After a few minutes, I break away. “We can go inside now.”
“Really? Because I was starting to enjoy this snow thing.”
“As much as I like the snow, I am getting cold.”
“Then let’s get you inside.” He holds my mitten-covered hand and we start to head back.
“Garret.” I stop walking. “Thanks for the date. I had a really good time.”
He kisses my cheek. “You’re welcome. But the date’s not over yet. Is it?”
“No, it’s not over.” I smile. “I just wanted to say that I had—or am having— fun on the date. That’s all.”
“So are you saying there’ll be another one?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
We go inside, stopping at my room so I can get some clothes to sleep in.
“Jade, let’s stay down here tonight.”
“In my room? Why? Your room is way better and it has the TV.”
“Yeah, but I want to be here in case you get one of those calls again.”
“He only called that one time. I don’t think he’ll call again.”
“You said he called last night.”
“I don’t know if it was him. It could’ve been some kids playing a joke.”
“Let’s just stay here. I’ll go get my stuff.”
He’s gone before I can talk him out of it. I change into pajama pants and a t-shirt. He returns wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.
Seeing us in our sleep clothes, I realize that our relationship is rather odd. Most couples wouldn’t sleep next to each other like this without it leading somewhere. But then again, maybe it will lead somewhere now that Garret and I are officially dating.
I climb into bed. Garret lies next to me. My blue ceiling lights are glowing above us.
“I’m not tired yet,” he says, turning toward me, his hand resting on my hip.
“I’m not either.” I smile as I flip on my side to face him.
He reaches around my head, burying his fingers in my hair and drawing me in for a slow, sexy kiss that sends a wave of fiery heat through my core. He lowers his hand to my back and pulls me closer. His kisses get faster and more intense and I start to think this is going to lead somewhere. Someplace we haven’t been before.
I feel a flash of nervousness thinking this could lead to sex. And although I want that with him, I’m not sure if I’m ready. At least not tonight. Plus, I don’t really know what I’m doing. The one and only time I had sex it lasted for about a minute. When it was over, I wasn’t even sure I’d had sex. Okay, obviously I knew I had sex but it was over so fast that I didn’t learn anything from it. And it definitely didn’t live up to the hype. I like to pretend it didn’t even happen.
Garret slips his hand under my shirt, a move he hasn’t even attempted before, despite the fact that I wanted him to. My breathing becomes fast and uneven as I feel him cup my breast and run his thumb along the tip.
I nudge his shirt up, urging him to take it off. He does and I run my hand along his bare chest. I sit up slightly encouraging him to take my shirt off as well, but he doesn’t.
“Go ahead,” I whisper.
“I don’t want to rush it,” he whispers back.
Rush it? Rush what? It’s just a shirt and his hand’s up there anyway so what’s the big deal? It’s not the time to argue about it, so I lie back down, just happy that he’s finally touching me this way.
I feel his heart beating fast under my hand which is still on his chest. He playfully licks my bottom lip, then kisses it. My pulse kicks up another notch as his hand trails down my stomach, just above the waistband of my pajama pants. I wait for him to go farther. When he doesn’t I work my hand down his rock hard abs and under his sweats, rubbing my palm along the front of his boxers.
“Jade,” he groans softly against my lips.
My hand runs up and down the length of him. I’ve never touched him this way. I’ve never even seen what he has going on down there. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but now that I know it’s totally turning me on. I should’ve known it’d be as perfect as the rest of him.
I’m dying for him to do more to me but his hand is still at my stomach. As if he can read my mind, he finally slides it under my pajama pants.
And then the phone rings.
The sound startles us both and we freeze for a second. It rings again but I’m not letting the phone interrupt this. “Just ignore it.”
Garret sits up. “It could be that guy calling.”
I lie on my back, annoyed. “Who cares? He can call back later.”
The phone keeps ringing. Garret gets up to answer it.
“Wait. Let me get it.” I bolt past him toward the phone. “He won’t say anything if you answer. And if it’s Frank or Ryan, I don’t want them knowing you’re in my room this late.”
I pick up the phone. “Hello?”
At first there’s silence, then I hear him talking. It’s the same deep voice. “You didn’t do as you were told, Jade. Get rid of the letter. This is your last warning.”
9
My face must be white because Garret grabs the phone from my hand and yells into it. “Who the fuck is this?” He listens. “Oh, now you can’t speak? You’re such a fucking coward that you can’t say who’s calling?” He listens again, but I can tell the guy’s not responding. “Leave her the fuck alone! Do you hear me, asshole? Stop calling here. Don’t you ever fucking call here again.” He slams the phone down.
“Jade, what did he say?” Garret has both hands on my shoulders, staring down at me to answer.
“He said I didn’t get rid of the letter.”
“How the fuck would he know that?” Garret is really freaked out by this, even more than when I told him about the previous call. Did he not believe me? Or is it more real now that he’s witnessing it?
“I don’t know. I mean, last time he called he said they were watching me, but I didn’t believe him.”
“What else did he say just now?”
