Changing Course (29 page)

Jesse

"W
E'RE LATE
!” I yell at my oven. I told my mom that Brett and I would be there at noon to help her cook dinner. I also told her I'd show up with an apple pie. Dang it!

"Calm down, gorgeous. I don't think screaming is going to make it cook any faster." Brett sneaks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling into my hair. "You look beautiful," he whispers against my skin, trailing kisses down my neck. All thoughts about the pie are forgotten. Heck, it’s Thanksgiving, but I'd be lucky to tell you what month it is when he's touching me like this.

"You can't be sure of that. You've only seen my back. I could be wearing an "I'm with stupid" t-shirt and KISS make up right now." I tease, and he works his way down to my shoulder, pulling my t-shirt aside to gain better access.

"You'd still be beautiful, but I'm not a KISS fan, so you'll have to let me fuck you from behind," he says, grinding against me.

"Brett!" Great, we're going to be even later because I need a cold shower and dry panties now. I feel his body begin to shake as he starts laughing and steps in front of me.

"Hey, babe." He stares down at me with a sexy smirk.

"Hi."

"No KISS make-up, huh? I'm not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed. I had such high hopes for taking you from behind tonight." He rubs his thumbs across my cheeks, knowing they are about to flame red. I can tell they don't disappoint him when his smile widens.

"Is the make-up a requirement to make that, um...happen?" I have no idea why I still get nervous with Brett. There isn't an inch of my body that he hasn't touched. It may have something to do with his lack of commitment.

It's been almost two months, and since that first night in the beginning, we have never had a single conversation about our relationship. It weighs on my mind, and as the weeks go by, it’s starting to invade my dreams too. Last week, I woke up twice in a cold sweat. They start off hot enough, it's always Brett making love to me, but then it all goes wrong. Every time, Sarah swings open the door, at the most inopportune time and starts screaming at me to get off her husband. Okay, maybe I have a few issues with Brett still being married, even if it isn't a real marriage.

"Why, gorgeous, what are you trying to suggest? Would you like it if we tried a little something new tonight? Don't be shy with me, tell me what you want, babe. I'm open to anything with you. Well, almost anything. You're not a closet kinkster are you? I'm not sure I can get down with whips and chains. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, the idea of you in a leather get-up is doing wicked things to my imagination. Perhaps we should try something new right now? You know, save us both the torture of having to wait until tonight." He lifts a sexy eyebrow questioningly. As tempted as I am to take him up on his offer, the oven timer goes off, reminding me that we need to get to my mom's ASAP.

"Sorry, big boy, you're just going to have to wait." In a random moment of boldness, I spin around in his arms leaning over to pull the pie out of the oven, and rub my butt against the zipper of his pants. I hear him groan, as I step out of his grasp. "Don't just stand there, let's go," I say, heading to the door.

"Fuck." He adjusts his pants and follows behind me.

Steps before we hit the door, he pulls the pie from my hands and pushes me into the wall. Using his long arms to hold my famous apple pie away from us he says, "Gorgeous, I hope you know what that little stunt back there bought you. It's going to be a long night for you, so I suggest you drink a few beers after dinner. You know, loosen up a bit," he winks, pulling open the door and guiding me out. It's a miracle I can even walk after that.

W
HEN WE
arrive at my mom's, I'm thrilled to see that Eric isn't there yet. After the incident between he and Brett at the bar, I know today is going to be a little tense. The next day, after Brett tried to have Eric arrested, I got a call from my mom asking a million questions. Apparently Eric really is a twelve year old because he called my mom first thing the next morning to tattle. Mom was more concerned with who I was dating than anything that happened at the bar. When I told her Brett would be coming to Thanksgiving, she got all excited and rushed off the phone to order a bigger turkey.

I've never brought anyone home before, so to my mom this is a really big deal. I need to get to her though and make sure she understands that Brett and I are not all that serious yet, before she starts asking him about kids and picking out china patterns. That is a conversation that would be much easier without Eric adding his stupid two cents.

When we get to the front door I don't bother knocking and just head inside,

"Mom?"

"In here, JJ." I hear my mom call from the kitchen. I peak around the corner to see her holding a huge turkey in the sink, stuffing it with spices. "Little help here?"

"Holy crap, mom! That turkey is huge."

"I know we need to hurry and get this thing in the oven or it won’t be ready until Christmas." I leave Brett standing by the counter and rush over to help before my mom drops the giant bird on the kitchen floor.

"Why did you buy one this big?" I grunt trying to pull the slippery turkey into the roasting pan.

"I heard your man was a big one, so I figured I needed a big turkey to feed him," she says, washing her hands and wiping them dry on her old school apron.

I roll my eyes and glance over my shoulder to see Brett chuckling to himself.

"Mom, this is Brett Sharp. Brett this is my mom, Rachel Clay."

"Ms. Clay," Brett steps forward offering a hand, but I know my mom, and a handshake isn't going to cut it.

"Brett, please call me Rachel, and get that hand out of my way. I'm a hugger." She reaches up on her tip toes and slings an arm around his neck.

This time it's me laughing as Brett's eyes go wide in surprise. I might be shy, but that was one of the few things I didn't get from my mother. She has no problem speaking her mind, and hugging anything that happens to walk past her.

"Now, I've heard a few things about you from Eric. Most of them are not so great. So tell me about yourself. Prove to me what my arrogant son said was all wrong."

"Mom!" I scream embarrassed. This is worse than when I thought Eric would be here. She didn't beat around the bush at all.

"Did you just call me arrogant?" I hear Eric walk into the kitchen.
Fantastic
!

Brett wastes no time closing the distance between us and sliding a possessive arm around my hips.

