Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

JADE

The next couple days I keep thinking about William, wondering if he’s really the man I want him to be or if he’s bad like his brother. I want to believe what Grace said about William being a good man, but part of me doesn’t, knowing she had no clue what Royce was capable of until she found out what he did to my mom.

I’ve been calling Grace every day now that I know the rest of her family never calls. What is wrong with them? She’s all alone and still grieving over Arlin. Can’t they at least call her once a week just to check in? Anyway, I told Grace I needed some time before we get together with William. She didn’t question me. She understands my hesitation.

I feel better knowing Walt’s not following me around anymore. That guy creeped me out. Garret told me his dad confirmed that Walt’s done work for the organization. And if he’s worked for them, he’s done bad things, even worse things than the members. Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble trusting William. I don’t know why he’d want someone like that working for him.

Now it’s Thursday and I go to chemistry class feeling anxious because today we get our exams back. It was one of three major exams we have during the semester and we took it last Tuesday. I felt like I did okay on it, but you never know. The professor hands them out at the start of class. I smile when I see the 93 written in red ink at the top of my exam. Finally, my grades are where they should be. I’m so happy about it, I decide to reward myself with a smoothie after class.

When I get to the coffee shop, Sara’s outside talking on her phone. I wave as I walk past her. I haven’t seen her since last week.

I find a seat at one of the small round tables and scan the restaurant, making sure Walt’s not there. I know he’s gone but I check anyway, just in case.

“Hey.” Sara sits down across from me. “I’m on break so I have a couple minutes. I haven’t seen you for forever.”

“Yeah, I know. How have you been?”

“Good. How was your birthday?”

“It was great. A bunch of people flew in from out of town and stayed all weekend. My best friend, Harper, was here with her boyfriend, Sean. I was totally surprised.” Sara doesn’t seem to be listening. She’s staring at the wall behind me and hasn’t blinked for a while. “Sara?”

Her eyes dart back to me. “Sorry. I spaced out for a minute.”

“It’s okay. Were you up with Caleb last night?”

“No, he slept the whole night.”

“So you were just daydreaming?”

“No, well, maybe.” She rests her forearms on the table and leans across it. “Remember when I had that interview for the secretary job at the architecture firm? It was that week I got sick so I missed the interview and someone else got the job.”

‘“Yeah, I remember. What about it?”

“This guy who works there just called and asked me out.” She smiles really wide. “Can you believe that? He asked me out!”

“Who is this guy?”

“His name is Alex. He’s doing an internship there. He’s 24. I met him when I dropped off the application. Actually, I met him in the parking lot. He was parked next to me and he was staring at my car so I asked him what he was doing and he said my tire looked flat. It wasn’t. It just needed air. Anyway, we started talking and he rode the elevator up to the third floor with me and I found out he worked there. He gave me his card and told me to call if I needed help with the tire. I didn’t need help, but I called him just to tell him thanks.”

“Yeah, right. You called him so he’d have your number.”

She smiles. “Maybe.”

“What’s he look like?”

“About 5’9, dark hair, dark eyes. He had that light layer of stubble on his face that’s intentional, not like he forgot to shave. How do guys do that anyway? Do they have some special razor or something? Anyway, he was wearing glasses with thick black frames. I usually don’t like glasses, but on him they looked good. They give him kind of a quirky, artsy look. He’s really hot. And he was flirting with me. Me!” She pauses. “And then I ruined it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had on this great cologne.” She sighs. “And I told him he smelled good.”

“You did?”

“Yes!” She throws her hands in the air. “Who says that to a total stranger? Only crazy, sleep-deprived, undateable people like me.”

“Sara, you may be sleep deprived, but you’re not crazy or undateable. He just called and asked you out.”

“It’s probably a pity date. He felt sorry for the crazy girl who goes around sniffing people and commenting on their smell.” She sighs again. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“What did he say after you told him he smelled good?”

“He laughed. And then he said thank you and that no one’s ever told him that before. Of course no one’s told him that before! Because only a crazy person would do that!”

“I tell Garret he smells good all the time.”

“Yeah, but you’re married to him. You can’t say that to a guy you just met!”

