by Bird, Peggy
Okay then, no need to worry about Ben clamming up. He would be a font of information if Matt could get him to shift the conversation back to Jade. Matt debated how to ask a question that would steer Ben in the right direction, but Ben mistook the silence.
“Yeah, so … Tamblin’s is your best bet nearby. Sorry about over sharing. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Matt decided he’d work Jade into a later conversation and let it drop for the time being. As he turned to leave, Ben turned his attention back to his computer screen. With a few deft keystrokes, he was surfing the Internet again.
• • •
“So, where is he taking you?” Meg pushed a pile of discarded clothing to one-half of Jade’s bed and reclined on the other half.
Jade wore a black knee-length dress that was fitted through the torso. She pulled at her bra straps and adjusted herself in the dress. “I’m not sure.” Jade shrugged and wandered over to her dresser, where various boxes and baskets overflowed with jewelry. She pawed through the piles, pulled out two different necklaces, and held both up for Meg to see. Meg pointed to the one in Jade’s right hand. Jade smiled, nodded, and put the other one back in a box of carved wood.
The chosen necklace was one of Jade’s designs and looked like lace and tree branches. The design was actually one that Jade had come up with while lying in the shade of a tree, looking up at the sky through the branches. It was a beautifully cast piece of gold with small stones incorporated in a rough, unpolished way. The design was both elegant and somehow raw at the same time. Jade loved the combination.
She handed the necklace to Meg and turned her back, sweeping her hair up and out of the way so Meg could lend a hand. “Well, my bet is on Tamblin’s. Where else is there?”
“Thanks.” Jade turned back around and presented herself with a goofy flourish. “Well? What do you think?”
Meg tilted her head in consideration then narrowed her eyes. The inspection made Jade shift from one foot to the other and roll her eyes.
Finally, Meg smiled. “Very nice, Sawyer. Lookin’ good. How do you feel?”
“A little nervous. It’s been a while.”
Meg laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure it’s like riding a bike. You don’t forget how.”
“What if you’ve always been terrible at bike riding?”
Meg looked confused. “You’re not good at riding a bike?”
“No! I’m not good at dating. We were talking about the date, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Really, you aren’t good at dating? What, specifically, is the problem? Maybe I can help.”
Jade threw her hands up in the air. “If I knew, I could fix it! It just seems, well … awkward and weird. Something always isn’t right, but I never know what it is.”
“That makes no sense,” Meg mused, staring at the ceiling.
“I know it doesn’t.” Jade flopped down next to Meg, heedless of the pile of discarded clothes on the bed and heedless of her little black dress. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about the last date she had been on. It hadn’t been pretty. They had talked, mostly small talk. Regular first date stuff. He was nice, but there had been no point to the conversation and no spark. He had put his hand over hers and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, but there had been no excitement, no tingle. He was good looking, smart, and perfectly acceptable, but there was absolutely no connection. Jade sighed.
“Look,” Meg said, “you claim you don’t even want to date Matt, so that should take the pressure off. I mean, if it doesn’t go well, he’ll just lose interest that much sooner.” Meg looked over at Jade. “Although in that dress, you could be a cardboard box and he might still be interested. Anyway, assuming he isn’t too shallow or too horny and assuming you tank, he’ll lose interest sooner and maybe even forfeit the bet. You should pray that you mess this up.”
Jade cut a glance toward Meg. “It sounds good in theory, but I just know something will go wrong.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”
“Gee, thanks. That’s comforting.”
Meg smiled and stood up from the bed. “Hey! What are friends for?’
• • •
Matt was nervous. It was weird. He had been on hundreds, maybe thousands of dates, and with women that were a lot higher maintenance than Jade. Technically, this wasn’t even a real date. It was a bet date, whatever that was. He wiped his hands against his pants. Crap.
There had been a time when dates used to make him nervous, when he was in high school, before he had hit his stride. He had been gangly and awkward and had spent a lot of time in the library. He had had crushes and occasionally stumbled through a lame exchange of phone numbers, wiping his hands on his pants the whole time.
