Chapter 58: Jake

I wrapped my arms around Renee’s warm body, relishing the sensation of her naked skin against mine. She snored softly, plump lips partially open as exhaustion took hold and gripped her tight. I cherished these moments the most, the ones when everything was still, when it was just the two of us in the early hours of the morning, wrapped in each other’s embrace, with nothing to worry about except for each other.

Unfortunately, it was a small time later when I heard the front door open downstairs and the sound of Matt and Aaron’s raised voices floating up the stairs. The door slammed shut, and with a stifled groan, I reached for my watch to check the time, praying against all odds that they wouldn’t be fools and wake Renee up. Then again, that was wishful thinking. They were fools, and I knew if they were coming home this late, they were probably wasted fools.

It was nearly four a.m., and rage boiled in my chest as Matt and Aaron’s voices rose with each passing second. No respect, none at all, and I balled up my fists in anger as I slowly and quietly untangled myself from Renee, praying I could get them to shut the fuck up before they woke Renee and ruined the rest of my time with her. She moaned as I slipped from the bed and covered her with the blanket, but thankfully, she didn’t wake. Not yet, anyway.

With a growl of frustration, I yanked on a pair of sweatpants and hurried down the stairs, careful to shut my bedroom door firmly behind me. It wouldn’t matter, not if Matt and Aaron got much louder, and it seemed like that’s exactly where it was headed as I walked into the kitchen and found Matt prying open a half-empty bottle of whisky.

“You haven’t had enough?” I asked, stopping in the open doorway to glare at the two of them. Aaron already had a beer in his hand and he was making toast with his free one.

“Jakey!” Matt hollered as his bloodshot eyes settled on me. “So good to see you, man.”

“We just saw each other at dinner, Matt.”

“Ah, yes,” he said, face-palming himself. “Right before you went up to fuck my girl, right?”

“Our girl.” Irritation tugged at me, but I pushed it down. Matt and I had been friends for a very long time, and I knew how much more difficult he was to talk to after he’d had a few. Picking a fight right now would do nothing but piss Renee off if she wasn’t already awake and getting ready to march downstairs and throttle the three of us.

“Yes,” Matt drawled. “Our girl. That’s what I meant.” He glanced at Aaron, who snickered into his paper plate, clearly happy with letting the two of us duke it out ourselves.

“I’d expect this from him,” I said to Aaron. “But I’m a little surprised you’ve stooped so low, man.”

“Hey, now.” Matt glared at me, taking a swig of the booze before swiping the back of his hand against his lips. “Don’t pick on my bro. We’re just celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?” I asked, my eyes back on Aaron. A flush rose to his cheeks as he bit into his toast before washing it down with a swig of beer.

“It’s nothing,” he said. “It’s no big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal, actually,” Matt said, thumping Aaron on the back. “Our friend here is moving up in the world, Jakey, and he’s been too embarrassed to share.”

“Tell me about it,” I insisted, holding back my anger toward Matt to focus on Aaron. If we wanted to keep this little family dynamic together, it was important to try for each other, even when we didn’t want to.

“Aaron is getting an agent for his art,” Matt said before our friend could answer. “And he’s got a gala this weekend. A high-profile one. Can you believe that shit?”

I looked at Aaron. “Is this true?” After a moment of silence, he nodded, unable to meet my gaze. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“For the same reason I told Matt,” Aaron snarled, catching me off guard. “You two have given me shit for years about my art. Why would you care now?”

“Aaron—”

“No.” He cut me off, jumping to his feet. The bottle of beer tipped over on the table, expelling the contents onto the floor. He made no move to pick it up and instead whirled around and glared at me, his fists clenching and unclenching. “I’m fucking tired of it,” he said. “I’m tired of not being as great as you and Matthew because I’m just an artist, and not a cop or a firefighter. I’m tired of being the geek in the friendship who can’t do anything right. I’m just—I’m tired of being the third wheel in this dynamic with you and Matt and Renee.”

“Don’t you mean the fourth wheel?” Matt cackled, and it took all I had in me not to break his jaw.

“Look,” I said gently, hoping the ruckus wouldn’t wake Renee. “We’re growing up, Aaron, and I for one can apologize for being a douche about it in the past. Honestly, I’m proud of you.”

For a moment I thought Aaron might take my apology and move on, but then he shook his head, looking defeated, before reaching down to pick up and dispose of the spilled beer bottle. He cupped his hand to the back of his neck and looked between Matt and me, looking as though he desperately wanted to say something more.

But he didn’t. Instead, he shook his head again and walked away without looking back, heading upstairs for his bedroom, leaving Matt and me alone in the kitchen, standing awkwardly, unable to talk to each other like we once had been able to do without a hitch.

“Look,” Matt said, but I raised my hand to cut him off. I was too tired to hear it.

“Sleep it off, Matty.” With a sigh and a shake of my head, I left Matt standing by himself in the kitchen and headed back upstairs to enjoy what little time I had left with Renee. I knew how Aaron felt, even if he didn’t believe it. I was convinced that all three of us had felt like the third wheel in this dynamic time and time again, but that was to be expected, wasn’t it? Three full-grown men and one woman—how couldn’t we be jealous of each other from time to time? But things were escalating quickly, far too quickly for my liking. During the times we each had personal moments with Renee, everything was well, but things changed so quickly when it was someone else’s turn, and Aaron specifically had always been more insecure than either Matt or me. He was always playing catch up, always trying to prove that he was just as good, just as ‘cool’, as we were. Even in elementary school, and all the way through college.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open my bedroom door and closed it behind me, turning to rest my eyes on Renee, who was still sound asleep, her breathing now light as she huddled into the blanket. Our time was almost up, and then she’d be onto the next guy. It was hard not to be bitter, but we’d always managed before.

Seriously, how had things gotten so bad? Was there a way to fix this without every, single one of us falling apart?