Just One Glance (Oh Tequila Series Book 5)

calm me with some nonsense conversation. Stories that I’d most likely heard before. Whatever she could offer as a distraction. Then he’d message her, not me. Never me. He’d assure her that he’d been caught up in an unavoidable task and that he’s sorry he would have to reschedule. Then we would both have a little extra money appear in our accounts to keep us satisfied, so to speak. It was getting harder and harder not to seek him out and show him just how dissatisfied I truly was. But I held my cool for Jade.
“He said he’s already on the way here.” I found that hard to believe and something I had also heard before.
“I’ll be there in fifteen to pick you up.”
I spent a few extra minutes sitting in my truck, trying my best not to dial his number and leave a message about how it would be in his best interest to show tonight and not to fuck over his daughter like he had her entire life. I gave up caring a long time ago. I didn’t need my father, I didn’t want him in my life. Forgiveness for all the bullshit he’d fed us over the years was long gone. The ship had sailed and it had sunk to the deepest fucking depths of the sea.
On the drive over, I did my best to put on a happy smile. Jade was waiting outside, her phone in hand, and by the look on her face I knew it had already happened. He’d already canceled.
Stepping up to the side of my truck, she held out her phone and gave it a little shake. “At least he didn’t leave us sitting somewhere waiting for over an hour before breaking the news.” I could tell she was hiding her disappointment. Jade was slightly older than me, by less than two years. She and I have always been close and I had a hard time not wanting to protect her. When she hurt it pissed me off, and the truth was she had been hurt a lot. Not just by my father but by every guy she’s been with. She was a magnet for douches.
“Burgers?” I give her a little nod of my head, signaling for her to climb on up.
A slow smile formed on her lips. “And shakes?”
There was one thing about my sister though, no matter how many times she’d been knocked down, she always managed to get back up.
“Yeah, and shakes.”
***
After we ate, Jade and I played a round of goofy golf and then I dropped her back at her apartment. I still felt uncomfortable leaving her alone and wished more than anything that she would move closer to me. The place was rundown, and the safety of the surrounding area was still questionable. Though she would ensure me over and over than it was a great place with good neighbors, I still was not convinced.
Pulling up to the house, I noticed that things seemed quiet and I was thankful. Love the guys, honestly, they were the closest things to family I had besides Jade. But sometimes they could be a little much.
Climbing the front steps, I heard a giggle and looked to my left to see Isaac snuggled up in the corner with a blonde. Choosing to ignore their activities, I slipped inside unnoticed and started for the stairs.
“Hot date?”
I almost missed Blake as she rounded the corner wearing a huge t-shirt and socks pulled all the way up to her knees. I had to laugh. I still found it hard to imagine her and Elijah together―I mean she was the size of one of his legs and together they were like night and day. She was pint size.
Wearing his clothes only highlighted the size difference between the two of them.
“I met up with Jade.”
She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s hot.”
Another thing about Blake was since she met Elijah she had truly come out of her shell. I remember the first time I met her she was so shy and timid. Fuck, now she was right there in the center of all the havoc. The instigator of most of the crazy, and as far as the best pranks, she may truly hold the crown. No one underestimated her, but it never stopped any of us from trying to outwit her.
Note: we all failed miserably at every attempt.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Who’s our target?” A devious smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“You’re warped,” I said, chuckling as I leaned against the doorframe.
“I wasn’t, until I met all you fools.”
“I think you were always a deviant, you just needed us to awaken the beast.” I dared her to argue but she didn’t, instead she waited for me to continue. For a few seconds I wondered if I should just keep my troubles to myself but if anyone knew about shitty parents, it was Blake.
“Can I ask you something?” Normally that would trigger a smart ass comment, an opening for a dig on her part. But instead she gave me nothing more than a simple nod. My face must have expressed that I was completely serious. “I know that during all that shit with your mom, you played it off.” Blake leaned back against the railing of the stairs and crossed her arms over her chest. I didn’t want to bring up the shit of her past but truth was I didn’t know who else to ask. “On the outside it was almost like nothing was happening, like your life didn’t suck ass.”
A small smile tugged at her lips and I felt relief that I had not brought up things that would get my ass kicked by Elijah.
“I worry about Jade.” My heart ached. “Our father is an ass, pretends to care but in reality he