by Amy Sparling
“I thought things with Blake were good and that they were moving in the right direction. I mean, I thought he would ask me to be his official girlfriend any day and then he just blew up at me and yelled that I’m too pushy and intrusive and bossy.” She takes a deep breath and stares at the paused screen on the television. “I don’t know why I can’t keep a freaking boyfriend. Hell, I can’t even get a boyfriend. Apparently I’m good enough to have sex with but not good enough to be in a relationship with.”
I slide over on the massive bean bag and lay my head on her shoulder. I’ve known Becca long enough to know that she doesn’t like making eye contact when she’s upset about something. “What happened to make him blow up at you?” I ask. I’m not exactly an expert at relationships but maybe I can help her figure out what went wrong.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbles.
“Nope,” I snap. “You do not get to bring up a subject like this and then not talk about it, missy.”
She snorts at my stupid nickname and shakes her head. “It’s embarrassing and stupid and I don’t want to tell you.”
“Okay now you have to tell me.”
She shakes her head again. I lift my head and turn toward her, putting on my pretend serious face. Except I suck at looking serious so it’s really just an expression of me holding back laughter while staring wide-eyed at her. “Don’t make me kick your ass. Tell me what happened.”
She lets out a sigh and plays with the drawstring on her pajama shorts. “Fine. Just…don’t make fun of me.”
I roll my hand, signaling for her to continue. She takes a deep breath. “Blake was just like every other asshole guy and he had a lock on his cell phone. I hate how they do that. He claimed he didn’t have anything to hide and that he wasn’t dating anyone else, but if you have nothing to hide then you don’t need a password, you know?”
I nod, mentally wondering if Jace has a lock on his phone. I don’t remember ever paying attention to it. “So what happened?”
Clearly something happened, because she looks really freaking embarrassed. Her fingers twine together and she stares at her lap the entire time she talks. “It really bothered me that he would get a ton of text messages when we were together, and it just seemed like such a hassle to type in the four digit code to open his phone and read the text each time. I started getting like, obsessed with figuring out his code. I didn’t think I’d actually snoop through his phone but…I don’t know, maybe I would. So started watching when he typed his code and I finally figured it out. It was zero four zero one which is his birthday.”
“Did you find something bad on his phone?” I ask. She shakes her head.
“I never got that far. One day he got a text and it made him laugh when he read it, so I kind of hovered next to him trying to seem casual so I could peek at who was texting him. Well when he went to unlock his phone again, the code wasn’t the usual numbers he always did so, like a freaking idiot, I blurted out, ‘Hey you changed your lock code.’”
My lips squish to the side of my mouth. “Uh oh.”
She bites her lip and nods. “Yeah. It was bad. He got really pissed and accused me of spying on him. Then he said I was too bossy and intrusive and that this is why he didn’t want to date me because I was a shitty person who wanted to control him.”
“Becca, I’m sorry.” I try to picture the scenario she just explained. Other guys from my past, like Ian, probably would have reacted the same way. But when I mentally put Jace into that situation, I can’t see the same outcome. Jace doesn’t yell at me like that.
Becca sets her empty ice cream bowl on the floor and rolls herself out of the bean bag. Her hands rest on her hips as she walks to my bedroom window and stares out of it, deep in thought. “I bet Chase wouldn’t react like that,” she says, referring to my neighbor whose bedroom window is visible from her viewpoint. She’s had a crush on him since he moved in last winter, but he doesn’t feel the same way about her. She throws her hands up in frustration. “Who am I kidding? I bet he would. All guys are assholes and they’re all so damn secretive with their stupid phones. I guess I should just get over it if I ever want to have a boyfriend.”
“You’ll find someone who isn’t an asshole,” I say, wishing I had better words to comfort her. A year and a month ago before I met Jace, I might have felt the same way in thinking that all guys were jerks. But I got lucky enough to find my soul mate and I know Becca will too.
“How do you manage it?” Becca turns toward me, her hands still on her hips. “How do you put up with never knowing who Jace is talking to or what kind of secrets he keeps on his phone?”
I shrug. “I never thought about it. He doesn’t keep secrets from me.”
Becca lets out a snort of laughter. “Wow, Bay. That’s like the biggest lie ever.” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise at her accusation and she quickly adds, “I mean, I love Jace. I totally do. But you can’t say he doesn’t keep secrets from you. He’s just another guy, after all.”
Now my hands are on my hips. I’m trying not to get offended because I know she’s just mad at her own situation, but it’s hard not to want to take someone’s head off when they insult my boyfriend. “I have no reason to think that he keeps secrets from me. He tells me everything.”
“Really?” Her voice drips with sarcasm. “Remember just a few months ago when you were constantly freaking out about his Facebook and all those parties he went to and all the girls he took pictures with? You can’t possibly think that there aren’t any questionable text messages on his phone he doesn’t want you to know about.”
“Well I sure as hell didn’t snoop through his phone to find out,” I say, entirely too defensively as I sink back into the bean bag. The reason I never snooped through his phone was because the idea didn’t occur to me. I’m not an obsessive phone-snooper like Becca is. A lump forms in my throat.