“That it’s my last warning.” Saying those words sends a shiver down my spine. I don’t what that means. Will he hurt Frank? Ryan? Me?
Garret pulls me into a hug. Not his usual friend hug, but a tight, protective hug, like he really thinks I’m in danger.
“Maybe the guy’s just trying to scare me and won’t actually do anything,” I say trying to reassure both Garret and me. “I’m sure he won’t call back after you yelled at him like that. Now he knows I have a boyf—” I stop before I say it. “I mean, a friend who will kick his ass if he calls again.”
Garret loosens his hug and leans back a bit. I notice a slight grin on his face. “He knows you have a what?”
I feel my face heat up. “A friend. A guy friend who will kick his ass.”
“I don’t know, Jade. I could’ve sworn you called me something else.”
He’s not going to let it go. I feel my face get even hotter. “Nope. Friend. That’s what I said.”
He leans down to whisper in my ear. “I think you called me your boyfriend.”
I back away slightly. “What? No way. We’ve been on one date. That’s crazy.”
“It’s okay, you know.” The cocky smile appears. “You can call me your boyfriend. I’d actually like it.”
“No, I don’t want to tie you down like that.” It’s such a lie. I don’t know why I always say the opposite of what I want. Of course I want him to be my boyfriend. I don’t even want to think about anyone else having him.
“What would you say about being my girlfriend? That way, I’d be the one tying you down. And I’d be your boyfriend by default.”
His tone is much lighter now. This boyfriend/girlfriend talk has distracted him from the call, which is good because it gives us both a chance to calm down.
“Hmm. So if I was your girlfriend, you’d finally make a move?”
He looks offended. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I gave you all kinds of chances to take advantage of me just now and you didn’t take
them.”
His face gets serious. “Because I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“Why not? I’m sure you’ve done it plenty of other times. According to Blake you’ve taken advantage of at least 10 other girls.”
“You know better than to listen to him.” He runs his hand down the side of my face and cups my cheek. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, like we have to rush into anything.”
“I don’t feel pressured. And we’re not rushing. We’ve been dating for more than two months.”
“We haven’t been officially dating until tonight. And you should take things slow. Your first time is a big deal.”
I give him a confused look. “First time? This wouldn’t be my first time.”
“Oh. Sorry. I just thought . . . you said you never really had a boyfriend so . . .” He’s completely flustered.
“Yeah, but I dated. I just didn’t consider any of them to be boyfriends.” I suddenly realize how slutty that sounds. I’ve had sex but no boyfriends? “What I mean is that I take the boyfriend title more seriously than other people do. And I didn’t have any serious relationships in high school.” No serious relationships? But I had sex? My attempt to sound less slutty failed miserably.
“Yeah, okay. I got it.” He looks a little disappointed. But I’m 19. Did he really think I was still a virgin?
“It was just one time.” I blurt it out, not at all intending for that little secret to spill out.
He doesn’t respond. So in my attempt to fill the awkward silence I continue to overshare.
“It was a guy from another school. Homecoming. Last year. It was a mistake. I don’t even know why I did it.” Actually I do know why. I was trying to prove to my dead mother that I could have sex without having it destroy my life the way she said it would.
“You don’t need to tell me the details,” Garret says.
“Well, anyway, it’s not my first time, so you don’t have to get all uptight about it.”
“I’m not being uptight about it. I just don’t want to rush things. And doing it on our first date is rushing things.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not our first date, Garret.”
“Well, it is to me. So just wait a little longer. I promise I’ll make it worth the wait.” The cocky smile reappears, and combined with his promise he’s got me all hot and bothered again like before the phone rang. But I try to hide it.
“Just so you know, I had no intention of having sex with you tonight. So even if you’d tried, I would’ve turned you down.”
He kisses my cheek. “Good.” He leads me to the bed to sit down. “Now can we talk about this mystery caller?”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I don’t know who it is, so I can’t do anything about it.”
“Get rid of the letter. Just do what he says. Once it’s gone he won’t bother you anymore.”
“Why should I have to do what he says? That’s just wrong.”
“You already read the letter. You know what it says. So just get rid of it. What do you need it for now?”
“It’s the only thing I have from my mom. It’s in her handwriting. I don’t want to get rid of it.”
“This guy could be crazy. You don’t know what he’s capable of. And if he’s watching you, what does that mean? That he’s someone on campus? How does he know you still have the letter?”
I slide farther back on the bed and slip under the covers. “I don’t know. But I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m going to sleep.”
“We can’t ignore this, Jade. This guy isn’t going away.” Garret gets in bed next to me, holding me close to him. “And from now on I don’t want you going anywhere alone. Stay in groups when you go to class or anywhere else. Or come get me upstairs and I’ll go with you.”
“Garret, you’re being crazy.”
“No, I’m being careful. Now promise me you won’t go anywhere alone.”
“Fine. But you’re going to change your mind when I’m bothering you all the time to go everywhere with me.”
He kisses my cheek. “You’re never bothering me, so don’t ever think that. And I’m not leaving you alone here during Thanksgiving break. There’s no fucking way. It’s too dangerous.”
