Chapter Eighteen
Jared
I’m so lost on what to do now. She doesn’t think I would be into her? Is she crazy? She’s the most perfect girl ever. Of course, I freaking want her.
“Hello, you two. I was about to send your father up there to come collect you. Juliet, what would you like to drink? We have lemonade, tea, water, milk, and orange juice.”
“Water is fine. I can get it myself,” Juliet says.
“Oh, don’t be silly. You’re our guest. Go ahead and sit yourself down beside Jared.”
She does as she’s told. My father glances over at her then at me. “How’s the homework coming?” he asks.
“Fine,” I say.
He makes a hmph noise. “So, Juliet, have you decided which college you are going to play for?”
“Oh, I’m not,” she says. My mom places a glass of ice water by Juliet’s plate.
“Thank you. Everything looks amazing.”
“You’re welcome,” my mom says as she sits down at the other end of the table.
My dad grabs some salad from the bowl while he drills Juliet with more questions. “Not going to college or not going to play soccer?” he asks.
“Play soccer.”
He drops the salad tongs into the bowl. “Well, that seems like a bad decision. What do your parents think about this?”
Why is he being such a douche right now? I want to save Juliet from this, but I’m not sure how.
“I don’t know,” she answers.
I grab the salad bowl and offer her some first. “Want some?”
She nods. I put two scoops on her plate.
“It seems like a waste of talent. Coach Harper is constantly giving you high praise,” my dad says.
“For gosh sakes Freddy, leave the poor girl be,” my mom chimes in.
“It’s fine,” Juliet says as she grabs the Italian dressing.
“Well, you should. Jared, what do I tell you about football?” he asks.
I want to die. No one wants to hear this bullshit. Especially not Juliet, she’ll think I’m an asshole. My father is waiting though. “Always know your stats. You can’t improve if you don’t know where you’re lacking.”
“That’s right,” he says in a proud tone.
“Oh. I just play for fun. It’s not something serious,” Juliet says.
Juliet picks up a shrimp wrap from the tray and places it on her plate. I can feel my dad’s eyes on me, so I stop looking at Juliet and concentrate on my food. As I pop a forkful of mixed veggies in my mouth, my brother asks, “Are you dating my brother?”
Juliet almost chokes on her wrap. She looks at me with wide eyes. “No.” She glances at my parents and shakes her head. “No. I’m not.”
I swear I’m going to strangle him. “Shut up,” I grit out.
My dad studies us. “Jared knows my rules. He’s not allowed to date.”
Juliet looks over at me. I lower my head.
“Really?” she whispers.
I say nothing. Instead I eat.
“Juliet, your mother owns that matchmaking business, doesn’t she?” my mom asks.
“Yes,” she says.
Justin giggles. “People actually pay her to hook them up with someone else?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Juliet stiffen. “I guess that’s one way to say it.”
“How did she get into something like that?” my mom asks. “It must be fascinating.”
“When my dad died, she needed to get a job. She landed this job at a company that does this for wealthy online daters. She was bringing in more business than anyone else there, so she decided to branch out on her own. She’s really good at it.”
I can feel Juliet getting uncomfortable despite the way she compliments her mother. “Can we take our plates to my room?” I ask.
“Why can’t you eat here at the table?” my dad says.
“We have a lot of work still left to do and we don’t want to spend all night doing it,” I answer.
My dad grumbles. “Fine,” he says to me. He doesn’t bother looking at Juliet.
I gently tug Juliet away from the table, and gather our plates and utensils while she gets our drinks. We enter my room, and there is nothing but silence between us. I set her plate down beside her notebook. She hands over my cup, still saying nothing.
“I’m sorry. I felt like I had to rescue you from all their questions,” I say.
She takes a seat on my bed and sighs. “I didn’t realize how hard it must be for you. You really aren’t allowed to date?
I don’t really want to talk about this but I’m glad she’s speaking to me. “He has an agenda for me and my brother. Usually, my days consist of school, drills, homework, and sleep.”
“Wow. I thought I was the boring one in the room,” she jokes.
I smile. “Definitely not.”
She takes a bite out of her wrap. “Does your mom know you don’t want to play in college?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Only you and Tyler know.”
“I know a secret about Jared Black,” she giggles.
“You have to share something in return. It’s only fair.”
She pushes my shoulder. “Yeah, right.”
“Valentine, that’s the rules.”
“Well, I’m breaking them.”
I smirk. “You never break rules.”
She rolls her eyes and writes down another answer but from my angle it’s wrong.
I point my fork at it. “I think that should be five.”
“No, it’s … Oh, crap. You’re right,” she says.
Our eyes lock. Man, I want to kiss her. I could too. All I’d have to do is lean in and press my lips to hers. The thought of being slapped hard keeps my ass firmly in check. When I do kiss her, not only will she be surprised but she’ll want to be kissed by me.