“Leave that up to me. Thank you for checking in about my driving. It was fine.”
“Both hands on the wheel? No playing with the radio or your phone?”
“I did everything you told me to. My mom is impressed.”
“Good. I’ll see you Thursday.”
That was the extent of our conversation, but I was touched he even called me.
By Wednesday, I miss Jared and it scares me how much, because if it’s this hard when we’re in the same town, or if he’s only gone for a few days, what’s it going to be like when he’s in Philadelphia permanently? It’ll be even harder this time than when he left Annapolis after he graduated.
I can’t think straight and it shows.
At my mom’s, as she and I sit down to dinner, she asks, “Katydid, are you okay?”
I rigidly smile at my plate. “I’m great.”
She sighs and grabs my wrist. “You miss Jared, don’t you?”
Glancing at her, I roll my eyes as she drops her hand. “Mom, I’m not going to keep answering your questions about him.”
“Jared comes back tomorrow. Are you going to tell him?”
Flustered, I drop my fork. “Really? No! Stop asking me!”
“You know, Adam also thinks there’s something going on between you and Jared.”
Picking up my fork, I again look at her. “What?”
She nods. “He’s asked me about it, but don’t worry, I told Adam I didn’t notice. He bought it.”
“Why? You didn’t even know that I…”
She raises an all-knowing eyebrow. “Love Jared? I’ve seen it for a while now. I may look it, but I’m not stupid.”
I put down my fork and clutch my head with both hands. “God. I hope I’m not that conspicuous.”
Mom laughs. “Just to me. I’ve never seen that particular look on your face, until I saw you with Jared.” What would that be? Desperation?
I clear my throat. “Well, if Adam notices something…”
She shakes her head. “He’s mostly noticing how Jared is acting around you. He’s just as clueless as his son.”
“Oh. I wonder what’s different then.”
“I don’t know. He didn’t give specifics.”
After dinner, since Pete has the night off, I text him to pick me up. I need to find a gift for Jared and I don’t need my mother in on it. Besides, Pete owes me.
My phone conversation with Jared on Wednesday night went along the lines of the last two, with him asking about my driving, and that’s it. I’m not sure why he even bothered.
Thursday morning, as I look over my special to-do list my jerk brother makes just for me, my mom drops a stack of paint samples onto the card table. “Help me pick colors.”
I frown at her, but then shuffle through the cards. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I was—am. I had to run an errand. I forgot to show you these.”
“Purple or blue is good for every room.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to see your Smurfy house.”
“Like I’m ever going to own a house.”
“You can work on that after buying a car.”
I roll my eyes at her and a red color called Mayday. “I’ll get right on it.”
“You can pick the color for one of the bedrooms, since you’ll be the one staying with me the most.”
“Smurfy.”
Looking up at her, Mom starts grinning for no reason, but before I have a chance to look behind me, I’m picked up and spun around. As I spin, Dash’s bright, blond hair flashes by me as he looks on, so that tips me off to my captor.
“Jared!” I squeal. He sets me down and when I turn to look at him, I stop myself from hugging him in front of my mother. “I’m glad you’re back,” I say with a huge smile.
With a matching grin, he says, “Me, too.” His green-speckled eyes glitter, but when he glances to my mother, the shine somewhat dims as he composes himself, shutting out people.
My mom says, “Hi, Jared. Did you have a nice trip?”
As I stare at his handsome face, he shrugs and answers her, “It was okay. Thanks.” He turns to me and I hurriedly look away, but making the mistake of seeing Dash’s deliberate smile, I again look back to Jared. He says, “I had Dash take me to pick up the Nissan, so I’m ready if you are.”
“Yep.” I make another mistake by looking at my mom before following Jared, and her smile is grossly cheerful, as well, and I roll my eyes at her.
Passing Dash, I ask, “I thought you’d been murdered at a rest stop?”
“Don’t believe Jericho.” Dash grabs my arm and whispers, “While driving, don’t tell him you want to have baby Jerichos. Definitely too dangerous.”