Jace doesn’t keep secrets from me.
But what would I have found if I did look through his phone?
Chapter 5
Jace’s apartment smells like fresh lilacs. It’s a huge step up from how it smelled when he first moved in; like motorcycle tires and pizza delivery. I set my backpack of clothing on the bench near the doorway and stretch out my arms. “This place smells amazing. I’m so glad you let me put that wax warmer in your kitchen.”
“I like those wax things even if they are girly as hell.” Jace locks the door behind us and hangs his keys on the key rack next to the door. I can’t help but picture how one day my own car keys might get to rest on the hook next to his. He heads to the kitchen near the wax warmer and shows me a few packages of scented wax cubes that he must have bought on his own. “I used to hate these girly smells but now they just remind me of you.”
“So now you like them?” I say with an I told you so smile. He nods. “I just like being reminded of you.”
I motion toward the living room where the unmistakable changes I’ve made reflect off of nearly every inch of the apartment. The dark blue and grey couch pillows were bought at Target with Jace’s credit card, along with the throw blankets, the fluffy rug and the welcome mat. “My presence pretty much dominates your place now,” I say with a smug self-satisfaction. “What would you do without me? You’d be living like a total pig.”
Jace grabs a water bottle from the refrigerator and chugs half of it. “Trust me, I live like a pig when you aren’t here. I only clean up real quick before you come over.”
“Ah, so the truth comes out!” I sit on the armrest of his couch and cross my arms. “Jace Adams, whatever will I do with you?”
I get lost in his smile as he approaches me. By the time I realize his look of adoration has turned into a sneaky grin, it’s too late. Jace hooks an arm under my knees and around my shoulders and yanks me off the couch. I squeal and grab around his neck so I don’t fall. “I’ve missed you so much,” Jace says as he turns and walks away from the couch, carrying me with him.
Warmth floods into me as he carri
es me into his bedroom and gently sets me on his bed. I want to make a sarcastic comment about how he actually made his bed this time, but his lips press onto mine before I have a chance. My fingers run through his soft hair, tangling up in it since he hasn’t had a haircut in a while. I shiver when his hands slide up my waist, pulling my shirt off with the help of me arching my back for him.
“Yeah,” he says, gazing at my chest. “I definitely missed these.” He buries his face into my cleavage and I end up giggling like a dork because his scruffy facial hair tickles.
I push his head away and he leans in for a kiss. I hold my finger up to his lips. “Not fair. If my shirt is off then yours needs to be off, too.”
“Yes ma’am,” he growls as he sits back on his heels while still straddling me to the bed. His arms cross in front of him and then he pulls his shirt off and I watch the ripples in his chest muscles flex as he slides the shirt over his head and tosses it to the floor. Damn, my boyfriend is hot. I press my hands to his chest, letting my fingers trail down to his abs and then hook into the waistband of his jeans. I guess my feeling him up is the girl version of him snuggling against my boobs.
We’re total opposites. He thinks my squishy areas are sexy and I think his rock hard muscles are sexy. Good thing we’re perfect for each other. I close my eyes as Jace showers my body with soft kisses. Shivers run across my skin as the stubble on his face tickles my hip bone.
When we’re both undressed, we cuddle under the sheets and Jace makes love to me like I am the only thing in this world that matters to him. After, when I curl up in his arms and feel sleep start to fall over me, I grab on to the love I feel from my boyfriend and hold it deep inside my heart. I’m going to need it when I talk to him about moving in later.
Jace picks out the snap peas from his Chinese takeout and places them on a napkin. I reach over and grab them one by one with my chopsticks and eat them. He sticks out his tongue in disgust every time he hears them crunch in my mouth. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t half of the reason why I eat them. Jace stabs a piece of beef with his chopstick When he’s hungry he doesn’t bother using them in the correct way. “So have you given any more thought to what you’d like to study at the college?”
“The better question would be, ‘Have you decided if you even want to study at the college?’” I say without bothering to hide the annoyance in my voice. I was hoping we could go at least a whole day at Jace’s apartment without talking about this. I know I need to hash this out eventually but I’m perfectly fine with putting it off as long as possible.
“Why do you say that?” Jace asks. “You’re not really giving college a chance. You could like it, you know.”
“You didn’t give college a chance. Why are you making me go?”
He stares straight past my head, not looking at anything but the thoughts in his own mind. “I didn’t go to college because I chose a career as a professional motocross racer. That didn’t exactly work out for me.”
“You’re doing well for yourself. You have a career that’s still in motocross. I wish I had a talent that paid me a lot of money.”
Jace smiles and shakes his head as he swirls his chopstick around his plate. “Oh you have talent…but I’m not going to let anyone pay you for it.”
“Shut up,” I say as blood rushes to my cheeks. He so did not bring up my bedroom skills while we’re eating dinner.
When we finish eating I let Jace convince me to pull up the Brazos Community College website and browse through the different programs they offer. It’s a community college and not a university so they only have two year degrees and certificate programs. Until Becca mentioned them, I had no idea what a certificate was. Turns out it’s a super quick way to get certified to do various careers like the Pharmacy Technician path that Becca chose.
