Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1)

by Brittney Musick

Curious, I walked over to examine her drawing. I was immediately awestruck. It was a portrait of Scott with his head tilted to the side with a wide smile on his face. The realness of it was amazing. She’d captured all of his features so perfectly. It had the same lifelike quality as a photograph might have. I smiled and tilted my head to the side as I continued to study it.

  I jumped when a felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned slightly to find Skylar looking impatient and also a bit uncomfortable. “Are you coming?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, but I didn’t move. I turned back to the drawing. “I was just looking.” I motioned toward the canvas, looking over my shoulder at her. “Did you do this from memory?”

  “Yeah,” Skylar shrugged. Then she scrunched up her delicate nose in worry and pursed her lips as she eyed the drawing. “Does it look really bad?”

  “No,” I assured her quickly. “It looks great. Just like him.”

  “You think so?” She sounded unusually unsure of herself, and I was certain Skylar wasn’t just fishing for compliments. “I was thinking about giving it to him as a gift, but I wasn’t sure.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” I smiled. “I’m sure Scott will love it.”

  Skylar looked away as she muttered, “Thanks.”

  It was odd seeing her so embarrassed. Skylar was normally so confident about everything. Or maybe she just seemed that way. I was struck with a sudden thought that left me wondering how much of Skylar’s confidence was real and how much of it was just bravado. It was an odd concept, but I didn’t think that I was that far off base.

  Once Skylar was able to guide me—not so gently—back to the bathroom, she took the curlers out of my hair and set to work on styling it. As she worked, she explained that she was going to do something called a French twist braid from the front around the sides and then pull the rest back into a side-swept twist. I didn’t know what any of it meant, but the result was perfect.

  I looked so pretty; I couldn’t help but grin at my reflection. After staring at myself for a prolonged moment, Skylar finally shooed me out of the bathroom so she could get ready for her date, but not before I hugged her and thanked her numerous times. Of course she was stiff and uncomfortable with the hugging, but I was too happy to care. Back in my room, I realized I had no shoes to wear with the dress, so after Skylar was out of the shower, I harassed her through the locked bathroom door. “Just go find something in my closet that matches,” she commanded in a tone that added the unspoken words, “and leave me alone.”

  After collecting a pair of frighteningly high, crimson wedge pumps, I collected Jackson’s present from my room and went downstairs to wait.

  I entered the living room as Dad was taking a drink from a glass. When he saw me, he sputtered and coughed. It took him a moment to recover, and when he finally spoke, red-faced, it was in an odd, awed tone, “Hello, Cecilia.”

  “Hey, Dad,” I greeted, sitting down on the couch. “Is Mom home yet?”

  He shook his head. “Soon, hopefully.”

  I nodded, unsure what else to say, but Dad asked, “So, big evening out with Jackson I take it?”

  I nodded again. “Apparently so.”

  “Apparently?”

  “He wouldn’t say where we’re going.”

  Dad seemed to consider that for a moment, and I worried that he might start grilling Jackson the moment he arrived. I hoped for my sake that Mom would be home before Jackson got here. I was surprised she was working so late on a holiday she should be spending with Dad.

  Instead of pressing me for information, Dad finally smiled and said, “You look very nice.”

  “Thanks,” I blushed. “Are you and Mom going out?”

  “For dinner, yes.”

  Because I couldn’t think of anything else to say, I said, “I hope you have fun.”

  Dad thanked me, and then we sat there in an awkward silence. Finally, I stood. “I think I’m going to go wait for Jackson by the front door.”

  Dad frowned slightly but nodded. “Okay, just be home by curfew.”

  “I will,” I assured him before I made a swift exit from the living room. Dad, obviously, hadn’t heard the news about Luke giving up on baseball yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been in such a seemingly good mood. I hoped maybe Luke would talk to Mom first, and she could, if possible, help soften the blow.

