He always tries to go slow for my sake but today I don’t need to him to. I’m more than ready for him.
I break from his lips. “We can kiss later. Get naked. Hurry up.”
He’s laughing again. “You’re supposed to want me to go slow. Give you time to warm up?”
“Yeah, well, I’m warmed up so let’s go.”
I yank back the covers on the bed as he strips his clothes off. I let him undress me, then pull him back over me to finish what I’ve been wanting to do since I got up this morning.
When we’re done, he collapses on his back next to me. “You’re wearing me out, Jade.” He says it kiddingly.
“If you didn’t want it you shouldn’t have walked in here looking all hot.”
He feels my forehead. “You’re definitely sick. You want sex all the time and you just gave me a compliment. I’m taking you to the doctor.”
I laugh and take his hand off my forehead. “I don’t need a doctor. I feel a lot better today. No headaches. No dizziness.”
“That’s because you’re not racing off to class or doing homework. You’re going to rest here all day.”
We get dressed and then I snuggle back into his arms.
I really like sick days.
4
“Did you try out the TV today?”
“Yep. Still works.”
Garret tickles my side. “Okay, smart ass. I meant did you watch anything.”
“I watched Cassie and Kurt, that morning talk show. They had your girlfriend on as their first guest.”
“You were on the Cassie and Kurt show?” he kids.
“Your other girlfriend. Ava.”
“She’s not my girlfriend so stop saying that.”
“Well, this morning she basically told all of America that you’re her boyfriend.”
“Great. That’s just what I need. Like I’m not getting enough emails and—” He stops.
“You’re getting emails from fans of the show?”
He sighs. “Somehow my email got out and I’ve been getting like a thousand emails a day.”
“When did you start getting them?”
“Last Saturday. At first it was just a few, but then more started coming in and now it’s out of control.” He reaches over me to get his phone from the table by my bed. “That reminds me, I need to get a new email address and shut the old one down.”
“Did you read any of the emails?”
“A few. They’re pretty much all the same.” He swipes through his phone.
“What do they say?”
“Just stupid shit. I don’t even remember.”
“Can I read one?” I hold my hand out for the phone.
His eyebrows raise. “You’re not going to like what they say.”
I keep my hand extended. He gives me the phone and I open one of the emails and read it out loud.
“‘Garret, I love you. Will you marry me? Kristy.’” I hold the phone up to him. “What do you think, Garret? Yes or no?”
He pushes the phone down and kisses me. “Email her back. Tell her I’m already engaged.”
“That’s a lie. You shouldn’t lie to your adoring fans.”
“It’s not a lie. You and I are engaged.”
I laugh. “Really. When did this happen?”
“Sunday. With your concussion you probably forgot.”
He looks serious and for a moment I believe him. Memory loss is a side effect of a concussion. I glance down at my hand. No ring.
“Don’t tease me like that. For a minute I thought you were telling the truth.”
“And what if I was? Would it be so bad if we were engaged?”
“No.” I smile as I say it, which is so unlike me. A year ago I didn’t even want to date anyone and I definitely didn’t want to get married. “But I’d like to be able to remember the proposal.”
“When it happens, you’ll remember it.”
His comment has me imagining how he might propose. Not that I’m expecting a proposal anytime soon. Or ever.
He tucks my hair behind my ear. “You know, that’s the first time you haven’t totally freaked out when I brought up the marriage topic.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s true. You hate it when I talk about it. In fact, I think Kristy or whatever her name is, would probably marry me before you would.”
“Kristy is not getting you. And none of these other girls are either.” I pick up his phone again and open another email. A photo pops up. “Garret, this girl sent you naked pictures!”
“Really? Let me see.” He grabs the phone and checks out the photos.
“Hey! Don’t look at those!” I reach for the phone.
He hands it back to me. “You’re way hotter.”
“You’re just saying that,” I mumble as I open another email. “This one says ‘Garret, I want to lick your—’ This is disgusting! She doesn’t even know you and she’s saying all these things she wants to do to you. I don’t even do those things to you!”
“Maybe you should,” he says, smiling as he gets up.
I scan the email again, seeing if I would want to try some of these things on Garret.
“I think you’ve read enough of those. I need the phone back. I’ve gotta see if my dad’s lawyers are doing anything to get this stopped.”
“You said your dad wouldn’t get into a lawsuit over this.”
“Yeah, but maybe they can work out a deal with the production company. Get them to stop pretending like I’m going to be on the show. I don’t know, but they need to do something.”
“I think it’ll get worse before it gets better.” I hand him the phone. “The show airs next week. And in the meantime Ava said girls can go on the website and rate your hotness.” I laugh as I say it.
He’s not amused. “This has to stop. They can’t keep doing this shit without my consent.”
“Well, they’re doing it. They’re also posting photos of you online. You should probably be monitoring that website to see what they’re saying about you.”
“I don’t want to know.” He swipes the phone and dials. “Hey, Dad. Are you back yet? I need to talk to you about some stuff.” He listens. “No, it can’t wait. We need to talk today. Can you come here to campus?”
