Nothing Matters (Family Matters Book 1) (6 page)

"Are you coming Nathan?" Magdala asks.

"No, he fucking isn't," Jakey says, again just glaring at me.  "Buckle up."

"Hey really," I say in desperation, "we'll take Magdala home later."  Though I know he's not listening to me.  He slams Magdala's door shut.

"Hey," he says, and his voice is low, threatening, "don't fuck with me.  You fucking hurt Magdala and I'll come after you." 

I don't know what to say, have no reply, as if I'd ever hurt Magdala, would never consider it.

"You need to learn how to treat a girl properly, you fucking white trash," he seethes, opening his door and getting in, again leaving me speechless, with no response at all.  Magdala opens her door and calls, "Kiss me Nathan."

I bend down and touch her chin.  "Hey I'm sorry, I wanted to take you home," I whisper.

"Jakey's going to get me a new dress," she says and I can't help but laugh, because I know she is wasted.  Jakey has turned around and is watching.  "I love you," I say.

"I love you Nathan Stratton," she says and I kiss her and Jakey starts up the car, and I barely get to close her door before he drives off.

MAGDALA

I'm having dinner at Jakey's house, Aunt Kate is making a seafood paella, which is probably my favorite food.  Jakey and I are sitting out by the pool, but neither of us are swimming.

"So what's with Nathan?" he asks nonchalantly, after just giving me a play by play on the Clippers game last night, as if I was interested in it.

I give a shrug.  "Love him," I say flippantly.

"What? Like you loved Stacey Portman?" he sneers.

I give him a face.  "Yeah, well," I say indignantly, "may have made an...error in judgment with that one."

"Error in judgment?" Jakey laughs, "that sounds about right!"

"Nathan is different," I declare.

He pauses, picks up his can of drink from the ground and says in a low voice, "He's white trash Magdala."  I narrow my eyes at him, feel upset, pout at him.  "What do you see in him?" Jakey asks, his tone less severe, he knows he's hurt me.  I don't reply for a second, trying to think of a careful answer.  Jakey is supposed to be my best friend, he's supposed to be supportive, caring, not tearing my boyfriend to shreds.

I've considered Jakey to be my best friend since I was seven and he was eight.  That was the year that both our parents were having relationship and financial issues.  Dad, Cassian and I moved in with Grandad Chris on the ranch because Dad was studying at that time, only working part time and couldn't always have a sitter to watch us.  Aunt Kate had just broken up with Jakey and Raff's father, so they moved to the ranch as well.  We all ended up staying there for eighteen months.  In that time the four of us all hung out, but it was Jakey and I who became the closest.  I was the one who started called him Jakey when I was just little.  His name's Jacob, but it was shortened to Jake, then, the story goes that as a three year old I called him Jakey, and it stuck.

Jakey's kind of reckless, a little rebellious, in contrast to Cassian who is strong, constant, reliable, sensible, just as an older brother should be.  We never did anything bad, but Jakey liked to push boundaries, live on the edge, make a little mischief when we lived at the ranch and I could always be relied on to be his co-conspirator.  Raff, who is the same age as me, was always shyer, quieter, he liked computers and books, rather than sports and horses.

"You wouldn't understand," I say with a wave of my hand and a shake of my head.  Because what does he know about relationships?  He's never had one last more than a handful of dates.

"He got you fucking drunk Magdala," he says.  "Anything could have happened."   

"Well it didn't," I reply defensively, "and he didn't get me drunk.  I made my own decision to drink." 

"Well it wasn't your smartest move," he says.  "Did you tell Trey?"

I shake my head.  Luckily for me the next day Dad had taken Damon and Dominique to the ranch so I never saw him until the evening, by which time I'd slept off my hangover.

"I don't fucking trust him," Jakey says, "why do you even like him?"

"There's just something between us," I try to explain, because sometimes I don't even understand how our relationship works myself, "some sort of chemistry."

"You suck at science," he jests, "what would you know about chemistry?"

