For Real (Rules of Love #1)(25)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

“While we were out they finally managed to get on my last nerve. So I screamed at them and came here.”

“Nice.” He takes both of my hands in his. Just that one little touch instantly makes me feel better. It’s like inhaling cool, fresh air and it instantly calms me.

Jett doesn’t let go of my hands and my heart flutters. Ah, being with him feels so good. Like it’s meant to be. I squeeze his hands and he squeezes them back.

“I missed you,” I say, looking down at our joined hands.

“I missed you. I know it’s only been a few hours, but it felt awful. So, can we just erase that word that I said and pretend I didn’t say it?”

“And how do you plan on erasing those hours?” I say, and as soon as the words are out, I realize what he must be thinking. I didn’t mean it the way it comes out. His eyes go wide for a second.

“That’s not what I meant . . .” I trail off. “You should know by now I can’t seem to stop saying dumb things.”

He shakes his head as if to clear it.

“I wouldn’t go that far. But I think we need to hug it out.” He lets go of my hands and opens his arms wide. I dive at him and we both collapse against the arm of the couch. He hugs me tight and I hug him back.

I raise my head and he’s smiling.

“Missed you,” I say.

“Missed you.” We totally just said this, but it bears repeating. He smacks a kiss on my forehead and then I get off him. We only have one more week, and we have to get through it.

“So what now?” I say.

“Come here, princess, you’re having a rough day.” He sweeps into his arms and carries me to his room and deposits me on his bed.

“Let’s just stay here for the rest of the night, okay?”

“Sure,” I say, leaning back against the pillow.

“Stay right there,” he says, and dashes out to the living room and then comes back with his artist’s pad.

I turn my head, but he makes a noise and motions for me to move it back.

“Are you going to draw me?”

“Yes, I am. Now stay still.” He leans against his dresser and tries to get the best angle before coming forward and moving some of my hair, and then my arm and then one leg. I feel like a piece of clay. When he’s happy with me, he turns on all of the lights, and moves a lamp around.

“My God, are you done yet?”

“One more thing.” He takes one of his cranes and puts it on my shoulder, as if it landed there.

“Now don’t move.”

“What happens if I sneeze? Or have to pee?”

“Too bad. Fight the urge.”

“Yes, Mr. Bossypants.” I glare at him and he points a warning finger at me.

“Stop that.” I stick my tongue out, but go back to the way I was. Jett sighs once and then he gets to work.

“You know, this is just like that scene in Titanic. But without the nudity. And the ship sinking and all.”

He glances up at me and back to the paper.

“Actually, the ship sinking happened after the nude drawing. So those two things aren’t really related.”

“You’ve seen Titanic?” I don’t know a whole lot of guys that would sit through that.

“Listen, I wasn’t allowed to watch anything growing up, so when I got free, I watched EVERYTHING. That includes Titanic.” I snort again. I wonder what else he’s seen. I’m about to ask, but he shushes me. Things are extra funny now and it’s hard to keep the giggling to a minimum. Stupid whiskey.

“Will you stay still?” Jett finally says, but he’s laughing at me. It’s more fun to make him mad than stay still. But then I relax into it and watch him work. I could do that all day.

Things are quiet and calm, but then the door bangs open.

“Your f**king phone is blowing up because of her damn friends. Whoa. I hope I’m not interrupting something,” he says when he sees what we’re doing. Well, we’re not even doing anything. It could have been a lot worse.

“We were just about to ravage each other,” I say as he starts to back out of the room. “Want to watch?” Whiskey makes words fall out of my mouth.

Javi puts his hands up.

“Noooo thank you.” Jett takes the phone and Javi closes the door.

“Holy shit. I don’t know how your friends got my number, but they’ve ALL called and texted me, asking if I knew where you were.” He shows me the phone and I roll my eyes.

“I left my phone at home when I stormed out.”

“Well, what do you want to do about it?”

I don’t really care.

“Just message them back that I’m fine, but don’t tell them you’re with me because then they’ll come here.” I don’t want to see them yet. I don’t want to deal with them yet, either.

“Okay. If that’s what you want.” He clearly thinks I should confront this, but they’re not his friends. Or former friends. Unless something changes drastically, I’m done with them.

“That’s what I want. Now go back to drawing me,” I say, resuming my pose as he sends the messages on his phone.

He gives me a look, but turns the phone off and then sets it down.

“Whatever you say, Mona Lisa.”

I fall asleep while Jett is drawing, and he wakes me up as he’s putting the blankets over me. I mumble something, but he shushes me and tucks me in.

Hours later I wake up with my head aching a bit. I’m alone in Jett’s bed. Where the crap is he? I get up and grope for some of my other clothes so I can change out of my jeans. I slip on a large t-shirt and a pair of holey shorts and stumble out into the living room. Jett’s on the couch in his shirt and boxers.

