Page 55 of Only This Once
Charles looked at Phoebe, then at him. “You two should talk. Then, Feebs, you should go spend some time with your husband. I can take care of your kids for a few hours. I’m sure Jesse will help.”
“Sure,” Jesse mumbled.
Phoebe flushed. “Fine. Thanks.”
Charles nodded. “I said talk. I don’t want to hear either of you yelling.” He gave them his stern dad look before disappearing into the living room, still holding the baby in his arms.
Phoebe glared down at the table.
Jesse dragged out the chair closest to her, lowering himself into it.
“Those are the same clothes you wore last night, aren’t they?” she asked. “For your date?”
“Jules told you about our date?”
“She texted me when you asked her out. Seemed insistent I not give you a hard time.” Phoebe considered him. “I guess she always has been protective of you.”
Jesse flushed.
Phoebe bit her lip. “You were careful, right? Used protection?”
Jesse’s stomach twisted. “If this is going to be a repeat of the other morning, save your breath. What we did is none of your business, and I’m not giving you any details.”
“She was my friend first,” Phoebe said with an aggravated huff.
“I don’t think you came here as her friend.” Jesse stared at his sister. “I love her, Feebs. I won’t listen to you badmouth her.”
“You haven’t grown up at all!” she snapped.
“You’re the one being immature!”
“I said no yelling!” Charles called from the living room.
They both went quiet. Her toddler’s giggles reached them from the living room, with soft clicks of the plastic blocks.
“I’m just worried about you. I love Jules, but she’s a cum dumpster.”
Jesse’s hands clenched on his chair seat, hidden under his thighs. “Seriously, Feebs?”
She flushed. “It’s not like she hides that she sleeps around.”
“No, she doesn’t. That doesn’t mean you can talk about her that way.”
“You could catch something from her! You know that, right?”
Jesse’s pulse throbbed in his ears. He took a ragged breath, then blurted out, “I have herpes, Phoebe.”
His sister stared. “What?”
His neck tensed at the way she was looking at him. “It happened at that college party that one time. Two girls r-raped me, and I had my first outbreak after that.” It was the first time he’d called it rape out loud, and his whole body ached, strung together into one tight nerve ready to snap.
“No…” Phoebe paled.
He swallowed the constriction in his throat. “So, you see, Jules is the one who shouldn’t have risked having sex with me, not the other way around.”
Phoebe’s hand smacked the table. “She was supposed to protect you! Keep an eye on you and take you home, like I asked.”
“She did. It was just too late. She found me after, and she was really kind, Feebs.” He remembered the way she’d held him while he cried. That moment would always stay with him.
