Bad Things (Tristan & Danika #1)(86)

“He’s my brother, so don’t go getting him to take your side,” he told me with a small smile.

In a way, his tactic worked. I’d gone from wanting to get a voodoo doll of him and stick pins into it, to wanting to tease him back.

“He’s my brother now, too. Just ask him. He’s started calling me sis.” As I said the words, I realized how bad I wanted that, to be part of this family. It was an acute sort of yearning, and one I hadn’t realized I sought with such desperation until I was staring directly at it. I’d always wanted a family, and I loved everything about having Jared as an adopted brother.

He seemed to agree, smiling at me, and moving close to take my arm. “Well, if I have to choose, I choose Danika. She doesn’t pick on me.”

Tristan waved us off, but his smile was big now, his dimples taunting me. “Fine. Go have your walk and talk about me. I’m going to go complain to Frankie about how crazy women are.”

“Good luck with that,” I called to him, Jared already tugging me away. “She’ll take my side, too.”

“Not if I let her give me another tattoo!”

“Ha! That’s what you think. I’m letting her give me one, too, and I have no ink, so that’s a much bigger thrill for her. And if I have to, I might show her a boob.”

That had him turning on his heel and following us. The ink part more than the boob.

“What do you mean? You’re getting ink? Where and what? And when did you decide this?”

I smirked. “Space, my friend. All good things come to those who give me space.”

“I’ll get it out of Frankie!”

“You won’t. She’s already been sworn to secrecy, and she won’t risk me backing out just to appease your curiosity.”

“You’re an infuriating woman, you know that?”

I gave him the mature response for that one, sticking my tongue out at him as we walked away.

“Talk to me, sis,” Jared began, as we finally lost sight of his brother.

I sighed, leaning into him again. “I’m just upset. It’s not the kind of upset anything can be done about.”

“So vent. You’re a venter, right? It helps. Let me hear it.”

I was a venter. I don’t know why, but saying things out loud almost always made me feel better, even when the saying didn’t change anything.

“What Rosette said back there, about the night of the performance. Well, obviously that stung. I mean, I had pretty much already guessed that they had a past together.”

“I wouldn’t call it that. She was a random hook up, Danika. That was his MO for a long time, but trust me when I tell you that he’s completely different with you.”

I nodded, giving him solid eye contact. “Well, I had already guessed about the hooking up, and he’s always been painfully honest with me about things like that, and we weren’t together when it happened, but later that night…we were, and I thought it was a really special night, and now, thinking that it so wasn’t, I just feel, I don’t know, bereft. I love being with him. He’s so great in a lot of ways, but he never expresses his feelings verbally, and so I have to take the special moments and treasure them. I just feel so sad, because I was robbed of one of the best ones. I feel like we lost something tonight, and I just need some time to process it. I just want to go somewhere and nurse my wounds, yanno?”

He nodded, his eyes so understanding that I felt myself tearing up.

I blinked those tears away, calling myself a stupid girl.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Jared and I ended up at the casino’s sports bar, betting on horse races, and drinking for free.

He was great at cheering me up, telling me funny stories about he and Tristan as kids, and just generally finding ways to cheer me up.

I was well on my way to a better mood, when he said something that had me stewing again, but for a different reason.

“If you need something stronger than a cocktail, just let me know. I can get you whatever you need within ten minutes.”

I didn’t respond for a while, thinking about that.

“Jared, you need to knock it off with that stuff. I’m not even sure what you were referring to—”

“Anything you—”

“No, thank you. Hard liquor is more than enough for me. You need to knock that shit off, Jared.”

“We’re only twenty-one, sis. Live a little. We can be responsible and boring when we’re thirty.”

“That stuff is bad for you, Jared. All of it. Alcohol is bad enough. You don’t need to be trying every crazy thing that you come across.”

He waved that off. “Don’t worry about it. I like to party, but I know what I’m doing.”

I sighed, thinking that it was impossible to talk a twenty-one year old out of being stupid. And I was the same age, so I should know.

He gripped one of my hands in both of his. “Listen. Whatever you think happened that night didn’t change just because of what happened before. And Tristan may not express himself, but I know him better than anyone, and I can tell you that he’s never been like this, not with anyone. He’s fallen for you, and seeing it, I think it’s the first time for him.”

“He was engaged to Natalie.” My tone turned resentful just thinking of that other woman.