9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sean

"Holy heavens, it's already eleven!" Lenny Stewart exclaims, eyeing the huge clock on the wall. "I didn't know it was so late; I've had such a wonderful time."

"Time flies when you're having fun." My mother chuckles.

John Stewart rises to his feet, grabbing his wife's hand and taking her up with him. The rest of us take this as a cue to get up, too. Lenny walks to my mom and hugs her tightly. "It was so nice of you to invite us over," she says sweetly. "Reminds me of old times; we should do this more often."

"You're right." Mom nods. "Thank you for coming. It's always a pleasure having all of you here."

After exchanging handshakes with my dad, John briefly hugs my mother before stepping back with Lenny.

"Thank you for having me," Jessica says sweetly, walking up to my mom. Whenever she's like this, I just want to squeeze her; she's so adorable. I'm in awe of how one woman could have different personalities and still be cute in all of them. After exchanging pleasantries and saying goodbye to my parents, Jamie and Jessica start to walk out the door.

"I'll see you soon, Mom." I kiss my mother's cheek, then embrace my dad. "Goodnight, Pops."

"Goodnight, Sean." They wave me goodbye.

I walk outside the house to see Jessica and Evelyn giggling by the door while Jamie helps his parents into their car.

"Don't forget to drive your sister home and ensure she's safe. Okay?" John tells Jamie.

"Okay, Dad. Don't worry about it."

Before I can stop myself, I blurt, "Jamie doesn't need to drive Jessica home. I will. We're neighbors."

"Really?" John and Lenny chorus. "That's wonderful."

"How so?" Jessica snaps, coming to stand beside me. "Thank you for your offer, but my brother will drive me home."

"Don't be ridiculous." I frown at her. "Jamie lives in the opposite direction of us. You want him to drive you home, then have to double back when I can literally drop you off next door?"

She opens her mouth and shuts it immediately. For the first time, I've managed to leave Jessica speechless, and I feel like I'm on top of the world. I return my attention to John and Lenny, who are staring at us with interest.

"Don't worry," I assure them. "I'll make sure she gets home safe."

"Thank you. Goodbye, Jess." They wave at their daughter before driving away.

I walk toward my car and hold the door open for Jessica. "My Lady."

She stays still for a moment, and I can see the battle in her eyes as she watches me. I'm sure if it were a little earlier, she'd have opted to walk. With a defeated sigh, she marches toward me and slips into the passenger seat. Laughing, I gently shut the door and walk around the front of the car to the driver's seat. Jamie doesn't look like he's ready to leave just yet, and I can't help but notice that Evelyn is still outside, too. For the second time tonight, I feel that they are up to something.

"Bye, Jamie." I wave at my friend and wink at my sister. "Bye, Evie. I'll see you soon."

They wave at me as I pull up my window and zoom down the road toward home. Beside me, Jessica is as stiff as a log.

"Relax," I say softly. "I don't bite."

She snaps her head toward me and gives me her signature glare before turning away. "You wouldn't dare."

My heart skips, and I look at her and say in a teasing tone with a slight seriousness to it.

"Don't challenge me, Jess."

Fortunately for her, she keeps her mouth shut. Her scent fills the car. It's a combination of flowers, which is surprising as Jessica is anything but delicate. I find myself working to relax being in these close quarters with her as my heart is picking up pace. What is going on? This girl has me way off kilter. From the corner of my eye, I see Jessica is turned away from me, her entire body tilted toward the window. I'm pretty sure she's still upset that her love life was used as a joke, but I wish she didn't see it that way. Everyone in that room loves her, and even though we tease her, we only want the best for her.

Thinking about Jessica's love life makes me uncomfortable, and judging from the way I stiffen in my seat, there's a lot to unpack here. The thought that, at some point in her life, there was another man, one who was close enough to be called her boyfriend, annoys me. How close did they get to her? Did they make her laugh? Did they make her smile? Or even worse, did they tease her to the point where she glares, and her forehead creases in the cute way it does when I do?

"Are you okay?" Jessica suddenly sits up.

"What?" I glance at her. "Why do you ask?"

"You're frowning."

"Oh." I force myself to relax and take a deep breath. "Sorry about that."

Jessica sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "It's I who should be sorry," she says. "Thank you for offering to drive me."

I gape at her. "Who are you? And what did you do with Jessica?"

Tension passes between us before Jessica bursts into laughter, which is dumbfounding. She's beautiful on a typical day, but she becomes breathtaking when she laughs.

"I shouldn't be taking out my anger on you," she says. "Although you were annoying, my mother set me up to be the topic of discussion."

"I didn't see it that way," I tell her. "She means well and wants you to be happy."

"I have no doubt," Jessica answers. "But sometimes I wish she'd just let me handle things the way I know how. Even though I'm sure, I don't know what I'm doing."

I chuckle. "Come on, you're still young. You still have time to try."

"Really?" She shakes her head. "Tell that to my mother."

"But are you willing to try again?" I ask her. "Or do you feel like you need a break?"

Jessica is silent for a bit, and I can hear the wheels turning in her head. Finally, she shrugs. "I think I'm at the point where I don't care what happens anymore," she says. "I do get lonely, and sometimes I'd like to have someone to call my own. But I'm not going looking for that person," she explains. "I believe they'll come to me in time."

We are now in front of our houses, and I pull up directly in front of her house along the curb.

"Thank you," she says, giving me a rare smile.

"You're welcome, Jess. Please call your parents to let them know that you got home safe."

"Oh, shut up." She waves me off before exiting the car.

"There she is," I chuckle and watch her walk down the driveway before climbing up her porch and into the house. Another lady might glance back and give me a final wave, but Jessica doesn't. She walks into the house and shuts the door without a backward glance. Smiling, I pull the car into my driveway and kill the engine before grabbing my keys and exiting.

As I walk into the house, I'm overcome with a keen sense of loneliness that drags me down and kills my excitement. Suddenly, Jessica's statement has a whole new meaning. I do get lonely, and sometimes I'd like to have someone to call my own.

When she said this in the car, I thought I understood it, but now that I'm standing in the center of my living room, alone, it feels different. I'm usually surrounded by people, all of whom want something from me. Yet, I'm very alone. I also need someone, and on nights like this, being alone can be almost unbearable.

I drag myself up the stairs and shower before falling into bed half an hour later. Is this how Jessica is feeling right now? Is she hugging her pillow close, wishing it was someone she loves and who loves her back? The thought of that has me sitting up in bed. A burning spear of jealousy hits my spine, and I almost recoil from the force of it. What does this mean for me? Why do I feel this way about Jessica finding someone she loves?

Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed with a burning need to prove to myself that I'm not jealous of Jessica's imaginary boyfriend.

"I have to help her," I murmur to nobody, nodding at my brilliant idea. Jessica has proved that she's quite incapable of finding a man on her own, so I must step in and help her.

That's a wonderful idea!

Tomorrow, I will talk to her about letting me coach her into getting a relationship. I have more experience, so she should jump at this chance. But knowing Jessica, she will probably prove stubborn at first. I lay back down on the bed and hold my pillow firmly beneath my head, a smile on my face. I'll do everything I can to make sure she accepts my help.