He paused when he caught sight of Jackson with his arms wrapped around me. “Emily, who is this?”
“Hi, dad. This is Jackson. My… boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Jackson said, putting out his hand to shake with my dad.
Dad frowned as he looked down at the hand Jackson offered. Without acknowledging him, he turned to me and asked, “What happen to the other boy?”
“We broke up.”
Finally, he turned back to Jackson, shook his hand once, and then made his way to his room. I could hear the soft click of his door when he closed it in the silence of the house. I felt Jackson’s stare, but I didn’t want to meet his eyes.
“Can we go to school now?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he responded, though his voice sounded tense. I didn’t want to read too much on the why, so without waiting for him, I walked out the door. I heard Jackson’s heavy footsteps following behind.
He unlocked the car door, and I got in without waiting for him.
He stuttered in his steps, and then turned around and walked to the driver’s side. We didn’t say anything on the way to school.
A perfect morning, completely ruined.
10
Past: Emily
I found Grant at my locker when we got to school.
When he saw, he quickly pushed away from the locker door and rushed over to me. He hugged me, and I had to let go of Jackson’s hand to hug him back.
“I’m okay,” I said.
“I should have never left you. I knew something was going to happen. I should have waited for you by the bathroom door.”
I shook my head. “No way. There’s no way you could have known what would happen. Stop it, okay? Don’t you blame yourself for this or I’ll be mad at you for the rest of the day.”
“I would deserve it,” he replied. I shoved him away and glared at him. He raised both hands up as if to say he surrender before he laughed. Then he pulled me in closer to him again. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He paused. “I don’t think Jackson is too happy with you letting go of his hand to hug me,” he teased.
“What?”
He turned me around, and sure enough, Jackson was still standing where I left him, an adorable little frown on his face, leaving a small indention between his eyebrows. I looked back at Grant, who seemed amused. Shaking my head, I left his side and walked over to Jackson.
His face easily transformed into a relaxed smile at my approach and before I even got close, his arms were opened for me.
I walked into them, the tension from this morning quickly dissipated.
“You okay?” he whispered close to my ear.
I nodded. I was more than okay. I gave him a shy smile before moving out of his arms and walking to my locker, opening it.
Jackson was behind me, talking with Grant about something I couldn’t make out. And when I looked to my left, I didn’t care. Clear across the hallway, Beth stood against her locker, her eyes locked on me.
Her crew was absent, though she was surrounded by Jude and his friends. They were oblivious to where Beth’s attention was at, or maybe they didn’t care.
I knew she was going to be a problem the very day I agreed to go out with Jackson. I just didn’t think she would be so blatant about it, especially when she was still with Jude.
I wasn’t sure if she truly wanted attention from two of the most popular boys in school, or if she was just stringing Jude along until she could sink her claws into Jackson.
I looked away before either Jackson or Grant would notice and shove what I didn’t need in my locker, along with my green jacket. I smiled when Jackson shoved some of his stuff in there as well, then he took hold of my backpack.
His backpack was noticeably absent.
“Don’t you need books for class?” I asked.
Grant opened his mouth to say something, but Jackson shot him a look. I frowned.
“Yeah. I just need a notebook,” Jackson replied, reaching back into the locker and pulled one out.
“Do you need a pencil?” I asked, reaching into my bag and grabbing the first one my hand touched. It was a pen with colorful designed. I blushed and tried to shove the pen back in my bag, but Jackson was quicker. He took the pen from my hand and stuffed it in his pocket.
He was smiling when he said, “Thanks. Now come on, let’s get you to class before you’re late. I know how much you hate that.”
I waved at Grant and grabbed onto Jackson's hands, letting him walk me to class, same as the day before.
Was it smart, flaunting our relationship? I had already become public’s enemy number one when I had done the one thing all the girls in school hadn’t been capable of doing. Attain Jackson Wright.
By letting Jackson shower his affection onto me, was I making my life worse in high school?
I squeezed his hand unconsciously, and he squeezed back.
His hand was as reassuring as it was firm.
School wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated.
Aside from the few girls who still had feelings for him, everything and everyone acted as they always had.
When History ended, Grant walked me to my locker and to the lunchroom, refusing to leave my side even once, even when we both knew Ethan wasn’t in school.
I dropped off my backpack in my locker, and instead of grabbing a five-dollar bill like I usually do, I reached to the top shelf where Jackson had placed both of our lunches, and I pulled out the plastic container with a smile.
Grant’s eyes zoned in on them as soon as they were in sight. “Jackson made lunch?”
My smile widened as I nodded. There was just something endearing about the little gesture Jackson had done. No one had ever gone through so much trouble for me before.
“How very… domestic.”
“That’s one way to put it, I guess.”
“And how would you put it?”
“Sweet. Jackson is sweet to me,” I said, clutching both containers to my chest.
“I guess so,” he muttered quietly. It might take Grant a while to warm up to Jackson. I just hoped Jackson wouldn’t lose his patience with him.
