When no one answered Jay, he roared, “What?” and pounded his fist down on the counter.
Rome crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground in the kitchen. “We can talk like men or we can yell like children. You want to yell and act out, then we take it outside.”
Jay stepped toward him. “I should kill you where you stand.”
I gasped. “Jay, you don’t mean that.”
His eyes snapped to mine and they held so much anger, I shrunk back. “I’m fucking pissed at you, Brey.”
I set the dishes in the sink and stood between the two men I loved so much. “Jay, let’s talk. Rome, give us some time.” I sighed and looked at Vick and Katie. “Can we just have some time?”
Vick elbowed Katie and looked remorseful as they headed out of my apartment. Rome stood his ground for another minute, staring at Jay like something more needed to be said between them.
I clenched my fist, trying so hard not to lash out at him. Jay and I were unbreakable, he had to know by now. Rome and I could sleep together, share a bed, wake up and have sex again. He could give me ten million orgasms and make me forget about life over and over again. But he’d never get between Jay and me.
He looked at me one more time and sighed in some sort of defeat before he walked out.
I took a breath, turned to the dishes and started washing. It felt like ages passed before Jay nudged me over so he could manage one side of the sink. “You should have told me,” he said barely above a whisper.
I shrugged but couldn’t mask the guilt. “I know. Is it too late to apologize?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I handed him another soaped up dish. “Because you are the baby in your family but the big brother in mine. You’re too overprotective and you would have been judgmental and ...”
He waved the clean dish through the air. “Excuses, Brey. All I’m hearing are damn excuses. The reason you didn’t tell me was because you know that shit’s unhealthy.”
“To be fair, don’t you think it’s time for just me to worry about how unhealthy I am?”
Jay set the now dry plate gently down and then dried his hands before he answered me. “It’s one thing for me to see you blowing off classes, drinking too much, and dying your hair black like you want to disappear.”
“Everyone didn’t have a problem with my hair color before,” I interrupted.
He just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I can handle those things. We’re in college and you’re expressing yourself or what the fuck ever. But don’t expect me not to worry. You think you can handle all this shit by yourself?”
“What shit?” I snapped back. I stepped up to the plate but hoped he wouldn’t throw the pitch.
“I saw you tonight with my brother, Brey, and you looked scared. Back to being as polite and quiet as you were in high school.” He waited a beat. “After the fire.”
He threw the ball right past me. My eyes probably popped out of my sockets. I started to say something, not sure what, then stuttered to a stop because Jay normally babied me. He didn’t bluntly throw his brother or my past in my face.
I stepped back and shrugged. “Yeah. Well, I handled it, and I’m fully capable of handling my own decisions.” He tried to cut in but I held up my hand to stop him. “That includes Rome, Jay.”
“And are you fully capable of pulling me off him if he breaks your heart because, Brey, I’ll fucking kill him. Friend of ours or not.”
“Jay, be reasonable.” He knew exactly how those words would affect me. As laid-back as he could be, he was also the son of the most brutally lethal businessman in the country. He didn’t hesitate when he felt threatened or when he wanted something to stop. Instead, he attacked the situation just as ferociously as any Stonewood.
He targeted my biggest weakness—our group—and endangered it with a pointed attack which made me question everything.
“I’ll be reasonable when you start being realistic. Focus on your future. Don’t fuck a guy you have no future with.”
“You’re being an ass.”
“And you’re being difficult because you know I’m right. You should be mapping out your summer and figuring out what classes you’re going to take to graduate.”
I walked to the living room, trying to brush off his words. “I told you, I’m taking that investment class you suggested and that’s it. I’m busy.”
He followed. “You shouldn’t be that busy. Those girls are doing fine when you aren’t there.”