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CHAPTER EIGHT

GARRET

We’re home now and Jade goes to the kitchen and gets a glass of water. “That really sucks.”

“What sucks?” I meet her at the sink and take a swig of her water.

“That this guy may not give Sara a chance.”

“Maybe he will. And if he doesn’t, she’ll find someone else. She just needs to find the right person. That’s true for everyone.”

“I know, but—”

“Jade.” I place my hands on her shoulders. “She’ll find someone. It may not be tomorrow or next week, but eventually she will. So don’t worry about it.”

“Maybe I should call her and see how it went.”

“She takes Caleb to the park every Saturday afternoon.”

“That’s right. I forgot. I’ll call her later.”

I tilt her face up and lean down so that our lips are almost touching. “Wasn’t there something else you were going to do after lunch?”

“I don’t think so,” she says, closing her eyes.

“Think harder.” I kiss her, slowly, gently.

She smiles, her eyes still closed. “I’m starting to remember. Maybe if you did that again?”

I kiss her again, taking my time, my tongue doing the things I know she likes. My hands are around her face, my fingers buried in her hair. I pull away just enough to say, “You remember now?”

“Yeah.” She gives me her sexy smile.

“Let’s go.” I take her hand.

“Wait. Can we stay here?”

“In the kitchen?”

“I want to kiss some more before we go to the bed. I really like your kisses and we always skip ahead to the other stuff so fast I don’t get enough kissing in.”

It’s true, but only because the kissing gets us both so ready for what comes next that we can’t help but keep going. But if she wants more kissing, we’ll do more kissing.

I pick her up and set her on the kitchen counter. “You’ll be more comfortable this way.”

She smiles. “Thanks.”

I take my shirt off, then place my hands on her knees and slowly push her legs apart. “I need to get closer. I can’t kiss you with your legs in the way.”

Just that simple move has got her breathing heavy. I have a feeling we’re going to be flying past the kissing stage.

Did I mention she’s wearing a skirt? Yeah, that’s causing me to do some heavy breathing. I slide the fabric of her skirt all the way up her legs.

“I wouldn’t want it to get torn, you know, when I’m kissing you.” I keep my eyes on hers as I say it.

“No, we wouldn’t want that.”

Our gazes remained locked on each other as I step between her legs until I’m right up against her. I reach behind her neck, bringing her face to mine, planning to start with a soft, slow kiss. But instead she leans in and kisses me hard and fast as she undoes my belt, then my shorts, and shoves them, and my boxers, to the floor.

Yeah, so much for the kissing.

She scoots to the end of the counter, lifting up just enough for me to take her panties off, then hooks her arms around my neck. I thrust inside her and she starts grinding her hips into me.

Shit, she’s really getting into this, even more than she normally does. Must’ve been seeing Brook flirting with me. Jade always gets like this when a girl flirts with me. She gets all territorial, the same way I do when some guy flirts with her .

I love it when she gets this way. I didn’t like that bitch flirting with me, but hey, I’m all about turning a negative into a positive. And this is definitely positive.

Jade’s got her hips moving so much I have to hold on to her so she doesn’t fall off the counter. It’s a freaking workout, but I’m not complaining. I love trying something new and I had no idea I’d be getting this just for winning some carnival games. Thanks again, 13-year-old Garret. You had to wait seven years but your efforts paid off.

I can tell Jade’s getting close so I grab her ass and thrust deeper inside her, then pull back and do it again. Jade digs her fingers into my back and moans my name. And there’s the sound I love to hear. She gets louder as I keep going, her body tensing up, until moments later, she relaxes into me, her head collapsing on my shoulder, her legs still wrapped around me. I finish up, then bring her to the bedroom and lay her down and lie next to her.

We’re both breathing hard and I’m soaked with sweat. I kiss her forehead. “I’m going to take a shower, okay?”

“Yeah.” She smiles really wide, her eyes closed.

I laugh. “You happy?”

“Very. I think I’ll just lie here a minute.”

I glance down and notice her skin is slick with sweat. “You might want to shower, too.”

“I will. In a minute.”

