Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (64 page)

Dad
seemed to consider that for a moment, and I worried that he might start
grilling Jackson the moment he arrived. I hoped for my sake that Mom would be
home before Jackson got here. I was surprised she was working so late on a
holiday she should be spending with Dad.

Instead
of pressing me for information, Dad finally smiled and said, “You look very
nice.”

“Thanks,”
I blushed. “Are you and Mom going out?”

“For
dinner, yes.”

Because
I couldn’t think of anything else to say, I said, “I hope you have fun.”

Dad
thanked me, and then we sat there in an awkward silence. Finally, I stood. “I
think I’m going to go wait for Jackson by the front door.”

Dad
frowned slightly but nodded. “Okay, just be home by curfew.”

“I
will,” I assured him before I made a swift exit from the living room. Dad,
obviously, hadn’t heard the news about Luke giving up on baseball yet. Otherwise,
he wouldn’t have been in such a seemingly good mood. I hoped maybe Luke would
talk to Mom first, and she could, if possible, help soften the blow.

I
went to the foyer and sat down on one of the steps. I studied my heel-encased
feet. The heels were impeccably clean and didn’t look like they’d been worn at
all, which was why I’d been brave enough to slip them on while I was upstairs.
They were shiny red and sexier than I would ever buy for myself. They were also
peep toed, and I was suddenly glad I’d let Tegan talk me into letting her give
me a manicure and pedicure over the previous weekend.

My
tummy rumbled while I waited, and I wondered for the millionth time where
Jackson was taking me. Wherever it was, I hoped it involved food. Of course,
some of the rumbling in my midsection could have very possibly been a flutter
of nerves.

When
I saw Jackson’s car pull up along the curb through the window beside the front
door, I hurried to stand and smoothed my dress. Instead of looking like an
overeager fool, I waited until Jackson rang the bell before I answered the
door.

I
opened my mouth to greet him but pulled up short as I took in his appearance.
He was wearing khakis and an orange and navy striped polo shirt under a
different leather jacket than I’d seen him wear in the past. His hair was
neater than usual, as well as shorter. As he stepped into the house, the faint
scene of cologne filled my nostrils. It was spicy, but subtle and clean, and
made him smell just as amazing as he looked.

I
didn’t even notice the way he was looking at me until he spoke, low and almost
breathlessly. “Wow, you look . . .” He shook his head, as if searching for the
right word. Finally, he settled on “beautiful.”

I
bit my lip, looking down at my dress nervously. “It’s not too much?” I
questioned.  “You didn’t say where we’re going, so I didn’t know what I should
wear. I can change if—”

Jackson
held up his hands, cutting me off, as he grinned. “You look perfect.”

“Really?”
I heard his complimentary words, but somehow I couldn’t make them fit with how
I saw myself. Pretty? Sure. Beautiful? Not so much. Perfect? Never.

As
if seeing the doubt in my eyes, Jackson nodded seriously and took my hands.
“You
are
beautiful.”

“And
strange?” I asked to lighten the mood, remembering the title of the mix CD.

“That
too,” he sighed.

“You
look very handsome,” I complimented.

It
was his turn to blush as he muttered his thanks. He quickly changed the
subject. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,”
I nodded. “Just let me get my coat.”

“Your
dad isn’t going to come out and stare menacingly at me before we go?” Jackson
asked as I opened the coat closet and pulled out the black, wool pea coat Mom
recently bought for me at a sale at Nordstrom. He chuckled, as if to convey he
was merely joking, but I could hear the underlying concern.

“He
was in a surprisingly good mood, so I think we’re in the clear,” I smiled.

Jackson
sighed his relief as he helped me pull on my coat. I buttoned it before
grabbing Jackson’s present off the table by the door.

“Okay,
ready.”

Jackson
smiled, probably eager to get out of the house, and opened the door for me. I
stepped out in front of him, and Jackson closed the door behind us and took my
hand, walking beside me down the sidewalk to his car. He opened the door for me
and then closed it once I was seated inside. It was odd, yet also exciting.

I
tried to question him once again about our destination, but mum was still the
word. He refused to give me even the tiniest of clues.

