Emotional Girl

“Shut up!” I rolled my eyes. “You don’t interest me,” I threw at him.

“I know, I know,” Nick laughed. “I’m happy that you two are together, finally.”

“Me too,” Jordan sat down next to me with Jenna falling asleep in his arms. “Things are just starting to fall into place, it’s great.”

Not to be left out, Mike and Eric pulled up chairs and joined us as well. “I just never thought I would see the day that my little brother would date an ex of mine.”

“Yeah, well,” Jordan leaned back in his chair and reached out his hand to stroke my hair. “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t but Anna…” he shook his head as he gazed, adoringly, at me. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

I could feel the color rising in my cheeks as he gazed at me adoringly. I felt like an innocent schoolgirl who suddenly was approached by the most popular guy in school. I tried to say something to let him know that I thought what he said was sweet and that he meant a lot to me but all I could manage was a girlish giggle followed by a wide ass grin.

His eyes held mine while his hand slipped from my hair to gently caress my cheek. Involuntarily, I kissed the pad of his thumb when it passed along my lips. A low growl sounded deep in his throat as his hand dropped to the arm of my chair. With one quick yank, he pulled my chair right next to his and leaned over to kiss me.

“That’s not fair,” Nick whined.

Jordan’s mouth turned up in a smile against my mouth – he paused for a moment, chuckled and then gave me another kiss. “I think it’s very fair,” he remarked but didn’t look at his brother as his hand slipped over mine.

“Yeah…” Nick trailed off as Amy came storming back out of the house. You could see him jump in his seat as the door slammed off its frame. “What’s wrong Hon?” He asked wearily.

“Your dad is unbelievable!” She snapped while ramming random stuff into Bradley’s diaper bag. “Grab Bradley, we are leaving Nick.”

“Wait,” Nick gripped hold of her wrist as she moved to sling the bag over her shoulder. “Tell me what happened.”

Amy started to say something but stopped. “Let’s just go Nick, I’m tired.” He didn’t move and asked her what happened again. “He was rude,” she stated. “And I don’t have to stay here and listen to him. Let’s go.”

“If you tell us, we could help you with him,” I piped up. After having a lot of run ins with John because of the way he treated Jordan, I was damn sure I could help her deal with what ever he did now.

“Help?” She spun around and glared at me. “I think you’ve done enough!”

“What?” I frowned. “What on earth did I do?”

“I went in there and Harriet called out, asking me what was wrong.” She hiked the diaper bag higher on her shoulder while she shifted all her weight to her left leg. “So I tell her, like I always do when something is bothering me but this time it’s different. Instead of being the understanding guy–”

Jordan snorted. Amy glared at him.

“Understanding guy that he is, John laughed at me and said – and I quote – ‘you married into the wrong family if you are going to be that sensitive over a stupid joke’ and then had the nerve to say, ‘maybe you weren’t the right woman for Nick after all.’”

Nick’s jaw dropped, “Dad said what?”

“That I’m not right for you!”

“That’s bullshit,” he said firmly and tried to put his arms around her but she shoved him away.

“What have you been saying to them Nick? Why would he say that?”

“I didn’t say anything!” He replied defensively.

“So what?” She planted her hand on her hips and stared up at him. “He just pulled that out of his ass?”

Jordan, Mike, Eric and I sat there watching Amy accuse Nick of saying something horrible about her to his parents while he repeatedly insisted that he didn’t say anything at all. “I love you,” he told her at one point. “You and Bradley are my life, why would I do something that stupid?”

“Because you think everything is a joke!” She snapped. “I try to talk to you about us but you make stupid little jokes all the time or tell me not to worry, you’ll figure it out.” She broke at this point and through her tears she sobbed, “I worry Nick! I worry and you don’t seem to care.”

As Nick tried once more to wrap his arms around Amy, Jordan leaned in and asked me how this had anything to do with me. “I don’t know,” I whispered.

“No,” Amy shoved Nick’s hands away. “Maybe your dad is right –”

“Oh for the love of God!” I couldn’t stand it any longer, this was getting ridiculous. “You can’t be freaking serious Amy!”

“Mind your own business,” she hissed.

“No,” I shook my head. “I won’t because there’s no way I’m going to let you stand there and believe a word that comes out of the man in there! Not right for Nick?” I laughed. “That would be like saying that peanut butter and jelly don’t go together!”

Across from me, Mike started to chuckle.

“Stop laughing,” I glared at him and stood up. “Amy you can’t let John get to you. You’ve seen what he’s capable of doing, you’ve seen the shit he’s pulled with Jordan, you can’t –”

“Stop telling me what to do!” She screamed. “It’s your fault he’s picking on me!”

