“Why? I thought you were going to meet with Jackson and interview for a job with Cole Security?”
“Dad wants me at his office first,” JD tells me. “But I’ll see you tonight, don’t worry,” he assures me, but even as he says the words, the tension in my shoulders tightens, and my throat has a lump so big I can’t swallow past it. Fear grips me at the thought of losing JD. Not that he would leave me, but the thought of not seeing him again has me worried. More worried than I ever thought I’d be.
“Okay.” Even though I try to sound confident, I can hear the falter in my voice. The crack of emotion that drenches the word.
JD cups my cheeks, swiping the pads of his thumbs along my face. His touch is gentle, but it sparks to life every nerve in my body. “Don’t be afraid, songbird, I’ll come and listen to you sing.” He sounds so sure, so confident. That’s JD. He has never had any doubt about our friendship, whereas I have questioned why he stuck by me all these years. It made no sense that someone so perfectly beautiful could want a girl like me.
“Okay, I said okay,” I finally respond, hoping to sound excited rather than wary about what’s coming. I have always had a sixth sense. I could tell when something bad was going to happen, and this time, it’s no different.
“Good.” He says with confidence. “Do you want to walk with me in the park before I go?” The corner of his mouth quirks into a small grin, and my stomach flip-flops. Perhaps he’ll finally kiss me. When JD releases me, he steps back, and I’m suddenly cold, missing the heat he emanates like a cologne.
“Momma!”
“I’m right here, sweet girl.” My mother comes down the hallway. I can hear her heels clicking on the wooden floor. She’s dressed for work, looking beautiful as she smiles over at us.
“I’m going to walk in the park with JD. He’s going to meet with his father at the offices.”
“That’s fine,” she says, then glances at my best friend, my first love, and hopefully, my only love. “Will we see you tonight?”
“Of course, Ms. Starling. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” JD says, offering a tip of his head. “I can’t wait to hear both of you sing.”
“Did you tell him before you told me, Momma?” I question her, my gaze swooping between the two of them.
“I needed someone to tell the exciting news to,” Momma teases, winking at me before she heads into the kitchen.
JD glances at me, a sly smile on his lips, and I realize when I asked him last week what he wanted to do for my birthday and he couldn’t give me a straight answer, that’s what he was hiding. “I had to keep it a secret.”
I grab my phone and keys before calling out, “Bye, Momma, see you later.”
“See you later, kids,” she calls to us.
“Can’t wait, Mrs. S,” JD shouts, and I grab my coat, shrugging it on with the help of JD. “It was so difficult keeping it from you, songbird,” he teases in my ear, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“Ugh, both of you,” I grunt in frustration that they were conspiring against me. Even though it was a good surprise, he knows I hate them.
“You know you love me,” JD says suddenly, causing my heart to lurch in my chest. The door shuts behind us, leaving us inches apart in the hallway. We’ve been alone before, but this feels different. It feels like more.
There’s love between us. He’s just said it. JD’s eyes are locked on mine. He doesn’t seem perturbed that he just admitted to knowing I love him. He doesn’t even look like he regrets it because there’s a relaxed expression on his handsome face. Full, pink lips part slightly as he breathes. His sharp nose, angular jaw, and the dark dusting of stubble on his face make him look mature.
But it’s his mischievous eyes that make him seem playful, friendly. They shimmer under thick, black lashes. I want to lean up and kiss him right now. But I don’t.
The air is heavy with promise, with the truth. It’s now or never, and if I don’t say it now, I don’t know when I’ll find the courage to ever mutter it again. So, I take my chance.
“I do,” I finally admit.
It takes him a second to realize what I said, and then a smile appears on his face. The corners of his mouth tilt upward, offering up a view of his perfect, pearly-white teeth.
He captures my face in his hands, stopping us as we stand there, grinning like crazy people. His eyes shine with so much affection I’m breathless when he finally leans in, and his lips mold to mine.
My first kiss.
It’s soft and tender as JD’s tongue sweeps along my lips, and I open them for him. We taste each other slow, savoring every single moment. My hands tangle around his neck. We’re inches apart, and I wish we could get closer. He’s warm, comforting, and I never want this to end.
After long moments of tasting him, kissing him, feeling him harden against my stomach, he breaks us apart. Those eyes that I’ve come to fall in love with look down at me with admiration that makes my heart skip multiple beats.
“I love you,” he admits in a whisper heavy with emotion. My eyes burn with tears as I look up at him.
“And I love you. I always have.” I finally voice what I’ve wanted to tell him for so long. It’s as if the dam has broken and all the emotions that were locked up flow from me and I can’t stop giggling.
“Now, let’s go for our walk before your momma comes out here to kick my ass for kissing her little girl.” With a cocky wink, JD laces his fingers with mine, and we head down the hallway.
JD is not just a cute boy anymore.
He’s a breathtakingly handsome man.
Chapter Six
JD
My father looks at me with those eyes that seem to pierce right through me. He doesn’t know what he’s just said. The curveball he’s thrown into my life will not only break apart Autumn and me; it may push her away for good.
I spent two years ignoring the fact that my father wanted me to join the forces, and now that he's telling me I’m going, it has only broken me down.
He doesn’t say anything more. His expression is filled with snide satisfaction. He’s proud of himself; he likes seeing me hurt, angry. Even though he’s meant to be good to me, to ensure my happiness and safety, he’s been nothing more than a man who lives in the same house as me.
I push off the chair and look at him from my full height, needing it to fight for what I want. We came to an agreement a while ago that I would be able to choose my career. And now that I can, now that I’ve finished studying, I’m being forced into something he wants. “I want to work for Jackson. Cole Security is my future.”
“Your future is to do as I say.”
“What the fuck, Dad?” I bite out, pacing his pristine, modern office. The view of Central Park greets me every time I walk to the left of his desk, and when I turn to the right, all I see are dark, wooden bookshelves filled with spines that offer up reference books rather than fiction.
“Language,” he warns in his no-nonsense tone. I may be twenty-one, an adult, but my father still sees me as the little boy he rules over like a king over his subjects.