Timing Is Everything

Chapter 21: Jay

"'Cause girl you make it hard to be faithful," Brook sings as we pull up to the Frat House.

"With the lips of an angel." I sing, parking the car. The both of us then wait for the cue and then look at each other before finishing the song.

"Honey, why you calling me so late?" Brook finishes by strumming an air guitar slowly for the last note. I smile at her and she gives me her classic shy smile. Before I can really capture the moment, she grabs her phone and then climbs out of the car. (God, she's gotten so much more confident and is it possible that her tits got bigger? And she's so relaxed with me and she somehow seems even bubblier if that's even possible.)

"So what's your plan for the rest of the day?" She asks me, grabbing her stuff from the trunk.

"Oh, you're not gonna know what hit you." I say while grabbing her jacket from the back seat.

"Should I be scared?"

"Absolutely." I tell Brook, poking her in the ribs and then closing the trunk for her. She elbows me in the stomach kind of hard and then walks towards the house with a sarcastic frown over her shoulder.

"Where is everyone?" She asks me when we go into the house.

"Who knows? Jane's probably working, Shane's probably on a deal, Bailey's probably out grocery shopping." I say passively, secretly glad that we're here alone.

"Oh, did you plan that?" She asks sarcastically.

"Actually, I didn't." I state as I walk into the kitchen to grab a water bottle.

"Well I'm going to go drop my stuff off in Jane's-"

"Just put it in my room, you're going to be staying there tonight." I tell her, fearing her response.

"Ha, good one." She laughs, walking towards the basement door.

"Uh, actually," I say, moving quickly to get between her and the basement door. "I wasn't joking. Alex and I agreed that you wouldn't be left alone with anyone but me."

"Seriously? What's Jane gonna do, suffocate me with a pillow while I sleep?" She asks incredulously. (God, she's so sarcastic. She's PERFECT!)

"Brook, you need to understand that we can't trust anyone." I tell her, putting my hands on her shoulders so she really hears me. "How do you think that the Downtownies even knew you and Alex would be at that concert in Edmonton? Only the people in this house knew Alex was taking you there." She stares at me in silence with her careful-thinking face on and I know that I'm getting through to her.

"No one here would- they... I thought that someone just followed Alex back from-"

"God, I wish it was that simple." I breathe out, dropping my hands from her shoulders even though all I want to do is hug her right now. "What Alex didn't tell you is that the guy that broke into your hotel room started talking after you left. The Downtownies created this sort of competition for who could bring you back to their headquarters first. It started yesterday."

"So Alex is texting you and not me this?" She asks with a hidden annoyance in her voice.

"He told me to tell you but I was driving and didn't see the text until we stopped for gas half an hour ago." I say truthfully.

"Well thanks for letting me know half an hour later." She states sarcastically before turning around and stomping upstairs. Drama, sarcasm and stomping can only mean one thing: she's pissed off and frustrated to the point of tears. Yeah, I'd never regret memorizing everything about her. Because I know that right now, she feels overwhelmed and guilty for some reason and doesn't want to be alone.