“At
least I know you can be trusted to keep a secret,” I commented, resignedly.

“I’m
one of five kids,” he reminded me. “With that many people around, either trying
to get in your business or asking you to keep their secrets, you learn fast and
early how to be trustworthy and keep your mouth shut.”

I
tried to imagine Luke or Skylar confiding their secrets in me, but the thought
was entirely too bizarre.

“I
still can’t imagine growing up with so many people always around.” The noise
level whenever I’d been over to Jackson’s house was so much higher than what I
was used to at home. “Although, some days I wouldn’t complain much if it was
just a little bit noisier. On the days when Oxide isn’t practicing, it seems
too quiet.”

“Does
the band being around help make your mom not being home because of work less
weird?”

I
considered that for a second. I hadn’t really thought of it that way before,
but I had to admit that it did, actually. I relayed this to Jackson. “I still
miss her sometimes. Mostly when I’m home alone,” I added. “But I know teaching makes
her happy, and I think my dad is coming around too.”

“I’m
sure it’s been a big adjustment all around,” Jackson nodded. “My house would
probably cease to function if my mom went to work full-time.”

“But
I thought you said your mom worked at the library in Oak Gorge?”

“She
does, but it’s only part-time,” Jackson explained. “Usually a couple of days a
week while Chloe goes to our Gram’s and the rest of us are in school.”

That
didn’t sound so bad to me. I wondered why Mom hadn’t thought to try something
like that first instead of jumping back into a full-time job. Although,
truthfully, I felt her absence less and less as my own social life began to
fill up, so it seemed unfair to expect Mom not to have a life of her own as
well.

Jackson
turned into an apartment complex, and I looked around curiously. “What are we
doing here?”

“You’ll
see,” he said ominously as he pulled the car into one of two empty parking
spaces and cut the engine. “Don’t move,” he said before he pushed his door open
and got out of the car.

I
stayed put while he jogged around to my side of the car and pulled the door
open. He gave me his hand to help me out. Once I’d stood and stepped out of the
way, he closed the door and took my hand.

He
led me over to a flight of stairs, and my curiosity continued to grow.
“Seriously, Jackson, what are you up to?”

He
shook his head, grinning. “It’s a surprise.”

I
pouted a bit as he led me down the hallway on the second level of the complex.
We passed several doors, but we didn’t come to a stop until we reached the last
door in the corridor. Jackson thumbed through the keys on his key fob before he
finally slid one into the lock. Instead of turning the key, though, he turned
back to me and sternly said, “Close your eyes.”

I
just looked at him, uncertain, and he stuck out his bottom lip and widened his
bright eyes in the most adorable pout. Finally, I relented with a sigh and
closed my eyes. I listened as the keys jingled as he unlocked the door. The
door creaked open. Then I felt Jackson’s large hands on my shoulders, nudging
and guiding me inside.

“Don’t
peek,” he warned as the warmth from his hands disappeared.

“I’m
not.” Instead, I listened as he moved around the room. I couldn’t even begin to
guess what he was doing and I figured asking would be pointless since my
attempts to glean some information from Jackson had proved fruitless so far. 

After
what felt like forever, Jackson’s hands returned to my shoulders as he came to
stand behind me. He leaned in and whispered, “Okay, open your eyes.”

My
mouth fell open at the sight that greeted me. The room was dark, save for the
abundance of lighted candles that lit the room in a soft, warm glow. In the
center of the room, a red and white checked blanket covered the floor. Atop it
sat a large picnic basket and a silver bucket filled with ice and what looked
like the neck of a wine bottle.

It
looked like something out of a movie, and it was so surreal that this scene was
staged for me. My chest suddenly seemed much too small to contain my swelling
heart. When I could form them, my words came out in a whisper. “How did you do
this?”

Jackson
wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his head on top of mine. I’d
never noticed before how perfectly I fit just below his chin, but it felt safe
and warm wrapped up in his arms. “Well, I had to recruit Jordan for some help,”
he admitted. “Do you like it?”

He
sounded nervous, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why. “I love it.”
I turned my head to the side and—thanks to the heels I wore—pressed my lips to
his in a soft, chaste kiss. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done
for me.”