  I went to the foyer and sat down on one of the steps. I studied my heel-encased feet. The heels were impeccably clean and didn’t look like they’d been worn at all, which was why I’d been brave enough to slip them on while I was upstairs. They were shiny red and sexier than I would ever buy for myself. They were also peep toed, and I was suddenly glad I’d let Tegan talk me into letting her give me a manicure and pedicure over the previous weekend.

  My tummy rumbled while I waited, and I wondered for the millionth time where Jackson was taking me. Wherever it was, I hoped it involved food. Of course, some of the rumbling in my midsection could have very possibly been a flutter of nerves.

  When I saw Jackson’s car pull up along the curb through the window beside the front door, I hurried to stand and smoothed my dress. Instead of looking like an overeager fool, I waited until Jackson rang the bell before I answered the door.

  I opened my mouth to greet him but pulled up short as I took in his appearance. He was wearing khakis and an orange and navy striped polo shirt under a different leather jacket than I’d seen him wear in the past. His hair was neater than usual, as well as shorter. As he stepped into the house, the faint scene of cologne filled my nostrils. It was spicy, but subtle and clean, and made him smell just as amazing as he looked.

  I didn’t even notice the way he was looking at me until he spoke, low and almost breathlessly. “Wow, you look . . .” He shook his head, as if searching for the right word. Finally, he settled on “beautiful.”

  I bit my lip, looking down at my dress nervously. “It’s not too much?” I questioned. “You didn’t say where we’re going, so I didn’t know what I should wear. I can change if—”

  Jackson held up his hands, cutting me off, as he grinned. “You look perfect.”

  “Really?” I heard his complimentary words, but somehow I couldn’t make them fit with how I saw myself. Pretty? Sure. Beautiful? Not so much. Perfect? Never.

  As if seeing the doubt in my eyes, Jackson nodded seriously and took my hands. “You are beautiful.”

  “And strange?” I asked to lighten the mood, remembering the title of the mix CD.

  “That too,” he sighed.

  “You look very handsome,” I complimented.

  It was his turn to blush as he muttered his thanks. He quickly changed the subject. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “Just let me get my coat.”

  “Your dad isn’t going to come out and stare menacingly at me before we go?” Jackson asked as I opened the coat closet and pulled out the black, wool pea coat Mom recently bought for me at a sale at Nordstrom. He chuckled, as if to convey he was merely joking, but I could hear the underlying concern.

  “He was in a surprisingly good mood, so I think we’re in the clear,” I smiled.

  Jackson sighed his relief as he helped me pull on my coat. I buttoned it before grabbing Jackson’s present off the table by the door.

  “Okay, ready.”

  Jackson smiled, probably eager to get out of the house, and opened the door for me. I stepped out in front of him, and Jackson closed the door behind us and took my hand, walking beside me down the sidewalk to his car. He opened the door for me and then closed it once I was seated inside. It was odd, yet also exciting.

  I tried to question him once again about our destination, but mum was still the word. He refused to give me even the tiniest of clues.

  “At least I know you can be trusted to keep a secret,” I commented, resignedly.

  “I’m one of five kids,” he reminded me. “With that many people around, either trying to get in your business or asking you to keep their secrets, y
ou learn fast and early how to be trustworthy and keep your mouth shut.”

  I tried to imagine Luke or Skylar confiding their secrets in me, but the thought was entirely too bizarre.

  “I still can’t imagine growing up with so many people always around.” The noise level whenever I’d been over to Jackson’s house was so much higher than what I was used to at home. “Although, some days I wouldn’t complain much if it was just a little bit noisier. On the days when Oxide isn’t practicing, it seems too quiet.”

  “Does the band being around help make your mom not being home because of work less weird?”

  I considered that for a second. I hadn’t really thought of it that way before, but I had to admit that it did, actually. I relayed this to Jackson. “I still miss her sometimes. Mostly when I’m home alone,” I added. “But I know teaching makes her happy, and I think my dad is coming around too.”

  “I’m sure it’s been a big adjustment all around,” Jackson nodded. “My house would probably cease to function if my mom went to work full-time.”

  “But I thought you said your mom worked at the library in Oak Gorge?”

