Jessica stared at the plastic basket she’d hooked over her arm. Two boxes? He surely had to be mistaken.
“I might need to grab a few essentials. I’ll meet you back here at the register.”
Luke quirked a brow. “A few essentials?”
“Did I stutter?” She traipsed off with her head held high. No one would make her feel guilty for having a slight office supply store addiction. After all, it had been months since she’d had a fix.
She may or may not have hid from him when she saw him looking for her. Mr. Antsy Pants wasted no time getting the ink. He probably didn’t even take the time to compare Staple’s compatible ink to the more expensive Canon ink.
Jones: Where are you?”
Jessica: Bathroom. Thought I told U to wait upfront for me.
Staples may or may not have turned her into a crazier version of her already insane self.
Jones: Did you start?”
Typical guy.
Jessica: I use the restroom even when I’m not having my period!
Jones: O—K
Peeking around an end display of the most dazzling assortment of spiral notebooks, she watched and waited for him to head back toward the front of the store.
Another deep inhale. There was no way of knowing how long it could take for her to splurge on another trip to Staples. She had to get as much of everything as she could. Ten minutes later … possibly twenty—it was easy to lose track of time with so many distractions—she smiled at Luke as he spotted her walking toward him.
“You dropped something.”
She looked behind her then bent down to grab the box that had fallen out of her overflowing basket.
“Powder-Free Disposable Nitrile Gloves?”
“Don’t judge me, Jones.” She brushed past him to the checkout.
Pink razors. Mouthwash. Three-pack Remote Controlled Pillar Candles. Retractable Pens. Sticky Tac. Post-it notes. Watermelon Bubblicious. Dragonfly Cotton Shower Cap …
“I’ll get the ink for your mom too.” She motioned for him to set the two Canon ink cartridges on the counter.
His eyes flitted between her and her “essentials” the store clerk scanned and deposited into plastic bags. When he didn’t say anything, she grabbed the boxes from him and handed them to the clerk.
“Two twenty-five thirty-nine.”
Before Jessica could retrieve her money from her bag, Luke handed over his credit card.
“No, just wait I’ve got it.”
By the time she found her wallet he’d already signed for the purchase. He grabbed the two bags of essentials and nodded for her to head toward the car. After they were both fastened in, he started the car and looked over at her. She kept her eyes trained ahead to the gray stone siding of the store.
“If you need me to be Dr. Jones for an emergency session I can do that for you.”
“Two words … argyle socks. So just put the car in gear and let’s go.”
They stopped by a deli and picked up sandwiches and chips for their picnic. As they wormed their way through hills blanketed in trees, Jessica slipped her hand into her purse, retrieving her watermelon Bubblicious she snagged before the clerk could put it in the sack. Saliva flooded her mouth just from the smell after she unwrapped a piece. She popped it in her mouth and moaned with the first chew.
The party pooper shook his head in her peripheral vision.
“Open.” She held a piece to his lips.
Luke shook his head.
“You have to.”
Another shake.
“How are we going to swap gum in a few minutes if you don’t have a piece?”
“We’re not going—”
She shoved it in his mouth.
“You’re going to make me drive off the road.”
She grinned. “Then you should have let me drive. I’m an excellent driver.”
“Okay, Rain Man.” His response mumbled over the huge wad of gum.
“It’s true. It’s even possible that I was trained by a professional stuntman and former sprint car driver in the uh … art of high-speed chasing.”
Luke shot a quick sideways glance and several seconds later he shot her another with a look that fell somewhere between shock and horror. Jessica shrugged.
“I’m not sure I can marry you and not know everything about you.”
“Only if you marry me will you ever know everything about me. Think of it as a wedding gift.” She laughed, but it was a painful laugh. Nothing about G.A.I.L felt like a gift. It was a curse, one that not even death could destroy.
*
Only death would keep Luke from Jessica. One day he would marry her. One day he would know everything. Until then it didn’t matter. A feeling deep in his gut told him her secrets were so much bigger than either one of them. He saw it in the way her eyes pleaded with him to trust her.
However, they had much bigger issues to deal with at the moment. The love of his life had a serious addiction to Staples, which resulted in him being force-fed watermelon bubblegum—the worst possible flavor.
“Right here.” She pointed to a deserted scenic overlook.
He pulled into the gravel parking area.
“Did you bring a picnic blanket?” She peered at him over the frames of her glasses that sat low on her nose.
He slid his glasses down to mirror her serious look. “Yes. My mom gave me one.”
She smirked. “It’s probably the same one she and your dad wrapped around their wet naked bodies last night.”
He wrinkled his nose.
“Time to swap.” She leaned over and kissed him, running her tongue along the seam of his lips. “You suck at this,” she mumbled against his mouth. Then she pushed her gum into his mouth.
“What are you—”
“Give me your gum.” She teased his upper lip with the tip of her tongue, beckoning him to give it to her.
He shoved it in her mouth. The nasty watermelon taste almost ruined his favorite flavor—Jessica Day.
“You never swapped gum with a girl, did you?”
“Sorry.” He shrugged as she sat back in her seat.
Jessica sighed. “The first time I swapped gum was with a girl in fourth grade.”
Luke almost choked on his gum. “What?”
“Tina Reeves. She was “going with” a fifth grade boy. A rumor had been floating around that he was planning on French kissing Tina after school. She freaked out because she hadn’t ever kissed a boy, let alone French kissed. So I offered to teach her.”
Luke raised his usual skeptical brow. “You’d French kissed someone by the fourth grade?”
“No … not until Tina.”
Jessica’s unpredictability never ceased to amaze him.
“But I’d seen it in the movies. It basically looked like two people trying to swap gum. Fifteen minutes in my bedroom with a Madonna CD and two pieces of grape Hubba Bubba later, Tina was quite the French kisser.”
“How generous of you.”
“Anything to help out a friend.”
The woman before him had singlehandedly taken the life of a serial killer one unforgiving cut at a time. Even on their blind date when she bit him in the closet, she wasn’t a killer. He never knew that Jessica. All she had ever wanted to be with him was the Hubba Bubba girl who liked skinny dipping, wet dog kisses, and apparently Staples. Luke knew he would spend the rest of his life, giving her that life—giving her back her innocence.