Why Bother?

“Where the hell is everyone?”

Joanne awoke with a start, hearing an angry and slightly slurred voice. She looked over and saw Jake sleeping beside her. He had tossed off the covers and was completely nude. Joanne blushed slightly as she shook his arm gently. “Jake, someone’s here,” she whispered into his ear, stirring him.

“Yeah, you’re here,” Jake smiled, but his expression immediately turned to nervousness when he heard slams coming from inside the house. “Shit,” he said, knowing immediately that his father was home unexpectedly. He jumped out of bed, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and pulling them on. “Stay here,” he whispered, and Joanne nodded nervously, pulling the sheets up to cover her bare breasts. She watched as Jake walked into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him.

With his heart beating in his throat, Jake found his father just down the hall, slamming Eve’s door. “Hey Dad,” he tried to sound friendly. “I didn’t know you were going to be home tonight.”

Giving his son an angry look, Jake’s father stumbled as he took a step towards them. “It’s my house. I’ll come home whenever I damn well please!”

“Of course,” Jake tried to use a soothing voice, even though he could feel the blood pumping furiously through his veins. Inside, he kept praying that his father wouldn’t hit him. He wasn’t worried about himself – the man had struck him plenty of times before – but he didn’t want Joanne to know anything about this part of his life. “No, I’m glad you’re home. I was just surprised. I know Mom and Eve are going to be disappointed that they’re not here.”

There was a wary look in Jake’s father’s eyes. “Where are they?” he asked gruffly, but his volume had lowered, relaxing Jake just a bit.

“Mom went to a spa weekend,” Jake said. Seeing the fire building back up in his father, he was quick to add, “It was a gift from a friend. A spa weekend, free and clear.”

Obviously thinking this over, his father looked a little less angry. “And Eve? Is she out shacking up with some guy?”

“No,” Jake shook his head, trying to look concerned. “No, I wouldn’t allow that. No, she’s staying with her friend, Joanne. She’ll be back first thing tomorrow.”

Staring at his son, Jake’s father seemed to accept his explanations, but still wanted a fight. “And you? Why are you home?”

“Just trying to keep in shape for the team,” Jake forced a smile and a small laugh. He knew his father had no idea that the team had lost regionals and that there were no games left this season. “No need to go out and party when scouts might be coming to the next game.”

“That’s good thinking,” Jake’s father said gruffly, and Jake let out a soft sigh. It looked like the worst was over.

”Well, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to get back to bed now.” Jake knew it was probably best to ask his father’s permission, to make him feel in control, if he didn’t want him to start up again.

“That’s a good idea,” his father nodded. “I think I’ll do the same.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” his father said, a hard drunken smile on his face. “You can be an all right kid when you want to, Jake,” he said as he stumbled down the hall and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Looking at his own bedroom door, Jake was gripped with a combination of dread and anger. He didn’t want to have to explain any of this to Joanne, but he knew he should. There was no way she hadn’t heard everything that had just gone on in the hall. Determinately, Jake walked into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. “Hey,” he said quietly, smiling despite himself, as he looked at Joanne. Her hair was messy with bed-head and she had the sheet pulled up around her in a way that was incredibly sexy.

“Hey,” Joanne whispered quietly. “Is everything okay?”

Sitting down beside her, Jake nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he lied. “Sorry you had to be here for that. My dad almost never drinks.” He felt like bile was rising in his throat as he lied directly to Joanne’s trusting face.

“Should I go?” Joanne asked nervously. “I don’t want to get you in any trouble…”

“No, don’t go,” Jake asked earnestly. “My dad won’t be up until noon, easy.” This was the truth. “Besides, even if he found you here, he wouldn’t be mad.” This was not the truth.

“If you’re sure…” Joanne glanced nervously at the door.

“Here, how about I set the alarm for, say, eight? Then I’ll take you out to breakfast, we’ll call Eve and tell her what’s up, and nobody’s parents will ever be the wiser.”

Looking a little more relaxed, Joanne nodded. “That sounds good,” she said softly, lying back down in the bed. Jake set the alarm, and then climbed back into the bed with Joanne.

“I really like having you here,” Jake told Joanne, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her bare chest up against him.

“I like being here,” Joanne smiled at him and tilted her head to kiss him. Jake’s kisses were warm and soft, and Joanne slowly slid her body on top of his. They were entwined like this for nearly an hour, innocently kissing each other, hands gently exploring each other but not dropping below the waist this time.

