“So, how long until dinner is ready?” He asked.
“I was just getting ready to boil the water for the pasta.” I said.
I put a pot of water on the stove and slid the garlic bread into the oven while Jack started making the salad.
“Hungry?” I asked. I brought the bowl of spaghetti over to the table as Jack opened the bottle of wine.
“Starving.” He said as he poured wine into two glasses.
“Shall we toast?” Jack asked as we both sat down.
“Sure.....what are we toasting to?”
“To us and our spontaneous weekend obviously.”
I laughed. “Cheers to that!”
“This sauce is delicious,” Jack said, “I didn’t realize you were such a cook.”
“Don’t be fooled. This happens to be my specialty, thanks to my very Italian grandmother who believes that eating jarred sauce is a sin. She made it a point to see to it that if we knew how to make anything at all, it was her homemade red sauce. I normally eat soup, cereal or a sandwich for dinner.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a pizza guy myself, although I can cook.”
I drank my first glass of wine quickly, which I knew was a mistake since we didn’t eat much all day. I was feeling a little goofy, but I didn’t stop Jack from pouring me another glass. Jack set the bottle down and made a face.
“Is something burning?” He asked.
“Oh no! The garlic bread!” I jumped up, nearly knocking over my chair, and ran over to the stove.
I pulled out the garlic bread as quickly as I could, but it was too late. The garlic bread was burnt to a crisp. You couldn’t even identify the garlic bread anymore. It looked like a couple of blackened lumps on some tinfoil.
Jack was standing behind me laughing hysterically. He was seriously laughing so hard I thought he might either start to cry or pee himself.
“Sorry.” I said sheepishly.
He walked over and cupped my face in his hands.
“It’s okay. To tell you the truth I thought you were going to be more of a calamity this weekend.”
I shot him a look of mock disgust.
“Sorry sweetheart, but you have to admit your track record.....”He trailed off smiling.
I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Yeah I guess you’re right.”
“C’mon, let’s take this into the living room.” Jack said picking up the tiramisu and two forks with one hand. He grabbed my hand with his free one and led me over to the sofa. We sat down and ate our tiramisu in silence.
“What are you thinking about?” Jack asked me.
“I’m thinking that this weekend has been awesome and I almost wish we didn’t have to go home tomorrow,” I said,” What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking that I wish you were my girlfriend.” Jack said.
“Are.....are you asking?”
“Only if you are going to accept.”
I smiled at him. “I accept.” I said shyly.
“Thank goodness! Things would have gotten quite awkward around here if you would have said no!”
Jack put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. We snuggled close together as we finished the bottle of wine. When the bottle was empty, I stood up. “I’m gonna go do the dishes real quick.” I said.
Just as I was finishing up, Jack came up behind me. He put his hands on my hips and kissed my neck. After washing and drying my hands so fast that I’m not entirely sure they were completely clean, I turned around to face him. Jack leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against mine as he ran his hands up and down my back. Placing his hands on my waist, Jack lifted me up and sat me on the countertop. I ran my fingers through his hair as we started furiously kissing each other like we were two sex crazed teenagers left home alone. Gasping for air, we pulled away from each other.
“Do you uh.....do you want to.” Jack started.
“Yes.” I said cutting him off.
“That’s pretty dangerous; you don’t even know what I was going to ask.” Jack grinned.
“Okay, yeah, because you weren’t going to ask me if I wanted to go upstairs.” I said sarcastically.
Jack winked and smiled slyly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. We walked into the room and Jack sat down on the edge of the bed. I walked over to Jack trying to look coy and sexy. I’m not quite sure if I pulled it off though because I felt ridiculously awkward. Jack put his hands on my bottom and pulled me onto his lap so that we were facing each other.
“I’ve wanted you to be my girl the first time I saw you.” Jack whispered as he leaned forward to brush his lips softly to mine.
The first time he saw me? He’s got to be kidding me. Of all the shining moments I may have had with him over these past few weeks, I would hardly consider that to be at the top of the list. My hair was all frizzy, my face was shiny, I smelled like an airplane and my behavior.....well that wasn’t anywhere close to being graceful.
“Okay so you mean watching me act like a bumbling fool and run away was a turn on?”
Jack laughed. “It was endearing and it made me want to find a way to be around you. You mean to tell me you didn’t feel the same way?”
“Well, yeah of course I did, but that’s different. You were this cool guy, with his cool friends and there I was all.....”I made a face, scrunching my nose up.”
“Perfect.....you were perfect.”
Jack kissed me again, softly at first and then a little bit harder. It took everything I had not to push hit back on the bed and yell out “Take me now!” I wanted him, believe me I did, but it sort of seemed as though the moment passed by. Which, I guess that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing seeing as though he just became my boyfriend about an hour ago.
~*~
I spotted Tyler’s bright blue Mohawk on the front steps of our building as soon as we turned on our street. He was kind of hard to miss. Sitting on the step below him was Dean and Noah. Dean was strumming on an acoustic guitar while Tyler was hitting his drumsticks against the railing.
“Looks like you were missed.” I teased.
