Jade
Chapter twelve
Oddly enough, though, he feels safe. Boring.
Which is why I can't stop thinking about all the stupid shit Mateo had me do this week.
Like send his old assistant flowers for her birthday, pick up mail from his P.O.
Box, and order him a new hoodie. A fucking hoodie.
A one-hundred-twenty-dollar hoodie he had me charge to his card as if it was nothing. My entire outfit didn't cost that much.
Dean tries to choke me with his tongue. Right, I'm supposed to be kissing him.
I open my eyes and immediately regret it, because apparently Dean kisses with his eyes open.
I squeeze mine shut. God, I'm not into this.
It's like kissing an accountant. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some real badass accountants out there, but he feels predictable.
There's no twinkle in his eye when he looks at me. There's no shiver up my spine when his fingers graze my arm. Nothing. There's nothing.
Mateo looks at me with fire and mischief in his eyes, like he's up to something.
Like he has a secret and doesn't want me to unearth it.
Fuck. This date was supposed to make me stop thinking about him, and it's doing the exact opposite.
We're together all the time now, and his energy does something to me.
It makes me feel alive, and the fact he's fucking gorgeous, even if he's years older than me, doesn't help.
I want to see his tattoos again. I want to trail my finger along them. Trace them down his body.
Dean pulls back, and I open my eyes again. "You want to take this to my room?" he asks.
I don't. I don't want to be here. Likewise, I don't want to be kissing him. There's only one person I want to be kissing, and I can't. I shouldn't. I refuse.
"What time is it?" I ask.
Dean grabs his phone off the coffee table. "A little after ten."
"I've gotta go. I need to pick up my son from the babysitter." I should feel guilty for using Cooper as an excuse, but it's the one surefire way to turn off guys my age.
"I didn't know you had a son," he says, standing up. Suddenly, he can't get rid of me fast enough, and I know my words had the intended effect.
The parking lot of his apartment building is dark. The only light comes from a single streetlamp near the entrance. Asshole. He could've at least walked me to my car. It doesn't matter if I have mace and am capable of taking care of myself. That's not the fucking point.
Good fucking riddance.
My car is cold when I climb inside. Soon I'll have a car with a remote start. One I can rely on. Every paycheck is one step closer. I turn the key in the ignition, and nothing happens.
You've got to be kidding me.
"Fuck," I yell and hit the steering wheel, dropping my forehead to it in resignation.
What the hell am I going to do? I can't afford a new car right now, even with my new cushy job.
Most of my signing bonus ended up going toward books for school and new clothes for Coop.
What's left isn't enough for a new car. And no dealership will give me a loan.
Thanks, Mom, for ruining my credit along with everything fucking else.
Okay, being angry about the past and what-ifs isn't helping. I need to get Cooper from my mom's and get him home.
That's step one and two. I'll figure out step three later.
I unlock my phone and check Addie's location.
Work.
Fuck.
Mom doesn't have a car, so she can't come to me. And Charlie and Liam are likely asleep, or are they out of town again? I can't remember.
Maybe my cousin?
I'm about to hang up when Emily answers. Or at least I think she answers—I can barely hear her over the background music.
"Hello?" I ask, unsure if she can hear me.
"Everything okay?" she yells.
"Yeah, fine. It's all right. I'll call somebody else."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay, babes," she says and hangs up.
She's out and probably drunk. She can't be my savior tonight.
Have I really isolated myself so much that there's no one else I can call?
I could order a ride, but when I check my app, it says it will be another hour. And that won't help me pick up Coop and get him home.
There's only one person left, and I don't want to. He's the reason I'm in this mess to begin with, even if he isn't aware.
I expect it to go to voicemail, to be forced to call him back, but he answers on the first ring.
"Jade?"
"Hey, sorry if I woke you," I say.
"I was up. Everything okay? Cooper?"
"Oh yeah, he's okay. But…" I pause and grit my teeth, hating that I'm asking him for help. "I…um…I need a favor. My car won't start. Do you think you could pick me up?"
There's rustling on the other end of the phone.
"Where are you?"
"You know the Castle Apartment complex?"
"The one by Rudy's Auto?"
"That's the one."
"That place is a shit hole. Are you alone?"
A car starts. How is he already in the car?
"Yeah, Coop's at my mom's."
"I'm on my way. I'll be there in five. Don't hang up. That area is sketchy as fuck."
"Mateo, it's fucking Wilmont. The only thing sketchy around here is probably me. I'll see you in a few."
He starts to say my name, but I hang up. It's bad enough I had to call him, I don't need him to babysit me too.
"I had no one else to call," I say when he climbs out of his monster. He stands with most of his weight on his right leg while he leans and pulls his crutches out of the passenger seat. His gait has shifted. He's no longer using the crutches to carry him, but rather to keep himself steady.
"I didn't ask," he says. "You called, I came."
As if it's that simple. But how can it be?
"You want to ask," I say through gritted teeth
"Would it really be that bad if I did?" he asks. His scruff has grown even longer in the last few days, and I want to tell him to get a haircut, but the curl sticking out from his backward hat is effortlessly sexy.
When I don't answer him, he holds his hand out. "Keys?"
I raise a brow, but hand him my keys anyway.
"What's wrong with it?" he asks.
"Won't start."
With hesitant steps, he reaches my car and opens the door, lowering himself into the driver's seat, his left leg hanging out the door. I hold back a giggle. He looks ridiculous, like the car could tip if he leans the right way.
"Does anything happen when you turn the key?" he asks.
"It acts as if it wants to start, but only the lights turn on."
I blow on my hands to warm them. It feels like winter is coming early to Tennessee.
"If lights come on, it's not the battery," he says, turning the key. The car makes a noise but doesn't turn over.
He climbs out and hands me the keys. "Gonna have to get it towed to a shop. It's likely the starter." He pulls his lips to one side. "Or maybe the alternator."
I groan and climb into the passenger seat of his car.
"Where to?" he asks, tossing his crutches into the backseat.
"I need to pick up Coop from my mom's. Then if you could drop us off at my apartment, I'd appreciate it."
He buckles his seatbelt and gestures to the map display. I add my mom's address, and Mateo pulls out of the lot.
"Shit." I grit my teeth.
"What?"
"I promised Coop we'd go out for breakfast tomorrow. A bribe for going to my mom's tonight."
"I could have watched him," Mateo says. "I like hanging out with him. He reminds me a lot of myself, actually. Except a hell of a lot smarter." He presses the screen to end the route and makes a U-turn.
"What the fuck? My mom's is that way." I point, but he ignores it.
"I'm going home, and then you're going to take this."
"Fuck no, I'm not."
"Yes, Jade, you are."
I think that's the first time he's said my name, and I shouldn't like it as much as I do. I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at him.
"Take this and do what you've gotta do. Take Coop to breakfast and pick me up at eleven. I booked an appointment with your cousin."
"Adding some ants? Or perhaps a grasshopper?" I ask. He's invading my life outside of work, outside of him, and I don't like it. Not one fucking bit.
"Hardy har har," he says and takes an audible breath. I wait. Clearly, he has more to say.
"He should be in a private school."
"You've got some nerve."
"I'm not wrong."
"Sure, I'll just become a cam girl to pay for it," I snap.
He pulls his eyes from the road, giving me a once-over and then a lopsided smirk.
Did that? Did he?
My stupid traitorous body. Me and the tingly feeling between my legs, we're going to pretend that never happened.
His words reverberate in my head.
You called, I came.
I'm wearing a tent tomorrow and maybe a chastity belt.