The one second Jade is standing in the kitchen, and the next, there’s no sign of her. I stop by the counter and frown, sure I just saw her drinking a bottle of water.
Jase walks to the fridge and taking two bottles out, he throws one to me, then his eyes go to the floor, a frown forming on his brow.
I watch him lift his chin, and then he grins like an idiot. “Let’s go to my room.”
I shake my head and walk toward him, which has him widening his eyes at the floor.
Yeah, pretty sure that’s where Jade disappeared to.
When I reach the edge of the counter that also serves as a breakfast table, I lean over it and glance down at Jade. “Hey.”
Slowly, she glances up, and then she gives me an awkward smile. “H-hey.”
When she scrambles up from the floor, I set after her, and before she can shut her bedroom door in my face, I follow her into the room. Locking her only exit, I pocket the key then turn to look at her. “I think it’s time we talk. I’m not going to have you hiding just to avoid me.”
“I’m not,” she blurts out, and when I tilt my head at her, giving her a knowing smile, she begrudgingly admits, “Fine, I’m hiding.”
“Is it because you’re angry with me. If that’s the case, I understand, but I don’t want this thing between us getting any worse,” I explain.
She quickly shakes her head, and walking to her bed, she slumps down on it. “I’m not angry.”
She gives me a quick awkward glance before ducking her head low, then mumbles, “It’s because you saw me in my underwear.”
I’m surprised by her confession. I was certain she would be angry because I forced a kiss on her. “Let’s pretend you were wearing a bathing suit,” I offer to make her feel better.
Bullshit, Hunter. No bathing suit on this planet has ever looked so good.
I might have been intoxicated, but I’ll never forget the sight of Jade in her bra, panties, and those damn boots.
She gives me a grateful smile, then asks, “Are you really ready to talk, though?”
I walk over to the bed and sit down next to her. “Yeah.” Glancing at her, I say, “You start. Tell me why you blamed me.”
She clasps her hands together and clears her throat. “I don’t have an excuse. I was upset with you for walking in on Brady and me. I think it just got out of hand when I heard he had taken his life.” She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out on a sigh. “With time, I convinced myself you had something to do with his suicide. It was stupid of me, and I’m so sorry.” Her eyes come up to mine, and I can see the regret written on her face. “I was awful to you, and I’ll understand if you can’t forgive me, but I’ll do anything to make up for it.”
There’s a moment's silence as I gather my thoughts. “I’m not going to lie, the past two years have been hard.” Turning my head to face her, I admit, “You really hurt me.”
Her face crumbles a little as if she’s fighting not to cry, but she keeps it in. “I’m sorry sounds so inadequate. I wish I could tell you how much I regret my actions.”
“I know what you mean,” I admit. “My behavior from the other night is right up there with what you did.”
Jade shakes her head and stares miserably down at her hands. “Not in a million years, Hunter. Nothing you do can ever compare to the hell I’ve put you through.”
My eyes search over her features. Seeing her remorse is all I wanted. “Where do we go from here?” I ask.
Jade shrugs and whispers, “I have no idea.” She shoots me a hopeful glance. “Can’t we go back to the way things were?”
I think for a moment, then shake my head. “Too much has changed. I don’t think it’s possible.”
The corners of her mouth pull slightly down, and her chin begins to quiver. “I guess you’re right,” she whispers as a tear spills down her cheek. “Can we at least make peace and be nice to each other?”
Lifting my hand, I bring it to her face, and with my thumb, I wipe the tear away. I tilt my head to try and catch her eyes, but she keeps staring at her hands. Putting a finger under her chin, I lift her face so she’ll look at me. “I’m not saying we can’t be friends, Jade. We can take it one day at a time. Let our relationship follow the normal path.”
Her face fills with hope, and the corner of her mouth begins to lift in an optimistic smile. “So, you still want to be friends with me?”
“Didn’t you listen to the song I sent you this morning?”
“I did,” the words burst from her.
“I meant every word. I don’t think I can ever give up on us.”
“Me too.” There’s a cute expression on her face. One I haven’t seen in years, and it makes me smile. “Are you going to call me Little Bean again?”
I let out a chuckle and shake my head. “You’re not so little anymore,” I tease her. “It was your childhood nickname, and we both know you’re no longer a kid.”
Her cheeks flush red, and she buries her flaming face in her hands. Letting out a groan, she complains, “Oh God, I’m never going to live it down.” Then her hands drop from her face, and she stares at me with wide eyes. “Please don’t tell the others I stripped in front of you.”
I can’t keep the grin from forming on my face and placing my arm around her shoulders, I pull her into my side. “Your secret is safe with me, but if you ever give me shit again, I’m advertising it to the entire world.”
“Deal.” She holds her right hand out to me and placing mine in hers, we shake on it.
We sit for a couple of minutes, and I try to think how I’m going to start talking about the topic of the kiss, when Jade says, “About the kiss.” Her eyes snap down to her hands, and she shifts awkwardly, which has me dropping my arm from around her shoulders.
“Which one?”
She pulls an uneasy face. “Both, I guess.”
I grab onto the most plausible excuse. “We were both just emotional, and at our wits end with each other.”
Jade’s head instantly bobs up and down. “Totally. You’re right.”
“We’re good?” I ask as I get up.
Jade also rises to her feet. “Ahh… I’m glad we finally made peace, but I still feel like shit. Isn’t there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
It’s going to take time for our friendship to get back to where it was. I’m just about to tell Jade not to worry about it when an idea pops into my head. “You owe me two years’ worth of hugs. You can start by making up for that.”
A wide smile splits over her face, and then she face-plants against my chest. When she wraps her arms tightly around my waist, I let out a burst of laughter.
I move my own arms around her and press my mouth to the top of her head. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath of her scent.
Thank’s Jade. This is what I needed. Just being able to hold you again.
I tighten my hold on her, and she responds by snuggling as close to me as she can, and then she whispers, “I’m so sorry. I know you must be tired of hearing me say those words, but I mean them. I’ll never forgive myself for the way I treated you.”