"I like it," my mom whispers smiling approvingly at Brett's protective gesture. "Oh Eric, everyone here knows you're arrogant, including you. So, give up the surprised act, and get over here and show your old mom some love." Never taking his eyes off Brett he walks over to my mom, giving her the same kiss on the top of the head that he has since he was twelve and grew taller than her.

"Go ahead Brett, tell us about yourself," she asks, curling an arm around Eric’s hips.

"Well, I'm thirty-two. My family lives here in town. I have two older sisters, three nieces, two nephews. I make a living as a detective and spend my free time either with your daughter, or watching football...and if I'm lucky, both."

"I think you forgot to include the little part about you being married, and not to Jesse." Eric drops the bomb.

I feel the temperature drop in the room as the ice rolls off Brett. Beside a single flinch in his hand against my waist at the initial blow, he doesn't move a muscle.

"What the hell, Eric!" I scream across the room. I'm going to have to knee him again for pulling this crap.

"Language, Jesse." My mom scolds.

"What is wrong with you?" I ignore her and Brett remains frozen at my side.

"Sorry JJ, I know this must be a shock for you. I had a buddy do a little background research on the good Detective Sharp," my brother says, smiling with pride. "He finally got back to me last night. Brett has been married since 2002. Where's Mrs. Sharp today? You should have brought her with you. We could have had one big party." I have no idea how Brett is controlling himself, because my brother is acting like a grade-A jerk right now.

"You are an idiot, Eric. Yes, I know he's-" Brett interrupts me before I have the chance to finish.

"I'll handle this, gorgeous," he says calmly, taking a single step forward. "I appreciate what you were trying to do. I like that you are man enough to look out for your little sister, however, this show is a class-less low. If you have something to say to me, be a man and speak with me in private. There is no reason to make an ignorant snide comment, upsetting you mother and sister on Thanksgiving Day. You are doing nothing but stirring up drama, and I assure you Jess and I have enough of that in our life without you pulling bullshit like this.

“Eric, if your buddy," he says the word with an overstated sarcasm, "had done more research you would have learned that I have been living separately from my wife for over four years. I'm not hiding anything from your sister. Jesse has had the unfortunate experience of meeting Sarah in person. It wasn't pleasant, and it's not something we like to discuss. However, you have made this little accusation in front of your mother, and I do respect her enough to give her a full explanation. For the record, I don't respect you or give a damn what you think about me, or my relationship with Jesse. But then again, you probably figured that out last week when I had you cuffed, laying on a dirty bar floor." He pauses long enough to aim one last murderous glare at Eric before turning to face my mom.

“Ms. Clay, please excuse my language. As you can imagine this is not my favorite topic to discuss. Sarah has issues as the result of a car accident she was involved in years ago. She left me shortly after the accident. It's been a difficult road for everyone involved. She isn't stable and requires a good bit of care. We are still legally married for a myriad of reasons. One being that she still uses my health insurance to help cover her medical bills. I know this is not the ideal situation for a man to be in when dating your daughter, but I assure you while there may be a legal document still binding me to Sarah, I am not a married man," he leans down kissing me on the top of my head, reading my tight body at how uncomfortable this conversation is for me.

There is a good chance I just fell in love with this man. The way he handled my brother firmly but never raised his voice, then turning to kindly explain this awkward situation to my mom. He somehow managed to keep his calm, even when recounting such a painful and personal story to virtual strangers. That's more than I would have been able to do. The fact that he took even a second to think about me causes me to feel things I knew were possible, but nonetheless unexpected.

"I appreciate you inviting me over today, but I think it's best if I leave now. I'm sorry for any trouble I caused you today, Ms. Clay. Jesse, call me when you're ready to go. I'll come pick you up. Have a great day with your family, babe."

"Now wait just a second. I have a twenty-two pound turkey that will be ready in approximately three hours. No one is going anywhere until that bird has been eaten," my mom announces before Brett even has a chance to release his hold on me.

"Eric, apologize," she says, shocking me. I figured if they found out about Brett's marital status, it would earn him a permanent spot on the "no way" list. Apparently, I underestimated my mom.

"Um, do you need a hearing aid? He is married. I'm not apologizing to him," Eric responds, dumbfounded that she would even suggest it.

"Yes, you are. He just explained his situation to us, and he didn't have to do that. He obviously didn't lie to Jesse, and that means more than anything you could have dug up on him. So apologize or head out the door. I hear the Chinese Palace is open today.”

"Mom, it’s Thanksgiving. I'm not eating Chinese."

"Exactly! So start apologizing!"

"This is ridiculous! I didn't do anything wrong." Eric tries to defend himself, but just comes off sounding like a whiney child.

"Let me see if I've got this right. You put your hands on your sister at a bar, and her boyfriend defended her like a man should. Oh, then you got cranky, checked up on him, and aired his private business in public, essentially embarrassing everyone involved. And the icing on the cake is you think you didn't do anything wrong. Please, tell me I did not raise such a selfish and ignorant man," my mom says as Eric rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Eric begrudgingly says to Brett, who just nods in his direction. It's going to take way more than a forced apology for these two to get along.

"Okay, now that’s settled. Eric, here's a list. I need you to find a store open and pick up a few things I forgot.”

"Alright. I had to park at the end of the street, one of your neighbors parked a sweet beamer in front of the house. It's like that one we looked at a few months ago. Same convertible top and color too. You didn't happen to win the lottery and buy me an early Christmas present, did you?" He laughs switching gears back to the sweet mama's boy he's always been.

"That's mine," Brett speaks up, breaking some of the awkward tension that’s still lingering in the air.

"Really? I was looking at one a few months ago, but I was torn between that and a Benz. You like it?" Eric surprisingly asks without even a hint of attitude in his voice.