Chapter 10

ASHER

Two weeks fly by. Two long fucking weeks since I had my date with Jade and I’ve been dodging her ever since. I scroll to her number at least ten times a day before talking myself out of calling her. The blacked-out names in her background check make sense now.

I’ve known Heath for years and I know in certain areas of his life, he would gladly pay an arm and a half to protect it. Magdalene is a whole other bag of worms I’d rather not have re-opened. Dealing with the delicate intricacies of life involving people I know has been something I’ve worked hard to avoid. I don’t need the conflict of interest or accompanying headache.

I just haven’t had the words necessary to explain all that to Jade. How can I tell her that I don’t want to get involved with her because she’s the nanny to an asshole friend of mine? Besides, the whole “it’s not you it’s me” thing is a little too cliché for me to effectively use it as an excuse.

I opted instead to throw myself headfirst into work, and most nights I don’t go home until the wee hours of the morning just to start the whole cycle over. I deliberately go out of my way to avoid Jade. I have Ed call up to let me know the coast is clear before I make a beeline to my car every morning. I hate having to do this, and I wouldn’t have to if she didn’t live right next door. The messed-up part is, I really want to see her again. I fight with myself daily and the only thing that takes my mind off things is exercising, specifically running.

As soon as thoughts of Jade enter my mind, I grab my running shoes and head outside. At this point, I find myself running several times a day. I start off at a slow jog and take my time at first so my body can warm up. It’s not long before I’m in a full-blown sprint. I ignore the ache in my legs and burning in my chest as I force myself to keep going. It’s late in the morning and the sun is slowly heating up the day. Salty droplets sting my eyes before running down my face.

I circle the block and start to slow down as I begin to make my way back to my place. I like to start my runs at a faster pace and slow down the closer I get to home. I round the corner and jog steadily pass a pretzel vendor set up next to a park. The light changes just as I reach the intersection and I’m forced to inhale the delicious fumes coming from the stand. I jog in place as I wait for the light to change and I briefly look over at the cart hoping to catch a glimpse of the warm salted bread.

Instead what I catch a glimpse of over the vendor’s head is a beautiful pair of blue eyes giving me a death stare.

Jade.

I watch her for a moment and the light changes for me to go, but I’m torn. Part of me doesn’t want to face her and the other part wants to explain myself and kiss her through my apology. It seems like a dick move to make eye contact with her and just keep running home like nothing happened.

Before I’m able to close the distance between us, she’s coming at me full speed ahead pushing a stroller in front of her.

“Good morning,” I say, mainly because it’s the only thing I can think of.

“That’s all you can say to me after leaving me hanging for two weeks? We had what I thought was a wonderful evening and you blew me off after saying you would call me to plan the next date. I didn’t have high expectations to begin with but that was such an asshole thing to do. For a second I thought you were different,” says Jade.

I put my hands on my hips and drop my head. I knew she would be upset but I didn’t imagine she would be this upset.

“It’s hard for me to explain but it’s not like that at all,” I say. “You don’t understand.”

“No, no, I don’t understand,” she says. “But I do understand what a liar is. Your mixed signals were unnecessary, and I didn’t deserve to have my time wasted. In fact, I didn’t even want to go on the date with you. All you did was prove my point about you just being some creepy guy,” she says.

Her cheeks are red and her chest heaves up and down like she’s the one who’s been running. She’s hurt. Yes, she’s pissed off too, but the hurt is what’s reflecting in her eyes and it digs into my heart like a knife.

“You’re right,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What?” she asks.

I take a step closer and reach for her hand, and she instantly recoils. “I said you’re right. You didn’t deserve that. I’ve been searching for the right words to explain my behavior for two weeks, and even now I’m coming up empty. I bailed on you and it’s completely my fault. I don’t want to make excuses, but that’s what happened.”

The baby, Jacob, stirs a bit and whimpers. He’s asleep, but I guess our voices are disturbing him.

He’s a cute kid.

“Listen, no amount of apologizing will make up for what I did nor will it negate how you feel. You’re the first woman I feel like I need to explain myself to. I like you, Jade. I’ve felt a spark for you from the very first time we met. Your fiery attitude, your beauty and even that thing you do with your lips when you’re mad, draw me to you. I hate seeing you this upset over something I did.”

I reach for her again and this time she doesn’t pull away. I really should let her go. That’s probably the best move for all parties involved. I should walk away and just let her think I’m an asshole. I need to cut all ties with her and move on, but I can’t.

“It’s selfish to play with someone’s emotions like that,” she says.

“You’re right,” I say. “You’re absolutely right. But from this day forward, it’ll never happen again. My reservations about being with you have nothing to do with you and I shouldn’t project that negativity onto you.”

She nods her head and stares at me. Her face is a lot more relaxed and she doesn’t seem quite so pissed off. She’s still holding back, but I don’t blame her.

“I won’t ask you to forgive me, but I will ask that you give me a chance to show you that I’m being sincere. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to start over fresh with all the chips on the table. Deal?”

She stares at me, those beautiful blue eyes drilling holes into me as if she’s searching for one single sliver of untruth so she can storm away.

Finally, she rolls her eyes and exhales loudly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, and I’m probably going to regret it, but yes, we have a deal. But this is your last chance. You won’t get another opportunity to hurt me.”

“Trust me,” I say. “Hurting you again is the last thing on my mind. Scout’s honor.”