After we shower, we do the next item on our agenda; studying. We take our books to the deck and study out there. Before Jade dropped those classes, she never would’ve done this. She wouldn’t study outside and she wouldn’t study with me. She had to be alone and inside and have complete silence. She said it was the only way she could concentrate. She was so stressed out during those first few weeks of the semester.

But now? She’s finally relaxing, her grades are better, and she insists we study together instead of apart. It’s a night and day difference.

“Hey.” She’s holding my hand and lying back in her chair with her feet resting on the table. We both have our textbooks out and have been studying for a couple hours. “What do you want for dinner?”

“I thought I’d grill some burgers. We have some hamburger in the fridge.”

“That sounds good.” She looks back at her book, then over at me again. “What time do you want to eat?”

I laugh. “Given your question, I’m guessing you want to eat right now.”

“Maybe. I am kind of hungry.”

“I’m hungry, too. I’ll get the burgers started.” I set my book on the table and get up.

Jade jumps up and hugs me. “I love you.”

I wasn’t expecting the hug, but it’s nice. I hug her back. “I love you, too.”

“Garret?” She looks up at me.

“What?”

“I love our life. I love just hanging out here at home with you, studying, or watching TV, or making dinner together. I know most people our age would say it’s boring, but it’s not to me. I love it. I love every second of it. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I wouldn’t either.” I hug her again and kiss the top of her head. I don’t know what made her say that just now but it’s good to hear. More than anything, I want Jade to be happy and it sounds like she is. And I am, too. I still worry about shit, like our safety and people like William dropping into our lives, but I’ll always have to worry about that. That’ll never change. But if you take those things out of the equation, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Living with Jade, being married to her, going to school together. It’s great.

Before I met Jade, I thought my college years would consist of drinking every night and having sex with random girls. I didn’t think I’d have a girlfriend. I didn’t want one. And now I’m married and spending Saturday night grilling burgers with my wife. But like Jade said, I love our life. I wouldn’t change a thing.

She reaches up and kisses me. “I’ll get the burgers ready if you want to start the grill.”

“Sounds good.”

She goes inside and I walk around to the driveway. I have the grill by the garage. As I’m scraping the grates, my dad calls.

“Hey, Dad. Staying home tonight?”

“No, Katherine and I are leaving in a few minutes to attend a dinner party for Kent Gleason.”

“Where’s it at?”

“Your grandfather’s house.”

“No shit? He never hosts those things. He always makes you do it.”

“In his new position, he’s required to host this event. Plus, this isn’t for just anyone. Kent could be our next president.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t that be a shock?” I say it sarcastically since we both know Gleason will win the election. The organization will make sure of it. “So who’s watching Lilly? Or is she going with you?”

“She’s going with us, but we can’t have her at the party so Harper’s going to watch her. She’s meeting us here at the house in a few minutes and we’ll all ride over together.”

“I’m surprised Harper agreed to that on a Saturday night. Usually she’s out with Sean.”

“I believe he had to work. Anyway, Harper was thrilled when I called and asked her to babysit. And Lilly’s excited to see her.”

“So is that why you called? To tell me about Harper?”

“No, I was calling because I spoke with your grandfather about William. He said there was nothing to be concerned about. Of course, he was talking in the context of my offering William the board seat, but given how much my father values Kensington Chemical, he’d never allow William to even be considered for the board unless his record was clear.”

“But now you have to offer him the position.”

“I’d planned to anyway. William will be a good addition to the board.”

“Then you’re saying I don’t need to worry. Jade can go visit him?”

“You’d be going as well?”

“Well, yeah, of course.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry. But I would stay away from Walt. I can’t say for sure what he’s done but—”

“Yeah, I got it.” I interrupt him when I see Jade coming toward me with the burgers.

“Here they are.” She hands them to me.

I give her the phone. “It’s my dad. Say hi while I put the burgers on.”

“Hi, Pearce.”

Jade listens, then starts laughing at whatever he’s saying. Those two get along better than I ever thought they would. I thought my dad would tolerate Jade, at best, but now he loves her like a daughter.

