The Bad Boy's Nanny

Ch. 26 - Apricots and Dragon Fruit

"Oh, I'm not influencing Elliott on that at all. I told him I don't care about his cliff diving. He can do whatever he wants."

Yogi nods. "Sure, sure. It's just..that boy has a serious passion for diving, one that he can't stay away from unless there's someone in his way."

"I'm not in his way," I say firmly, almost defensively.

"Things started to change after you came around. He started to change."

I bite my tongue and look down at the steering wheel. "You should really get back to work, Yogi."

He lifts his hands up innocently, as if he hadn't just accused me of keeping Elliott from doing what he loves. "I'm going. See you around, babe."

I nod my head, rolling up the window and backing out of the parking space. My conversations with Yogi always leave a bad feeling in my gut. There's something off about him, more than the other guys at the cliff.

"Ivy, can we stop to play with puppies?" Crystal asks.

"We will another time, okay? I have to take Jonas to his tryouts soon," I say.

"Promise?"

I nod. "Promise. I love puppies just as much as the next girl."

When we pull into the driveway, Jonas is in the front yard juggling the soccer ball. He waves and kicks his ball to the side to help me unload the groceries while the kids run inside to turn on the tv.

"How are you feeling?" I ask. "It's a big day."

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous," he says, picking up a gallon of milk. "I've been off my game for months."

"You'll do just fine," I assure. "You've been practicing for weeks. You're at the park more than you're eating Cheerios these days!"

He frowns as he places the milk on the ledge. "Yeah, about that...I haven't been going to the park to practice."

I raise my eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"I've been secretly meeting Brianna behind the middle school's bleachers instead of going to the park."

"Jonas!" I gasp. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Well," he sighs, "I just want you to know that if I don't make the team, it was all for love."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, chivalrous Jonas, you're still grounded for lying to me." I put the milk into the fridge. "I don't like Brianna's negative influence on you. You should dump her."

"Ivy, don't be so jealous," he says. "You'll find a guy who is willing to risk losing what he loves most for you one day. It's just too late for us, my love."

I shake my head, holding back a laugh. "You're so weird, my love," I say in a mocking voice. "Go get dressed. We'll leave in about ten minutes."

Elliott walks into the kitchen, his hair wet from a shower. "Hey, baby." He stops walking towards me when he sees Jonas, his eyes widening. "Brother," he says quickly. "Hey, baby brother. Because I was talking to you. Not Ivy. Why would I be talking to Ivy? She's not my brother. I was just looking at her, but I was definitely talking to you, my baby brother."