Chapter Eleven
In the weeks that followed, things changed for Cara.
She no longer felt like she was going through the motions of being alive. That confrontation with Jack, her talk with Jack and Lily then her inevitable heart to heart with Jack was just what she needed.
Cara felt like she was back.
And for the first time in a long time, she felt like there was the possibility of hope for her and Jack.
After a much-needed period of hibernation, she was finally waking up.
Of course, that didn’t mean that suddenly love was all rainbows and sunshine for her. They had been tiptoeing around each other since their date at the ice skating rink. Each unsure of what to say, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
They were just testing the waters, trying to see if they remembered how to swim together.
On this particular morning for example, her car was snowed in, and she was going to be late for work.
She scowled at the car as if that could somehow make it move, and she trudged back inside to get a shovel. She dearly loved Christmas, but she could do without the overnight snow that was keeping her from getting to work on time.
She plugged in her ear buds, and turned up the volume as she began to dig her car out.
A tap on the shoulder sent her screaming, and she nearly wacked the person in front of her.
Her best friend Lily, stood in front of her in a pair of jeans, an oversized hoodie, ice cap, a scarf, and an amused look on her face.
Cara yanked her earphones out. “Lily, Jesus, you can’t just sneak up on a person like that.”
“Suppose I actually was someone trying to kidnap you for nefarious purposes, why on Earth would I bother to tap you on the shoulder first?”
Cara opened her mouth to comment then shut it again before she nodded. “That’s actually a fair point. That would be counterproductive.”
Lily brushed some snow off of her hoodie. “Do you need some help?”
“I’d love some.”
They worked together, sharing stories and laughing all the while.
“So, you’re coming to thanksgiving dinner tonight, right?”
“You know that I look forward to your Turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie all year.”
Lily began to chew on her bottom lip. “Well, at least you’ll like the food which is good because I have some news that might be a bit tricky.”
“Lighten up, Lil. What is it? It’s not like you kicked my dog or anything.”
Lily gave a forced chuckle, but she refused to look at Cara directly. “Jack is coming to the dinner. I wasn’t sure if I should invite him or not, but when he called and asked, I thought I’d run it by you first. You guys are doing well, right? It’s not too late for me to uninvite him.”
“No, don’t uninvite him. This is actually a good chance for us to interact with other people, and see how well this new fragile peace holds up.”
“So, you’re basically testing him?”
“Well, not exactly.” Cara shrugged guiltily. “But I do want to observe how well he does being reintroduced into the mix, and I want to see if his behavior towards me changes.”
“So not testing him, but basically testing him.”
Cara laughed. “I guess so, yeah. I don’t know, does that make me a bad person?”
Lily placed her hand atop Cara’s mouth. “Oh, my God. Just shut up, okay Let me get two words in. No, it doesn’t make you a bad person. You want to be sure. There’s no harm in that.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this though? If it’s too soon, I could tell him he isn’t welcome, good manners be damned.”
“We’re not going to skip ahead to the cute cuddly part, but the year is almost ending, and I would like to start the New Year with a lot more peace and forgiveness. I think I want to see if I’m ready to give him a second chance.”
“You’re a lot stronger than I am, that’s for sure. Have you gone out again since your ski date?”
Cara shrugged. “I don’t know if I would call it strength, but it’s different with us this time. It no longer feels overwhelming, and he no longer has the reins. Neither of us do. I think we both needed this.”
Lily cocked her head to the side. “And you’re okay with what happened??”
“I don’t think I could forget what happened between us, but we can learn from our mistakes. Let them make us better people, and a stronger couple.”
Lily placed her hand atop Cara’s shoulder and shrugged. “Jack and I will be right there if you need us. I know I don’t look like I’m strong, but I will haul his ass out of there if I need to.”
Cara pretended to bat her eyelashes. “Oh, Lily, I knew you’d rescue me if I needed it. My princess atop a steed.”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “Princess atop a steed? What? No, just now. That just sounds wrong.”
Cara looked confused. “Why? What’s wrong with…”
Cara trailed off as she realized what she said.
Princess atop a steed.
Cara smirked. “Why, Lily. I had no idea you had such a dirty mind.”
Lily threw her head back and laughed. “I do not have a dirty mind, okay? It is perfectly norJack for my mind to go there. You said princess and steed.”
Cara’s smirk grew even bigger. “So, somehow that constitutes a dirty reference? Because when your best friend tells you something like that, you’re supposed to think of the sex position.”
