The Keys to Jericho (27 page)

“Liberty is going?”

As I pull onto the street, I mutter, “Regrettably.”

“Go easy on her. You like to rouse her.”

Stopping at the intersection, I turn to look at Kat, batting my eyelashes. “Me? I don’t rouse anyone.”

She scoffs with a dubious crook of an eyebrow. “
That’s
false.”

Being a quiet, residential street and we’re at a stop sign, holding onto the wheel, I lean over to her. “Really, Kat Merrick? Do I
rouse
you?” I smirk at her suddenly wide eyes, but her perfume and lips begin to tease me, and I have to restrain myself from licking her neck. Fuck me. My razzing skills need work.

“Somewhat.” She turns her head, but I see her smile in the window’s reflection, and with every ounce of will I have, I sit back and make the right turn, smiling as I glance out my side window.

Since it’s a short drive, it’s not weird when we don’t say much. Along with Kat’s perfume in the air, my dad’s diatribe has me thrown. How could I break her heart when she’s never—or never will—offer it for the breaking? I wouldn’t know what to do with it if she did.

I’ve always kept my heart closed off to intruders. It’s easier that way. And because I’m apparently nonhuman, I don’t even have one to break.

When I drive into the park and stop at the gate, Kat speedily reaches over me, handing the employee the park fee. As much as I relish her scent in my face, her arm brushing against my chest, and her hand on my thigh to balance her, I’m tentatively turned on, but even more baffled.

She returns to her seat and I pull forward, asking, “What the hell was that for?”

“It’s my treat today, so get over it. Park at the Dogwood Pavilion.”

“Yes, ma’am, but why? What do you want to do?”

“You’ll see. I can keep a secret, too.” Kat purses her smiling lips and I nearly crash into a tree.

Gripping the steering wheel, I try to focus, but it’s a lost cause now. “It’s a secret?”

“Shh. I can’t tell you that.”

I laugh. “You have a secret here at the park?”

“Still classified.”

Parking and getting out of the car, she heads for the trail, walking ahead of me, and I have to jog to catch up to her. “What’s the hurry, Kit Kat, or is that another secret?”

Kat keeps up the pace and I soon match hers. She peers over at me, and smiles. “No hurry. Just excited to be somewhere other than an unconstructed house or in a car.” I remember the comment she made yesterday about being stuck in a car, and I compulsorily make a face. Quickly, she adds, “I’m glad to be here with you.”

I shrug. “You don’t have to say that. Let’s just do what you wanted to do here because you still need to practice today.”

Her eyebrows dive. “You know how to ruin a good mood.”

“Such a raving endorsement.”

“I’ll always endorse you, but I’d like to keep you to myself.” She bumps my arm with hers and laughs. She’s killing me.

“For what?”

Kat doesn’t answer me as she walks faster, seemingly with a renewed purpose, and I pick up my pace slightly, but not to outrun her, because I could. When we reach Harness Creek, she spins around and tells me, “Stay here.”

Before I can question her, she goes to the boat rentals stand. What the hell is she doing?

As Kat talks to the male park employee, I stare at her ass, imagining rubbing my impatient cock against it before I bend her over and at long last, drill into her. All these years, and I still can’t stop fantasizing about being everywhere on her body, bringing each other to places I know
I’ve
never been to before.

I could make a move.

No. I can’t. The threat of rejection still looms as she rejected me in school. She’s kissed me. Twice. Yet, is it a ploy? Is she just tormenting me until I leave? Am I a game to her? Or, is she feeling guilty that I’m helping her get her license and she feels the need to repay me somehow?

I wish I knew. Then again, if she
were being genuine, it still won’t change anything, except that she might be open to having sex with me once, before I move to Philadelphia. I need to fuck her so I can get it out of my head and move on.

In spite of that, there I go opening myself up for more rejection and the possibility that I won’t be able to keep it to fucking her just once. Maybe twice—three times, with oral for each of us. That’s it.

Goddamn it to Hell.

It’s also quite possible that I’m holding her to outrageous expectations that aren’t real. We could be so sexually incompatible that neither one of us would want a repeat.

Yeah, right.

Yet, there’s more to her that I crave than just sex. It’s only an unattainable thing, so it makes sense that I’d want it more.

I think.

“You still with me?”

“Huh?” Twitching from being yanked out of my exhaustive and constant deliberation, I uneasily scratch my jaw and peer at the ground. “What?”

“You’ve been doing a lot of daydreaming lately. You okay?” When I look at her, Kat’s eyes and smile are bright and anticipative.

I lightly laugh and glance at the water. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

She laughs. “I wouldn’t want you to totally zone out on me.”

Sighing, I give her my full attention. “Nope. I’m here. What did you just do?”

“We’re going on a paddleboat.”

I cringe and probably pout. “Aww, Kat. Not those things.”

“What’s wrong, Jericho? Scared?”

I scoff, “No. They’re kind of lame.”

“Lame? Have you ever been on one with
me
?”

When I can’t refute that, she grins and follows the guy carrying two life jackets to the dark green boats. I adjust my hat so it’s facing the front again. I sigh and follow her. “Fine, but only if you’re in the driver’s seat.”

“You can steer the boat from either seat.”

“You have to sit on the left, while you steer us. Deal breaker.”

She shrugs as she takes the lifejacket and puts it on. “If you say so.”

“Yep. I do.”

After we’re suited up in our ridiculous, puffy vests, and we get into the boat, Kat backs us out of the dock.

“Nicely done, Kit Kat.”

She laughingly frowns. “Jericho, it’s a paddleboat.”

“The technique is similar to backing out of a parking space, though. You still have to watch what you’re doing and not run into something.”

