Away (16 page)

H
E
PULLED
INTO
A
PARKING
SPOT
across the street from the infamous tree that I damaged.

“Jase?” I peered over to him before we got out of the truck.

He smiled as I said his name. “Trust me.”

I let out a sigh and got out of the truck, making my way toward him. He was carrying the bag of food he’d picked up on his way home and the blue quilt he had wrapped around me the night before.

“This way.” He motioned for me to follow him, except we weren’t going to the tree; we were staying on this side of the street.

We made our way over to a large, grassy area in front of an old building that appeared abandoned. He spread out the quilt and set the bag on it before slipping his boots off. “Boots off, Sweetheart.”

I slipped off my socks and boots. The feel of the grass underneath my feet was refreshing. I stood there wiggling my toes in the grass when I felt Jase come up next to me, barefoot and all, proceeding to do the same.

“What are we doing?” he asked me.

“Have you ever just stopped and felt the cool grass under your feet before?” I asked.

He let out a huff. “You’re learning to enjoy your moments.”

I watched my feet for a second longer and realized, I sure the shit was. I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re wearing off on me I guess,” I said.

“What can I say? I’m pretty amazing. Now let’s eat, I got your favorite.”

I didn’t know what I expected to come out of the bag but a chicken Cesar salad was not it. I guess I was waiting for the usual to come out.

“Why do you look so stunned?” he asked, handing over my container and a fork.

“Not stunned, just pleasantly surprised.”

“I actually eat salads, I just really felt like splurging this week with you and wanted to get you to eat a burger or two.” He grinned.

“I did enjoy the burgers, but I do love my salads,” I said.

We were almost through with our lunch when I saw Jason grab his phone from his pocket.

“Hi Melanie,” he answered.

“Sorry I wasn’t able to answer earlier.”

He laughed. “No, she’s still well and breathing.”

“Actually right next to me.”

“Just finishing up lunch outside on a blanket.”

“Oh really? Well I can tell you without a doubt she is.”

“I’ll let her know. Here she is.”

“She says you’re not an outdoor girl and she’s proud of you,” Jase told me as he handed me his phone.

I shook my head. I wasn’t an outdoor girl, but in my defense, I really hadn’t been given much opportunity to be.

“Hey Mel.”

“Hot Damn. Did he seriously just give you a picnic lunch?”

“Can you excuse me for a sec?” I asked Jason quietly as I got off the blanket. I made my way over to the truck, so I could talk privately.

“Yes. Pretty incredible, right?”

“Is he as hot as he sounds? Cause he sounds damn hot.”

“Very,” I sighed into the phone. He was hot, but his sweet disposition made him even more attractive.

“Alright I’m more than okay with you staying now.”

“It’s not like that. You know my situation. No way in hell am I dragging this nice guy into it.” I leaned against the passenger side of the truck, crossing my ankles as I stared at the ground.

“If he is this nice now, something tells me he wouldn’t be stupid and let a girl like you go, regardless of your situation.”

“I don’t even think he likes me like that. I think he’s just genuinely a nice guy.” I told her honestly. I knew there was a connection between us, but I wasn’t sure if it was just me that was feeling it.

“Please tell me you’re joking? A guy who’s not interested does not, and I repeat, does not go through the trouble of taking a girl on a picnic, let her stay in his house, stay with her at the hospital, and talk to her friend like it’s not a problem if he doesn’t feel some sort of connection.”

“Mel,” I said as my lips curled up. “That’s not all. He also got me to dance in the street under the stars, took me to his grandma’s for dinner, and took me shopping for boots.”

“Holy shit! If you don’t jump on him, then I will.”

“It’s not even like that. There is so much more to him. He’s not like other guys, like Parker. He’s not just into ass and boobs. He’s the guy that takes you home to meet the parents because he’s proud of you. Not the guy that keeps you a secret. I’m the secret. I’m the girl you hide from your parents because for one, the mom already knows I’m trouble. I’m with child Mel, not real girlfriend, long-term relationship material.”

“Are you done talking now?”

“Um, yeah?” I said, making it sound more like a question than an answer, unsure where she was taking this.

“I don’t think you give Jason enough credit. You’re judging him. You’re being a hypocrite. You don’t want people to judge you like your parents do which is why you come to me instead. Yet you’re judging Jason on how you think he’ll react to your situation when you don’t even know what he’ll say. Stop preplanning every conversation in your head before it happens, because nine times out of ten, the conversation will go differently. Go finish lunch and think about what I’ve said. I love you girl.”

I wasn’t sure how else to respond other than to do as she said. “Love you too Mel.” I snapped the phone closed and absorbed her words. I somberly walked back to our picnic in the grass and handed Jason back his phone.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“What was that all about? You know I could have left if you wanted to gush to your friend about me and my awesome picnic,” he said, as if he knew exactly why I walked away.

“Were you eavesdropping?” I asked, teasing him.

“No, but you did come back looking upset. Talk to me.” He patted the open spot next to him on the blanket. I sat down next to him, noticing he cleaned up our empty lunch containers.

“Okay. Can I ask you a question?”

He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

“No not like the game. It’s a question about life.” I said.

“Go for it,” he said.

“Do you ever go over in your head how someone will react to something you tell them, you know, like a conversation playing out?”

“All the time, but only because I’m scared... I’m scared that I’m going to get hurt, so I reason with myself by saying it’s okay not to tell the person because I already know the outcome, but I don’t. The future is unknown; you can’t pre-plan in your head how life will play out until it does. Conversations included. I learned that a while ago, Cassie. If you never take the chance to let things play out, then how will you ever learn how to trust in other people? You’re just assuming you know, and remember what you told me about assuming,” he said, flashing me a wink. “Does that answer your question Sweetheart?”