“It’s not a pity date, Sara. He likes you. Did you agree to go out with him?”

“Yes. He asked me to meet him here for coffee.” She laughs. “He didn’t know I work here. After I told him, he suggested a coffee shop across town, so that’s what we’re doing.”

“When’s your date? Do you need me to babysit?”

“It’s tomorrow. I called my day care lady and she said she could watch Caleb for me.”

Sara doesn’t want me to watch Caleb? Was I that bad with him? I thought I did an okay job when she brought him over a few weeks ago. And Garret would be there to help.

“You don’t want me to babysit?”

“You can’t. You’ll be gone.”

“Where am I going?”

“Damn!” She covers her mouth with her hand. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“Tell me what?”

“Ask Garret.” She stands up. “I’m going to leave before I screw up even more. Do you want anything to drink?”

“Yeah, a strawberry smoothie. Now tell me where I’m going.”

“The smoothie will be out in a minute.” She runs off to the kitchen.

So Garret has something planned and it sounds like it’s not in town. There aren’t any classes tomorrow so we talked about driving up the coast and going to a different beach just to hang out. So maybe that’s what he’s planning.

Sara brings back the smoothie. She added whipped cream and sprinkles to the top and placed a candle in it. “It’s your birthday gift. It’s on me. Happy Birthday!”

“Sara, no, I’ll pay you for it.”

“I get them for half price and I can’t afford to get you anything else. So just take it.”

“Okay, thanks. I love the birthday topping.”

“Maybe I should cancel the date.” She checks that her boss isn’t watching, then sits down again.

“Why would you cancel? You seem to like this guy.”

“I do, but once he finds out about Caleb, it’s over.”

“You don’t know that.”

“He’s 24. He doesn’t want to date a girl with a kid.” She gets her phone out. “I’m going to call him back and tell him it won’t work.”

I cover her phone with my hand. “No, don’t. Just give him a chance. You never know what will happen.”

“I do know. I’ll tell him I have a baby and he’ll run out of the coffee shop and never speak to me again.”

“Why don’t you test that theory by going out with him? Sometimes people can surprise you. Look at Garret and me. When I first met him, I couldn’t believe he wanted to go out with someone like me. First of all, he’s super hot and could have any girl he wants. Second, he’s rich and I grew up on food stamps. And talk about embarrassing. You should’ve heard all the embarrassing things I said to him. When I get nervous my brain shuts down and really stupid things come out of my mouth. The point is that Garret’s the last person in the world I ever thought would ask me out on a date. But he did, and now we’re married.”

“How did your first date go?”

“It was great, but we were friends before we went on our first real date. He tried to date me before that, but I kept telling him I just wanted to be friends. I didn’t want to get involved with him because I was sure it’d never last.” I raise my eyebrows. “Sound familiar?”

She smiles. “Okay. I’ll go out with him. But I’m telling him about Caleb right away. I’m not going to wait.”

“You don’t need to tell him the second he sits down. Just relax and talk to him like you’d talk to a friend. Then bring up Caleb. But don’t talk about Caleb the whole time. I know you can’t help yourself because you love him to pieces but try to talk about other stuff, too.”

“Now you’re making me nervous. I don’t think I can do this.”

“Sara, it’s just coffee. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

“You’re right. It’s just coffee. I’ve never had a coffee date before. How long do they last?”

“As long as you want.” I sip my smoothie.

She sighs as she stands up. “I don’t think I’m ready for this.”

“You’re ready. He asked you out, which means he already likes you, so just go and talk to him. You always say you miss adult conversation.”

“That’s true. I have to get back to work. Enjoy the smoothie.”

She walks back to the kitchen. Even though she’s nervous, I can tell she’s excited about this date. She couldn’t stop smiling when she was talking about it. I hope it goes well.

I don’t see Garret until later that afternoon when we meet up in front of the library to go home. I check him out as he approaches. Tall, muscular, tan, wearing sunglasses. Damn, he’s hot. I don’t know how I ever went out with him without being a nervous wreck like Sara is right now. I guess it’s because I never thought Garret was that interested in me. It took months before I’d let myself believe that.