"I just want to be with him...all the time," I proclaim.

"Do you talk?" He seems intrigued now.

"Of course we talk," I say, "we talk all the time."

"You fuck all the time."  It's like a statement.

I just stare, my mouth wide open, "Jakey -" I say, my voice shocked.

"Cash says you stay over at his house," Jakey says, annoyance in his voice, like this is a bad thing.

"I told you we love each other," I say, smiling.

"Love or lust?" Jakey scoffs.

I just glare at him, shake my head.  "I'm not gonna talk to you when you're like this," I say, folding my arms.  Besides I haven't, and don't think I want to discuss my sex life with Jakey.

"Hey Magdala," he soothes, "don't be like that.  You know I just don't want to see you get hurt."  Then, as if to add insult to injury, "Again."

"Nathan would never hurt me," I state, "and I think you know that."

Jakey sits forward, looks into my eyes, concedes, "I don't want him to come between us."

I narrow my eyes again, "Then don't be an asshole about him."

Jakey leans back, suddenly acts like he's bored with the conversation.  "White trash Magdala," he sneers and laughs arrogantly.  Though I wonder how he can be so high and mighty about it.  Jakey and Raff's father, who they never see and who he never talks about, had been a high school dropout and I think he'd worked as a builder or something like that.  Jakey gets up and kicks his empty can up in the air like its a soccer ball and then catches it.  We go in for dinner, but he doesn't talk to me until Aunt Kate tells him to take me home.

"I can get Dad to come and get me," I say.

"Don't be silly, Jakey will take you," she insists.

"I've got quite a bit of homework," Jakey says and I get a sinking feeling in my chest.  But he grabs his keys and says, "Come on."

I follow him out to his car, but before I open the door I say, "Why are you acting like this?"  He ignores me, gets in and starts the engine so I have no choice but to jump in.

"Jakey?" I ask, "why are you so mad with me?"  It's so not like us to fight or to get into a bad mood with each other.  I prod again, "Jakey?"  Yet I should be the one who's mad because he called Nathan trash.  "Jakey, just talk!" I demand, "I am your best friend."

"Well you might be losing that status if you don't shut up," he yells.  "Okay, I think you spend too much time with him.  I don't think he's good for you.  I think you deserve better than him.  Okay?"

I start to laugh, just as he pulls up to my house.  "So you're just looking out for me then?" I say.

"Yes," he admits.

"Friends again?" I say.

He nods. "Magdala, you know I worry about you."

"I love that you do," I say and lean over to hug him.

"Go on, get out of here," he says.

"Thanks for the ride," I say, waving as he reverses.  I skip up the driveway, know that I'm lucky, that I have the best Dad, best brother, best boyfriend and best best friend.  Later I text Jakey:  I want you and Nathan to be friends. 

He texts back: will never happen.

I text:  let's all go out on Friday

Him: busy.

But I know things are all good and I figure I'll get him to like Nathan eventually.

NATHAN

Mom starts to hound me about meeting Magdala, this girl I'm so madly in love with, she jokes to me.  She seems miffed that she was working the night Magdala had dinner with us, and she doesn't think meeting her early mornings when I'm sneaking her out is appropriate.  So she wants me to officially invite her for dinner.  I make up excuses at first, like Magdala has family stuff, Magdala's babysitting, but it comes to the point where I cave, and agree to a Sunday evening. Magdala doesn't think it's a big deal and her only issue is what to wear.  I tell her jeans is fine, but she wears a short sundress, which shows off her tanned legs.  She drives herself over, maybe so she can have a getaway if she needs it.  She brings my Mom a bag of fresh mangoes, saying her stepmother was given a whole bunch, and Mom says thank you, but I don't think she has a clue about what to do with so many.  Magdala says they make good smoothies.  Mom has never made a smoothie in her life.

My Nan is here too, and she chats away to Magdala, interested in her piano playing.  Seems Nan played the piano as a kid, but had to give it up when her father died; the piano was sold to pay for the funeral.  Something I never knew.  She says she learnt to play Home on the Range, and Magdala laughs politely.