Jake had found himself on top of Joanne, breathlessly kissing her. “We should get some sleep,” he forced himself to say, although sleep was the last thing on his mind. But he had promised Joanne that they would take things slow, and he intended on keeping that promise. No matter what kind of argument his body was putting up.

“Okay,” Joanne replied, and Jake couldn’t help but grin at the sound of disappointment in her voice. He was glad that he, at least, wasn’t alone in his desires. Sliding off of Joanne, he settled beside her, beckoning her to rest her head on his chest. He lay in bed, running his hand softly over her spine and reveling in the feeling of her body against his as he listened to her breathing get deeper and more even.

While he really wished his father hadn’t come home, Jake was glad nothing much came of the situation. Looking down at Joanne, he grinned. He was even more glad that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He knew that he didn’t know Joanne very well, but he was excited to get to know her more.

-----

As Jake had expected, his father was still dead asleep when he and Joanne slipped out of the house. He intended to take her to breakfast at a nearby diner, and he called Eve’s cell phone on the ride. “Dad’s home,” he told her as she sleepily answered the phone. “I told him you were at Joanne’s and that Mom’s spa weekend was a gift from a friend. Oh, and he doesn’t know that my team lost regionals. Just pretend I’m still playing.”

Glancing over curiously at Jake, Joanne wondered exactly what was going on in their house. Yes, she lied to her parents sometimes. Yes, she had said she was staying at Eve’s house last night, never mentioning that she was now dating Eve’s brother. But somehow, what Jake was telling his sister seemed different than that. It seemed like they were living an ongoing skit. Still, she didn’t want to push, and when Jake hung up the phone and smiled at her, asking if she liked pancakes, she responded enthusiastically.

After breakfast, Jake drove back to his house. Joanne had parked her car at the curb outside, and Jake walked down the driveway with her to it. “I had a lot of fun last night,” he smiled at Joanne, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing her back against the car. “A lot of fun.”

Slipping her arms around his neck, Joanne grinned back at him. “Me, too,” she said honestly. Leaning up, she kissed him softly. “So, will you call me later?”

“Absolutely,” Jake told her, dropping his mouth to her neck, tickling it with his lips and sucking gently.

“Stop it!” Joanne giggled, pushing him back lightly. “I’m going have a lot of explaining to do if I come home from a night at Eve’s with a hicky!”

Laughing, Jake nodded. “Point taken,” he told her, giving her one last soft kiss. “So I’ll call you later, then.”

Climbing into her car, Joanne glanced out the window and saw that Jake was just standing there, smiling. She turned on the ignition, biting her lip as she drove off. There was a lot about Jake, and his whole family for that matter, that Joanne wasn’t entirely sure about. But as long as Jake was willing to keep looking at her with that combination of gentleness and desire, Joanne was willing to work through it all.

-----

“So tell me everything,” Eve burst into Joanne’s bedroom later that day, flopping down next to her on the bed where Joanne was sitting, reading a book. “Tell me absolutely everything.”

Joanne could help but laugh at Eve’s exuberance. She had never known someone with so much life and vivacity. “I don’t think so,” Joanne giggled.

“Why not?” Eve pouted. “I’ve told you whatever you’ve asked me.”

“And then some,” Joanne joked, making Eve smile. “No, I mean… he’s your brother, Eve.” Joanne was blushing by now as she set her book on the nightstand. “You don’t want to hear this.”

“No, I don’t want to hear anything particular about Jake. You’re right about that,” Eve crinkled her nose in disgust. “But I do want to hear about you! What did you guys do last night? How was it?”

As usual, Joanne had to give up when she was arguing with Eve. “It was great,” she sighed. “It was fun and felt really good.”

Looking at Joanne with wide eyes, Eve let out a disgruntled sigh. “Fun?” she said with distaste. “Good? These are the descriptions you are going to give me?”

Nodding, Joanne couldn’t help but giggle. “Yep. That’s the best you’re getting from me,” she said. Then she frowned a little. “Well, it was all great until you’re dad got home. That was a little weird…”

Immediately, Eve sat up and reached over Joanne, picking up the book Joanne had been reading. “The Great Gatsby?” she asked. “Do you have to read this for a class or something?”

Sighing, Joanne knew she wasn’t going to get any more information from Eve. “No, I’m just reading it,” she told her resignedly.

