He continued, “I dated Kourtney for over a year and never once cheated on her. I’ve grown up. There is no way I will ever make that mistake again.”
I felt guilty for calling him a cheater. I truly didn’t want to hurt him, but I had to be honest.“I’m sorry to bring up your past.”
“I understand why it concerns you. All I can do is try to reassure you that I’ve changed. If you want me to spend every free minute with you so you know I’m not cheating I’m okay with that too.”
He grinned at me and I laughed, “I don’t think that’s a normal relationship.”
“Hell, we aren’t normal. And that’s what makes us so great. I would rather die than hurt you. I can’t promise you that I won’t, but I can promise you that I will do everything I can not to and I will never cheat on you. Just give us a chance.”
Andy
“I don’t know, Andy. I promised myself that the next time I have sex with someone that I will know without a doubt that I love them and they love me and that we would be in a strong committed relationship.”
Her voice was barely over a whisper and I had never been so desperate for anything in my life. I hated begging, but for Jackie I didn’t think there was much I wouldn’t do. “Okay, so it’s sex that’s holding you back. That’s easy we will just take it off the table.”
She looked skeptical, “No sex?”
“Well not until you are ready. Not until you are completely convinced that I’m not using you and that I’m not going anywhere. I’m not just interested in your body.”
“I’m sure you told Maddy that also.”
Shit. I was never going to escape my past, but I knew why she was worried. I had cheated. “I did. And I meant it at the time, but I swear to you I have learned from my mistakes. I will never cheat again. If I can’t take it anymore, I’ll cry “uncle”.”
She didn’t say anything so I pushed further, “What else is holding you back?”
“It sounds childish, but our friends. I know that Michelle and Maddy will think it’s a terrible idea and Michelle won’t be shy about voicing her opinion.”
She wasn’t wrong. Our friends would probably be the death of our relationship, especially with Jackie being so wary in the first place. “Okay so then we just won’t tell anyone.”
She raised a questionable eyebrow, “A secret relationship? That’s so corny.”
I laughed, “No not a secret relationship. We just won’t tell anyone. It’s no one’s business anyway.”
I could tell she was thinking very seriously. I held her face in my hands, “Please give this a chance.”
I hated how uncertain she looked. I knew she was really struggling with it. “Okay. But we have to take it slow.”
I smiled, “Okay.”
I gave her a quick peck on the lips and then grinned at her, teasingly, “Since we are taking it slowly, maybe you should hop off of my lap.”
She looked down and laughed. “Good idea.” She moved off of my lap and sat next to me.
The rain was finally easing up. “You want to go get something to eat?”
She agreed and we drove back to Great Bend. We went to a little diner and had cheeseburgers and fries and then I took her home.
I walked her to her door. “So what are you doing tomorrow?”
She put a finger up to her mouth in a mock thinking position, “Hmm, hanging out with you?”
“Good. Second date, then?”
“Yes.”
I leaned in close and whispered softly in her ear, “Is kissing off the table?”
She swallowed and shook her head, I smiled and moved my lips to hers, kissing her softly. I didn’t want to scare her off so I kept it short. It took a lot of self control to stop, but I could move slowly with her if that’s what she needed. I was determined to show her that I had changed and could be a great boyfriend to her. There was no way in hell I was going to hurt her.
Chapter 12
Jackie
Andy showed up at my house the next morning at around ten. I opened the door and walked out quickly to join him. He looked amused, “In a hurry?”
“My mom just woke up and I didn’t want you to have to deal with her.”
We walked out to his car, “Jackie, I can handle your mom.”
He opened the passenger side door, “I know you can. I can’t.”
He grinned and I got in. He closed the door and got in on his side. “So what do you want to do today?”
I thought about it. “Whatever you want is fine.”
He started the car, but didn’t go anywhere. He looked over at me from the driver’s seat. “No. I picked yesterday. It’s your turn. Anything you want to do.” He paused, “But please no chick flicks. I like you a lot Jackie, but that would be torture.”
I smiled. I loved hearing him say that he liked me, out loud. No one had ever cared what I wanted to do before. I had spent most of my life doing what everyone else wanted me to do. I felt so safe with Andy, which scared the hell out of me. “Well there is a Katherine Heigel movie out.”
He groaned teasingly, “For you, I would endure that.”
I laughed, “Hmm. How about the zoo instead?”
“The zoo huh? I haven’t been there for years.”
“Me either, but it’s a really nice day.”
“Sounds good.” He started driving and ten minutes later he parked his car at the zoo.
We went in and started at the monkey’s exhibit. I stood there watching them play and Andy draped his arm over my shoulder. I leaned into him, loving his body being so close to mine. “Are you really okay with not telling anyone about this?”
We both stared ahead at the monkeys playing. “Yeah, people are too opinionated. I don’t want anything to ruin this.”
I took his hand and we started walking the rest of the zoo, hand in hand. We stayed there for hours and then he dropped me off at my house because I had to work at five. I had started working at a little diner downtown to help pay for college.
