Broken #4 (The Broken Series - Book #4) (8 page)

“Sorry,
I guess I sort of killed your game night, right?” She winked as she leaned back
into the couch, taking a slow sip of the beer in her hand.

I laughed.
“Yes, I guess you did. That's okay, though, a couple of guys playing video
games for an entire evening
is
sort of lame, right?”

“Yeah, sort of.”
She
was still smiling, and I liked it.

“Let
me shut this down and maybe we can find something to watch on TV.” I switched
some cords on the back of the TV, returned to the couch, and started flicking
through the stations. Natalie sat patiently waiting while she snacked on
pretzels from the bowl Kyle had made up. She took a swig of her beer and I
finally found a show that might keep us both happy. I leaned back into the
couch and she moved over and snuggled against me.

“Well,
even though you beat me badly yet again, I'm glad you're here.” I wrapped my
arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like
vanilla, and I took her scent in, enjoying her closeness.

“Me too.”

“I
wanted to ask you, Natalie, if you would like to come to Thanksgiving dinner
with me at my mom's house?”

There
was a long pause, almost an awkward pause. “Is your whole family going to be
there?”

“No,
my brother and his girlfriend are going to my dad's. We usually split up over
the holidays. My sister will be there, though.”

“That's
right. You have a sister; why have you never talked about her before?”

“No
reason, really, Natalie. We aren't the closest family. It's not a big deal, but
the whole divorce thing took a toll on us all, and I just don't talk a lot
about them.”

“Well,
I'm looking forward to meeting her, then.”

“Great,
so you will come?”

“Sure,
on one condition, though.”

“What's
that? Though I'm sure I will say yes to anything you have to say.”

She
giggled. “I want you to come to my family dinner at Christmas.”

“Absolutely, sweetheart.”

She
smiled then, and kissed me hard on the mouth.

Chapter
Seven

Natalie

I
was a super nervous wreck when it came time to go to Jet’s
mother's
for dinner. I was starting to care a great deal for him, far sooner than I had
anticipated, so it was really important to me that his family warm up to me. He
liked me, but I worried that maybe they wouldn't like me. I wanted them to like
me and accept me into the family. I wasn't sure what was going to happen for
Jet and me in the future, but the fact that we were spending the holidays
together was probably a really good sign of things to come.

We
were driving to his mother’s house, and I was wearing a black long-sleeved
dress that hugged my body just right, but that was still appropriate for a
family dinner. Jet had gushed about my outfit when he saw me, and that pleased
me immensely. We were holding hands as we drove there, and I felt happier at
that moment than I had in a long time.

When
we pulled up to the large colonial home, I got even more nervous than before.
The house was enormous, and despite the divorce, it was obvious that Jet's
mother was still very well taken care of. I was definitely not from the same
world as they were, and I worried that I might be judged. It was a silly
notion; I had seen them all at the fight and they seemed like really nice
people, I was just letting nerves get the best of me.

When
we got inside the house, it was warm and cozy, and the owner of the home had
gone to great lengths to decorate for the holidays. The inside of the home
looked like something you would see in the movies. I smiled at Jet as the
family all met in the entryway to see us in. His sister, Karen, was beautiful,
and looked exactly like his mother. Their whole family was beautiful, actually.

Then
I saw something that shocked me.
Off to the side stood Katie.
She had a small smile on her face, and when Jet saw her, he went to her and
hugged her, wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. I was speechless at first, and
didn't know what to say. Karen noticed my shock and stepped in, “That's Katie;
she's been like family to us. Her parents are best friends with our mother, so
they often come and spend the holidays with us. I think she also knows Jet from
school.”

“Yes,
I've met her before. I was just surprised to see her, that's all.”

I
could not believe the terrible luck I had. Honestly, what were the chances of
Katie showing up for the holidays?
One in a zillion?
And why hadn't Jet have told me that she was so close to the family, especially
if she frequented these events often? He had made it seem like they were just
friends, teammates involved in the same sport. I was truly appalled by the fact
that she was at the same event that I was. It was supposed to be something
special for Jet and me.

A
sharp pang of jealousy coursed through me as they
hugged,
a hug that I felt just lingered a little too long. I felt betrayed that Jet had
invited me there without mentioning the possibility that Katie would be there.
He must have known how I felt about the girl, because of the night at the club.
Why would he bring me here when she was here? Was he really so insensitive? I
teared
up immediately, though I tried to stop it from
happening. It took all my self-control to prevent those tears from spilling
down my cheeks. I did not want to cry or make a scene at dinner. I wanted the
family to like me, not to think I was a hysterical mess. I needed to control my
emotions and just get through the night without strangling either Jet or Katie.

“Is
everything okay?” Karen asked me, concern marking her face. I wasn't sure what
she had seen. Maybe she saw the tears in my eyes, or maybe my face was flushed
red. It certainly felt like it was burning with embarrassment. I felt like I
was a fool for being at the dinner, the same dinner that Katie was enjoying with
her family. It really made me wonder. How had the two of them never gotten
together if she had been tight with the family for so long? How had they not
even hooked up? Maybe they had hooked up and Jet just never told me?
Calm down, I kept telling myself, just calm down.
I was
letting my thoughts run away with me, and it wasn't a very good idea.

I
was aware that Karen was still looking at me, so I took a deep breath and
turned away from Jet and Katie. “Yes of course, I'm sorry. I just feel a little
warm in here. Is there somewhere I can hang my jacket?”

