And I smiled at them, to tell them it was okay. I had their backs. Not everyone was terrible, but the bad ones made it easy to forget that. I should know.
But then I glanced back at the two little shits and let the smile fall away as I focused in on their petty-ass faces. “And you two, I catch you doing that again and I will open a can of whoop-ass on both your rude—”
“Jasmine!” I heard a familiar male voice yell from close, but not that close.
Sure enough, glancing up, I found Ivan down the hall, one hand against a wall. He was too far for me to see more of him, but I knew from the shape and length of that frame it was him. That, and I’d recognized that voice anywhere.
“Let’s go, I’m hungry,” he called for no reason, I thought, until it hit me.
He’d heard me. That’s why he had yelled and stopped me from calling these girls motherfuckers like I had planned on.
It wouldn’t have been a good idea, but, well, whatever. They deserved it.
“Don’t be jerks,” I pointed at the two rude shits, then turned to the other girls and said, “and tell me if they pick on you again.”
When I got two nods in response, I made sure to give the other pair a nasty look like I was onto them before heading down the hall toward Ivan, who was still standing there waiting, except I could see him shaking his head from a few feet away. The second I was close enough, I realized he was grinning. Those straight, bright white teeth were all out there as he asked, “Is today your day to pick on little kids?”
I rolled my eyes as I stepped in front of him, having to tilt my head back to look up at him. “Those are monsters, not kids.”
Those eyes were focused on mine as his grin only grew and he said, “What I want to know is…”
I blinked, not sure what he was about to ask.
“What is a can of a whoop-ass and where can I get one?”
I didn’t mean to smile, and I sure as hell didn’t want to.
But I couldn’t help it.
I smiled so wide my cheeks instantly hurt and said the only thing that came to mind, “You’re an idiot.”
An hour later, I was heading down the stairs at my mom’s house, trying to wring more water out of my hair so that it wouldn’t soak into the light, tank dress I’d put on. I hated washing my hair every day—and my hair hated me washing it every day if how dry it was said anything—but with how much I was sweating with two-a-day practices, it just got way too greasy if I went longer than twenty-four hours without a wash. I was going through a bottle of conditioner every two weeks.
By the time I made it to the bottom landing, I could hear the voices in the kitchen. When we’d pulled up to my house half an hour ago, there was Jonathan’s and Aaron’s cars in the driveway. I hadn’t asked what my sister or brother were up to, but I’d seen both of them a few days ago when they had dropped by randomly for dinner.
I’d only gotten a chance to give my mom a kiss to the right of her bruised and swollen nose before Jojo’s dramatic ass had gone off with, Jas, how could you not call and tell me about Mom’s accident? I almost threw her under the bus and said that she didn’t want me to say anything… but I was no snitch. So I told him it was because I’d been too tired the night before to deal with his shit. That had gone about as well as I’d expected, and I ran up to get a shower five minutes later, watching Ivan shoot me a curious look that said he might have been putting the pieces together from what happened last night to what he was seeing on my mom’s face.
And… I didn’t care if he did.
Making my way across the living room toward the kitchen, the voices became clearer and louder. I recognized the sound of my sister and mom laughing… and thought I heard a light chuckle from Ivan mixed in there. Thinking about the moment in the hallway with the girls made me smile again, but I wiped it off. He really was an idiot.
“…did they make you tape everything up?” I heard Jojo ask.
Oh God.
“Jonathan,” his husband hissed. “What does it matter?”
“Uh, I’m curious. I looked up the magazine this week. I didn’t see a hint of balls or anything in those pictures, and it doesn’t seem possible from the angles the pictures are taken at. I don’t care how tight anybody’s ball sacks are, it isn’t physically possible for there not to be a tiny sign of nuts somewhere. Get what I’m saying?”
They were talking about the photo shoot for the Anatomy issue, and of course it would be Jojo asking that.
“Maybe I need to get that magazine when it comes out—” my mom started to say before Ruby and Jojo almost wailed, “Stop!” and “Nobody wants to hear that!”