I frown and push his arm. “Shut up.” His pout makes me laugh, though.
Jared hands me the keys, and his fingers brush mine longer than necessary, but he says nothing. When I’m behind the wheel, I ask, “Did you get a lot done in your apartment?”
He nods and looks out the window. “Yep.”
“Do you have a ton left to do?”
Jared restlessly shifts and looks around before saying, “I only took shit out of storage that I’ll need, so not a whole lot.”
Buckling my seatbelt, I say, “Good. Where do you want me to drive?”
His gaze briefly lands on me before he peers out the windshield. “Just go down to the end of the road here.”
I scrunch my face up at him as I start the car. “Okay. Then where?”
He spins his hat backward and says, “Just go and I’ll tell you.”
Making sure to check my mirrors, I pull onto the street and do as he said, stopping in the middle of the road. “Now where?”
“Pull into this parking lot.” I put my turn signal on, since he’ll call me out if I don’t, even on this residential, slow street with no one around, and I drive into the church parking lot.
“Okay…”
“Put the car in park.” Done.
I turn to him and ask, “What now?”
“This.” He reaches over, puts his hand on my cheek, and forcefully tugs me to him, kissing me so hard our teeth clash on impact, but the pain is fleeting and I drown in his insistent kiss.
After minutes of straight making out, he stops to whisper, “I fucking missed you.”
Looking into his hazel-streaked, green eyes, I smile. “I fucking missed you, too.”
“I want us to go to my dad’s house, but he’s working from home today.”
“Oh. Maybe tomorrow then.”
He brushes stray hair away from my face. “No. Let’s go to your place.”
I look to the windshield. “Um, my brother is hanging out there.” Why in the hell did I say that?
“Pete? Really? Why?”
“His apartment is being fumigated.” That’s what I come up with on the fly?
“Shit. We’ll have to find a place where we can be loud.”
I hear the smile in his voice, and I nod at the steering wheel. I thread my fingers through my ponytail, reeling from why I fed Jared a story like that. I can’t waiver. I said I’d be okay with this, and I am—to a point. I just don’t want him to expect sex on demand, like I’m just a pair of open legs, or I’m on his payroll. I have to set some limits to hang onto any shred of self-respect I have left, especially after I nearly fucked him in a dusty bathroom, while our parents practically stood outside the door.
Distracted, I ask, “Do you like your apartment?”
Sounding distracted himself, he says, “It’s okay. I want you to see it, though.”
Looking up from the wheel, I turn to him. “How, without everyone knowing?”
Jared grins and I want to kiss those lips again. “Dash. He brought up the idea to invite you up, and to tell people he’s going with us, too.”
“What?” Play dumb. Best route.
He nods. “He said he’ll lie low for the weekend.”
“That’s… Kind of drastic.”
“He asked if we’re having s
ex again, but I told him no. I said I just want you to see Philly. I’ll sleep on the couch, while you take my bed.”
“Okay.”
Leaning closer, he wickedly smirks. “Of course, I’ll take you in my bed as often as possible.”
Smiling, I shake my head. “If I go to Philadelphia, we’ll be fixing up your apartment.”
“I have plenty of time to do that shit. I want to spend time with you.” He reaches for my hand and plays with my fingers.
I laugh so I don’t moan from the feel of his skin on mine. “We’re doing that now.”
He rolls his eyes and asks, “How’s class going?”
“Good. I don’t have to learn how to drive a stick, but since my instructor is so hot, I may learn.” Yep. I played that card again.
“Is that so?” Jared drops my hand and suddenly sits back. Crossing his arms, he licks his lips, while squinting at the windshield, like he’s considering that.
I shrug. “Why not? I’ll try it. I bet it’s going to be sexy, watching him shift gears for his demonstrations. That’ll really rev my engine.” I giggle, but no real reaction from him, so I try again. “I can’t wait because I love watching a man who can handle his stick.”
He nods, but doesn’t turn to look at me. “Okay. Get back on the road.” Well, shit. That didn’t go as planned.
