The sound of gravel under the wheels of a car caused me to look up. I quickly wiped my eyes as I spotted Tyler’s black Ford Explorer pulling in.
As I stood up and approached him, I had to squint to be sure I was seeing things clearly.
Oh my God.
What the?
When he waved, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. I could no longer distinguish my happy tears from the sad ones.
He came around to open the passenger side door for me. In that moment, I happened to look up to find my father staring down at us from the window. I could only imagine what he must have been thinking: What on Earth is Damien’s brother doing picking up my daughter dressed in a zebra-print Snuggie?
“What are you doing in that thing?”
“I thought you loved this look, Jade.”
“In the privacy of my own home, yes.”
When he came back around to the driver’s side, he flashed a wicked grin. God, he was handsome. I never realized how his smile accentuated his dimples before. It amazed me that he could even look sexy in a freaking wearable blanket.
“Well, you succeeded in making me laugh, Tyler.”
“Is that why your mascara’s running?”
“I have raccoon eyes because I was crying before you got here. But now I’m not. So, thank you.”
He turned on the car. “Where are we going?”
I wiped the corners of my eyes again. “I don’t know.”
His car smelled faintly like a mix of cigar and cologne. I loved it.
“You want me to take you back to Chelsea’s?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“You don’t sound too enthused to go back there,” he said as we drove away.
“I feel like I just don’t belong anywhere at the moment, to be honest. My parents’ house is depressing and sad, and Chelsea’s place is like a zoo, between the dogs and Little D. I love them, but I’m just used to my privacy.”
“You want privacy?”
“I don’t think that’s possible unless I check into a hotel.”
He pursed his gorgeous lips and seemed to be pondering something. “I’ll take you some place you can be at peace for a while.”
“Where?”
“It’s a little place I like to call…you’ll find out.”
Feeling too weak to fight him, I simply asked, “How did you get a Snuggie so fast, anyway? They’re not that easy to find anymore.”
“You should know, right?” He smiled. “I bought it a while ago, actually. I was going to send a picture of myself in it to you as a joke. But I never had the chance because you stopped talking to me.”
“You know why I did it.”
“I do. I don’t blame you, even though I miss talking to you.” He glanced over at me. “But you were justified. Just because something makes us feel good, doesn’t mean it’s right.”
“So what is this…what we’re doing right now?”
“I think you need a friend right now. Right or wrong…just let me be that for you tonight. We can go back to not talking tomorrow.”
We kept driving down the 101 until he pulled off onto one of the exits.
“I’m just getting something for us to drink,” he said. “You look like you can use one. Am I right?” He winked. “I’ll be back.”
I watched as he ran into the liquor store, still covered in the zebra blanket.
When he returned, he shut the driver-side door and turned to me, “Can you believe some people were staring at me like I was crazy?” he joked as he placed the paper bag of alcohol in the back seat.
“Well, they weren’t expecting to see a zebra walk in.”
“And one that’s driving around a raccoon, at that!” he joked. “Quick! Someone call animal control.”
Tyler managed to make me laugh again. I didn’t question where he was taking me or what his intentions were as we continued to just drive.
Before I knew it, we had pulled up to a gray, stucco house in San Jose.
“Where are we?”
Tyler smiled. “This is my mama’s house.”
“Isn’t she going to question why I’m here?”
“Nah. We’re not going inside the main house anyway.”
“Where are we going, then?”
“My treehouse. I’m gonna set you up in there. Then, I’ll leave you alone.”
“Is this treehouse stable?”
He chuckled. “What do you mean, stable?”
“Like…structurally sound.”
“Spoken like a city girl. Yes, it’s fine. This is a treehouse like no other. You’ll be safe.” He’d placed his hand briefly on my thigh when he said it, and the muscles between my legs instinctively contracted. I was so incredibly attracted to him, and perhaps hadn’t realized just how much until this moment.
I cleared my throat. “I have a little fear of heights. That’s why I asked.”
“You’re not going to be plummeting down. Don’t worry.”
“Good. Because that would make an already shitty day worse.”
Tyler wasn’t kidding. Once we’d climbed up, it was evident that this was no ordinary treehouse. It was state of the art with electricity, a full-sized bed, and even a television. He explained that his dad had started building it before he passed away. Eventually, Damien and Ty completed it.
He turned on the lamp and noticed me shivering. “You cold?”
“A little.”
He lifted the long zebra blanket over his head. “Here, get in this.”
Tyler approached and placed the fleece fabric over my head. The blanket was warm from his body and coated in his intoxicating smell. It was easy to imagine that it was him wrapped around me. My breasts began to tingle.
I wanted him.
His hair was tousled from having pulled the blanket over it. Now that I could see his body, I couldn’t help but stare at Tyler’s toned physique. His muscles were busting through his black, fitted shirt. His beautiful, blue eyes were glistening as he looked at me. They were definitely reflecting a reciprocal attraction. I could feel it, could practically taste it, and it was as uncomfortable as it was arousing. Definitely more arousing.