As feared, Mom gets into interrogation mode, sucking as much information as she can from Magdala.  By the end of dinner Mom knows Magdala's parents' job positions, descriptions and virtually their incomes, what cars they drive and where they went to school.  And that includes her step parents as well.  I try not to look embarrassed, but Magdala answers willingly, not fazed at all.  It seems too easy to love her.

Later I walk her out to her car.  She's holding four chocolate cherry cupcakes that my sister Michelle had made for dessert, but Magdala said she was too full to eat anything else.  I tell her she can throw them to the dog if she wants.  She kicks me in the leg and says, "I'm going to eat one later, but I'd probably burst at the moment!" 

"You're not scared off by my family are you?"  I ask.

"Your family is cool," she says, opening the car and placing the cupcakes on the seat carefully.  I put my arms around her waist, her arms are around my neck.  "I love you," she says, her lips reaching up to mine.  I respond, my tongue pushing into her mouth.  She pulls away.

"Mmmm I can taste the cherry chocolate," she laughs, "it's yummy."  God, she makes me laugh.  I put my mouth on hers again, my hands go lower, feeling the curves of her ass, then  under her dress, I pull her closer.  I put my hand behind her left thigh, bend and wrap her leg around me, press myself into her.  I groan.  I so want her, like right now, wonder if I could take her back round the side path and climb in through the window.  But that would be wrong, Mom would sniff that one out within minutes.

"Shall we drive down to the corner?" I murmur into her ear.

"Shall we?" She seems astonished at my request.  Her eyes are full of mischief and she jumps in the car.  So do I. 

"Oh fuck," I say, reaching beneath me, retrieving the bag of squashed cupcakes.  She starts laughing, and drives us down the street and parks.  She reaches for the cupcakes.  She's still laughing, but she unzips the top of the bag and dips her finger in, covering it in the frosting.  She holds it up, makes me lick it off.  I twirl my tongue around her finger, sucking every last bit of chocolate.

"Here, let me taste some too," she says, holding the bag for me, so I dip my finger in, swirl it around, and she does the same.  We're both laughing like kids.  We kiss again, tongues tasting, it's so good.  My sister really can bake.

"Back seat?" I ask hopefully.  She climbs through the middle, but I get out and open the door.  She's already pulling her underwear down.  "You're keen," I comment.  She helps me pull my jeans down.  "You're fucking keen!" 

"You know I want you," she says.  The intensity amps up.  She's under me, her knees are bent.  My left leg is on the floor, the other one straddling her.  It's cramped, but it can be done. 

"Fuck I love you.  So much."  Lips, tongues, cherry chocolate, it's so perfect.  Her body pushes into me as I thrust into her.  My hand is brushing back her hair off her forehead.  My eyes try to follow hers, but I close them as I feel myself coming and I inadvertently tug at her hair a little too tight.  I feel her wince.  "Sorry babe," I apologize.  She just smiles and ruffles my hair.

"That was exciting," she says.

"Exciting?"  Not the word I would probably use.

"It feels wrong," she explains.  "Like forbidden, like we could get caught.  Like anyone could just walk on past."

"Oh," I say, "you like the element of danger?"

"Mmmm, maybe I do," she says suggestively. "Like we should do it in an elevator or something?"

"A glass elevator maybe," she considers, smiling.  I pull her up to sitting and slide out of her as carefully as I can.  I kiss her again.

"I can never get enough of you," I say.

"Same," she says, and kisses me back.

"You better fucking go," I say, "before I want you again."  She climbs through to the front, buckles herself in.  I get out the back door, pull up my jeans, retrieve her panties from the floor.  She unwinds the passenger window and I pass her underwear in.  She laughs.

"Hey, sorry about the cupcakes," I say.

"That's okay, I feel like I've eaten one," she says, running her tongue sexily across her lower lip. 

"Talk to you later," I say.