Leaving the parking lot, the rest of the drive is quiet, but I can hear his brain working. I just don’t have the password to enter his work zone.
Before we return to my mom’s, Jared doesn’t try to kiss me at the stop sign, like he did Sunday. “You okay?” I ask, as I turn left.
“Yep.” Nothing more, still.
At the house, Jared and I separate. Dash finds me in the kitchen alone, loading nail guns, which is the biggest task Tony has given me yet. “Did Jericho fill you in on the plan?”
I laugh, looking up at his cherub-like face. “I can’t believe you came up with that.”
He looks over his shoulder and then shrugs. “It’ll give you both some time alone.” Dash points at me with an impish grin. “Just don’t waste it.” So much for being an angel.
Even though I know what he’s implying, I perfect my playing dumb act. “What’s that mean?”
Dash rolls his eyes, tilting his head from side to side. “I mean, make it count, Merrick. Talk to each other. He probably won’t start it, but get him to talk to you. I sure can’t get him to talk.”
“Then what makes you think I can?”
“Because he actually likes you.”
“Oh, Dash. He likes you, too. He spared your life in Philadelphia, didn’t he?”
He dramatically pouts, grabbing his back. “Barely. I had to cough up a kidney.”
I laugh. “Not so bad.”
“Thanks, Merrick. I love you, too.” His mischievous smirk returns as he backs out of the kitchen. “Look. I can say it. I love you, Merrick!”
I glare at him and growl, “I hate you.” His not-so-innocent grin widens to full-blown evil before he exits the kitchen. I then hear him talking to someone in the living room. Now I see why Dash and Jared clash so much. However, they couldn’t function without each other, either. Maybe I’m too late and Jared already has a savior.
“Hey, Kit Kat.”
Hearing Jared’s improved mood, I glance up from the nail cartridges and smile. “Hey.”
He leans his arm onto the counter, peering down at my task before looking to my face. “So.”
I purse my lips before repeating, “So…”
“I was thinking. Let’s grab some dinner tonight.”
My smile brightens. “Okay.”
He looks over his shoulder before lowering his voice, asking, “Why don’t you wear that school shirt you wore when you were sick?”
I’m not so quiet as I suddenly laugh. “That thing? It’s an old shirt I sleep in!”
“Yep. Oh, and your glasses and a skirt.”
My laughter drops like a brick. “Are you serious?”
When Jared responds with a smile, it’s a whole different level of wickedness compared to Dash. “Uh-huh.”
“Why?”
Without missing a beat, he replies, “Because.”
“I’ll need to go home early so I can throw the shirt in the washer.”
“I can take you home.” I bet he would.
“Well, my mom wants me to stop to look at more paint chips with her. She can just take me to class tonight, since we’ll be down that way.”
He’s quiet as he mulls that over, but says, “Okay. I guess that works. How about I pick you up around eight?”
“You’re not going to tell me why you want me wearing those?”
His wicked smile kicks up again. “Nope.”
“I’m worried.”
Jared laughs, and leaning closer to me, he whispers, “You should be, Kit Kat.”
My eyes almost leave my skull and I nervously laugh. “Um, okay.” Shaking my head, I say, “I hope I don’t get kicked out of the restaurant for looking worse than an old traffic cone.”
“Not even possible.” He pushes off the counter and says, “See you later.”
I nod, but am not sure what I just agreed to doing.
When I answer my door, Jared instantly looks at my shirt and an unabashed grin graces his face. That’s when I notice the maroon, school football shirt he’s wearing. Our school.
“Holy hell!” I say, laughing in disbelief. “Where’d you get that? It looks new!”
“It is. All my old shirts are gone, so I got a new one.”
I stare at it as it brings back so many memories. Good and bad. “But why?”
He shrugs. “I told you to wear yours, so I should have one, too.”
I laugh again, shocked that he’s wearing it. “Yours looks so much better than mine.”
“Yeah, but yours is an original.”
“Like you, huh?”
