Enlightened (Red Flags) (30 page)

Surprisingly, through all of this, she and Jason were getting along just fine.  It was a bit puzzling to me, since they normally didn't care for one another.  I took it in stride and didn't question it.  If these two were going to get along, I didn't care what brought them together, I was just happy to see it happening.

Jason kept his promise and didn't cut his hair.  It was beginning to get to a point where I wanted to just take a pair of scissors to it while he slept.  I couldn't believe that he was seriously going to keep his hair long until I decided to move in with him.  Luckily, he kept the scruff neat and trimmed.  I wasn't one for the caveman look, so the fact that he cared enough to keep that part of him civilized made me concede on the overgrown hair on the top of his head.

"Why are you starin'?" he asked, looking at me with hooded eyes.

Leaning back on the island, I folded my arms over my chest and smirked at him. "You're really going to keep your hair long?" I asked, shaking my head at him.

His eyes widened.  "Have you moved in here yet?"

"You're serious about that?" 

"Why would I joke about it?"  His face went serious.  "You think I like living in here all by myself?  This damn house is too big for one person."

"You bought it," I said, chuckling at him. "You could have bought a small condo or something along those lines."

"If I had, then we'd end up moving.  I told you, this is my forever house--our forever house."

Just as I was fixing my mouth to counter him, his phone rang on the island top, startling me and making me jump.  Jason looked down at the caller ID and hit the ignore button.  It caught my attention.  I didn't want to be the psycho girlfriend who was constantly checking his every move, but after going through what I had gone through with him, subtle little moves like that always piqued my interest.

"Who was that?"  I asked, eyeing Jason as he walked around the island and over to the fridge.

He pulled out a bottle of water and waved it over to me.  I declined, much more interested in who was on the phone. "It's my dad.  He keeps callin' me."  I watched as he downed the entire bottle of water in one long gulp.  "I haven't answered a single call, and yet, he keeps callin'."

"Don't you think you should find out why?"

"Not really."  He tossed his water bottle into the trashcan and walked over to me, holding me close to him by my waist. "I'm in a place now where I can finally say I'm happy.  I don't need to bring bullshit back into my life."

My lips curved into a slight smile.  "Those classes are working for you, aren't they?"

Jason put his finger over my lips.  "Shhh.  That's our little secret."  He leaned down and just as our lips met, the annoying ring of his cellphone broke our moment. "Fuck.  Why can't he take a fuckin' hint?"  Jason asked, looking over to the phone and seeing his dad on the caller ID, again. 

"Maybe you should just answer it and see what he wants."

Irritation flowed through him, but he kept it together.  "I don't really care what he wants.  Besides, we have too much to do today for me to waste a second on entertaining anything that he has going on."

"What are we doing?"  I asked, disappointed that I wasn't going to get the lazy Saturday I had been dreaming about.

A devilish grin spread across Jason's lips. 

"Jason!"  I exclaimed sternly. 

"What?"

"Where are we going?"

He shrugged his shoulders and innocently gazed into my eyes.  "I sort of made an appointment with a car dealer.  We're goin' to get you a new car."

I gasped. My Civic was running just fine. I had no need for a new car. 

"Why?"  My question came out with more animosity than intended.  One thing I had never wanted, even from the beginning, was Jason showering me with lavish gifts that weren't necessary.  The car I had was still in good shape and it meant a lot to me.  It was my first car, and it held sentimental value.

"Because you are an executive for a high level firm and you need to look like one."  He tentatively smiled at me.  "Plus, you're the owner's girlfriend.  What kind of jackass do I look like letting you ride around in your Civic?"

"You look like a normal boyfriend.  And there is nothing wrong with my Civic."

"No there isn't, but you need an upgrade." 

He took my hand and led me out of the house. 

We jumped into the Raptor and I tried hard not to let my annoyance with his plans spew all over the truck.  As we barreled down the road, I looked over to Jason and watched the wind send his excessively long hair flapping all over his head.  He wasn't the same person that I had met in our college classroom.  He was still cocky as hell and a bit rough around the edges, but he was much more refined and thoughtful. 

Now, Jason was what I had always hoped he would be.  Back when we were in our up and down phase, I had no idea if I would ever get to see this side of him. Now that it was almost all I saw, I had to mentally pinch myself to make sure that it was real, and not some dream that I would have to wake up from. 

