Changes Ch. 03

"I was pissed!" She snarled. "You basically disowned me and told me to..."

"...to get a job. To get your life together. To stop living like you were seventeen and take some responsibility, for once in your life." Aileen finished like a cold knife. "Do you feel that i demanded too much? Ever? What did you do in return? Did you ever do anything, Jessica? Anything at all? Do you have any defense for living like a playboy-bunny for the past ten years except that you wanted to? That it was fun for you? That you wanted to?"

Why does she have to talk like a fucking minister? Guilting me into...blah. She didn't reply, but looked away.

"You insulted me. You insulted our uncle. You insulted....you insulted Adam. My son." Her voice grew even colder, though it hardly seemed possible. Her sister looked about to hit her. Her fist trembled and her teeth were bared.

"I said i was sorry for that!" Jess protested. Fuck. Shouldn't have done that. She'd known she'd gone too far as soon as she'd called her nephew a 'fucking pathetic failure'. "I am sorry for that, Lee. So sorry. I was pissed. You know that. You have to know that. I didn't mean it. I swear."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to." Though her cold voice seemed to belie that statement.

"I apologized to Adam, Lee. Yesterday."

"You did? Really?" Aileen's eyebrow rose.

"Yup. I did."

"How did he take it?"

"Things are...better between us now. They'll be even better, i think. He's a good guy. Maybe i really didn't see it before." She shrugged. "Maybe if i do get a job and stay, maybe we'll get closer." She sighed. "What?"

Her sister was giving her an odd look. "So...your're staying then?"

Jessica looked at the ground and nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Oh." Her sister was silent.

"What? What'd you expect?" Jessica glared at her.

"Honestly? I expected you to be gone by now. I'm sure Adam did too. Or at the end of the week, at the latest."

"Well, no promises." Fuck. I -will- have to find a job.

"I expected none." Aileen smiled. "Just...give it a try, alright?"

Jessica nodded. They sat in silence for a while. She gave her sister a discreet look. Sitting as she did, Aileen seemed very...content. The smell brought back memories from her childhood. Running in the fields, on the road. For as long as she could remember, she'd always had her sister looming over her, telling her what to do and what not to do. Maybe that's why. She'd always had a hard time when people told her what to do.

"You want me to ask if we're looking?"

"Hm?"

"The Rose. We might want new waitresses for fall. Do you want me to ask?"

"Oh." Jess swallowed. Working as a waitress in the same restaurant as Lee...that's a hard no. No way in hell. "No offense, Lee, but i don't think us working in the same place is a great idea. I'll...try myself. See if i can find something."

Her sister smiled, but nodded.

"So." She took a deep breath. "There's something i want to ask you, Lee. Something i want an answer to."

"Oh? What's that?" Her sister looked genuinely curious.

"When are you gonna start dating again?"

Far from the eruption or cold reply she'd expected, her sister smiled calmly. "When i find someone good enough. Not before."

"You think that's gonna happen as long as you wear that?" Jess indicated her finger, where a golden band with a small diamond encircled it.

"That's armor, Jess. Armor against well...everyone. Do you know how many clients i serve at the Restaurant? People i meet? It's easy telling them i have someone."

"You're still hot, Lee. Look at yourself. Hair, eyes, tits, ass." She ignored her sister's glare. "You should be dating. Don't you...miss it? What's it been, five years?"

Her sister shrugged. "I do. But there are more important things in life than...that." A faint blush tinged her cheeks, eternally prude. "Besides, there's Adam to think about. I'm not going to bring someone home to him while he still lives here. I wouldn't want him to start thinking that..."

"Because he'd be soooo shocked seeing his mother date again? He's nineteen, Lee! He can handle it."

Her sister shook her head. "Me and men, Jess...doesn't seem to work that well. I can't pick them. I pick...assholes."

Aileen swore so infrequently that even that made Jessica smile.

Her sister sighed. "And it's not like you can teach me anything in that department either. You pick even worse than i do."

"Hey! That's..." Well. It's true, really. She swallowed.

"Exactly." Lee patted her knee. "In fact, you should take a timeout from men, Jess. Like me. I haven't done...that in almost six years now. It's not so bad."

Jessica gaped. She's gone unfucked for six years? Six years!? "I think..." she replied soberly and slowly "i would go insane and hump the closest man available to me, even if it was Adam."

Her sister laughed out loud.

"What would you think of Adam with...well, an older woman?"

Aileen's eyes sharpened. "What? Why?"

"Nothing! Just...i saw Kris today and...well, what would you think?"

"Far too old for him. Much too old indeed." Aileen sniffed. "He should find someone suitable his own age." Her voice mellowed. "Though your friend seems quite the catch for someone your age. Very good-looking. And proper. Quite the catch. Reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor in her younger years, apart from the hair." Her sister nodded.

Proper? Kris? HAH! Alright, so she'll kill both me and Kris if this comes out. Fuck. Jess glanced at the window to Adams room. Was something moving? Need to get her the fuck out of there, pronto.

"Let's go back inside? I'm sure they're done by now."