“That’s
because everyone else is blind. They haven’t realized how great you are,” he
grinned. “Oh, well, their loss is my gain.”

I
pulled away from him, blushing, and before he could say anything else to cause
the flames on my face to burn hotter, I said, “I’m starved. What’s for dinner?”

“Well,”
he said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the blanket. “Come along and we
shall see.”

I
sat down trying to be as graceful as possible while wearing a dress and high
heels, which is to say: not very. Jackson was kind enough to overlook my
clumsiness.

“What’s
in the bucket?” I asked both out of curiosity and to remove the mental image of
me fumbling around to sit on the floor from his mind. “You’re not trying to get
me drunk, are you?”

“Ha,”
Jackson scoffed. “No, it’s sparkling grape juice.”

“Good
to know,” I laughed as he took the bottle out of the ice and twisted the cap
off. “Apparently I’m a sloppy drunk.”

Jackson
smirked as he grabbed a couple of glasses from the picnic basket. “So I
recall.”

I
grimaced as he poured us each a glass of sparkling grape juice. “So, are you
going to tell me whose apartment we’ve invaded?” I glanced around, trying to piece
it together. In truth, without the ambience Jackson had created with the
candles, the place looked like just another average apartment.

“It’s
Jordan’s,” he grinned, handing me a glass.

I
took a sip, savoring the sweet flavor and glancing around as if expecting
Jackson’s cocky brother to jump out at me. “Where is he?”

“He’s
out for the night,” Jackson replied, taking a drink. “He had a date.”

“For
the night? As opposed to for the evening?”

“Pretty
much what I asked,” Jackson laughed, shaking his head. “He met a girl in one of
his classes, and asked her out when she let it slip—probably on purpose—that
she didn’t have any plans tonight.”

“So
out of the goodness of his heart, Jordan asked her out?” My words were
saturated with sarcasm, causing Jackson to laugh again. “Charming.”

“Yeah,
but that’s just Jordan,” Jackson shrugged. His words sounded casual enough, but
I wondered for the first time if Jackson ever felt the way about Jordan that I
felt about Skylar. Even though Jackson was gorgeous, he was friendly but
certainly more reserved and modest than his older brother.

“So,”
I inquired as my stomach silently grumbled, “what have you packed for us?”

“I’m
so glad you asked,” Jackson grinned. He reached into the already open basket
and began to pull out items. First came plates and cutlery, and then came the
food: turkey and cheese on Italian bread with lettuce, tomato and mayo as well
as creamy potato salad and chips from The Bean. To anyone else it may not have
sounded elegant or romantic, but it was heavenly to me. Even though The Bean
was predominantly a coffeehouse, what food they did serve was amazing.

“How
did you know what kind of sandwich to get?”

“I
have my sources,” Jackson winked.

“You
asked Tegan,” I accused.

He
grinned. “Perhaps.”

“These
sandwiches are really good,” Jackson commented once we dug in.

“I
have good taste, huh?”

“Of
course,” Jackson grinned. “You’re going out with me, aren’t you?”

“Funny.”
I smiled in spite of myself. “Keep talking all cocky like that and you’ll start
sounding just like Jordan.”

Jackson
snorted, like the idea was implausible, and I rolled my eyes as I went back to
eating.

Apparently
I wasn’t the only one who was hungry because Jackson and I did away with our
dinner in short order. Then Jackson suggested we exchange gifts. I was yet
again struck with the fear that Jackson’s gift would overshadow mine since he’d
already went all out with creating a mysterious surprise and a romantic
setting. Even so, I sucked it up and we agreed to open our gifts at the same
time.

Jackson
pulled a medium sized rectangular box out of the picnic basket and handed it to
me and I presented him with the small square gift I’d had nearby most of the
evening. On the count of three, we both tore into our gifts.

From
the size of the box I’d been worried, but then I pulled out a white stuffed
bear with a red bow. It was holding a matching red heart that said, “Be Mine!”
I breathed a sigh of relief, holding the small bear to my chest, as a joyful
smile broke out across my face.