“I’m fine, but how are you? Are you in pain?”
“No. They loaded me up with stuff.”
“Were you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, just the shoulder. Well, right below it.” He points to the spot where I held my hand trying to stop the blood. “If I’d been just a second faster it wouldn’t have hit me at all.”
“So did anyone tell you what happened? I mean, what happened with Sinclair?”
Garret nods. “Yeah. I know the story. I know both stories.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird?” I whisper. “It’s like your dad knew exactly what to do and then these people just showed up and—”
“Jade, we shouldn’t talk about it. It’s over now.”
By his tone, I can tell that he’s witnessed something like this before. Maybe more than once. That must be what he meant when he said that his family has ways of covering up secrets. If he’d told me this before, I never would’ve believed him. I had to see it for myself.
“You seem really tired, Garret.” His eyelids look like they could fall shut at any moment.
He rubs his eyes. “It’s the painkillers.”
“Let’s go upstairs so you can sleep.”
We go to his room. I lie down next to him and we both fall asleep.
His dad stops by around 9 to check on him. “How’s he doing?” he asks me as Garret continues to sleep.
“He seems okay. He’s been asleep for hours.”
“The nurse is staying in the fourth bedroom down. She’ll leave her door open slightly, so just go get her if you need her.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I guess Mr. Kensington assumes I’m spending the night in his son’s room, which is good because it’s what I was planning to do.
The next few days I keep Garret company while he recovers. We watch movies, play games, and veg in front of the TV. We don’t say a word about what happened, which is still strange to me, but I guess I just have to accept it.
I ask Garret if he thinks anyone will come after me to get revenge for Sinclair. He assures me they won’t but doesn’t go into details, so I’m not sure I believe him.
On Christmas Eve morning, Katherine and Lilly return. Katherine must know what happened because she doesn’t act surprised to see me there.
Garret and I spend the day with Lilly. It’s fun to see her so excited about Santa coming. I never believed in Santa or the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy or any of those holiday-related characters.
Lilly tells us she’s being on her “best behavior” so Santa won’t skip her house. She’s hoping for a dollhouse this year.
That night, we sit around the giant Christmas tree while Mr. Kensington reads Twas the Night Before Christmas. Garret said it’s one of their family traditions.
After what I saw, I find this whole scene completely bizarre. A man was killed in their house just a few days ago. And not just any man. A man who could’ve been president of the United States! Yet they continue on like they’re just this normal family.
It’s so weird hanging out with them like this. I feel like I’m intruding on their holiday. But surprisingly, none of them are making me feel like I shouldn’t be there. Even Katherine is playing along. Garret’s dad must have had a talk with her.
Christmas morning everyone is expected to show up at breakfast all dressed up for the day. I always thought people just got up and opened presents in their pajamas, but Garret’s family doesn’t do it that way.
Garret arrives at breakfast in dress pants, a shirt, and a tie. I’m wearing a dress that Katherine left in my room. It’s a nice dress but it’s red, a color I normally wouldn’t wear. Lilly shows up in a pink dress, of course.
Garret’s grandparents are there, too. I hadn’t met them before today. They’re very formal. After meeting them, I understand why we had to dress up for breakfast.
After we eat, everyone heads over to the living room to open gifts. The tree is overflowing with presents. More than anyone would ever need.
As people are opening them, Garret leans over to me, placing his hand on my leg. “Merry Christmas, Jade. You look gorgeous, by the way.”
“Thanks.” I feel like everyone’s watching us, but they’re not. They’re all focused on Lilly.
“I miss you,” he says quietly by my ear.
“I’ve been here with you all week,” I say quietly back.
“That’s not what I mean. I miss being with you. And seeing you in this dress is driving me crazy.”
He squeezes my leg and I take his hand off it and hold it mine. “We can’t do anything with your injury.”
He smiles. “There’s ways. My room. Tonight.”
“With your parents just down the hall?” I whisper.
He sits back again. “Midnight. And I’ll give you your Christmas gift.”
“Jade, you’re next,” Mr. Kensington says.
Everyone watches as Lilly comes over to me holding a present.
She hands it to me, then stands there anxiously waiting. “I hope it’s a doll with really long hair. Then we can do our dolls’ hair together.”
I hear Garret laughing next to me.
I open the box to find a pair of bright blue and orange running shoes. They’re really lightweight. Way lighter than my current running shoes.
Lilly looks disappointed that I didn’t get a doll. She runs off.
“These are great. I’ve never seen ones like this.”
“They’re not out yet,” Garret says. “Katherine has a friend who’s a designer at a shoe company. You got one of the first pairs. They’re supposed to make you run really fast. Not like you need that. I can’t even keep up with you.”
“Thank you,” I say to his parents. “I can’t wait to try them out.”
They really are cool shoes. And a great gift. Obviously Garret’s suggestion.