“Come to bed,” I say, poking him. He opens his eyes and blinks at me.

“We don’t have to do that now that Javi knows.”

“I don’t want to sleep alone and I don’t want to argue, so just come to bed, a**hole.” I grab his hand and tug and he gets up and follows me back to his room. I shove him toward the bed and he gets in and I climb in after him.

Much better.

Within moments I’m asleep again.

Chapter 18

“Let me see it!” I say the next morning when Jett and I get up. I’m feeling a lot better, and the headache is gone, thankfully. We both have classes, but there is no way I’m going today. Not happening. I have NEVER played hooky before. I always thought people who did that didn’t give a shit about their education, or respect how much money it was costing, but I need a break today. Just one day.

Jett agrees to my plan easier than I thought he would, but he won’t agree to let me see the drawing he made of me last night.

“Show me,” I whine, resting my head on his shoulder.

“It’s not done yet. When it is, I’ll show you.” He rubs his hand in my hair, messing it up even more than it was already messed from sleep.

“Asshole. So if you’re not going to show me, what are we going to do today?”

“I have a few ideas. Do you have any ideas?”

“We should do something fun. Something we wouldn’t normally do. We should also go out somewhere. Less chance that my friends will show up here to track me down. And I’m going to wear my new Batman shirt.” I’d left it here last time.

“You can absolutely wear your shirt.” He smiles and pauses before he continues. “You sure you don’t want to see them?”

“No, I absolutely do not.”

“I get it if you don’t want to forgive them.” Despite mussing my hair a second earlier, he starts smoothing it out again.

“It’s not really about forgiveness. It’s about them knowing that they can’t treat me that way. Or anyone. No one should have to feel the way they made me feel and I’m pissed that I even let it happen in the first place. I should have put a stop to it a long time ago. But it was gradual and they were my friends. It’s crazy what you let people get away with when you care about them.” Even more than being mad at them, I’m mad at myself. I’ve never thought of myself as a doormat, but I’d been doing it for years and justified it. They treat me that way because I let them.

Well that shit stops now.

“I think we should do something bad. Not illegal bad. Just maybe a little against the rules,” I say.

“Okay then. Rule breaking it is. Come on, get in the shower.”

“Why, do I stink?” He wrinkles his nose and nods. I have half a mind to stick his face in my armpit, but I don’t.

When I get out of the shower and dress in the bathroom, I can definitely smell something delicious.

I open the door and Jett is sitting on the couch with two fast food bags.

“Breakfast to go. Get ready, princess, time is wasting.” I don’t know how he had time to get dressed, fix his hair and get breakfast all while I was in the shower, but I have the feeling Javier might have had something to do with it. Speaking of him, he’s MIA.

“Come on, come on,” Jett says, grabbing my hand and the fast food bags and tugging me out the door.

“We should probably take your car since I know you hate mine.”

“No, no. We’re living on the edge today. Let’s take yours.”

“Living on the edge. I like it.” He holds the door open and I get in. Then I peer into the bag. Looks like sausage, egg and cheese croissants, hash browns in one and two cups of coffee in the other.

“I added the cinnamon and nutmeg,” he says with a smile.

“Thanks, Fake Boyfriend.” I pull out one of the sandwiches and hand it to him. He sticks it in his mouth as he starts up the car and backs out of the driveway.

“Okay,” he says after taking a bite out of his sandwich. I munch mine. It’s greasy and fabulous and just what I need. “So I got a lot of ideas for today from movies. So they’re not original, but they are kind of awesome.”

I take out the coffee cups and put them in the cupholders. They rattle around a little and slop on the floor. Pretty sure Jett doesn’t care. In fact, he hits the gas and starts speeding.

“This is the first rule we’re breaking. Speeding! Oh shit, a cop.” He slams on the brakes and goes back down to the speed limit.

“Nice try,” I say as he keeps glancing in the rearview at the cop car. I can’t see it, but he can, so he keeps exactly to the speed limit, even when we get out on the highway. I finish my first sandwich and start on my second. I also keep holding Jett’s sandwich up for him to bite into, because he needs both hands to drive and shift.

We finish both our breakfasts when he takes an exit off the highway and then we’re driving through a small town. Despite it being so close to the college, I’ve never been here. He keeps looking around as we drive down the main street, all the while muttering to himself.

“Aha!” he exclaims, yanking the car over onto a side street and then pulling into a parking lot. I look at the brick building next to the lot. A library. Still not picking up what he’s putting down.

“Come on.” He gets out and waits for me to open my own door. I do and he reaches for my hand, and then we’re running toward the library, up the steps and through the double doors.