Every Other Weekend(87)

“Commercial real estate.”

“Oh.” Dad let his voice convey that he was impressed. “Guess that’s why we don’t see much of him.”

Jolene opened her mouth, but I pressed my foot down on top of hers to get her attention and subtly shook my head. Jolene didn’t understand that my dad was the kind of dad who wouldn’t be able to hear that she hadn’t seen her dad in months and not do something about it. He’d get involved, and neither of us would thank him for the outcome.

“And what does your mom do?”

“Alimony,” Jolene said, then caught my pained expression and gave me a what-did-I-say look before adding, “I mean, I guess she’s a stay-at-home mom?”

“That’s kind of like every job at once.”

“Ah,” Jolene said with a touch more sarcasm than I thought was necessary.

“She must miss you a lot when you’re over here.”

Jolene choked on her soda. “Yeah. Probably why she spends so much time at the gym. Sometimes I think she’d live there if she could. Her goal this year is to get her body fat down to 21 percent.”

Dad frowned but tried to hide it. “Is that for a weight lifting competition or something?”

“Nope, that’s for an I’ll-show-him-I’m-still-hot kind of thing, since my dad left her for his twenty-six-year-old personal trainer.” Jolene gave me a thumbs-up under the table to indicate how well she thought she was handling my dad’s questions.

I kind of wanted to kiss her.

Well, I always wanted to kiss her, but I wanted to more than usual in that moment.

When Dad excused himself to go to the bathroom, I seriously thought about it.

“Shelly?” Jeremy finally decided to stop scowling long enough to join the conversation. “She’s only twenty-six?”

I threw a curly fry at his head. “Idiot. Don’t you have a thing going with Erica?”

Jolene’s hand froze with a fry midway to her mouth. “No way, you’re dating Erica now? Like for real, not just to mess with Adam?”

My brother’s skin did its best impression of ketchup, and I felt my own face turning red. Was that what I looked like when I blushed? And Jolene claimed she thought that was cute?

Jeremy shot a pleading glance at me, but I grinned and shook my head. He was overdue for a little squirming.

Watching us, Jolene’s laughter bubbled up out of her as she leaned toward him. “You have to tell me how that happened.” She nudged my shoulder with hers. “Tell me you’re not made of questions right now?”

I didn’t care nearly as much as she did, but I propped my forearms on the table. “Yeah, Jer, and I’d make it quick if you want to finish before Dad gets back.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Jeremy reached for the basket of fries, but Jolene hooked a finger around it and slid it out of reach.

“But I mean, she had to have hated you by association. And, offense intended, you can be a massive turd, like, all of the time.” She popped a few fries into her mouth.

His ears were the only part of him that were still red and I was guessing that was due to annoyance rather than embarrassment. I figured he was about to mouth off and prove her point but he surprised me.

“Cut me some slack. He—” Jeremy flicked his gaze at me “—was supposed to be spending time with our dad, and he was off with you from the first day. Was I a turd to you?” He wobbled his head from side to side. “I could have been nicer, and I was considering it before he got together with Erica and was still off with you the whole time we were here. That’s how she started talking to me, by the way. We were both pissed at him—and you by extension.”

“For the record, you were the king of turds.” Jolene nudged the fry basket back toward him. “But I get that I didn’t exactly make things easier for you here. And the Erica thing was not awesome.”

Jeremy studied her. She studied him back. He took a fry.

“So you literally sat next to her at play rehearsal and said, what? We both think Adam is a tool?”

“Hey,” I said. “I’m right here.” Neither of them glanced at me.

Jeremy took another fry. “Basically.”

“And whose idea was it to go to the dance together?” she asked.

Jeremy grinned. “Mine. Took a little convincing, but she came around.”

“Big-time turd move,” Jolene said, but she was smiling, too.

“Worked out though. Turns out we have other stuff in common than wanting to knock him out most of the time.”

“Still here,” I said, though once again they ignored me.

“Good for you,” Jolene said to my brother and I could tell she meant it. “Though I feel sorry for her, since she obviously traded down.”

My heart puffed up at that comment while Jeremy threw back his head and laughed. “I tell you what. Give my brother a little breathing room over here, and I’ll be moderately less of a turd to you.”

Jolene sat back in her chair and one side of her mouth lifted. “Deal.”

They were still smiling when Dad came back.

“What’d I miss?”

“Um. These are really good,” Jolene said, picking up her cheesesteak. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”