He comes up in front of me. “You’re pretty hot. Are you a student here?”

I laugh, but play along. “Yeah, but I’m married so back off.”

“Go out with me.” He drops his backpack and wraps his arms around my waist. “I know I’m better than some old married guy.”

“He’s not old.” I kiss his soft, warm lips. “And nobody’s better than him.”

“You just kissed a stranger, so your husband can’t be that great.”

“How long are you going to keep this going?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He holds me closer, so our bodies are touching. People are walking past us and starting to stare. “How about you let me show you what you’re missing?”

“I’m not missing anything. I’m perfectly happy.”

“Happy’s boring. You need more than happy. So what do you say?”

“Hmm. It’s tempting. But I don’t know.”

“Let me help you make a decision.” He leans down and gives me a hot, sexy kiss that should not be done in public and yet I can’t pull away. It feels way too good.

“Get a room,” some guy yells as he walks by.

Garret pulls back a little. “You heard the man. Let’s get a room. My car’s just down the street and there’s a hotel not far from here.”

I laugh. “Yeah, okay. Just don’t tell my husband.”

He picks up his backpack, puts his arm around my shoulder and starts walking to the car. “You seem to really like this husband of yours. You won’t stop talking about him.”

“I do like him. I like him a lot.”

When we’re in the car, Garret takes off in the opposite direction of home.

I turn the radio down. “Are we going somewhere?”

“We’re getting a room, remember?”

“Yeah, that was a joke. Where are we really going? To the grocery store?”

He doesn’t answer, but he’s smiling. He’s up to something. He keeps driving and I ask him again where we’re going but he still won’t tell me.

After 20 minutes, he turns onto a road that goes along the ocean. He stops at a large, all-white hotel. It looks very modern, almost like an art museum with a circular entrance lined with sculptures and topiaries in pots.

“What are we doing here?” I ask him.

“I got us a room, because apparently what we were doing earlier wasn’t appropriate to do in public.” He parks the car in front of the entrance. “Also, we wouldn’t want your husband to find out. I like to be discreet.” He hands the car keys to the valet as another valet opens my door.

“Welcome,” the valet says. “Enjoy your stay.”

Garret goes around the car and meets up with me. His arm wraps around my middle as he leads me into the lobby. There’s a big fountain in the center and a woman comes up and offers me cucumber water.

“No, thanks,” I tell her, wondering if I’m dreaming this. One minute I’m in class, the next I’m at some fancy hotel. This must be the surprise Sara alluded to earlier. Garret must’ve booked us a room here for the long weekend.

“We’re checking in,” he says to the desk clerk. “Garret Kensington.”

“Yes, we have you booked for one night in a suite. Is that correct?”

Garret smiles at me. “That’s correct.”

The desk clerk hands him the key. “Your luggage has already been brought up to your room. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you.” Garret leads me to the elevator, not saying a word as we ride up to the fourth floor. His arm is still around me but his hand drops down to my hip. It’s just resting there but it’s getting me all hot inside. I don’t know how he does it, but he somehow manages to have this effect on me with just the smallest movements. Or maybe it’s this role-playing thing he’s doing. Who knows? All I know is I really want to get to the room.

As soon as we’re inside he shuts the door, then forcefully pulls me into him and says, “Now where were we?”

“I think we were—”

His lips crash into mine before I can finish. His kiss is hot and urgent, and I kiss him back the same way while undoing his belt. He rips his t-shirt off, then his eyes meet mine in an intense gaze as he unbuttons my white cotton shirt. Luckily I wore my lacy push-up bra today instead of one of my boring cotton ones. And I have a skirt on, which is Garret’s second favorite clothing item on me, the first being lingerie.

He shoves his pants and boxers off and walks me to the bed, his eyes on mine. I lie down and he slowly pushes my skirt up and slides my panties off.

I reach up and grab him, pulling him toward me. “Don’t you at least want to know my name before we do this?”

He positions himself between my legs. “That’ll just complicate things. I like to keep things simple.”

“So this is just a one-time thing?” I run my hand through his hair as he leaves soft kisses along my collarbone.

“We’re doing this a lot more than once tonight.”