We stood outside my front door. “I had so much fun today.”
He put both hands on my waist, pulling me a little closer to him. “I did too. Who knew the zoo could be so much fun?”
I smiled. “So I’ll see you Monday at school?”
“Yep.”
“I hope no one picks up on it. You know I’m terrible at keeping secrets.”
He smirked, “Yeah, this should be interesting, but really just don’t look at it as a secret. You simply aren’t mentioning it.” He leaned down and softly kissed my lips and pulled away slowly. I wanted to kiss him deeper, but we were taking it slow and I thought it was sweet he was honoring that.
His lips were still near mine when he said quietly, “It’s going to be hard not to touch you though.”
I nodded. “That part is going to suck.”
He gave me another quick peck on my lips, “I’ll call ya tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He left and I went inside. I was relieved to see my mom was in her bedroom and probably had no clue I was even gone. She had a really bad habit of staying in bed all day on Saturdays.
Andy
Monday morning at school was just like any other day. I saw Jackie in the morning and politely waved to her. She waved back and went back to her usual morning routine with Maddy and Michelle. I wanted more than anything to walk over and wrap my arms around Jackie, but I didn’t. I was going to do everything I could to make sure she felt comfortable with having a relationship with me.
At lunch Jackie and I sat in our normal seats, which were across from each other at the round table. I was sitting in-between Jake and Paul and she was sitting next to Michelle and Maddy. They were both talking to her about plans for prom, but Jackie’s mind was clearly somewhere else.
I tried to hold a conversation with Jake, Paul, and Shelley, but my eyes kept locking with Jackie’s. Before lunch was over, Jackie stood up, Michelle looked at her, “Where are you going? You didn’t even eat.”
Ja
ckie looked frazzled, “I know. I’m not hungry. I have stuff to do.”
Michelle looked at her suspiciously, “What stuff?”
“Just stuff, I’ll see you guys later.” With that she took her tray and left the table.
Michelle was talking to Maddy, but loudly said, “Well that was weird.”
Maddy just shrugged it off, “She must have had something important to do.”
They both went back to talking about girly shit and I waited a few minutes before standing up and addressing Jake, Paul, and Shelley, “I’ll see you guys later. I have a test in sixth period and I’m going to get some studying in before class.”
They all accepted my explanation and I took off to find Jackie. It didn’t take long. She was standing at her locker, in the empty locker bay.
She wasn’t facing me so I gently put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to me. She was a little startled, but smiled when she saw it was me, “Hey.”
I smiled, “Hey. Way to play it cool.”
She looked slightly embarrassed, “I’m sorry. It’s just so weird, going on with normal conversation when all I can think about was our dates and when I’m going to see you next.”
I grinned, I loved her honesty. “Well we could tell them.”
She shook her head, “Not yet. Please.”
“Okay. Then you are going to have to get better at your excuses.”
She laughed and playfully smacked my chest, “I’m trying.” She looked up into my eyes, she was average height for a girl, but since I was slightly above average height she seemed shorter when she was standing that close. “You have practice tonight?”
I nodded, “Yeah and it’s probably going to run late. Are you working tomorrow?”
She nodded, “Yep and Wednesday.”
“So you’re free Thursday?”
“Yes, your house?”
“Yep, can you come over right after school?”
She nodded. I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss, probably lingering longer than I should have, and then slowly pulled my lips from hers. “I’ll see you later.”
We parted and I couldn’t wait until the next time I could kiss her. This girl definitely had a hold on me, tighter than I had ever experienced.
Chapter 13
Jackie
I thought Thursday would never arrive, but of course it finally did and I drove over to Andy’s after school. He was just getting out of his car when I parked mine so we walked up to his front door together. We walked into their large living room and Andy’s mom came out from the dining room. “Andy, I’m glad you are home. I need you to take out the trash.” She noticed me, “Well hi honey!”
I smiled at her, “Hi, Mrs. Clark.”
“Andy didn’t tell me you were coming over. Your project is over isn’t it?”
Andy dropped his book bag down on the floor, by the front door. Then he took mine and did the same with it. “Yeah we are done with the project, but we are still friends.”
She looked at me and teased, “So you didn’t get sick of him this last month?”
I shook my head, “Almost.”
Andy gestured toward the couch, “You can take a seat. I’m gonna go take out the trash for my hilarious mom.”
Mrs. Clark laughed, “Jackie, just make yourself comfortable honey. Help yourself to anything you want.” They headed into the other room and I sat down on the couch.
Andy came back in a few minutes later and sat next to me on the couch.
“So you haven’t told your parents about us?”
“No, I didn’t think you would want me to, even though they adore you and would be thrilled.”
I really cared about his parents, but figured it was best to keep it from everyone at first. “Yeah, it’s probably best not to tell anyone at all.”
We just sat and watched TV comfortably for an hour, until Mrs. Clark came in back into the living room, “Jackie, will you be staying for dinner?”
Andy answered for me with a grin, “Yes.”
I looked at his mom, “Only if it won’t be an inconvenience.”