“I need to wash my hands,” I tell Jade as I head inside.

She nods.

When I come back out, she tells my dad goodbye and hands me the phone.

“Did you tell her all my childhood secrets?” I ask him.

“No, I’m saving those for Christmas.”

“Great.” I laugh. “I’ll talk to you later. Tell Grandmother I said hi. And say hi to Grandfather for me, too.”

“I will.” My dad’s tone changes. It’s quiet, almost sad. It means my grandparents still have no interest in having a relationship with me. “Goodbye, Garret.”

“Bye.” I hang up and finish cooking the burgers.

Jade and I eat dinner outside, then watch a couple movies before going to bed.

Around 2:30 in the morning I wake up and Jade’s not there. I woke up earlier and heard her get up to go to the bathroom but I don’t know if she ever came back. I fell asleep before she did. And now she’s in there again, or maybe she never left. Shit, I hope she doesn’t have the flu again.

The bathroom door is closed but I see light coming from underneath it. So she must be in there, but I don’t hear anything. No water running. No toilet flushing. Nothing.

I get out of bed and stand by the bathroom door. “Jade? Are you okay?”

She doesn’t answer but I hear her making some kind of noise. I’m not sure what.

“Jade, can I come in?” I lightly knock on the door a few times. She still doesn’t answer. Something’s wrong. “I’m coming in, okay?”

I slowly open the door and see her sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, her head bent down. She’s quietly crying and from the pile of crumpled up tissues on the floor, I’m guessing she’s been crying for a while. Physically, she seems to be okay. She’s not vomiting. She doesn’t appear to be sick.

“Jade.” I sit down next to her and stroke her hair. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head, raising it enough for me to see her red, tear-filled eyes. “I can’t.”

“You can’t what?”

“I can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

She drops her head to her knees and cries, her shoulders shaking.

I put my arm around her. “Jade, what can’t you do? I don’t understand. Is this about your classes?”

There’s no answer. Just more tears.

“You can’t take a test? You’re not ready for it? Is that what you mean?”

“It’s not…” She takes a breath. “It’s not about school.”

“Then what’s wrong? Tell me, Jade.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? You can tell me anything. You know that.”

“Because if I tell you, it might be real.” She sniffles. “And it can’t be real.”

“What can’t be real?” This is so frustrating. It’s like the old Jade from last year. The one who was so hard to read. The one who tried to hide everything from me so I was left constantly guessing what it was she needed and hoping I got it right.

“Just talk to me, Jade. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The only answer I get are more tears. I hug her into my side and she lays her head on my shoulder. I notice something sitting next to her on the floor. I reach over and pick it up. It’s a small calendar with last Tuesday circled in red marker.

“What’s this?” I hold it in front of her.

“Don’t look at that!” She snatches it from me and tosses it across the bathroom floor.

“Jade, why do you have a calendar in the bathroom?”

She says nothing as she sits back against the wall again, hugging her knees.

I’m so confused. I have no freaking clue what’s going on here. Was that date she circled some kind of anniversary? It’s not the day her mom died. It’s not the day her grandparents died. It’s not any kind of anniversary for Jade and me. So what the hell’s the significance of that day?

I move in front of her. “What happened last Tuesday?”

“I told you I can’t talk about it. Not right now. Just go to bed.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Now tell me what happened last Tuesday.”

“Nothing! Don’t you get it?”

“No, I don’t. I don’t understand.”

“It’s always the same,” she says, her voice shaky. “It’s like clockwork. Every 28 days. It never changes. It hasn’t since I was 13.”

I’m really tired, but the 28-day thing sticks in my head. What’s 28 days? And she said it’s always the same. What’s always the same and 28 days?

Her period.

She’s late.

Her period was supposed to be last Tuesday and now it’s Sunday. Normally I don’t even think about this. Jade just takes care of it. She doesn’t talk about her period or cramps or PMS. I don’t even think she gets PMS. If she does, she doesn’t talk about it and it’s not like she gets all cranky before her period, the way some girls do. If it weren’t for the fact that we don’t have sex on those days, I wouldn’t even know she was having her period.