Jared laughs, licking his bottom lip. “I like your glasses.” I touch them and he asks, “Ready to go?”
I grab my purse, still grinning ear to ear. When I shut the door, he grabs my hand, leading me to a black car, and I stop, which makes him stop. “Whoa. This is your car?”
Jared proudly smiles. “Yep. Dodge Charger, in case you’re wondering.”
“It certainly isn’t the Nissan.”
“Yeah. No.”
He leads me to the passenger side, opening the door for me, and I smile, refraining from giving him a kiss, since my mother is probably watching from her window. “How sweet, Sonic. All of it. Thank you.”
“Uh-huh.” He shuts the door and I’m heavily surrounded by the scent of him. This is Jared’s car. His own space, and I love it. As I buckle my seatbelt, I notice the stick shift, making me giggle.
When he slides into the driver’s seat, he asks, “What’s so funny?”
I bite my smiling lip, shaking my head.
He rolls his eyes. “I find that hard to believe.”
Jared backs out of the driveway, and I nearly squeal out loud, watching him shifting. What the fuck is wrong with me?
As he drives, hitting traffic lights, I can’t help but watch him in fascination. I could never drive a manual transmission.
I want to reach over and hold his hand, but he’s busy and I don’t know when he’ll have to shift again. So I just stare at him, stepping on the clutch and shifting.
Stopping at a red light, he asks, “Why are you so quiet?”
I blink out of my ogling and smile at him. “Sorry.”
“What? Playing with my stick doesn’t turn you on enough?” The tone he uses has a mocking edge to it as he raises an eyebrow, and I try not to laugh at his jealousy for something that wasn’t true.
I absently toy with my seatbelt. “It does.”
When the light turns green, he looks ahead and stomps on the gas. He then glances my way as he shifts, and the dark look he gives me makes my body tingle, inside and out.
Before I realize it, I say, “I’m not hungry.”
Jared takes his eyes from the road, and I know that he knows exactly what I want to do instead. However, he raises that eyebrow again and says, “I am.” Holy hell. He just picked food over sex?
Sighing, I ask, “Where are we eating?”
“We can go downtown. You can pick anywhere. There’s Italian, Greek, steakhouses, seafood, Mexican—”
“How about a Wendy’s?”
He looks at me, almost appalled. “A what? You want to go there?”
“Yep. Let’s get it to go and eat in the parking lot.”
He laughs, but it’s more in doubt than hilarity. “What the hell? In my car?”
Even though I’m turned on by his driving, his facial expressions, and his cynicism, I playfully pout. “Oh. You’re one of those guys?”
“No. I just thought you’d want to go out somewhere.” Why do I feel like the poles have just shifted?
“We can eat somewhere nice in Philadelphia Saturday night. Tonight, let’s do burgers and fries.”
“Again? Last time we ate together, it was on the boardwalk and we didn’t even finish our food.”
“So? I’m a simple woman.”
“Right. With the striped hair, the makeup, the blue contacts. Simple.” He laughs and looks over at me. “You just think you look like, what was it, an ‘old traffic cone?’”
I laugh because he’s laughing. “Maybe, but we can sit in the car and talk. Is that so bad?”
“I guess not, but I’m suspicious.”
I lean closer, stretching my seatbelt, and whisper, “You should be, Jericho.”
I’m now the one with a wicked smile, and his throat dips and rises before he looks back to the road. How easy was that?
Jared pulls into Wendy’s near downtown, and when I see the toy for the kids’ meal, I tell him I want one.
Turning to me, he doubtfully laughs. “Are you fucking serious?”
I eagerly nod. “It’s Scooby Doo! Come on!”
Jared’s face crumples. “Jesus. It’s like having Calder with me.”
“Except, I don’t have a dick.”
His frown gives way to another laugh. “No, you do not, but neither does he.” I smack his thigh, but he grabs my hand before I pull it away, lacing our fingers together as we wait to order. The smile on my face could permanently etch itself there, but he doesn’t notice because he’s too busy perusing the brightly-lit menu.
The Keys to Jericho Page 50