Page 51

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

It’s now the first week of April and the weather is really warming up. It also stays light outside for longer, so I’ve started running after dinner. I keep the runs short because my knee isn’t fully healed. And I run on the trail because the ground is much softer than the track.

Tonight the trail is a little wet from the rain we had earlier in the week and mud is splattering up on my ankles. People don’t like using the trail when it’s muddy so I have it all to myself. Plus it’s Friday night and everyone is getting ready to go out.

When I’m about a quarter mile down the trail I hear my name.

“Jade. Over here.”

I look to my right and Garret is standing there under a large oak tree.

“Garret!” I run over and he hugs me so tight he lifts my feet off the ground. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you.” He sets me down but keeps me close. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“What do you mean? We have to stick with the plan.”

“Yes, we’re still doing the plan, but I can’t go another day without seeing you. Or talking to you.” He pulls me off the trail behind a tree and draws me closer. “And I definitely can’t go another day without kissing you.” He gently presses his soft lips to mine and my legs get weak. No joke. Like he actually has to hold me up a little as I sink into him while we kiss.

When he stops I take a breath and stand up again. “Wow. I’ve really missed that.”

“Yeah. I know. ” He kisses me again.

We hear a rustling noise and break apart, but it’s just a squirrel running through the leaves.

I wrap my arms around him again and hug him really tight. “I’m so happy you showed up here. I needed this so bad. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t arrange something earlier. I kept trying, but you haven’t been around.”

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Harper. And Arlin and his wife.”

“Oh, yeah? What have you been doing with Arlin?”

“Having lunch. And I went to their house in the Hamptons last weekend. I have so much to tell you.”

“Then let’s talk. But we need to get off the trail in case someone comes by.”

“We don’t have anywhere to go.”

“We do if you’re up for a hike.” He takes my hand and leads me down a steep hill into the woods.

“How did you know I’d be on the trail tonight?” I carefully step over a fallen tree branch so I don’t trip again and get another concussion.

“I noticed you were going out there every night after dinner.” He glances back at me and smiles. “I keep an eye on you, Jade.”

We walk for a few more minutes, then come to a stop next to a small stream. There’s a clearing in the woods where Garret has laid out a sleeping bag, unzipped so it forms a big rectangle. There’s a picnic basket on top holding it down.

“I’ve been searching for the right spot for a week. What do you think?”

“It’s great. Very secluded.”

“Exactly. It’s just what we need.” He takes my face in his hands and kisses me. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m kissing him for the first time—butterflies in the stomach and everything. He parts my lips with his tongue and takes the kiss deeper. He tastes like mint and his skin has the scent of his signature cologne. Even when I close my eyes, I know it’s him. I know his taste, his smell, his touch. And I’ve missed all of it. I’ve missed everything about him.

We kneel down on the blanket, our lips still joined. I lie on my back and he lies over me. Some birds rustle the leaves just above us and I break from the kiss. “Are we really doing this? Outside?”

He sits back on his knees. “Not if you don’t want to. I guess I did say we were just coming to talk so—”

“Are you kidding me? We’ll talk later.”

He smiles and takes off his shirt, exposing the ripped muscles and smooth skin I’ve been longing to feel against me again. I quickly take my clothes off not even letting him do it. Sensing my urgency, he strips the rest of the way, then pulls a thin blanket from the basket.

“In case you get cold or want to cover up.”

I sit back on my elbows, smiling at him. “So you just assumed I’d go for this?”

He kisses my neck and coaxes me back down. “I knew you’d go for it, my little nymphomaniac.”

It’s so mean, but it makes me laugh. “That’s the last time you get to call me that.”

We kiss and touch like we can’t get enough of each other, breathing heavy and starting to sweat in the cool night air.

“I’m trying to go slow for you, Jade, but it’s been too long and I don’t—”

“I don’t need slow. I’m more than ready.”