A little over ten minutes later, the truck stopped and Jason looked over to me with an almighty grin on his face.

"We're here," he pronounced. His grin had grown so large, I thought his face would crack.

My eyebrows scrunched as I took in where we were.  "BMW of La Jolla?" I asked.  "What happened to Ford?"

Jason laughed.  "I know you're a foreign car girl.  Makes me sick, but whatever.  Plus, they have cute little girl cars here.  I figured this would be more your speed."  He jumped out of the truck and came around to my side, opening my door and helping me out.

We walked hand in hand into the building.  Jason brushed off the piranha-like salesmen who ambushed us the second we walked up.  A middle-aged receptionist broke into a bright smile when she watched us stroll up.  Her smile almost made me uncomfortable since it was pointed at Jason, and only him.  I brushed it off, reminding myself that he was mine and working tirelessly to please me.  She could look all she wanted, but that was as far as it was going to go.

"Hi, Mr. Bradley.  Mr. Davis is awaiting you.  Let me show you back to his office."  She flashed a quick grin in my direction, but that was as much as I got.

Stepping into Mr. Davis' office, I was introduced to a greying gentleman, who looked like he was once a cover model for GQ magazine.  My mouth dropped and I shamelessly stared at the site of him. Jason noticed and quickly nudged me.

"Mr. Bradley…it's so nice to see you."  He firmly shook Jason's hand.  "And you must be Cara?"  I smiled and extended my hand to him, which he shook firmly, smiling back at me.  "Well, I have everything you asked for: the specifications, price comparisons, safety guides… You name it, I've got it."   

"Do you have the cars here on the lot?"  Jason asked, brushing his hair from his face.

"Yes.  We have the three, the five, and the six here for you to take a look at."

"Well, let's go."  Jason motioned for Mr. Davis to lead the way.  I looked up at him curiously, but he simply brought my hand up to his mouth and lightly kissed it, before leading us out of the office. 

The back of the lot was cordoned off with three glistening, silver cars parked for us to look at.  My eyes were temporarily blinded from the gleam, and I squinted to look at them, mesmerized by their beauty. 

"Silver?"  I asked, looking up at Jason with a smirk on my face.

"Hey.  Cut me some slack.  If I'm gonna to have foreign shit in my driveway, I at least want it to match my cars."  He smiled down at me as I shook my head, holding in a laugh so as not to interrupt Mr. Davis' presentation on the specifications of each of the cars.

"…so, this is the three series, this is the five, and this is the six.  And they're all convertibles, just like you asked for."

"Which one do you like?"  Jason asked, marching me over to the cars. 

"I don't know," I mumbled.  "They're all pretty much the same thing."

"You'll get more space in these," Jason said, waving his hands in the direction of the five and the six. 

I took a seat in each of the cars, playing with the gadgets and feeling out the spaciousness of each.  "Can I test drive this one?"  I asked, pointing to the five.

"Absolutely," Mr. Davis said, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. 

After handing over my driver's license and signing a quick form, Jason hopped into the back seat as Mr. Davis took the front.  We pulled out of the lot and onto the busy, bustling street.  The car drove so smoothly. I felt like I was barely pressing the gas and the car was jetting down the road.  A few turns and a quick trip down the freeway and we were back in the dealership parking lot.  I sat back in the seat with my hands fixed on the steering wheel and a smile on my face.

"So, what do you think?" Mr. Davis asked, his face beaming.

I looked back to Jason who eyed me intently.  "I love it."

"Well, it's yours," Jason said. 

A wide smile erupted from Mr. Davis' face as he opened the door and climbed out of the car, letting Jason out of the backseat.  "Let's go sign the paperwork."

Jason put his arm around my shoulder and walked me back into the showroom.  We followed an eager Mr. Davis back into his office where Jason signed a multitude of paperwork. He pushed the stack over to me and handed over the pen. 

I reluctantly took it, baffled by what he was doing.  "What's this for?"  I asked.

"It's your car, Gorgeous.  You're signing for ownership."

My eyes lit up and my face flushed red.  I was excited and embarrassed all at the same time.  I'm sure to Mr. Davis I looked like the spoiled girlfriend of some rich guy, but I couldn't hide my excitement.

