Love The One You're With

Chapter 10-Surprise

"What the fuck, Quinn?" Sam said loudly as he stepped towards me. What little distance there was between us closed abruptly and left us only a few inches apart.

"What do you mean? You're the one behaving like an absolute ass!" I replied angrily as I poked his chest with my index finger and furrowed my brows.

"You're the one who ditched me to fuck my brother! Then you have the nerve to get mad that I brought a girl home?" He laughed as he spoke, but it was condescending and stung.

"I didn't even know he was your brother! You said we were just fucking, then you ignored me for a week, Sam! A whole week! Was I supposed to just sit at home and wait on you to acknowledge my existence again??" The words just flowed out, as if I couldn't stop them if I tried.

"From the very beginning, you made it clear that's all you wanted! You never wanted to date me...but of course you're more than willing to date him!" He shot back as he motioned towards my bedroom in reference to Jake.

"Things change, Sam! I was scared, okay? I was scared because we're roommates..what if we did date and it didn't work out??" I was in tears as I spoke, my voice cracking at the end. Sam shook his head as he watched me, but his face softened. He placed his hand gently on my cheek, rubbing his thumb across my cheekbone wiping away the tears. He leaned in, and I held my breath, anticipating his kiss.

"Quinnie, I," he began softly as he hesitated millimeters away from my face. He let out a sigh and said, "I-I can't do this.." I stood there in stunned silence as he turned and walked away from me. Before he walked out the front door, he turned back briefly and smiled weakly. He wiped away his tears then closed the front door behind him.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling. Jake deserved more than to see me crying over his brother. I hated myself for coming between them, and the situation felt like it wasn't good for any of us. Sam was mad at me for dating his brother, Jake was stuck knowing that there was something between me and his brother at some point, and I'm just mad at myself for being so torn between the two. I always cry when I'm angry, so I decided to clean up after dinner hoping the outlet would help me calm down. Normally, I'd save the leftovers, but in a frustrated haste I tossed everything in the garbage and angrily scrubbed the dishes.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked quietly as he softly padded into the kitchen. I shrugged and half smiled, unable to explain without crying again. He nodded and walked closer to help dry the dishes. "I'm sorry the dinner kind of imploded.." he whispered as he playfully nudged me with his hip. I giggled and laid my head on his shoulder for a moment. He's too good for me, truly.

"It really was a shit show, huh?" I laughed more thinking back on how awkward it must have been for Jake as he waited in my room probably overhearing the whole conversation. His laughter joined mine as we finished putting away the clean dishes. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that.." I added as I turned to face him. He brushed my hair behind my ears and smiled at me.

"Don't worry about it, love. It's not your fault, and you're not responsible for his feelings or behavior.." Jake said softly before kissing me. I smiled into his kiss as my hands trailed up his sides under his shirt causing him to giggle. "You look amazing, by the way.." he blushed as he complimented me. "The food was delicious, too," he said in a surprisingly flirty tone that made me blush.

"I would offer a second helping, but I kind of threw everything away," I replied with a laugh as I broke eye contact to keep from blushing again.

He kept his eyes on me as he licked his lips. "That's okay, I can think of something even more appetizing," he purred as he raised an eyebrow and smirked. I leaned in and kissed him deeply, passing my tongue between his parted lips as he hooked his hands at my knees and lifted me up onto the counter. He began to kiss and nip at the soft skin below my ear. I was trying to focus on Jake, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Sam. Jake hesitated and lifted his face back to mine. "You're not really into this right now are you, love?" He asked softly.