  “She does, but it’s only part-time,” Jackson explained. “Usually a couple of days a week while Chloe goes to our Gram’s and the rest of us are in school.”

  That didn’t sound so bad to me. I wondered why Mom hadn’t thought to try something like that first instead of jumping back into a full-time job. Although, truthfully, I felt her absence less and less as my own social life began to fill up, so it seemed unfair to expect Mom not to have a life of her own as well.

  Jackson turned into an apartment complex, and I looked around curiously. “What are we doing here?”

  “You’ll see,” he said ominously as he pulled the car into one of two empty parking spaces and cut the engine. “Don’t move,” he said before he pushed his door open and got out of the car.

  I stayed put while he jogged around to my side of the car and pulled the door open. He gave me his hand to help me out. Once I’d stood and stepped out of the way, he closed the door and took my hand.

  He led me over to a flight of stairs, and my curiosity continued to grow. “Seriously, Jackson, what are you up to?”

  He shook his head, grinning. “It’s a surprise.”

  I pouted a bit as he led me down the hallway on the second level of the complex. We passed several doors, but we didn’t come to a stop until we reached the last door in the corridor. Jackson thumbed through the keys on his key fob before he finally slid one into the lock. Instead of turning the key, though, he turned back to me and sternly said, “Close your eyes.”

  I just looked at him, uncertain, and he stuck out his bottom lip and widened his bright eyes in the most adorable pout. Finally, I relented with a sigh and closed my eyes. I listened as the keys jingled as he unlocked the door. The door creaked open. Then I felt Jackson’s large hands on my shoulders, nudging and guiding me inside.

  “Don’t peek,” he warned as the warmth from his hands disappeared.

  “I’m not.” Instead, I listened as he moved around the room. I couldn’t even begin to guess what he was doing and I figured asking would be pointless since my attempts to glean some information from Jackson had proved fruitless so far.

  After what felt like forever, Jackson’s hands returned to my shoulders as he came to stand behind me. He leaned in and whispered, “Okay, open your eyes.”

  My mouth fell open at the sight that greeted me. The room was dark, save for the abundance of lighted candles that lit the room in a soft, warm glow. In the center of the room, a red and white checked blanket covered the floor. Atop it sat a large picnic basket and a silver bucket filled with ice and what looked like the neck of a wine bottle.

  It looked like something out of a movie, and it was so surreal that this scene was staged for me. My chest suddenly seemed much too small to contain my swelling heart. When I could form them, my words came out in a whisper. “How did you do this?”

  Jackson wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his head on top of mine. I’d never noticed before how perfectly I fit just below his chin, but it felt safe and warm wrapped up in his arms. “Well, I had to recruit Jordan for some help,” he admitted. “Do you like it?”

  He sounded nervous, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why. “I love it.” I turned my head to the side and—thanks to the heels I wore—pressed my lips to his in a soft, chaste kiss. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  “That’s because everyone else is blind. They haven’t realized how great you are,” he grinned. “Oh, well, their loss is my gain.”

  I pulled away from him, blushing, and before he could say anything else to cause the flames on my face to burn hotter, I said, “I’m starved. What’s for dinner?”

  “Well,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the blanket. “Come along and we shall see.”

  I sat down trying to be as graceful as possible while wearing a dress and high heels, which is to say: not very. Jackson was kind enough to overlook my clumsiness.

  “What’s in the bucket?” I asked both out of curiosity and to remove the mental image of me fumbling around to sit on the floor from his mind. “You’re not trying to get me drunk, are you?”

  “Ha,” Jackson scoffed. “No, it’s sparkling grape juice.”

  “Good to know,” I laughed as he took the bottle out of the ice and twisted the cap off. “Apparently I’m a sloppy drunk.”

  Jackson smirked as he grabbed a couple of glasses from the picnic basket. “So I recall.”

  I grimaced as he poured us each a glass of sparkling grape juice. “So, are you going to tell me whose apartment we’ve invaded?” I glanced around, trying to piece it together. In truth, without the ambience Jackson had created with the candles, the place looked like just another average apartment.