“Yeah I guess that’s what happens when you take off for two days and don’t tell anyone.” Jack said maneuvering his truck into a parking space. I jumped out of the truck and pulled my carry on out from the back seat, before walking around to the back of Jack’s truck and waiting for him to gather his things. Jack walked around to meet me and grabbed my hand as we walked toward our building. Dean, Noah and Tyler had big goofy grins on their faces as they hopped up from the steps and met us on the sidewalk.
“Dude, where have you been?” Noah asked as he gave me a knowing wink.
“I took my girl to my family’s cottage for a short holiday.” Jack replied.
My heart fluttered when he referred to me as his girl. Dean, Noah and Tyler glanced down at our entwined hands at the same time. Tyler placed one hand in front of him, shook his head and staggered backwards.
“Awww Chloe, you’re breaking my heart!” He cried out dramatically, placing both of his hands on the left side of his chest.
“Oh hardly I’m sure.” I said shaking my head.
“Well I hate to be the one to break up this love fest, but we have a lot to do today Jack. Like an entire weekends worth of shit.” Dean said.
“Alright, I’m just gonna walk her up and throw my stuff in my door. I’ll be right back.” Jack said as we strode towards the door.
We walked up the stairs slowly, both of us trying to stretch the remainder of this weekend out as long as we possibly could. When we reached my door, we turned to face each other. Letting go of the handle of his suitcase, Jack stared into my eyes as we reach up to cup me face in his hands. He lifted my face up towards his and pressed his lips warmly against mine.
“I had a great weekend with you.” Jack said softly.
“I did too, I’m really glad we went.” I smiled.
“Well I would love to stay here with you, but I should go. I kind of made the gu
ys wait around all weekend, but I’ll ring you later.” Jack kissed me again and I turned to unlock my door. After tossing my carryon onto my bed, I fished my cell phone out of my purse. I jumped onto my bed as I dialed Abby’s number. Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up!
“Oh my god Abby, I have got to tell you about my weekend!” I said as soon as she answered.
Chapter Ten
Jocalyn was impatiently pacing around the office when I walked in the next day. I almost turned around and ran back to the elevator when I saw her. To say she looked pissed off was the understatement of the century. She looked positively livid and I had a feeling all that anger was directed towards me. She must have called or texted me at least two dozen times over the weekend and I had yet to return any of her messages.
“Oh my goodness! What the bloody hell Chloe! Where have you been?” Jocalyn asked, throwing my messages at me.
“I went away with Jack for the weekend.” I said nonchalantly as I looked over my messages.
“Well that’s just fine and dandy, but you could have let me know or called me at some point. I was really starting to worry about you.”
Now I knew just how mad she was at me. On a regular day, if I said I went away with Jack, she would have followed up with at least a dozen questions. She would want to know how he kissed, how he touched me, how he asked me to be his girlfriend and anything else she could think of that could even remotely have anything to do with Jack. With a loud huff, Jocalyn plopped down into her swivel chair, turned away from me and I swear she started humming Subzero’s song “Unbelievable You.”
My phone was already ringing when I walked into my office. So much for being able to come in and get settled before getting in to the grind I guess. I tossed my stuff in my chair and grabbed up my phone.
“Chloe Carver.” I said breathlessly.
“Hi Chloe, this is Elise. Please hold for Miss. Patton.”
I rolled my eyes. Just the person I wanted to deal with first thing on a Monday morning.....or ever for that matter. I wasn’t going to let her rattle me this early in the morning. I had a wonderful weekend with Jack and I already had one person upset with me and it wasn’t even 9 a.m. yet.
“I need a date for that stupid charity thing.” Julissa said without bothering to say hello.
“I’m sorry, I already have a date.” I said doing a mental eye roll.
“I want you to set me up with Jack Riley.” She said, ignoring my comment.
“Ok look Julissa. One, I am not a dating service and two, Jack has a girlfriend.” I told her.
“Neither of those problems have anything to do with me.”
“Julissa, I can’t set you up with him.”
“You can and you will.” Julissa said haughtily.
“Look Julissa.” I started. I was half a second away from telling her where to stick it when she cut me off.
“Not up for discussion. You are starting to bore me so this conversation is over.” Julissa said hanging up the phone.
What a witch! She is completely unbelievable! I pictured the look on her face when she sees me walk in on Jack’s arm, and I know its mean, but I had to smile at that thought. I was daydreaming about how that night would play out when Jocalyn walked in.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” She said remorsefully.
“It’s ok. I’m sorry I worried you.” I responded.
Jocalyn sat down and leaned across my desk. “Wow it was so hard to not talk to you! I thought I was gonna die! Tell me everything that happened and I mean everything! Don’t leave out a single detail!”
~*~
By the time Thursday came around, Julissa was starting to become a pain in my rear end. She spent the entire week constantly calling to find out if I had set her up on a date with Jack yet. I was about ready to tell her I was having dinner with him that night, but I thought it might make her bug me even more, or even worse find out where he lived and show up!
As I was getting ready to leave work, my phone rang again. This girl is gonna put me of the edge of reason. I snatched up my phone so fast, that I’m surprised I didn’t rip the cord from the receiver.