“Oh, of course.
Let
me take it.” I slipped off my jacket and handed it to her. She went down the
hall to hang it up in the side closet. I turned back around to see where Jet
was, and he was saying hello to Katie's parents before he made his way back to
my side. He kissed me on the cheek and smiled. The smile didn't last long,
however, as I glared at him as discreetly as I could.

“What's
wrong?”

“Are
you serious right now? Did you forget to tell me something?” I was whispering,
or more like hissing at him, but I didn't want to alert the others to our
conversation.

“Natalie,
what's wrong? I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“What
the hell is Katie doing here? She's practically
family
?
Is this real life?”

He
shot a glance over at Katie, and then looked back at me, looking rather stupid.

“Oh
my God, Natalie, I'm sorry. I may actually be the stupidest guy alive. I quite
literally didn't even think about her. And that should tell you something.
Sometimes they come, and sometimes they don't, I had no idea whether she would
be here or not. And to be honest, it never even occurred to me until now.”

He
looked genuinely sorry, and I had to consider the fact that I might just be
losing my mind. It probably was just an innocent little mix-up, and I should
cut him a little slack. It wasn't the end of the world, as long as Katie kept
her claws out of Jet for the evening. I didn't have the patience for her at
all.

“Come
on, everyone, let’s gather in the kitchen and have some dinner.” His mother
waved for everyone to follow her into the kitchen. I took Jet's hand and smiled
up at him to let him know everything was okay.

We
all gathered around the table and found seats. I was happy to see that Katie
and her family were not sitting directly across from us at the table. Dinner
was a bit overwhelming. I had Jet's family asking me all kinds of questions
about myself, which normally wouldn’t be too bad, except Katie seemed to watch
me intently as I answered them. Everyone, however, seemed to be in good
spirits, and dinner went by without a hitch. The meal itself was incredible.
There was far too much food on the table for the amount of people that were
there. It was way too much; I was sure a whole village of people could have fed
off of the meal. There were three types of meat: duck, turkey and ham. There
were mashed potatoes and gravy along with various kinds of vegetables. That was
just dinner; dessert consisted of pies of almost every kind, and a seven-layer
chocolate cake. I worried that I was going to have to be rolled out of
there.
 
I had eaten so much food just to
be
polite,
and I worried that Jet would have to get a
crane to haul me out of there for the evening.

When
dinner was over, we all retired for the evening to the sitting room. Everyone
engaged in their own conversations, and Jet came over with a deck of cards, and
suggested we play.

“Well
aren't you a glutton for punishment. Haven't you learned your lesson by now?”

“I
can't help it. I feel like I should win at something here.”

I
giggled. “Would it help if I let you win?”

“No!
I want an honest win. What do you say to some Rummy 500?”

I
laughed. “Sure sounds good.”

We
played five games total, and I won every one of them. He fought some hard
rounds, but in the end, I prevailed. It was actually hilarious how frustrated
he became.

“Baby,
how on earth do you keep kicking my ass at everything? It's rather
heartbreaking, actually.”

“I
know. I actually did consider letting you win to help you save face, but in the
end I thought I would just bring you down.”

He
laughed. Karen walked over and stood beside where Jet was sitting.

“What
are you guys doing?” she asked.

“Well,
we were playing cards but Natalie has been kicking my butt. She always does,
actually, it's kind of embarrassing. She's like a card shark, and I can't quite
figure out how she does it.”

I
laughed. “It's really not that dramatic. My dad just taught me a lot of stuff.”

Karen
laughed. “Don't be a spoil sport there, Jet; you can't win them all.”

“Well,
why not?”

We
all laughed and Jet got up from the chair he was sitting in. “Well I have to
hit the little boys’ room. I will be right back, Natalie. I will leave you in
the care of my lovely sister.”

Karen
sat down in the seat that Jet vacated and smiled at me warmly. I really liked
his sister. She seemed sweet. I was just about to engage in a conversation with
Karen when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katie get up from her seat. It
wouldn't have seemed unusual, except for the fact that she went the same way
that Jet had gone. I sat there for a few minutes, wondering what I should do. I
wanted to be able to trust Jet, and I was sure the two of them going down the
hallway had just been a coincidence. But something was nagging at me to go find
Jet.

“Natalie,
are you sure you're okay?”

Startled
I looked at Karen and nodded. My God, she must think that I'm a basket case.

“Sorry,
Karen, I'll be right back.” I stood up abruptly, not offering any type of
explanation, and headed down the same hallway they went down in search of the
bathroom. I knew there had to be a main floor bathroom for guests, and when I
turned another corner, there was Jet against the wall. They appeared to be
talking when all of a sudden, Katie kissed him. It was the worst thing I had
ever seen, and I wanted to scream.

“What
the hell is going on?” I yelled at them, and Katie separated from Jet
immediately, looking embarrassed. I spun around and walked away, hearing Jet
call to me from down the hall. I wasn't about to have any type of a
conversation with him at that moment. All I wanted was to get the hell out of
that house. I made my way around the corner and headed for the closet to grab
my coat. I didn't want to alarm any of the other guests, so I slipped my coat
on and quietly left the house without looking back. I just needed to get out of
there.

Chapter
Eight

Jet

I
stood in the hallway with Katie, unable to believe what just happened. Staring
at her, I just shook my head; I didn't even have words to say to her at that
moment. I turned away and ran down the hallway to find Natalie. I couldn't find
her at first. I checked the other
bathroom,
and the
sitting room where my family was. I asked Karen if she had seen her. It hadn't
occurred to me that she would actually leave my house. But as I stared at the
front door, I knew that she had done exactly that.