  “It’s Jordan’s,” he grinned, handing me a glass.

  I took a sip, savoring the sweet flavor and glancing around as if expecting Jackson’s cocky brother to jump out at me. “Where is he?”

  “He’s out for the night,” Jackson replied, taking a drink. “He had a date.”

  “For the night? As opposed to for the evening?”

  “Pretty much what I asked,” Jackson laughed, shaking his head. “He met a girl in one of his classes, and asked her out when she let it slip—probably on purpose—that she didn’t have any plans tonight.”

  “So out of the goodness of his heart, Jordan asked her out?” My words were saturated with sarcasm, causing Jackson to laugh again. “Charming.”

  “Yeah, but that’s just Jordan,” Jackson shrugged. His words sounded casual enough, but I wondered for the first time if Jackson ever felt the way about Jordan that I felt about Skylar. Even though Jackson was gorgeous, he was friendly but certainly more reserved and modest than his older brother.

  “So,” I inquired as my stomach silently grumbled, “what have you packed for us?”

  “I’m so glad you asked,” Jackson grinned. He reached into the already open basket and began to pull out items. First came plates and cutlery, and then came the food: turkey and cheese on Italian bread with lettuce, tomato and mayo as well as creamy potato salad and chips from The Bean. To anyone else it may not have sounded elegant or romantic, but it was heavenly to me. Even though The Bean was predominantly a coffeehouse, what food they did serve was amazing.

  “How did you know what kind of sandwich to get?”

  “I have my sources,” Jackson winked.

  “You asked Tegan,” I accused.

  He grinned. “Perhaps.”

  “These sandwiches are really good,” Jackson commented once we dug in.

  “I have good taste, huh?”

  “Of course,” Jackson grinned. “You’re going out with me, aren’t you?”

  “Funny.” I smiled in spite of myself. “Keep talking all cocky like that and you’ll start sounding just like Jordan.”

  Jackson snor
ted, like the idea was implausible, and I rolled my eyes as I went back to eating.

  Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was hungry because Jackson and I did away with our dinner in short order. Then Jackson suggested we exchange gifts. I was yet again struck with the fear that Jackson’s gift would overshadow mine since he’d already went all out with creating a mysterious surprise and a romantic setting. Even so, I sucked it up and we agreed to open our gifts at the same time.

  Jackson pulled a medium sized rectangular box out of the picnic basket and handed it to me and I presented him with the small square gift I’d had nearby most of the evening. On the count of three, we both tore into our gifts.

  From the size of the box I’d been worried, but then I pulled out a white stuffed bear with a red bow. It was holding a matching red heart that said, “Be Mine!” I breathed a sigh of relief, holding the small bear to my chest, as a joyful smile broke out across my face.

  “Thank you,” I breathed. “I love it.”

  And it was true. I’d been one of those kids with an overabundance of stuffed animals. I used to sleep nearly buried in them. I’d finally allowed Mom to store the majority of them away in the attic. A few of my most treasured stuffed animals still resided on my bed. I wondered if Jackson noticed that the one time he’d been in my room or if it was just a lucky coincidence.

  For his part, Jackson also seemed impressed with my gift to him. “I admire your craftiness,” he grinned.

  Due to limited funds and not wanting to ask my parents for money for a gift for my boyfriend, I decided to use my imagination and make him something. It felt somewhat unoriginal, but all I could come up with was a mix CD. Given Jackson’s gift to me at Christmas, I thought he would appreciate it though.

  Since I lacked Jackson’s artistic ability, I spent all of Sunday piecing together pictures I’d taken of Jackson and I in the last month and a half with my new camera while using some scrapbooking supplies Mom gave me to create the cover art. I decided on a romantic theme, choosing songs that were both sexy and sweet by artists that ranged from independent and obscure to popular and current. I called it “Jackson and Silly’s Monster Make-Out Mix.” I was pretty pleased with the result, and I thought Jackson could appreciate my effort.