“You are a complete nerd sometimes,” Eve tossed the book on Joanne’s lap and stood up. “You are so lucky I love you. Come on, let’s go out. I know! Let’s hit the mall!”

Shrugging, Joanne rose out of bed. There was no stopping Eve when she was on a roll. “Let’s do it, then,” she said.

“Perfect!” Eve squealed with delight, clapping her hands. “We’ll try on all sorts of clothes, tease freshman boys in the food court, and then go to that new Jude Law movie.”

Shaking her head, Joanne couldn’t help but smile. “Sounds perfect,” she said as she grabbed her jacket and purse. “To the mall with us!”

-----

“We should double sometime,” Eve walked into her brother’s room one night later that week and sat on his bed.

Turning around in his desk chair where he was working on a paper, Jake looked at his sister. “Have you ever even heard of the concept of knocking?” he asked, but didn’t wait for her to respond. “And the answer is no.” With that, he turned back around in his seat and tried to ignore Eve. However, he knew this was a futile endeavor.

“Why not?” Eve whined. “Mark and I are actually dating now. Like, exclusively. Can you believe it?” When Jake didn’t respond or even turn around, Eve bounced off the bed and threw her arms around her brother’s shoulders. “Come on, please?” she asked. “I’ll be your best friend…”

Unable to help himself, Jake laughed. “Fine,” he gave up, turning around to face her. “Fine. Let’s all go out this weekend for dinner or something.”

“Yeah!” Eve grinned. “I’ll call Mark and tell him. Is Friday okay? Of course it is,” she said, not waiting for an answer before bouncing out of the room.

Shaking his head, Jake had to laugh. As spoiled as Eve could be sometimes, there was never a day he wasn’t glad she was his sister. Picking up the phone, he dialed Joanne’s number. “Hey,” he greeted her when she answered.

“Hey, you,” Joanne replied happily to the sound of his voice. “What’s up? Didn’t I talk to you, like, twenty minutes ago? Or was that the other guy I’ve been seeing?”

Jake liked how much more confident Joanne sounded since they had started dating. But he still loved when he could leave her speechless. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find another guy that could find that little spot on you with his thumb that makes you so wet that you-”

“Jake!” Joanne admonished, and he could almost hear her blushing over the phone line. “That’s not playing fair,” she chided him softly.

“One of these days, we’ll get you comfortable with talking dirty on the phone,” he chuckled.

“So is that why you were calling?” Joanne asked. “To make me turn bright red?”

“It’s as good a reason as any, but no,” Jake admitted. “I just wanted to let you know my sister just roped us into a double-date with her and Mark on Friday. If that’s okay with you, of course.”

It was hard to believe that they had been seeing each other for less than three weeks. Just hearing Jake’s voice made Joanne feel warm all over. “That’s fine,” she told him. “But do you think we will get any time alone this weekend?”

Raising his eyebrows, Jake started to tease Joanne some more. “Why?” he asked. “You planning on something dirty and completely inappropriate?”

“Well, I was thinking I could blow you,” Joanne said, and heard Jake grow silent on the other end of the line. Giggling, she reveled in having him go speechless for once. “See, you’re not the only one who can play this game, Jake. Anyway, I should get to bed now…”

“Okay,” Jake finally responded. “But were you serious? I mean… were you serious?”

”Goodnight, Jake,” Joanne’s voice was teasing.

”Okay, but before you go, were you serious?”

“Goodnight, Jake,” Joanne repeated, laughing.

“Night,” Jake grumbled, hanging up the phone. Then a big grin spread across his face. Even if Joanne wasn’t serious, he was glad she was now even able to joke about it. But wow, he did hope she was serious…

-----

“Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t have a good time,” Eve elbowed her brother as they entered their house late Friday night.

“I will admit,” Jake gave his sister a small smile as he put the car keys on the coffee table and they each took a seat on the couch. “Mark’s not the worst guy I’ve ever met.”

“Jake…” Eve replied warningly.

“He’s crazy about you, that much is for sure.” Eve’s eyes lit up at this news, and Jake was glad she seemed happy. “I guess as your big brother, that’s the least I can expect from a guy.”

“Please, there are tons of guys who are crazy about me,” Eve wrestled with Jake to get the remote control. “You actually liked Mark. You guys were talking about sports and music for over an hour.”