He instantly joins us together and I hear him groan my name as he goes deeper. My core is fired up with sensation, ready to burst. He’s still trying not to hurry as he slowly rocks his hips, his breathing ragged, his head resting on mine. I push my hips into his and guide him to a quicker pace. He seems relieved at my signal and moves faster and deeper until we both finally get relief from the desire that’s been building inside us for weeks.

Garret moves off me and holds me in his arms, pulling the blanket over us. “Okay, now we can talk,” he says, kissing my forehead. “By the way, I love you. I should’ve said that when I first saw you. I’m out of practice. I haven’t been able to say that for weeks.”

“Yeah, and I’ve missed it. I love you, too.” I snuggle closer to him and wrap my arm across his chest. “When is this going to end? Have you heard anything?”

“My dad said the organization has been monitoring what’s going on, but they haven’t addressed it any of the meetings. He’s just heard stuff from other members. So far, it sounds like nothing’s changed. They still want me to go through with this and that’s why they’ve been trying to interfere.”

“By doing what?”

“They’ve been planting fake articles saying the rumors about me are false. That I’m a good guy, but just struggling with some issues. They got the reality show to reshoot the last episode so the actor playing me could blame my mom’s death for why the fake me is doing all these things.”

“So the producers of the show are working for the organization? Are they members?”

“No, I think they were just offered a shitload of money to reshoot the scene. They probably didn’t even ask why.”

“I saw that episode and I wanted to talk to you so bad after that. I almost went up to your room, but I knew I shouldn’t.”

“I’m over it. I’m just trying to forget about the show. Oh, and now that Ava dumped me I’m getting a new fake girlfriend to cheat on. Some 20-year-old blond actress. She’s done some modeling but hasn’t had any real acting jobs yet.”

“Great. Competition from a hot blond. Just what I need.”

“You have nothing to worry about.” He flips me on my back and hovers over me. “I don’t even like blonds. I only like girls with long brown hair, jade green eyes, around 5’5 with larger-than-average breasts.”

“I was just your type until that last part.”

“I disagree.” He cups my breast with his hand. “See? A perfect handful, and I have large hands.”

“And how do you know that’s larger than average?”

He smiles. “I’ve done some research over the years.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure you have. I hope you’re done with that research.”

“You know I am.” He leans down and kisses me. “You’re all I think about, especially now that I can’t be with you. And speaking of competition, what’s with all the guys asking you out?”

“One guy. That’s it. Nic’s in my history class. He just asked me to dinner.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him I wasn’t ready to start dating again. He hasn’t bothered me since.”

“And why do you keep wearing skirts? Are you trying to torture me?”

“Harper gave me a bunch of new ones from her sister along with a few more bikinis. You’ll get to see them in California this summer.”

He’s quiet as he rubs his hand up and down my arm.

“You’re not going, are you?”

“Probably not. This is going slower than we thought it would. My dad was sure they would’ve given up on me by now and picked someone else. But they haven’t, so we need to keep this thing going.”

“I’ve been reading the comments online about you and they’re pretty bad.”

“That’s the thing. A lot of people either don’t like me anymore or have lost interest, so I don’t know why the organization isn’t giving up on me. Hardly anyone would vote for me now or in twenty years. People think I’m a drug addict. Even if fake Garret went to rehab, nobody wants a former drug addict for a president.”

“If you can’t go to California I don’t think I should go either.”

“We’ve already discussed this. You’re going. A driver will take your car out there. You can just fly out and take a cab from the airport. Did you want to stop in Des Moines on the way out there and see Frank and Ryan?”

“Yeah, but I don’t have money for all those plane tickets. And you can’t buy them for me. If someone found out, it would look suspicious.”

“You should have Arlin pay for it.”

“I can’t do that. I don’t want him and Grace thinking I’m only being nice to them for their money.”

“Well, I might’ve mentioned to him that you need some plane tickets. And he might’ve already offered to get them for you.”

I sit up. “Garret, why did you do that?”