Then he went to college, put on a little muscle, and the girls suddenly viewed his hanging out by himself on the quad with a notebook as wildly mysterious and romantic. They would pursue him, give out clear signals, hand him a phone number, smile directly into his eyes, and ask him, oh so sweetly, to please call. The nerves had gradually disappeared. Matt had almost forgotten what it was like to be nervous around a girl … a woman. And, in a way, that was the whole point. Weren’t you supposed to be a little nervous, a little excited, a little … alive?
Matt smiled. He headed out the door to pick up his date. No guts, no glory.
He took the brief walk to Jade’s cabin, breathing in the crisp evening air, listening to crickets chirping in the underbrush, and wondering what Jade would be wearing. Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter—she would be Jade no matter what. Prickly, sparkling, funny Jade. Nonetheless, Matt savored the anticipation of that moment when she would open the door and stand there, smiling or frowning or glaring. Again, it really didn’t matter to him. He would breathe in the scent of her and sweep her face with his gaze, taking it all in. Taking her all in.
The walk from cabin seven to cabin nine was over quickly, and Matt was face to door. Music pounded from the cabin, and he could almost pick out Jade’s voice belting lyrics inside. He knocked loudly and waited. Then he knocked again, harder this time. And waited.
Chapter 8
Jade shimmied and strutted around her cabin singing loudly. She felt good. No, she felt really gooooood. Free. Meg’s speech had sunk in and Jade had taken it to heart. She had given herself complete permission to fail. There was something wonderful in just accepting that this might go horribly wrong. It couldn’t possibly be worse than her imagination, so there was nowhere to go but up. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror over her dresser as she danced past and waved. Hi there, sexy! The knock at the door hit off the beat of the music, or she wouldn’t have heard it. She wiggled over to her stereo and turned down the volume, pulled at her dress, and then walked over to the door. Okay, this is it. Deep breath.
Jade opened the door and Matt stood there, a slightly goofy grin on his face. He was trying to keep his face straight, serious. He was going for the face he wore when he’d first arrived at Lakehaven, eyes hidden behind his aviators, where what you noticed first were cheekbones and a strong jaw. Yup, he was valiantly attempting his “shades face.” Jade much preferred the goofy grin that was asserting itself. It was such a refreshing look that Jade felt laughter bubbling up from inside, and rather than stifle it, she just laughed. Yeah, she felt that good.
And why not? He was fun to look at: tall and lean, broad in the shoulders and so alive. So Jade just stared. It was a simple thing to stare and smile. So much easier than being careful. And that was her assignment, wasn’t it? A simple date. Jade was good at assignments.
“I’ll just grab my bag.” Jade shot one more smile at Matt and turned to her cabin. She had picked up for a change and the cabin looked pretty decent. The tune of “Head over Heels” by the Go Go’s played in her head, and she walked in time to the beat as she crossed the room to pick up her purse.
• • •
Jade opened the door and all Matt’s rational thought processes ceased. Holy
mother lode. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was quick, which drew his attention to the neckline of her dress. Or maybe it was something else that drew his gaze downward. Like her exquisite … décolletage. Yeah, that could be it, too. Either way, he was gobsmacked, and it must’ve shown because, as he stood staring, she stared back and began to laugh. And he really couldn’t blame her; the whole staring thing was pretty ridiculous. But he couldn’t quite get himself to stop, so he slid his gaze down further. The dress was, thank you God, fitted, black, and just above the knee. And suddenly the patella seemed like a highly appealing erogenous zone, one worthy of worshipping with his tongue.
He was pretty much savoring that thought until she turned around to get her purse and then, thank you, thank you God, there were stocking seams and a rear view that included her sashaying across the room, causing her dress to shift back and forth across her butt. Her hair was a black curtain that swung from side to side across the satiny skin of her back, and the tiny portion of his brain that was still working could just imagine what all of that hair would feel like draped over his chest. Well, as to the question of what Jade would look like for their first date, there was his answer: Stu-freakin’-pendous.
