The Man of the House

Chapter 153

“How long is the little squirt going to be here?” Dan asked casually.

My teeth clenched, but I smiled at Dan. “Just until mom gets back.”

“So, you’re London’s little brother, huh?” Jasmine asked, taking a swig of her beer.

She sat a respectable distance from Dan on the other couch while London sat next to a somewhat uncomfortable Dan, but the pair had exchanged enough looks by now that the situation was obvious. Only my sister seemed to be completely clueless about the situation she found herself in the middle of.

“Yeah, he’s more of a half-brother,” London explained, leaning against Dan who hadn’t even bothered to put his guitar down to hug her.

That was the relationship we had shared before. She had always tried to distance herself from the family. It was almost like she was ashamed of her mother and the rest of us. I suppose, since she knew the story about mother and father, she might be resistant. At the least, she didn’t want to be responsible for a bunch of half-sisters because her mom couldn’t keep her legs closed. At least, that’s one of the things I had heard her say during one of the many arguments she often had with her mom about things. I had never realized how hurtful London was being until I tried living in that other world.

“The better half.” I cut in, walking over and sitting right next to Jasmine.

Jasmine seemed a bit surprised at first, but then she sat back and smiled. London tensed as well, although it wasn’t because of anything like jealousy this time. I wasn’t so hopeful that London had some latent feelings for me that she had never expressed. Rather, it was Dan who had jerked slightly, and London who was reacting to Dan.

I had already come to some conclusions. Jasmine had been a bit of a bro-dude in that previous world. That meant that this Jasmine was still probably a bit easy, although she likely hid her naughty side better. Actually, given the way she dressed, saying she hid it might be giving her a bit too much credit. She expressed it differently, dressing herself up to be chased rather than being the chaser. Either way, if Dan and Jasmine had some relationship, then my course of action was simple. I was going to get in the way of that relationship. All I had to do was seduce Jasmine for myself, and watch as Dan caused his downfall.

“Why is he here, anyway?” Dan asked, a slightly annoyed tinge in his voice as he saw me sitting close to Jasmine.

London gave out an exaggerated sigh. “He got in trouble at the middle school and mom wasn’t available to pick him up.”

“You’re in middle school?” Jasmine seemed shocked.

“No.” I coughed. “I’m in high school. My little sister was getting bullied by some thugs and I had to take care of it.”

“A gang?” Jasmine asked, only noticing then I was housing a few bruises, her finger reaching out toward one on my cheek and stopping just short.

“Ah, yeah, some high school dropouts were picking on her. I don’t think they will be bugging her anymore.”

“Yeah, well, Noah did a dumb thing,” London spoke in a lecturing tone before shooting me a look. “And you’re never going to do something like that again.”

I shrugged. “I make no promises. I won’t sit back and let people that mean something to me get hurt. It’s the same for you, sister.”

“Huh?”

“If any man hurts you, I will make sure they hurt right back.” As I said that, my eyes went to Dan.

Dan scowled slightly, but when London looked at him, he quickly hid his expression and let out a laugh. “This kid thinks he’s some kind of hot shit, doesn’t he?”

“I think it’s kind of cool.” Jasmine leaned toward me. “You’re kind of a bad boy, cutting school and fighting to protect a girl’s honor. That’s hot.”

“He didn’t cut school. He’s out this week because he just woke up from a coma.” London defended quickly while Dan shot me an ugly look.

“A coma?” Jasmine gasped, reaching out and grabbing my arm. “London, you never told me your little bother was hurt. I would have stopped by and brought flowers.”

“What?” London stared at her incredulously. “You’ve never cared about my family.”

Jasmine lifted her chin. “You never talk about them. You never told me you had such a cute brother.”

“C-cute!” London’s eyes widened. “Him?”

“He’s scrawny…” Dan spoke up.

“You would be two after being in a coma.” She pressed her chest against my arm. “He was still strong enough to kick the ass of some hardcore gang members.”

I let out a little chuckle. “It was just three guys. They barely even had knives.”

Jasmine looked at me with bright eyes while my sister’s incredulous face seemed to grow. I could see the irritation in Dan’s eyes and it was even better. Had any girl touched me like she was back in the day, I would have been blushing with a rock-hard boner poking out of my pants. However, that was a lifetime ago, and the current me was completely comfortable with her touch. Especially when it was her, I was immune. I’d react fine with any girl, but Jasmine was a girl I had already explored thoroughly. I knew exactly what she liked and how she liked it.

“It is a shame you’re in high school though.” Jasmine let out a sigh.

I shrugged. “I’m sixteen. That’s the legal age in this state.”

“Really?” Jasmine’s eyes lit up.

“What do you mean?” London seemed to reach her limit, getting up and grabbing Jasmine. “He’s my little brother. You’re almost a decade older than him. Will you quit that?”

London forced her way in between us, Jasmine a bit surprised as she was pushed to the opposite edge of the couch.

“Relax, London!” Jasmine let out a laugh. “I was just teasing you. And who are you calling a decade older? I’m only twenty-three.”