“He called and asked me if you needed anything because he said he knows you’ll never ask. So I just said you might need a plane ticket to Des Moines and another one for California. He really wants to do this for you, Jade.”

“Yeah, because he thinks buying me stuff will make up for what his son did.”

“That’s not what he’s doing. And he’s afraid to offer to pay for anything because he knows you’ll assume that’s why he’s doing it. But it’s not true, Jade. I told you before. He loves doing stuff for his grandkids and now he’s got you. A whole new kid to spoil. So don’t read so much into it. Just let him be a grandfather.” Garret gets up and gathers our clothes from the ground. “I almost forgot the picnic part of this secret meeting. But we should probably put something on first.”

After we’re dressed, he opens the picnic basket and pulls out a bottle.

“Sparkling water. I was in a hurry and it’s all we had. But it’s cherry flavored.” He takes out two champagne flutes and hands them to me.

“Are these crystal glasses?” I ask, noticing how heavy they are.

“Yeah. I just grabbed some from the cabinet at home.” He fills our glasses, then holds his up for a toast. “To people continuing to hate me so this will end and we won’t have to have our dates in the woods.” We clink glasses.

He reaches in the basket again. “And here are the Belgian chocolates I was supposed to give you after spring break.”

I take a chocolate and pop it in my mouth. “This is definitely the best chocolate ever.”

“You can take the rest of them back to your room.” He sets his glass down. “So what are you doing for Easter? Do you have a place to go on Sunday?”

“Sean is making brunch, so I’m going over there with Harper. He’s having a whole bunch of people over.”

“Before you go over there, I need you to go on the trail.”

“You want me to go running on Easter?”

“No. Just show up on the trail around 9. I’ll have a surprise waiting for you.”

“What kind of surprise would you have on the trail?”

“Just go there and find out. I promised you I’d make each holiday special with all the traditions you didn’t get growing up. I’m guessing you didn’t celebrate Easter either?”

“No.” I take another chocolate. “But you don’t need to keep doing this holiday thing.”

“Why not?” He nudges my leg. “I know you love it.”

“I never said I loved holidays. You’re just assuming I do because you like them.”

“Maybe you didn’t like them before, but you do now that you have me around.” His cocky smile appears. I’ve missed it.

I smile back. “Okay, there might be some truth in that.”

“It’s getting dark. You should probably head back. The coyotes and raccoons will be out soon, if they’re not already.”

I jump up on his lap, spilling my sparkling water. “Are you serious? Did you see one?”

He’s laughing at me. “No, I just wanted you on my lap.” He takes my glass and sets it aside, then reaches his hand behind my head and draws me in for a kiss.

When he lets me go, I hold on. “No, it’s too soon. I’m not ready.”

“We’ll do this again. I just don’t know when yet. But next time I’ll tell Harper so you’ll know when to meet me out here.” He hands me the box of chocolates.

“Okay, but it better not be weeks.” I reluctantly get up.

“It won’t.” He stands up and takes my hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to the trail. I parked up on the road in the opposite direction.”

“You left your BMW on the side of the road? But you’re supposed to be out partying tonight. Everyone around here knows your car. They’ll know you were here.”

“I drove Charles’ old pickup truck. He only drives it when he goes fishing. He let me borrow it.”

“What did you tell him for an excuse for why you needed a pickup?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. I just asked if I could use it. I think he knows that I was trying to sneak off and see you.”

“Then he knows what we’re doing? Garret, what if he tells someone?”

“He’d never do that. He wants us to be together. He always tells me what a great girl you are and how I should never let you go.” Garret smiles and lifts my hand up to kiss it. “All stuff I already know.”

The walk up the hill is way too short. I want to go back down and walk up it again, but it’s getting darker and I don’t want raccoons attacking Garret on his way back to the truck.

“Goodbye, Jade.” He kisses me, then gives me a hug.

“Don’t say goodbye. I hate goodbye. Say ‘see ya later.’ That’s all I’ll accept.”

“Okay. See ya later.”

We kiss once more before he disappears into the trees.