“Oh, please. The guy will be eating his turkey dinner. He’s not going to do anything to me on a holiday. And I don’t plan to leave my room, so I’m sure I’ll be safe.”
“There’s no use arguing about it, Jade. I’m staying here.”
“You have plans with your family. The Cayman Islands, remember?”
“I’ll tell them I can’t go. They can’t force me to. Besides Katherine would love to get rid of me. And I’d rather spend Thanksgiving with you anyway.”
“Your dad won’t allow it, especially if he knows you’re not going because of me.”
“I’ll deal with my dad.”
I don’t respond. I’d love it if Garret spent Thanksgiving with me, but it’s too much to ask. It wouldn’t be right for him to miss Thanksgiving with his family. Still, it’s nice of him to offer. I fall asleep imagining scenes of Garret and me having a real Thanksgiving dinner together.
Sunday morning, we have our usual breakfast at Al’s Pancake House. Garret doesn’t even mention the mysterious phone call, probably because he’s finally realizing there really isn’t anything we can do. We could tell the police but what would they do? Nothing. Because there isn’t anything they could do either.
Garret spends the rest of the day catching up on homework while I hang out with Harper. I haven’t seen her much since she met this new guy. She seems really happy. Way happier than she was with the last guy she dated.
Later that night she makes me watch a holiday-themed romance movie that’s on TV even though Christmas is still more than a month away. Harper loves those sappy romance movies. And now that she’s dating someone, she loves them even more.
“That was so sad, but so good,” she says when the movie’s over. She’s been sniffling for the last half hour. I don’t understand why people like movies that make you cry. Why would anyone want to intentionally do something that makes them cry? “Did you like it, Jade?”
“Um, yeah, it was okay.” I get up, stretching my arms out. “I need to go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Hey, I saw Garret leaving your room this morning.” She gets this excited tone to her voice. “Did something happen last night? I mean, I know you guys do that sleepover thing sometimes, but he seemed even happier than normal when I saw him in the hall.”
“He did? Well, no, we didn’t do anything. Just slept.”
She seems disappointed. “That’s so weird. I don’t get you two.”
“But we did have our first date last night.”
She rolls her eyes. “Again. Weird. You two have probably been on about 50 dates by now.”
“I know. But as of last night we’re officially dating.” Saying that out loud to someone makes me smile.
“So he’s finally your boyfriend?”
Hearing her call Garret my boyfriend makes me smile even more. “Yes.”
“Well, it’s about time. Maybe we could double date.”
“Sure. I’ll mention it to Garret.”
“So when are you leaving for Thanksgiving?”
Before I can even enjoy the high of telling her that Garret is my boyfriend the dreaded holiday topic comes up again. “I’m staying here. It’s too far to go back home.”
“I’m from California. That’s way farther than Iowa. And I’m going home.”
“I know. But flights are really expensive over the holiday and it’s too far to drive.”
“So you’ll be here all alone?”
“No, I have plans.” I race to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Who do you have plans with? Everyone will be gone.”
I don’t answer. I’m too tired to come up with a fake story she’ll believe.
“Are you going to the Kensington’s?” she as
ks cautiously.
“No. They’re going to some tropical island for Thanksgiving.”
“Then who? Or are you saying Garret is staying here? No way. His dad would never go for that, at least not if he’s like you say he is.”
She’s right. Garret is crazy to think he’ll get away with not going on his family’s trip.
“Harper, I just made that stuff up. I don’t have plans. I’ll be here for Thanksgiving. It’s just that I don’t like people feeling sorry for me being all alone. Because there’s no need to. I’m actually excited about getting some time to just sleep and catch up on stuff.”
She has her pity face on. She’s definitely feeling sorry for me. “Well, I’ll call you every day from California, okay?”
“Sure. Goodnight, Harper.”
As I’m unlocking the door to my room, Garret appears in the hallway. “Hey.” He kisses me. “I missed you today.”
“Garret, we’re not going to be one of those couples who can’t even go a day without seeing each other. I need my space.”
He laughs. “I can’t even say that I missed you?”
I go in my room, tossing my keys on the desk. “Not if it’s only been a few hours. It has to be at least 24 hours. No, 48 hours. Or maybe a week.”
He closes the door and backs me against the wall, his arms on both sides of me. “You can’t tell me what I can say or when I can say it. If I want to say it, I’ll say it. I might even say it again. I missed you. There. I said it twice now. Within two minutes.”
“You’re really annoying me,” I say with a smile. “Keep it up and you’re not going to be my boyfriend for much longer.”
“That’s the first time you’ve called me that. I like it.” He goes to kiss me but I turn my head at the last minute. “Hey, what’s that for? You’re playing hard to get now? Last night you got mad at me for not making a move.”
“That was last night. This is now. If you’re gonna be with me, you’ve gotta learn to keep up.” I duck under his arm and go to my drawer to get my pajamas.
“I was thinking I’d stay down here in case that guy calls again.”
“You don’t need to do that. I don’t think he’ll call after just calling last night. Besides we could get in trouble if you’re sleeping down here all the time.”
Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) Page 7
