CHAPTER SEVEN
Jared
I cleared my throat.
“I... this is going to sound weird, but I didn't have parents. Not exactly.”
“Oh?”
She was looking at me, but there was no judgment on her face, no scorn or any other kind of reaction I was used to.
“Well, I mean, I had them – I guess everyone does,” I laughed. “But I didn't see them. Not often.”
“Oh.”
“They had... issues.”
“Issues?”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah.”
She was just... waiting. Those big blue eyes held mine and I wanted to talk more. It made it feel better somehow.
I cleared my throat and carried on. “My dad was... a tough guy to live with. A tough guy generally. You know?”
“He was angry a lot?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
How did she understand exactly what I meant? The waiter appeared discreetly and left our drinks, giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.
“My dad used to hit my mom. I couldn't handle seeing it. It was...bad.” I took a big gulp of my drink without tasting it. I closed my eyes a moment, trying to drown out the memories. Mom sobbing, Dad storming out of the apartment, his boots making echoes in the hallway. I was under the table, trying not to move, breathe or do anything else that would make it worse.
“It must have been terrifying.”
I nodded. I didn't feel weird admitting to her that I'd been terrified by it. Hell, I was five years old! Any child would be afraid of that, I realized as we talked.
“I wanted to run away. When I was fourteen, I did.”
“Oh.”
I drank again. Even though it was only Coke, it was a habit to drink something whenever I tried to access these dark places in my mind. I cleared my throat.
“I was...well, I was a teen on the street. What could I do? I stole stuff. I mixed with the wrong kinds of people. I had a hard life. I wish...”
“Mm?”
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “It's dumb.”
“No,” she said softly. “Nothing's dumb.”
I sighed. “I wish I'd finished high school. Wish I could go to college.”
“I understand,” she said, nodding.
I smiled. It was weird, but I felt like she did. I didn't know anything about her – what her back-story or background was – but I was sure she had at least finished high-school! The fact she didn't judge me meant a lot.
“I...” I closed my eyes. I didn't know what else to say. How could I start? I'd had a hard life, joined a gang, done stuff I wasn't proud of – not in the least. I had thought about telling her about Callum, but that was too close, too painful.
“You had a hard time,” she said gently. “That's too bad.”
Her words were like a soothing salve on years of sores. I felt as if she had crept into the deepest core of me and healed something. I smiled. She smiled back.
“Thank you for telling me.”
I blinked. “Thank me? Thank you.”
For listening. For caring. For wanting to know.
At that moment the waiter appeared with our dinner. The scent wafted up to my nose and I breathed it in deeply, feeling my stomach knot with anticipation. I was really hungry.
We ate in silence, and during the meal I became aware again of the gentle pressure of her leg against mine. I let my foot slide over hers and felt a sweet ache in my body as her leg pressed into my knee. I closed my eyes, the stab in my groin intense.
“Darby, I...”
She looked into my eyes and her sweet blue gaze locked with mine. I felt my blood fizzle in my veins and my loins ached.
She looked down at her plate again, a modest look but with her cheeks flushed with color. I wanted her so badly then – I wanted her like I had never wanted anything in my life. It was a raging desire.
“Shall we settle the damages?”
I laughed. “I'm paying,” I said recklessly. I knew I had a bank balance that would swing into red if I sneezed on it, but I didn't care at this moment. I would cheerfully go there, for her.
“Jared,” she said gently.
“No. I will.” I felt stubborn about this.
She smiled. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
The waiter brought the bill. It wasn't as bad as I'd expected – the weird thing she ate wasn't as expensive as it looked – and then we were ready to go.
“Um..” I gulped as she stood.
“Yes?”
“It's nice out. You wanna, uh, go for a walk or something?”
“Okay.”
Her smile did that weird thing inside me again. I shivered with pleasure and walked out behind her.
She has such a sexy body.
I couldn't help noticing her rather ample behind. The perfectly-tailored pants emphasized it in the best possible way. With that narrow waist and full breasts it was just unbearably sexy, and I wanted so badly to touch. But I wasn't going to misbehave.
I was going to be a gentleman.
“Which way?”
I looked down the street and chose the nicer neighborhood. “That way.”
We headed along the street. It was a warm evening and I shrugged out of my jacket. I wondered if she would notice my biceps. It was silly, I knew. But I wanted so much to impress her.
“It's nice out,” she said. Her blonde hair lifted gently in the breeze and I smelled the sweet lavender perfume she used. I felt my loins tug painfully.
“Mm.”
We walked to the end of the street. The street abruptly stopped, leading off into the wilderness. We stood, looking out over a view of hills.
She looked up at me, those blue eyes big and sparkling. The sun had set but it was still light, the sky that pale blue color that it goes when the sun just went down.
“It's so beautiful.” She sounded awed.
“Like you.”
I didn't know where the words had come from. Hell, I'm Jared Manning. I haven't got any idea how to talk to girls. But that wasn't insincere – I meant it from the whole of me.
She stared up at me. Her eyes were full of feelings that I didn't understand. Abruptly, she started crying. Well, not exactly crying – her eyes welled up with tears and they started to flow down her cheeks. I felt my heart wrench.
“Don't cry,” I whispered. She smiled.
“I'm not crying.”
She reached into her bag for a tissue. As she wiped her cheek I reached up and touched it. She tensed, blinking those big blue eyes. She smiled.
She leaned forward and I did so as well.
Her lips moved across mine and we kissed.
As my tongue gently probed into her mouth I felt my loins tense and ache with desire. I couldn't quite believe this was happening. Her mouth was so warm, a soft cave that I was exploring with my tongue. I pushed it in further and she let me, her lips parting.
My cock was aching, burning. I wanted her so much it hurt.
She leaned against me and I felt that soft, warm body in my arms.
“Jared?” she said.
“What?”
“I...” she giggled. “Oh! Why can't I think straight?”
“That makes two of us.”
We both laughed and then we were kissing again. She was pressed against me and I knew that I couldn't withstand this need for her longer.
I looked into her eyes, not sure how to ask what I wanted to say. I couldn't even believe I was thinking it, much less thinking of asking it. But I had to.
Before I could speak, she looked into my eyes and whispered an answer. “Yes.”