“You two are so sensitive,” my mom muttered, but didn’t continue with her sentence. “I have eyes. You have eyes. The human body is a wonderful thing, isn’t it, Ivan?”
There was no hesitation from Ivan when he responded with, “It is.”
“I’m sure Grumpy looked beautiful.”
But there was a pause before Ivan asked, “Who is Grumpy? Jasmine?”
“Yes.”
No one said anything for a second before Jojo butted in. “She hated Snow White when she was a wittle baby.”
“Why?”
It was my mom who answered. “Because she… what did she used to call her? A lazy fart that took advantage of men?”
Jojo burst out laughing in that way that made me smile. “She used to get so mad watching it. Remember? She would sit there in front of the television talking smack to herself. She hated it, but she’d still watch it over and over again anyway.”
Then it was Ruby that started laughing. “She would walk around saying that Snow White wasn’t that pretty, and even if she was, she needed to have a little respect for herself. She didn’t even know what that meant, but she heard you, Mom, say that once and it stuck.”
Then my mom started laughing. “That’s why we started calling her Grumpy, because she said he was the only smart one of all the dwarves because he knew he had a reason to be in a bad mood. Work in the mine all day and then have to take care of some girl that didn’t do anything.” Her laugh went higher. “Oh, that girl. You can all blame yourselves for how she came out. She picked it up from you all. Ivan, it’s their fault.”
There was another moment and then, “She’s my idol” from Ruby, which earned a husky laugh from what had to be Aaron.
“That’s my girl,” my mom echoed.
My nose itched, and my eyes might have begun stinging a little.
Okay, more than a little.
I had to blink and listen to them laugh while I got my shit together and felt that nice, warm feeling in my chest growing, growing, growing. It made me feel… better. Better than I’d felt the night before after Ivan had been so kind.
After a couple more swallows and blinks that made sure I was back to normal, I headed into the kitchen and found everyone except my mom’s husband around the island. Ben was busy stirring what I knew was a giant pot of his awesome chili on the stove, with his back to the group. There was one seat empty between Ivan and my sister, and another seat open between Aaron and Jonathan.
I went for the one next to Ivan.
And for some reason I wasn’t going to overthink, I snuck my hand from my side over to the thigh closest to mine and gave it a squeeze. Not a mean squeeze, just a normal one that wasn’t too hard or too loose. Friends did that, didn’t they?
“Jas,” Ruby started to say as she leaned forward over the island and shot me a careful smile that made me wary. “I know you’re really busy—”
Why did my stomach flip?
“—but remember we talked about you watching the kids for us a few weeks ago? Do you think you still can?” She smiled. “It’s okay if you can’t.”
My stomach clenched. It was too soon. It was way too soon. But I could handle it. I would. I could be better.
“I didn’t forget,” I told her, trying to ignore the tension right around the center of my body. “I can watch them.”
“Are you sure? Because—”
I tried to give her a smile. I tried to tell her that I loved her and that yeah, I loved her kids too. I’d do anything for them. But instead, I said as softly as I was capable of, “Yes. I’m positive. I can watch them.”
“We can watch them too,” Jojo piped up.
I shot him a look. “No. I can babysit them. Find your own niece and nephew.”
Jojo rolled his eyes and turned back to Squirt. “I can watch them anytime you want, Rubes. They don’t need Rosemary’s Baby over there rubbing off on them.”
“Do you really want Shrek Junior over here to be what Benny wakes up to?” I asked my sister, shooting my brother a look.
“I’m average height,” Jojo claimed.
“Sure you are, boo-boo,” I returned, smiling at him for real. “Either way, you didn’t say you don’t look like Shrek, so….”
Jonathan decided to scratch at his forehead. With his middle finger.
“Would you two stop?” Mom finally sighed.
“You don’t really look like Shrek, Jojo,” Ruby added. “More like Donkey, I think.”
Jonathan just blinked over at her before sliding his eyes to me and saying, “You’re the worst influence.”