She’s late. She’s never late.

Holy shit. No wonder she’s freaking out.

She’s sitting cross-legged now, her head bent down, tears dripping on the floor.

I take both her hands and gently hold them. “Jade. It’s just a few days. You’ll probably get it today or tomorrow.”

“No. You don’t understand. It’s never late. Not even a day.”

“So maybe your body’s changing. Or maybe this month, you’re just a little off. That happens, right?”

“Not when you’re on the pill. The pills make it regular and for me it’s every 28 days.”

I guess I knew that, but I was trying to find a reason for her being late. A reason that would change the outcome.

“So what are you saying?”

It’s such a stupid question and I regret even asking it, but before I can say anything else, Jade finally lifts her head and looks at me.

“I’m pregnant.” As soon as she says it, her eyes tear up and the crying continues.

I take her into my arms. “You don’t know that, Jade.”

“Yes, I do. There’s no other explanation.”

“You’re on the pill. It’s almost a hundred percent effective.”

“Yeah, ‘almost’ is the key word. It’s not a hundred percent. Just ask Sara. She got pregnant on the pill. She said she never missed a day and she still got pregnant.”

Jade never told me that. Sara really got pregnant on the pill? So I guess it does happen.

“I didn’t take it every day.” Jade says it so quietly I could barely make out the words.

“You didn’t take your pill every day?”

“When I had the flu, I forgot to take it. I was so sick I didn’t even think about it.”

Shit. I didn’t think about it either. Not that I would. I’m so used to her taking over the pregnancy prevention part of our relationship that I didn’t think to remind her to take it when she was sick. Not that it would’ve mattered. She would’ve thrown it up anyway.

“We should’ve been using condoms.” She’s staring at the floor. “We should’ve been using them all last month. If we had, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Jade, you don’t know for sure if anything’s happened. You need to take a pregnancy test.”

Her head jerks up and she grabs my arm. “Go get me one! Go to the store right now. I have to know. I can’t wait until morning.”

“Nothing’s open. The drugstores closed at midnight. We don’t have any 24-hour stores around here. But they open at six. I’ll go then, okay? I’ll go as soon as they open.”

“What time is it now?”

“It’s 2:30.”

“So I have to wait three and a half hours? That’s a long time.”

“I know. But I’m right here.” I hug her into me. “I won’t leave your side.”

She nods.

“Let’s go back to bed.” I help her stand up and she walks with me back to the bed.

We get under the covers and just lie there quietly. She’s huddled against me, her cheek against my chest.

After a long period of silence, she says, “Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not.” I try to pull away a little to look at her but she won’t let me. She tightens her arm around my chest and keeps her head down.

“I’m mad at myself. So I understand if you’re mad at me, too.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“I screwed up, Garret. I wasn’t thinking.”

“You were sick. You weren’t supposed to be thinking. You were supposed to be resting and getting better.”

“I still should’ve thought about it. When I got better I should’ve thought about it and been more careful. Now it’s too late and I’m pregnant.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“But what if I am?” She still won’t look at me and it’s hard to hear what she’s saying with her face buried in the fabric of my shirt. “What are we going to do, Garret?”

“I guess we’re gonna have a baby.”

Saying it causes a bolt of sheer panic to course through my chest. A baby? Now? We’re only 20. I’m not ready for a baby. And I know Jade isn’t.

It’s not like we couldn’t handle having a baby. We have plenty of money. But it would change everything. And I don’t mean stuff like how much sleep we get or how we spend our free time. I can handle those changes. What I mean is it would change how we live. Where we go. Who we trust. I worry enough about Jade. Add a baby to that? A helpless infant? Shit! I can’t even imagine. I couldn’t let it out of my sight.

We’d definitely have to move to a safer place. A place with a gate and maybe some armed guards. Even though nobody’s bothered us and we’re probably safe, it’s different when you have a kid. There’s that protective instinct that takes over and you’ll do anything and everything to keep them safe. And that’s exactly what I’d do. But I don’t want to have to do that. Not yet. Not now. Then again, maybe I won’t have a choice.

Six o’clock can’t come fast enough.