Giving up the remote to Eve finally, Jake sighed in resignation. “Fine, you win! Like you always win! You get the remote. You get to be smug because I admit I may have been wrong about your boyfriend.”

“Exactly,” Eve said, raising her eyebrows. “And if everyone would just listen to me from the get-go, life would be much easier all-around.” With that, she clicked on the TV and turned to ESPN. “See? I was going to put on your sports crap for you as a thank you for going out with us tonight. If you hadn’t fought me for the remote, you would have started watching it sooner.”

Shaking his head, Jake couldn’t do anything but laugh. His sister was unlike anyone else in the world, and while she could be demanding and self-centered and high-maintenance, she could also be fun and playful. He watched as she hopped off the couch and offered to get him a soda from the kitchen while she was getting one for herself.

As Jake took in the scores from games that were being reported, he thought about the evening. It actually hadn’t been bad. Mark was an okay guy, and he loved any chance he got to hang out with Joanne. And Eve had been floating on a cloud, which Jake hated to admit made him happy. It was a good night.

The phone rang and Jake reached over to answer it. “Hey, Jake honey,” his mother’s voice greeted him softly. “Darling, I need a favor…”

Looking at the clock on the cable box, Jake became nervous. It was almost midnight, and his mother’s tone seemed off. “What is it, Mom?” he asked gently as Eve walked in the room. At the sound of her brother’s voice, she sat down beside him with a concerned expression on her face. “What happened? What do you need?”

“It’s your father,” Jake’s mother began crying softly, and as angry as he got with his mother on a regular basis, it killed him to hear her this upset. Jake’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, and he felt Eve put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Your father was… he was in a little accident.”

“Is he okay?” Jake asked, surprised that he cared at all. “Is he going to be alright?”

“Physically, he’ll be okay,” his mother replied. “But, once he’s out of the hospital, he’s going straight to the county jail.”

“He was driving drunk.” It dawned on Jake at once, and his voice was cold. “Was anyone else hurt? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, and so are the people who were in the other car. And he wasn’t drunk. He’d just had a few drinks with dinner…”

“This is not the time to argue with you about whether or not dad’s a drunk – though I’ve had quite a few bruises over the years that answers that question for me.” Jake took a deep breath, trying to control his anger, as he felt Eve rest her head on his shoulder supportively. “Now you said you need a favor. Tell me what it is.”

His mother was obviously crying silently now, as it took her a minute to find her voice. “I just want you to pick me up from St. Luke’s Hospital, Jake,” she said, her voice shaking. “I can’t be here… you’re father’s yelling, and the cops are here, and…”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Jake told her, having been calmed down by the sadness in his mother’s voice. “Just wait outside, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied. “Thank you, Jake.”

“We picking her up?” Eve rose from the couch, not pushing for any details or asking questions yet. She was giving her brother a little space to gather his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Jake put his arm around his sister’s shoulders appreciatively. “We should get going. And thanks Eve,” he squeezed her shoulder a little. “I could have ended up with a much suckier sister.”

“Anyone else would be much suckier than me,” Eve teased, but then she gave Jake a small smile. “And anyone else would be much suckier than you.”

-----

After getting their shaken mother into bed, Jake and Eve sat silently on the couch watching an old movie. “I have to get some sleep,” Eve said after a while, rising from the couch and stretching. “Aren’t you tired? It’s almost three.”

Looking over at his sister, he gave her a wry smile. “Not just yet,” he said. “I just have too many thoughts in my head.”

Eve squatted down in front of Jake and looked up at him. “You want to talk about anything before I turn in?” she asked. “Or is this a Joanne-talk, or a mom-talk, or something?”

“No, it concerns you,” Jake told Eve. “Just about what parts of our lives I should share with Joanne. Especially now, with all this stuff going on with Dad.”

Nodding her head, Eve patted his knee reassuringly. “That’s a deep topic, and I’m just a little to tired to tell you my thoughts right now. But,” she smiled at him and stood up. “You can buy me breakfast tomorrow, and we can talk then.”

Laughing, Jake agreed. “I’d appreciate it.”

Eve stared at Jake for a few moments before surprising him to lean down and kiss his cheek. “You’re a really good guy, Jake,” she told him. “One of the last knights in shining armor.”

Watching his sister leave the room, Jake thought about what she had just said. He wasn’t sure if she was right, but it made him feel good that she thought that way none-the-less.