The present opening continues and I end up getting several more gifts; a couple cashmere sweaters, a long sleeve athletic shirt, and a sports watch that measures race time, pace, distance, and other running stats.
“I told you no presents,” I whisper to Garret.
“They weren’t from me,” he says, trying to play innocent.
After we eat a big Christmas dinner, Garret and I watch a kid movie with Lilly in the theater room. In the middle of the movie, she runs out.
“What was that about?” I ask Garret.
“Kids that age have a short attention span. She’s probably in her room playing with her new dollhouse.”
When we’re finished watching the movie, she runs back in, comes over and hugs me, then drops a piece of paper on my lap.
“What did she give you?” Garret asks as he turns on the lights.
I look at the paper. It’s a drawing of Lilly and me. My hair is in two braids and I’m in the red dress I wore earlier in the day. I’m holding her hand and the words “Lilly’s Big Sister” are written above my head.
“Garret, did you put her up to this?”
“Why? What is it?” He takes the paper, then laughs. “I swear I had nothing to do with this.” He gives it back to me. “But you know what this means.”
“No. What does it mean?’
“It means that someday when I ask you to marry me you’ll have to say yes. Lilly wants you to be her big sister. You can’t disappoint her. She’d be crushed.”
“Okay, now I totally think you put her up to this.”
“Sorry, but I didn’t. Although that’s a good idea, using Lilly to get you to do something.”
30
At midnight I meet Garret in his room, hoping and praying that everyone is sound asleep. At least his room is at the end of the hall, far from Lilly’s room and his parents’ room.
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I say as I crawl into his bed. The blue lights are on, filling the room with their soft glow. “We’re totally going to get caught.”
“I’m not making you do anything. If you want, we’ll just go to sleep. Is that
what you want to do?”
“Yes. I can’t do this with your family down the hall.”
Or can I? Now that I’m here next to him, I’m finding him hard to resist. He’s shirtless and has on the cologne that I love. I kiss his chest, breathing in his scent.
“I thought we were just sleeping,” he says, a hint of laughter in his voice.
“We are. I’m just kissing you goodnight.” I work my way up to his lips. As I scoot my body up against his I notice that he’s wearing nothing. Nothing! I thought he was just shirtless. There’s no way I can turn him down now! I don’t have that kind of self-control, especially not when I’m this close to his naked body.
“Garret, where are your clothes?”
“I was hot.” He runs his hand down my stomach and slides it under my pajama pants. “You seem a little hot, too. You should take yours off.”
“Damn, you! At least let me lock the door first.” I hear him laughing as I get out of bed and lock the door, ditching my clothes on the way back.
“Nobody’s coming in, Jade. They’re asleep.”
“So how are we going to do this?” I ask, seeing his bandaged chest.
“You’re going to do this. Get on top, like you did before.”
“What if I hurt you?”
“You won’t hurt me. And I’m going to be like this for weeks, so you’ll have to get used to it.”
I straddle him and he reaches up and brings my mouth down to his for a long, slow, deep kiss. Damn, he’s a good kisser. Like seriously, he could win a contest.
He pulls back just enough to talk softly against my lips. “When I said I missed you, I meant that I really, really missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” I kiss him back as I position myself over him. His hands move to my backside and he pulls me into him as he pushes up with his hips. After a while of him guiding me, I move his hands away and take over. I still have no idea what I’m doing when I’m on top like this, but Garret definitely likes it, so I guess I’m not that bad.
Afterward, I lie down on the non-injured side of his chest. “Merry Christmas, Garret.”
He laughs. “Are you saying that was my present?”
“No! I was just saying Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too. Are you ready for your gift?”
“Let me get dressed first.”
We get up and put our pajamas back on.
He walks over to his closet. “Remember that it only cost $1.50, so don’t get too excited.”
“Wait. First I need to go to my room and get yours.”
When I come back he has the regular room lights on. We take a seat on the bed, facing each other.
“You first,” I say.
“Okay, now you may think this is totally lame, but I didn’t know what else to do given the fact that you won’t let me spend any money.”
He hands me a small green notebook. It’s the one we started using early in the semester to write down stuff we were too embarrassed to say out loud.
“That’s funny,” I say.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He looks offended. “You don’t even know what’s in it yet.”
I pull out my own green notebook from behind my back. “We had the same idea.”
He takes the notebook. “That is funny. So what’s in yours?”
“You have to read it. That’s why I wrote it down. I’m too embarrassed to say these things out loud.”
“Well, yours is kind of a mix of stuff. Last semester, I started writing down things I wanted to remember about us. Like our first date. The bowling. The Mexican place. That type of stuff. You’ll see. And at the end I put a list.”
“A list of what?”
“You always ask me why I want to be with you. So I answered you. Now you’ll have tons of reasons and they’re all written down. I’m hoping it will make you stop worrying that I’m going to leave. After you read it, you’ll see there’s no possible way that I could.”
“Yours sounds way better than mine. Maybe you should give me mine back and I’ll add some more.”