“You’re twenty-five.” London hissed back, jerking suddenly as I put my arm around her and leaned my head on her shoulder.

I had acted without thinking. With London next to me, my old habits resurfaced. I had forgotten we weren’t that close or intimate. The feel and smell of her by my side had brought back those old memories and I had acted on impulse. However, I was her half-brother, and after a few seconds, she decided it wasn’t weird enough to shove me off of her. She must have decided it was preferable to Jasmine doing it. Furthermore, even though we were related and London didn’t suspect any inappropriateness, I could see the rage in Dan’s eyes growing even more.

At first, he had been happy to see his girlfriend breaking Jasmine and me up, but seeing me close to his girlfriend made him just as jealous. He wanted to monopolize both girls. He was a piece of shit.

“I-I barely turned 25,” Jasmine whined, looking over at me with pleading eyes. “That’s not too old, right?”

“Not at all,” I responded, causing London to let out an exasperated noise.

“Jasmine, leave my brother alone. You’re forbidden from having a relationship with him.” London scolded. “Don’t encourage him, he’s just a boy.”  

Jasmine’s eyes flashed for a second, but she laughed, waving her hand. “I already said I was joking. Do you want me to sign something? I’m not interested in little kids. I prefer a real man.”

Dan straightened slightly at her words, looking a bit proud of himself. My sister missed this look though, as she was rubbing her forehead. They both missed where Jasmine was shooting me a sultry look as she said that. It seemed to say that I’d become a real man after a bit of time with her, one way or the other.

“Mom will be coming over in a few hours. Jasmine, you should probably go.”

“I’ll go too!” Dan suddenly raised his hand.

“Huh? London blinked.

Dan blushed, his eyes darting to Jasmine. “Uh, your mom and I don’t get along very much. It’s probably better if I’m not here, right?”

“I guess so…” As London tacitly agreed, I wanted to pinch her nipple.

Was London really that dumb? He was waiting for the opportunity to be alone with Jasmine again. He wanted to finish what he started. My idiot sister would be waiting for her with me while her boyfriend went and got his dick wet on this slut. I was racking my brain to interrupt them when a growling sound interrupted all of us. It was coming from Jasmine’s stomach.

“Ah… I’m hungry.” Jasmine declared.

“We’ll stop and get something to eat. Is that cool with you babe?” Dan tried to look innocent, but the excitement on his face was obvious.

“I gue…”

“I want to eat here!” Jasmine cut in, causing both of them to look at her in shock.

“What? Why?”

“I haven’t had a homecooked meal in a while. I want London’s famous cooking.” Jasmine spoke stubbornly.

“I’m not going to…” London began.

“London can cook?” I cried out.

I didn’t mean for it to sound insulting. Even in this world, I had never imagined her as someone who could cook.

“I can cook a little.” London shot me a glare.

“Her cooking is really bad though.” Dan cut in, causing London’s glare to turn to him.

“Fine! I-I’ll cook!” London declared.

She was originally going to refuse, but after having her skill questioned by both of us, she seemed to have changed her mind. London got up in a huff.

“Thanks, your cooking is great!” Jasmine declared.

London’s posture loosened and she gave her friend an appreciative smile as she walked into the kitchen. When London passed, Jasmine shook her head and mouthed the words “no, she isn’t” while shooting me a wink. Dan frowned once again as Jasmine nearly jumped back down onto the couch right next to me, having obtained what she wanted.

“Jasmine…” Dan began, his eyes on London in the kitchen.

The kitchen and family room blended into each other, with a large viewing path between the two. Although it blocked some of the views, she could still look through and see everyone in the family room, and in the other direction, we could see her upper half. She immediately started banging away with pots and pans, clearly intending on making something to prove herself. Either way, Dan found himself unable to put up a fuss, and he was instead trying to get Jasmine to explain herself without me or his girlfriend noticing.

Jasmine deliberately ignored him. “Hey, let’s put on a movie while we’re waiting. I’ll get the lights!”

“Wait, what?”

Jasmine got up and ran to the closet. She turned down the lights and when she came back, she had a blanket wrapped around her.

Dan was staring at her, but she shrugged. “I’m cold. Did you pick something?”

“Oh, Dan, put on that movie we were going to watch this weekend.” London declared.

He blinked, unable to come up with an argument. With a bitter expression on his face, he sat down on the couch alone, his back stiff. Jasmine let out a giggle, flopping down next to me. When she flopped down, she put out her arms, spreading the blanket so it ended up covering my lap too. Her actions seemed too obvious. I had to think anyone who didn’t realize what was happening must be an idiot. Then again, I might have been clueless too if I hadn’t had so much experience sneaking around my sisters.

After the movie started going, London was busy in the kitchen and Dan started to watch the movie despite himself, having picked it out himself in the first place, I wasn’t surprised as I felt a hand suddenly on my knee. As her hand slowly worked its way up my thigh, I found myself curious about just how this night was going to play out. It’d be fun getting there though.