Ask Jake (Book One of the Whisper Series)

Five: Intricate Maze

Adam

Why does she want to leave? She can't leave now. Things are going so well.

"Uh, okay. Lets go over and you can say goodbye to Rox and Greg," I scream, hoping one of them will convince her to stay longer.

"Um...okie dokee," she slurs, and wipes some sweat off her face, stumbling a little.

Oh damn, she's wasted.

I steer her over to where Greg and Roxy are dancing. Greg is having so much fun with Roxy. The smile on her face explains how much she is enjoying him too.

Greg is the best friend anyone could ever have. He only has one flaw; he does not know how to respect personal space. If he likes you, he knows right away and must get his hands on you; however, this one flaw stems from a life of neglect. Greg was put into the foster system when he was three. His mother was a drug addict and his father was in prison. After several foster families that did not work out, he ended up with a wealthy family. They sent him to the best schools and paid for all of his needs, but he says they only met his physical needs and never showed him affection. After such a life, he refuses to reserve his feelings, showing his love to everyone he meets.

Exceptional at everything he tries to do, Greg's a Broadway dancer, model, and professional chef. Everything I can't do, he does extraordinarily well. I met him through another friend of ours when Greg was looking for someone to help him invest some of his money. We've been friends for over seven years now and I don't think of him as a friend. He's family.

When Justina and I broke up, Greg was the only one there for me. All of our, so called, friends choose her because of her fame and fortune; they weren't really friends to her or I.

He was the one that made me realize that she was using me. All those years, Greg tried to make me see that she was cheating on me, and I tried to ruin our friendship, numerous times, over it. Later, I realized that I did believe him, but I didn't want it to be true. When I, finally, saw the light and ended it with her, it was ugly. She was ruthless and cruel, sending me to a very dark place. Greg stood by my side and nursed my wounded ego. He cried when I couldn't and every time he made me laugh, it put a single shattered piece of myself, back into its proper place. He was patient and my only strength when I had none. He's become a part of my permanent life.

My mother quickly loved him as much as I. She even wanted to adopt Greg. When he found out her plans he cried for three days straight, and finally said that the formalities were too much of a pain-in-the-ass, but knowing that she wanted to do it, made it final. He's my brother. I, really, should introduce him as such.

I direct Gillian over to the side of the dance floor where Greg is doing some kind of ballet move with Roxy that has her screaming. I feel really bad for pulling them apart, but I need Roxy.

"Hey!" she protests, as I pull her arm and grab her waste in the middle of a spin.

"Sorry, but I need you. Gillian is wasted and she wants to go home," I yell, directly in her ear so she hears me over the loud music.

"What? Did you say the Gilli is wasted?" she asks with a perplexed look.

I nod my head with an astounding, yes, and point to where Gillian is standing and swaying.

"Whoa." I see her mouth move in the loud room. I watch her beeline for the side of dance floor.

"Gilli!" Roxy says close to Gillian's face. "Are you drunk?"

Gilli? I like it. It suits her.

"Ummmmm. That would be a, yes...uh huh. Drunk," she slurs to her best friend. Roxy wastes no time and turns to me, almost frantic. Her reaction raises my blood pressure.