And there will be a next time. I can guarantee it. I’ve been fighting it all week but tonight, right at this very moment, I know without a doubt that I’m falling. Falling in love with her.
So I’m taking care of what’s mine.
Jade.
Twenty-Six
Jade
I think I’m in a total state of shock.
I have no idea what happened back there at the restaurant but holy shit, it was weird. I felt like I was in a movie. One of those cheesy made for television movies that they show on Lifetime, with all the overblown drama and exaggerated bad guys—or mom, in this case. The way she looked at me, spoke to me, how she called me a freaking gold digger right there at the table, in front of Shep and his dad.
Unbelievable.
Shep defended me the entire time. He never caved. Not once. He was on my side and oh my God, it felt so good, knowing that he was defending me with an unwavering intensity I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed before.
It was awesome.
Though we haven’t spoken since we left the restaurant and that was five minutes ago. I think he’s still too mad. Not that I can blame him. I’m mortified over what happened too. His mom is a nightmare. He warned me but he didn’t offer up much detail as to how truly awful she was.
And she is definitely awful.
“Jade, I’m so fucking sorry,” Shep finally says and I chance a glance at him, the way his long fingers are curled around the steering wheel, his knuckles white. His expression is grim, his mouth drawn thin and his jaw looking like it’s going to crack, it’s so tight.
“It’s not your fault,” I start but he cuts me off.
“I should’ve never brought you there. I thought she’d be cool. I thought she’d accept you and see just how great you are. Instead, she was a total bitch.” He stops at a red light and turns to look at me, his eyes full of sorrow. “I’m sorry.”
I lean over the center console and reach out, placing my hand on his smooth cheek. “Hey. It’s not your fault,” I repeat.
He blows out a harsh breath and turns his head so he kisses the palm of my hand. “I hate what she said to you,” he murmurs against my skin.
A shiver moves through me. I hate it too, but what’s done is done. “I think she’s just trying to defend you. Protect you.”
“In the rudest way possible.” The light turns green and I drop my hand from his face so he can continue driving distraction free. “Don’t make excuses for her. She called you a gold digger, Jade.”
“We don’t need to relive it,” I say with a wince.
He sends me an apologetic look. “Sorry. You’re right. What the fuck is wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with her? Jesus.” He punches the steering wheel and I place my hand on his thigh, surprised at how rigid the muscle is. He’s so tense he feels like he could shatter.
“Calm down. It’s over. We survived,” I reassure him as I run my hand up and down his thigh. “Let’s just go back to your place and relax. Order takeout.” Because yeah, I’m still hungry since we never ate dinner.
He frowns. “Damn it, I can’t. I have to go to the house and help Tristan and Gabe. The last night it’s open, remember?”
How could I forget? Great. Now I’ll have to spend tonight alone.
“You could go with me,” he continues and I shake my head.
“No.” Hell, no. I don’t like that place. Last time I went I got drunk and almost snorted a line of coke with the Em and Ems. That was so unlike me. First time I go, I get thrown into a bet and Shep wins me.
That you can’t protest.
Yeah, maybe I can.
Sort of.
Okay, fine not really.
“You can stay at my place,” he suggests and again, I shake my head. I don’t want to be the lonely so-called girlfriend waiting for her man to come home. How pathetic is that?
“Just take me back to my dorm,” I say, sounding like a sullen little girl. Feeling like a sullen little girl because this night didn’t go as expected at all.
I really thought his parents might like me. That we’d have a fabulous time over dinner getting to know each other with his mother revealing funny stories about Shep when he was a little boy. We’d all laugh and she’d tell her husband that I was the perfect girl for their boy and oh yeah, that so did not happen.
What seemed to really piss her off is when Shep dropped that bomb about us spending the summer together, which makes no sense because he still thinks I’m going home over the break. I never told him about Mom selling the house.
It’s like a totally weird coincidence.
“What did you mean earlier about the two of us spending the summer together?” I ask.
He’s quiet for a moment and I’m about to repeat myself when he says, “Oh. That.”
“Yeah. That,” I say wryly. “Why did you say it?”
“Well, I’m staying here again for the summer. The thought of going home—especially after what happened tonight—there’s just no way. And I know you planned on going back to your mom’s but I was going to ask if you wanted to…” His words trail off and I stare at him hard, willing him to finish the question.
“If I wanted to what?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything else.
He clears his throat. “I wanted to know if you’d like to uh, stay with me. For the summer. At my house.”
“Are you serious?” I squeak. No way can he be serious. We hardly know each other. I mean, okay yeah, we know each other, but it’s only been a month. It’s like he’s asking me to move in with him.
Which is insane. Insane. I can’t move in with him.
Can I?
Somehow we arrived at my dorm hall. He pulls into a parking spot and cuts the engine, turning to look at me. “I’m dead serious. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask you all week but it never seemed to be the right time.” He shakes his head, looking irritated with himself. “Scratch that. More like I couldn’t work up the fucking nerve to ask you because I was afraid you’d tell me no.”
Aw. That is like the cutest admission ever. “Why did you think I’d tell you no?”
“Because you love to tell me no, Jade. I think that’s one of the things I like best about you. You’re not afraid to tell me how you really feel. You don’t fall for my crap like every other female I’ve encountered on campus. You’ve challenged me from the first second we’ve met and while I love that about you, it can also…scare the hell out of me.”
I start to laugh. “Are you saying I scare you?”
He nods, a slow smile curling his perfect lips. “Yeah. More than anything, the way I feel about you scares the fuck out of me.”
My laughter dies. “What do you mean?”
He cups my face with one hand, his thumb smoothing across my cheek. “You know I’ve never done this sort of thing before. That first moment when I touched you…when I kissed you…slipped inside you, I knew.”
My heart threatens to pound right out of my chest and gallop away down the street. “You knew what?”
“Exactly what I told my mom—that you’re the girl for me. No one else, just you.” He leans in and kisses me, his damp mouth lingering on mine, his tongue sneaking in for a quick tease. “I’m falling in love with you, Jade.”