“Let’s just go to your house,” I whisper to Garret.
He nods. “I guess we’ll meet you at the house instead. Can you be there at 2?” He listens again. “We’ll see you then.” He hangs up and comes back over to the bed. “He would’ve met us here.”
“I don’t want to talk to him in my room. There’s no place to sit.”
“You’re supposed to be resting.” He kisses my forehead. “I was trying to keep you in bed, sick girl.”
“I’m not sick.” I kiss him back on the lips. “But I like that you want me in bed.”
“Again?” He laughs and pulls away. “Sorry, but I’m cutting you off this time. Maybe tonight.”
“You’re turning me down?” I pout.
“Damn. Don’t do that. You know how hard it is for me to say no to you.”
“Then get over here.” I reach for him and as I do there’s a knock on the door.
“Jade? It’s Carson.” The knocking continues.
Garret rolls his eyes. “Are you gonna make me answer that?”
“He probably needs to talk about our chem paper. Go let him in.”
Garret takes his time walking to the door. He doesn’t like Carson. Actually he hates Carson. He’s convinced the guy is trying to date me, which might be true, but I’m not interested in dating him so there’s no reason for Garret to be jealous.
“Is Jade here?” I hear Carson ask Garret.
“Yes, but she’s not feeling well so you can’t stay long.”
Carson walks past Garret into my room. He’s a bigger guy than Garret, an inch or two taller with a stockier build. He has wavy, dark brown hair, dark eyes, and this incredibly cute dimple in his cheek when he smiles. He’s very good looking, so he sho
uld have a girlfriend but he doesn’t. He’s very picky about who he dates.
“Hey, Jade.” Carson comes over and sits on the bed and I notice Garret’s jaw tighten. “Are you sick because of your concussion or are you sick like the flu sick?”
“It’s my head. I’m supposed to rest for a few days.”
“What do you need, Carson?” Garret stands there with his arms crossed.
Carson glares at him. “Don’t you have to go to class?”
“Nope. I’m done for the day. And even if I had class I wouldn’t go because I need to stay here and take care of my girlfriend.” He emphasizes the word girlfriend.
I really wish these two could get along.
“So what did you come here to talk about?” I ask Carson. “The chem paper?”
“No. I already turned that in. I just wanted to check on you because you weren’t in class this morning.”
“Sorry, I should’ve called and let you know. You’ll have to do the lab by yourself today. And I won’t be in physics tomorrow either. Could I get your notes from class?”
“Sure. I’ll email them to you. Anything else you need?”
Garret clears his throat. “What she needs is to get some rest. Visiting hours are over.”
Carson keeps his eyes on me. “I think she can answer for herself. Jade, do you need anything else?”
“No. I’m good. I’ll see you later.”
“You have my number. Just call if you think of anything.” Carson walks past Garret out to the hall.
Garret shuts the door. “The more I’m around that guy, the more I hate him.”
“He didn’t do anything. He just came by to check on me. As a friend. That’s it.”
“Why won’t you just accept the fact that he wants you, Jade? Don’t you see how he looks at you? And the way he’s always trying to get rid of me?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in him, so you need to let this go and stop fighting with the guy.”
“I’m not fighting with him. I’m just letting him know that I’m not going anywhere and that he needs to back off.”
“He knows that. You’ve made that very clear. And so have I.”
“And yet he’s still trying to date you.”
“Okay, let’s just forget about Carson.”
If Garret knew all the stuff I know about Carson, he’d never let me speak to the guy again. Carson is obsessed with Garret’s family. He’s one of those conspiracy nuts who believes everything he reads on the Internet, at least when it comes to the Kensington family. He claims he has a file full of stuff he downloaded that proves Garret’s family is doing suspicious things. I don’t have any idea what those things are, but Carson is convinced I’m in danger just being around Garret and his family.
I refused to see Carson’s file and I told him that if he ever brought it up again, I’d stop talking to him. But he’s piqued my curiosity and now I kind of want to see that file. Even if the stuff in there isn’t true, I want to know what people are saying online about Garret’s family and their company. When I did my own Internet research, I couldn’t find anything other than boring company information, so I don’t know where Carson is finding this stuff.
“Jade? Why aren’t you answering me?” Garret is sitting in front of me, a worried look on his face.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”
“I think that’s a symptom.” He races over to get the sheet of paper the doctor gave him for caretakers of people with head trauma.
“I’m fine. I just wasn’t listening.”
“Here. Slow response time.” He scans the list. “And difficulty concentrating. You have two symptoms. I’m calling Dr. Cunningham.” He gets his phone out but I grab it before he can call.
“Garret, really, I’m fine. I was thinking about something and I just didn’t hear you.” He reaches for the phone, but I hold it behind me and back up against the headboard. “I’ll prove it to you. Ask me one of your stupid questions.”
Ever since I got the concussion, Garret’s been asking me questions to see if I’m confused or have memory loss, two symptoms on his caretaker sheet that warrant a trip back to the doctor. His questions are over-the-top ridiculous and always make me laugh.