"Thank you," I muttered, and began signing furiously.

After signing for what felt like twenty minutes, Jason whipped out his credit card and paid for the car.  Mr. Davis couldn't wipe the goofy smile overtaking him from his face.  I found it a little strange that he would be so excited about the sale of a car, but then I remembered all of the excess that Jason had added to it, and I realized that he was probably overcome with joy over the amount of commission that he stood to make. 

"Here are your keys.  The car has been freshly washed and gassed up.  Thank you so much for doing business with us, and we hope to see you again."

I stood and shook his hand, followed by Jason.  The keys jingled in my hand as we strolled out to the lot.  The shimmer from the car was magnified by the fresh wash job, and as I walked around to the driver side door Jason mumbled, "Don't speed.  I'll see you back at the house." 

"You felt this baby move.  I don't know if I can help it."

"Cara!" Jason growled.

I giggled.  "Okay, okay.  I'll drive slow."

He shook his head as he leaned down to kiss me.  I watched him walk off to his truck and after hearing the roar of the engine, I started up my car and drove off. 

The warm sun, the slight breeze, and the brand new car made my short drive back to Jason's house much too enjoyable.  The Beemer drove like a dream.  It didn't take much effort.  In fact, it felt like it drove itself. 

After pulling up and parking the Beemer next to the Raptor in the driveway, Jason pulled me from the car and walked me to the edge of the street. 

"See, even if it is foreign, it looks good next to my baby."

After hitting his chest, I nuzzled my head into him.  "It does.  I can admit that."

"You still think you want the Civic instead of this car?"  Jason asked, smiling smugly down on me.  His condescending, cocky nature was out in full force.

"I guess I can move on," I answered, playing like there wasn't much of a difference. 

Jason frowned and reached into his pocket, pulling his buzzing cell phone out.  He stared at the caller ID and I saw his expression soften a bit, but he didn't answer. 

"Who is it?"  I asked.  Based on his reaction, I was well aware that it wasn't his dad.

"It's my mom," he said with a sigh. 

"You should answer her," I said, but the call had already ended.  "It's your mom, Jason. Call her back.  It could be important"

He internally debated it, looking between me and the phone.  Finally, making up his mind, he hit the call button on the phone and waited for an answer. 

"Hello, Jason," I heard his mom say as he hit the button for speaker phone.

"Hi, Mom," he dryly responded.  I nudged him, but his impassive expression didn't change.

"Hey, your dad has been trying to reach you.  Why haven't you called back?"

"Mom, you know why."  Annoyance overcame him as he thrust his free hand into his hair. "What's going on?"

"Well, we're here in San Diego and we'd like to see you."  Jason went silent.  "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here.  Look, Mom… I'd love to see you, but I have no desire to see dad.  Where are you?  I can come and get you."

"No, Jason.  I know you're pissed with your father but you need to see him.  He wants to see you."

Jason rolled his eyes as he held the phone away.  "I really don't want to see my dad, Cara," he whispered to me. 

I pursed my lips and shrugged my shoulders.  "You might get the apology you've been waiting for," I whispered back. 

He didn't look convinced, but held the phone close to his mouth anyway.  "Alright.  Where are you?"

"Thank God.  We're at the San Diego Hilton on the waterfront.  Suite B."

"Alright.  I'm on my way."

"See you soon."

"Bye." 

Looking much angrier than before the phone call, Jason took my hand and led me over to the Raptor.  "What are you doing?"  I asked, confused as to why I was being pulled into this.

"We're going to the Hilton.  You want me to do this?  You get to come with me."

"Jason.  This is a family issue.  I really shouldn't be there," I protested.

He looked at me with worry in his eyes.  "You are my family, Cara.  Please, come with me?"

I watched as longing took over his gaze so I hopped up into the truck without another word.  He was taking a giant leap by even going to see his dad, so if he needed me to be there for moral support, I was going to be there for him.  He started up the truck and backed down the driveway, not saying anything, but breathing heavily.  I could tell that the anxiety of having to face his dad for the first time since the fiasco in Heath was weighing heavily on him. I was happy that he was doing it, though, because it showed that he was growing, and that he was learning to put his anger aside and see things for what they were.