Matt cleared his throat and smiled at Jade. “You look nice.”
Jade smiled back. “Thanks.”
• • •
Tamblin’s was a perfect place for a first date. It was cozy without being too dark or intimate. There was a candle on each table, but the flicker was subtle rather than severe. You could hear your date across the table easily, but you were also afforded the privacy of knowing that the table next to you wasn’t listening in on your date. It was Jade’s favorite restaurant.
The best part about Tamblin’s wasn’t the atmosphere, it was the food. There was nothing pretentious or elaborate about the menu. Everything on it was easy to pronounce. It was also good. The chef had worked at a premiere steak house in Chicago and then moved back east about eight years ago to be closer to his aging parents. The end result was that this small town restaurant had pretty great food, and Jade would trade good food for atmosphere any day. It was a pet peeve of hers when some place became the hip new spot just because of its décor. If you really wanted décor, you could go to a Pottery Barn.
Most of the waiters at Tamblin’s knew Jade, at least her face, and there were definitely some speculative stares as they took her in, her attire, and the hottie walking in behind her with his hand at the small of her back. Matt was behind her so she couldn’t see him, but she would bet money that he had his “shades” face back on, even without the shades. If he did, he probably looked like a Michael Kors magazine ad come to life, like he owned any room he entered. It was both appealing and annoying at the same time.
They sat down and Matt helped to push her seat in. For the first time in Jade’s life, the maneuver actually worked. Usually the timing would be off and the chair would hit her in the back of the knees or she would be forced to lower herself into the chair in slow, awkward degrees like some strange exercise program done in heels and a skirt. Mostly, she ended up looking silly and gritting her teeth until it was over. But, in either the most perfectly timed glide or by some alignment of the stars, the chair slid into place a hair’s breadth behind her knees and at the precise moment that she was sitting. It was now wildly appealing and supremely annoying at the same time. Jade perused the menu and debated her choices. There were some really great dishes on the menu, but what she really wanted was the cheeseburger and fries. Granted, it was Gouda cheese and sweet potato fries. She should probably just order a salad. With dressing on the side.
“I assume you’ve been here before. What’s good?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, I have. How can you tell?”
“You got a lot of looks on the way in.”
Jade resisted preening. “You noticed that too?”
“Writer.” Matt pointed to himself.
“Oh, yeah. Well,” Jade said, scanning the menu, “do you prefer beef or seafood?”
“What are you ordering?” Matt asked.
“Um.” Oh, what the hell. “Cheeseburger.” Jade lifted her chin slightly and dared Matt to even look at her funny.
Matt smiled. “Great. We’ll make it two.”
“And a beer. They have my favorite microbrew on tap here.”
“Two of those then.” Matt snapped his menu shut and lifted his eyes to her and smiled. “What’s your favorite animal?”
“What?” Jade was confused.
“Favorite animal?”
“I like the word platypus, but they’re actually kind of creepy looking. I guess I like woodchucks because, well, they chuck wood, and what’s not to like about that? Why do you ask?”
“This is the ‘getting to know each other better’ portion of the date. Aisle seat or window?”
“Are these questions from some male magazine article about dating?”
“No, but they should be. I’ll write one.”
Jade just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’ll be a winner. Aisle. My turn. Favorite Hepburn: Audrey or Katherine?”
“Kate. I also like Kate Winslet and Catherine the Great, although I’m not a fan of Kate Spade purses.”
“You know who Kate Spade is?”
“I dated this woman once who was obsessed.”
Jade nodded sagely. “That can happen. I prefer Coach bags myself.”
Matt shot Jade a worried look. “Please tell me we are not going to talk about purses.”
“Okay, no purse talk, got it.” Jade grinned at Matt. “May I assume that moratorium also applies to shoes?”
Matt grinned back. “You may.”