“Relax, Jade. Whatever you wrote, I’m sure I’ll like it.”
I get under the covers and lean against the headboard. Garret does the same. Then we start reading.
Garret’s notebook has about 10 pages of writing. Each entry is sectioned off by date. He has stuff about the first day we met, the first time we kissed, our first sleepover, and other firsts. I read it all, smiling at some of it and tearing up at other parts. He wrote it like a story. Put all together, it’s the story of how we fell in love. And it’s the absolute best gift I’ve ever received.
I flip to the last page to read the list.
Why I love a potato-chip-addicted girl from Iowa . . .
She’s funny, even when she’s not trying.
She’s beautiful, cute, sexy, and hot all at the same time.
She’s innocent and sweet, despite saying otherwise.
She has beautiful jade green eyes that I can’t stop staring at.
She’s smart and can beat anyone in a trivia contest.
She’s a super fast runner and can kick my ass on the track.
She’s nice to people, even little kids, despite saying she doesn’t like them.
She’s competitive (which is freaking hot!)
She’s comfy to sleep next to.
She’s hard to predict.
She’s well versed in the art of giving insults.
She’s independent. Strong. And Resilient.
She’s a good hugger, (although she did have an excellent instructor).
She loves the small things in life, like snow and Christmas lights and homemade donuts.
She doesn’t care about money.
She keeps my ego from getting too high.
She makes me not want to drink.
She makes me want to be a man and not a kid.
She makes me want to get married someday (which I said I would never, EVER do).
Are you getting bored yet? Because I could fill this whole notebook. And probably another one after that. The more time I spend with you, the more notebooks I could fill. I love you, Jade. —Garret
It takes me much longer to read his notebook than it does for him to read mine because I just have a list. This is what I wrote.
Compliments I’ve been meaning to give Garret . . .
You’re super hot! Your blue eyes, your soft lips, your perfect smile, your rock-hard abs. . . I got off track thinking about your abs, but basically all of you is hot!
You’re a great kisser and are also great at. . . I’m too embarrassed to write it down, but you know what I mean.
You’re the absolute best hugger on the planet. Not that I’ve hugged many people, but you taught me how to do it which proves that you’re really good.
You’re patient with difficult people (I’m not saying who).
You’re considerate of others, even when they’re not that considerate of you (again, I’m not naming names).
You’re a gentleman (although you don’t have to open my door EVERY time).
You’re funny, smart, and an excellent swimmer. (Three compliments in one!)
You’re a nice older brother. (I had Lilly confirm this one for me.)
You’re a good son. (I had your dad confirm this one for me.)
You’re a great boyfriend—a million times better than anyone I’ve ever dated. (I know you don’t want to hear about the other guys I’ve dated but I had to mention them solely for comparison purposes.)
You’re a very skilled driver, especially when the brakes go out.
You know how to make green beans taste good. And chicken.
You’re fun to hang out with, even if we do nothing at all.
You’re good at making me smile when I’m in a crappy mood.
You make an awesome concession stand.
You throw a kick-ass Halloween party.
You’re a good listener.
You smell really, really good.
You’re persistent. You don’t give up on people, even when they give up on themselves.
You’re a good friend. The best friend I’ve ever had.
I could go on, but I don’t want your ego to get too high so I’ll end it here.
Okay, maybe just one more.
You can do the impossible, like make a girl who didn’t believe in love fall completely in love with you. (Totally sappy, I know. But true.)
I love you, Garret. —Jade
When I finish reading his notebook I look up to see my own notebook closed and in his lap. He’s smiling at me and I quickly wipe away the tears that managed to sneak down my face when I read what he wrote.
“So that’s what you get for a $1.50,” he says. “But it’s gotta be better than a pack of gum. Unless you had your heart set on the gum, which would really suck because I spent a shitload of time writing all that.”
I flip around to face him. “Your gift was way better than a pack of gum.”
“Yours too.” He leans down to kiss me. “You were right, Jade. The best gifts don’t cost much.”
I hold up his notebook. “Thank you for doing this. Being a guy, I’m sure you weren’t too comfortable writing your feelings down like that. I could barely do it.”
“Yeah, well, this is just between you and me. Nobody else sees that notebook. I don’t want people thinking I’m one of those overly sensitive guys.”
I laugh again. “No. We wouldn’t want that.”
“So you had a good Christmas?”
“A good Christmas, a good Thanksgiving, a good Halloween. All the holidays have been good thanks to you.”
“What can I say? I get into holidays. But again, that’s our little secret, okay? Holidays are more of a girl thing.”
“Not Super Bowl Sunday.”
“That’s true. We have a lot more holidays to go. You’re going to love the Kensington Fourth of July. We do our own fireworks show.”
As he describes it, I finally feel confident that we’ll still be together by the Fourth of July. And a long time after that. I might even be a Kensington someday.
Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) Page 26