Lily was laughing so hard, her entire body was shaking, and she leaned against the hood of the car, her hands leaving an imprint in the snow as she tried to get her laughter under control.
“I mean don’t get me wrong, Lil, I love you to bits and everything, but I don’t like you like that. Besides, don’t you have a boyfriend?”
Lily continued to shake in silent laughter. “No, it’s not that, it’s just that…”
Cara waggled her eyebrows. “I know, Lil. I’m irresistible, and not just anybody could handle a figure like mine.”
Cara ran her hands over body suggestively. “I know you couldn’t help yourself, and I don’t know how to say this, but it’s not going to work out between us, Lil.”
Lily wiped a stray tear out of her face. “Oh, come on. Stop, just when I finally stop you crack me up again.”
“I know I’m hilarious. It’s one of my redeeming qualities.”
“Have I mentioned how modest you’ve become all of a sudden?”
“Yes, my path to enlightenment has involved admitting that I am one foxy beauty.”
“Foxy beauty? Did you just step out of one of those disco movies?” Lily raised an eyebrow as she shook her head to clear some snow away.
“Can you imagine me dancing alongside John Travolta in Saturday Night fever?”
“No, I can’t imagine that, but you know what I can imagine, you helping me dig out your car, so you can get to your job.”
“What job? John Travolta wouldn’t mind if I don’t work. He would be the type of guy who can support me anyways.”
Lily huffed in exertion. “You know that he’s married and has kids, right?”
“You say potato, I say potato.” Cara waved away the protest.
“Okay, Ellen de genres, either your ass helps me get this car out, or I will leave you out here to freeze while trying to do the boogey with John Travolta, and then show me how you get to work then.”
Cara sniffed. “Alright, alright. Jeez, Lil, no need to get so testy. All you had to do was ask. Sheesh. Some people can be so dramatic.”
Cara nearly tumbled backwards in surprise when the snowball hit her smack in the face with a splat sound. Surprised, she wiped the snow off of her face. “Tsk tsk tsk. Lily, I thought that petty revenge schemes were beneath you, you are such a disappointment.”
Lily snorted. “I already know you have a snowball waiting behind your back. Nice try, Cara.”
Lily screamed in delight and ducked as they began an all-out snowball fight right there in the middle of the parking lot in broad daylight.
***
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Cara apologized over the phone. “The roads were iced over, and my car was blocked in.”
Cara paused. “My client is on his way up? Alright, I’ll be in my office in two minutes.”
Cara practically sprinted up the stairs, bolted down the hallway, and hurriedly tugged on her scarf and ice cap where she deposited them underneath her desk. She ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to tame it, and grinned when she felt some snow still there.
She needed this morning.
Lily had a knack for knowing exactly when she needed things.
She was a bit nervous about seeing Jack in the midst of her friends, but given how well things were going, she thought she was ready. Tonight, she would know if they were ready to truly give things a second chance.
And if it turned out to be too much, she would cross that bridge when she got there.
“Mr. Hudson, it’s so nice to see you again.”
Mr. Hudson was a tall and well-built man in his forties with jet black hair, and dark eyes. He had an easy-going smile, and a great attitude generally.
Ordinarily, Cara loved working with him, but ever since he’d asked her to take on the 50 shades of Grey inspired red room, she felt uncomfortable since she was now privy to a side of his life that was private.
And she really didn’t want to picture Mr. Hudson doing the deed.
Which was hard to avoid considering how specific he was with the details.
“It’s good to see you again, Cara.” Mr. Hudson sat before her, and unbuttoned one of the buttons on his suit. “How’s my room going?”
Cara kept her professional smile in place as she swiveled the laptop around to show him. “It’s coming along quite nicely, I think. I just need add a few finishing touches here and there.”
Mr. Hudson leaned back in his chair and fidgeted with his tie as he frowned. “I feel like there’s a lot missing actually.”
Cara’s eyebrow climbed up to her hair. “Oh? I’m sorry to hear that, sir. Can you tell me what you’d like to have adjusted, so I can get to work on it?”
Mr. Hudson clasped his hands in front of him. “Well, it has to be like the room in the movie. Have you seen the movie, Cara?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
Mr. Hudson smiled. “Ah, well, you should. It was an eye-opening experience for me. When my wife left me for someone else, I thought I’d never be able to find someone again, and then I met my girlfriend. She’s the one who got me into this stuff, you see.”