Yet, despite the sexually-charged energy in the air, there was also a sense of comfort. We already knew each other intimately from the many conversations we’d had. (Well, as intimately as you could know someone from Messenger.) But the physical awareness of actually being next to him was something I was certainly not used to.
I finally spoke, breaking the tension in the air. “How did you know I was missing my Snuggie? I left it behind in New York.”
“I know you pretty well, Jade.”
“Is that so?”
“Only because you let me in for a while.”
I know.
That was dangerous.
He blinked, seeming to break his stare. “Anyway, make yourself at home. I’m gonna get you set up with a drink and then I’ll get out of your hair if you want some privacy. There is no more peaceful place than up here, listening to the rustling of the leaves.”
“What are you gonna do tonight?”
“Hang out with my mother, sleep in my old room. I’ll take you back to Sausalito in the morning.”
I asked the question that was the elephant in the room. “Does Nicole know where you are?”
He swallowed. “I texted her from the liquor store, told her I was spending the night in San Jose at Mom’s.”
“I see,” I simply said.
Tyler took the alcohol he’d bought out of the crinkled paper bag.
“What are you serving tonight?”
“Whiskey sours. I bought the best whiskey, too.” He winked.
“Hennessy. Very funny.”
His mouth curved into a smile. “Actually, I prefer the taste of Jameson.”
TYLER
Jade’s face turned red after I’d said that. I hadn’t meant for my comment to sound so suggestive. But God, the thoughts that my words triggered.
I’m sure t
he taste of Jade Jameson is far better than any whiskey.
She cleared her throat. “Really…you prefer Jameson to Hennessy?”
“Yup. Hennessy is technically Cognac. I like whiskey better.”
She smiled. “I remember thinking it was so funny when Chelsea first told me Damien’s last name. She didn’t know that Hennessy and Jameson were brands of alcohol.”
“I could see that totally going over her head. It was the first thing I thought of.”
“Me, too.” She smiled and seemed to blush.
She looked uncharacteristically shy in that moment. Wrapped in the zebra blanket, her mascara was still smudged, and her lipstick was a little smeared. I imagined what it would have been like to kiss the rest of it off. My dick twitched at the thought.
She was so naturally beautiful that she didn’t need any makeup. Her tiny nose was perfectly pointed. She had the biggest eyes, and in this moment the light that had been missing from them earlier had seemed to return. It pleased me to know that I was responsible for that.
“I’ll be right back, Jade Jameson. I have to get you a glass from downstairs.”
“Okay.” She made herself comfortable on the bed and asked, “Are you gonna have some with me?”
“Maybe just one.”
Just when I was about to make my way down, her voice stopped me. “Tyler?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank for you this…for tonight.”
“My pleasure.”
Once inside Mom’s, I tried to be as quiet as possible, hoping she wouldn’t notice me in the house. My mother was usually in her bedroom this time of night meditating or reading. No such luck tonight, though.
Her voice snuck up on me. “Tyler…I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”
“Mom…”
“Why do you seem startled, son?”
“I just thought you’d be in your room.”
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing.”
Knowing I was lying, she tilted her head. “Tyler…”
A guilty laugh escaped me. “I was just grabbing a couple of glasses to take up to the treehouse.”
“Is Nicole there with you?”
I paused. “No.”
“Who’s the second glass for?”
I hesitated then answered, “Jade.”
She raised her forehead. “Jade…Chelsea’s sister?”
“Yes.”
A knowing look flashed across her face. “Oh.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds until I said, “Nothing’s going on. She was at her parents’ house. With their mom doing worse, Jade had like a little breakdown. I happened to be at Damien’s when she called Chelsea for a ride. I offered to pick her up since Little D was sleeping. Jade didn’t want to go back to their house, so I brought her here instead. She’s under a lot of stress, and I thought the treehouse would be a nice sanctuary.”
“You don’t need to explain.”
“Why are you looking at me like that, then?”
She laughed a little. “Tyler, with all due respect, your reaction to that woman last Christmas has become legend. If you expect me to believe that there’s absolutely nothing salacious about you hiding her in the treehouse right now, you’re crazy.”
“How did you know about what happened last Christmas? You weren’t in the room when it went down.”
“Your brother told me.”
“Great.”
My mother grabbed her tea kettle and started to fill it before she said, “There’s nothing wrong with being smitten. We can’t choose whom we’re attracted to. But is there something more going on?”
I’d never had the ability to lie to my mother. Over the next few minutes, I explained to her what had been developing between Jade and me.
“Just be careful,” she said. “I like Nicole. I do. She’s very sweet. But I don’t believe she’s the one. Something has to be missing for you to have let things go so far with Jade. You’re young. You have the right to change your mind. But you don’t have the right to string someone along. No woman deserves to be with a man whose heart is with someone else.”
She wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t already known for a long time.
“You’re right. But as long as I’m with Nicole, nothing will happen with Jade.”
“By the same token, don’t believe that you can’t have something just because it feels too good to be true. You deserve perfection.”
I needed to get back to Jade.
“Thanks for the talk, Ma.” I started to walk away when she stopped me.
“Oh, Tyler?”
“Yeah?”
“Try not to drop the glasses.” She smirked.
“Wiseass.”
My heart raced as I climbed back up to the treehouse with the glasses in hand.
“That took a while,” Jade said. She’d been lying on the bed and sat up.
“My mother caught me.”
A flash of panic washed over her face. “You didn’t tell her I was up here, did you?”
“I kind of had to. It’s okay. She’s cool with it.”
“She thinks we’re having an affair.”
I nodded. “Pretty much.”
Jade wasn’t amused. “I don’t want your mother to think I’m a bad person.”
“She doesn’t. I told her the truth.”
She was quiet as I prepared her drink then handed it to her.
“Here.”
She took it from me and tasted it. “Mmm. That’s good. Burns a little going down. But it’s just what I need.” Taking another sip, she asked, “So when does your show start up?”
“In a month. We started rehearsals this week. I was coming from there when you called for a ride.”
“You should probably be studying your lines tonight instead of babysitting me.”
Her comment reminded me that I’d forgotten that I was supposed to be somewhere tonight.
“Hang on,” I said as I typed out a text.
“Who are you texting?”
“I was supposed to meet my costar, Audrey, to practice this one scene tonight. I never told her I couldn’t make it.”
“I’m getting you in trouble.”
You have no idea.
Audrey texted me back immediately. “She just responded. She says it’s no big deal. Her husband will run lines with her.”
“You want to practice the scene with me? I’ll do Audrey’s part.”
Her question had caught me off guard.
“Are you serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I thought you wanted privacy tonight. I was gonna head downstairs and just let you be.”
“I really don’t want to be alone.”
Well, then we’re both on the same page.
Leaving her was the last thing I wanted.
“Okay. I’ll go to my car and get the script.”
As I returned to the treehouse with it, a sudden self-conscious feeling came over me. What if she thought my acting was shit? After all, she was the real deal.
“So, you know the gist of the story, right?”
“You’ve told me bits and pieces. But tell me about this scene.”
“My character, Xavier, is a writer who’s trying to pen the next Great American Novel. His wife, Justine, is basically considering leaving him because she’s feeling neglected. In this scene, she’s confronting him about it.”
I watched Jade as she intently read over the scene.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she finally said.
Because we only had one script, I sat next to her on the bed so we could share it.
We started going back and forth, and I was blown away by how naturally she fell into the role. She was a true professional, and it showed. She read the lines with so much passion in her eyes, completely transforming into the character. It even looked like her eyes were watering. Although I suspected that might have had something to do with her current emotional state, I’d never work
ed with anyone who could cry on cue.
At one point, I stopped mid-scene. “You’re amazing.”
“That’s not in the script.”
“No, it’s not.”
A long moment of silence ensued.
“You know, I don’t think you could ever pull off the role of Justine. You’re too perfect-looking. Her character is supposed to be this flawed, ugly duckling.”
She pondered my comment then said, “You know something? I’ve heard that line my entire life—that I’m too good-looking, too perfect. And, you know what? It’s never worked out for me. Because, in the end, at the least as far as my past relationships have gone…the quirky, plain Jane gets the man. Once the excitement wears off with someone like me, they want to settle down with someone who’s not so ambitious.”
“Maybe you just haven’t found a real man, one who can handle you.”
I felt up for that challenge.
“The thing is…it’s not that I don’t want to be that girlfriend who stays home watching movies at night instead of performing…but I want it all. I want the family someday and the limelight. I don’t want to settle for one or the other.”
Her passion for life and ambition were partly what I loved about her.
“You deserve everything you want. You shouldn’t have to settle. Ever. I can relate in that I’m sort of stuck between what I want for myself and what I feel I need to do for others. If I were really serious about acting, I’d have moved to L.A. or New York. I want a comfortable life near my family and friends, but I also crave more. Much more. So, I can relate to that anxious feeling. Like there’s something bigger out there waiting to be had that I’m missing out on.”
She smiled like she understood exactly what I was saying. “I think we’re a lot alike that way.”
“Yeah.”
Our eyes locked for longer than normal.
Jade suddenly said, “It’s getting really hot in here. I think I need a break from the zebra for a while.”
Jade lifted the blanket over her head, revealing the thin, white shirt she was wearing underneath. Her erect nipples were peeking through. I couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds. Maybe more than a few. I knew she was aware of how attracted to her I was. It was certainly no secret. But she couldn’t have known just how much I wanted her in that moment. My dick stiffened, and I fought like hell to keep from getting hard.
Jaded and Tyed Page 4