“Ready for lunch?”
He nodded. “Are you taking both container?”
“Yes. I’m sure Jackson would like to join us for lunch.”
“Hmmm, he’ll probably bring Aiden with him, too.” I nodded. That was to be expected. “And whoever he usually eats lunch with.”
That made my steps faltered. I hadn’t really thought of it. But what if I was forced to eat lunch with some of those popular kids in school? There was no doubt that Jackson was popular. He garnered attention wherever he went.
I just thought that we would be eating lunch within our small group. I wasn’t comfortable in crowds. I’d be even less comfortable eating lunch with a whole lot of people I didn’t even know the names to.
“You think that’ll be okay?”
“I don’t care either way,” Grant said. “But I know you do. If you’re not comfortable with it, you should tell Jackson. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do, just because you’re dating him.”
“I know,” I replied softly. And I did.
But shouldn’t I at least try for Jackson? He had been so accommodating with me.
We walked into the busy lunchroom, and I looked to the table Jackson and Aiden usually sat, but they weren’t there.
I looked around and spotted them right away… at the usual table Grant and I sat at.
A smile tugged at my lips when I looked to Grant and found his focus on the two boys. “Hmmm, smart man. Come on. Your Prince awaits.”
We walked to the table, and the boys looked up. Aiden’s smile was mischievous, whereas Jackson’s eyes brightened as he took me in. He stood up and pulled out a chair for me.
“Hey,” he greeted, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek just before he settled down in the chair next to me.
“Hi,” I said shyly, passing one of the lunch containers to
him.
“Thanks for bringing me my lunch, babe.”
“Thanks for making it.”
“Aww, Jackson, where’s my lunch?” This came from Aiden who was pouting as he poked his own lunch with a plastic fork. “And here I thought you love me.”
Jackson threw a crumpled up napkin at him, narrowly missing his face. “Shut up and eat your lunch.”
Aiden winked at me before forking up some mash potatoes and putting it in his mouth. “How are you Emily?” he asked once he swallowed his food.
There was still this playfulness to him, but I could see him eyeing me cautiously, almost as if he was afraid I might lose it.
I did lose it in his arms the day before.
“Much better, thank you.” I hesitated before adding, “And thank you for yesterday.”
“Ah, you don’t have to thank me for that.” There was a shadow that crossed his eyes, but it was gone almost instantly.
I looked down and busy myself with opening the container, pulling out half of the turkey sandwich, nibbling on it, as I pretended that the table didn’t get quite all the sudden because of me. I was sure everyone was thinking about the what had happened with Ethan.
Jackson broke the silence when he took the hand I had on my lap in his and squeezed to get my attention. “When are you off this week?” he asked.
“Thursday,” I responded. It was the only day off I had.
“Good. Go out with me on Thursday.”
I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling. “Where to?”
“Wherever you want to go. We can go to a movie and dinner if that doesn’t sound too cliché for you?”
“No, that actually sound perfect,” I said on a sigh. Dinner and a movie sounded so normal. And with all that had happened, normal was exactly what I needed.
Plus, Ethan had never taken me to the movies before.
Jackson moved his hand down under the table to hold mine, opting to eat with his left hand. I took a large bite of the turkey sandwich as I watched Grant and Aiden interact.
It was no secret that Grant had never cared for Ethan, he certainly didn’t care for Max, either.
And Ethan was fine with that. He never made any move to try being Grant’s friend. But as I sat there and watched Aiden tell Grant a funny story about a small incident that happened at Suzie’s Cafe, I realized how important it was to me that Grant gets along with both Jackson and Aiden.
Grant was nothing if not overprotective. He was the cynical one out of the two of us, always convinced anyone who tried to get in my life had an ulterior motive. It was one of the reasons why we mostly kept to each other. I didn’t need anyone but Grant, and he was content just staying as we were.
But now that Jackson was in the picture, Aiden would be as well. And Aiden was nothing like how I imagined him be.
He was nice and loyal to a fault. Surely, Grant could admire those qualities in him.
And both Jackson and Aiden were trying with Grant.
I moved in little to Jackson until one side of my face almost touched his shoulder. He looked at me, in that intense way of his, before letting go of my hand and wrapping his arms around me.
“You okay?” he asked, leaning down to me.
“Never better,” I answered truthfully. With him by my side, things never felt better. He nodded once before leaning down and placed a chaste kiss on my cheek. When he leaned back, I realized our table was unnaturally quiet. Slowly, I looked to Aiden and Grant and found both of their eyes on us, various of amusement played across their face.
I shot a shy smile their way before picking up my sandwich and pretended to be interested in the crust. Jackson laughed softly beside me, as Aiden went back to his conversation with Grant, giving me the privacy I needed to get myself back together.
And when I looked back to Jackson, he looked happy. And I was happy.
