The Exception (38 page)

Cane: I love you.

My eyes filled with tears as Cane’s name sat on my screen.

Me: Be safe, please. <3

Cane: <3

I smiled at his emoji before turning my phone off, burying my head in a pillow, and silently crying myself to sleep.

“I love Escalades!” Kari exclaimed as we walked to our rental car a few hours later. “I’ll drive.”

“Yeah. No,” Max said sternly.

“What?! I let you come on this trip. The least you can do is let me drive!” Kari whined.

Max raised his eyebrows at Kari, giving her a no-nonsense look. “You didn’t let me do anything, sweetheart. You had no choice.”

“That’s what you think,” Kari said, rolling her eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh at their banter.

We piled into the SUV and Max took the wheel with only a sigh from Kari. I took the backseat, needing a little space of my own for the ride to Heather’s.

I took out my cell to text Heather and was disappointed that there were no additional text messages from Cane. I didn’t know whether to send him a message or not, unsure of what he was dealing with. I scrolled past his name and clicked my friend’s instead.

Me: Just landed! Be there in a few. Have wine.

Heather: LOL! I’m excited to see you, Jada! And I always have wine! ;)

“No! Absolutely not,” Kari said as I looked up to see her changing the radio station. “I let you come. I let you drive. I will not let you pick the radio station. I can’t even begin to take Miranda Lambert right now.”

I laughed as Kari gave Max a look and switched through the stations until she found a nineties pop station and Britney Spears blared through the speakers.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Max grumbled. Kari leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

“You know you love it!”

“I love Miranda. Not Britney.”

Kari rolled her eyes as she started singing along to the music.

I watched the city pass by the window and I wondered where Cane was, what he was doing … and where in the world was Simon Powers?

JADA

“That’s it!” I said, reaching over Max’s shoulder and pointing at a little white house with black shutters on a corner lot. It was a cute little house in University Park, an area that Heather raved about. I looked around, feeling like I could like it there.

“Finger out of my face,” Max grumbled and we laughed at him. “I haven’t complained one time, but the Britney Spears marathon put me over the top.”

“You shouldn’t complain at all! You were the one that insisted on coming!” Kari said brightly and I giggled. Max didn’t look as amused as he steered the car into the driveway.

We opened our doors and got out, eager to stretch our legs, as Heather came out of the house, a huge smile on her face.

“Hi!” she shrieked, her eyes glowing. “I’m so excited to see you!” She ran to me and gave me a big hug.

“Thanks for letting me come,” I began, holding her at arm’s length.

“That’s what she said,” Heather said and I laughed. Her sense of humor hadn’t changed at all.

“I’ve missed you.”

We stood in the driveway, the evening sun turning the sky into a web of pinks and purples, introducing each other and catching up on the trip. Kari and Heather had met before and got along really well. I took a deep breath, feeling like maybe things were going in the right direction.

“Hey, not to ruin this little party,” Max said, silencing their chatter, “but I’m starving.”

“Do you all want to go out to eat or do you want to order in? Or I can fix something,” Heather said, raising her eyebrows. “I can bake excellent chocolate chip cookies, but I’ll not guarantee anything else.”

I swallowed hard as memories rushed through me. “Let’s go out,” I said, not wanting to be anywhere near cookie dough.

“I am going to show you the best part of Chicago: deep dish pizza!” Heather said, clapping her hands.

“I knew I was meant to be a Chicagoan!” I laughed as I caught Max’s eye. He flashed me a warning look.

“Do you want to take the rental car?” Max asked, holding the keys tightly.

“No! Are you kidding? We have to take the Metra line and get the full experience! It goes right to Grant Park and it just so happens that my favorite pizza place ever is across the street!”

I smiled at my friends. “Sounds perfect to me. What about Brian? Do you think he’d like to come?”

“Oh, he loves to come,” she smirked.

“Heather! Do you think he’d like to
come for pizza
?”

She laughed. “I don’t know, but I can ask him!”

“This is a piece of heaven. That’s all there is to it,” I said, leaning back in my chair completely stuffed. “I don’t think I could eat another bite!”

“Heather, you have now ensured that I will be visiting a lot,” Kari laughed. “I’ve never had pizza like this! Does the world not know about Chicago pizza? Why do we not have it in Arizona?”

“You girls and your food,” Max said, shaking his head. “Not that I’m complaining. You just don’t hear women love food like you two.”

I shot him a look. “And your point?”

Max held his hands up. “I didn’t have one!” he said and we all laughed.

