I’m kinda stuck on those three words she just said, paired with my name, but instead of circling back around to them, I stand and tuck her dildo in her backpack. “There are some chips in the paint, but I have a guy who can fix that for you. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
Jennie sits in silence, staring at her brother’s car. Finally, her eyes lift to mine, and the sight of them makes my heart heavy. They’re foggy blue swimming pools, brimming with tears, and when she blinks, they slide down her rosy cheeks. “Thank you for helping me, Garrett.”
Taking her hands in mine, I pull her to her feet, then into my arms. She buries her face in my chest and my fingers sink into her hair, tangling in her braid.
“What happened, Jennie?”
“I told you. The car—”
“Not the car.” I inch back, hooking a finger beneath her chin. “What happened at school today? What made you so upset?”
Her eyes cloud over, riddled with confusion, anger, heartbreak. All I want her to do is tell me how I can fix it.
“Do you think I’m good enough to teach at The National Ballet? Or do you think I got offered the job because of Carter? Because my brother’s famous? Do you think…am I boring? Am I too vanilla? I—”
“Hey.” I cup her face, keeping her gaze steady on mine. “Stop spiraling. Carter has nothing to do with your job offer. I know fuck all about dance, but I know you rocked that stage on Christmas Eve. My dad gave you a standing ovation in our living room, and now all three of my sisters want to be dancers. And fucking vanilla, Jennie? Jesus Christ, you’re red fucking velvet.”
Her bottom lip wobbles, and her next whisper breaks my heart. “Then how come nobody wants to be my friend? Nobody is interested in getting to know me. I’ve never even been on a proper date. I can’t remember the last time I went to the movies with anyone other than my mom.”
I haven’t even processed my idea before my fingers are moving, and when I put my phone to my ear, Jennie’s brows pull together.
“Well, well, well,” Carter hums when he answers my call. “Look who came crawling back for relationship advice.”
“The last thing I need is your version of relationship advice, Carter.” Jennie’s eyes widen, and I keep her at bay with my palm on her chest when she tries to rip my phone away. “Hey, listen. I ran into your sister in the parking garage. She’s had a bit of a shit day, and I think she could use a distraction. Mind if I take her out?”
I’m met with silence, and a moment later, the call disconnects. I think I just fucked myself, but then Jennie’s pulling her ringing phone out of her pocket as her face drains of color.
“Hi, Carter.” She presses her hand to her forehead and twists away, voice low. “I’m fine. Just the usual mean girl bullshit.” She kicks at the curb. “No, I don’t need you to come get me…Carter, I don’t need you to babysit me every time something—no, I know.” She sighs. “I love you too.”
She tucks her phone away, and seconds later mine buzzes.
Carter: thx 4 looking out 4 her.
“What the hell was that?” Jennie asks, arms wide.
“C’mon, sunshine. I’m taking you on a date.”
CHAPTER 24
WE MIGHT NEED SUPERGLUE FOR THIS ONE
GARRETT
I never expected nailing a date with Jennie Beckett with her brother’s permission would be so easy.
Okay, that might be a stretch. I don’t think Carter really understood what he was agreeing to. Still, I’m out in public with Jennie, alone, and I’m allowed to be.
I’m alive, and Carter has no plans to kill me.
I wish I’d had more time to plan, to really rock our first date and convince her we should do it again. Judging by the glow of wonder on Jennie’s face while she takes in the atmosphere at Udupi Palace, my favorite Indian restaurant, I’d guess she’s enjoying herself regardless.
I can’t take my eyes off her, watching her shoulders drop with each passing moment, her small smile turning to happy, nose-scrunching giggles, her eyes rolling as she hums with each bite of food. She’s a kid in a candy shop, and by the time I’m tugging her out the door, it’s like her entire day never happened.
“Bye, Rudra!” she calls to our server, waving. She places one hand on her belly. “It was so good!”
“See you soon, Miss Jennie!”
“You hear that? See you soon?” She pokes me as we head to my car. “You have to take me back. Rudra said so.”
I open the door for her. “Is that what he said?”
“Uh-huh.” She grins, pressing up on her toes, and I bend my neck. “Oops,” she whispers, pausing halfway. “Forgot. No kissing in public.” She tucks herself into the front seat, and her glittering eyes tells me she’s finding immense pleasure in how difficult this is for me. “C’mon, Gare-Bear. Places to be.”
Rules fucking suck. Not kissing her is hard, but the hardest part is not holding her hand.
It only gets harder as we ride through Stanley Park on the open-air train, cruising through the trail lit with twinkling lights. All I wanna do is pull her into my side, feel the warmth of her body spreading to mine.
“Good call on wearing my warm coat, Gare-Bear.”
“Told you your pretty coat wouldn’t do.”
“So you’re saying this one’s not pretty?”
“I—what?” I nudge her side. “I’m not walking into your trap, Beckett.”
Jennie chuckles softly, shifting closer, resting her arm against mine. “I wish I had a mug of your hot chocolate. You make the best kind.”
“Half a bag of mini-marshmallows and a couple mouthfuls of the hot stuff?”
“Yeah.” Her sigh is wistful as she stares out at the trees, the lights, the stars that dance above us. “Thank you, Garrett. This is the best date I’ve ever been on.”
I huff a laugh. “It’s the only one you’ve ever been on.”
“Yeah, the competition is nonexistent.” She slips her mitt off and carefully hooks her pinky around mine before turning her gaze back out on the way this Vancouver night glows. Then she murmurs, “I think it’d still be the best.”
“Can we get popcorn, Garrett?”
“We can get popcorn, Jennie.”
“Can we get extra butter on the popcorn?”
“We can get extra butter on the popcorn.”
Jennie spins around, eyes sparkling. “What about Skittles? I like the tropical kind. Do you want to share a drink? Maybe root beer? I haven’t had it in years.”
I chuckle, making a mental note to plan more movie dates in the future. Her happiness is contagious, and all I want to do is feed it.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my pocket.
“Is that my brother again?”
“Yup.” It’s the fourth time he’s texted tonight, and the question is the same every time.
Carter: what r u doing now?
If I don’t respond within the first minute, he sends me exactly seven question marks, so I’ve learned to be quick. It helps, because if I’m replying to his texts, it means my hands aren’t anywhere they’re not supposed to be.
Loaded up with snacks, we hike up the stairs of the theater, finding two private seats off to the side, right next to the aisle.
We’re halfway through the popcorn before the trailers are even finished, and Jennie conveniently misses the bag on her next grab, grazing my dick.
“Oops.” She snickers. “Didn’t see you there, big guy.”
“Keep it up and we won’t even make it out of the parking lot before Indiana Bones is raiding your temple, sunshine,” I mumble, stuffing a handful of popcorn in my mouth. “I’ll have you sprawled out over the leather while you scream for me.”
Beside me, Jennie stiffens, and I’m about to apologize if I’ve taken it too far, but her eyes are glued to a group of guys heading up the stairs. Her hand leaves my thigh, gripping the armrest between us, and her chest lifts and falls rapidly.
I nudge her shoulder with mine. “You okay?”
She swallows as the men climb closer. “I want to go home.”
“What?”
One of the guys looks our way, a slow smile spreading as he spins his backward hat to the front.
Jennie turns quickly, knocking the popcorn off my lap. “Shit. Shit.”
“Hey, what’s going—”