Cara’s mouth twitched. “I see. Well, I’d be more than happy to jot down some notes and go back and adjust accordingly.”
Mr. Hudson shook his head. “I think you need to watch the movie to get a feel for what I’m trying to do. You’re not getting it. Wait, I think I have it here on my phone.”
Cara gestured frantically. “Oh, Mr. Hudson, please. That’s not necessary. Besides, we’ve got really bad cell reception.”
Mr. Hudson triumphantly held up his phone. “See?”
She did, but she really didn’t want to.
The last thing Cara wanted was to be sitting across the desk from a forty something year old man who was sharing the intimate details of his sex life with her, and to top it off, he was now asking her to watch a movie that is based on a book that was considered mommy porn.
Yeah, she saw alright, but she really didn’t want to.
Her eyes were burning, and she really wished that some work crisis would happen right this instant, and save her from this nightmare.
“Cara.” Jack called as he gave Mr. Hudson a polite smile. “I know you’re with a client right now, but you’re needed elsewhere.”
Cara jumped up. “Oh, no, of course. Mr. Hudson, I’m so sorry to have to cut this short. I’ll be sure to take your opinion into consideration.”
Mr. Hudson stood up. “I really hope you do, and please watch the movie.”
Cara nodded as Mr. Hudson walked to the door, his head bent over his phone, no doubt trying to watch bits of the movie.
Cara shuddered at the thought as she glanced over at Jack.
He gestured for her to follow him.
“Okay, thank God that happened. Whoever it is who needs me is a lifesaver.”
“Nobody needs you, you just look like you needed lifesaving, so I figured I’d swoop in before you got to witness something you really don’t want to see at a workplace because of a client.”
“Wait, how long were you standing there?” Cara narrowed her eyes at Jack.
Jack pretended not to know what she was talking about. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I only caught the tail end of that.”
“Why, you lying sneaky little…”
“Ah, ah. Please control yourself at work. We are in a professional environment.”
***
Cara might have had a little bit too much to drink.
Actually, scratch that, she was sure she had too much to drink.
She was on her third glass of wine, and she was beginning to feel fuzzy in a way that she knew all too well. When she and Jack got off of work, they hurried back home to get dressed before Lily’s big dinner.
Then lo and behold, not only was Jack already there, but Zoe was there too.
The ex who had come between her and Jack one too many times.
Cara desperately wanted to claw her eyes out, and that surprised her because she wasn’t the petty kind.
Apparently, Zoe had reconnected with the rest of the group although they hadn’t even hung out that much to begin with.
Zoe kept glancing in Jack’s general direction, but aside from polite indifference, Jack barely acknowledged her. He just kept stealing looks at Cara who was doing her best to pretend it wasn’t affecting her.
On the other hand, with this much alcohol in her system, she wasn’t sure she could keep her distance. She knew she should be more concerned with being strong and all that, but right now, she didn’t really care about that.
“I have something that I want to say,” Jack announced suddenly, and the room quieted down as everybody turned their attention to him.
“Cara, I know that I hurt you, and I know that I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t try like hell to get it. You once opened up your heart to me, and I ran away from that because I was scared, but I’m not afraid anymore.”
The entire room glanced between the two as Cara stood there, her mouth gaping open.
“Zoe, when you contacted me last year, I didn’t tell you that Cara and I were dating, and the reason I didn’t is because what I felt for Cara scared me. Here was someone who knew every inch of me, and yet she still stuck around anyway. That terrified the crap out of me because up until that point, I was used to people leaving. I had no idea what to do with someone who was actually staying, and so I pushed her away.”
Jack scratched the back of his head nervously. “I said some horrible things that I knew would push you away, and I know that won’t make up for it. Words aren’t enough, I know, so I’m going to show you instead. I will scream it at the top of my lungs in front of the whole world if you want, crucify me, Cara Tyler, but don’t give up on me.”
Cara swallowed thickly, unsure of what to say as she glanced around her helplessly. Jack and Lily were standing next to each other, their expressions confused, and they shrugged at her, unable to help her.
“I, Jack Frost, was a complete jackass, and, you Cara Tyler have every right in the world to hate me. Yet, you are the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Jack stared at the ground and took a deep breath before he made direct eye contact with Cara. “I know this is going to sound like a complete cliché, but all I want for Christmas this year is a second chance with you.”