“Now I want to show you Grant Park!” Heather said happily, snuggling against Brian. “It’s right across the street and seriously, besides shopping downtown, it’s one of my favorite things about the city.”

“She should really be the Grant Park Ambassador or something,” Brian said. “She tells everyone about it.”

I was happy that Heather had invited him to come to dinner. He was very friendly and seemed to be a decent guy. I knew that he was in a band, but wasn’t prepared for his mohawk when he walked through the door. But any sort of shock from that was tempered by his adorable dimples that appeared when he smiled.

“A park?” Kari asked. “Can I just wait here?”

“It’s not a park like you’re thinking,” Heather explained. “There’s Buckingham Fountain that is the best at dusk—so we should make it for that. And then the bean! You have to see that!”

“Here we go,” Brian muttered. Heather smacked him on the arm.

“Hey! I saw that on TV,” Max said, his interest piqued. “It’s this huge stainless steel piece of art that appears seamless, right?”

“Exactly,” Heather said, obviously happy that Max was interested in her city.

“You’re so hot, yet such a dork,” Kari said, shaking her head.

“Kari!” I laughed. “Be nice.”

“I said he was hot,” Kari said, defending herself.

“It’s okay,” Max said, grinning at Kari. “As long as she wants my body, I don’t care what she thinks about my mind. We do have to see that.” He looked down at her before looking back at Heather and I. “But then we will head to our hotel room.”

“You didn’t have to do that! You could have stayed with me!” Heather sat up, looking disappointed.

“I know. But this is doing double-duty as a vacation and I need some alone time with my girl,” he winked at Kari.

“I’m going out of town for a gig late tonight and I can leave my car at Heather’s if you need it, Jada,” Brian said, looking at me.

I smiled. “I don’t know if I have anywhere to go, but yeah, that would be great!”

“I’ll just have my buddy Matt swing by and pick me up from there and it’s all yours,” Brian said.

I smiled at my group of friends, overwhelmed by their generosity. “Thank you all for helping me through this. You all have sacrificed for me and I don’t know what to say. I appreciate it so much.”

“Hey, I am just lending you my car. From what I hear, Max deserves a real apology,” Brian said, cocking his head to the side, his eyes wide. “Britney Spears? That’s tough, dude.”

Max and Brian exchanged a head nod.

“On that note, all I do ask is that you leave my radio alone,” Brian said seriously, making me giggle.

“I promise.”

My phone began to ring in my purse and, with a heavy heart, I pulled it out. I expected it to be Cane, but when BLOCKED flashed across the screen, I froze.

Max had been watching me and didn’t miss a beat. “Who is it, Jada?”

“Blocked,” I muttered, looking at him with wide eyes.

His jaw set as he pushed his chair away from the table. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

“Max!” I said as he stood.

He looked at me, his phone in his hand, his eyes wary.

“Make sure he’s okay,” I choked out.

He flashed me a small grin. “He is going to be okay because he won’t leave you by yourself. Remember, he’s a selfish asshole.”

Please, God, keep him safe.

JADA

“Jada?” Heather called down the hallway the following morning.

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice giving away the sadness that I felt. It sounded raw, broken … not like me at all.

Well, not the usual me but maybe that was the new me. The me without Cane. The me without any certainty of the future. The me sick with worry, frustration, and anxiety.

“My coffee maker just broke,” she said, coming to the doorway of the bathroom where I was getting ready. “I don’t know what bad karma I spread for this to happen, but it’s not cool.”

“I’ll be fine.”

The only reason I’ll be fine today is because he sent me a text, letting me know that he was fine.

“I’m not worried about you,” Heather said seriously. “I can’t function without two cups flowing through my system. I’m going to jump in the car and run down to the coffee shop and grab a cup. Do you want me to bring you one? Or do you want to go with?”

I sat my toothbrush down on the counter. “Yeah, you know what? Let’s go grab some coffee and doughnuts. Caramel topped doughnuts would make me happier today.”

“I’ll have coffee cake, but okay. We’ll take Brian’s car. He blocked me in, but he left his keys on the floorboard,” Heather said, shaking her head. “It’s like he doesn’t realize that it could actually get stolen. It’s a good thing he’s cute.”

I smiled. “His dimples are adorable.”

“One day soon, I will give you all the details,” Heather said, eyes twinkling, as she led me out of the bathroom.

I scrunched my face. “Not all the details. I don’t want the nitty gritty.”

“You’re lame,” Heather said in mock disgust as we stopped in the kitchen. Heather found her keys while I slipped on my sneakers. “Now let’s go get some coffee!”