Still doubtful, Kat scrapes hair out of her face and says, “I guess so.”

I angle my head at her, watching her fingers move over her skin. “I
know
so.”

I heave a slow, but long sigh as we leisurely pedal, taking in the scenery and observing only a few other insane paddleboaters out this early on a weekday. Even if this activity is lame, I’m actually glad she brought me here, just as long as Calder and Duquesne don’t see me in this fucking lifejacket.

Kat slows her pedaling. I glance over at her and she asks, “Is the beach house actually on the beach?”

“It’s in a beachy, subdivision-type area across the street, but you can see the ocean from all the front windows. It’s a short walk and not a busy street to cross.”

“What will you all do on this trip?”

I shrug. “This and that. We’ll fish, sit around a bonfire in the backyard—talking shit about each other—watch fireworks on the beach, and if it rains, watch movies. That’s about it.”

As I shift the bill of my cap, she asks, “No dick measuring?”

Holding onto my hat, I swing my head to her, shocked she just suggested that. “Uh, what?”

Her lips gather to the side and her eyes study the surprise on my face. “You guys haven’t whipped them out to see who has the longest?”

“I…um…” I clear my throat with a laugh. “Shit. No, but Dash would be at a serious disadvantage. I wouldn’t want to ruin his vacation
or
his life, since I’m good at ruining things for people.” What a lie about Calder. It’s not even fair.

She leans into my arm. “I
knew
you were nice, deep down.” I encircle my left wrist with my right hand to fight the urge to put my arm around her, so I can keep her against me. Since Kat has come back, I’m again fighting the need to touch her in some way. She has been the only one I’ve ever wanted close to me. We haven’t even had sex, yet I feel closer to her than I have to anyone.

“
Not
nice. I just don’t want to hear him crying about his small dick, along with Rio’s fucking. What a vacation that would be.” Definitely bed-burning worthy.

Kat laughs and letting go of the silver steering bar, she smacks my arm. “Speaking of a stick,” she laughs again, which makes me laugh at her word choice, “how did you learn to drive one when we learned how to drive on an automatic?”

“My dad. He had a manual truck and I wanted to drive to work instead of him or my sister having to drop me off all the time. Hadley and I worked together, but not always the same shifts.”

“Was it hard to learn?”

I shake my head. “No, I got the hang of it in a day. I was on my own in two.”

Her mouth falls open and she says, “Wow. There’s no way I could learn, especially that fast.”

“It takes more focus at first. If you learned on an automatic, you have to train yourself to keep in mind that
you’re
the one shifting gears, not the car, and you have to be careful not to burn the clutch by using it too much, or not using it and fucking up the gears, thus the transmission. You get used to hearing the whining of the engine’s RPMs topping out in a gear, and having to step on a clutch to shift. After a while, shifting becomes second nature. You just do it without thinking, really.”

“That makes my head hurt just thinking about it.”

I laugh. “Then don’t. If you ever want to learn, give me a call and I’ll teach you sometime with Dash’s car.”

Kat shakes her head and incredulously laughs. “Let’s get through this one first.”

“Right.”

“Do you miss driving your car?”

Holding onto the front of my jacket, I shrug. “Yeah, but it’s okay. I’m liking the Altima.”

Kat giggles. “Because it’s a hot car?”

Smiling, I shake my head and offhandedly watch her feet pedaling, but don’t elaborate. The less I say, the better.

I change the subject to something that’ll make
her
talk. “Why’d you get blue contacts?” That question seems to astonish her because she flinches and fidgets with the folded hem of her jean shorts on her left leg.

Eventually, she shrugs and mutters, “Because brown is lame.”

“I said paddleboats are lame, not your eyes.” Uh… Shit. Note to self:
I
must wear a gag at all times.

And those brown eyes of hers pop open, making me stare, but knowing I shouldn’t. “You like my eyes?”

I lift my hat, pushing my hand into my hair as I uneasily laugh. “You’d look scary without them. True story.”
Nice recovery, Beckett.

“I could always wear those glasses with the springing eyes.”

My laugh is sincere this time. “I guess you could, but I’d refuse to drive you anywhere, freak.”

She shoves me again, and it’s harder than I had anticipated, and I grab onto the side of my seat, laughing harder. “You’re going to push me into the water, Kit Kat!”

“I know,” she quips with a giggle.

Sitting up, I tease, “Save that shit for Dash. He’s used to it.”

Kat halfheartedly laughs. “I had to have my nose done, too. The accident broke it, but even though it was fixed, there was still a bump and it looked crooked.”

“I never noticed.”

“I did.” She takes a loud, deep breath before asking, “Since you asked me if I dated Adam—not your dad—I think it’s fair for me to ask.”

I’m not sure what she’s alluding to, so I’m cautious. “Okay… By the way, Adam is also my middle name.”

The stressed look she had dissipates. “You’re named after your dad?”

I exaggeratedly scowl. “Unfortunately.”

“That’s cool. Mine is Elyse.” I knew that…

I fib, “I’ve never known anyone with that name before.”

“You have since high school, silly.” She laughs and I roll my eyes.

“That I knew of, I guess. I like it.” Katriona Elyse. My favorite name.

She bites her lip at the water before saying, “Thank you. Adam is nice, too.”

“Fiction, but thanks.”

We both laugh and she’s guarded when she insists, “It is. Um, that girl who wore your jersey your senior year…Were you dating her?”

Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.

Truth or lie? Damn it…

I clasp my hands together in my lap and stare at them. “I don’t really remember her.”

The tone in her voice clearly says she doesn’t believe me. “Come on, Jared. You don’t remember a girlfriend?”

Taking my time, I pretend to contemplate about it, still avoiding the glare I know she’s giving me. “Uh, Amie?”