I Hate You, Mr. Boss-Man [18+]

018

A Week And A Half Later...

"Taking it slow?"

"Mmhm," I hum, tilting my head to get a better view of my ear in the mirror. "Taking it slow," I repeat but more to myself. I grab the back of my earring from my dresser, inserting it onto the hook.

"That's good, right?" Jennifer asks, her shoulder leaning on the frame of my door.

"Well, we've only been on two dates this week." I remind her, going for the other earring. "Tonight was my turn to pick and, I thought simple was the best way to go."

"So what's on tonight's agenda? As opposed to dinner on a ferry and taking you dancing at that fancy jazz club." A wry grin stretched out her lips. The last two dates were all Jesse. He wanted to make them special and, I couldn't help to feel guilty with all the money he was spending on me. I had to at least try to make up for that.

My eyes rip away from the mirror, finding her cocky face in the doorway as I slip on a gold watch. "Coney Island."

"Lucky bastard," Jennifer scoffs, shaking her head. "You must genuinely like him then?"

I shrug my shoulder in dismissal, taking my coat from the end of my bed. "I dunno," I mumble, trying not to smile at her question but, she always saw right through me. "I don't want to get my hopes up."

"I'm only asking because," Jennifer's smile fades, her brows pinching together. "You said your dad took you and your brother there once. I mean, I know we went there after graduation..."

It was a spur of the moment type of thing. Dad was stationed in Brooklyn one week and mom took Dylan and me to visit. We didn't expect it, and I swore that I would return one day. It was the one place in the city that made me feel close to him, especially since Brooklyn was his hometown. When Jesse let me pick the date, Coney Island was the first thing that came to mind. It never occurred to me that he was the first guy I wanted to experience my favorite place with.

"I didn't think about that," I confess, my lips pulled into a tight line, feeding my arms through my coat before snatching my side bag from my bed as well. "I hadn't been in years and I thought it'd be fun, I forgot that-" The sound of the doorbell cuts me short. I look at Jen, my eyes burning at the brim.

"Kat, I didn't mean to-"

I shake my head, grabbing her hand as she reaches out to me. "I'm okay, promise," I let myself smile, wiping at the single tear falling down my cheek. "I just miss him."

Jennifer steps closer, grabbing my shoulder before wrapping her arms around me, holding me in her embrace. "I know, I'm sorry, babe. I shouldn't have brought that up tonight. I'll get the door, m'kay?"

Nodding softly, Jen steps out of my grasp, flashing me a sympathetic smile before disappearing down the hall. I turn back to the mirror, wiping at the rest of the tears. I didn't want the memories of my father to cloud my emotions tonight. I wanted to have fun and I was going to do just that. I tuck my curtain bangs behind my ears, looking one last time before stepping out of my room, shutting the door behind me.

"So you're the famous Jesse?" Jennifer presses, a brow cocked, hands on her hips. If I didn't know her, I'd think she was a concerned mother scolding her daughter's date. I shake my head, heading further down the hall and Jesse comes into view, a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Tell me, Jesse," She enunciates. "What exactly are your intentions with my best friend?"

"Leave the man alone, Jen," I chuckle, Jesse's eyes locking with mine—a grin breaking out on his mouth. "You're gonna scare off my date. Hey," I say softly, standing beside Jen at the doorway. 

"Hey, gorgeous," He greets, making my smile widen, cheeks heating with a blush. "These are for you," He offers me the bouquet, pink dahlias being the first flowers that capture my attention. I almost cry right then and there.

"Dahlias?" I murmur, looking down at them as I take them from his gloved hands. Damn, I think I might be falling. Damn him, and damn me for being such a softy for flowers, especially my favorite.

"Yeah, is that okay?" He asks, expression twisting into a cautious one as if he were afraid I would reject them. "I think roses are tacky and I remembered that your middle name..." Jesse slows down, his hand coming behind to rub his neck, his cheeks tinting with pink. " Anyway, I hope you like them."

"They're beautiful," I say, stepping out of the house to place a soft kiss on his frigid cheek. Jesse's face reddens, even more, looking down at the ground as I hand the bouquet to Jennifer. "Can you put those in water for me?"

Jen takes the flowers from my hand. "God, you guys are so fucking cute. It almost sickens me."

"I'll be late, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jen dismisses, "I know the drill. Be safe and have her home by ten, you hear me?" She points her finger at us. "I'm talking to you, big guy. None of that running late bullshit."

I wrap my arm around Jesse's arm, turning us around as we head down the small steps. "Bye, Jennifer!" Jesse calls out, waving his hand and the front door slams shut. "I like her," He jokes, pulling me closer against his side. "She gives off an older sister type of vibe."

"That's because she is older, three years to be exact," I note, leaning my head against his shoulder to gather warmth on a cold night. "No older sister?" I ask, pulling my head off his shoulder to look at him. It was now that I realized, we hadn't gotten to the talking about the family stage. The questions were limited to an extent and I felt that neither of us was comfortable enough to talk about our baggage.

"No, just two older brothers and a little sister." Jesse answers, "I'm the middle child, in case you were wondering."

"Are you guys close?"

"I'd say so," He admits, meeting my eyes under the streetlights of the city. "Henry is the oldest, he's thirty-five, married, and has two kids."

"You have nephews?" I smile, thinking about the fact he was uncle, Jesse.

"Isabella and Niklaus. Isabella just turned four last week, and Nik is almost three." Jesse interlocks his hand with mine, our fingers intertwining as we cross the busy street. "I hardly get to see them since they live in California but, man, do I love those munchkins. Then there's Caleb," He blows out a breath, shaking his head at the mention of his next brother.

"He's the second oldest, thirty-three, and a fucking headache." Jesse stops suddenly, making me frown at the abruptness.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just...." Before I could open my mouth to speak, Jesse lets go of my hand, grabbing my waist to guide me on his left, taking my right hand to interlock them. "I don't like you so close to the street," He explains, looking over at me as we continue walking. "New York is nice but accidents happen. Anyway, we were talking about Caleb."

I didn't know how to react but, I also couldn't argue with reason. My heart swelled, the simple gesture making me lean closer to him. He wasn't Jacob.

"Caleb isn't married but, he sure likes to mess around. He likes video games and owns a little developing company in the bay area. It's small but, he's doing really good."

"Sounds like my brother," I chime in, our steps edging close to the substation. The underground is just a block away. "He wants to make video games, has a degree in digital art too. Kid's talented and sometimes I envy that."

"I'm sure he feels the same way about you, sweetheart," Jesse assures. "You're his big sister, why wouldn't he look up to you?"

I shrug, thinking how I never went after my dream and Dylan did. Working for Jesse wasn't supposed to be permanent but, I found myself getting used to the pace and the workload—that I gave up my ambitions and stayed put but, I wouldn't mention that now. "He'd never admit that, has a big ego, that kid."

"I'm sure he does, though,"

"Yeah," I breathe out as we head down into the underground, "Guess you're right but, enough about me. Finish telling me about your family."

"Okay," he agrees, sending me a smile. "Cassandra is the baby of my family. She's seventeen and still in high school." And I continue listening.