Between him and Mel, I wasn’t sure who was more spot on with how I’ve been acting lately, but it took Jason’s reasoning for me to realize how much I’ve been doing what I was always told not to… assume. “More than you’ll ever know.”

He grabbed his socks and boots and slipped them on. I looked at him, waiting for him to say what he was doing because I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

“Come here. I want to show you something. I know you already left your mark on the tree but I want you to leave another one,” he said with a devilish smile.

I shook my head and laughed. I slipped on my socks and boots before grabbing his hand as he took us across the street.

When we got to the tree, the visible damage that I did to it could have been seen a mile away, but up close, it was far worse. “Damn. I didn’t think I hit it that hard,” I told him as I grabbed onto the tree trunk.

“I tried to tell you,” he told me. “Over here, this side.”

I followed him around to the other side of the tree and saw initial after initial carved into the tree. Some were inside hearts, and others were alone. “Wow, is this like a town thing or something?” I asked, intrigued with all the letters engraved in the tree. I saw too many letters. I tried to find Jason’s but I didn’t see a J or a B next to each other. I did see a J next to an A that wasn’t in a heart, but I wasn’t sure whom the A was for.

“The town legend says that it brings you good luck,” he whispered as he came up behind me, “if you believe hard enough.”

I could feel the goose bumps trickle down my skin as I felt him breathing on my shoulder. “Is that so?” I asked, turning my head to the side to meet his gaze.

“That’s what they say.”

“Why are there initials inside the hearts then?”

“Couples that want good luck. Are you not romantic, Cassie?” he asked me as he walked to my side, leaning up against the tree.

“I guess I just haven’t found the right person to make me believe romance like that exists,” I said truthfully. I believed it had to be out there somewhere, but wherever it was, I had yet to find it, or him.

He took a pocket knife out of his back pocket and flipped it open. “Well I guess we’ll just have to give you some luck then, won’t we?” he asked as he took the knife to the tree.

“Oh really? And whose initial is going next to mine?” I asked curiously. My heart started racing the moment he started carving. I knew there was something with Jason, but I wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

He made a heart and put a letter C inside of it. “You’ll have to leave it open until you find the guy. Then you can come back and put his initial next to yours.”

“And where will I find this guy? I seem to be looking in all the wrong places,” I said. I rested my hand casually over my stomach as I thought about the worst place I ever looked, the place that caused the growing seed inside me. I was most definitely looking in all the wrong places.

“I don’t know where, but I have a feeling he’s close by,” he said as he slid the knife back in his pocket.

I was sure my heart skipped more than a beat; try ten. I was more off base than I realized. He had to feel it too. A person just doesn’t make a comment like that. Mel was right.

“You ready to head back?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I replied. Not ready to head back just yet, but not knowing if I was going to be able to keep my feelings to myself the longer we stood here talking about romance and guys.

“You seem unsure of that?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Okay see, there’s that word. ‘Fine.’ It does not mean what it sounds like. It’s obviously not fine, so are you trying to figure out in your mind what we are going to do next? Is that what’s bothering you?” he asked. God, he was too much. I couldn’t believe he was a guy who knew the word fine meant anything but what it sounded like.

“You’re good Jason, too good,” I told him. “I really had a good afternoon with you and I’m not ready for it to end.”

“Who said it has to end?”

I could see the blush coloring his cheeks again. Damn, he looked too gorgeous with the rosy cheeks that I caused. “You’re blushing again,” I said.

“That seems to happen a lot around you.”

“So what’s next then Mr. Rosy Cheeks?”

His cheeks became an even deeper shade of pink. “We were doing so well too, with the grass and all. I really thought you were catching on Sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll figure out something to do, but you won’t get to know what it is until I say so.”

“You really know how to get my anxiety going don’t you?” I teased him.

“Just as much as you know how to get me to blush.” He smiled back.

“S
O
THIS
IS
YOUR
IDEA
OF
FUN
?” I asked as we sat on the sofa in his room.

“I said I had something in mind, give it a chance before you cross it off as not being fun,” he told me as he walked over to his closet.

He came walking out, carrying the board game Scrabble. “Alright, I got it, let’s go.”

I gave him a questioning glance as he left his room and headed back upstairs stopping at the kitchen table. Trish and Bart were already in the kitchen when we got up there.

“Hi Trish, Hi Bart,” I said to them as we made our way through the kitchen to the table.

“Cassandra,” Bart said. “Good to see you again.”

“You too,” I replied.

“I see Jason has been keeping you busy this week,” Trish said, sounding all too excited.

“Mom,” Jason said quietly to Trish as he put the game on the table. “Not now.”

“He’s been a great tour guide this week,” I told her.

“Good,” she said.

“Alright, let’s get this game started shall we?” Bart asked as he took a seat at the table.

I felt Jason come up behind me. “You’re in for a fun night,” he said so quietly only I could hear him. My arms and neck erupted in goose bumps. “You cold?” he whispered in my other ear. No, they’re from your soft sexy voice Jason… I thought to myself. “No, I’m good.”

I could see him smile as he walked by me. I had to get a grip.

“Have you played before?” Trish asked, bringing my thoughts back to the game.

“Yeah, all the time,” I lied. I had never played Scrabble before, but honestly how hard could it be? I was really good with words and English; I had to be good at this too.

“You’re totally lying,” Jase said as he laid out the board on the table.