Thursday night, I looked at myself in the body length mirror as I played with the ends of my hair.
It was curled inwards a little, and though I could hear the wind howling from outside my window, I chose to wear a little purple dress paired with a black cardigan, knowing if I got cold, Jackson was there.
I had little makeup on my face, mostly lipsticks that would give my lips some color, and I thought I looked beautiful.
When I turned around, Grant was there, sitting on my bed, a small smile on his face as he took in my appearance.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I think…” He cleared his throat a little before continuing, “I think Jackson is the luckiest bastard alive.”
I shook my head. “That’s just silly. He’s out of my league. I’m the luckiest girl alive.”
Grant scoffed. “Emily, you’re out of Jackson’s league. Anyone with eyes can see that. I don’t know why you can’t.”
It was my turned to scoffed. But before I could reply, a knock came at the door. Grant checked the time. “Smart man, coming here ten minutes early. He’s trying to woo you because he knows.”
“Know what?”
“That you are out of his league. He’s trying to make you fall in love with him before you figure that out and leave.”
Too late, I wanted to say. Instead, I remained silent and shot Grant a grateful smile on my way out to open the front door.
My breath caught when Jackson came into view, holding up white lilies in one hand, wearing a dark blue sweater vest and fitting blue jeans.
He smiled. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Is that for me?” I asked, pointing to the flowers.
He shook his head. “No, they’re for Grant. I see his car’s here. Let me just give this to him, and we can go.”
I laughed and opened the door wider to let him in. He smiled and handed the flowers to me. I petted the soft petal. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you,” he said gruffly, pulling me in closer to him until he had his face buried in my neck.
A cough startled me, and I tried to move back, only Jackson refused to let go. He looked up and glared over at Grant, making him chuckled.
“I heard you brought me flowers.”
Jackson plucked a single lily from the banquet and handed it to him.
With a grin, Grant took the lily and walked out, stopping briefly to give me a hug. I heard his car roared to life before he pulled out of the driveway, leaving just Jackson and me in the empty house.
When I looked back at him, I found Jackson’s eyes on me, a relaxed smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Shall we go?”
I nodded. “Let me just put this in a vase.”
I walked away and filled an empty vase with water before bringing it and the flowers to my room. I placed it on my desk and walked back out. Jackson was where I left him, leaning against the door, his hand in his pocket.
His eyes light up when he caught sight of me, and that made me feel pretty damn special. No one had ever looked at me like I was the prettiest girl in the world, but Jackson did.
And I believed him.
11
Past: Emily
He took me to a bar and grill restaurant downtown. The heavy traffic made the drive a forty minutes one.
I didn’t mind, not when Jackson had the music on low, and his hand held onto mine at the console. Everything felt better with him, and I could almost pretend Jackson was taking me away from the city and go somewhere nice, somewhere I didn’t feel as if I was suffocating from within.
When we got to the restaurant, the lights around it were shining so bright, it could be seen from the very end of the vast parking lot.
The ground wasn’t flat, and the three-inch heel I wore didn’t provide much for balance, but Jackson was sturdy, and he let me lean on him for support.
When I almost tripped on my own foot, Jackson was there, holding onto me. He winked and said, “Don’t fall.”
Too late, it was much too late.
“Thank you.”
“Grab onto my waist, sweetheart.”
I did as he asked, wrapping both arms around his waist. Could he feel my heart beating from where my chest was pressed to his side?
Could he see how each beat of my heart had already belonged to him?
He opened the door for me when we got to the restaurant, and he greeted the hostess up front, telling her about his reservation.
I loved that.
I loved how he had planned this whole thing down to the T. I loved that he took control of the situation because if it were left to me, I wouldn’t know how to plan the date to begin with. And I loved how important he made this date out to be because he was on a date with me.
From what I gathered from the girls at school, Jackson didn’t date. And yet, he was on one with me, because like Grant said, he knew I needed to be wooed, and he had done such a good job of it already.
We followed the hostess further in the restaurant, to a corner table, where Jackson pulled out my chair for me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before he sat on his own chair right next to me.
I heard the hostess sigh, and I was right there with her.
“Your server will be right with you,” she said with a smile.
Jackson’s eyes never stray from me when he nodded. “Order up. I want to make sure you won’t get hungry at the movies.”
I ordered a grilled salmon while he ordered the prime rib. At some point during dinner, he must have pulled his chair in closer to me, because we were so close to one and another, our shoulders touched.
The conversation flowed nicely, though I didn’t talk about my dad and he didn’t talk about his parents. We never brought it up, not when there was something about our family that we weren’t exactly proud of.
Instead, I told him about how Grant and I became friends. Since Jerimiah, Grant’s dad grew up with mine, I’d seen Grant throughout my whole life, but it wasn’t until eighth grade when Grant’s mom left him that we’d grown close. I guessed since I had always stuck by his side, he became very protective of me and was always there.
Jackson's Girl: Being His Duology Page 11