“I meant you and me. Will I see you after tomorrow?”

His cocky smile appears. “I’m guessing you’ll be back for more.” His lips meet up with mine as he thrusts inside me, my skirt and bra still on. He likes it that way. He’ll take them off later when we do this again. Or maybe not. I forgot. I just met this guy. I don’t know what he likes. But I know what I like and he’s doing all those things now, sending my body on a sensory overload. We haven’t had sex since doing it in the pool so I was more than ready for it.

Minutes later, we’re sweating and breathing heavy, our bodies collapsed on the bed. I open my eyes and notice the windows are wide open, the cool ocean breeze blowing the sheer white curtains back. People probably heard me. I wasn’t exactly quiet. I never used to make sounds during sex. I was too embarrassed. But then I got over it and now sometimes I can be a little loud.

As we lie there, I take a moment to glance around the room. It has dark espresso-colored furniture and there’s a white upholstered chair in the corner. We’re lying on a king-size bed with a white comforter. There were bright orange throw pillows on the bed but we tossed them on the floor. I can only see a glimpse of the bathroom but it looks like it has dark cabinets and a white marble vanity. It’s a very modern, upscale room.

“Hey.” Garret sits up on his side and kisses my cheek. “I love you.”

I smile. “We just met. It’s a little early to say that, isn’t it?”

“You’re my wife. And I wanted to say it.”

“So we’re done role-playing?”

“That was just to get you in bed. Now you’re my wife again. Although the handsome stranger might reappear later tonight.”

“I think I’d rather have my husband.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Thanks for the surprise trip.”

“The past few weeks have been kind of rough so I thought it’d be good to get away. Plus, we don’t have classes tomorrow so we might as well start the weekend now.”

“This hotel is great. How’d you find out about this?”

“I just searched online for hotels. I thought you might like this one.”

“I do. I love it. But why are we only staying one night?”

“Because we’re going to the harvest festival tomorrow.”

For some reason hearing him say that sounded funny and I laugh. “What’s the harvest festival?”

“Sara told me about it. It’s like an hour from here. She said people come from all over to go to it. There’s a carnival, bands, food stands. There’s even a pie eating contest.”

“It sounds like the Iowa State Fair.”

“Then you’ll love it. It’ll remind you of home.”

“Actually, I never went to the fair. It cost too much.”

“Well, now you can go to this one and you don’t have to worry about what it costs. I’ll buy you whatever you want. Corn dogs. Snow cones. Funnel cakes.”

“Can we go on the carnival rides?” I say it in that excited tone I get that sounds like a kid.

He smiles and gives me a kiss. “We can go on as many carnival rides as you want. I’ll even get you one of those wristbands that give you unlimited rides.”

“This is going to be so much fun. When are we going?”

“We’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow.” He’s staring at me. I’m sure I’m grinning like an idiot. “I didn’t think you’d be so excited about this. But it’s good. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to go.”

“Are you kidding? Rides and junk food. I love both of those things. And I bet they’ll have pumpkins.”

“Yeah, they have a pumpkin patch with a corn maze.”

“Seriously? Can we get a pumpkin?”

“You can get more than one if you want.”

I kiss him. “You have the absolute best surprises.”

“I do?”

“Yes. And you’re the absolute best husband.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been fooling around with that other guy.”

“I’m done with him.”

“You sure about that? Because you seemed to really like what he did to you earlier.”

“I guess he’ll have to do it again so I can decide.”

The handsome stranger does it again. And then we go to dinner at a restaurant that’s just down the street. We asked the concierge where to eat and he suggested a fancy restaurant downtown, but then we drove past this barbecue place and the smoked meat smelled so good we ended up eating there instead. It was better than some fancy restaurant. We ate outside and had ribs and coleslaw and homemade cornbread.

It’s good Garret planned this trip. He knows this thing with William has been consuming my thoughts and he knows I’m feeling lost after dropping those classes and changing my major back to undecided. If I were home right now, I’d be thinking about all that. But now I’m not. Sometimes you just need some time away to clear your head, which is why Garret took me here.

He always does stuff like this. He goes and surprises me with something like this trip and I’m reminded just how lucky I am to have him.