“Anna didn’t do anything,” Jordan butt in.

“No?” Amy turned to him. “I worked my ass off to have the little bit of respect from either of your parents and she can be rude and disrespectful but the moment you kiss her, she’s a damn goddess and I’m chop liver? Screw that! I will not be treated like crap because Anna finally gave in and tossed you a bone!”

“Then what the hell are you out here crying for?” I demanded. “If you feel like that, take it up with John don’t you dare come out here and tell Nick – your husband and the father of your child – that you believe all the bullshit that John spewed just now!”

Amy opened her mouth but I shot her a look that shut her up. She brought me into the conversation - I was on a roll and I had lots to say - and they were damn well gonna hear it.

“Not right for Nick?” I shook my head angrily. “Nick has been in love with you forever, he did everything he could think of to get your attention when there were other girls prepared to get down on their knees for him! I watched him fumble for the courage to ask you out and I was there when he vowed to love, honor and cherish you for the rest of your life! And even though we’ve had our differences over the years Amy, I never once got there and thought you weren’t right for him. Even when you two broke up, I did everything I could to ensure that you two found your way back to each other.”

“John is a jerk and he had no right to say what he did but you have to stand up for yourself! You can’t let him get to you!”

“And as for you,” I turned to Nick and hit him in the shoulder. “How dare you make that stupid joke about your right hand being your girlfriend? Are you really that insensitive?”

“I really –”

“Amy just had your baby dumb ass! Do you really think she wants to hear that kind of crap? You knew in the early stage of her pregnancy, she was worried about you losing interest in her once she started to gain weight –”

“I gained a lot,” Amy said quietly as she pulled on the oversized dress she was wearing, which seemed to be just to hide the fact that she hadn’t lost any of the weight. She was ashamed; I could see it in her face.

“What did you expect once Bradley was born? That she would jump back into bed with you the moment the doctor’s okayed her for sex?”

He actually nodded. Amy looked crushed.

I just closed my eyes and sighed.

“What’s wrong with that?” Nick asked. “What’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong?” I tried to hide the disappointment but I failed. “Can’t you tell? Just look at Amy and tell me, is that the look of a woman who isn’t trying to hide her body?”

As Nick’s gaze traveled over his wife, her head lowered and she missed the look. The confused but hungry look of a man who only saw the woman he loved. “I don’t understand what’s to hide.”

“I’m fat!” Amy cried. “I tried not to gain weight but it was hard and the stretch marks,” she shook her head sadly. “I don’t want you to see me until I can fix it Nicky.”

“Fix what?” Nick reached for Amy – this time not letting her get a chance to shove him away. “I think you are perfect,” he slipped his arms around her and sighed. “Amy Rae, do you really think that I’m that superficial? Do you believe that anything could make me less attracted to you?”

Jordan tugged on my hand and motioned for me to sit down.

Amy whispered something I couldn’t make out. It made Nick smile. “Honey do you remember the other night when I was sitting in the living room and you had just come back from checking on Bradley.” She stared up at him, question in her eyes. “You had walked over to the bookshelf to grab Bradley’s baby book to write in –”

“You came up behind me,” Amy cut in. “You wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“No,” Nick laughed. “I wanted you then and there, do you know why?”

“You were watching TV and –”

“I was watching the news,” he informed her. “That’s not what made me hard that night; it was you and your damn nursing bra!” He dropped his forehead against hers and laughed. “I need you so badly that a glimpse of your nursing bra drives me crazy.”

“I’ve gained weight and –”

“I have too,” Nick pointed out. It was true, in the last three months, he had managed to pack on between 20 -30 pounds. “Does that mean you love me any less? Or that the thought of making love with me sickens you?”

“No!” Amy’s eyes widened as she stared up at him. “No Nicky, that hasn’t changed at all.”

With a smile, Nick went in for a kiss.

“I think it’s time we went home,” Jordan whispered against my ear. “I want to put my girls to bed.”

Nick and Amy barely even noticed when we stood and said bye to everyone.

As we came up to the passenger side of Jordan’s truck, he turned me around to face him. “You know,” he grazed my cheek with his lips. “Maybe instead of being a department manager, you should take up as a full time shrink for my family.”

With a laugh, I told him that wouldn’t be a good idea. “I’m too emotional for that.”

He thought about it for a moment before he had to nod his agreement. “Let’s just go home,” he reached for the door handle and opened the door before taking Jenna in his arms. After he had her strapped in, he opened my door for me. His eyes held a mischievous look as he helped me up into the seat, “I’ll lay on a couch for you.”