriously? “Caleb isn’t here because he can’t find a proper reason to bring up in an argument. I’ve tried to address this, but he never saw it as a problem until it became something he couldn’t ignore. Him simply not being able to afford something isn’t going to be my problem anymore.”
“Well, he’s right. He’s trying in his own way. He’s not like you, Jacob—”
“Shit, Mom… not this again. The entire two years he’s been sleeping on my sofa, he hasn’t done shit to try to get a better job— to not fuck up his friendships— to— tomake a lifefor himself beyond my couch. I’m not going to be responsible for him, okay? Aunt Jess— you’re his mom. You think everyone should coddle him, so be the first in line to do so and give him his old room back.” My Aunt Jess looked mightily uncomfortable as I addressed her. She was always the meeker of the two of them. I guess I could understand where Caleb got it, considering my mom always stood up for her sister when shit went even lightly wrong. “How can he be an adult when he sends his mom to argue for him?”
“What’s this?” Joci had somehow made it to the open kitchen without being noticed, holding up a jar a peanut butter with curiosity slathered all over her face.
“Peanut butter. Want a sandwich?” Her brows twitched, and she twisted the top to sniff and pulled a disgusted face. “Guess not, huh? They don’t have peanut butter in Russia?”
“Who is she, Jacob? When did you get a girlfriend?” Taking my eyes off Joci as she tugged her shirt sleeves down when she reached to put the jar back, I pursed my lips thinly. My mom wasn’t squat by any means, but she looked like an angry garden gnome in this moment.
“Don’t get distracted, Mom. This is about Caleb, remember? And how I’mnotallowing him to stay here anymore.” She shot me the snootiest look, my mom, and I rolled my eyes as I gestured to Joci.Mom comes here to berate me for Caleb, and now she’ll end up berating me for Joci.“She’s a Russian mail-order bride I found on the internet. Paid $15grand for her.”
“What!”The shrill shriek my mom squawked out echoed through my apartment, and my brows rose pointedly. Amusement mingled with my rising irritation; I’d been through so much in such a short amount of time, and I just wanted everything tocalm down. “Youpaidfor a person? Jacob! That’s illegal!”
“That’s not the issue, Mom. Remember? You’re here to tell me to let Caleb stay despite the fact that he’s impacting my life negatively.” Sauntering into the kitchen as I spoke, I grabbed the peanut butter from Joci to stick it back in the fridge. I grabbed the cheese and ham from the drawer, and she frowned into the cold billowing out. “Are you uncomfortable with them here?”
My mumble earned me a slight shake of her head, and I kissed her cheek before turning to the counter. Leaning on my palms on the counter, I inhaled deeply as I tried to mentally wrangle in the situation.
“Just listen, Jacob. Caleb’s a pain in the butt, yeah, but he’s never done anything bad enough to warrant being kicked out. Just because you’re in a relationship doesn’t mean you can drop your friends. And he’s your cousin! You were raised to help your family out, and Caleb may not have agreatjob, but he has a job, and he pays on time, and he doesn’t do anything illegal.” The more she talked, the faster it came out, and my mom crossed her arms over her chest out of the corner of my eye. Popping open a drawer to snatch a butter knife, I handed it to Joci before realizing that we’d just eaten two hours or so ago.
Expectant silence filled the kitchen, and I took my time analyzing what my mom had said while Joci constructed a sandwich. Turning to the two to lean on my elbow on the marble counter, my eyes narrowed into slits.
“Now,youlisten, Mom. You’re not going to change my mind. I’ve tried for two years to reach some sort of agreement, but Caleb always shrugged me off. He’d fix his attitude for a few days before going back to his bad habits. I never asked him to do something that was out of his capabilities. Do his dishes, even if it’s only a butter knife. Leave me alone when I say ‘I want to be left alone’. Be on time whenhe’s the one that suggesting doing something or going somewhere. These are not unreasonable expectations of a 26-year-old, Mom.” I made sure to speak firmly, and I could see it in my mom’s eyes that she waspissed. Caleb wasn’t even her kid— I was, damnit! “Do you really want to get bad over this, Mom? Are you seriously going to choose Caleb’s convenience over me? This is my apartment, and my life, and I’m not here just to give Caleb a cheap place to crash.”
“I’m not ‘choosing’ either of you—” A bark of laughter escaped me at that, devoid of humor as my attitude to sharp turn down ‘fuck-all’ lane. My aunt, at least, had the decency to look ashamed of the points I’d made, but it wasn’t much of a consolation prize. Aunt Jess always took the route painless for Caleb, even if it harmed him in the long run. Pushing him through high school was just one example of how she dealt with adversary against him.
“You’re here, Mom, and he’s not. Aunt Jess hasn’t said a single word since you let yourself in. I’ve dealt with a lot today, okay, and I really am not interested in anything either of you have to say. Like I’ve said— I’ve tried, and Caleb doesn’t want to abide by any rules or expectations, no matter how reasonable they are. So, he’s got two weeks. I’m changing my locks, getting rid of his stuff, and if he doesn’t have a place to go by the time two weeks is up, it’s not my problem if he sleeps on a bus stop.” I was harsh, but I’d run out of ways to be polite about this issue. My mom gasped loudly, and I walked over to her to gesture to the door. “If you don’t mind, I’m asking you to leave, now. This conversation is over.”
“I can’t believe you, Jacob!” Turning on her heel, my mom stormed out with my aunt following behind, and I shut and locked the deadbolt— one I rarely used and my mom didn’t have a key for. Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.
“I’m sorry. I’m not hungry, but I made the sandwich.” Joci smiled guiltily when I opened my eyes, and I shook my head a little at the absurdity of it all. “Why doesn’t she believe you?”
“Ah— she’s just upset I’m making drama. She’ll get over it. Caleb’s an adult, even if he is a bit of a loser. He just doesn’t try at anything because someone else always does that for him. My mom likes her ducks neat in a row.” The confusion on her face was enough to blast away my bad mood, and I waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. So, do you want to stay the night, or…?”
“I want to, but… I do not want my boss after me.” Reluctance lowered her tone, but I wasn’t going to push as Joci took a nibble out of the edge of her sandwich. My chest tightened with the desire to finish what we’d started. All we did was make out—heavily—and I was more than happy to continue. It’d be an adventure for another day regardless of all the interruptions, though, I thought. Clearly, there was shit Joci wasn’t going to just jump headlong into, and sex appeared to be one of those things.
14
Jacob
Emerging from the subway tunnel, I squinted at the bright sunlight as the cold air stung my eyes. The weekend had gone by so damn fast, and snow was in the forecast Sunday into Monday. Evenings like this, I wished I hadsomeway to get around that didn’t involve two trains and some sprinting.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I frowned at the time displayed on the screen. I had an hour, if I was lucky, to get to work before all the idiots that’d procrastinated because of the snow.Yeah, that includes me. Because I’m an idiot that procrastinated too long.