We're Not Related Anymore...

Dinner

Tessa looks at me expectantly and for a second I don't know what she wants.

"Hi," I say. If possible, she flushes an even deeper red.

"Hi," she says back and quickly makes her way after Maddie.

I sigh and drop my head. I wanted to piss Maddie off, make her jealous. But now that I've seen how hopeful Tessa looks, I know I've made a dick move. Fuck. Me.

I shake myself out of my self-pity and force myself to sit down at the table. Fortunately, Josh set Tessa's spot between the twins and I breathe a sigh of relief. I round the table and take my place between Josh and Maddie.

"Who are you?" Shelley asks, already with a sauce stain on her pajamas. I narrow my eyes at her. Since I've been left in charge she's been decidedly more messy. I want to shit her out for it but I'm not known for being the tidiest person.

"This is Tessa, Stein. Remember I told you about her," Maddie says, amusement in her eyes.

Shelley suddenly looks up at Tessa with newfound interest. "You're the girl who can make clothes from scratch?" She asks excitedly.

Tessa laughs. "That's me!"

I'm grateful that the two have common ground. It saves me from having to make conversation. Shelley dominates the dinner conversation by asking her everything there is to know about fashion. By the time I've finished eating, I've learned more about taffeta than I would like to.

"Maddie says you're making her dress from Prom. Can I see it?" Shelley says after Mary and I stand up to take everyone's plates through.

"It's kind of a surprise. Not even Maddie knows what I'm making her," Tessa says slyly.

I pause and ask, "Really?"

Tessa looks up at me, her ever-present blush deepening. "Uh, yeah. She gave me an idea but she's not going to see it until it's complete."

For some reason, thinking of Maddie in a prom dress makes me think back to the dress she wore at my mom's wedding. It was blue and I can still remember how it felt when I bunched the fabric of the dress to grab at her hips.

I turn away from the table, dumping the plates into the kitchen sink. It's really not the best time to be thinking about that. Luckily, it's not my day for washing up. Unfortunately, that means I have to go back into the dining room to keep Tessa company.

"Hey, it's a school night," I hear Maddie say from the other room and silently thank her. "You should go home before your parents worry."

"I guess you're right," I hear Tessa sigh. There's the sound of chairs scraping against the wooden floor and then I hear Josh's voice.

"Can I walk you to your car?" He asks, and now I'm thanking him in my head. Please let him act on his attraction for her and unfuck my mistake.

"Sure, let me just say goodbye to Jacob," I hear Tessa say.

I exit the kitchen before she can come in and force a smile on my face. Her eyes brighten as she sees me again and a little part of me dies.

"Oh, hey Jacob. I'm on my way out," she says.

"Oh," I say, even though I just eavesdropped on their conversation. "Thanks for coming over. It was nice having you around."

"It was. Maybe we can do this again sometime," she says, looking hopeful. It looks like she's about to say something more but then Maddie cuts her off.

"Mm. I don't know. The parents will be back soon and this table only has so many seats," she says laughing awkwardly, and puts her hand on her friend's back.

"That's not a problem-" Josh begins and is shut up by the glare Maddie shoots him behind Tessa's back.

I follow the trio until Josh leads Tessa all the way to her car. Before I can watch her leave in the early evening night, Maddie turns around to glare at me.

"What happened to 'this conversation is over'?" She asks, aggressively finger-quoting. I hear more than see Tessa's car purr to life.

"I thought more about what you said and realized you had a point."

"Oh?" Maddie says, her voice dangerously low.

I start up the stairs knowing she's following behind me. "What's wrong? You're not jealous, are you?"

"Jealous? Me? Are you serious?" She scoffs, her feet stomping up the stairs. When I get to the landing, I turn suddenly and grip her arms when she takes a startled step back.

"Yeah. You know, for someone who was so eager for me to get on the Tessa bandwagon earlier, you seem really upset that I invited her for dinner."

"I'm not. I just have whiplash from your change of heart. What happened to all your earlier convictions? Huh?" She snarls, poking me in the chest with such force it's almost bruising.

"Oh, I'm the one who's had a change of heart? Well, join the club, Madeline. Now you know what it feels like when someone can't make up their mind," I say, leaning into her.

She shoves me and I'm so surprised that I fall back onto the landing with a thud.

"Did you just fucking shove me?" I question, standing up and dusting off my bruised palms. She's still a few steps below me and I use my height to an advantage to glare down at her.

"Yeah, and I will do it again if you don't stop being a dick."

"Oh, yeah?" I challenge.

She reaches out with her hands to shove at me again but before she can, I take one step down, bend my body at the waist, and lift her so that I can carry her over my shoulder.

"Jacob!" She screeches, hitting at my back with closed fists as I take her to her bedroom.

"What's going on here?" Mary asks, poking her head out of her and Shelley's room.

"Your brother's being a bitch!" Maddie tells her and then to me, she says, "Put me down! Now!"

"Ah... Sibling bonding," Mary says, a wistful look on her face before she closes herself off to the world once again.

Maddie continues to pound my back until I reach up and smack her on the ass. She freezes in my hold and stays that way until I gently set her on her bed.

"You're an asshole," She says, throwing her pillow at me. I dodge it, feeling a bit winded from having to ward off her attacks. "Leave my friend out of this!"

And even though I know she's right and that I shouldn't bring Tessa into this mess of a situation, I still throw Maddie's pillow back at her and snarl, "Why not? You're the one who started it," like some petulant child.