I skim over the list of possible careers, reading them aloud to Jace while he pours us both a drink from the kitchen. “Well?” he asks when I finish the list.
I try to stop my lip from curling. “I don’t like any of these.” My shoulders fall. I’m not trying to be difficult. I just can’t picture myself doing any of these jobs for the rest of my life. And I’m not some stuck up girl who wants to be taken care of either. I want to work. I want to be successful and do something I’m good at and help Jace pay the bills. But for now, the only options seem to be taking a part time job in the evenings or going to college to pursue a degree in subjects I couldn’t care less about.
Jace hands me a drink and settles beside me on the floor with his back resting against the couch. He looks over my shoulder at the laptop screen in my lap. “Nothing sounds good to you?” he asks. It makes me feel better since his voice isn’t rude or condescending. “Maybe we should research each of the options and see what kind of jobs you can get with them. It might change your mind.”
I sigh and let my head fall backward until I’m staring at the ceiling. “I wish there was a job that involved hanging out with you at the track all day.”
Jace’s eyes light up. “Maybe there is. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier.” He slides closer to me and asks for the laptop. I hand it over without hesitation since it belongs to him and all. With his brows furrowed in concentration, he pulls up Gmail and types in his log in information. “I’m going to email Mr. Fisher.”
“Your boss? What for?”
He wiggles his eyebrows and the overly confident smile he’s so good at wearing appears on his face. “I’ll tell you once I know for sure.”
I roll my eyes and push myself up onto the couch, stretching my feet out lengthwise. As Jace types up an email to his boss, I watch the glow of the computer screen light up his gorgeous face. Becca’s words from the other day come back to me. Jace had typed in his password right in front of me without hesitation. I didn’t even think to watch him type it like Becca does with the guys she dates. I wonder if he would be upset if I secretly figured out his password by spying on him as he types.
“Hey babe?” I ask, the words falling out of my mouth before my common sense can force me to shut up. “What’s your email password?”
He doesn’t look up from his computer. “F-M-X-5-1-9.”
“Five nineteen? Aww, baby, that’s the day we started dating.”
Jace snorts as he continues typing the email. “Duh.”
I turn to the side and rest my chin on his shoulder. “I can’t believe you just told me your password.”
This time he does look away from the computer. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well…I don’t know. Because it’s private? Because Becca said that every guy is obsessed with keeping their stuff secret.”
Jace lifts an eyebrow. “Maybe the weirdos she dates. Bay, you’re my soul mate. I have no secrets from you. Everything about me is free for you to know.”
“Yeah, no secrets except for talking to my mom behind my back.”
He leans over and kisses me on the forehead. “That was for your own good. And trust me, she gave me no choice in the matter.”
Chapter 6
My boyfriend’s cell phone blasts the room with an annoying ringtone about thirty seconds after we finish making love. Not expecting any sounds so early in the morning, I jump, rolling backward onto the bed and losing my comfortable spot on Jace’s chest.
“Perfect timing,” he says as he leans toward the nightstand and grabs his phone. “It’s Mr. Fisher.”
I pull the comforter up to my shoulders to keep warm. Jace climbs out of bed and answers the call, not even bothering to put on any clothes. It’s fine by me though, I like the view. I don’t pay any attention to his phone call at first. His work stuff doesn’t really concern me, not unless he’s getting called into work on his day off. But then Jace turns around to face me and says, “Definitely. I’ll ask Bayleigh about it. Thank you, sir.”
After ending the call, Jace crawls back into bed and I reclaim my position on his chest. His arm wraps around my shoulders and squeezes my side. “So…what was that about?” I
ask.
“It was about the email I sent him last night. How do you feel about administration work?”
When the smell of scrambled eggs quickly turns into the smell of scorched eggs, I hop off my barstool and shove Jace away from the stove. He wanted to be sweet and cook breakfast for us while he tells me more about this crazy work idea of his, but clearly I need to take over. He hands me the spatula with a big pouty frown on his face. “Sorry babe. I tried.”
I laugh and toss the burnt eggs into the trash, then lower the heat on the stove so I can start a fresh batch. “Leave the cooking to me. You still need to finish telling me this idea of yours.”
Jace grabs my butt as he walks behind me and I swat at him with the spatula. He takes a seat at the bar and continues the conversation we started in the bedroom. “Your comment about wanting to hang out at the track with me all day made me remember that Hana was looking at a stack of job applications the other day.”
I crack another egg and glance back at him. “That sounds promising…” I say, more to myself than to him. Hana Fisher is the track owner’s daughter and she also works at the track with Jace.
Jace taps his fingers on the counter. “Yeah, so I asked him what they were hiring for and he said they need a front desk kind of person. Someone with administration experience who can handle phone calls and paperwork and basically all the clerical stuff that goes on at the track. Jim and Hana and everyone else have a passion for the motocross aspect of it and don’t like doing office stuff.”
“I could totally do that,” I say as thoughts of hanging out with my boyfriend at work all day play through my mind. Office stuff doesn’t sound hard. I mean, I’m one hell of a copy maker and I’m quite skilled with a stapler.