Bittersweet

~~ And just when you thought... ~~

"Weight—girls piled on some pounds." He blew up his cheeks, puffing out his eyes.

I shook my head, having given up a while back questioning Jake's mental age.

But it couldn't have been Al, he must have mistaken her.

For Al to gain weight, that would mean she would need to eat. "Al? Nah. The woman barely ate. Her modelling career—" Career might have been an exaggeration. "Nothing went into her mouth that had more than a dozen calories. Some days she only ate a cube of cheese!"

"Telling you, she packed on the pounds, maybe she's comfort eating—cant have you, so she'll have a cheeseburger or two instead." He shrugged.

I laughed. "I highly doubt it, but I'm telling you it can't have been her."

"Suit yourself."  He took another drink.  "So... do I need to rent a tux?"

Sighing, he wouldn't give up on this. Giving in, I gave him the rundown on our date, skipping anything intimate. His face dropped into a frown when I brought up how the night had ended with the asshole throwing me to the wolves.

"Fucking hell—what's the guy's problem?"

Shrugging, wishing I knew. It went beyond jealousy or brotherly rivalry. We'd done our best to avoid each other for years, but last night I could taste the venom in his words. He hated me.

"I could go round and kick the shit out of him. You did the same for me when I was in tenth grade, Billy Hamlin."

I'd always had Jake's back, although Jake's smart-ass mouth was the reason he usually ended up with his ass handed to him as a kid. "Appreciated, but I'm not dwelling on it. Jenna was fine when I saw her earlier. So, whatever he was trying to do, failed."

"Yeah, this time. But aren't you worried you're forever gonna have to deal with him? They share a kid. That's a lifetime commitment."

I would want Jenna with half a dozen kids by just as many fathers, but thankfully I only had to deal with one, my asshole twin. "She's worth it."

"Yeah, I thought that might say that." He finished his beer and rose from his seat as Ashley, our assistant manager, came through the back. She practically ran the place when me and Jake weren't around.

"As much as I'd love to sit here all day and chat, I'm getting off. Have to reschedule a date with a fiery redhead." He turned to leave before stopping and turning to face me. "Honestly, happy for you, man."

My mouth dropped, expecting a sarcastic comment to follow, but it didn't happen as he turned and left. "Later." He called out just as the door closed.

Ashley came and stood beside me. "Want me to take over?"

"Yeah, that would be great Ash. Gonna head to the office and start on the books."

Leaving her to it, I shut my office door behind me, heading for my desk. Grabbing my phone. I smiled as Jenna had sent a message; it was a picture of Ava cuddling the bear I'd got her.

Perfect.

The rest of the day and night passed by in a blur. The bar was busy and when I'd grabbed a break, I'd missed three calls from Jenna. Looking at the time, it was too late to call her now, but she'd sent me a message.

My stomach flipped, she wanted to call around and see me in the morning... it was almost two in the morning, that only left me a few hours to grab a few hours shut eye.

Replying to her message, hoping I didn't wake her. I set my alarm and dozed off.

~ ~