“My questions aren’t stupid.” He sounds annoyed but he’s smiling. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Do you know what day it is?”
“That’s a boring question. And it’s already on that caregiver sheet. Come on. You can do better than that.”
“Okay. When is my birthday?”
I take a moment to think. “Shit, I don’t know. It’s in August but I don’t think you ever told me the exact date.”
“Strike one. Next question. What’s my favorite color?”
I try to remember but nothing comes to mind so I take a guess. “Blue?”
“Nope. Strike two.”
“Wait. Did you ever tell me your favorite color? Why don’t I know this?”
“Moving on. What sports did I play in high school?”
“Football and swimming. There, I at least got that right.”
“Strike three.”
“What? You told me you were on the swim team and were quarterback of the football team.”
“Yes, but that’s only two. What other sports did I play?”
“How should I know? You never talk about high school.”
“Sorry, Jade. You failed the test.” He reaches behind me and takes his phone, pretending to make a call. “You’re obviously suffering from memory loss. I’m calling Dr. Cunningham.”
I reach for the phone and he lets me have it. “What was that all about?”
“I was testing you. Making sure your head’s okay.”
“No, you weren’t. You were testing me on how well I know you. And I failed. How could I fail?”
“Forget it, Jade. I was just kidding around.”
“Yeah, but still, you’re my boyfriend. I should know this stuff about you. Why don’t I know this stuff?”
“Maybe you don’t want to know.” He smiles and kisses my cheek. “Maybe you’re just using me for sex and have no interest in getting to know me.”
“That’s not funny, Garret. I feel like the worst girlfriend on the planet. Later today, I’m going to make a whole list of questions to ask you and I’m going to keep asking them until I know everything about you.”
“You’re making too big a deal out of this. I was kidding.”
“Doesn’t matter. I need to know everything about you.”
“Not everything.” He kisses me. “You need to leave a little mystery.”
“So what day is your birthday?”
“August 22.”
“And your favorite color is . . . black?” He shakes his head. “Purple?” He laughs, still shaking his head. “Red?”
“Nope. You’re running out of colors, Jade.”
“I don’t know. What is it?”
“Green. That’s why I love looking at your eyes. Plus I like the outdoors, green grass, green trees. I’ve always liked green.”
“And what other sports did you play in high school?”
“Besides football and swimming, I played basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer.”
“How did you have time for school?”
“I didn’t do all of them in one year. Football and swimming were every year and then I added one or two other sports. Freshman year was baseball. Sophomore year was soccer. I just tried different sports to see what I liked best.”
“You were a total jock. No wonder your body looks like that.” I lift his shirt up to see his abs.
He slowly puts it back down, taking my hand away. “Okay, we’re not going to start that. We need to leave soon. Do you want me to get you some lunch before we go?”
“Let’s eat out. I need to get out of this room. Let’s go someplace next to your house. Or maybe Charles has some leftovers we could eat. Yeah, let’s do that. I love Charles’
cooking.”
“You should tell him that when we see him. I don’t think Katherine or my dad ever compliment his cooking. They’re used to it now, so they don’t even think to compliment him.”
We get our coats and head to the car. It’s almost March and the weather is starting to warm to the point that we only need a light jacket. I’m looking forward to better weather. I miss running, although now I have to wait for my knee to heal before I can start up again.
When we get to Garret’s house, his dad isn’t there yet. Katherine’s there, unhappy to see us as usual. But she puts on her fake smile and tells us that her husband will be home shortly.
We go straight to the kitchen where Charles, the family cook, is already prepping dinner.
“What are you two doing here?” he asks when he sees us.
“We came to talk to my dad but he’s not home yet.”
“Hi, Charles,” I say.
He nods and smiles as he cuts carrots into thin coins. I like Charles a lot. He’s in his fifties and although he doesn’t have kids, he seems like he’d be a good dad or a good uncle. He’s super friendly and easy to talk to.
“Jade’s missed your cooking, Charles. You got any leftovers for us?” Garret opens the door of one of the massive refrigerators.
“You don’t have to eat leftovers. I’ll make whatever you want. What would you like?” He puts his knife down and wipes his hands on the kitchen towel hanging from his shoulder.
“Ask Jade. She’s the sick one.”
“I’m not sick,” I insist. “Would you stop saying that?”
“Are you feeling any better?” Charles asks.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“She’s not fine,” Garret says to Charles. He takes two sodas from the fridge. “She couldn’t even remember what day my birthday is. She’s suffering from major memory loss.”
Garret hands me a soda, smiling before taking a sip of his own.
“It’s August 22,” Charles says.
“See? Charles remembers what day it is.”
I give Garret a look to cut it out. I already feel bad enough for not knowing. We talk about maybe getting married someday and I didn’t even know his birthday or his favorite color.
5
“My mother used to make grilled cheese sandwiches when I was sick,” Charles says.
Promising You (The Jade Series #4) Page 4
