“Hi, Alan.” I accept, because that’s the polite thing to do, and try my hardest to avoid, Lauren’s, his daughter’s, eyes. She makes me . . . uncomfortable. We would never work, no matter how much my parents try to convince me—and themselves—otherwise.

“Are you going out?” he asks as I smile my hello to his wife, still avoiding Lauren’s eyes.

“Meeting some friends.” I skirt past them and make my way toward the lane. “Good seeing you,” I call back, feeling untold guilt for leaving Jake at the mercy of our parents, their insufferable friends, and their daughter.

I pull out a pack of Marlboros, slowing to a stop when I hear Jake calling me. That’s a crisis call. He wants saving.

I turn . . .

And crash into my father. Fuck. It was a warning call.

Jake gives me apologetic eyes. “Get back in the house, Jake.” Dad’s voice is cold, stoic, and nearly a whisper. It pisses me off, and Dad knows it. My irritation only multiplies when Jake backs up, his silent apologies multiplying. He has nothing to be sorry about.

I pull a drag of my cigarette and exhale over my words. “I did the math paper. I helped Mum chop veg for her soup. I swept the patio. What more do you want?”

“I want a respectful son.”

“You have one,” I say, pointing over his shoulder to Jake’s retreating form. “Expecting two would be greedy.”

“Don’t give me your smart mouth, boy. You’ll be out on your arse faster than you can blink.”

I shake my head to myself and turn, getting on my way. He won’t throw me out. He’d never be able to face the questions posed by his equally arrogant friends at the country club. “I’m just meeting some friends.”

“We have visitors.”

“I said hello as I left.”

I hear Jake in the distance calling Dad, trying to appease our father, telling him to let it go. I hate that he’s caught in the middle of our clashes. I hate that he’s trying to protect me and at the same time keep our parents happy.

“It is not okay, Jake,” Dad barks. “Go make yourself useful and help your mother get our guests drinks.”

My hackles rise, and I pick up my stride before I blow my stack and do some true damage.