The waiter arrived then to take their orders, and they quickly resumed talking. In some ways it was like any first date. They talked about themselves and asked questions. They smiled at each other and laughed at each other’s jokes. But for the first time in a long while, Jade was actually interested in the answers. She thought she’d had this guy figured out. She had him fixed in her mind as a cocky New York writer with a social calendar and an entourage, but his answers just didn’t fit. This person sitting across from her wasn’t that at all. The cocky attitude was a façade to hide the normal, charming, funny person underneath. The question was, why hide that stuff?
Jade decided to find out. “Can I ask you a question?’
Matt laughed. “I thought that was what we were doing.”
“This one’s a bit more personal.”
“More personal than sharing about your love of woodchucks? Uh oh.”
Jade smiled. “Yeah, this is where I ruin things by getting serious.” Jade made quote gestures in the air as she said, “serious.”
Matt nodded. “Okay, I’m ready for it. Shoot.”
Jade fidgeted with the silverware, flipping her fork tines down then back up again. She noticed herself playing with the silverware and could almost hear her dad say, “Jade, don’t play with that.” She stopped and looked at Matt. He was waiting patiently. “Okay, here’s the thing. You have this persona, this slick thing you do where you … I’m not even sure I know what you do, but I don’t think it’s you exactly. There’s nothing wrong with it, it just seems so … not you.”
Matt sat back in his seat and steepled his fingers. He nodded once. “My manager, Sam, hates it. I call it ‘being Mr. Writer.’ It started out as a kind of joke before I even sold my first novel. If I acted like this big hotshot writer, I’d be perceived as this big hotshot writer. Then later, I realized that it also kept fans from getting too friendly, which was convenient. Then I started to use it other times when it was convenient. Now, it’s almost automatic, at least in public. Drives Sam crazy.”
Jade smiled. “I bet. You guys have been friends a long time?”
“Forever.” Matt smiled. He looked like he was remembering some past moment, some little piece of their history, one of the thousands of little moments that make up a friendship. It was a devilish smile, yet it somehow made Jade feel like she was in
on the joke. Their eyes caught for a moment, and Jade felt a warmth spread through her.
“Meg—you met her in the kitchen—she and I have been friends for about fifteen years. I can’t even remember what it was like before I met her.”
“Mmm, I know what you mean. I don’t have a huge circle of friends, but life would be weird without them.” Matt leaned forward and rested his hands on the table.
The movement caught Jade’s eye, and she just stared at his hands for a moment. They were lean and long-fingered. She could imagine them flying over the keyboard of his computer, and she could remember what they looked like wrapped around a coffee cup. They were tan and lightly dusted with blonde hair that you could just barely see when the low light of the restaurant hit them just right. They looked strong but not huge, and for some reason she had a sudden need to feel the texture of his skin. She reached out to touch them, and Matt sat there, stone still, and let her. He didn’t move or turn his hands palm up to take her hand the way most men would do. She could feel him watching her as her fingers played, feather-light, across the backs of his hands. She started to pull back and he finally did roll his hands palm up, but still, he didn’t grab her. He just cradled her hands in his, his fingertips warm against her wrists. She could feel his pulse at her fingertips, and it thudded there, tugging against things deeper in her body and making her catch her breath.
“Oh my God! Jade, is that you?” Just like that, the spell was broken. Jade broke contact as she swiveled toward the voice. A part of her brain, the part in denial, was confused and wondered who it was. Another part of her already knew, and stiffened up even as she turned to see the freight train of a blonde barreling down on their table with Jade’s ex-fiancé, Nick, in tow.
Well, this sucks. Stacy-the-backstabber-Eames and Nick-the-cheater-Halloway were party crashing, and Stacy looked like she actually planned to stay a while. Never mind that Jade’s posture had gone from relaxed to stiff and she was visibly scowling. That was just the kind of person Stacy was. Stacy would leave when she was good and ready and not before. She had always been pushy, even back when they were roommates. At the time, it was a quality Jade had admired. It made Stacy seem confident and bold. Now Jade saw it as insecure and rude. In another person, Jade might’ve chalked it up to stupidity, but she had learned the hard way not to underestimate Stacy. Stacy was anything but stupid. Even now, she wore a calculating expression, assessing the situation and checking Matt out from head to toe with interest.