“Chloe Carver.” I said through gritted teeth.
“Hey there gorgeous!” Jack said cheerfully.
“Hey Jack.” I relaxed a little bit, feeling the tension slip away from my shoulders.
“Long day?” He asked.
“You have no idea.” I reached up with my free hand and rubbed my temples.
“Well it’ll be better soon, I promise.”
“Hmmm.....I hope so.”
“I wanted to see if you could stop and grab a bottle of wine on your way here.”
“Yeah sure, I’ll see you soon.”
Forty five minutes later, I was knocking on Jack’s door with a bottle of chardonnay in hand. I could hear a bunch of commotion on the other side of the door and I was starting to wonder what was going on. I looked at the bottle of wine and wondered if I should have picked up another one. I didn’t recall Jack saying we were eating with anyone else but it was obvious with all the racket I was listening to that he wasn’t in there alone. I was about to knock again when the door swung open.
I stepped inside and immediately came to a stop in the doorway. My hand flew up to my mouth as a wave of shock and surprise overtook me and I didn’t know what to think. Standing there smiling back at me was Dean, Noah, Tyler, Wes, Skylar, Dex and Jocalyn, who looked as if she might pass out from excitement.
“What is all this?” I finally managed to ask as I looked over at Jack.
“Well you were bummed out about not being able to have Thanksgiving with your family, so I brought Thanksgiving to you and invited all our friends.” Jack said.
Wow – Julissa had me so annoyed all week long with her incessant phone calls that I completely forgot today was Thanksgiving! The delicious smell of thanksgiving foods lured me into the dining room. On the table was a spread of all of my favorite Thanksgiving foods – Turkey, stuffing, cornbread, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, biscuits, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie.
I walked over to Jack, reached up to place my hands behind his head and pulled him down for a kiss. Jack pressed his forehead against mine before lightly brushing my lips with his.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I said, my voice full of emotion. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Jack said; his smile beamed from ear to ear.
Jack took the bottle of wine from my hands. “I’ll go put this in the kitchen. We’ll be ready to eat in just a minute.”
As Jack walked off, Noah strode over to where I was standing. He shuffled from foot to foot and ran a hand through his flaming red hair. It was obvious he wanted to say something and I was staring to wish he would just spit it out. I was about to walk away, giving up on finding out what he wanted to say, when he reached his hand out and touched my arm to stop me.
“You know, he’s been planning this ever since your first date. He spent all day cooking.” Noah told me.
“Really? I don’t think anyone has ever done anything like this for me before.”
“He really likes you Chloe.”
“I like him too Noah.”
“Just do me a favor.....I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything but Jack doesn’t date much. He’s been burned a couple of times.....just be good to him.” Noah said sincerely.
“I will.” I promised him.
“This is so exciting, my first Thanksgiving dinner!” Jocalyn exclaimed as we all sat down at the table.
“I’m surprised you were able to keep it from me. I didn’t suspect anything from you today.” I told her.
“Don’t give her too much credit, she just found out an hour ago!” Wes said as everyone started laughing.
“It’s not that I can’t keep a secret, I just get a little excited. When I get excited I just say the first thing that pops in my mind and when I get really excited.....well I can’t be held responsible for what information I di
vulge then.” Jocalyn explained seriously.
Everyone laughed again as the food began to make its way around the table. I thought it would feel.....well.....wrong to be away from my family on Thanksgiving, but it didn’t feel that way at all. Sure, I liked spending holidays with my family like most people do and I missed them like crazy. It felt right, though, being here with this specific group of people. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was laughing. Yes, I missed my family but in this moment I couldn’t imagine spending today with anyone except the people seated around this table.
“Are you supposed to say grace or something?” Skylar asked.
“Well my dad usually does but instead I’d like to say that, even though my family isn’t here, this is the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had.” I said.
A chorus of “Awwww” went around the room.
“That was sweet.....can we eat now? I’ve had to endure smelling this juicy gobbler all day long and I am quite famished.” Tyler rubbed his stomach with his hands as he eyed the turkey.
I laughed and nodded as I dished a big heap of stuffing onto my plate. It was homemade stuffing too, not that boxed crap, and it was delicious. Jack said before he knew how to cook but he never said he could cook like this. I was starting to think he was really getting the raw end of the deal here. Had I been the one making this meal the turkey would probably still be partially frozen. Seriously we’d be those people thawing their turkey out in the bathtub right now. Actually, who am I kidding, there would probably be no turkey cause I’m not reaching inside a turkeys derriere and pulling out some junk. Ugh, I shudder at the thought. Also, my stuffing would have been boxed, my green bean casserole soggy, my biscuits would be those pull apart ones in a tube and my pumpkin pie from the freezer section......but hey, it’s the thought and effort that counts right?
After everyone left, Jack took me by the hand and led me into the living room. As we sunk down into his comfy gray sofa, he put his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled up to him. It felt so good to finally be able to just kick back and relax. I reached down to pull my heels off and tossed them on the floor. I took in a deep breath and let out a big sigh.
Fall into my Heart (The Subzero Series, #1) Page 9