"Oh. Sure." Her sister rose. "Sometimes it takes hours." A small smile. "I suspect having a good-looking woman in his room will have him work that much faster."

Depends on what she's doing while he works, doesn't it? Jesus christ. "Mhm. I guess. " Her heart leapt into her throat when they entered and both Adam and Kristina descended the stairs. Her friend smiled and patted Adam's shoulder.

"Were you able to help, then?" Lee asked.

"Sure. System restore fixed it." He shrugged. "Easy. And now she can do it herself."

"Oh, i don't know about that." Kris straightened her hair and put her laptop back in it's case. "But Adam certainly knows what he's doing."

Was there an emphasis to that? Why's she smiling like that? What'd you do, Kris? God! I'll fuckin' kill you!

"He certainly does." Aileen agreed, oblivious to the double-entendre.

"I'll call you next time i need some help, Adam. A pleasure!" Kris threw her laptop bag over her shoulder.

"Let me walk you to your car, Kris." Jessica said.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Oh, i insist. We can catch up." While Aileen wasn't watching - or rather, watched Adam and spoke a few words to her nephew - Jessica shoved her friend out the front door and closed it. "Walk, skank!"

Kristina grinned and did as she was told. Nothing of the bruise from last night remained - but she'd had always known how to apply makeup and concealer. "Something on your mind, Jess?" Her voice positively brimmed with restrained mirth.

"What the fuck are you thinking, bitch?" She hissed. "Coming to my sister's house? Do you know what Lee'd do if she caught you doing your...shit?"

"What? Chase me with a broom? That might actually be fun." Kris chortled.

"For you? No! For you I think she'd break out dad's old hunting rifle and put a load of rock salt up your ass!" She growled. "Christ, Kris! Last night was bad enough..."

"Jess. Relax." She turned around and met her eyes firmly. "We didn't do anything. I promise. I really was here for my computer, believe it or not. Well...it was fun and I found out from my neighbor, and i'm sure Adam expected something when we were in his room." A low, throaty giggle from her. "Maaaan, you should have seen his look when i closed the door." She cleared her throat at the look Jessica gave her. "Weeeeell...maybe not. I promise, it was all PG-13. Nothing horrible at all."

"What do you want from Adam?"

Kris eyebrows rose and she crossed her arms. "Why?"

Jessica inhaled, closing her eyes. "Kris, he's my nephew. You can't just... "

"Oh? Protective, aren't we?" Her friend looked decidedly amused.

"I'm gonna live there, Kris. You bet your ass I'm fucking protective! This is my life you're fucking with too now!"

Her friend shrugged. "Look. I'm single, Jess. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, not even casually."

That's rare for her. "So what, you wanna...date Adam now?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Another shrug. "Wellllllll...maybe not...date exactly. I don't know it's the first time i ever was with someone younger. It was...kinda interesting. Cute, y'know?"

Jess gaped.

"What? Oh, alright. It probably had a lot to do with that he made me come like..." She shook her head and laughed. "Oh, Jess. It was awesome! I'm not even sure why it was so great. Well...he's big, for one thing. And it didn't take long for him to...understand what i wanted." Her eyes glittered. "Rare in a guy, that."

She actually felt herself blush. "Can we...not talk about my nephew like that? Shit, i even sound flustered!

Kris laughed. "We talk about all guys like that, Jess! Jeeze, do i need to remind you what you told me about my brother when we were both eighteen? It took me a week to be able to look him in the eye again!"

Jessica cleared her throat. "Never mind that! Just...keep in mind that he's...Adam, alright? He lives with me. And my sister. Who'll fucking kill you if you so much as touch her precious little boy."

Kris opened her car door and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Jess. I can be...discreet."

She snorted. Loudly. "Not unless you've learned it the past few years. You were always as silent as a fucking car alarm." She felt her eyes widen as Kris leaned in and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"I dunno, I remember you liking it..." her friend whispered, her lips an inch from her own. "How loud i was, i mean. How loud i am? Don't you?"

"Let go, Kris. Let me fucking go." She hissed.

Kristina's lips twitched. "Or what? Is that what you really want?"

"Don't...That was...years ago! We were teens. And only...when we were bored. And drunk. Or stoned." Jess glared. "We're none of that now." She tugged, tried to move away but Kristina held her firm. "Stop it!"

"Or horny." her friend put in and kissed her.

For a second she resisted but found herself returning it, if only for a moment before shoving her friend away, glaring.

"See?" Kris grinned, licking her upper lip with the tip of her tongue. "Nothing's changed, has it, honey?" She lowered her voice even further.

Jessica wiped her lips with the back of one hand, blushing at the childish nickname she hadn't been called by Kris in...years. Her heart thumped, and she recalled the times when they'd spent hours while parents were gone, making Kristina's bed a tangle of sweaty, messed-up sheets while they fought to bring each other to mutual orgasm after orgasm. What times. "Just...stay away from Adam, Kris." Her head spun.

Kristina grinned and shut her car door, waving through the window rolled down half-way before she drove off.