Page 12 of Grand Love
“Touché, asshole.”
“I can come with you. If you decide to have a look,” he says, referring to the studio.
“I’ll think about it.”
He smirks at me. “Good.”
“Do you know what you’re going to say to Jasper?” I ask, giving him a pitiful look.
“Nope. He wants to know more about Mum. His therapist thinks it would help.” He runs his tongue over the front of his teeth. “I think being the oldest and having to take care of her, deal with the medicines and hospital crap, it made me desensitised to it all by the time it took her. He only remembers a screaming woman; he’s older now and needs the closure.”
Joey’s mum suffered from the same mental illness as Joey does. Schizophrenia. Unfortunately, when Joey was only young, she took her own life. It isn’t something he speaks about often, but when he does open up, I know I have to be careful with what I say.
“That makes sense.” I give him a sad smile. “She would be proud of you, from what you have told me. That I’m certain of.”
He throws his head back, laughing, but I sense it’s not sincere. I know going home will be tough. I feel bad for even bringing his brother up. “You’re too nice, Nina.” He continues to laugh. “Oh, to have your innocence.”
“What?” I frown, shaking my head as a smile tugs at my lip.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head, draining the rest of his coffee. “Come on, let’s get you two home.”
* * *
The girls are spreadaround my lounge when I finish putting the little man to bed. One thing I have always stuck to is a bedtime routine. Bath, bottle, book, and bed.
“Please tell me you’ve ordered already!” I tell them, rubbing my stomach as it grumbles.
“It’s on the way.” Scarlet smiles.
“Thank God, I barely ate today. What was so funny just now? I was halfway out the door and you idiots woke him up.”
“Luce went official,” Megan tells me, waggling her brows at Lucy across the room.
“Really?!”
“No! Well, yes. I need to speak to him. The conversation was all kinds of fucked up.” She holds a hand up, shaking her head.
“In what way?”
“He—” The girls both burst out laughing. “He wanted to go bareback. I said I don’t do that with people I’m not in a relationship with and he just asked me, right there and then as he hovered at my…” She gestures down there.
“And you said yes?”
“What would it have looked like if I said no? I’d look like a slut.”
Lucy doesn’t do casual dating, or she didn’t. Something changed last year and honestly, I think it’s for the best. Her ‘relationships’ (with complete assholes like Hugh) used to kill her for weeks before, she was always too emotionally invested and always too willing to give ‘one more chance’.
“Lucy, it doesn’t make you a slut. It’s very normal to have sex and not be in a relationship. And if you want to use protection, you should.”
“We did.” She nods, tight-lipped. “I told him I had a friend who got knocked up after the first time and she was on the pill.” She raises her brows as she sips her wine.
“Corrr, what a whore bag,” Megan jokes.
I launch a pillow at her head. “Fuck off.”
“What about you, little miss innocent over there. Is Dr Hottie still fucking with you?” I eye Scarlet knowing her silence is to keep the talk off of her. We haven’t discussed anything but her for the past couple ‘girls’ nights’. She started her medical degree at the end of last year and met a very, very handsome surgeon. Shame he is also very married.
“Ugh, don’t. Nothing has changed over here. Apart from my panties, I tend to take a couple pairs for the day now.”