“Of course not, you are always welcome. I’m going to go get started.”
I stood up, “Can I help?”
She grinned, “Well of course!”
I followed her into the kitchen, leaving Andy sitting on the couch by himself. I had no idea how I was going to help. My mother never cooked or baked, but I loved the idea of spending more time with Andy’s mom. “I should warn you, I don’t have any experience, Mrs. Clark.”
She gave me a very kind smile, “Please call me Janet and don’t worry, I’m a great teacher.”
“I believe you. My birthday dinner was delicious.”
“Oh I’m so glad. He was so nervous.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, he really wanted to make it special for you.”
“It definitely was.”
She started going around the kitchen, gathering everything she need to make fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She showed me how to bread the chicken and put them in the hot grease and then we started peeling potatoes.
“So your mom never showed you how to cook?”
I really hated talking about my mom, but I knew she was just making polite conversation and felt like she wouldn’t judge. “No, she doesn’t cook herself. I don’t think she ever learned.”
“Oh, well some people never pick it up. And that’s okay, but if you ever want to learn more I would love to teach you.”
“I would love that!” It was still very early in our relationship, but I knew Andy was used to a good meal and I wanted to be able to cook for him occasionally.
“So are you excited for college? Andy said you are attending Barton also.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait.”
“Do you have a major picked out yet?”
I nodded as I concentrated peeling a potato, “Yes, I’m going to major in Journalism and minor in TV communications. I want to be a news anchor someday.”
“Oh how exciting! So someday I will turn on my TV and see your pretty face, huh?”
I smiled, “That’s the plan.”
“Well I think that will be wonderful.” It was amazing to me how supportive she was of me. My own mother hadn’t even asked about my plans for a major.
We finished making dinner together and then we sat down with Andy and his father to eat. I was told to call Mr. Clark, Michael and we talked about everything from the weather to the few weeks left of school.
After dinner Janet and Michael left and Andy and I went back to the living room. We sat on the couch and this time Andy wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into him. “I love your parents. You have such a “Leave It to Beaver” life.”
He chuckled, “I guess so, except for my mom works fifty hours a week.”
“Yeah, but you guys still always manage to have a nice family dinner.”
“True. I’m sorry you didn’t have that growing up.”
I smiled over at him. He had changed so much this year. He had always been nice to me, but the caring, sweet side he had shown me over the past few months was a vast difference from the Andy I thought I knew. I leaned closer to him and kissed his soft, full lips softly.
He kissed me, but I could tell he was holding back. I intensified the kiss a little, parting his lips with my tongue. He opened his mouth willingly and started to kiss me back with a lot more intensity.
I pushed him back onto the couch so he was lying on his back and I was laying on him. He wrapped his strong arms around my back, as I leaned down kissing him. I didn’t want to go too far, but I wanted to show him I wasn’t afraid of moving forward, as long as it was slow.
He was an incredible kisser and had my body on fire, just from kissing him. My brain was telling me I probably needed to sit back up and watch TV, but I wasn’t ready to pull away from him yet.
I did however move away from his lips and started kissing lightly along his chiseled jaw line and down his neck. A masculine groan bubbled u
p from his throat and I could feel that he was just as turned on as I was.
He sat up, bringing me with him so I was on his lap. “Jackie, maybe we should watch a movie or something.”
It felt like rejection and the hurt showed on my face, “Oh. Were you not enjoying it?”
He looked at me like I had lost my mind, “Are you crazy? Of course I was enjoying it, but we have time.”
I smiled at him. He was just trying to take things slow. “I just don’t want you to get bored with me.”
He laughed at that, “Again, are you crazy? You are anything, but boring.”
“Okay. Or overly horny.”
“Well, I’m an eighteen year old guy, I’m definitely overly horny. But don’t worry my right hand and I have that part handled.” He wagged his eyebrows teasingly.
Andy
Okay so maybe I shouldn’t have joked about jerking off, because Jackie stood up, removing herself from my lap. I turned so I was facing her, still sitting on the couch. “Jackie, I was kidding.”
She stared blankly at me and then sunk down to her knees. Looking at the obvious tent in my pants she looked up at me. Her expression had turned into overwhelmingly sultry. “Looks like there was some truth to the horny part at least.”
She put her small hands on my knees, moving my legs apart and moving in between them. I was frozen in place, torn between seeing what she was going to do next and stopping her because I didn’t want her to think she had to do anything. “Well of course I’m horny, I had a gorgeous girl on top of me, but we’ve only been dating for a little over a week. I can wait.”
A very sexy, “Shh.” came from her lips.
She moved her hands up to the button on my jeans and slowly undid it. She had a determined look on her face that was sexy as hell. Then she slowly slid my zipper down and started to pull my jeans down. I lifted up to help her out and soon my jeans were around my ankles.
I was even harder then and she slowly pulled my boxers down, freeing my aching cock that was begging for attention. She looked happy with what she saw and locked eyes with me.
Evolve (Soulmates Book 4) Page 7
